Devious Woman on the loose

[Phelix]

With her head down in the pots, Gera looked just like all the other novices... rather, she didn’t look like an old woman among girls. Most of these girls were too young, and brainless, for her to even introduce them to her son, and he liked his women pliable and pretty. They said that boys tried to find a woman to replace their mother... well, her boy seemed determined to buck that rule. Hopefully the boy hadn’t mangled the Web yet. Gera sighed as she scrubbed the large cauldron. That life was behind her, for now.

 

Setting it to the back of her mind, she renewed her efforts at scrubbing the light forsaken metal caked in stewed rice and vegetables. Whichever cook had let the rice burn onto the bottom deserved to be painfully reeducated. When she was done, she passed a scullery girl who was talking with one of the other servants.

 

“I just wish that I could learn to do more than the sums you need to bake correctly. I work in the same building as the greatest library in the world, for the Light’s sake!”

 

Gera filed that information away for later use and went about her day. A week later, she saw that scullery girl alone, and Gera approached her with the kindest, most motherly smile she could muster.

 

“Hello Lyria, I trust you’re having a good day. I was wondering if you needed anything that I could help you with?”

 

“Oh no, don’t you go trying to trick me into helping you run! We’re told to report you right away!” The girl practically squeaked, and Gera worked hard not to roll her eyes.

 

“Light, Lyria, I don’t want to escape! I came here all on my own, and I mean to stay here until I’ve earned that blasted shawl!” She smiled as she said it, hoping to allay the girl’s fears... and it seemed she did.

 

“Well, if you’re not looking to run... why are you talking to me? Novices never talk to the servants like friends.”

 

“I heard you the other day talking about how you want to learn more... and I thought that was admirable. I could bring you books, if you’d like to read them... and maybe I could help you study them to learn?”

 

“Would you? Truly? Yes, please!”

 

And so it began. Gera would bring books to Lyria and spend some of her free time each week teaching the girl to do sums, to read and write more than the basics, and much more. After a few months, Gera had the beginnings of a well educated young woman hanging on her every word and desire. That was when Gera began asking Lyria to do small things for her. The older woman tested her new tool by having her move items in the rooms of Accepted, once even placing a book behind an Aes Sedai’s bed stand, knowing the sister wouldn’t find it. When Gera was sure she could trust Lyria, she wrote out a letter authorizing her banker to give Lyria a small purse of silver, which the girl kept for Gera’s use in greasing the wheels a bit, as needed. Her old master, the man who had left the web to her, had always said ‘if a tongue won’t wag, apply a bit of silver.’

 

After some time had passed, Lyria had been transformed. Gone was the shy, uneducated scullery girl, and in her place was a firm woman who knew more than she let on. She was soon promoted to being an understeward under the steward who took care of the Novice and Accepted Quarters. Yet, even as an understeward, she still sought Gera’s advice and approval, and that was when Gera began to use her as the first hub of her web. With a soft touch, Gera brought groomsmen, stewards, and servants of all stripes in the Tower into her web. Some were paid, others were held by fear of blackmail, and yet others simply wanted to be a part of something and needed neither coins nor fear to bring them into line.

 

Through her web, Gera had a fairly good idea of the hierarchy within the ajahs, even a few very good guesses as to who the heads of some of the ajahs were. Life in Cairhien had taught her that secrets were the coin of the powerful. If they were nothing else, Aes Sedai were powerful.

 

By her fourth year in the Tower, Gera had spies in every level of service and every ajah. She even had a few in the Tower Guard. So far, none had broken their word to her, and none had needed much in the way of discipline... the worst mostly needed her to remind them that if they were caught spying on an Aes Sedai they would be cast out of the Tower, out of Tar Valon even. They tended to clam up when reminded of that fact. Few ever took that to its logical extension, that if they would be tossed out of Tar Valon, what would the sisters do to an initiate organizing this web of spies within the Tower itself?

 

Gera soon found out.

 

One day, after a clandestine meeting with one of the girls in her pay, Gera was surprised to see an Ageless face come around the corner. With her hand on the scrub brush, Gera did her best to look as if she had been working, but the sister was having none of it.

 

“Child, I will have a word with you. Come with me now.” Gera recognised her as Natasia Romanovni, a Sitter for the Blue. Tucking her brush into the bucket, and placing it under the bench she had been “cleaning,” Gera followed the Aes Sedai with a proper distance.

 

Inside the Sitter’s rooms, Gera was left to stand while Natasia poured herself tea.

 

“Child, and yes to me you are a child, I’d worn the shawl almost a century before you were born... I’ve heard a very interesting rumor. Scullery maids, groomsmen, stewards, and many other servants have started showing just a bit more silver than they should rightly have.” The Aes Sedai let those words hang in the air like a corpse twisting in the wind.

 

“Now, you are Cairhienin, no?” At Gera’s nod, she continued. “What would you suspect if members of your staff suddenly had more silver than you knew that you paid them?”

