Farina couldn't believe it. She was a novice in the White Tower! That was a faith she had never even concidered. But now that she knew it was possible, she began to look forward to her training. There was so much she didn't know, so much she wanted to learn. She was so excited! She was going to be Aes Sedai! Well, it would take a while for her to get to that level, but the mere thought of actually being able to get there was enough to make Farina jump.

She opened a plain white door to a room which was now hers. Her good mood dropped as soon as she saw it. The walls were plain white, as was the floor, and there were only three narrow beds, a small wardrobe and a stool. There wasn't even a window! Farina couldn't believe it. Are they training us or torturing us? How could she possible live there for several weeks!

Farina sighed heavily and sat on a bed. It felt as hard as it had looked. I can't believe this! And she was supposed to share the room with another girl. Farina leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. I gave my daughter away for this? The thought of her daughter Frenna made her eyes water instantly. Frenna! She started to sob for the memory of her daughter who she would never see again. Why? She didn't hear the door opening again.

(ooc - sorry for the shortness... I didn't have much to write :|)

This is, by far, the worst day of my life, thought Morgaine as she was following the Mistress of Novices through the corridors. She knew she was now being led to what will be her room, a room that she’ll have to share with others. She clutched her dress with her hands, blinking to stop the tears. She would not cry in the middle of the hall where everyone could see… Her dress, her Novice dress, white like snow… the color of mourning. And she had what to mourn about – even that horrible incident with Spirit was not as bad as being here was, in her eyes.

The room the Mistress of Novices led her to was small, smaller than her old room. It also looked a lot like a servants room – not that she really had been into one, a noble girl like her had much better things to do. But it was how she always imagined one to look like. As soon as the Mistress of Novices left the room with few final words, Morgaine threw herself on the bed that would be hers now. It was hard, only fitting to the bare and ugly room. She didn't even notice the other girl in the room, sitting on her own bed crying. Morgaine faced the wall, closing her eyes, and tried to imagine she was back at home, where beds were soft and the walls were not bare, where there were people who loved her and care about her - people she might not see again.

The Mistress of Novices led Mirazhe through the maze of hallways and corridors, occasionally stopping to speak with another Aes Sedai or reprimand a Novice for not doing her job correctly. Mirazhe was awed by the beauty of the Tower. She had never seen anything like it before. If she had more time, she would've stopped and admired, but she was already lagging behind. She quickened her pace.

The MoN finally stopped at a blank white door. Her room, that she would share with two others, if she remembered correctly. The MoN left her there. She thought she heard someone crying inside. So her roommates - or at least one of them - was here already. I wonder if this is a bad time, she thought. Oh well. She couldn't exactly wait out in the hall until the crying stopped. She slowly opened the door.

Inside were two girls, about her age. Both seemed to be crying. They didn't seem to notice her. This is not good. I don't deal well with crying people. She wondered what she should do. She slowly walked into the room and looked around.

The room was small, but that was nothing new. Her room back home - No! I will not think of home, or my mother! Her old room was about the same size, although there were no windows in here. There were three beds. The two nearest the door were taken by the two girls. She would have to get the one at the back of the room. She decided to take a closer look at the two girls.

One had long blonde hair and a proud face. She seemed to be a noble, though Mira couldn't tell, since she was dressed as every other novice was, in a plain white dress. The other girl had long brown hair. Mirazhe couldn't see her face though, since she had her head in her hands. I wonder what their names are.......

Morgaine wiped her tears quickly in her sleeve as the door opened again. It could be the Mistress of Novices, and she didn’t want her to see the tears. But as she turned around to see who it was, she saw only another Novice like herself, probably the third resident of this room. She wondered if the girl was a noble or a commoner – she could not tell in these dresses, not with just one glance. There was another girl in the room, Morgaine noticed just then. She was crying, too. Everyone seemed to be crying in the Tower. She had to try and cheer up.

Ignoring her red nose and the tear traces on her face, Morgaine sat up, looking at the two other Novices. “Hey,” she said quietly. If someone would have told her a month ago that she would be sent to the Tower to live in a servant’s room with two other girls most likely to be commoners and wearing a commoner’s dress she would have laughed at him face and told him he was mad. Now, she felt more like weeping again. This is what she had, and she had to at least know the names of her roommates.

“My name is Morgaine. I guess we’re going to have to live together from now on.” she made a lame attempt at a smile. She could not make herself smile for real, not when she wanted to cry so, not when she was surrounded by commoners and compelled to act like them. “I just arrived at the Tower, how about you two?” she could at least be try to be nice.

(OOC: sorry about it being so short. I seriously couldn't think of anything to write.)

The blonde girl wiped away her tears and looked at her and attempted a smile.

"Hey. My name is Morgaine. I guess we’re going to have to live together from now on. I just arrived at the Tower, how about you two?”

Morgaine. That was a pretty name. And her voice was pretty as well. High and lilting, it was also cultured, suggesting that Morgaine was most likely a noble. Mirazhe hoped that Morgaine was the kind of noble who didn't mind commoners. Otherwise, they might have a bit of trouble living together. Mirazhe didn't mind nobles, but then again, she had never met one, so she didn't know what they were like. She suddenly realized that several minutes had passed and she still hadn't said a word.

"Hi! My name is Mirazhe Tomai. I'm new also." She couldn't think of anything else to say and groaned inwardly. This is a great way to start off. She tried to think of something else.

"Um, I'm from Tifan's Well, in Arafel. It's a really small village but everyone is really close. Where are you from?"

It’s been several minutes before Morgaine got a reply, from the girl who had just came into the room. "Hi! My name is Mirazhe Tomai. I'm new also. Um, I'm from Tifan's Well, in Arafel. It's a really small village but everyone is really close. Where are you from?" a small village in Arafel. Morgaine wondered if they had any lords; she didn’t think so. Studying was one of her least favorite things to do – and therefore she hardly did it – but one thing she did remember was that Borderlanders were a bit… different, to say the least.

“I am from Andor — Caemlyn, to be exact.” The other Novice had not spoken yet, and Morgaine had lost hope that she would be a noble. How could they put her in a room with commoners? Her, Morgaine, a daughter to the High Seat of House Aitana! She couldn’t stop herself from grimacing, and then grimacing again when realizing what she had done. She did not want to upset any of her roommates, she would have to live with them for a time, and commoners as they might be, she did not want them to make her feel bad in her own room. Burn me! I never thought the day would come when I’ll have to be nice to a commoner… she thought, and mentally giggled. Her mother would have sent her to wash her mouth with soap if she had heard that.

“So, how is Arafel? I have never been to one of the Borederlands. The only place I have been to other than Andor and Tar Valon was Cairhien, and I was too young to remember. My mother never let me go with my father and brothers when they went out of Andor.” Morgaine was naturally a talker, and now that she had someone to talk to it was not easy stopping her.

(OOC: I'm sorry, I was away for the weekend, but I'm back now. :) )

Farina could hear Frenna’s laughter, see her beautiful brown eyes, feel her little hand clutching her finger… and she cried. She cried for her little daughter who she would never see again. Anything else she had been ready to leave behind, her parents, her brothers, her husband… but her daughter she had been determined to keep and raise herself. She couldn’t do it now, or never, and she didn’t even know if being a novice was worth it!

“My name is Morgaine. I guess we’re going to have to live together from now on.” she heard a girl’s voice say and she jumped a bit. She took a quick glance behind her hands and saw not just one but two other novices in the room. Why didn’t I hear them coming! She continued to hide behind her hands and tried to wipe away her tears as subtly as possible. “I just arrived at the Tower, how about you two?” the first girl continued. Farina took another look at her. She had long blond hair, and an air about her that immediately signed her as a noble. Farina hoped that the girl wasn’t too proud, they were all in the same level here as novices and she would not put up with any kind of unnecessary cockiness from the girl. Well, I’ll just have to see, won’t I.

The other girl answered after a while, and Farina quickly inspected her too. She had long black hair, and she didn’t strike as a noble to Farina. She was more modest than the other girl, that was for sure. "Um, I'm from Tifan's Well, in Arafel. It's a really small village but everyone is really close. Where are you from?" she continued.

Farina’s eyes widened slightly when Morgaine said she was from Caemlyn. It felt somehow comforting to have someone from the same city, even when she had never seen the girl before in her life. At least we have something to talk about. The girl continued, and when she finished, Farina took her hands from her face, sure that her eyes weren’t that red anymore and that her tears were all wiped away, and she cleared her throat to get the other novices’ attention. “I’m Farina Aileen. I’m sorry about that, I have just lost something very dear to me and I’m still a bit upset about it.” She managed a weak smile and concentrated on not thinking about Frenna. “I couldn’t help hearing that you are from Caemlyn,” she said, directing her words to Morgaine. “I used to live in Caemlyn too. But Arafel must be an interesting place to live in, I have never been anywhere else than Caemlyn and Tar Valon.”

