Fanfic:Hoeing Turnips
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Kanamai unbent carefully, feeling the tenderness in her muscles as she rose. Stretching first one arm and then the other, she wiped a dusty hand across her sweaty forehead, causing tiny rivulets of mud to trail down each side of her head. A crow called from the apple tree, reveling in the shade that was desired from a distance but not hers to rest in.
The farm manager glanced her way, warning in his eyes that her work was far from over for the day. He was a short man, skin darkened and prematurely wrinkled by the relentless sun and drying wind. There was little attractive about him, not the leathery skin or the constant scowl decorating his face, the balding grey head, or the farm smell clinging to his patched and dirty clothes. She was glad she was only here for two weeks. Poor Janis was somewhere else, feeling it as much as she, but his sentence had been for a month.
"Back to work," she sighed, preempting the man's command by leaning over her hoe once more and loosening the weeds from the soil. She doubted turnips would hold much appeal to her tastebuds in the future. The very sight of one would remind her of these weeks on the farm. The work was restful to her mind. There were no responsibilities out here above the mindless meniality of the daily grind. Once a person's body adjusted to the effort required of it, the mind was free to wander and dream. She could be as creative as she liked without the interruption of teaching classes and devising ways to resist the Dark One as he tried to conquer the world.
Scanning the expanse of the turnip field, she located several other workers, most of whom were here by the will of another rather than by personal vocational choice. There had been time to invent stories for each of them as they worked in the fields. Kanamai wondered if any of her imaginations were close to the truth. There were few words shared between them after the day's work. Most found it was all they could do to swallow a few bites of food before dropping exhausted into bed. Kanamai was slowly attaching names to them though.
Kheris had been taken home yesterday, his time finished and a relieved grin on his face. He had taken his month working here better than most and she would miss the flash of his white teeth grinning good naturedly as they passed between the rows. Talking during work time was forbidden among the workers, though she had broken that rule more than once when the manager was occupied elsewhere, especially with Kheris. He was obviously a born mischief maker and she would not be at all surprised to see him returned before her own time was up. He reminded her a little of Janis.
Janis - how she missed him. After the rings were removed and they had recovered from the effects, they had been transported to farms as far apart as the Tower could manage and forbidden to even see one another for two months. It was all because of the rings. She thought back to the incident which had attracted so much attention. It had been an experiment, a very successful one. She and Janis wanted to know what it would be like to bond. There had been some question about whether it was the right thing to do and when the opportunity came to test the experience without actually committing to the bond, they had grasped it eagerly. The M'Hael had fashioned a pair of Ter'angreal rings which he hoped would simulate the effects of bonding and they had been there right on time to volunteer. It was true they had used some persuasion to be allowed the honour. Kanamai had never aspired to the Indigo, who would usually be the ones to test new Ter'angreal. He was probably p! ersuaded by the argument that few would be willing to risk the feelings of a broken bond should the rings work better than expected.
They had, indeed, worked very well. From the moment they slipped them on the bond had been real. She knew him inside her head as if they were permanently bonded. It was a pity they had chosen an Indigo storeroom for the experiment. Janis had been allowed there before by an Aes Sedai and Kanamai knew so little of the inside of the Tower that she didn't even know where they were. It was unfortunate that Saphire had come by at the very moment the bond forged between them and sensed the weave before the power had time to dissipate. That was the last she had seen of her promised until the rings were removed.
The simulated bond was only to last for a week. Theirs was given less than a day. Caden had already been looking for Janis. Apparently he had missed one class too many as he and Kana spent time together and the Master of Training was unhappy with the situation even though Janis was his best student. As Saphire's guards marched him off to the Warder Officer Studies, Kanamai had fled to the safety of Ashfalcon's office, dragging a reluctant Drin with her because he had heard and seen too much.
She smiled at the memory of the comfort that visit had brought her. Ashfalcon had been a kind and caring M'Hael, one not to be crossed, but with wisdom in every word he spoke. She was glad of the opportunity to avail herself of his advice one last time before he disappeared from the Tower with his wife. It was likely there would be a new M'Hael by the time she returned from the farms, if he had failed to return. Kanamai pondered the mystery in her heart. Perhaps there was a way to find him. A plan began to formulate in her mind but it would have to wait until after her return.
Tossing fitfully, Kanamai was unaware of the world around her, oblivious to the hardness of the flea ridden bed and the aches gripping every muscle of her body. The blisters raised on her hands from long hours gripping and dragging a hoe could not be felt inside her dreams. Yellow walls surrounded her and faces peered down, huge and luminescent as she fought the pain of a loss too great to live through. Distantly, she heard voices speaking as though to someone else. Her mind didn't even register the name they spoke. Kanamai - who was Kanamai? Had she once known someone by that name? Why did screams escape her mouth as though she was in pain? Why did her mind keep shutting off and dragging her into darkness? Briefly, a memory rose to the surface. They had removed the ring and suddenly he was gone. A part of her life had been torn from her and her mind had collapsed, unwilling to remain conscious and face such pain.
