Fanfic:His Own Reflection
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Cetrina slipped out of her room and down the stairs, pausing only twice to avoid the Accepted who roamed the area at night, making sure no Novices were out. She had done this before, during pranks, and once when she had needed to wash her dress urgently before the next day. Cetrina was always forgetting things like her laundry...and her lessons. It made her slow to learn sometimes.
But hopefully not for much longer.
She sneaked quietly across the darkened courtyard towards the main Tower, glad that her nightdress was a dark grey colour which would not show up. She didn't want any of the Tower guards to shoot at her by mistake, thinking she was an intruder. She wondered if it would be worth all this effort...
Finally, she found the secret side door she had been told about. Channeling the tiniest flow of Water, just as she had been instructed, she touched the piece of wall, and it slid aside. She was quite surprised it had worked: usually nothing she tried seemed to work, which often led to her being laughed at by the other Novices. Her poor background didn't help, especially as she seemed to always end up in classes with noble girls.
All that would change soon, though, she thought to herself. No more struggling and humiliation. Soon, she'd start being top of her class! Cetrina walked down the corridor, which seemed very long and dark to her. The tiles were smooth and purple-tinged, but her light feet made little noise. One smoky lamp was spaced every few spans, which gave everything a murky quality. She almost missed the staircase she was supposed to be looking for, but after a little backtracking, she discovered it.
After descending one flight, Cetrina found herself in the middle of a much wider, lighter corridor, clearly a main passageway of the Tower, on a level lower than the ground. She hoped nobody would come along and see her here...that was clearly the reason she had been told to go via the staircase rather than along the main corridor to this point.
Slightly inset in the wall opposite the bottom of the staircase she had just come down, was the door she had been told about. It was black, reinforced metal, with an Aes Sedai symbol in the middle, outlined in purple. She bit her lip...surely it would be locked...she had never seen a door as important-looking as this one, unless you counted the huge gates into the Tower grounds themselves. This one seemed less decorative, though, and more...forbidding.
Gingerly, she gave it a push, and to her astonishment, it slid open smoothly and quickly, as if made of paper rather than steel. Inside, it was entirely dark. She remembered what she had been told about channeling once she reached this point, and she stopped herself from creating a light. Instead, she stepped back out of the door alcove, and fetched a torch from the wall of the wide corridor outside. She peered into the room with its light.
An array of shelves and stacked crates was in front of her...dusty in places, but mostly fairly new-looking, as if someone had recently finished placing all these things in here in a neat order. She wondered briefly what funny person had been tidying in what was obviously a junk room, then she saw what she was looking for, propped in one corner.
It was exactly as the Sister had described to her: a mirror, large and oval in shape, with delicate patterning around its silver frame, which seemed to twist into and out of the actual glass of the speculum. She didn't see how such a thing, amazing as it was, could help her improve in her lessons, but her new patron had explained everything to her. She quietly recited to herself what she had to do, hoping everything was correct, and that she wouldn't mess this up.
She stepped in front of the mirror, and met the eyes of her reflection. Then, without breaking eye contact, she reached out a hand towards the glass, and channeled just the tiniest amount of Fire to her fingertip. Her reflection seemed to do the same, and the two fingers, each with dim light at the tip, reached towards each other...one inside, and one outside the glass.
As Cetrina and her reflection touched their Fire-tipped fingers to one another across the glass boundary, the mirror seemed to...shift. The glass shimmered, and disappeared, and instead, a mist seemed to fill the space within the frame. Cetrina's heart gave a leap: she had done it! Inside the mirror were the secrets of how to be the best, the quickest and the strongest learner! She wished the Sister were here now, so she could thank her for being willing to help a struggling Novice.
Confidently, she stepped into the mist, through the frame. All she could see was mist all around inside, as if she had taken the first step through the door into a steam bath. She moved a little, to turn around...and she looked back towards the frame, which was still visible through the mist. Her eyes looked around the room she had just left, and she gasped in horror...she had left the door open! What if someone should walk past! She tried to step back through the mirror into the storeroom, but suddenly...the mist seemed to thicken...it would not let her move back. She didn't like this at all...she didn't know what she was supposed to do now.
