Odd couple indeed.

[girt]

Girt was tired.

 

It had been a long day of talking to Aes Sedai, scrubbing fireplaces, carrying books, getting lost, getting bossed around by Accepted, coming to the Tower, bleaching her clothes, finding a bank, coming to Tar Valon, and tending to camp. Her mind traced back over every frustration and indignity, as she stepped into the room, and stopped, staring, her eyes growing wide.

 

This was her room. HER room. And some other girl's, but who cared about that? HER room! It was practically palatial! Look, there was a bed, with a real mattress, and a little desk that she could put... well, nothing... on, another bed - ANOTHER BED! She didn't have to share a bed! And the beds weren't tiny, either! Wide enough for at least two girls huddled together, not that that would be necessary because that one was HERS! And a cabinet, which the novice who showed her to the room assured her she was welcome to use. Girt opened the cabinet, and stuffed her spare novice dress in, then walked to the bed, and sat awkwardly. What to do now? Ideally, sleep, and she WAS tired, but she had this wonderful room! And no more chores until third bell! THIRD BELL! Being in the white tower was far better than she'd imagined.

 

It wasn't long after she began scrubbing down the room that another girl stepped in. She carried herself with a noble air, and had the hands and face of someone unaccustomed to work. Girt immediately stood, bowed her head, and dipped into a deep curtsey. "Begging your pardon, milady. I was told this was my room to share, but they must have told me wrong. I'll be heading out."

[Meridian]

Meridian was tired, but since she’d only just left her initial meeting with the Mistress of Novices her tiredness was simply the natural result of the journey to the White Tower combined with the completely new, unfamiliar territory and environment in which she now found herself. For one thing, instead of being the one deferred to, she was expected to do the deferring herself! The look she’d been given when handing the white dress that was currently draped across her arm to the novice who had shown her to this room, the closed door of which she was standing outside, would probably have made a plant spontaneously burst into flames. Sure, she had clumsily apologized upon realizing her mistake, but she knew already she would have to do more than that repair things.

 

“Thank you,” she spoke to the white back of the girl who had shown her to her room and then left in a huff. The air even felt annoyed! How did she do that? Meridian wondered as she turned to face the solid door of the room that was supposed to be her new home.

 

She pushed the door open, stepped inside, and nearly tripped on a floor that was painfully clean and in the process of being polished. “What---who?” the question died on her lips as a girl probably close to herself in age got to her feet and immediately sank into a deep curtsy. Finally. Meridian smiled, determined to make a better impression this time. “Oh, there’s no hurry. You can finish your chores,” she waved at the scrub bucket and floor. What would her mother say? Meridian quickly new she would have to figure out her own way to do things.

 

And then she realized what the other girl had said, “my room to share,” and she quickly looked around: small room, one cabinet, TWO beds with accompanying desks that looked more like glorified campstools. Her jaw dropped in undignified chagrin. So much for making a good impression.

 

The plain white dress the other girl was wearing made her own dress of forest green with a brown surcoat laced at the sides stand out painfully, although back home it would have been considered drab. Flame rose in her cheeks as her gaze fell to the similar dress draped over her arm. The embarrassment made her forget the small travel satchel slung over her shoulder. With a sinking feeling she knew she’d been assigned this---this---peasant, as a roommate. And she instinctively knew that there was no appeal in this place. Not for something like this anyway.

 

So, she squared her shoulders and stepped further into the room, shutting the door with a well-placed heel, as she held out her hand in greeting. “Let’s start over,” she hoped the other girl would take her hand, “please?” she asked. “I’m obviously quite new here. Just arrived, in fact,” she shook the dress she was carrying on her arm as evidence. “I suppose I had better get changed.”

Edited January 4, 2015 by Meridian

[girt]

This was definitely more familiar. Girt knew the way of things now; she must have been placed here to wait on this lady. When the girl held her arm out, Girt rose, and plucked the dress from her arm. She hurried it over to one of the beds, and laid it out carefully, making sure not to wrinkle the fabric. Her mind racing, she tried to determine why such a fancy lady would dress in such a plain white gown as the one she had laid out, but it wouldn't come to her. She quickly retrieved the traveling satchel, and set it on the other bed.