(OOC: Farina, you posted about a minute before I did, so I had to modify my post to include you so if something seems off, thats why. :P )

Mirazhe was about to reply, when the other girl spoke up.

I’m Farina Aileen. I’m sorry about that, I have just lost something very dear to me and I’m still a bit upset about it. I couldn’t help hearing that you are from Caemlyn. I used to live in Caemlyn too. But Arafel must be an interesting place to live in, I have never been anywhere else than Caemlyn and Tar Valon."

Another person from Caemlyn! This was exciting.

She wondered if she should talk or not. She decided to and answered Morgaine's question.

"It's nice in Arafel. Cold, but nice. We had a little garden behind our cottage. It was nice." Ugh. The other girls must think her an idiot for using 'nice' so many times. She quickly changed the subject.

"Tell me about Caemlyn. What's it like there? I've never been outside Tifan's Well, but my father used to tell me so many stories. I miss my father," she added quietly. Her father would tell great stories. But her father was gone now, and she had left her mother behind to come to the White Tower. She felt sad. But sad was not the way to go here, so she shook it off and pasted a smile on her face.

"But never mind that. Tell me about Caemlyn, and your family. Are you from a royal family?" It would be amazing to know a noble. Mirazhe had never known anyone higher than a merchant in her whole existence. She wondered about how nobles lived. It would obviously be different than her meager life. She bet that they didn't have to weed the garden, or wash the dishes. They probably had hundreds of servants to do the work for them. I wonder what that would be like.

She turned to the other girl, Farina. "I'm sorry you lost something dear to you. I had to leave my mother behind to come here. I don't know what you lost, though. I know it's not the same, but if it's any comfort, I know a bit of what you're going through."

(ooc - wb Farina! :) )

The other girl seemed to have noticed that they were there at last. . “I’m Farina Aileen.” She said. “I’m sorry about that, I have just lost something very dear to me and I’m still a bit upset about it. I couldn’t help hearing that you are from Caemlyn. I used to live in Caemlyn too. But Arafel must be an interesting place to live in, I have never been anywhere else than Caemlyn and Tar Valon.”

We all lost the ones we love in coming here, Morgaine thought, but she kept her silence, mostly because Mirazhe started talking herself. "It's nice in Arafel. Cold, but nice. We had a little garden behind our cottage. It was nice. Tell me about Caemlyn. What's it like there? I've never been outside Tifan's Well, but my father used to tell me so many stories. I miss my father… But never mind that. Tell me about Caemlyn, and your family. Are you from a royal family?" Without waiting for an answer, Mirazhe continued, this time talking to Farina. "I'm sorry you lost something dear to you. I had to leave my mother behind to come here. I don't know what you lost, though. I know it's not the same, but if it's any comfort, I know a bit of what you're going through." That is an ill-mannered thing to do, Morgaine thought. But then, the girl was common. What did she know about manners?

“Yes,” Morgaine answered proudly. “My father is the High Seat of House Aitana. I miss him, too.” Farina was a commoner too, or else Morgaine would’ve known her, coming from Caemlyn. Her father would have claimed it outrageous and disgraceful, putting her in this room. Surely there were other nobles here, she was certainly not the only one… She could not be the only one… She hoped she wasn’t. “I miss all my family.” She did, even her mother, who was very harsh with her. “At this time of day, I should have been out practicing riding with my brother, probably in the Inner City.” Morgaine closed her eyes, waves of nostalgia sweeping her away. “It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, the Inner City. Much more than Tar Valon. It goes all around in circles around the Palace. And what a lovely place the Palace is!” Morgaine opened her eyes, half expecting to find herself back in her old room… Instead, she saw the faces of the two Novices looking at her. The disappointment and haughtiness could be seen on her face, but she didn’t care much. Those memories reminded her who she was, and who she was talking to. She was noble, after all.

"It's nice in Arafel. Cold, but nice. We had a little garden behind our cottage. It was nice." Farina listened to Mirazhe, but her answer didn’t give her much information about Arafel. She would have appreciated a little more detailed description, but the novice probably didn’t want to talk about her home. She had had to leave it too. "Tell me about Caemlyn.” the girl continued. “What's it like there? I've never been outside Tifan's Well, but my father used to tell me so many stories. I miss my father.” Farina nodded to herself. I miss my daughter. She quickly crushed the thought as her eyes started to water again.

Mirazhe talked to Morgaine for a while but then turned to Farina again. "I'm sorry you lost something dear to you. I had to leave my mother behind to come here. I don't know what you lost, though. I know it's not the same, but if it's any comfort, I know a bit of what you're going through." Farina gave the other novice a grateful smile. Thank you. Farina felt a bit ashamed to feel better at the knowledge that the other novice had lost something as well, but she realised that she wasn’t alone in this. They had all lost their homes and their families. She wasn’t the only one whose heart was broken.

Morgaine started to speak about her family, and said that she missed her father too. “I miss all my family.” she continued. “At this time of day, I should have been out practicing riding with my brother, probably in the Inner City.” Morgaine closed her eyes as if dreaming. “It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, the Inner City. Much more than Tar Valon. It goes all around in circles around the Palace. And what a lovely place the Palace is!” Farina didn’t quite agree with Morgaine. She had seen the Palace and the Inner City, although only a few times and she had never set her foot in the Palace, and when she had come to Tar Valon, the beauty of the city had overwhelmed her. Caemlyn was beautiful, but Tar Valon was at least as beautiful as Caemlyn. But she didn’t say anything. She can think whatever she likes.

“Yes, Caemlyn is a beautiful city,” she said. “I miss my parents, and my brothers, even when I ran away. And I miss my daughter.” There, now she had said it. She had to bite her lip to keep the tears from coming. “I had to leave her behind.” A couple of tears escaped no matter how hard she tried to fight them back. “But I’d rather not talk about it. Are you excited about your training?” she asked, quickly changing the subject. “At least I am. Have you ever channelled before?”

Mirazhe listened raptly to both of the girls tell about Caemlyn. Morgaine apparently loved Caemlyn and described it as one of the most beautiful places she'd ever been to. At one point, she even closed her eyes. Mirazhe thought she was picturing her home. When she opened them, she seemed disappointed. But then again, Morgaine was a high born lady. The room they currently shared was like a servants room and probably nothing like her room back home. Farina was less enthusiastic, but still agreed with what Morgaine had said. The next two lines she said startled Mirazhe.

"I miss my parents, and my brothers, even when I ran away. And I miss my daughter.”

She ran away? She has a daughter?? She doesn't look old enough to have a daughter! But then again, girls in her village got married young, so Mirazhe really had no right to think that. And running away didn't seem that bad. Some of the girls in her village had talked about running away, though they had never actually done it. Poor Farina. No wonder she looked so miserable. It had been hard enough leaving her mother behind, she couldn't imagine having to leave a daughter behind. But Farina had said that she didn't want to talk about that, so Mirazhe quickly wiped that from her mind. Farina wanted to talk about channeling. If it made her happier than she was now, Mirazhe would be glad to talk about channeling.

"I'm a bit nervous about my training. I don't know anything about the One Power, except for what my father used to tell me in stories. And I've never channeled before I came here. Nobody in my village could channel. I'd never met an Aes Sedai before this. But then my mother got really sick, and the only chance she had was if an Aes Sedai came. Luckily, an Aes Sedai did come to our village, although I'm not quite sure why anyone would come to Tifan's Well, and she agreed to have a look at my mother. She healed my mother, took a good look at me, and pronounced that I had the ability to channel. I was quite shocked."

Mirazhe then realized that she had been talking for quite a while and her face flushed. She hoped that the others didn't think her one of those people that loved to listen to their own voices. In fact, she was the opposite. But there was something about these girls that she liked and made her want to spill her life story. Even Morgaine, who was nobly born, and disliked commoners. They were willing to listen, and Mirazhe was grateful for it.

"What about you, Morgaine?" Mirazhe asked.

“Yes, Caemlyn is a beautiful city. I miss my parents, and my brothers, even when I ran away. And I miss my daughter.” Morgaine had to stop herself from staring before she realized that her older sister got married at that age, and had children soon after. And Morgaine’s father was always trying to find her a husband fitting her stature… but she had never thought of having children. Morgaine was so deep in thinking – the idea of a child really scared her – that she missed part of the conversation. Now Mirazhe was talking.

“I'd never met an Aes Sedai before this. But then my mother got really sick, and the only chance she had was if an Aes Sedai came. Luckily, an Aes Sedai did come to our village, although I'm not quite sure why anyone would come to Tifan's Well, and she agreed to have a look at my mother. She healed my mother, took a good look at me, and pronounced that I had the ability to channel. I was quite shocked. What about you, Morgaine?” Mirazhe finished with a question, blushing.

