OOC -- Attention Elysia!

Careful not to let the water slosh over the sides of the wooden bucket, Marian stepped quickly, heading toward the stair case. She was to scrub the stairs free of dirt, polishing the hand rail and wall until they gleamed. She sighed, trying not to glance at her dry hands. She really wished she had thought to pack some lotion from home... Who would know that Aes Sedai younglings lived like this? Perhaps some of the other novices had bought some lotions in the city, on a free day. Marian sighed to herself, having been unable to go into the city yet, as there had been no free days since she had arrived. Maybe, when she met some of the other novices, they would be willing to share with her. Marian wondered if Aes Sedai did not allow lotions. Why woudl they? It was all part of the discipline...

Back at home, her mother, Lady Skylas, would have been appauled to see her daughter's hands in such condition. She would have shrieked at Seshi for hours, disallowing Marian to work in the kitchens with her. Marian had not really considered cooking with Seshi work at all. It had been fun, and she'd enjoyed it - at least the baking part. Marian remembered complaining every time Seshi had given her a dish to scrub or dry. She grimaced. That would be a blessing compared to now. At least she was out of the kitchen now, and out in the hallway. At least here, she could watch the passer-bys and observe more of the Tower.

She set the bucket down, trying to make as little noise as possible. Hopefully, she would be out of the way from the passing Aes Sedai, Asha'man, and Gaidin. Light, even an Accepted raising an eyebrow at her was bad. Marian wanted to remain unnoticed for the moment. If she ever became Aes Sedai or a lady or whatever she was meant to be, then she could be in the spotlight. While she was unnoticed, there would be no reason to assign her more chores or lessons. She wanted no more chores to do tonight. Dark rings were forming under her eyes. She was exhausted, and the bed in her dormitory was calling her. She couldn't wait to slip into sleep. Marian suspected she could have easily slept on the floor with no blankets.

Her plan was to do her chores thoroughly, making no mistakes. If she succeeded, hopefully, she would be allowed to retire and perhaps get a proper night's sleep... A proper night's sleep! Ha! She could have laughed at that. At home, a proper night's sleep was going to bed when the sun fell and rising when the sun was high. Here, you went to bed far after the sun had gone down, and rising after the sun had risen meant more chores, late into the night, only to begin the process all over again. Marian sighed. She dipped a sponge into the bucket, soaking it with soapy water. And she began to scrub.

Elysia sighed deeply and put away her bucket, finally it was done! She looked at her hands and wondered silently if they ever would look the same again. With a smile she remembered she had some time off now, untill her next class. The chores was done for the day and she thanked the light for that. She had not gotten much sleep that night, rising very early to begin the chores so she would have time to go to the library and get a new book. If she only could get to the library without getting more work to do.But that should not be a problem, if she only looked busy enough.

Walking down the hallway she saw another novice working and nodded friendly towards her in passing. But suddenly her foot slipped on some water on the floor and she fell on her back on the ground. Mumbling something unaudible she crawled back on her feet rubbing her sore back. She turns to the novice and looks at her. "You really should be more careful you know... If that had happened to an Aes Sedai, or even an accepted, there would be no end to the things you would have to do to make up for it." With a sour look on her face she rubbed her head that had gotten quite a hard beating towards the floor.

As Marian continued in her seemingly endless toil, she noticed another novice - looking to be Andoran as well, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked happy, finishing up her chores. Marian sighed, looking back down at her own work, scrubbing away a bit of dirt. She wouldn't be done for quite some time... Yes, being Accepted would be a blessing indeed, if she even made it to that point. She was still learning the basics of the basics of channelling, much less conquering whatever it was novices had to do to become Accepted. She sighed again, sloshing the water about a bit.

The other girl nodded in a friendly way as she walked by, now free of her chore - right into the place where Marian had sloshed her water. Marian watched in horror as her feet slipped, and she fell backward onto the floor. Her head thumped hard on the ground, and Marian squeaked. Oh, Light!