 

"I suppose I had better get changed," the pretty girl said. Girt slipped behind her, and began working the buttons of her lovely traveling dress. "Will milady be wanting a bath? I do not know the tower well yet, but I can probably find them shortly, if you'll pardon the delay." She had the other girl half out of the gown before she finally put it together, and her hands slowed, then stopped. "Are... are you here to be a novice? I mean... in white? I am a novice myself... did they say I was to be your maid, then? I'm afraid I do not understand much of the tower organization, but I thought novices were supposed to be servants to the Accepted, but surely milady is not here to serve? Begging your pardon, but I am sorely confused, now." Girt stepped back, retrieved the bucket she'd left on the ground, moved it to a corner, and stood, embarrassed and confused, staring at the ground. She'd messed this up already, and the new girl was going to hate her. She KNEW she wasn't supposed to talk out of turn, yet here she had done just that.

Edited January 4, 2015 by girt

[Meridian]

“A bath would be lovely,” Meridian replied, more out of habit than any actual expectation of one. Truly, after a lengthy stint of traveling a hot bath was a luxury indeed. But, looking around at this room, she did not think baths were something for novices. Besides, the sooner she did not look out of place, the better.

 

Maybe she had misunderstood. She was assigned to room with a ‘Girt Salinas’ and so far the other girl had not even thought to name herself. From the speed with which Meridian found herself being helped out of her clothes---by a complete stranger no less!---perhaps she had been given a maid. But no, that could not be right. Her eyes narrowed shrewdly as she twisted to look at her companion in the eye. Girt back away, confused and apologetic. She has to be a novice, maybe she was a maid before?

 

She held up her hands and looked at them closely, really looked. They weren’t the hands of someone accustomed to working. “I guess I’ll learn how to serve,” she hesitated uncomfortably on the last word. One thing she did know was that one must know their place in the order of the world, and the sooner she figured out where she was supposed to be, the better. And she would be safer. Theoretically. She did not want to get on the bad side of an Aes Sedai for some failure she wasn’t even aware of.

 

Meridian stepped out of her dress and let it fall to the floor before picking it up and tossing it haphazardly on the bed next to her white dress. Not wishing to draw attention to the other girl’s embarrassment, she spoke in a muffled voice while pulling the white fabric over her head. “I think we are the lowest of the low here,” and while some deference from her roommate might be nice, this cringing in the corner would have to stop. It would certainly attract attention from the wrong quarters. “Novices both. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a meal soon?” she enquired, while rolling up the dress she’d arrived in. “I guess it will be a long time before I’m allowed to wear colors again. I’ve heard that white is enforced rather strictly.” And that in itself would be an annoyance and a half: white is the hardest of the colors to keep clean. The symbolism of purity was nice, but in the real world of chores she wondered how she would be able to keep it clean.

 

Finally, attired in white, Meridian approached Girt cautiously, almost as if she was a squirrel that she was trying not to startle in the woods. “What’s your name?”

[girt]

Girt stared at the other girl, her eyes widening as she listened. Lowest of the low? HER? She was a lady, she must be thinking of something else. But... she was talking we?

 

"I... I am Girt. Girt Salinas. From Arad Doman. Um. Pleased to meet you, milady, and, yes, we're only allowed to wear white. The accepted have color at the hem of their dresses, it's how you can tell them apart." She swallowed, her belly rumbling. "There are three meals a day, and the next should be about an hour from now." Girt studied the other girl. "So... you ARE a novice. Why would they make you room with me, though? You're a lady!"

 

Girt wrung her rough, work-worn hands, then smoothed her thin, mousey hair. She was not a pretty girl, and the worry on her face did nothing to improve her appearance. Her eyes flickered to Meridian's bed, and distress flickered across her face. Finally, she moved around the other girl, and plucked up the rolled up bundle, and unrolled it, shaking it out. "You're going to stretch the fabric! It's supposed to hung, or be gently folded! You can't just roll it up, not something pretty like this!" She carefully folded the dress, then put it into the cabinet carefully. "I am sorry, but... if you are a novice, and we are the same here, at least let me show you how to take care of your things?" She stepped back, then sat on her bed, and stood up again, startled. Picking up the travel sack, she sighed and carried it over to the cabinet, and began to unpack it. "I was told we were not allowed to bring any personal effects. Perhaps that is one of the things you were allowed as a lady?" Girt glanced up at the other girl. "What is your name? I'm Girt."

