Fanfic:Runaway Novice (Crysthia Faedryn)
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Crysthia sat on her bed thinking. It was already late and she should have been asleep hours past. She was alone in her room as she was currently the newest novice and there was no one yet available to share with. She had been at the Tower for three weeks now and she wondered if it had been a mistake to come. Her days were filled to the hilt with classes and chores. And then in her first week she also discovered she was a dream walker and took a private lesson with an Accepted for several nights to learn the basics of entering and keeping herself relatively safe.
"This is not the life of a Cairhienin noble!" Crysthia shouted to the empty room. Her first attempts at the regular, every day chores had been most disastrous. Having been spoiled her entire life, Crysthia was not used to such menial things as washing dishes, or any other sort of cleaning. She did not like it one bit. She was constantly being scolded for breaking dishes, or missing spots.
Once when she was tending gardens she nearly ruined an entire row of tomato plants. Her fellow novices tried to help at first. But now they just got annoyed with her, or taunted and teased her. Lessons were difficult and very controlled, and it was difficult to improve when one was not allowed to practice without supervision. Unlike many of her fellow novices her problem wasn't lack of strength in the power that kept her from getting the weaves. She had a tendency to rush through the weaves, often producing dangerous results.
Her instructors urged her to slow down and take more time with what she was doing in between scolding her for carelessness. Crysthia was eager to learn, especially where channeling was concerned, but she was getting fed up with the way her days seemed to be running.
"Running . . ." Crysthia paused on that last thought. "Yes! That's it. I'll simply run away. I don't need this." She was already up and grabbing what little belongings she had, including her bow and quiver of arrows. As she moved toward the door she realized she was still wearing her novice gown. No this won't do. She thought as she moved toward the wardrobe. There inside was the clothing she had arrived to the tower in. A simple purple blouse and a brown skirt, split for riding. She changed quickly leaving the novice dress on the bed.
Now she was ready. Slowly she opened her door and peered down the empty hall. She closed the door behind her and crept along the hallway making sure not to be seen. At each corner Crysthia held her breath as she slowly peered around it, but each hallway seemed to be empty. Soon she found herself out of the Tower and headed toward the main road. She had no idea where she was going, but it didn't matter. She felt freedom and that was good enough for her at the moment. She wished she had her horse with her, but she supposed she'd have to make do with her feet for the moment.
Perhaps I can go back home to Cairhien. Crysthia thought as she continued to walk. I'm sure mother and father will understand and all will be well. After an hour of walking, the thrill of having made it out of the tower was gone and she was exhausted. She also knew it would probably be daylight soon and it wouldn't do to be found walking along the road by an Aes Sedai. She didn't think they would take kindly to her running away.
Crysthia considered the nearby village but she would definitely be discovered if she went there. She needed a place to hide. Maybe this wasn't such a brilliant idea after all. She was starting to get nervous. Maybe if I turn back now they'll never know. No no it's too late for that there is no way I could get back in time. I'll just keep walking, I doubt anyone will recognize me on the road.
So she continued on. By midday her feet were definitely not thanking her and her stomach was complaining. Crysthia realized she had no money and she could not see any sort of game that could be caught. She was so caught up in what to do for food that she didn't hear the horses that were coming up behind her on the road until one of the riders shouted. "Here she is!"
Crysthia whirled around to see an Aes Sedai whom she did not know by name. Her eyes went wide and she took off running, but even if she could outrun a horse, which she knew she could not, she could not outrun a channeler. She felt the weaves of air grab onto her as a shield fell into place to keep her from channeling. Now she was definitely in trouble.
They stuck her on the back of the Aes Sedai's horse and kept her shielded the entire way back to the Tower. As each minute passed she grew more and more nervous. She did not like the fact that she was shielded. She wondered if they stilled runaways. That's ridiculous they wouldn't! Would they? And if they don't do that, what will they do? Crysthia thought, all sorts of gruesome images floating in her head.
When they finally reached the Tower she was flung into the Mistress of Novices office and told to wait there. By this time Crysthia was in a full panic. She kept trying to reach for the source, but to no avail, she was still shielded. After a few minutes of fearful waiting, the Mistress of Novices entered with the Aes Sedai who had shielded her.
"Sit." She commanded. Crysthia immediately obeyed. "You can remove the shield now and be on your way. Thank you Areila." The Mistress of Novices said and then turned her attention to the novice. "Explain." She said as she took a seat.
Crysthia sat there for a moment, dumbstruck. She had no idea what to say. "I . . ." She looked at the Mistress of Novices and then looked at the floor. She knew her reasons for running away would do no more good than not saying anything at all. "P . . .please forgive m..m...me Aes Sedai. I was foolish and made a huge mistake." Crysthia was in tears now but she highly doubted that would save her from anything.
"Running away is a very serious offense. We do not keep you here because we want to enslave you. Channeling is dangerous, and it is very important that you be knowledgeable enough not to harm yourself or others before you can be allowed to leave the Tower. We of course would hope that you have what it takes to become an Aes Sedai. You have potential Crysthia, but that is not enough. You must work, and work hard. Your punishment is as follows: You will receive a switching from me, after which you will be lucky if you can sit comfortably in a weeks time. And then in addition to your classes and chores you will scrub down the courtyard every day for a month. And then I think you will muck out the stables every other day until I say you may stop."
Crysthia was already sobbing long before the first blow was struck. She had never been switched before and as the last blow came she vowed she never would be again. "Now, you have ten minutes to collect yourself before you are due for your next class." The Mistress of Novices told her as she put the switch away. "I expect you to report to the courtyard after your last class today is that clear?"
Crysthia curtsied as best she could, she had stopped sobbing but tears still streamed down her face. "Y . yes Aes Sedai." She replied and then ran to her room to change her clothes. Crysthia gasped as she tried to remove her skirts and they rubbed at her now raw flesh. "Light that hurts." And then she broke into sobs again as she realized she would be expected to sit in her classes.
After a few minutes of crying she realized she would only make things worse by being late. So she changed into her novice dress as quickly as she could and washed her face. It was apparent that she had been crying but she could not fix that now.
Crysthia made it through the rest of her classes and chores without relative incident, except for the searing pain every time she sat down. Her classmates were tactful enough not to say anything to her for which she was grateful. At her first chore time she realized she had been very spoiled. Washing dishes really wasn't that hard, she just spent too much time whining and complaining to bother learning how to do it right. She realized she wasn't at home any longer and it was time for her to change. At the end of the day she went out to the courtyard as instructed, ready to begin her task.
