(No sex in this one, only explanation and character development ^_^
Feel free to email me with questions, comments or suggestions about my story and the upcoming chapters. I hope to be a professional writer someday, so I'd love to hear from you!)
Chapter 4 -
Now clothed in my new Apprentice dress, I walked through the halls of the Tower. Darien walked beside me, wearing workermen's clothes I found in the laundry room down the hall to replace his soaking training uniform. Rena Sedai was thirty four floors up, he explained, preparing for her new student. The walk was long, and the stairs tiring, but we arrived at our destination. I felt positively dizzied at the size of the Tower, but Darien assured me that eventually you learned the parts of it you had to. Only a few Browns knew it all.
We entered into a massive study chamber, with tomes and smaller books adorning the walls and shelves. Rena wore a tight shirt that covered barely her breasts, and a skirt which didn't come past halfway down her thigh. I had wondered: if what she was wearing when we first met was her usual clothes, what were casual? I apparently just found out. She reclined in a massive, green plush throne, with books and small trinkets scattered around.
"Welcome." she stated simply. "You're dismissed, Darien."
I wanted to kiss him goodbye, but I remember what he had said, and figured that romance was probably prohibited too. He looked at me meaningfully, though the expression was covered from Rena's sight, then left. My heart ached, and I didn't know if or when I would see him again. I panicked as the door closed, realizing that I didn't know where his room was, where he trained, anything... and this Tower was much too massive to find anyone by chance again.
"Problem?" Rena questioned. My expression must have been obvious. I struggled for an explanation, but she shook her head at my stuttering. "Don't worry, I can tell you where he stays."
I shook my head violently, not wanting to get him in trouble. "No... its not like that. I just..." I blew out air in frustration.
She tilted her head knowingly, nearly smiling. "You two took nearly a half hour getting here. Was there something that kept you?"
My face burned, partially from embarrassment of Rena's questioning look, partially from knowing that I had gotten Darien in trouble. "I'm sorry^Å"
She shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. He's a fine young man. You could do worse."
I gaped. "What?"
She sighed. "Do you not agree?" I coughed, and didn't respond. "Look, Tara, why do you think I chose you as my student?"
I was so confused right then that I couldn't even answer. "I... I don't know."
"Because I know you're not the kind of girl that would repress her sexuality. Amanda was a close second, admittedly, but she has an underlying docility to her... it wouldn't do well as a Green. Plus she would have a serious problem with having more than one man, I think."
I gulped at air. "... what are you talking about?"
Rena smiled gently. "The three of us each chose one of you as our students. I have chosen you."
"I know that... I mean... what about Darien?"
Another sigh. "I'm sure he told you those rules?" I nodded. "They are for your protection. You didn't sleep with him did you?"
I shook my head. "No, he said we couldn't. What we did do... well... he didn't do anything wrong... it was me." I said in a defeated air.
She scoffed. "As long as there was no intercourse, it is fine. Rules were meant to be broken, dear. And from the glow about you when you entered, I'd say that he did do something." she grinned.
I burned with embarrassment, my face so flush I could barely imagine there was blood elsewhere in my body. I didn't regret it, no... but to have her know about it, and speak of it so plainly...
Rena nodded slowly. "Alright, let's start at the beginning. You three girls can wield the One Power. You know this. You've been brought here to become Novice. Each Aes Sedai may take an Apprentice, and only one, to raise her through the trials of the Tower." I nodded relived to have the pressure of attention taken off my actions. "Generally we take people who fit our beliefs as well. Its usually the case that a Novice will take the Ajah of her teacher, but its by no means required."
"But... how did I get the Power?" I sought to distract her from the subject of intimacy, true, but I was also wondering.
"Like I explained before, you're a Wilder. You'll channel the One Power weather you train with us or not. But if you don't train with us, you're liable to kill yourself or people around you." She shook her head at my expression of worry. "With me to guide you, you'll be fine."
"And... Darien? You won't punish him?"