[Meridian]

Arad Doman. She had heard of it, but never been there of course. Her personal geographical familiarity was restricted to Cairhien and its environs. Her family was neither important enough, nor affluent enough to travel often. “I’m from Cairhien,” she volunteered, if the subdued color of the dress she had arrived in as well as its fashion hadn’t been enough for Girt to reach that conclusion herself.

 

She shrugged helplessly. Why would they make me room with her? She reflected on the little she did know about Aes Sedai: they manipulated like it was their calling in life. Maybe they invented Daes Dae’mar? That made this familiar ground. Kind of. It meant she knew the basic rules, but not much more. “Probably to make us both uncomfortable and keep us on edge.” She sighed. “Which means, we can’t let them know that we are uncomfortable.” She guessed she could wait an hour for food, going hungry was probably just another thing she would need to get used to.

 

“What do you think you’re---“ she cut off the harsh interrogative as Girt flapped her dress in front of her to shake out the wrinkles and proceeded to store it in a fashion that would have made her mother smile if she had been around to witness it. “I mean,” she backpedaled as the other girl again looked abashed, honestly, does she think I’ll strike her? “thank you.”

 

“Allowed?” I don’t think rank has any weight once one is inside the Tower. And with that thought, Meridian realized just how small and alone she was in the world now. She moved over to the cabinet and winced as she skinned her ankle on the bedpost. “Don’t bother unpacking it.” There was so much she didn’t know. “There’s nothing of value, and I expect everything will be confiscated in due course anyway.” She hoped Girt wouldn’t resent her on account of that.

 

“I’m Meridian Ankarin,” she reiterated, smiling in what she hoped was a friendly fashion. “Formerly in training to be a lady of a House that is so minor in the political realm that most people don’t even know it exists.” She reached up and attempted to smooth her unruly brown hair back into a semblance of order. It hadn’t withstood the static effect of pulling her novice dress over it. “So, just Meridian.”

 

Brown eyes took in Girt’s worried look and rough appearance. Meridian knew with an instinctive certainty that her rooming assignment could have been a whole lot worse. She took a deep breath and once again held out her hand as she made an offer, “Allies?”

 

Edited January 4, 2015 by Meridian

[girt]

Girt stared at the soft, delicate hand in front of her, and hesitantly took it, shaking. "Allies, if you wish." Nothing of value, the girl had said. Girt looked down at the small pile, at the tiny hand mirror, some packed cheese, paper and ink... She shook away an instant flash of resentment, and put on a small, strained smile. "I wonder if you have seen the Mistress of Novices? I waited in her office for what seemed like months and months, though it must have only been a few minutes. At least you were wearing green." Girt knew, at least, the way of putting someone at their ease. If the lady wanted to play at friends, she could handle that. Tell a self-deprecating story.

 

"I didn't realize they'd provide novice whites, so I bleached my own dress, then when I finally got in, one of the Accepted thought I already WAS a novice, and had me carry books, then an Aes Sedai who looked like she eats raw lemons made me serve her tea, and spent a half hour talking about something called a 'tear angry oh', then yelled at me when I couldn't repeat back what she said. I didn't even know I was supposed to be listening!" Girt fished through the little travel pack until she found a hairbrush, then set to work combing Meridian's hair back into manageable shape.

 

"She sent me to go see the Mistress of Novices and tell her how I was a stupid child who hadn't an ounce of sense. I tried to tell her I didn't know where the Mistress of Novices was, but I suppose she thought I was talking back, so she made me scrub out her fireplace as penance. When she let me go, I finally managed to find another novice, who knew I wasn't one. I guess we all know each other here. And she helped me find the right office. So, I got punished before even becoming a novice! Overall, though, it wasn't a bad day." This would do nicely; Meridian's hair was finally back under control, and Girt would learn if she liked her servants to chatter or to be silent.