“An Aes Sedai came to visit us, and I was introduced to her. I wanted to, it was the first time I ever met an Aes Sedai. She told me I could channel, and had to be sent to the Tower for training. I didn’t really want to go, but my father… he made me go.” She said sadly. That was a cruel thing for him to do. She didn’t want to go – why did he make her? He never made her do anything she didn’t want to – except for this. Morgaine sniffed loudly at her father, telling him he was completely wrong by sending her with the Aes Sedai. As if he can hear me from this servants room!

“So, that’s how I’m here. Probably the worst idea I have ever had, wanting to see that Aes Sedai,” she said, smiling faintly. “What do you think it would be like? I mean, being in the Tower. I heard that Novices had to do chores,” she shuddered, hoping that that was just something the Aes Sedai said to scare her. “And training. How do you think that will be?”

Farina was relieved that the novices didn't continue about the subject of her daughter. She knew that she would burst into tears as soon as she started to talk about it. She loved Frenna so much... Maybe she could talk about it later, when she had settled down and started her life as a novice, but not now. Morgaine and Mirazhe understood, and Farina appreciated that. She noticed that she started to like them already.

Mirazhe started to answer her question, and Farina concentrated on her voice to be able to forget her daughter again. Her story seemed quite extraordinary. She was really lucky to have the Aes Sedai Heal her mother. Farina knew that some weren't that lucky. Farina understood that Mirazhe must have been shocked after hearing that she could channel when she met an Aes Sedai for the first time. Farina had been shocked too when she had heard. She was still shocked.

Farina was a bit taken aback when Mirazhe flushed after she had spoken. Oh my, she is shy! Farina had never been shy in her life, at least not with boys. Talking to two other girls was actually quite a new situation to Farina. She had been raised with brothers, and as a child she had always played with boys. And know she was practically stuck in the same room with these two girls. It would take a lot to get used to.

Morgaine started to tell her own story. An Aes Sedai in Caemlyn didn't seem as odd as an Aes Sedai in Tifan's Well, Farina knew that Aes Sedai visited the Royal family and other nobles in Caemlyn quite frequently. But to have her father forced her to go to the Tower... That must have been awful. Farina had come to the Tower at her own will, though not as a novice. “So, that’s how I’m here." Morgaine finished. "Probably the worst idea I have ever had, wanting to see that Aes Sedai." The noble smiled. " What do you think it would be like? I mean, being in the Tower. I heard that Novices had to do chores. And training. How do you think that will be?”

Farina thought for a while and then spoke. "I don't know much about being a novice, but I have heard that we have to do a lot of chores too." If that was the case, Farina knew she would get used to it. She had helped around the house back home, and taken care of her own house with her husband. "But I don't know about the training. I have never channelled before so I don't know how it will be like. But I hope to learn a lot here in the Tower. I have heard that Aes Sedai are very strict when it comes to novices, and we are not supposed to be with men. I hope that's not true." Really, being with men was something Farina had done for years now, she would die if she couldn't have someone to flirt or snuggle with. But she would find out about that.

Chores. She had seen other novices and they had all been busy doing chores. She knew that she had to work hard, but somehow she had never thought of chores. Chores were so..............normal. And Aes Sedai were anything but normal. But to get anywhere, you had to start on the bottom and the people on the bottom generally were the ones who worked. Eh, she wouldn't mind doing chores. She had done them all the time with her mother. Mirazhe wondered if, as a novice, she would do the same chores that she would've done at home.

Farina was talking now. "But I don't know about the training. I have never channelled before so I don't know how it will be like. But I hope to learn a lot here in the Tower. I have heard that Aes Sedai are very strict when it comes to novices, and we are not supposed to be with men. I hope that's not true."

Mirazhe was glad that the novices weren't supposed to be with men. Her normal shyness was even worse when she was around boys. She couldn't even look at one for fear of blushing. Her mother had wanted her to be more friendly and talk with the males in her village.

Farina had stopped talking now. Mirazhe supposed that it was her turn to talk.

"I mentioned before that I've never channeled before. And I want to learn too. I just hope that my trainer doesn't push me too hard. And I'm glad that we're not supposed to be around boys. They make me even more shy than usual. I hate being shy, but I can't seem to help it." She shrugged. She envied Morgaine and Farina. Neither one seemed to be shy, and Farina even wanted to be around men. Lucky girl. She isn't self-conscious and doesn't have to worry about her cheeks heating up everytime she goes somewhere.

Mirazhe sighed. She really needed to force herself to talk to people. Otherwise she'd be shy forever.

"I don't know much about being a novice,” Morgaine heard Farina answering her question, “but I have heard that we have to do a lot of chores too. But I don't know about the training. I have never channeled before so I don't know how it will be like. But I hope to learn a lot here in the Tower. I have heard that Aes Sedai are very strict when it comes to novices, and we are not supposed to be with men. I hope that's not true." Morgaine didn’t care much for men – she never really looked at men at home, and not because she didn’t want to, but simply because she never found someone who she thought was fit for her…

Pondering if it might not have been better to just marry at seventeen like her sister and not having to be here in the Tower at all, Morgaine turned to listen to Mirazhe, who was now talking. "I mentioned before that I've never channeled before. And I want to learn too. I just hope that my trainer doesn't push me too hard. And I'm glad that we're not supposed to be around boys. They make me even more shy than usual. I hate being shy, but I can't seem to help it." Morgaine could tell that Mirazhe was shy, but she didn’t think it was this bad. Morgaine never believed in shyness, it was something that could only stop you from being yourself. Being shy never proved a good thing.

Smiling lightly, she said, “I never understood where this shyness comes from. I never had a problem talking to men. And I don’t really care if we can be around boys or not… it’s the chores thing that I can’t get out of my head.” She shuddered again, looking at the other two Novices. They seemed unaffected by the idea of doing chores – but then, they were commoners, they probably had chores to do all the time. “I wonder if there is a way to sneak out of it…” she thought loudly, not noticing what she was saying. “There has to be a way out of it.” She didn’t know how she would live through chores.

(OOC: Mor, here's a cue for a fight scene. Farina, Mor and I were thinking of doing a fight scene for fun, but if you oppose that, you can just stop it. If you like the idea, you can add to it. ;) )



Getting out of chores? Mirazhe was afraid of what would happen if they tried to get out of their chores. No doubt they would be punished - by doing more chores. Mirazhe hated being punished, because it made her feel guilty, and she hated being guilty even more than she hated being shy. Besides, Mirazhe didn't really mind doing chores. They could be boring at times but it was something to do. Besides, work was good for the soul. Her mother had always told her that and she had believed it. She always felt tired after working, but it was a happy sort of tired, because she had known that she had done something useful.

"I'm sure there is, but it's not so bad doing chores. You get used to it. Of course, you being noble, it might be more difficult for you than the rest of us. You've probably never worked a day in your life. You probably had servants to do your every whim, and all you had to do was order them around. Bet you didn't even ask nicely." Mirazhe hadn't meant to let the resentment she was feeling show, but some of it leaked out anyway.

She shut her mouth and tried to get a hold of her emotions. She was tired, and a bit overwhelmed that she was at the White Tower. She missed her mother, she was getting annoyed at Morgaine's snobby attitude, and she hadn't eated anything the whole day. She was not in a good mood. She hoped it didn't show. She was crabby and getting into a fight would just make her feel worse - and guilty. She did not want to feel guilty.

(oooc - ooooh, fight! :D thanks Mira! ^^)



"I'm sure there is, but it's not so bad doing chores.” Mirazhe said, and Morgaine half jumped, realizing for the first time she spoke aloud. “You get used to it. Of course, you being noble, it might be more difficult for you than the rest of us. You've probably never worked a day in your life. You probably had servants to do your every whim, and all you had to do was order them around. Bet you didn't even ask nicely."

Morgaine’s temper was in the sky, and she didn’t care anymore about insulting the two other Novices. “Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?” She yelled at Mirazhe. “You’re just a stupid little peasant, you know nothing about being a noble, you don’t know anything about being important, you’re just a worthless little girl!” she thought she had said too much, but that thought was muted, and soon her anger got the best of her and made her continue.

“The world is divided to nobles and commoners for a reason, it’s time for you to learn that, you dim-witted cow! Of course I had servants to do my every whim, I’m a noble, and that is what they were born to do! To serve me and the other nobles! And no, I didn’t ask nicely,” she added nastily, “my servants are just that – my servants, and are not fit to be treated as if they were even close to equal to a noble! And neither are you.” Morgaine finished with a haughty stare at Mirazhe.

Mirazhe knew she had said too much when Morgaine's face turned red. Then she spoke, thought 'yelled' might have been more accurate.

