06 March 2003 (7:52pm)
The Aes Sedai coughed as she walked by the small alcove that Wedge hid in. It’s shadow hid him well this late in the evening, the standlamps were lit, leaving a few good places to hide when needed. The leather tube strapped to his back tapped the wall and the plump Aes Sedai paused a second to look around before continueing her walk away from his hiding spot.
Wedge snuck from corner to corner, relying on all his stalking ability and stealth. He had grown up in the woods near his home first stalking animals for food, then bandits for defense. Most had never heard him come before his knife was in their throat. But he was not sneaking around the White tower to kill. No, he was not risking a fate worse than death to defend his family, but for love.
Sliding silently down a hall, he found the room that he was looking for. He had promised a novice some linen from Tar Valon for this information, it better be right. Ever so slightly, Wedge knocked on the door, perring each direction for anyone who might see him. No answer. The door opened quietly and he snuck in.
Ashanda’s scent was stuck in the room, she could not have been gone long. He quit thinking of her and continued with his task. unstrapping the tube, he opened the top to revel green stems. Pulling on the stems, a full bouquet of fresh roses popped out. ‘Boy these cost a pretty penny’ he thaught to himself, ‘I hope Ashanda likes them.’ Turning the tube upside down, he placed it on the writing desk and the flowers into the tube.
Next phase: Wedge reached into his pocket removing the sealed envelope. Shaking his head…”no this is too much, too forward.” realizing stealth was needed, he shut up. Shaking his head, he began to put the letter way, then back out. After some fighting with himself, Wedge finally placed the letter against the flowers, with his familly seal of a Heron in Flight facing out. He thaught about what Ashanda would read when she opened the Letter:
—-
My Dearest Ashanda,
I have always believed that when one sees somthing they want, they should go straight for it. An item, or an idea, or a victory, the only path is a straight line to it, with dedication and perserverence. Since I met you I cannot bring myself to say how i feel. When I am near you, all I have ever thaught changes, and I flounder away my time just to be near you. I cannot just take what I want from you, nor would I want to. There is no straight line to your heart Ashanda, but i will take whatever path it takes to have it. You have changed my world Ashanda, and i hope you will continue to be a part of it for years to come.
Always yours,
Wedge Antilles
Son of Etrik Antilles
Son of Bail Antilles
—
Wedge was not sure if all the formality was needed, but it was the only way he could think of writting such a letter. He mentally thanks his mother for his lessons in writing and hoped Ashanda would like it.
Opening the door a crack Wedge peered out, then stuck his head out. All clear. Exiting the room, he turned to close the door with a click and spun around, bumping straight into 3 Aes Sedai who, Despite being much shorter than he, were staring down at him….
Wedge
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07 March 2003 (6:30am)
Raeyn was feeling a little harried after this day. She had spent the majority of it supervising her mentee Emyli cleaning in the Library, then had been stuck answering questions for various Tower petitioners after that. Hurrying up the stairs from the ground floor, she had spotted Taeadra, and sped up her pace to an almost run to catch up wit her.
“Taeadra? How goes it this day?”
They chatted amicably as the made their way up the stairs, and as they made their way through the Accepted’s Quarters, a male head popped out of a room right as they were almost upon it. Looking up, they saw another Sister coming from the other direction, and all three converged behind the male in question.
“What should we do about this?” Raeyn murmured to the other two Sisters.
Raeyn
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07 March 2003 (11:17am)
Tae was wandering through the Tower with no real purpose in mind, she’d spent the day meeting up with the other White Sisters and just checking in on them. The White ajah had never been known for it’s ‘friendliness’, and sometimes it was difficult to even get the White’s to talk to each other. But Taeadra had always tried to at least check in with them once in awhile, primarily to make sure they were all still there.
A familiar voice from behind her caught her off guard and she jumped a bit before turning to see Raeyn walking up to her.
“Taeadra? How goes it this day?”
She smiled warmly at her old friend, “This day is just like many others in the Tower, not enough Novices to torment and too much free time on my hands.” The both shared a laugh and continued through the Tower eventually ending up in the Accepted’s quarters just in time to see a male poke his head out of one of the girls rooms. Tae and Raeyn approached him just as another Sister, Kaylan Sedai was coming from the other direction. The three Aes Sedai looked the man up and down.
“What should we do about this?” asked Raeyn.