Kanamai felt the shudder of a healing weave sweeping through her body. There were two of them, an Aes Sedai and an Asha'man, combining forces in the power to use all five threads in an effort to restore her sanity. There was coldness, then peace, blissful oblivion, carrying her out of the living world and back into dreamless sleep.
Two days had passed when she next opened her eyes. Janis was grinning from the bed next door and was first to notice. "If it's anything like what happened to me," he chuckled, "they'll be feeding you non stop from the moment someone discovers you are conscious."
He was right. Meal after meal appeared at her bedside table, even when it wasn't mealtime. Neither of them were allowed to leave the Infirmary until well after the date they were supposed to have been taken to the farms. The Yellows insisted they must be together until their minds registered that both were alive, despite the insistence of those who had declared their judgement that it was time for them to go. Eventually, the Yellows warded their door and refused entry to all but those in attendance. It had been three more days before they were considered fit to leave their beds.
Sitting bolt upright in her bed, Kanamai flicked off the emotions still clinging from the dream. It was repetitive and her mind's way of dealing with the last vestiges of the ring effect. At this time of night, all should have been still and quiet, as it was ... Too quiet. From the corner of her eye, Kanamai noticed a movement. There was something unnatural - just a shadow. The moon was too dull to be casting shadows and there were no lamps. This was more of thickness in the air and one that slithered closer as she watched. Her eyes diverted from it no matter how hard she tried to identify it's position. Grey Man! A shiver crept up Kanamai's spine as she realised what was coming for her. Of all the times to be separated from Janis ... Of all the times to be without her sword. Did they think she was going to use it to kill the farm manager? Use of the power was forbidden on the farms as well but if she kept that rule, she would die.
Saidar was sweet to Kanamai after days without connecting to the source. It was only a blink before the fireball formed in her hand and another as it hurtled towards the elusive presence slipping between the beds and coming unmistakably for her. Why her? There was no time to wonder as she released the fireball towards its target. Death had no scream as the creature fell to the floor and visibility shaped him as a man. The dagger in his hand was real enough, meant for her heart before she saw him coming. Why had the Dark One marked her as a target? Perhaps it was her refusal to serve in the other dream that had followed her since their trip to the Blight. There would be no more sleep this night.
Concentrating fire on the form lying near her bed, Kanamai incinerated the corpse. The less explaining there was in the morning, the better it would be for all. Was there nowhere safe? Breaking the no channeling rule once more, Kanamai formed wards around herself that would kill shadowspawn. She hoped none of the channelers present in the room would feel the necessity to report her. If anyone asked, she could try explaining and hope she was believed. Failing that, the shape of the Grey Man's dagger had sizzled into the floor before it turned to ash.
Errin passed Kanamai, digging in the opposite direction, as they hoed the last of their rows for the day. They had spent a little time in the last few days, sharing experiences and reasons for being here. It turned out she had been awake on the night the Grey Man entered the dormitory. She was only an Accepted, sent to the farms for throwing a plate of food at an Aes Sedai when the woman had complained about the food. She had been kept awake by Kana's tossing and groaning as the ring removal experience played through her dreams. Seeing the creature was a first for her too. She hadn't been able to focus on him at all as he closed the gap, dagger in hand and was quite surprised when the body materialised on the floor.
"I haven't seen anything since," she whispered, one eye on the farm manager and his switch. Both of them had felt the sting of it across their backs for talking before. Kanamai didn't care, for herself. She didn't like being the cause of her friend being punished though, so she spoke infrequently and only when she was certain it was safe.
"When we get back to the Tower, we need to find someone who knows more about these creatures," Kanamai returned, pretending to hoe at a particularly stubborn weed to gain a few more seconds with her friend. "I want to know why I have been such a target for Shadowspawn in the last year. I'm just not important enough for the Dark One to waste his time on. Perhaps I've been mistaken for someone else. Will you help me discover the truth?"
Errin gave the barest of nods and continued down her row as the manager took a step in their direction. Kanamai didn't think he had heard or seen the conversation but the switch came down on her back with a growl anyway. She bit back a cry and kept on hoeing as though nothing had happened. There was only one more day until the end of her time and she wasn't about to increase her sentence.
After dinner on the fourteenth day, a Gateway opened in the designated and fenced off area, as Kana had been expecting. The Tower was prompt in discipining its members but equally prompt in returning them when their time was up. Kanamai's skin though naturally darker than many at the Tower, had taken on a hue that could only be achieved by so much time in the sun. Two Gaidin had been sent to make sure she returned safely. She wondered if it was worthwhile letting her Ajah Head know they would have been better employed at the farm, protecting her from Grey Men. This might cause her more trouble than she was prepared to accept. She didn't want to be the object of study until someone discovered the reason she had been marked for death. No, she and Errin would look into it themselves when they were together in the Tower.