“Who do you think you are to talk to me like that? You’re just a stupid little peasant, you know nothing about being a noble, you don’t know anything about being important, you’re just a worthless little girl! The world is divided to nobles and commoners for a reason, it’s time for you to learn that, you dim-witted cow! Of course I had servants to do my every whim, I’m a noble, and that is what they were born to do! To serve me and the other nobles! And no, I didn’t ask nicely, my servants are just that – my servants, and are not fit to be treated as if they were even close to equal to a noble! And neither are you.” Morgaine stared haughtily at Mirazhe.

Suprisingly, Mirazhe didn't feel the normal hurt that she would've back home. Instead, she felt slow, dull anger rise up inside her. Who was this girl, to insult right after meeting her? She didn't know anything about Mirazhe, who she was, what she was like. Morgaine was a noble, and she didn't care about anyone except herself. She believed that the whole world rotated around herself, and everyone else was just there to serve her. Well, someone had to rid her of this delusional fantasy.

"You think I'm a stupid little peasant. I probably am stupid, compared to you. I've never had a tutor in my life and you've probably had dozens. But I'm pretty sure that there's one thing that I've learned and that you've probably never learned. And that's how to be nice. You think you're so perfect, but actually, you're quite flawed. You order everone around because they're all your slaves. Well, guess what? I'm not your slave. You have no control over me and you have no right to insult me like that. And guess what? You're in the White Tower now. You are the same as everyone else. We are all equal here. You don't have the power of being a noble here because you're not a noble anymore. In fact, as a novice, you're probably on the bottom of your precious social ladder. So get used to it."

That must have been the longest speech Mirazhe had ever said. Interestingly enough, Mirazhe felt proud that she had said it. She was standing up for herself, and that was something she normally didn't do. But seeing Morgaine in that white dress, the same as herself, something had loosened up inside her and let her speak her mind. And now, out of all the emotions she could be feeling, she felt happy.

Morgaine might have finished, but Mirazhe only started. "You think I'm a stupid little peasant,” she said. “I probably am stupid, compared to you. I've never had a tutor in my life and you've probably had dozens. But I'm pretty sure that there's one thing that I've learned and that you've probably never learned. And that's how to be nice. You think you're so perfect, but actually, you're quite flawed. You order everyone around because they're all your slaves. Well, guess what? I'm not your slave. You have no control over me and you have no right to insult me like that. And guess what? You're in the White Tower now. You are the same as everyone else. We are all equal here. You don't have the power of being a noble here because you're not a noble anymore. In fact, as a novice, you're probably on the bottom of your precious social ladder. So get used to it."

Morgaine’s haughty glare erased, her face becoming a deeper shade of red, fire in her eyes. She held the sides of her bed in her hands, her knuckles white. How dare she--!? Saying I wasn’t nice--!! I did try to be nice to her! It was not I who started it! I tried to be nice with them, even though they are peasants and commoners and I should not have a thing to do with them! Morgaine had to keep herself from trying to punch Mirazhe, that horrid peasant didn’t deserve to be touched by her, even if it was only to be beaten.

Morgaine stood up, trying to calm herself. “You have only made clear how much you do not know, which is quite a bit, I must say. My advice for you is to shut your mouth about things you don’t understand – which would be everything, probably.” Morgaine was quiet proud at the way her voice sounded calmer than she felt. She walked to the door, and, opening it, she said, “I’m going for a walk in the gardens, in case you want to apologize.” And with that, she left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

(ooc - this might be silly of me, making ehr leave the room, but she'll come back later, don't worry, you'll get to say everything you want to soon enough :P)

(OOC: I think she said everything she needed to say :P)


After hearing her tirade, Morgaine seemed to get even angrier, her face flushing dark red and her knuckles turning white. She stood up and managed to speak. “You have only made clear how much you do not know, which is quite a bit, I must say. My advice for you is to shut your mouth about things you don’t understand – which would be everything, probably.”

She walked to the door, calm, and turned back before leaving. “I’m going for a walk in the gardens, in case you want to apologize.” And with that, she left.

Mirazhe sat there, silently fuming, and stared at the now closed door. Apologize?? She should apologize?? Granted, she had accused Morgaine of several things, but that was because she had been tired and hungry. She hadn't really meant it. But apparently, Morgaine thought she had.

She groaned. This was definitely not a good way to start off her new life in the Tower. Out of the two people she now knew, one of them hated her guts. It would take a lot of groveling and apologizing to get Morgaine to even notice her again. But Mirazhe didn't want to grovel. She didn't need to grovel, although an apology might not go amiss. She highly doubted that an apology would be enough for her to regain whatever friendship she'd had with Morgaine before the fight.

But she wouldn't apologize now. She couldn't. That would just give Morgaine the idea that she was in charge, and Mirazhe didn't like the idea of having Morgaine in charge. Maybe tomorrow, after she had gotten some rest. She would feel better then, maybe good enough to apologize nicely to Morgaine. Mirazhe wasn't sure when Morgaine was coming back, but she decided she didn't matter.

Suddenly, she remembered that somebody else was in the room too. Oh no! Farina had probably seen the whole arguement. Mirazhe had completely forgotten that the girl was there. She started blushing furiously and hoped that the arguement hadn't reflected too badly on her. It would be just great if Farina started hating her too. Morgaine would probably recruit Farina to her side, and the two of them would taunt and tease Mirazhe for a long time. Mirazhe wondered what would happen if she ignored Farina's presence now. Farina would probably think she was as haughty as Morgaine and Mirazhe didn't want that to happen.

She sighed and turned towards Farina, face still red. She made a weak attempt at a smile. "I'm sorry about what just happened. I'm sure if this doesn't work out, we can ask the Mistress of Novices to get different roommates. You shouldn't have to put up with our fighting."

Mirazhe suddenly felt guilty. Maybe she hadn't done anything wrong in her opinion, but she had participated in the fight when she didn't have to. She probably should apologize to Morgaine, but then that would mean leaving Farina alone. Mirazhe wasn't sure what to do. Ugh, what a mess I've made. I really should apologize.

She sighed again, and slowly stood up. She walked to the door and turned to Farina. "I'm sorry to leave you, but I have to go apologize to Morgaine. Some of the things I said weren't very nice. I don't want to leave you alone, though. I hope you don't mind. I really want to be your friend." With that, she opened the door and left.

Farina remained leaning against the wall as her two roommates’ words started to get a bit heated. She wasn’t surprised that Morgaine started mocking Mirazhe for being a commoner, but what she had not expected was that Mirazhe defended herself and gave the noble a mouthful back. She had thought that the girl was shy, but apparently there was a lot more going on below the surface than no one would have guessed. Farina thought about putting an end to it, but that would have inevitably led to Farina either getting in the fight or having to choose sides. It wasn’t Farina’s fight, the two novices were both being emotional and it would have only gotten worse if they hadn’t said what they wanted to say about each other. The tension would have been very uncomfortable, but then again, so was the fight.

Making up her mind, she tried to think of other things and pretend not to hear the out loud fight going on in front of her, but it was rather difficult. She couldn’t help hearing what the two girls said to each other, and she wondered why none of them had started getting physical. If she had been either of them, she would have punched the other one hard enough to send to the Infirmary by now. But Farina had grown up with boys, she was different than the other two. She could not imagine the noble or the shy girl defending herself with force.

All the other fights Farina had witnessed had been rather amusing. Mostly because they had been about her. But the two girls fighting in front of her was not an amusing sight, probably because she would have to share a room with the two. Not that it really mattered, she wasn’t planning on spending too much time in the room. And the two girls would make up eventually, Farina knew that. And besides, Farina wasn’t their enemy, even if they would not speak to each other, they would speak to Farina. At least she thought they would.

Finally Farina heard the door close and saw that Morgaine had left the room. The red-faced Mirazhe turned to Farina, offering apologies. She would not go complaining to the Mistress of Novices, after all she would never know if the new roommates would be worse. And she did like the two girls, they were the only people she knew in the Tower. That thought made her feel so alone. She had no friends, no one to ask help, no one to trust. She had only her two roommates who were fighting each other.

Mirazhe was leaving, and Farina smiled faintly when she said she didn’t want to leave her alone. She didn’t mind being alone really, she still had some crying to do for her daughter. But the novice’s last words went right to her heart. “I really want to be your friend." Farina was happy that the novice left, otherwise she would have seen tears in her eyes, formed by the thought that she really wasn’t alone. There was someone who wanted to be her friend, and at the moment that meant everything to Farina.

(OOC: I have absolutely no clue how time works.)