Panicking slightly, Cetrina tried to step back towards the mirrorframe-door again, but the mist would not let her. It was not hurting her...but she simply could not move. She did not want to go further into the mist now...she was frightened, and just wanted to go back! She was no longer interested in whatever secrets were in here...she must have done some part of this wrong! But she was sure this was exactly what the Sister had told her.
Now she truly became scared...if she had made some mistake with the mirror, she had no idea what the effects might be...she didn't dare channel again, but she could not get out. Giving up hope of getting out of this without punishment, she began to shout back into the room. "Help! Help me! I can't get out!!!!" She prayed someone would hear her...even if she would be punished once they had her out...this mist was starting to make her sleepy.... "HELP!!!!!"
Joaynna frowned at the report on her desk as she read it for the third time. There was something very strange about it. It was from one of her most reliable eyes and ears contacts, and she got the impression that something more was wrong than the note was telling her. This contact tended to do that; when there was an important message she needed to communicate that she feared might fall into hands other than Joaynna's, she gave just enough hints for Joaynna, and nobody else, to understand. They always took some time to decipher on Joaynna's part, though. She had a feeling this was one of those messages.
As engrossed as she had been, Joaynna had almost forgotten about a meeting she had with one of the Indigo Aes Sedai. Joaynna had been so busy that day that they had scheduled it for rather late in the evening. Realizing she had just enough time to get down to the Indigo Halls, Joaynna quickly tucked the note away in a drawer, got up, and left her office.
Soon after, she entered the Indigo Halls, walking rather swiftly. As she passed the storeroom, she heard what sounded like a muffled shout, and she slowed. The shout came again, a distinct "Help!" Blinking in surprise, Joaynna turned and moved back to the storeroom, opening the door. Shocked, she realized that all of the wards, which normally guarded the storeroom, were gone. Or the wards formed with saidar were, at least; she wouldn't be able to see saidin weaves, but she had an odd feeling they were down, too. Something wasn't right.
She heard the shout again, a girl's voice, more clearly this time. The room was dark and dusty, but she could see a small amount of light, and she moved towards it.
The glow was coming from one of the ter'angreal, a large, oval-shaped mirror. A novice, her face stricken with terror, looked through the mirror from the other side, her hands pressed against it. She had somehow been trapped on the other side. Light, how had she even gotten into the storeroom?
But there was no time to think about that. The mirror seemed to be solidifying; the girl was disappearing in the thickening mist. A look of panic on her face, her eyes met Joaynna's. "Help me, please!" she cried out.
Joaynna moved closer to the mirror. She didn't know how to work it. "Hold on," she told the girl, more calmly than she actually felt. "I'm going to get help. I'll be right back." There were tears in the girl's eyes, but she nodded, and Joaynna quickly left the room. She needed to find an Indigo; if anyone knew how to work the ter'angreal, an Indigo would. She knew better than to touch an object of the Power without knowing how it worked. Light, she wished Melabrid were there. He would know. But she could sense him through the bond, and he was too far away for her to run and get him. The girl might no longer be visible if she did, and then it might be too late. She was already in the Indigo Halls; there had to be somebody around who could help. Still, she tried to project her fear, and her sense of urgency, through the bond to her husband.
As if she had somehow sensed Joaynna's need, Edelle, an Indigo whom she had only met briefly, stepped out into the hallway. She was a tall woman, and she greeted Joaynna respectfully when she noticed her. Joaynna quickly explained what had happened, and Edelle's eyes took on a slightly concerned look. They hurried back to the storeroom, to the mirror. The girl was still visible through the mist, though barely.
Edelle paused momentarily, gazing at the ter'angreal. "I've studied this before," she said swiftly. "It's activated by a small amount of Fire. You simply touch the glass while you are channeling, and you can step through freely. But it's difficult to keep it open once you have started through, which is why the girl got caught on the other side. It requires a good deal of strength in the One Power."
