Mina had been released in the garden of the manor and there was certainly plenty to explore. The only caveat Nyssa had given her was to stay clear of the maze as it would be used in her training. She was a city girl through and through and she had never been to the countryside so even though the garden was fairly well kept, it represented dangerous Nature and Outside for her. She moved around even more cautiously than usual, skulking and crouching behind trees and bushes and trying to stay out of sight from both the house and the forest. It was an excercise but also almost play since she was enjoying it. She had had a few days to settle down and since everything had gone without an incident, she was starting to slowly relax. Even Leon hadn't caused her any grief although she had spotted him following around a few times for some reason. It was very strange and uncomfortable but as long as the brat left her alone, he could practice his sneaking skills by her.

 

She had no idea how long she had been out already but the fresh air and activity had done their task and her belly was starting to awaken and demand attention. Mary was supposed to call her for dinner but maybe she could spare her the trouble. The maid seemed quite sweet although she was made of sterner stuff than she seemed, otherwise she would have long since gone mad with Leon since the boy allegedly arranged pranks like the previous one for her at least weekly. She was almost deliberating scaring the woman herself if it was just possible so she took extra care to not be seen as she slowly approached the house.

 

Mina

Nyssa's mentee

Dreadlady-to-be

It was with the stride of a tired man that Michael trudged up the path towards his home.  It had been a week spent on assignment, and while he appreciated that Rasputin spared him from the longer postings so he could be with his family, he nevertheless wished that it hadn't taken nearly so long.  A day away was a bit of a break, a couple was good, a week was far too long and he'd be glad to be home and having the faces of his family around him.  Having said that, Michael was fairly certain that as soon as dinner was done he would disappear straight to his bedroom and sleep.  Great Lord help him, he felt like he'd be able to sleep a week after having spent this week traveling both by power and horse for the most part.  Tomorrow he'd be able to really be able to relax a bit, at least until Nyssa felt he'd rested long enough which always seemed an hour shorter than he needed.

 

Stopping, Michael slipped a knife from his belt as he began jogging towards the manor, off the path and onto the grass.  His first thought of an unfamiliar figure stealthily making their way around the house being an intruder, he slowed down to quick steps and then slower as he rounded the corner of the house.  A woman, she was making her way towards the kitchen, and while Michael couldn't see or sense anyone else, he was doubly cautious all the same as he made his way behind her.  While he didn't have the stealth about the house that his wife did, Michael had enough practice over the better part of a century to sneak up on someone with a knife without being caught out.  Slipping his blade underneath her chin, he seized her left hand and twisted it behind her back as he turned her, pushing her against the wall as his blade made it very clear that if she didn't behave that she would have very little time to regret her poor choices.

 

Whispering, Michael's usual nature was replaced by menace as he spoke.  "Who are you and what are you doing in my home skulking about?  Answer falsely and so help me I'll spill your blood right here."

 

Michael Daemeau

Dreadlord

The coppery headed girl was very close to her goal, the kitchen and she was fairly certain that she had made it there unnoticed. Feeling proud of herself, she was kneeling behind a raspberry bush when abruptly a blade was pressed against her throat. She utterly froze and as a tantalizingly familiar voice began to speak, she was transfered to time few years earlier. There was a promise of security there, in the memory of the voice but the threat was evident. Past and present got mixed in her terror ridden brain and she began to hyperventilate. It was almost impossible to speak but she had to spare herself and at least try to evade punishment.

 

"P... p... please don't hurt me." Her voice sounded girly and much younger than her years, that was how Pander had liked it. "I h... h... have been a bad girl but I j.. j.. just wanted to surprise Mary. Not the whip! I'll do anything!"

 

Frowning, Michael could feel the fear rolling off the girl.  Either she had overestimated herself and had just found her legs cut under her, or she was just some fool innocent of a darker agenda, maybe.  Either way, Michael turned her around so he could look at h-  She can't be!  Knife still at her throat, Michael narrowed his eyes to cover his surprise as he spoke again.  "You're not making any sense, start doing so or this is the end of you here and now.  What are you doing here?  Why are you surprising Mary?"