[Meridian]

Meridian suppressed a grimace. She would have thought someone with calloused hands would have a firm grip, but maybe she thought Meridian was too delicate. Or maybe she thought Meridian would find some way to make her life miserable. “It was only a half hour I think, but it felt like an eternity, an eternity that suddenly ended way too quickly.” She suspected that for novices that was always what it felt like to be waiting outside the Mistress of Novices’ door. This time though she knew she hadn’t done anything worthy of being summoned, so she guessed that she would only really know the gut-wrenching uncertainty of punishment about to fall later on.

 

She folded her arms and paced up and down a bit. Moving helped her think. Girt seemed to dislike her automatically. To be fair, she wasn’t overly impressed with her roommate either. But now the girl seemed to think she was trying to buy her friendship. Of all the--- She could have offered her her mirror, or inks, but that would be a bribe and might get Girt into trouble if she was found with them. She mentioned that Meridian might have been allowed to keep her satchel since she was a lady. Light, if I offer her a present, she’ll be offended. If I don’t offer her one, she will stay offended. By this point Girt was telling her about her own arrival in the White Tower. “Goodness, you’ve got rotten luck,” she replied, sensing that the other girl wanted her to say something, but not really sure what to say.

 

She sat down on the bed that she thought was hers, stiffening as Girt began brushing her hair none too gently at first, but then relaxing a bit. It was hard not to relax when someone was brushing one’s hair. Not a bad day?! What constitutes a bad day around here? She wondered.

 

She sat there in silence, thinking hard while Girt finished her hair. Then, she turned around, appropriated her hairbrush and began brushing Girt’s hair trying not to pull hard. “Look, you don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Neither of us likes the other, but we’ve been stuck in the same place and I don’t see any way out of that,” she was talking as much to herself as to Girt, “but, we still have a choice. We can make the best of it, or we can make ourselves miserable, and from what I’ve seen so far, there are plenty of other people around who would be only too happy to see us miserable.”

 

She half expected the girl to jerk away from her, but she carried on anyway. “I left my servants, my family, and my life behind to come here. I don’t want a friend, but I think we had definitely better come to some arrangement, so, you watch my back, and I’ll watch yours.” She mentally crossed her fingers. If Girt’s luck became hers, she didn’t know what she would do.

[girt]

Girt sat silently for a long, long while, listening to Meridian talk, feeling the brush on her hair. She sat stiffly at first, then seemed to relax a little, then more, then she went curiously still.

 

When Meridian finished Girt's hair, the peasant sat there, still unmoving, then, in a voice choked and almost strangled, as one who had been crying, she gasped, "You don't like me? Why don't you like me? I put away your things! I brushed your hair without being asked! I told you about the accepted and my funny story! Why did you brush my hair if you don't like me? I like YOU!" She got up, stiff, summoning all the dignity of the put upon low-born commoner, and stormed out of the room. Darting away, she disappeared into the maze of corridors, more familiar with them from a few hours of wandering about than Meridian.

 

It was probably twenty minutes before she returned, her face dry, face and voice composed. "I have found the baths. I will save a meal for you if you wish to bathe before you eat, milady. And in the morning, when I think it will not be too much trouble to speak to her again, I will speak with the Mistress of Novices, and explain to her that I am not a suitable roommate for you. I am sorry that I displeased you. I agree that we should try to come to an arrangement, and will watch your back regardless. I know no one but you, so even if you do despise me, you are the closest person to me. I will trouble you no further, though." She climbed onto her bed, and laid down, facing the wall.

[Meridian]

Meridian’s eyes widened in surprise as Girt burst out passionately in a voluble storm of words that she really had no chance to interrupt and then stormed out of the room. She hurled the brush at the closed door and sighed. Then, she stood up, tugged the front of her dress straight and walked over to pick it up. She put it away and then flopped backwards onto her bed wondering what else would happen today. 

 

She propped herself up on one elbow as Girt unceremoniously re-entered the room. She didn’t interrupt although she was practically itching to do so. However, as soon as the girl paused to draw breath, she darted in with, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t know you well enough to like you, but I did make the first overture.” As Girt curled up in bed and presented her with a back to speak to, Meridian gave a dramatic eyeroll, placed her hand to her brow in the approved fashion, and flopped back on her bed as if she had swooned. “It’s not about you displeasing me, or me despising you, because I actually don’t. If you want to earn yourself another penance, I’m sure going to the Mistress of Novices and complaining about roommate assignments is the short path to that destination. In fact, I’ll probably be written into her book for personal attention as well, so I’d much rather you didn’t.”

