Two "Aes Sedais" Out for a Mid-night Snack (Attn: Hallia)

[Sherper]

Gingerly pushing the crack with her right palm, Ellisha Falwein – dignified, disciplined, obedient Accepted of the White Tower – snuck her way into the now empty dining hall. Night had well and truly fallen, and Ellisha’s stomach was giving her the rumbles. She’d missed out on dinner, due to some confounded Aes Sedai’s task she’d been forced to endure. Browns were always so flaming distracted, that they constantly forget who they were dragging along with them. By the time Valet Sedai had realised it was way past Ellisha’s supper time, the kitchen had already been scrubbed clean and the cooks gone home.
     No matter, she thought, taking caution not to make a noise as she ducked between tabletops. It wasn’t going to stop her from getting a midnight snack from the kitchens at least.
     The hall was quiet this time of the night, and Ellisha knew from her past experience sneaking about, that the Tower Guards hardly patrolled in these areas. For who would spend valuable manpower guarding a few crummy biscuits and the odd can of tinned beef? The kitchen door lay just around the corner, and if she could just reach it, she’d be in and out before anyone would know.
     Reaching the doorway, she found a padlock fastened around the L shaped doorhandle. Ellisha smiled, drawing a pin she’d kept in her hair then rummaged around in her white belt pouch until she found the shiv she’d hidden there. She’d be in a lot of trouble if anyone found her with that, but she hardly ever took it out from underneath the loose floorboard in her room. This night however, she’d expected she would need it, and it appeared she was right.
     Raising the hairpin in front of her, she bent the small piece of metal slightly until it formed a small hock; then, using the pin and the small shiv, she began prying the padlock for its sweet spot. A noise, sudden and abrupt, broke the dead silence of the hallway. Someone cursed behind her, and Ellisha’s heart and hands froze in place. Uh oh.
     Turning very slowly, she crouched down and peered into the darkness of the hallway. Someone else was in the room with her, and it was very likely an Aes Sedai. There wasn’t much illumination in the room, for the moon was yet to rise and no candles were lit. Which meant whoever had just knocked over a chair could not have seen her, yet. She had a problem however, there was only one exit from the room, and it lay back from where she’d come.
Oh you confounded idiot, Ellisha. It was time to get risky.
She’d be lashed till she cried for her mother anyway, what more could they do to her?
     “Who goes there?” she called into the darkness, putting on what she hoped was a commanding, yet serene tone of voice. It didn’t exactly scream Aes Sedai, but Ellisha prayed it was at least passable. After a moment’s silence, a voice answered back.
“Miranda Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, and you are?” Oh crap, an actual Aes Sedai. Ellisha had been fearing this was the case. If it been an Accepted or Novice, or maybe even one of the servants, she could’ve told them simply to leave. She shrugged, shifting her position to the back end of one of the high tables.
     “I’m…” her mind raced, her heart feeling like it was going to pound through her chest. She looked around herself, trying to find a source of inspiration. She should have at least come up with a confounded name before she tried a stunt like this. Moon, chair – my blasted sense of–
     “I’m Moonchara Sedai of the Blue Ajah. What are you doing up so late, Sister?” she added that last part, for it seemed appropriate. Blast it, how was she ever going to get out of this one alive?

 

~ Ellisha Falwein
Accepted of the White Tower