Suddenly there was an ear-piercing scream, and the novice was dragged out of sight. Joaynna couldn't see what had seized her. Joaynna and Edelle both jumped, and Joaynna's breath caught in her throat. They had to go after the novice. "Edelle, is it safe to go through completely?" she asked quickly.
"Yes, Mother," the Indigo replied, looking nervous. "I do not have the strength, but you are strong enough that you can go through." Joaynna was close enough to Edelle to sense that the Indigo was significantly less strong in the Power than she was, so that made sense. "You should even be able to go some distance from the ter'angreal without difficulty. If you go too far from it, I believe it will be deactivated, but I will still be able to hold it open from this side so you may come back through." Joaynna nodded. Her heart gave a strange lurch, but she ignored the feeling. She had to do what she could to save the novice. There was no time to get more help; the girl's screams were growing faint.
Joaynna took a deep breath and nodded. Edelle continued, instructing Joaynna as she embraced saidar. Channeling Fire, she reached out to lightly touch the mirror. She couldn't see through anymore; instead, her own blue eyes stared back at her. The mirror shimmered, swirling, and became a mist. Joaynna's hand went through the mirror. Nervously, she pulled it back through, and it came easily, as if she were simply moving her hand through fog. Feeling reassured, she gingerly stepped through. As she passed through completely, there was a strange sensation of being swept away, and she could feel the weave slipping away from her. That was strange; she wasn't far from the mirror, and she had been concentrating. Edelle had said she could keep it open despite not being strong enough to go through it herself, though. She had to trust her.
Once everything had stopped shifting, Joaynna glanced around quickly for any sign of the girl. She heard a soft whimper and quickly moved in that direction. She found the girl in a heap on the ground, crying. Her leg was bleeding, but it wasn't a bad wound, and she was conscious in any case. Joaynna looked around, wondering where they were. Her first instinct was to Heal the girl, but she was wary about channeling when she didn't know where she was, and the wound didn't require immediate attention. She needed to get the girl back through the ter'angreal.
Kneeling beside the girl, she helped her to sit up. The novice said her name was Cetrina and started to explain, choking back a sob, how she had gone through the mirror. Joaynna quieted her, though, telling her they would talk about it later. Right now it was important to get back through to the Tower and take care of Cetrina's wound. Whatever had injured her in the first place might return; Cetrina didn't seem to know what it had been.
Helping Cetrina to her feet, Joaynna and the novice made their way back to the mirror, Cetrina leaning on Joaynna for support. They didn't find the mirror immediately; Joaynna realized that in her concern about finding Cetrina, she hadn't stopped to look back to see what it looked like from the other side.
She quickly noticed a place where the air was shifting and swirling like the glass of the mirror had, and as they approached it, Joaynna could see Edelle through the mist. Edelle wasn't looking directly at the mirror, but instead seemed to be examining something that Joaynna couldn't see. Joaynna brought her hand up to the mist, and her fingers met resistance. It wasn't solid, but they wouldn't move through freely as they had when she had stepped through. Perhaps Edelle needed to activate the mirror again. Joaynna called out, waving a hand, to get the Indigo's attention. The woman glanced up at her and nodded, and Joaynna saw her begin to channel. She saw a frown cross the woman's face, and Joaynna suddenly felt a rush of uncertainty. What if Edelle couldn't open it again? Would she be able to find someone else who could?
Behind Edelle, Joaynna saw the storeroom door open.
Melabrid had been dozing, his head resting on a pile of papers on his desk. It had been a long day of administration, and when the kitchens had failed to send up his regular evening cup of kaf, he had fallen asleep. He was starting to depend more and more on the stuff, which couldn't be good.
Joaynna was near, he could sense, in his half-sleeping state. Tired too, she was walking somewhere below. She was always with him, and had been for so long, wherever he went, a constant source of company in what was often a lonely life.