 

She stifled a yawn. “Besides, who knows, maybe we will be friends sometime?” Here I thought she’d be pleased that I’d offered an alliance. It's a working relationship, much more stable than immediate professions of friendship based upon wishful thinking. What kind of world does she come from? She seemed so on edge at first, expecting to serve, flinching away…and yet she wanted me to like her immediately? It was a conundrum, one she would work out eventually if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, Girt seemed to be possessed of a prickly nature that would daunt even a fellow cactus.

[girt]

Girt listened to Meridian, ashamed of and embarrassed by her outburst. Why did I expect so much from a noble lady? Why would I think she wanted to be friends? Why... Oh. Why did she brush my hair?

 

She continued laying there for a long moment, then rolled over, facing the other girl. "I apologize for my outburst. It was unjust; you have no reason to be friends without knowing me, and Light knows my reactions have likely been rather unlikeable. I just..." Girt sat up, looking down at her knees. "It has been a very long time since anyone showed me, um, kindness. You brushed my hair. With your brush. I was not expecting that. I do not have nice hair, I know, and besides, no one really wants to touch me, but..." She gave a heavy sigh, and finally lifted her eyes to meet Meridian's. Her eyes were a drab, dull brown, with care lines already creasing the corners. "It took me off balance, you being nice to me, and I interpreted it more deeply than you meant it. I am truly sorry. I will show you to the baths, if you like, or we can go take our meals together. You did not deserve my ire."

 

Girt pulled her feet up to the bed, and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging tightly, staring straight ahead. "Thank you for brushing my hair. It was very nice, and a kindness I do not deserve. I miss home." Her tone was rather haunted, expression forlorn, her voice soft and distant. "It was a long journey."

[Meridian]

“There. See? That’s better already,” Meridian replied, inwardly releasing a long sigh of relief. She eyed Girt for a moment and decided she wouldn’t have been let inside the Tower if she had carried an infestation of lice so, “It’s just a hairbrush, you’re welcome to borrow it whenever you like,” until and unless it is confiscated by the Aes Sedai she completed the thought silently. Despite her appearance she guessed that Girt was about her same age. Doubtless it was her background that made her appear older. She had noticed that commoners as a rule tended to look older than aristocrats, particularly the women. She made a tentative offer, “if you need help washing your hair, I’ll do it…you know, if you want?” Now watch her get all huffy because I implied she’s dirty. If she scrubs any harder I bet her skin will fall off. A crease appeared between Meridian’s eyebrows as she thought about this.

 

A thought struck her and she sat up suddenly, turning to face Girt and drawing her own knees up under her chin. “If no one was nice to you at home---why do you miss it?” Maybe it was just because the White Tower was unfamiliar, but maybe there was more to it than that. “You don’t have to answer, of course,” she added with a belated smile. “I didn’t mean to pry exactly,” I am trying to find out more about you, but not to do you injury.

 

“At least this is better than circling each other like a pair of territorial cats with our backs arched and occasionally hissing at each other, right?” Now that she considered it, Meridian realized that she wanted to like her roommate. Maybe she would even end up becoming friends. "We can take turns asking questions."

[girt]

Girt watched Meridian carefully, not sure how the other girl would react. But her words, while haughty and arrogant, did seem somewhat genuine. Then she offered to help wash her hair. Girt looked away, blinking several times. No, don't cry, you're not a cry-baby bunting. You'll scare her off. Girt regained her composure in time to catch the question. Why DO I miss it? It was a fair question. She thought about it a long time, smiling slightly at the mention of cats.

 

"No one was nice, but most people were not cruel, either. And I did care about some people. Lady Zilna. She saved me, and I was her maid. She was cruel to me, yes, but she saved me when her lady mum was going to throw me out on the street, even though I never did anything for to warrant it."