 

The man moved from behind her but didn't lift the knife. Mina's pupils had widened to their extreme and her eyes were dark pools of fear. For a moment she just stared unseeing into the air before she actually saw him. Relief flooded over her; it wasn't Pander but the man from the alley. She had seen him only briefly before she passed out but the image was strong and she was certain. Her breathing was still shallow but it was slowly returning to more normal and with it some of her wit. Was he a friend of the family or even more unbelievably, the husband of Nyssa? He might have saved her then for who knew what motive but she was still in danger. She spoke slowly and carefully hoping that she would say the right thing. "Duram brought me and I am under his protection. I live here now."

 

Frowning at the answer he was given, Michael didn't remove the knife as he mulled it over.  The safety of his family easily won out as he refused to pull the knife away but instead thought of a simple way to test the matter.  Lightening his voice but a little, he asked a simple question to test the woman.  "If you live here, you must know the Mistress of the house.  You would know her maiden name wouldn't you?"

 

Obviously her answer was not satisfactory as the knife was not removed. The adrenaline rush of fear was starting to slowly subside and she was getting irked. Good thing that Nyssa had confiscated her dagger or her first reaction might have been something entirely different and she would likely be dead already. Mina frowned back at the man when he clearly tested her. "No, I wouldn't know. I have been here only two days and she has been just Nyssa or Mistress Daemeau. She is inside so why don't you go ask her who I am."

 

Taking a moment, Michael turned the girl so she faced away from him and removing the dagger from her throat, placed it at the small of her back instead.  "Then we shall, and if you're telling the truth then I apologise for all this.  But, considering the fact that there are a number of other ways you could have ended up here, you'll understand my caution.  Walk to the kitchen, from there to the living room.  I'll then call Nyssa to come and if she verifies your story then I'll let you go and you'll have my apologies.  If you try and run or resist before that time, you'll be far worse than when I first found you.  Start walking, I'll follow."

 

The man grabbed her shoulder and she couldn't help a shiver but the touch was gone as soon as he had turned her and the blade was against her back. "Start preparing your apology then", she said darkly. She almost twisted and turned to glare at him at his threat. There was no way that she would find this amusing even once things would get resolved. The bloody garden would be off limits now too. She would just stick to her room when Nyssa wasn't instructing her. It was the only place where she could be sure that no one would come and threaten her.

 

She started moving while seething inside. Through the kitchen they went with no Mary who could have ended the travesty and then to the living room. At least she clearly knew her way around the house. She would have been glad of even Leon right then but no one was at sight. The man called for Nyssa and then all there was to do was to wait.

 

Mina & Michael

From her place in the study, Nyssa felt that she could keep an eye on most of what went on outside of her house. Though she didn’t always care as much about what went on there, today it was important. Today Mina was trying to sneak about, the way Nyssa had instructed. Though Nyssa had actually only given a few tips to make the sneaking more credible, she was still interested to see that Mina went and put those tips to use straight away. The girl was eager to learn, which in turn pleased Nyssa greatly. She had yet to discover just how great the girls potential was, but so far the signs were promising.

 

With a content smile Nyssa turned her attention away from the window, and went to work on her correspondence. She had been forced to rebuild most of her network after she left the White Tower, mostly to avoid detection from said Tower. It had been hard work, but she finally felt that she had eyes and ears in the places that mattered again. What was even better, if all went well she would soon have eyes and ears in the White Tower itself again as well. Things were finally going her way again. The years she had spent here, just raising her family had been good, but…

 

“Nyssa!”

 

She heard Michaels voice echo through the house. “So soon?” she briefly wondered. She hadn’t expected him until later that evening. He called for her again, not sounding particularly amused. “Great… what’s that brat up to now?” she mused, thinking Leon had once again managed to spring a trap on his father. Rushing down the stairs and into the living room, she soon noticed that that wasn’t the case. Michael had obviously found Mina sneaking around, and he was obviously not amused by the situation.