Suddenly, something shifted about the sensation of Joaynna. She was surprised, curious....she had stopped walking...and then, suddenly, urgency! She needed him! Instantly, he came to full wakefulness. The urgency was so great his tired mind almost considered Traveling to where she was, but the closest he could judge, she was in the Storeroom -Light...what's she doing there?-, and channeling anywhere near the things in there was never a good idea, not to mention the fact that Gateways were never used where people might be harmed by them opening.
Instead, he ran out of the door, and down the stairs towards the Storeroom...down corridors, past a few startled-looking maids polishing the floors. Down a few more stairs, and the main Indigo corridor, he finally reached the door to the Storeroom. His skin prickled...someone inside was channeling saidar...surely Jo knew better than to channel around ter'angreal she didn't understand.
He threw open the door, noting in passing that for some reason, the wards of saidin had been deactivated. That fact was lost to his memory, however, when he took in the scene. Jo's misty face peered out from within a large oval mirror-like ter'angreal, with a deathly pale girl standing behind her, almost obscured by mist. The words "RESPONDS TO SAIDAR. FUNCTION UNKNOWN: DEEMED UNSAFE" flashed through his mind, remembered from a catalogue of the Tower's objects he had read a long time ago.
An Indigo Aes Sedai: Edelle, stood nearby, looking startled as she saw him enter. It was clearly she who had been channeling, as he could feel when he stood next to her. "M'Hael...I...."
"What is going on?" Melabrid heard himself demanding. "What is she doing in that thing? What are you doing?"
"Please," Edelle pleaded. "Calm yourself! A Novice somehow blundered into the mirror, and the Amyrlin is trying to rescue her...she managed to get in, but the mirror is closing...and I do not know how to keep it open. Let me concentrate!" She was sweating...a sure sign that she was channeling with the utmost urgency.
"Link with me, then! We must keep the thing open and bring them back," said Melabrid, a note of panic entering his voice.
"I cannot, M'Hael," said Edelle, her eyes flickering around nervously. "The mirror responds only to saidar, and if I break off my channeling for just a second to link with you, I will lose the connection!" She turned back to the mirror, with a look of intense concentration, her fingers twitching and her gaze intent on whatever she was doing.
"Keep it open! Please!" Melabrid was close to panic now...the swirls of mist in the mirror were getting thicker. He was glad for Edelle's cool head. He ran to the mirror, and gazed desperately into it. Jo's face became clear again briefly, but her voice was muffled. She was looking at him, her face a mask of worry. Beside her, the girl was sobbing. "Hold on, dearest!" Melabrid said. "Edelle is working on it, and I'm going to run and find someone else to help." He just started to turn around, when there came a sigh and a slumping noise from behind him.
"I have...reached the limit of my strength," Edelle breathed behind him. "I am sorry...I cannot reopen it, and the mirror will deactivate in seconds."
Melabrid's heart sank. He turned again to the mirror and Jo, who was becoming more and more cloudy. "Dearest, my love...I am so sorry: we cannot keep this thing functioning. You are strong, though...I can't tell you what you face in there when the gate closes off, but I know you'll hold on until I find someone else to open it again...I'll get on it right away. We'll have you out in minutes....but Edelle says that, for now...it's deactivating...you're getting fainter..."
He raised a hand, and placed it against the cold surface of the mirror. "Whatever happens, I love you," he said gently, knowing that even if his voice was muffled, she would know what he had said.
Joaynna hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath while she waited for Edelle until she saw the figure in the storeroom doorway through the mirror and let out a sigh of relief. Melabrid. Always there for her, always showing up when she needed him the most. And suddenly there were tears in her eyes. She had tried to stay as calm as possible to soothe the novice even when she realized that Edelle was having difficultly, but seeing her husband's face, she felt an overwhelming rush of emotion. She desperately wanted to be in Melabrid's arms at that moment.
Joaynna felt herself beginning to tremble, and not wanting to scare Cetrina, who was still leaning on her arm for support, she carefully helped the girl to sit on a rock nearby. She was very pale. "Take deep breaths, child," Joaynna said, very gently, forcing back her tears.
