Acceptance (attn: Elyssa and any Blues that wanna play)

[claireducky]

Gianna walked quietly through the halls of the Tower and adjusted her dress.  Things had changed much since she gained the right to wear the serpent ring and banded Accepted's dress.  They say time heals all hurts, but some hurts seem to go too deep. 

 

Even with the banded hem, Gianna still felt slightly inferior to those who had been raised before her.  The sly whispers and disparaging looks had seemed to melt away as the years went past, but Gianna still spent her days with the feeling of unseen eyes upon her back.

 

Eight years had passed since her success at the arches ter'angreal.  She had spent most of that time immersed in the study of the Game of Houses and the current political situation in the world.  She had heard disturbing rumors of her uncle's manipulations in the politics of Cairhien.  It appeared that he was planning a bid for the Sun Throne as soon as Damodred fell from grace.  Gianna could only hope that she would attain the shawl in time to prevent that atrocity.

 

The testing for the shawl weighed heavily on her mind as of late.  Still mostly bereft of friends, Gianna resorted to practicing alone in the long hours of the night.  She was unsure of what Ajah to petition to if she managed to complete all one hundred weaves.  What Ajah would be most likely to accept her, a one-time failure?

 

Gianna sighed and continued to glide softly through the halls.  A Blue sister was in the corridor ahead of her, and Gianna slowed and offered a curtsy.  She had been seeing Blues everywhere recently, it seemed--they were a sore reminder of her first failure at the arches.

 

Eyes downcast, Gianna moved to pass around the sister, but the woman shifted her feet and planted herself firmly in Gianna's way.  She looked up at the woman with a question on her lips.  The Aes Sedai gestured sharply for her to be silent and follow, so Gianna curtsied again and complied.

 

They walked swiftly through the Tower until the came to the Blue Ajah's quarters.  In a common area within the Ajah's halls, the Aes Sedai motioned for Gianna to join her on a settee. The Blue simply studied her for several moments, and finally Gianna asked, "What may I do for you, Aes Sedai?  I really must be getting to my rooms to practice for the test of one hundred weaves..."

 

 

[Elyssa]

Elyssa had only been back in the Tower for a few weeks and wanted to get to know the accepted she thought would be good in the Ajah. The Ajah was in termoil and Elyssa wanted to reassure everyone that the Ajah was still as strong as it had always been. Standing in the halls the person she was looking for walked up to her and she motioned for her to follow her.

 

Once in the Ajah's halls she sat with her on a setee. "What may I do for you, Aes Sedai?  I really must be getting to my rooms to practice for the test of one hundred weaves..." The child must think she was going to be called to test soon if she was that worried about studying. "And who are you meeting to study with that it is so important to want to be out of the company of an Aes Sedai?"

[claireducky]

"And who are you meeting to study with that it is so important to want to be out of the company of an Aes Sedai?"

 

Gianna sat still for a moment, watching the Aes Sedai's eyes.  The Blue's face was a mask of serenity, as could be expected, but Gianna thought she saw a hint of something troubled in those eyes.

 

She sighed softly, turning her eyes down towards the banded hem of her dress.  She rubbed the underside of her Great Serpent ring with her thumb unconsciously, and then looked back at the Aes Sedai.

 

"I have no one to meet with to study, Aes Sedai.  I apologize for any rudeness.  Because I have no close friends to study with, I have been trying to double my efforts on my own to practice.  It is difficult though, because I fear without others trying to distract me while I weave...it will not be enough to pass the test if the time comes."

 

Gianna paused a moment and looked at Elyssa Sedai for any betrayal of her thoughts and saw none.  The hint of trouble in her eyes was now gone, as if it had never been.  Gianna mustered her courage and asked something that had weighed heavy on her heart for years.

 

"Elyssa Sedai, if I may ask a question...do you think the Blue would accept one such as myself?  A Blue was present when I was called to the Arches the first time...when I failed to accept the test.  I have been sure ever since then that the Blue would not wish for one who showed such weakness to be among their ranks."

 

Her voice trembled slightly, and she pushed on before it could break completely.  "And honestly, if I have no hope to be accepted into the Blue...I don't know where I would go.  It is all that I have wished for."

 

She fell silent, looking at her folded hands in her lap.  Hopefully the Aes Sedai would give her an answer and not mysterious platitudes like they were apt to do.

 

[Elyssa]

Elyssa was shocked at the question. How could anyone feel that they would be treated with such shame just for refusing to go through the arches the first time. " Of course we would consider anyone who wished to join our ajah. We know and understand that some girls cannot face their arches the first time. It is a hard thing to do." Elyssa remembered her experience in the arches, after she was through them she had wished that she'd refused to go through them. " I hope that when you are raised to the shawl that you will ask us for acceptance into our Ajah, I for one would be most pleased to have another sister come home."

[claireducky]

Gianna felt her heart leap in her chest when Elyssa spoke.

 

They would welcome me...

 

She turned to face Elyssa, hope written on her face.

 

"You are sure of this, Aes Sedai?  I do not mean to be rude...but the one that was present at my Arches, Nastacia...she was quite cold to me.  She was also present when I completed them on my second attempt, but there were no words of congratulations from her like from the others that were present."

 

Gianna clamped her mouth shut over the last word, wishing she could call them back.  What was she doing, complaining about an Aes Sedai to one of her Ajah sisters?  She must be mad.  Hopefully Elyssa would not call her down too harshly for it.

[Elyssa]

"I am sure of this child Nastacia has always been that way to everyone even to full sisters, I for one would be glad if you joined our ranks" Elyssa didn't tell the child that she would personally be present when she was presented the shawl and would be beaming with pride if she asked admitance to the blues. She smiled to reassure the child that she was sure everyone would be happy to have her as a sister. " I am sure you will do fine in the testing and make the right decision on your choice of ajah"

[claireducky]

"I am sure of this child, Nastacia has always been that way to everyone even to full sisters, I for one would be glad if you joined our ranks."

 

Gianna was startled at this revelation for two reasons.  First of all, Elyssa had just essentially told her that this Nastacia let her emotions rule her to the point of being cold to even her own Ajah.  Gianna did not see how this could be.  How could such a woman even make it to the shawl with that sort of personality?  Perhaps she became cold after being raised.  Surely any Aes Sedai must face such terror in their lifetime to make for a wealth of coldness.

 

Secondly, Gianna's faith in herself increased tenfold with Elyssa's affirmation that she would be welcomed among the Blues.  And by confiding this detail about Nastacia, Elyssa treated Gianna as almost an equal, not an initiate to be ignored.

 

She must truly feel I am to be tested soon as well, or she would never have done so...

 

Gianna stood, giving a curtsy to the Blue.  "Elyssa Sedai, you don't know how you have made my day...Light, you have made my year!  I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  And now, if you don't mind, I will retire to my room to practice.  I need to double my efforts.  I will NOT FAIL."

 

The Blue nodded her assent with a smile, and Gianna left immediately, trying to keep herself from running.  She would be a Blue.

[Elyssa]

Elyssa smiled at the girl. She was glad she could make someone happy these days. She still wasn't sure of herself and wished she could truly be happy again. Ely made a note in her head to be sure she was at this child's raising she wanted to personally hand her the shawl but that wasn't the tradition she would have to settle on welcoming her to the ajah and just hope that she got a pie out of it.