To her very good fortune, the novice looked to be all right, though she rubbed her head a bit. Marian felt a bit of tension leave her, but not much... If she had been hurt... Oh, Light! What the Yellow Ajah would have said! Of course, it was far more important that the novice was all right and not hurt, but if the extra plus of not having to turn herself in came forward, Marian would be happy to take.

She began spluttering apologies. "Light, are you all right?" she stammered. "Are you hurt? I'm terribly sorry!" She watched her anxiously, to see the novice's reaction. She'd have to live with this girl for many years, she supposed, and getting on someone's bad side because of a simple accident was not decent, in Marian's opinions... Allies were always a good thing.

Light. She was thinking like an Aes Sedai.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, she heard the other girl say, "You really should be more careful you know... If that had happened to an Aes Sedai, or even an accepted, there would be no end to the things you would have to do to make up for it." Marian gulped and nodded. It was perfectly true. She could only imagine the punishment she would have to endure if it had been an Aes Sedai...

"I'm horribly sorry," she said, giving a hand to help the novice up.

Elysia mumbled something inaudibly again but nodded. "I am alright, I really am. I should watch where I step more carefully." She smiled towards the other novice who still seemed to be scared out of her wits. "It is alright, really. Accidents happen. I am Elysia, what is your name?"

The novice seemed to be nice enough, though a little bit uncareful with what she was doing, allowing so much water to get on the ground.

(OOC: Sorry for the short post and delay. I am currently moving and I am quite busy. I'll reply as soon as possible though.)

((OOC: That's fine, I understand. :) I'll reply later, but I have to get off or I'll miss my bus...))

((Later OOC: Okay, here I go... I didn't miss the bus! Mine's short too, but we'll add more later, once you have more time and something to go off of.))

Marian felt relief wash over her as the other girl said, ""I am alright, I really am. I should watch where I step more carefully," with a nod. Thank the Light! If the novice had reported her... Oh, Light. She would have been in trouble. She grimaced, just thinking about the trip she would be getting to the Mistress of Novices. The girl flashed her a grin, which Marian returned, still a bit shaky.

"It is alright, really. Accidents happen. I am Elysia, what is your name?" asked the novice. Marian stuck out a hand and then frowned, as it was covered in suds. She wiped it on her dress and presented it back, clean and dry. "I'm Marian," she explained. "Marian Skylas." She didn't have to ask if the other girl was a novice, or even tell her that she was herself - both could tell by the pure white dresses they both wore, though Marian's skirt was a bit wet.

Elysia smiled to te other novice and felt better as she seemed to relax more. Elysia never understood why so many of the novices seemed to be frightened here in the tower. She sure was not. She had even lectured an accepted once, not that she had been wrong to do so, but most other novices acted as if accepteds were Aes Sedais already. Sure, she showed respect and all that, but she would not take any kind of treatment. "Where are you from? I come from Caemlyn" Elysia said with a smile.

Another Andoran! Marian suddenly grinned. "I'm from Andor too, though a bit outside of Caemlyn. Most of the times, I was on my parents' estates," she explained. Elysia looked to be about her age. Perhaps they could be friends or something... She looked around about her though. She still had chores to finish. Shaking her head, she sighed.

Even with the shock of Elysia slipping in the water and meeting another Andoran, Marian's eyes felt heavy. It was getting late, and she was tired. She really should finish these chores... Curiosity, however, was stronger than her wish to sleep. Perhaps, she could multi-task. She knelt back down on the floor and grinned up at Elysia as she began to scrub again. "Sorry, but I really must finish this... When did you come to the Tower?" She waited for an answer, rubbing briskly at a small cake of dirt.

She wouldn't keep Elysia too long, and the other girl could certainly leave if she wanted to. All the other novices, Marian knew, were just as tired at she was. Everyone had work and chores and lessons to do, not just her. She was no misfit to the Tower's life. In fact, the other novice had probably been heading up to sleep at that moment, when she'd slipped in Marian's puddle of soap suds. Marian even caught herself hoping that Elysia's shoes had been clean... Her cheeks almost colored at that. Here she was, being careless, leaving puddles of water about, and hoping that she wouldn't have more work to do! Anymore of this and you'll be getting a nice trip to the Mistress of Novices' study! she told herself.