Turning from Cetrina, she peered through the mirror. Melabrid and Edelle's voices were muffled, but she could understand enough to know that Edelle was telling Melabrid she was losing control, and that the mirror was going to close any minute. Joaynna suddenly felt a chill. What if the mirror couldn't be opened again? Joaynna didn't know if there was any way to activate it from this side. It seemed that once the mist stopped swirling, there would just be...nothing. Even more than being trapped in a world she didn't recognize, the idea of being without Melabrid terrified her.
She could feel Melabrid's panic through the bond, and she was beginning to panic herself. He was looking at her through the mist, his hand pressed against the mirror. "Whatever happens, I love you," he said.
Joaynna couldn't hold back the tears anymore; some escaped down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she met her husband's eyes. She raised her hand to his, pressing it lightly against the swirling mist, which was now more solid. "I love you too," she said softly. She could hardly see him anymore. "I always will."
Strangely, he felt a moment of complete calm listening to her words, as if part of him knew that now there was nothing he could do. A tear fell down his cheek as he raised a hand to the mirror, placing it opposite hers through the barrier...all he could feel was cold glass, and she was fading into mist.
He looked into her eyes through the mist and the glass, and something passed between them in that last instant...a glance from one soul directly into the other.
He blinked away a tear, and when his eyes opened again, he was staring at his own reflection, touching its hand across the icy mirror. "I will find you again," he whispered to her, although he was sure now that she couldn't hear him any more.
He took a second to calm himself, then turned to Edelle, who had collapsed on the floor and was still recovering, from the effort of holding the mirror open for so long. "We must find Sisters...I want Residue Readers, Indigo Sisters...we must get this thing open again!
"Residue readers?" Edelle looked slightly surprised. "But...that is a wonderful idea! We may know how the Novice got the mirror open. I will find some of my Sisters at once to help; I know just the ones."
She left, seeming to recover her energy quickly with this new hope. Melabrid composed himself, and looked at the mirror again. Perfectly still: no sign of mist or motion. He didn't dare channel near it, for fear of damaging it in any way. Suddenly, all the other ter'angreal around it became a threat...what if one of them should go off, and break it? But he didn't dare leave it even for a moment to get someone to help him carry it elsewhere.
Pacing up and down in frustration, he waited for Edelle to return with help.
Corenne muttered to herself in astonishment. Melabrid was moving around at this time of night? She knew Joaynna was probably still working in the office, but surely Melabrid would have retired by now- and did he have to walk quite so loudly? She got out of bed, reached to her bedside cabinet and picked up the dressing gown she'd tossed there when she had finally gotten to bed. Grumpy, she knew she needed to control herself when talking to Melabrid- even after her years as Keeper, she wasn't assured of his support for her, and getting on his bad side was a good idea. She took a deep breath, calmed down, and walked outside her door. She listened, and heard footsteps retreating down the corridors- running. Realising the possibility of an intruder, Corenne clutched her ter'angreal from her necklace in her hand, rushing after the footsteps, but she was quite a way behind. Embracing the One Power, her senses expanded- enough that Corenne could hear the footsteps clearly, their direction was solid in her mind. She followed.
Rushing through the Tower, she followed the footsteps through unfamiliar twists and turns- she knew approximately where they were, but she didn't go near this part of the Tower often- yet this was obviously a direct route somewhere, as the person took few turns.
Suddenly, Corenne recognised the part of the Tower they were in, and tried to go that bit faster, but she was not in fantastic shape, and didn't make up much speed. They were nearing the Indigo Storeroom, and untold damage could be done, should the wards be down or removed.
Some moments later, Edelle Sedai, an Indigo Sister, came rushing through the corridor. "Corenne," she called, as they came into vocal range, "There's been an accident... Mother.. in a ter'angreal...storeroom" Edelle breathed out, and then rushed off, presumably to get more help.
