Fanfic:Dark Night Return
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The moon was high in the sky as Tamora approached the steps of the Grey Tower. She was very tired, and quite dirty from the road, but she knew it was going to be a long time before she would be allowed to go to bed, if they would let her have it at all. Taking a deep breath, Tamora straightened her back, and carrying her bags, she walked up those scary steps, and headed towards the large wooden doors.
Tamora entered the Grey Tower, and waited in the greeting hall. She knew someone would be here in a moment, and she knew what she had to say. She was nervous, her palms were damp, and she could feel a trickle of sweat roll down her spine despite the cold night air. It made her shiver. No, she was not just nervous, she was scared. She hoped that Zaephra Sedai would forgive her, and not turn her out of the Tower. She had not realised before how much she had wanted to become an Aes Sedai until the possibility was almost gone. It was why she had returned.
A noise to her left made her look. It was a servant in the Tower uniform, smiling as she approached. The woman had dark hair tied into a bun at the back of her head, and laughter lines around her warm brown eyes. "Good evening, how may I be of service?" The woman's voice was warm and friendly, with an accent of someone who had grown up in Tar Valon.
"Yes, please, would you please tell Zaephra Sedai, Mistress of Novices, that Tamora el'Galina is here?" Tamora tried to keep the fear out of her voice as she asked for the Mistress of Novices. The woman before her seemed to look at her in a new light, and nodded her head once and moved away into the Tower. Tamora knew she was going to be standing here for quite some time, and she knew that if Zaephra came down herself and saw her sitting casually it would land her in a bigger pot than she was in already.
Tamora knew it was only minutes, but it was beginning to feel like hours. Her legs felt like lead, and her arms felt like she had already scrubbed a Tower full of pots. All she really wanted to do was sit down and rest, but she daren't, not until she was given permission. A noise ahead of her made her look up, and she saw the same serving woman heading down the stairs towards her position. She had a displeased look on her face. Tamora wondered if that was because she had to wake an Aes Sedai for a wayward novice, or if it was because she was a wayward Novice.
"The Mistress of Novices has asked you to meet her in her Office. I believe you know the way!" The woman's voice was curt, and Tamora knew that it was definitely because she was a wayward Novice. Tamora nodded and bent to pick up her bag. Looking back at the woman, Tamora said quietly "Thank you. I appreciate you doing that!" Not turning to see if the woman's attitude changed towards her, she headed quickly up the stairs.
It was a long walk to Zaephra's office, and she was unsure if her legs were going to give out on her before she got there. But fear gave her the extra strength she needed to get through the twists and turns until she was finally outside the wooden door to the Mistress of Novice's office. She automatically went to smooth down her Novice dress, before she realised she was not wearing one. She looked down at her travel stained clothing, the divided blue travel skirts, and the matching jacket, and sighed. These were not the clothes to make a good impression. Taking a deep breath, Tamora knocked on the door, and awaited an answer.
"Enter!" The voice sounded muffled through the door, and when she heard it Tamora realised the breath she did not know she had been holding. Twisting the handle to the door, Tamora pushed it open. As she entered, she looked at the cool and composed woman sitting behind the desk. Her honey coloured hair in the perfect braids she always wore, each showing off the reddish tints that sat deeply in her hair. She as dressed perfectly and she sat with her Indigo shawl sitting around her shoulders. She looked like she had been up and alert for hours, not like someone had just woke her up.
"Tamora el'Galina, please come in and sit down child!" With her left hand she gestured towards a small stall in front of her desk. Tamora nodded slightly, "Thank you Zaephra Sedai!" Tamora knew her voice was low and small, as she sat down on the stall, leaving her bag by the door. She sat and waited. She was waiting for the scolding, the shouting, the willow birch. But there was nothing, just a quiet and calm Aes Sedai who sat and kept a Novice caught in her glare.
"Aes Sedai, please, I beg your forgiveness in the Light..." Tamora's voice faded as a fire flashed in Zaephra's eyes. "Please, let me explain! I had to, needed to visit Mayene!" Tamora's voice was still quiet, not much above a whisper. She knew she had to explain, but she was unsure if the Aes Sedai would give her the chance. They sat in silence for a while longer, Tamora staring at her knees, and the Mistress of novices staring at her. Tamora knew she had to wait, as she did not want to speak out of turn.
"Tamora, child, I will give you this once chance to tell me why you left? And one chance to convince me why I shouldn't put you out onto the street!"
The sentence hung in the air between them. Tamora had a sudden glimmer of hope inside her. She still had a chance! It was not much, but more than she would have dared hope for 10 minutes ago. Taking a deep breath, Tamora tried to organise her thoughts. This was her one chance and she did not want to blow it! Raising a hand to her neck, she briefly touched the scar there, and then pulled out a silver chain which held an orange piece of coral which was shaped like a heart.
"It was two years ago last month that Aran was killed. He was killed trying to save me, from some Tairen Pirates. They wanted the locations of my families Fish Oil reserves and where to get the biggest catches. I was taught not to tell them anything, and I did not, even as they killed him!" Tamora knew her voice held no emotion now. She had spent too long crying about it now, now there was just a cold place inside. "I wanted, no, needed to go and see his grave. I had only seen it once, and that was as I was on my way here." Tamora wished she could be crying at this point, to cry and show how much it had meant to her, to try and convince the Aes Sedai before her that it had been so important. But she could not.
"We were supposed to be married two months after it happened. It all happened so quickly that I never had the chance to say good bye, and I really needed to say good bye." Tamora felt her eyes begin to moisten as she spoke. But she quickly willed herself not to cry, not now. "I thought if I asked to go, that no one would let me, so I left. At that time I was not sure if I was going to come back or not." Tamora looked back down at her knees, and the dust and dirt stains there.
"But while I was at Aran's grave, telling him of all the things I had been up too, it occurred to me that this is where I wanted to be. Here, learning, training, and using the ability the Light gave me to help others! I want to help others, protect them, and destroy evil where I find it!"
Tamora knew her voice had come out passionately at the end. She hoped she had made her case well enough to convince the Aes Sedai before her. She dared to raise her head, and look at the woman before her. She still sat, fixing Tamora with the same gaze she had when she had entered the room. Once the again the silence stretched out before them like a long road. When the Aes Sedai did speak, it made Tamora jump.
"Head to the bathrooms and wash up, I shall have your old room prepared again, and your Novice dresses placed in your cupboard and you will attend me an hour before breakfast tomorrow morning, to discuss your punishment!" With a small gesture of her hand, Tamora knew she had been dismissed. Standing, she gave the Aes Sedai a small curtsy, and headed to the door, grabbing her bag on the way. At the door, she turned and looked back to Zaephra Sedai, and in a small voice, she said "Thank you Aes Sedai."
As Tamora made her way towards the Novice wing, she let herself smile. For the first time ever, the Tower felt like Home now!