 

“I would suspect they were being bought, Aes Sedai.” Gera worked to keep her face smooth.

 

“Exactly what I assumed, my dear.” She smiled a rather wolfish grin. “The kettle is hot, dear, fetch me some tea.”

 

While Gera made the tea, she desperately thought of ways to extricate herelf from this problem. When the tea was ready, and Gera still had no means of escape, she decided to continue on as she had begun. Perhaps Natasia was just fishing for information.

 

“Excellent tea, and perfectly steeped... not a single tea leaf in the cup. Very good, child.” She sipped the tea, still smiling that predatory grin. “Now, if you assumed your servants were being bought, what would you do child?”

 

“I would make inquiries... discreet inquiries... to find out if my assumptions were correct, Aes Sedai.” Gera was working to only give the information asked for, and not a bit more.

 

“And if they were correct?”

 

“I would follow the coin back to the source, Aes Sedai.” Sweat drops were beginning to form on Gera’s brow and between her shoulders.

 

“Just as I would... and did.” The grin grew even wider to the point it was simple showing teeth. “You assembled quite a web in your short time here, Gera Mondwin. You have spies nestled in every Ajah, in every administrative department of the Tower, and even some who serve the Amyrlin and the Keeper. I’m quite impressed. It was quite a shame, really, to dismantle that web.”

 

Dismantled? Light! Gera was shocked that her entire web had been taken apart without her noticing... Natasia must have done it in a single day.

 

“Aes Sedai do not take it lightly when we are spied upon. Especially within our private Ajah Quarters. What would you do if you had taken a rival down who had attempted to spy on you in your home?”

 

“I would... I would either have the rival removed from the game entirely or offer them a place in my web as a lieutenant... depending on their skill, my needs, and how malicious their attacks had been.”

 

“Very judicious of you, Gera. I obviously cannot promote you to the Blue Ajah straight out of novice white, now can I? So... what option does that leave me?”

 

Gera felt the sweat dripping down her spine, and she knew the back of her dress would have transparent spots.

 

“You must remove me, then.” So it came down to this... she’d bitten off more than she could chew, and now she’d choke on it.

 

“Light, no! Child, child... we don’t go about killing novices who show us that they are competent. You have too much potential to waste, my dear. Though, that is only because for all my digging all I can find is that you were gathering information. Had I found a hint of malice, well, you would be answering questions put to you by the entire Hall.”

 

“So I’m not being punished?”

 

“I didn’t say that, did I? You will be punished, but only you and I will know the real reason why.” She smiled that lupine grin again. “If I so much as think that I see your touch on a situation in the Tower, I will haul you before the Hall to discuss a matter of spying within the Tower. Do I make myself clear, child?”

 

“Yes, Natasia Sedai.” Gera curtsied, her throat working in fear and relief.

 

“Now then, go to Talina Sedai and tell her that you were rude to a Sitter, in multiple ways, and take whatever punishment she gives you.”

 

“Yes, Aes Sedai.” Gera bobbed a curtsy and left the rooms quickly. She would live, she would be allowed to stay... and if she read the situation correctly, she had tacitly been offered a place in the Blue Ajah! All she had to do was make it to and past the test for the shawl.

 

Then she remembered that she couldn’t even manipulate situations on her own anymore. Natasia had been very clear... if she even thought she saw Gera’s touch on the scene, then the novice would pay for it. Gera knew that the Oath against lying meant Natasia’s words were not an exageration.

 

She hurried back to gather her bucket on her way to the Mistress of Novice’s office. Rudeness to a Sitter was several steps worse than merely being rude to an Aes Sedai... the punishment would be quite painful; Gera was expecting the worst.

 

At Talina Sedai’s door Gera stood a moment, remembering the first time she had been in front of this door, hand poised to knock. She knew then that she would spend the next few years submitting to other women’s authority, but she hadn’t expected it to be this... difficult. The rational part of her mind said that of course, she was used to being her own woman, equal in power to the high seats of many houses and able to spar with them in the Great Game... so of course it was difficult for her to submit. Another part of her mind, though, said that she was Gera Mondwin who had not failed at a task she set herself in the last twenty years. Failing to submit properly burned her pride.

 

Inside, the Aes Sedai asked what brought Gera into see the Mistress of Novices, and Gera gathered herself up. Take what you want and pay for it, or so the saying went. She had taken the opportunity to create a web within the Tower, and now she was paying for getting caught.

 

“I was rude to a Sitter, Talina Sedai. Natasia of the Blue Ajah. In multiple ways. She told me to come to you and accept whatever punishment you decreed.” The words were out, and Gera managed to keep her face smooth. This wasn’t a spanking offense, and even if it was, Gera doubted Talina Sedai would spank the older novice. Spankings didn’t seem to be very effective with the Salidar Novices.