Corenne skidded to a halt at the storeroom entrance. There, as Edelle had said, was a mirror ter'angreal and Melabrid was outside, looking in. The mirror looked opaque, reflected her image back at her perfectly. She shuddered.
Approaching quietly, she moved Melabrid to one side and moved a net of saidar over the ter'angreal. Prodding, poking. Looking for a lock, a way in. Thin threads, all of them, carefully wisping in and out of the ironwork surrounding the mirror, and over the mirror itself. She looked at the ter'angreal in her hand and shook her head. It would be of no use to her. Casting it aside, she looked at the surrounding rooms. "Melabrid" she directed gently "I need to use some quite strong threads, to try and force a way in. It might set off some of the ter'angreal here. Please shield any that might be set off." She picked up a sa'angreal, the only one that she was familiar with, and waited for Melabrid. He seemed the embodiment of restrained action, wanting to help and not being able to do so- constantly moving.
Corenne used the sa'angreal this time, pushing hard at various points that seemed weakest, over and over, trying to push a way in through a locked door. Finally, she put the sa'angreal down. "It's locked. I'm sorry" she said simply, whilst trying to work out anything that could be done, that perhaps she had missed. Any more power would surely shatter the mirror, which could destroy the inhabitant. Any less wasn't working. Nothing was working. Corenne waited for the response of her M'Hael, not expecting it to be good.
Melabrid felt a sense of relief as Corenne came in and took charge...Edelle certainly knew how to get the right person for the job.
He allowed himself to be moved to one side as she channeled at the mirror. He panicked at first, hoping she knew what she was doing, and then relaxed as he remembered her wide knowledge and experience.
At her request, he carefully wove saidin into weaves of Spirit and Fire and Earth, wards against saidar: a weave he knew well. He enclosed an area around Corenne, making sure that no stray energies could set off other objects.
Corenne picked up a small bracelet: one of the female sa'angreal, and began to channel again: Melabrid's skin prickled strongly, but he hardly noticed, so intently was he watching the surface of the glass for any sign of movement.
He listened to her diagnosis, still stunned. "Locked? But...it was open just a few minutes ago...Edelle was holding it open, but she didn't have the strength...it faded, then...how can it have locked?" Clenching his fists in frustration, he resisted the urge to channel at the ter'angreal...saidin was no use here.
He paused, and seemed to slump a little. "It'll take more time than I thought, then," he muttered to himself. "We need to get it away from these other objects...help me carry it to my room?" She nodded, looking at him warily. "And Corenne..." another pause. "Thank you." It was heartfelt. A touch would have been inappropriate, so he tried to put the gratitude he felt into his voice instead.
Corenne sighed as Melabrid's torrent ended. It wasn't as bad as she'd expected. She nodded when he asked her to help him carry the mirror to his rooms, silently wondering what help he thought he could be, unless he knew of a ter'angreal that made a man able to ... no, she'd have heard about it, surely.
She looked up at him when he thanked her, surprised at the depth of feeling in the voice. Of course, his wife was trapped in there, and she had tried to help, but still.. Corenne reached out cautiously and grasped his hand briefly, then dropped it. She couldn't put anything into words- this was her duty, her lifework, and she'd been unable to help.
Lifting one side of the mirror, she waited for Melabrid, and together they carried the mirror to his rooms. Corenne let go and stood back, hoping he might forget about her enough that she could stay and watch over him- playing with ter'angreal was a dangerous game. Of course, he knew that, he'd done more ter'angreal studies than she cared to name, but she thought perhaps that having someone trained as a healer would be useful to have around and was prepared to argue the point.