"No, of course not. If you were being raised by a Blue, they might scold you. A White would chastise you and punish you according to the rules. A Red might very well have you lashed in the Traitors Circle. But a Green?" She grinned. "She would ask how it was."
"Umm..." I mumbled.
Rena talked on over me, apparently deciding the question was rhetorical. "But still... sex is not to be taken lightly. To have been fully with a man will make your trials in the Three Archways much more difficult. We've found it best to keep Novices chaste until then."
"... why?" I asked, curious.
"When you pass through the Archways, they will conjure up the worst things you can imagine and confront you with them. It's a test that you must pass on your way to becoming an Aes Sedai. If your body doesn't know a man... well... it's just easier."
"Why?"
She appeared to choose her words carefully. "In the Arches, you can't be subjected to something that you've never experienced before during the test. Having your virginity intact as you go through the Arches means that it will still be intact when you leave them. It's not much, but it makes the test a little easier. The nightmares Archways conjure know no decency or bounds. It is a difficult test indeed, but to pass it is to promote yourself to Accepted. That is halfway to Aes Sedai.
I nodded quietly. "You spoke of training. You mean in the One Power?"
She pushed herself farther into her plush chair. "That's the fun part. You also learn of history, customs of foreign lands, law, architecture, mathematics, martial arts, domestic talents..." I gulped. "I'll be your teacher for your training in the Power. You'll also get put into my classes." She pushed her hair behind her ears. "I teach all levels of self defense martial arts, as well as Customs of Arad Doman. The remaining classes you'll have with other Aes Sedai."
I nodded slowly. "Alright." This was all very sudden, but I was happy with how I was holding up.
"Alright." Rena agreed. "I'm going to take ahold of the Power now, so don't be afraid." A soft glow of light enveloped Rena.
"Light burn me... does it always look like that?"
"Like what?"
"You're glowing."
Rena raised an eyebrow. "Only women who can use the Power can see the glow, and only when they're trained. You've used the Power before once, correct."
I winced. "Trollocs... they... I killed them with flames." I hurriedly shook my head. "Not that I could do it again."
Rena nods. "A heightened state of emotional distress will make you more powerful."
"Oh." I replied simply. That seemed a cruel way to say my family had been slaughtered, but I didn't feel like quibbling words.
"I'm going to perform a minor weave. It will resonate between us, as we're two women with the Power. The more it resonates, the more potential you have." A nod from me, and she began. She steepled her fingers and pointed them towards me. Towards her fingers drew... something. Like translucent, intangible threads I had always known were there but had never let myself see. They knotted themselves together in a patchwork, then rolled into a ball. The sphere, only visible to females with the Power I guessed, began to shake and dart between us. Rena nodded in approval as the sphere trembled violently. "Good... good. You have potential..." she trailed off as the trembling of the sphere only grew. Finally, the ball unraveled and the individual threads quickly dissolved. Rena blinked. "Someday you'll be more powerful than I." She looked up sharply, winking girlishly. "But not for a long time. And it will take hard work to get there."
I nodded, confused. "I understand." Was she to be my teacher, my matron or my friend? She couldn't seem to decide herself.
She raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you?"
I sighed. I was tired of her being so elusive, and how she seemed to be making no sense on purpose. "I don't know, what do you think?" I asked, my tone lacking the respect I should have probably put in it.
She traced her fingers down my cheek, then gripped my chin. Her eyes were cool and appraising. "No, you don't. You have more potential than most Aes Sedai alive."
"Is that... good?" I felt like an idiot for asking such a question, but on the other hand, it was more complex than it seemed. To me, it sounded like a good thing, yet her tone seemed to hint at something else.
"Well, it depends on what you want in life. Your teachers will push you harder, higher... Every Ajah will want you to join their ranks for the influence that you'll bring. Anyone can see you won't become a Red, and they don't take kindly to anything that makes the Greens more powerful. You may very well be in for a rough time here."
I drew in a deep breath. "Well we had better get started now, then."
She grinned. "Good answer. Let us begin."