 

“Well, that was quite a mistake Gera, as I am sure you are aware.” As Talina spoke, Gera knew that the older woman saw that there had to be a situation behind the rudeness and the discipline. The embarrassed spy mistress hoped that the Aes Sedai would just leave it well enough alone... from all the rumors she had heard, Gera was under the impression that Talina had given up playing the Great Game. “Your punishment then, Gera, shall be multifaceted. First, you shall not speak for the next week. Not one word. If anyone hears a word from your mouth you will be sent to me for mortification of the flesh. You will be birched in public. Secondly, you will spend the next three months working among the stablehands. They will give you lessons in manners. I doubt a White Tower stableman has ever been rude to a Sitter, let alone in multiple ways. If you are rude to anyone, anyone at all, during your time in the stables, you will be sent to a farm where we send girls who need to learn what is proper for a Novice in the White Tower. Lastly, you shall not be allowed to take any more classes as a novice until the other portions of your punishment are done. Is that understood?”

 

Shocked, Gera curtsied and said the proper words, even though her mind was far, far away. More than three months without any lessons? That would put her far behind her peers! Talina Sedai hadn’t mentioned how long her time at the Farm could last, if she did get sent there.

 

The week of silence went by slowly, oh so slowly, but it did pass without incident, for which Gera was glad. She had read about women who had been birched, and it was not an experience that Gera hoped to ever actually feel. The physical pain would only be part of the birching.. being stripped out of her bodice and flogged in front of the initiates of the Tower... the shame that would bring curdled whatever happened to be in Gera’s mouth when she thought of it. One wouldn’t think air could curdle, but thinking about being birched had done just that.

 

After her week of silence, she began working in the stables. Her first assigned task was mucking out stalls, which had her in a foul temper. It was all she could do to maintain a polite demeanor while she was up to her ankles in horse dung. Somehow she managed it for two weeks, until the stablemaster assigned her to cleaning the horse tack. The corrosive lye soap he insisted she use on the leather and metal pieces destroyed the fine, soft skin she had worked so hard to keep on her hands. Even kitchen work hadn’t been as hard on her hands as this task. After a full month of cleaning tack, her hands were rough, but she had managed to keep her head down and avoided being rude to anyone.

 

With four weeks left in her sentence, she was assigned to helping guests of the Tower on and off their horses when they arrived or left the Tower for business. Most who came to the Tower recognized a novice’s white dress and so treated her slightly better than they did servants. Slightly. It galled Gera’s pride to be treated so, but she was able to keep her face calm and her manners polite.

 

On the eighth day of her last week in the stables, a merchant came to the Tower with three guards. The merchant went inside, leaving his guards with the horses. All three of the men were young enough to be her children, but either they did not realize it or they were deliberately trying to make her uncomfortable. Their leader continued to leer at Gera, commenting on her eyes, her lips, and her hips. Gera did her best to ignore the louts.

 

When one smacked her butt, that was the final straw. Putting to use the training she received to prevent her own assassination, Gera grabbed the fool’s hand, twisted it around behind his back, then kicked him behind his knees, knocking him to the ground. She leaned in and pulled his head back so she could speak into his ear.

 

“Sir, thank you for allowing the Tower Stables to keep your horses well cared for while your Master conducts his business. Is there anything I can do for you? Perhaps you’d like something to quench your thirst?” As she spoke, she twisted his head to show him the horse trough. “I believe we could arrange a cool drink of water for you.”

 

The man knelt there, whimpering while his partners stared. Letting his head and hand loose, Gera grabbed him by the ear, twisting it sharply. “I have no doubt that your mother is far away from here, but I think she would agree with me that a young man such as yourself should never treat a lady the way you were treating me. Now, I have to get back to the stables to feed a few horses. Please do not give me cause to repeat this lesson in proper manners toward ladies.”

 

Stalking off, Gera went back to her chores. That evening, at dinner she received a summons to the Mistress of Novice’s office. Gera was stunned, it was days early for her sentence to be up, so Talina must have heard of something Gera had done.

 

Inside the office, Gera found Talina sitting contemplating an empty teacup. She motioned for Gera to stand, which could only mean trouble.

 

“I hear, novice, that you had an interesting encounter this afternoon. A merchant’s guards claim that you assaulted their leader with the Power. Are their claims true?” Talina’s voice was ice, and Gera felt her anger rising. So the fool had decided to try to get vengeance against her then. Gera felt the anger rising in her throat. If Talina believed these louts, they could cause her to be sent to the Farm for an indefinite period of time.

 

“No, Talina Sedai, their claims are false. I did rebuff their leader’s physical advances, but I did not use the Power. I would not break that rule, especially not while still serving my punishment in the stables.” Gera kept her voice neutral, but there was fire in her eyes at being lied about by such fools.

 

“Well, that is vastly different than what they claimed. Tell me the story from the beginning, and we will have to decide how to continue.”

 

After Gera explained the situation, Talina sighed and motioned for Gera to sit.

 

“You handled the situation well, girl. I’m impressed you managed to stay polite even while manhandling that man. After you finish serving your last days in the stable, you may return to classes.”

 

Gera smiled, and curtsied, leaving Talina’s office. Freedom was back in sight...