 

And Mina… well, Mina had a knife to her back, and no doubt felt threatened. Nyssa felt a flash of anger at her husbands rash behaviour, which now meant that she had broken her promise to Mina. In this anger, she almost reached for Saidar to pluck the knife out of Michaels hand. She restrained herself though. “Ah, I see you two have met. Drop the knife and stop being silly, Michael. This is Mina, my apprentice. Duram dropped her off a few days ago.” She walked up to him, and pulled the knife out of his hand before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I hadn’t expected you home this early, or I would have made sure that she wasn’t putting my lessons in stealth to use just as you arrived.”

 

~Nyssa Deameau

Dreadlady ++

The appearance of his wife was a welcoming sight, though he was still puzzled by how it had all occured.  Having his dagger relieved from his person even as his wife gave him a kiss upon the cheek, lessons in stealth?  It was one thing to have members of their family skulking about the house, a stranger that he'd never met was a different matter.  He had a foreboding feeling that they were going to end up having a lengthy discussion about the matter regardless, but now wasn't the time or place, particularly infront of this girl.  Mina.

 

It still puzzled him though, how a girl who had been battered and near dead when he'd found her, how she'd then ended up here as Nyssa's student.  He'd just stumbled across her, he'd felt no chill, no goosebumps had flared up in response to manifesting saidar.  If she'd had the power, she would have used it, and if she was to manifest the power then that was certainly the time and the need that a person needed to assert the power.  Why hadn't she?  A wilder with a block?  He doubted it, how then had Duram discovered the girl if she had not channeled because of a block?

 

Turning to Mina as he brought his thoughts to the now, Michael bowed his head slightly as he spoke.  "I owe you my apology then, Mina.  I'm sorry but...  My family are my first concern, to see a stranger skulking about the house from a distance...  Then recognising you and remembering what state you were in when I last found you, finding you here trying to sneak into my home was something that I didn't understand and when my wife and children are concerned I prefer to be safe.  Even now, I'm not sure how all this has happened.  Could you explain how this all came about?"

 

 

Michael Daemeau

Aurani

Nyssa arrived thankfully promptly and removed the knife from against her back. She immediately darted away from the husband and stood behind a solid desk, its sturdy form giving her a feeling of safe distance between them. She could not find anything silly in Daemeau's behaviour but she was well schooled to keep all her emotions away from her face. He apologized as he had promised and she just nodded her head slightly to acknowledge it. Better not say anything because she hadn't really forgiven him. Yes, he had every right to defend his family but he had scared her spitless and she had reverted back to being a begging victim and he had witnessed it. She was thankful for his earlier help; he had went way beyond his way to make sure that a total stranger would be taken care of. But it would take her some time to overcome this latest event and remember just the previous samaritan act.

 

It was a shame that she couldn't express her full gratitude right then but she had to at least try. "Thank you for your help in Cairhien, Master Daemeau. You wouldn't have had to do as much as you did for a complete stranger and it speaks a volume of you that you did." And since the Wheel had deemed it fit to bring the two of them together, she could now repay him somehow. "As for how I ended up here, I stayed in the inn recovering and three days ago some bastard started making advances on me in the dining room. I don't know how it happened but beside having a bleeding hand, his hair was on fire. I wanted to leave immediately when I realized what had happened but the innkeeper talked me into staying and she informed Duram. We had a chat and I decided to leave with him and he brought me here."

 

Mina

Dreadlady Trainee

It was a moment as Michael processed it all before he nodded.  It made sense, even though he didn't understand why she hadn't manifested the power sooner.  Why had the sense of urgency been any different or more powerful in the inn he'd left her at?  Maybe it had just been the right time, if it wasn't then one could feel the urge as strongly as they wanted, it would achieve nothing.  Though how had Duram known about her?  Had the innkeeper been one of his agents?  Or someone at the inn, he'd be tempted to investigate if it weren't for the fact that his wife as the man's M`aeshadar.  One didn't invite trouble into one's home.

 

Still, the chances of all this happening were so small...  But, people wove their threads in the pattern and the consequences could never be predicted.  What happened happened, he wasn't going to argue with it, and he certainly wasn't going to aggravate his wife.  That and...  Well, he had seen the state she was in, if she was being so badly mistreated, then she did need sanctuary.  As long as it didn't bring trouble to their household he wouldn't mind overly much, though it would take some getting used to.

