Mirazhe almost groaned. She’d been washing the dishes for nearly two hours now, and she still had to clean up the tables afterward. After Freyja Sedai had told her to go the Mistress of Kitchens, she’d run as fast as she could to the kitchens, where a large woman in an apron had taken one look at her and set her to scrubbing pots and pans. This is what she got for getting into fight. She hadn’t even done anything! It was all the other woman’s fault, anyway. If she had just accepted the apology Mirazhe had given, none of this would’ve happened. But no, she had to go be all haughty and demand a better apology. That had led to Mirazhe making her mad and the accidental using of the One Power. That had led to both of them being punished, though Mirazhe less than the other woman. Curse that Adena Moren! She had no right to be so arrogant. It was her fault that they had both gotten in trouble. As a matter of fact, curse all nobles who thought themselves all high and mighty. Then a certain one of Mirazhe’s roommates would be included as well. Although now that she thought about it, Morgaine seemed a bit better than Adena. At least she hadn’t used the One Power on Mirazhe. But she’d also been a noble lady, and a stuck-up one at that. At the current moment, Mirazhe really disliked all nobles.

To make matters worse, Mirazhe had embarrassed herself in front of Freyja Sedai, a kind Aes Sedai she had met a few days ago. No doubt Freyja Sedai now thought that the quiet and shy novice she had met the other day in the library was nothing but a trouble maker. Mirazhe sighed, and continued washing. What a great way to start off her life at the Tower. She’d already made enemies with one of her roommates, incurred the displeasure of an Asha’man, and then had gotten into a fight with a stranger, which had ended in her getting punished. Life here was so difficult. She wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up in her own bed. But first she had to become Aes Sedai, which meant finishing these plates. She was up to her elbows in soapy water, and though she hadn’t seen her fingers for about two hours, she was sure that they must be wrinkled as prunes by now. And that’s how they’ll stay for a week…she thought, with a touch of despair. Some one save me…