As Melabrid was about to pick up the mirror, just as things had seemed to calm a little after the initial shock, he realised something...he could no longer feel Joaynna's presence through the Warder bond. No...there was something....gone again...it was strange...he could only feel the tiniest glimmer of sensation, a horrible emptiness, except when he touched the mirror, when it increased very slightly, but still not enough to tell anything at all. He had become so used to knowing where she was, what she was feeling..now she might as well be on the other side of the Ayrth Ocean for all the strength the bond had left. Sighing, he lifted the mirror with Corenne, and carried it ever so carefully, painfulls slowly, up to his rooms. When he released it, he could barely unclench his hands, so tightly had he been holding it. "Now..." he told Corenne "I won't try anything yet...I'm in no condition...I'll try and sleep, and tomorrow, I'll find Sisters to come and help me study this thing. We'll have her back soon...yes we will."
Corenne nodded to Melabrid, as he babbled about Joaynna, and how she would be back soon. Hearing that, after seeing the ter'angreal, made her fear for his logic or his sanity- and hope that it was only grief that was making him act as such. Mentally, she was working through how she could go about Amyrlin nominations, and wondering how to circumvent Melabrid's inevitable objections.
She realised that Melabrid was probably going to vent his frustrations on someone, and that being his "friend" through this would probably help any backlash she would otherwise get for beginning the nominations.
Corenne nodded to Melabrid. "Rest. You don't want to get stuck in there too. I'll have someone bring you food, then you sleep, and I'll deal with people for tomorrow. Sisters will be here for you when you awake, to look at the ter'angreal, and help you." With that, she left.
Stopping a novice, she ordered the food for Melabrid, and hoped he remembered to eat it. Losing him as well would bring the Tower turmoil. She sent messages to a few of the Indigo Sisters, as well as a residue reader in the Blue. She doubted that the Blue would be of any use, but better to have her there, and have the appearance of helpfulness, than else. Likewise, the Indigo she had chosen were fine- but there were better choices. She thought it best not to waste resources on a pointless find. Of course, should there be a way in, the combination of Sisters would probably find it- but Corenne thought it unlikely.
She arranged a few meetings with the Indigo Sitters, and a few other members of the Hall, to discuss the Amyrlin's apparent demise, before retiring for the evening, and hoping that the new day brought goodness.
As she opened her eyes, the events of the previous day returned. She readied herself quickly, and just in time, too. The Indigo Sisters arrived shortly after, and she let them into Melabrid's office, where, as she had suspected, he stood waiting. As the Sisters got to work, Corenne drew Melabrid aside. "Until Joaynna returns, perhaps having an interum Amyrlin would be useful. You know how hard Joaynna works, and we wouldn't want her to have a backlog of things when she returns. She's probably quite exhausted by the trip in the ter'angreal. I'll set it in motion and see it through the Hall whilst you're overseeing here, if you like."
Melabrid only heard parts of what Corenne was saying: "Rest...tomorrow...Sisters to help you." He nodded eagerly. "I will supervise them...we'll get it open tomorrow." Somewhere in his mind, a voice calmly told him that there were other urgent questions to be asked, but all he could think about was getting the mirror open again.
After a time, food appeared somehow, and he ate a couple of mouthfuls, drinking kaf to keep himself awake. Where was Corenne with those Sisters. He stared at his reflection for several hours before dawn, falling asleep only when he forgot to keep drinking the kaf. She was in there, she needed to be out here...yes, that was simple. Sisters could help.
When he awoke, it was after dawn. He brushed himself down a little, and stood looking out of the window, wondering exactly where the mirror led...probably nowhere in this reality, he decided glumly. He walked back to the mirror, and felt the tiniest increase in the bond, which was to say it went from nothing to almost nothing.
Then Corenne returned, and she had brought Sisters! "You brought them!" Melabrid cried gratefully as the worried-looking Indigos entered. They all nodded in a pacifying way, eyeing him warily as they moved over to the mirror. Trying to keep an eye on them, Melabrid found it difficult to pay attention to Corenne...he knew he should...she organised things and was very important.
"Yes...she will be exhausted, won't she...wouldn't want a backlog when she gets back. Corenne, you always have such good ideas. See to that...yes, someone to keep up with her work for her. I'll stay here and oversee opening this thing. I should think we'll have her out by the time you get back, but we'll see."
He went to stand with the Indigo sisters "Now, shall we get to work...?"
