Fanfic:This is a Robbery

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This is a Robbery
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"Hand it over. Now." Fiona dropped to a squat, pulling herself as close in to herself as she could. Then she peered through the shelves in front of her toward the front of the curio shop. A burly man in leather armor and a rough brown cape stood at the counter, one arm lifted in front of him to press a long blade against the side of Master Gowan's throat. The shopkeep's eyes darted back and forth, his panic evident from the noise of uneven breathing.

The novice cursed her white dress as she crouched there. Had her ability to channel remained undiscovered she would be Gaidin by now, wearing breeches and more than capable of putting a thief to rights. If they didn't clear off on general principle when they saw her cloak, she would have carried the weapons to ensure the peace was kept. Her skirts had never seemed so heavy, the care she put into her curls so superfluous. What did her appearance matter when things like this were happening at the Tower's very doorstep?

The Andoran cocked her head to the side, listening intently. Abruptly she realized rather sheepishly that she had been waiting for the sound of tumbling dice to begin as they so frequently did in times of danger. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, pudgy man," the stranger spoke into the unexpected silence. "I'm sure you would prefer to not lose an ear today, yes?" Master Gowan inhaled sharply as the knife pushed upward.

Fiona felt about her for a weapon, but found precious little of use. The shelf in front of her held lengths of fine fabric, dyed feathers, and beads; the wall behind was bare. If she moved, the miscreant would surely see her, especially in the gloom. Who decided it was a good idea to dress novices in white, anyway?

"Fine," Master Gowan said. "Put the knife down, I'll give you all I have." The man sounded defeated, and Fiona saw his shoulders slump as he turned toward the lock box in the wall. For a moment his eyes flickered toward Fiona, and the Andoran realized with a start that if not for her presence, he might have done something else entirely. No time to contemplate what, exactly. I wish I had stayed with Lirenia Sedai!

She could do nothing but watch as her friend began to pile silver and copper coins into a small bag. No weapon. No chance to get help. That isn't quite accurate, her mind reminded her, and for a moment pure white light filled her vision. Light, what would the Aes Sedai think? Surely they could forgive channeling to stop a crime?

The novice closed her eyes and envisioned a rose. She worked quickly, but took care to be thorough, forcing herself to tear her attention away from the men and instead focus on reaching for the True Source. She fumbled in her haste and it disappeared. Cursing silently, she tried again. On her third try, the rose blossomed and she embraced the warmth of saidar.

Her strength and skill were limited, but not completely useless. Air rolled between her fingers and darted out, wrapping around the man who had threatened Master Gowan. It tightened, tightened again, and the man snarled a curse, jerking his arms furiously against his bindings. Fiona emerged from behind the shelf, forcing her arms to stay straight at her sides lest she betray her nerves. "Put your things away and get help, Master Gowan," the tiny girl said with all the imperious authority she could muster from her memories of her mother. "I will hold this one."

"Burn me but you won't." The man had not shaved in at least a week, she thought. His fingernails were cracked and dirty, the tops scraped flat by blade or teeth. Now he slammed against her bindings, again and again. Fiona struggled to hold the flows, but his movement and curses interrupted her concentration and the Power flickered away. She stared down at her hands in horror as he abruptly lunged forward.

The blade flickered. Master Gowan made an odd sound as he collapsed backward clutching at his neck. The thief grabbed the half open sack from the counter then gave Fiona a look that froze her in her tracks. "You're next, girlie. Don't think you're safe in that pretty Tower." He said coldly, then he fled.

Shock held her in place for a moment; then she gasped for breath as if coming out of the water and hurried around the counter. The blond woman fell to her knees next to the shopkeeper, her hands reaching to support his arm. Red seeped between the fingers he held to to his throat, and his lips were strangely stiff, white-edged and slightly parted.

Hesitation gripped her for a fraction of a second. She had as good a chance at killing Master Gowan as she did at Healing him. Novices may never Heal without explicit direction from an Aes Sedai, Velanya Sedai's voice droned in her ear. My but you do have Talent, child, Christianne's voice echoed in rebuttal. It will be good to explore your abilities as Accepted.

Another trickle of blood fled down his arm and into his sleeve, and he made a strange noise.

Fiona closed her eyes and concentrated. Despite her concern, she was able to find the Source much faster than before. Flows of Air, Spirit, and Water formed and she lifted her hands to place them on either side of the older man's head. "This will be cold," she told him in a kind tone, holding his gaze. Then she pulled the flows together and pushed them through his body exactly as Christianne had shown her again and again. She could feel flesh knitting together, hear the man's ragged breath even out. A moment later she pulled away, breathing heavily, and released saidar.

Master Gowan lifted his hand, staring at his bloody fingers then touching his neck in disbelief by turns. "Thank you," he said, as if expecting the words not to come. He touched his throat again, then smiled. "That was bravely done, little one," he said.

For a moment outrage flashed across Fiona's thoughts. Little one? Then she just shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet. The words had not been intended to hurt, after all. "You're welcome," she said simply. "I couldn't stop him from taking your money," she continued in a regretful tone.

"I hadn't yet given him the more valuable items," Master Gowan said, the corners of his mouth twitching up ever so slightly. "I will not suffer for the loss of a few silver marks, and I daresay he won't dare show his face in Hama Valon again for a while." He pushed himself to his feet as well, and went about closing the lockbox. Then he looked back at her. "Did you decide what you want to get?"

She could practically taste the gift he wanted to give her, but shook her head and curtsied. "I need to report to Lirenia Sedai. She will already know I channeled, and want to know why." Perhaps if I am upfront I will spend two days scrubbing instead of two weeks. Somehow, the thought did not dismay her as much as it might have at other times. She had Healed someone, without guidance or supervision. It had worked perfectly!

The tiny blond novice gave the shopkeep a brilliant smile and dashed out of the shop to find her escort.