“What ever we do, it should not be pleasant for him. We certainly cannot let him get away with this, I wonder what his excuse for being here is.” Taeadra locked her cold eyes on him, “And just what exactly are you doing here?”
Taeadra
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08 March 2003 (2:13pm)
“What ever we do, it should not be pleasant for him. We certainly cannot let him get away with this, I wonder what his excuse for being here is.” Taeadra locked her cold eyes on him, “And just what exactly are you doing here?”
Wedge froze in their gaze. Nothing Aes Sedai… I Mean, giving a gift to my freind Aes Sedai.” Wedge wondered what next. The 3 Aes Sedai opened the door slightly and inspected the room, looking at the flowers and sealed letter.
“Friend is it? And where is this friend?”
Wedge was in big trouble. “Well, no Aes Sedai, more than a freind, i merely wanted to supprise her.” Wedge hoped that these Aes Sedai knew what it was like to be in love as they ushered him away….
Wedge
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09 March 2003 (7:39pm)
Ashanda stormed back to her room. She had never had a more horrible afternoon since she was a Novice. The nerve of that… that…. man! If Raekal got her kicked out of the Tower for his actions she would never forgive him. She slammed the door to her quarters open and dropped rather unladylike on her bed, her mind reeling with oaths she kept to herself. She sat up on her bed, thoughts of what she would do to Raekal if she ever got her hands on him again running through her mind. Though she was sure some were probably physically impossible they still calmed her down. It took her a moment to register that there was something different about her room.
Anger turned to alarm at first. Someone had broken into her Quarters. It wasn’t until she got up to investigate the items on her desk that the panic changed to another emotion. A smile crept across her face as she read the words in that letter. Wedge. Leave it to him to be the bright spot in her day. Gently grabbing up the roses, she gave them a sniff before picking out the one she thought was the most beautiful. Removing the stem and pressing it into her journal next to another flower, her smile grew wider. Then she placed the remaining flowers into a vase and lay back on her bed, all thoughts of Raekal lost to her daydreams of Wedge.
Suddenly, she decided to find him. This was something she wanted to thank him in person for and she didn’t want to wait and hope to meet him in town or around the Tower.
Ashanda
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09 March 2003 (10:54pm)
Kaylan was walking through the Accepted quarters, vaguely thinking of visiting Calia again, when she spotted a male figure ducking into a room. She walked toward it, seeing two sisters coming in the other direction. She nodded to the White and Brown, chatting amicably, when his head popped out of the room, checking the Halls. They put their heads together, wondering what he could be doing. Kaylan’s first thought – ‘A man in love’, was closely followed by a second – ‘a gray man’.
As he came out of the room, Kaylan thought she recognised him. What was his name? Wedge. A tower guard. And Calia’s intended Warder, if she remembered correctly.
“What ever we do, it should not be pleasant for him. We certainly cannot let him get away with this, I wonder what his excuse for being here is.” Taeadra locked her cold eyes on him, “And just what exactly are you doing here?”
“Nothing Aes Sedai… I Mean, giving a gift to my friend Aes Sedai.” He looked… twitchy. The 3 Aes Sedai opened the door slightly and inspected the room, looking at the flowers and sealed letter. Kaylan was suddenly glad, becuase it was better that option than the other. Still, while men were not expressly forbidden to enter the Accepted quarters, it was highly frowned upon. Taedra spoke again.
“Friend is it? And where is this friend?”
Wedge looked even more nervous, if that was possible. “Well, no Aes Sedai, more than a friend, i merely wanted to suprise her.”
Kaylan hid a small smile. He was outside Ashanda’s room, an aspiring green, if she remembered correctly. The girl was getting an early start on what it was to be Green. Nonetheless, it was not proper conduct for a tower guard.
She ushered him down the hall, out into the gardens, the other two Sedai still with them.
“Wedge, isn’t it?” The Tower gaurd nodded silently.
“Wedge, I am Kaylan Sedai, of the Green ajah. Now, I know what it is to be in love, and I know what it is to want to surprise someone that you love.” He seemed to relax a little.
“HOWEVER. That is no excuse, and will not make it any easier upon you. Tower guards have better things to do with their time than be writing love letters and picking flowers, yes? As such, we will be thinking of a suitable punishment. Please wait here for a moment.”
Kaylan looked to the other two sisters, and beckoned them a little way down th path.