Mirazhe dreaded going back to her room. She had completely forgotten about the other girl, Farina. She hoped she hadn’t sunk too low in the other girl’s opinion. She already couldn’t deal with one roommate; it would be horrible if she lost the opportunity to make friends with her other roommate. And she really did want to be friends. She was friendless here at the White Tower. Granted, she hadn’t had many friends back in Arafel. She’d been too afraid to approach many of them, and had always preferred to spend time with her mother. But those friends that she had were good friends. Close friends. Even though she was shy, it would be nice to have a friend here at the White Tower that would help her over come her shyness. They could also talk about the White Tower and what they were going through. Light knew she couldn’t have talked about this with her friends back in Arafel. They had never even seen an Aes Sedai before, except for the one that had healed Mirazhe’s mother. And it might be nice to have a friend with whom she could share gossip and secrets. Though she had never been that kind of person before. But this was the White Tower, and she could basically start a whole new life. She thought about it. Who should my new persona be? A giggling, flirtatious girl? A cold, regal noble? Mirazhe disliked all of these ideas. I’ll just be myself. Nothing wrong with that. She reached the door. With careful fingers, she gently opened the door.

Farina was sitting down on her bed. She hadn’t seemed to move from where Mirazhe had left her. She suddenly felt shy again. Here was a woman who had witnessed her in a fight, something she had always tried to avoid. Who knew what Farina thought of her now? And Mirazhe didn’t even know much about Farina, other than the fact that she was from Caemlyn and had a daughter, who was no longer with her. Not much to go by. Farina probably knew less about her. What had she talked about? The fact that she was from Arafel, the fact that her father was dead and her mother had been left behind. A great way to start a friendship. Well, best to get on with it.

She entered the room and sat down on her bed facing Farina. “Sorry about that. I’m back now. I hope you’ve been okay while I was away.” She fiddled nervously with her dress. The white cloth was soft, compared with what she had worn before. The dress was completely unadorned, just white. Accepted’s dresses had bands of colors on the hem. But novice dresses had nothing. Perhaps it was meant to remind them that they were on the bottom of the ladder. They were like servants. Though servants didn’t wear white. It would be so easy to get the pure white dress dirty. Why did they pick white dresses anyway? Any other color would work much better and would show the dirt less. Perhaps a nice dove gray, to hide dirt better. But white was much prettier. White was the color of snow, something she had gotten a lot back in Arafel. White was also the color of clouds and the color signifying peace. Maybe that was it. They were supposed to be peaceful. Besides, it was the White Tower, not the Gray Tower. A Gray Tower would look odd. It wouldn’t make as big as an impression as the White Tower. Plus, the symbol of the Aes Sedai had black and white, not black and gray. She realized that she was woolgathering and turned her attention back to Farina.

Once she was alone again, Farina couldn’t help thinking about her daughter. All thoughts of the Tower, her roommates and her training vanished as she saw her little girl in her head again. Before she realised it, there were tears running down her cheeks and she was suppressing deep sobs. She just couldn’t help it. She loved Frenna so much, and now she could never see her again. She had never wanted a family, actually that had been the last thing she wanted, but once she had her daughter she had started loving her more than anything else. And she had to give her away. She could not raise her, and she would probably never see her grown up. The pain made Farina want to rip out her heart.

She cried until there were no more tears left. At least for the while. But the pain didn’t go, it still clutched her chest so she felt unable to breath. She was fine when she had something else to think about, or something to do, then she could let the thoughts of her daughter leave her. But alone in a room where no one could see her, all she could think about was her Frenna. She wiped the traces of tears from her face and looked at the pure white wall with glazed eyes, feeling quite hollow.

She didn’t know how long she had been crying, or how long she had started at the wall when the door opened softly. Farina shook her head slightly, trying to concentrate on this new development. The black-haired novice came in, looking a bit shy, and sat on the bed. Farina was glad it was Mirazhe who came in before Morgaine. She didn’t quite know what to think of the noble. But she knew what she thought of Mirazhe. She wants to be my friend. Right now, with the pain and the hollowness in her heart, Farina felt like she was drowning, and that Mirazhe was the only person who could save her. She wasn’t used to feeling that helpless, she had always been an independent person, managing quite well all by herself. She was a brave person, but right now she wasn’t strong enough to be brave. She was weak, and she hated it. She wanted to be strong again, to be independent, but she didn’t know how.

Farina tried to get some life in herself again, but the pain and the hollowness didn’t leave her. Not yet. “Sorry about that”, Mirazhe said. “I’m back now. I hope you’ve been okay while I was away.” Farina smiled faintly. Mirazhe’s concern of her well-being was enough to make the clutch in her chest loosen a bit. I want to be your friend too. The novice seemed to be in trapped in her own thoughts, so Farina waited a moment before replying. “It’s alright. I’m used to being alone. Did you make up with Morgaine yet?” She couldn’t help asking.

(ooc- hope you guys don't mind me showing up, I'm your new roomie!)

Avialle was nervous for what seemed like the millionth time that week. First the infirmary, and now this - the dormitaries. She didn't even want to sleep indoors, much less in a room with three other girls! Of course, it had only been four years since she'd run away from home; not quite long enough to forget what it was like to share a room. At least here she'd have her own bed.

Still, she'd been on the road with Maric long enough to treasure quiet and privacy, and she had the feeling that from now on there would be a shortage of both. On that note, she found the hallway she was looking for, the one that led to the room she shared with - she checked the note again for the names - Morgain, Farina, and Mirazhe. Please, please, let them be nice, she thought desperately as she knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open.

There were only two of the girls in the room at the time, and Avialle immediately felt that there was some tension in the room. Uneasily, she held up the note and smiled uncomfortably.

"Um...hello...I'm Avialle, your new roommate." She looked from one novice to the other. "I hope this isn't a bad time?"

(OOC: WELCOME!!!! ^^)

“It’s alright. I’m used to being alone. Did you make up with Morgaine yet?” Farina seemed curious.

Mirazhe was about to answer when the door swung open. Another young woman stood at the door, watching them. She looked a bit uneasy. "Um...hello...I'm Avialle, your new roommate." She looked from one novice to the other. "I hope this isn't a bad time?"

A new roommate! How wonderful! “Welcome Avialle." She smiled at the woman in the doorway. "It’s always nice to have a new roommate. I’m Mirazhe and she is Farina. It’s nice to meet you. We were just talking about our other roommate. She’s not here right now because………Well, because she and I got into a fight.” She blushed and felt ashamed for getting into fight. “I’d rather not go into details but suffice to say, she’s a lady, I’m not, and therefore we … disagreed. To put it mildly. She left, and I felt ashamed for arguing with her, so I set out to find her and apologize. However, I didn’t find her as I ……… got lost.”

She blushed even more and cringed inwardly. How stupid she must sound! She must be a veritable idiot to be getting lost in the Tower. Perhaps Farina and the new girl Avialle wouldn’t laugh at her. Or maybe they’d laugh their heads off. Well, there was no way to take that back gracefully. Although if she added on…“I did managed to find the gardens though,” she added lamely. “I got lost from there.” To her ears, her words seemed to get stupider and stupider. Okay, maybe the adding on had been a bad idea and maybe she should just shut up now and save herself before she died of embarrassment. Which would be a horrible way to die. Though, knowing her, that would be exactly the way she would die. Most other people would die of old age or sickness. No, she would go and accidentally say something at the worst moment and die of embarrassment. She quickly decided to change the topic to safer waters.

“I hear that there’s to be some sort of festival later this week. The Feast of the Dragon, or some such.” It sounded really fun. “Everyone is allowed to attend, and we’re allowed to shirk our chores and classes a bit.” She couldn’t help adding, “That should make Morgaine happy.” Then she realized what she had just said, and blushed again. For someone who professed to be shy, she was talking quite a bit and apparently didn’t know when to be quiet. She cursed her tongue mentally. There was something wrong with it. “I didn't need to say that. I'm sorry. Are you guys planning to go to the festival?”

Mirazhe wanted to go, but she had nothing to wear. All she had was her novice dress. The clothes she had had before she came here had been burned, or so she had been told. They had been little better anyway. Though, from the little she had heard, they were allowed to go out into the city and buy clothes. Mirazhe almost snorted at the fact. How were they supposed to buy clothes with no money? And she had no jewelry. Her family hadn’t been rich enough to afford trinkets like those. The only thing she had really owned was her dagger, and she didn’t even have that with her anymore. She missed her dagger and her daily practices with it. She had been able to hit a still target 10 times out of 10 from fifteen paces with her right hand. Her left hand was a bit worse, but still proficient. It was in good hands though. Her mother’s hands. Mirazhe hoped that her mother was well. Maybe she could send a letter later, when she got hold of paper and pen. Meanwhile, she would enjoy Farina’s company, a woman who genuinely seemed to like her. And she would try to make a good impression on Avialle.

Mirazhe was about to answer when the door opened. Farina quickly turned to look at the door, afraid that someone was coming to take her to a class or to do chores. But there was nothing to worry about, it was just another novice. "Um...hello...I'm Avialle, your new roommate," the novice said. Farina's eyes widened. Another roommate? I have to share this excuse of a room with three other girls? Farina couldn't believe it. She examined the girl silently, marking her dark brown hair and her familiar way of speech. She's from Andor. That meant three girls from Andor in one room. Farina only hoped that she wasn't a noble.