 

"Then you are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay, though no doubt my wife has already said as much."  It was an uncomfortable moment, knowing that whatever he said wasn't really going to do much to help Mina with her fear of him.  Even now she kept the table between them, better to walk away for now and give her a chance to calm down.  No doubt Nyssa would have some words for him later.  Great Lord's beard he felt doubly as tired now that the danger was past and he had little doubt that he looked it.

 

"Once again, I'm very sorry for what I did."  Turning to Nyssa, Michael smiled wanly.  "I'm just going to go upstairs and get cleaned up if you don't mind.  I'll come back down when I'm done, I shouldn't be long."  Unless I fall asleep in the tub.

 

Leaning over and giving his wife a quick kiss on the cheek, Michael walked out of the room and towards a much needed bath.

 

 

Michael Daemeau

Aurani

It was good to hear that Michael also welcomed her into the household although she intended meet him as little as possible at first, likely just at dinners. The awkward silence almost made her squirm and finally he apologized again and made his exit. Mina forced herself to watch with a mix of fascination and revulsion how Michael pecked Nyssa and how she leaned against him clearly welcoming the kiss. It would likely never cease to amaze her why Nyssa or any woman wanted to be together with a man. Clearly she loved him from the way she was with him and how she spoke of him but Mina couldn't imagine the feeling lasting when men demanded it. Maybe he didn't want it very often and it might be even different when you loved someone. Ugh, but she didn't want to think it ever again.

 

Nyssa would likely try and apologize too but it wasn't necessary, so Mina decided to speak first and change the topic. "Obviously I wasn't as good sneaker as I thought I was since he spotted me", she admitted with a light pout. "Maybe you should come out with me to watch and give me some pointers."

 

Mina

Dreadlady Acolyte

Ooc: Nyssa feels the sudden urge to go to her husband first. We might do sneaking later ;)

 

IC: Smiling fondly at the newest member of her family, Nyssa decided that she would have to have a chat with Michael about drawing knives on the people in her house. He should know by now that she was perfectly capable of keeping people out if she wanted to. Well, with exception to Duram perhaps, but they had already gone over that. She sighed at the memory. Unfortunately they couldn’t always agree instantly on all things. She was sure thet her marriage would be dull if it was the case, but she would prefer it if they could skip the arguments they had from time to time.

 

“I think I’ll put some of my own lessons into practice myself first.” She said, winking at Mina. “I haven’t seen my husband in quite some time, and there he is, almost scaring the hide of my guests. I don’t think I can let that slide.” After giving Mina a few more pointers, and a mission to go sneak up on Mary, she wandered up the stairs without making a sound. She never did make much noise when walking, but with a little more effort she walked soundlessly. When she opened the door to the bathroom, she found that her efforts had been wasted on her husband.

 

He was half lying in the tub, his eyes closed, snoring ever so slightly. “My poor darling.” Nyssa whispered, sneaking over to the tub. She could of course scare him witless, the way he had many times before, but shouting a random word on the top of her lungs wasn’t really her thing. Instead she picked up a sponge and channelled it full of icy water. “Poor, poor darling indeed. You’ve taught me too well.” She whispered, placing the sponge on the back of his neck and giving it a squeeze. Near freezing water splashed over her hand, and onto Michael’s back.

 

~Nyssa Deameau

payback is sweet :D

 

Starting forward, water splashed about as Michael yelped and flailed and twisted, searching for the source of the icy finger that was running down the nape of his neck as he quickly put it under the water.  There was Nyssa, smirking at him with the satisfaction one might find from a cat who had just conquered a ball of twine.  Glaring, he let himself lean back in the bath again but this time he was facing his beloved wife rather than with his back to her.  Love her as much as he did, he didn't trust her while she had that sponge in hand.  "I'll get you later."