“Well? I think it is… cute, in a way. But that is still no excuse. Accepted have better things to do than flirt with Gaidin, even if they are as… talented as he is. Still. He should have something better to do with his time, as should she. I wonder how long this has been going on? But, I leave the topic. What do you think we should do with him?”
Kaylan Sedai of the Green Ajah
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09 March 2003 (11:15pm)
Wedge made his best attempt at looking powerful and gaidin-like, though the aes sedai had a knack for making that less than usual. They stood huddled in a circle, talking, and peering at him. He hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
Wedge
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11 March 2003 (12:12pm)
“Well? I think it is… cute, in a way. But that is still no excuse. Accepted have better things to do than flirt with Gaidin, even if they are as… talented as he is. Still. He should have something better to do with his time, as should she. I wonder how long this has been going on? But, I leave the topic. What do you think we should do with him?”
Cute was not a word that Taeadra would have used to describe it, though any thoughts of how “nice” it was for him to do something like what he had done had flown out of her head the moment she realized just what Accepted’s room he had been in. Ashanda Kisain…Tae had had the pleasure of running into the girl several times and thought that she still needed several lessons on what it meant to be Aes Sedai.
Ashanda had made it clear from the beginning that she intended to be raised to the Green Ajah, but Taeadra thought that no excuse for the behavior the girl had displayed since arriving at the Tower. The tales of her exploits were known by many of the Sisters.
Tae gazed at the Tower Guard, letting her ice green eyes peer right through him until he shifted a bit, then turned to Raeyn and Kaylan, “I agree Sisters, Accepteds have far more to do than attempting to win the affections of as many Tower Guards as possible….and the Light knows that Tower Guards have duties of their own. I think a lesson is in order here…a lesson that will remind this one that he is here to protect.”
Taeadra
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12 March 2003 (3:26am)
Kaylan watched as the White turned her cool gaze to Wedge. The poor boy was begining to sweat. Unfortunately, Kaylan had been out of the Tower for so long that she did not know much about the Accepted in question except for the fact that she was aspiring to the Green. After making Wedge squirm for a while, Taedra spoke.
“I agree Sisters, Accepteds have far more to do than attempting to win the affections of as many Tower Guards as possible….and the Light knows that Tower Guards have duties of their own. I think a lesson is in order here… a lesson that will remind this one that he is here to protect.”
As many Tower guards as possible? Perhaps she needed to speak to Taya or Mandi about this one…
Realising that none of the others was forthcoming with punishment ideas, Kaylan sighed and opened her mouth.
“Indeed, he must learn that he is here to protect. Thus, if it is agreeable to you two, I will take him as a ‘mock’-warder, for a time. Not to Bond, mind you, but to give him an idea of his proper duties. I must speak with this Accepted, also, but now is not the time. If you two agree?” Kaylan waited on the other’s responses.
Kaylan
Greenie
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12 March 2003 (11:44am)
Raeyn looked at Kaylan in a dubious manner, tapping a finger on her lip before responding, “I’m not sure if that would be the best for him, Kaylan Sedai. Greens DO have a tendancy to underwork their Warders, unless there is battle to be had.” She shrugged, then continued, “Perhaps he should take a turn with each of us, to get a feel of what else could happen to him. Each Ajah IS different, and those Warders bonded to the sisters of different Ajahs could probably say so as well. However, if you would like the first go in this, I can do nothing but agree with you. Taeadra? What say you?”
Raeyn
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12 March 2003 (2:42pm)
Raeyn’s idea intriguied Taeadra and a very faint smile grew on her lips as she spoke, though the smile was not nearly as wicked as the glint in her eyes, “Raeyn, I think you may have just found the perfect solution. I believe a week as each of our ‘mock’ Warder should suffice to teach him a lesson…or three.”
She walked over to where the Guard was standing and smiled at his attempt to make himself look larger. The smile she had was now gone and though he stood over a hand taller than her she tried to give the appearance she was looking at him eye to eye. She knew she was successful when he began to shift under her gaze.
The three women explained their ‘lesson’ to Wedge and dismissed him with instructions that he was to report to Kaylan first thing the next morning. After working out the details amoung themselves, Tae excused herself and walked toward the Gardens. Though the night air was cold and brisk, Tae was enjoying it. So lost in thought she became that when Raeyn sat down next to her Tae nearly jumped out of her seat. “Tae, I saw that look in your eye…what do you have planned for that poor boy?”
Tae smiled at her old friend, “Oh nothing, just a little fun…for me.”
Taeadra