But she doubted it. This Avialle didn't have the grace of the pride of a noble, although she could have been a noble dispite that. "I hope this isn't a bad time?" the new novice said. Well, now that she thought about it, it was the perfect time for Farina. This new development had made Farina too busy to think about her daughter and her natural curiosity had brought her up from her sense of weakness. She was herself again, thanks to this new novice who Farina found suddenly very interesting and nice.

Mirazhe welcomed the girl and introduced her to her new roommates. Then she explained rather clumsily her fight with Morgaine. Even though Farina already knew that Mirazhe was shy, she was still surprised by the amount of blushing during the explanation. Especially about the last part. So what if she got lost? The White Tower is so huge that I don't know if I will be able to get back to my room if I go somewhere. Not to mention the Black Tower and all the other buildings. Farina wondered if she would ever be able to walk without having to ask directions.

Mirazhe made an obvious attempt to change the subject. The Feast of the Dragon. That did sound like fun, especially the part of skipping chores. "That should make Morgaine happy.” Farina was a bit surprised to hear that coming from Mirazhe. She did blush afterwards. That had been exactly what Farina had been thinking. "Are you guys planning to go to the festival?”

"Of course I am!" she exclaimed. She would never miss a festival. "It's going to be wonderful, I can feel it. Can you imagine, we have all just got here and already there is a festival. And an opportunity to skip chores. It feels too good to be true." Farina could see herself in her green dress she had brought with her to Tar Valon. It wasn't her best dress, she had left all the really good ones to Caemlyn, but it would do. Farina was sure that the Mistress of Novices had her dresses somewhere safe where she could fetch them for the festival. "Do you know when the actual celebration is?"

(ooc - look who's back! :look sorry if I'm interrupting anything :P
Welcome Avialle! ^^)

Morgaine was walking in the halls, a bit more relaxed after all the crying she did in the gardens – and seeing Broderick. She got lost twice on her way back though, and she hated having to ask for instructions. Next time she would remember, she promised herself. The door to her room was shut, but she could hear voices from behind. Mirazhe and Farina were still there, as she hoped they would not. She wanted to avoid Mirazhe, she didn’t want to show how much her words affected her.

Just thinking about that girl made Morgaine angry again, though not as angry as she was earlier. She had already decided on her way back to her room that she would not fight with Mirazhe anymore. That didn’t mean she would forgive her, not until she apologizes… and maybe not so soon after that. She wondered if Mirazhe even went looking for her at the gardens. Probably not, she thought. That beast of a girl is probably happy she made me run away from my own room. Well, from now on, she won’t make me run again. Ever.

Morgaine opened the door and went inside, ignoring the two girls. At least, she ignored them until she realized there was a third Novice in the room, one she did not know. Stopping, she looked at the other Novice. She had brown hair and eyes, but she did not look a noble. Another commoner?! she thought, hoping she was wrong. She was surrounded by peasants as it is, she did not need another one. And Mirazhe had probably been filling her with stories about how horrible she was… still, she had to try.

“Hello, I am Morgaine Aitana,” Morgaine smiled as she introduced herself and sat on her bed, leaning on the wall, still ignoring Mirazhe.

Avialle tried to keep everything straight as Mirazhe went into a halting explanation of a fight she'd had with one of their roommates, Morgaine. Apparantly Morgaine was a noble and Mirazhe was not. Well, neither was Avialle, although being from a wealthy family was similar at times. Of course, as she'd spent the last four years sleeping on the ground or in seedy taverns, she supposed that by now she was closer to "peasant" than "noble."

After several minutes, Mirazhe changed the subject to the Feast of the Dragon. Avialle nodded as Farina agreed that the festival would be a fun change of pace. She'd just gotten here, but she'd heard the words "chores" and "classes" too often for her not to realize that a week without those must be a rare break. Too bad she hadn't been here long enough to appreciate it!

"Do you know when the actual celebration is?" Farina asked. Avialle shook her head, but before she could form a proper answer, the door opened again, this time to admit another novice. Avialle surmised that this must be her third roommate, Morgaine.

"Hello, I am Morgain Aitana." The other girl said, going to sit on her bed.

"I'm Avialle Verais." Avialle was instantly sorry she'd mentioned her last name. If any of the others were from Caemlyn, and some of their accents indicated that they were at least Andoran, they would have heard of her family. Avialle did not want to be associated with those people any more than her blood forced her to. Hoping that the name would go unnoticed, she pressed on. "How long have you three been here?" Maybe someone would be able to let her in on how things worked around here so that she wouldn't feel any more lost than she did already.

Farina began chatting about how eager she was to go to the festival and how it seemed too good to be true. Mirazhe had to agree with her on that count. They had all just arrived a few weeks or days ago, and now there was a party being held. How lucky they were! Farina finished by asking if anyone knew when the actual celebration was. Avialle shook her head ‘no’ and was about to speak when the door slammed open, admitting Morgaine. She walked right past Mirazhe and Farina, only stopping to take a good look at the Avialle, whom she hadn’t seen before. She turned to Avialle and introduced herself, smiling. She was still ignoring the other two girls. Avialle introduced herself as well, though this time including her last name, Verais. Avialle has a pretty name, Mirazhe thought, a bit enviously. She instantly quashed her envy. She had no right to be envious of another person’s name. It was downright ridiculous, it was.

Even though Morgaine was ignoring her, Mirazhe decided to try to talk to her. “Welcome back Morgaine,” she said softly. “I tried to find you after you left, but couldn’t. I want to apologize for yelling at you. It wasn’t nice of me, and I shouldn’t have done it.” She thought about adding that she hoped they could be friends, but it wasn’t really true. She did want to be friends, but not right now, not when she was still smarting from some well placed insults. Perhaps later, such as……a year later. She changed the subject again.

“I don’t know when the festival is either, Farina, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard to find out. Do you all have something to wear? All I have is this.” She looked down ruefully at her dress, white again after several tough washes. It seemed drab and boring. She hadn’t brought any of her old clothes with her, thinking that they wouldn’t be needed in a place where you wore nothing but white each day. Now she regretted that decision, though the dresses she had had weren’t appropriate for parties and festivals. There was one dress, a dark green, that might have passed, but she didn’t have it with her. The small amount of money she had wouldn’t do much good either. There wasn’t enough of it for her to buy a pretty dress. Perhaps she would buy some colorful thread and ribbons. She could embroider a design on her dress and tie the ribbons in her long hair. It would be better than nothing, though she would have to pick out the thread at the end of the festival.

The new novice Avialle shook her head at Farina's question, and then their heads turned to the door as Morgaine walked in. Farina's lips pursed slightly as the noble stopped to introduce herself to Avialle, completely ignoring the other two novices. I understand that she is mad at Mirazhe, but she's not making me too convinced that she's not mad at me too. Farina had tried to keep herself out of their fight, but Morgaine treated her as she did Mirazhe. She had tried not to choose sides, but at that moment she felt that if the girls started fighting again, she would take Mirazhe's side.

“Welcome back Morgaine,” Mirazhe said, and Farina could feel the air tense. She studied Morgaine as Mirazhe gave her apoligies, but she didn't see any signs of an outburst. But she didn't look like forgiving Mirazhe soon either. Maybe they still can work things out between them. She hoped that for all of them. But until they did, Farina would have to get used to Morgaine giving her the cold shoulder even thought she hadn't done anything.

“I don’t know when the festival is either, Farina," Mirazhe started, changing the subject again, "but I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard to find out. Do you all have something to wear? All I have is this.” Farina studied Morgaine again, but she still showed no intensions of commenting on Mirazhe's apology, so Farina felt free to speak. "I have some dresses that I brought with me to the Tower, and I was hoping that I would get them back for the festival. They're not fancy or anything, I left my good dresses to Caemlyn when I... left." She didn't want to share the fact that she had escaped, not yet. "But they're still good, and with some accessories, I think I can make them good enough for a festival. Well, anything is better than this white dress." She realised that it had sounded a bit cruel, said after Mirazhe had admitted that she had nothing else to wear than that same white dress. "I can lend you one of the dresses Mirazhe, if you like. You're a bit shorter than me, but I believe we can make it fit." She gave Mirazhe a warm smile. She did have some money too, enough to buy a dress maybe, she had heard that they were allowed to go to the city. Maybe one dress made of silk, or two dresses of good wool. But that would take all of her money she had left. Well, I don't have to think about it right now. She turned her attention back to her roommates.