 

After getting exactly the reaction she wanted from Michael Nyssa dropped the now empty sponge. “Actually, that was payback for scaring my apprentice.” Getting an arched eyebrow from Michael, Nyssa decided to elaborate. “Well, I can have apprentices now that I’m no longer at the White Tower. No more of this ‘novice’ stuff, from now on I can groom my apprentices exactly they way I see fit. Of course I hadn’t counted on her lessons in stealth getting interrupted…” Smiling sweetly, she walked up behind Michael again and placed her hands on his shoulders. “That was bad form. The girl is paranoid enough as it is.”

 

"How was I meant to know?"  Michael reached up and grasped Nyssa's hands with his own, he'd missed them, and everything else about her.  "Running about Cairhien was bad enough, babysitting Thom and Julie for the better part of it and then of out by Kinslayer's, was ridiculous.  During the time I found the girl beaten within an inch of her life and I heal her and leave her at an inn.  Next thing I know, she's stalking about our house here and I can't for the life of me think how she got here.  I'm sorry but...  I don't know, probably could have handled it better."

 

Though she had been irritated when she saw Michael hold Mina at knifepoint earlier, Nyssa felt herself feeling sorry for not letting Michael know that there was a stranger in his house. That was one of the few things she would never come to understand about marriage. One moment she would be furious, and the next she would be a useless puddle of affection when it came to all things involving Michael. With a sigh she crouched down so she could wrap her arms around him. “It’s alright. I should’ve found a way to let you know. I just thought that with the wards and all, it would be fine.”

 

"Yes, you should have."  Feeling Nyssa tense, Michael chuckled.  "And I should have thought twice about what I did.  I'm sorry."  Taking one of her hands, he kissed her fingertips.  It was hard to be irritated when the woman he loved had her arms wrapped around him and he was guilt laden for having done what he did to the girl, especially considering how they'd first met and having an idea of what she had gone through.  "So she will be staying here for awhile, this 'apprentice' of yours?"

 

“I was thinking of keeping her here for a while, yes. I’ve heard a bit of what she’s gone through from Duram, and I really think she should be in a stable environment, where she can heal over time. Besides, Leon seems to be quite taken with her.” A smile appeared on Nyssa’s face as she thought of the look Leon had given Mina, right before Duram distracted him. “You should’ve seen it. He looked like an Aielman seeing a lake for the first time.”

 

Smiling at the thought, that was certainly a plus in Michael's mind.  Their children had little exposure to others, the older girl would be a good playmate, though anything more than that and he'd be less than amused.  Fourteen was too young in his mind, in fact, thirty was probably too young for Leon.  He could wait till his fifties with all the trouble he caused.  "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have one more in the house, will do the children some good.  She is safe?"  Not something he really needed to ask, Duram was careful about who brought, but still.

 

“She is. She has a block, meaning she can’t even light a candle without me pushing the right buttons. Most of the time she avoids these buttons like the plague. I’ve warned Leon about treating her nicely, and for the most part he just seems to be busy with following her around like a puppy.” Nyssa decided against telling Michael that she’d confiscated Mina’s dagger because the girl had seemed awfully eager to draw it. “For the most part she seems content here, and she’s not a pressure on the family. If anything Toulan will probably want to practise her curtsies on her.”

 

"Then she stays, and hopefully she fits in well."  Turning about Michael smiled at his wife.  "And I'm really sorry."  Leaning forward and kissing her, it was all the distraction he needed to give so he could snake his arms around her waist.  Laughing even as her eyes went wide and she tried to pull back, he pulled her over into the bath with him.  He'd said he'd get her back after all.

 

Letting out a shriek not dissimilar to Michael’s when she doused him with cold water, Nyssa faced the inevitable. Coughing and spluttering a bit, she splashed some water at Michael. “Prat. It’s a good thing this isn’t one of my favourite dresses.” She said, smiling at him. She should have seen it coming, of course. She would have tried the same, if their positions had been reversed. Luckily the water was warm, and the company was good, otherwise she would have been upset.

 

"You still love me."  Grinning, it slid from his face as he grasped saidin.  Locking the door and heating the water, he was back to his normal self within a moment and pulling Nyssa close.  It was definitely good to be home.