 

Girt swallowed a lump in her throat at the painful memory, then continued. "So, I worked for Lady Zilna and I ran her bath and brushed her hair and I dressed her and brought her food, and she was only cruel to me when I was stupid and slow, when I deserved it. And when Unari Sedai came to the manor, Lady Zilna let me be tested, even though she had no ability to learn. I... I did not like it there, but I do not like it here, either, so that's nothing new. As far as I can tell, I don't have to work any less here than I did there, so that doesn't seem to make a difference, but... there was home. It was unpleasant, but it was home."

 

Her eyes began to water a bit, and her voice took on a little quaver, getting higher and louder as she went on, pain beginning to seep into her tone. "And every day took me further and further away, and I don't think I could find my way back if I tried, and now I'm here in Tar Valon, and it's supposed to be the best place in the world, but the stupid walls didn't shine because it was cloudy and I got yelled at by a stupid accepted and that Aes Sedai and she made me get ashes all over my freshly white dress and cobwebs in my hair and I HATE it here! I wanna go home! I don't know anyone and everyone's mean but you and you brushed my hair and I messed it all up by yelling at you even though you're a NICE lady and I don't have my necklace and I'm gonna fail here because I'm just a stupid girl who messes things up!" At the end, wailing in obvious distress, Girt clearly vented a lot of pent-up stress. Then, pressing her face to her knees, there was a muffled, "I'm sorry."

[Meridian]

Meridian listened attentively, though she did not stare at Girt. Instead she only glanced at her occasionally. She knew that a direct gaze could be intimidating, and she didn’t think the other girl could deal with that right now. Leaving all one knew behind was traumatic enough without other things being stacked on top of that.

“Better the devil you know, than you one you don’t, right?” she asked kindly, then shrugged sympathetically. She was all too aware of just how fast the wheel could turn and then she would be the one crying and Girt would be listening to her--- What?! Her eyes widened in shock. She blushed in embarrassment; both surprised and unsettled by how quickly her mind had decided that it could rely upon this stranger from Arad Doman.

 

As Girt became more and more distressed, Meridian shot a glance at the door, praying that no one outside would hear or pay attention to the distressed wailing of a novice. She sighed. And when she swallowed she realized that a thick lump was making it difficult to breathe. Here she was, newly arrived to the Tower herself, and her own vague expectations of trouble and discomfort had solidified in the distress of her new roommate and presented themselves to her face in such a fashion that she could not simply shove her doubts into the back of her mind and ignore them. What if I made the wrong choice? What if I fail here? What if… she got up and quietly crossed the room. Meridian seat herself on Girt’s bed and slid back so she could lean against the wall, just in time to hear the girl’s whispered apology.

 

“It’s ok,” she replied simply, at a loss as to what to say to make things better. What if it isn’t ok? She thought to herself and tentatively slid her arm around the other girl’s thin shoulders. “I do not know much about the Aes Sedai, but I have never heard stories of them throwing anyone out in the streets. But, if they do, I will find a way to get you back to Arad Doman. Promise.” She crossed her fingers, hoping Girt would not see the unvoiced doubt in her mind. She suspected that once within the White Tower, leaving was not something that was a viable option. Not for novices. Not in a city full of Aes Sedai. She wanted to ask about the necklace. It obviously meant something to Girt, but she could tell it was a touchy subject.

[girt]

After what felt like four months, but surely was no more than a few seconds, Girt rested her head on Meridian's shoulder. She closed her eyes, struggling against the urge to cry harder, and snuggled closer, surprised at how a simple consolation could break through years of heartache and pain. She breathed slowly, evenly, calming herself, calming her nerves, then murmured softly, "There's nothing there for me anymore, Meridian. Lady Zilna won't have me, now that I embarrassed her by being able to learn to use the Power. But... I thank you for the thought. You are not like most nobles I know."

 

Girt sat up, blinking, and realized that was perhaps not the best thing to have said. "That's not a bad thing, you know. You're one of the nice ones! I know you didn't have to be kind to me, and I appreciate it. I hope you'll forgive me; sometimes I say stupid things." She smiled shyly. "I AM hungry. If you're hungry too, there might still be food left. And the Mistress of Novices said I was going to have to learn book knowledge stuff, so I had an idea I'd like to discuss." She licked her lips a bit nervously, not knowing if this would be a good idea.