Mirazhe wanted to cry when she heard what Farina said. It was so nice of her to offer to lend her a dress. There was no reason for her to help her. But Farina had offered and she had smiled when doing so. There was no calculating gleam, no hidden plans of calling in debt, just pure-hearted goodness. That was something that was hard to find among people today. Mirazhe was glad that she had decided to come to the Tower. Even though she had met Morgaine and had gotten into a scuffle, her new friendship with Farina definitely made up for it. Nobody had ever been as nice as Farina had been, not even her old friends back in Arafel. They accepted her and had played with here, but she had never really known them, and they had never offered to do something like this. But Farina had, even though they were virtual strangers. She turned to Farina, hoping that there wasn't moisture in her eyes, and said, "Thank you for the offer. If it all comes to that, I might have to borrow a dress, and I'm very grateful for your offer. I'm not picky and anything will do." She wanted to hug Farina and mumble her thanks forever, but that wouldn't do, especially not in front of Morgaine. "Well, now that Farina has offered to lend me a dress, I guess I'll have something nice to wear."

She turned back to the rest of the room. Avialle was smiling and looking at them. Morgaine was still studiously ignoring them. Mirazhe hoped that she hadn't dragged Farina into her little argument with Morgaine. It wouldn't be fair to subject Farina to Morgaine's whims. Farina had done nothing wrong. It made Mirazhe dislike Morgaine for what she was doing even more. She wished she could take her apology back. Morgaine didn’t deserve, not after what she seemed to be doing. If this was what it was going to be like, Mirazhe might have to be friendless. She didn’t want her friends to be dragged into her little war with Morgaine. They didn’t deserve to be subjected to that. Mirazhe shot a glare at Morgaine. Well, two could play at this game. She turned to Avialle and addressed her directly, ignoring Morgaine. She deserved to be ignored. She should be locked away in a little room, with no one for company. Then she would see what happened when you were rude to people.

"What are you going to wear Avialle?"

Avialle felt the tension in the room lessen a little as the talk turned to clothes and the upcoming festivities. It hadn't yet occurred to her what she might wear ... her own clothes had been lost in the fire, so that all she had now were the few white novice dresses she had been given.

"What are you going to wear Avialle?"

Avialle shrugged. "This, I suppose." She plucked at the front of the novice dress she was wearing to illustrate her point. "I didn't bring anything else with me." Even the clothes she had been wearing the night she'd been brought here had been damaged, and she hadn't seen them since. The Aes Sedai must have thrown them out. In other circumstances she might have been embarrassed, but she had been so long out of polite civilization that she really didn't care what she wore at any given time and it didn't occur to her that others might not find it appropriate.

She realized that she was still holding her meager armload of possessions, so she changed the subject for a moment. "Where would be a good place for me to put these?" By 'these', she was referring to her novice dresses and some papers the Aes Sedai had given her to go over.

[ooc - I need a cure for stupidity badly....
oh, and one for noblism would do too :P (is that even a word? :P)]


"I'm Avialle Verais." Said the new Novice, and Morgaine half stopped on her way to her bed – that name was familiar… Though she could not recall from where. Before she had much time to think about it, someone else spoke. “Welcome back Morgaine,” that was Mirazhe. “I tried to find you after you left, but couldn’t. I want to apologize for yelling at you. It wasn’t nice of me, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

Morgaine had a hard time stopping the shock she felt from showing on her face. Mirazhe apologized?! When she told the other Novice that she wanted an apology, she never imagined she would receive it… nor did she imagine the girl would actually go look for her to deliver it. In a way, she was glad she was not found – she did not want Mirazhe to see her cry. But finding her wasn’t so hard – Broderick found her, and he didn’t even know where to look… if Mirazhe really wanted to find her, she would have. Maybe she didn’t even go looking for her, just said she did in hopes that would make Morgaine forgive her?
Well, if Mirazhe thought Morgaine was that stupid…

The other Novices were already talking about something else – the festival, of course, and what they would wear. Mirazhe had no dresses – not that Morgaine expected it – but she didn’t expect Farina’s offer of lending Mirazhe one. Why would she do that?! And to a stranger, someone she hardly knew?
No one Morgaine ever knew would’ve offered such a thing. Morgaine herself doubted she would. Could there be something in being a peasant that made you more… No, it couldn’t be. Farina just happened to be a very nice and generous peasant, and that’s all. It didn’t say a thing about commoners in general.

Avialle also didn’t have a thing to wear, and Morgaine decided to break her silence. “I really don’t know what to wear. The Aes Sedai took my clothes, but those dresses were not fit for a festival in any case. I’ll just buy myself something in the city, along with the mask for the masquerade.” Morgaine stifled a yawn with her fist. “And now, I am dead tired,” Morgaine tried to stifle another yawn, emphasizing what she said. She took her dress off – not without difficulties, she was still too used to having a maid to do that – and hurried off to bed with her shift – she was not that kind of a woman, to walk around practically naked when people can see. Silent, she listened to the other girls talk.

"Thank you for the offer," Mirazhe said, obviously very touched. "If it all comes to that, I might have to borrow a dress, and I'm very grateful for your offer. I'm not picky and anything will do." Farina smiled. It felt good to know that she had made her happy. She really did have a few dresses, she thought that the blue one would fit Mirazhe best, but they weren't that fine. Maybe she could go buy a good one for herself, and give her green one to Mirazhe. She would see. "Well, now that Farina has offered to lend me a dress, I guess I'll have something nice to wear. What are you going to wear Avialle?"

Farina turned her attention to the new novice. The girl shrugged and answered "This, I suppose," plugging her white novice dress. "I didn't bring anything else with me." But the girl didn't seem to miserable about it. Farina thought of offering her a dress too, but she had just met her. Well, she didn't know Mirazhe that well either, but at least they had expressed mutual liking towards each other. And besides, Avialle was too short for her dresses, and she really didn't appreciate the thought of shortening her dresses that much. But if it came to it, she would lend her a dress after all. But not now.

"Where would be a good place for me to put these?" Avialle asked. For the first time Farina realised that she was still holding her novice dresses and other possessions in her hands. She nodded towards the small wardrobe. That was where her novice dresses were. Finally Morgaine spoke. “I really don’t know what to wear. The Aes Sedai took my clothes, but those dresses were not fit for a festival in any case. I’ll just buy myself something in the city, along with the mask for the masquerade.” Farina could feel a little pinch in her stomach. I bet that all of her dresses are made of silk and are better than anything we ever wore, and still they aren't good enough for her. Farina tried to shake the thought out, but no matter how hard she tried to stay out of the disagreement between Mirazhe and Morgaine, she found herself liking Mirazhe more and more and disliking Morgaine. There was no way to be a neutral part, she had already taken sides.

“And now, I am dead tired,” Morgaine continued. She tried to stifle a yawn and began to undress. Farina realised that she was tired too. "I guess we should all go to bed," she said. "It has been a long day for all of us. We can continue talking tomorrow." She started to undress too. Once she was in her shift, she chose a bed and tried to sleep.

In response to her question, Avialle pointed to her novice dress. Mirazhe felt sorry for her. Two minutes ago, that was all she had had to wear too. If she had extra dresses, she would’ve let her borrow one, but as it is, she was already borrowing a dress from Farina and didn’t have any dresses to spare. Then she changed the topic by asking where she could put her stuff. Mirazhe realized that she was still carry her novice dresses. Farina answered her by telling her to put them in the small wardrobe. Morgaine suddenly decided that it was her turn to speak and told everyone how she had nothing to wear either. There were a couple of dresses, but they weren’t suitable, so Morgaine was going to go into town and buy a dress and matching mask. A mask! Mirazhe knew she had forgotten something. Now that she remembered, there was a masquerade as well as a ball. She would have to go into town as well and buy a mask. She hoped she had enough money to buy a decent looking one. It would have to wait until she got her dress from Farina though. Mirazhe wanted her mask to match the dress she was wearing.

“And now, I am dead tired,” continued Morgaine, suppressing a yawn. Mirazhe looked out the window. It was dark already, a fact that surprised her a bit. There had still been light when she had gone looking for Morgaine. Well, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising. Dinner had taken a good half hour, then there was the time she spent in the garden and then the time in the infirmary. They must have spent a lot of time talking too. Morgaine was undressing, taking off her dress and putting it away. Farina was also tired, and was undressing as well. Mirazhe wasn’t too tired, but some sleep would do her good.

“Good night then.” She said. Rummaging through her satchel of meager possessions, she took out a band to tie back her hair with. If she didn’t tie it up, it would get horribly tangled, and she didn’t relish the thought of taking time to brush it the next morning. That was one thing she hated about having long hair, but she was too vain to cut it off. Besides, as long as she put it in a ponytail, it wouldn’t get too tangled. After undressing, she put away her dress, and crawled into bed. The mattress was a bit lumpy, but it wasn’t so hard that she would have trouble sleeping. She pulled up the blanket, and stared up at the ceiling.

After Morgaine announced that she was going to bed, the conversation started to wind down as they all seemed to realize that it was getting late. Avialle herself was still tired from yesterday's Healing, so she gratefully arranged her meager possessions in the wardrobe and sat gingerly on the bed. She had a brush with her, and she began to count out her one hundred strokes that Maric had done to her hair every night. She'd missed the ritual since his death and hadn't even attempted it in the infirmary, so now her curls were a tangled mess. Tucking her feet under, she looked at the other girls as an idea struck her.

"About dresses ... don't the novices do mending here?" She was sure that they must, and she was practically a professional at mending. "There must be fabric that I could use to make a dress." She looked at Mirazhe and Farina to see what they thought of the idea. Morgaine appeared to be sleeping, so Avialle wouldn't be getting her opinion, but two out of three would have to do!

Mirazhe couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t really that tired. She hadn’t done much today, other than get into a minor scuffle, and that hadn’t progressed very far after they had been forced to go the Infirmary. Sighing, she continued to stare at the ceiling. How was her mother doing? Was she okay? It must be tiring for her to do the chores all by herself. And she must be lonely, with Mirazhe at the Tower. I hope she’s not doing to bad. Maybe I’ll send a letter to her tomorrow. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I just have to get some paper and pen and then I’ll write to her and tell her how I’ve been doing. Avialle’s voice cut through her thoughts.

"About dresses ... don't the novices do mending here? There must be fabric that I could use to make a dress." Mirazhe sat up and looked at Avialle. “Yes, novices do the mending here. That’s a good idea, making your own dress. I should have thought of that. You should do that. Except I don’t know where you’d get the fabric. Maybe the Mistress of Novices has some extra, or you could always buy some in the city, if you have money.”

Making your own dress. Mirazhe really was curious as to why she hadn’t thought of that before. Back home, she’d made a lot of dresses out of yards of fabric. Granted, they weren’t exactly feast-day dresses, but they had been good enough to wear in the village. It should have been the first thing she thought of, after finding out that she wouldn’t have anything to wear. Life in the Tower has made me go softshe thought, then immediately dismissed the idea. She hadn’t been here that long, only a few days, and the chores here were just as hard as what she had done back home, if not worse. At least her mother had taken on quite a few of the chores back home, but here……There might have been a lot of novices, but there were more than enough chores for all of them to do. She tried not to think about the extra chores she had been assigned. She looked at Avialle again. “I hope you find some fabric. I can help, if you want me to.” She would be willing to help. Avialle was nice, and every one needed a little help when they first came to the Tower.

(OOC: I'm going to move this thread a bit forward, if that's alright with you. I thought it would be nice to rp sharing our experience in the attack, so my post takes place in the morning after the masquerade.)

Farina opened her eyes. There was the blissfull moment in the morning when you remembered nothing, but then all the memories came back and Farina sat up quickly, her eyes wide. Trollocks! She remembered the masquerade, dancing with the cute Soldier. And the attack. She remembered every swinging the broomstick, and then the sword she had found. She remembered the blood on the blade, on her dress. She had killed.

Farina fought a sudden wave of nausea. She had killed. It didn't matter that they were Trollocks, she had taken the life from another living being. She had trained with weapons, mostly with a quarterstaff and a bow with her brothers, but she had never thought that one day she would use them to take a life. And now she had. It was an extreamly disturbing thought. But despite all her feelings, she couldn't help a sting of pride. She had killed Trollocks, she had helped in the fight. Trollocks were better dead than alive.

Farina looked around and calmed down as she saw the white walls of her small room. She was safe, at least from Trollocks. She would never be safe from her feelings; she would have to sort them sooner or later. But for now she didn't want to think about it. She got out of bed and grabbed her arm. There was no pain. Aes Sedai Healing seemed to be as effective as everyone had told her. There was not even a scar where the wide bleeding wound had been only hours ago. She shook her head and saw a crumbled head of fabric on the floor. It was her silked dress she had left there. She picked it up and the blood on the fabric reminded her of her actions again. The dress was completely ruined; it was stained and torn. It was a shame because it had cost a lot, but on the other hand she didn't think she would have worn the dress again even if it had been clean and unharmed. She stopped worrying about her dress when she heard a sound from behind her.

It was morning by the time Avialle made her way back to her room. She had been in the infirmary all night, mostly just watching numbly while the Aes Sedai rushed around. There were critical injuries, and even deaths. Avialle knew that someone important had died, although she hadn't heard who. Everyone who died was important, a little voice in her head whispered as she walked the lonely halls toward the dormitories. There had been so many injured, some a lot worse off than she herself was, so she had made herself scarce while the Aes Sedai handled those injuries. Eventually someone had seen to her; the memory of the Healing made her shudder. It was unpleasant, but she had to admit that not having any remainder of her wound was worth it.

Finally reaching the door to the room she shared with Mirazhe, Farina, and Morgaine, she paused, almost afraid to open it. She hadn't seen Mirazhe since their return to the Tower, but at least she knew that her friend was all right. She had no such assurance when it came to Farina and Morgaine. She wasn't sure what she was afraid of finding; after all, if something had happened to them, it probably hadn't happened in their beds. Steeling herself nonetheless, she cautiously pushed the door open.

The bare white walls of the dormitory were comforting in their familiarity, as was the form of Farina, bent over to pick something up from the floor. A rush of relief flooded over Avialle as she saw one of her roommates, safe and sound. Without even thinking about it, she rushed forward and hugged Farina. "Thank the Light you're all right!" The thought occurred to her for a moment that Farina would probably think she was crazy - they didn't even know each other that well! But Avialle had few friends in her life, and every one of them was precious to her. She pulled back to survey Farina from arm's length. "You are all right, aren't you?"

Mirazhe sat outside, unnoticed by anyone. Her mind was dull and numb with shock, intermixed with grief and tiredness. After Avialle had left to go to the Infirmary, she had found a hidden corner near the Tower and had sat there, trying to calm her mind and body. The night had been horrible. She had never seen anything like it before. People screaming and running every which way, horrible monsters chasing after them, Aes Sedai throwing flameballs and sprayed earth everywhere. It was almost too much for her simple country mind to bear. The worst she had seen back home in Arafel had been a small fight between two young men, and that hadn’t progressed further than a few kicks and punches. Nothing like last night. Last night had been…… a nightmare, worse than anything she had ever dreamed possible. She realized now how protected she had been in her small country village. It was as though she had spent her whole life in a dream, and was just now emerging from it. Bad things had never been reality to her. She had always thought that if a person was good and worked hard, nothing bad would happen to them and the ones they loved. But she knew now that it was a lie. Her father hadn’t done anything wrong, and he had died. Her mother had gotten dangerously sick and if that Aes Sedai hadn’t been there, she would have died. And now hundreds of people had died, for no better reason that they hadn’t served the Shadow. It isn’t fair, she thought bitterly. Those people shouldn’t have died. They were innocent! Their only crime was being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Life isn’t fair!

She didn’t realize how long she sat there, until she was jolted out of her thoughts by a passing Aes Sedai, who told her kindly that she should go back to her room. Looking up, she saw that the sun was already rising in the sky. It would be best if she went back to her room. But going back would mean seeing her roommates again. Mirazhe didn’t know if she was ready for that yet. She almost felt ready to cry. Suddenly, a yawn split her face and she realized how absurd she was being. She was tired, and being in the company of people who were familiar and probably liked her would make her feel better. Standing up, she grimaced as her legs started cramping up. Light, she really had been sitting there for quite a while. She took a few moments to stretch her legs and get the worst cramps out before she took off at a dogged trot back to the Tower.

Now that she actually took the time to look around, she saw the full extent of what had happened. There were still many bodies lying around, and the charred remains of trees and plant life testified to the using of the One Power. Several small buildings had collapsed and people were still running everywhere, trying to get the wounded to the infirmary and getting people to remove the remaining bodies. As Mirazhe walked, she heard bits and pieces of what had happened.

“- Trollocs everywhere! One nearly got me, and if it hadn’t been for…”

“Has anyone seen Loren Sedai? She’s needed…”

“- heard that the Madhi al’Tain is dead. Isn’t that terrible? Apparently…”

That last piece stopped her dead in her tracks. The Madhi, dead? No, that couldn’t be true. He couldn’t be dead. It just…just…Life didn’t work that way! Life could be bad at times, but this couldn’t be true! Mirazhe had never met the man, but she had heard many good things about him. He was a good leader, or so she had heard, and the Towers had bloomed under his leadership. He was also one of the most powerful men in the Towers. If he was dead, who else was? Mirazhe ran the remainder of the way to her rooms. When she finally reached her rooms, she flung open the door. There, to her everlasting relief, stood Farina and Avialle. Thank the Light they’re okay! But where’s Morgaine? I hope she’s okay. But the important thing was that Farina and Avialle were all okay. Then she noticed that Avialle and Farina were both looking at her. She smiled tiredly. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and still a bit stunned and… But I’m okay. Are you both okay?”