Megain listened to the conversation beside her, not even noticing that she was eavesdropping, her face getting redder and redder with each passing moment. She was just beginning to realise what a sheltered life she'd led back in Cairhien City - she hadn't even known that people played these sorts of games! To her relief, the other Cairhienin girl that was taking part in the conversation was also going red at intervals, so she wasn't the only one to find those sort of ideas outrageous.

 

She absent-mindedly took a sip from the glass in her hand and nearly gagged. The taste of dirt-cheap wine assaulted her tastebuds and she spat it back out into the glass as hurriedly as she could, hoping that nobody was paying any attention to her. That seemed unlikely, though. By this time, most of the novices were drunk or intent on Truth or Dare.

 

She sat down in her corner, shivering slightly. There were no fires in this room, only candles, and she was beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all. Sorna hadn't turned up - what if she'd collapsed in a corridor somewhere from her illness? What if she was found by an Aes Sedai? That would send the Mistress of Novices to stop the party immediately.

 

As Megain worried about that, she noticed that the Accepted who had arranged the party was gone. A sense of terrible foreboding crept over her, and she started moving towards a door on the other side of the room, ready to make a quick escape if necessary...

 

Kirsa felt movement near her and saw a girl moving owards the door in a careful manner. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Kirsa froze, realizing the Accepted was gone.

 

"We should go. The Accepted is gone," Kirs asaid before following her own advice and moving deftly towards the door.

Accepted? Sial said without thinking. She hadnt even noticed an Accepted...a little vein of shame and personal disgust bubbled up. How could she have been so focused on the others she hadnt noticed? Bloody Kirsa and bloody Melianna...if they werent here I wouldnt have been distracted... even in her mind, Sial knew she was excusing herself. It was no ones fault but her own that she hadnt noticed.

 

Seeing Kirsa and another Novice (another Cairheinin by the look of her; she had noticed the Accepted being gone) heading for the door was enough for the dark haired Novice to drop the wine bottle and spring to her feet. "Another time then, Miya," she said in a rather grandois tone with a distracted grin, the first she had handed out that evening, "and you too, Melianna, seeing as you seem to enjoy the idea of these sorts of games so very much." Now was not the time for spiky comments though; Sial had no intention of being last out of the room. No creeping for her this time; she lept toward the exit like a spring foal. After all, why creep for sake of bravado? It was obvious to even the most dim witted there that she was skidaddling.

 

Skidaddle was what Sial did, though not as coordinatedly as usual-a bit of wine did that to a person. She caught the other Cairheinin by the doors eye and winked. There was nothing wrong with a bit of native comradary after all and besides, if the girl was from their home country she would read into it exactly what she wanted to read. She caught Kirsas eye too and half smiled, half smirked as the conflicting thoughts in her mind about the other girl battled to make themselves known.

 

The she bounded through the door and ran. For someone with little legs containing a good deal of wine and running in the darkness, she made surprisingly good progress.

 

No one would be catching Sial Daemoa tonight.

Sial

Running to safety!

Kirsa smiled back a Sial before sending a wave at the other girls. The domani quickly used what had been taught to her by her friends back home, to make a quick but silent retreat back to her room, by using the shadows to their fullest advantage.

The novices were all looking to the door and some were already running.  It seemed impossible this could actually be happening.  She knew that there was a chance they'd be caught but this...

 

"A setup?"   Miya looked confused, shocked, and let down; like a puppy kicked in the teeth while chewing peaceful on it's favorite bone.  "An Accepted might actually do something that dishonest and dishonorable?"

 

Miya shook her head.  "They... they're suppose to be trying to act just like Aes Sedai.  Why would she..."  She stopped herself and chewed her own lip a bit.  It was low, but she could reason why it might be good for an Accepted to bust up a party of novices, even one she herself organized. 

 

Miya sighed.  "Look if we all run for it now, we're sure to be caught.  We need to be smart about this, take different ways and go in small groups.  Maybe even duck into rooms on the way back just to keep the halls looking clear.  If we're careful, we might make it back to our rooms before anyone seems to realize better of it."

 

Quickly throwing out a hand to the sweets tray she grabbed a stickybun and wrapped it in a napkin for later.  "I'll go as a look-out if you want, and wave you on if the coast is clear.  The rest of you can just stay close behind me but far enough back that if someone is coming you'll have time to hide in another room.  How's that sound?"

Blood and bloody ashes! The Accepted was gone and the novices were leaving. If Estel found her alone here, she would be sent to the Mistress of Novices for "lying".

 

"See you around, Miya. Nice to meet you."

 

She trailed off bewhind and Sial, but went the other way. She took a long route to her rooms tonight.

 

Melianna

Disappointed Novice.

Kalinde had not been listening to what was being said in the circle of novices around her. She was dizzy, really dizzy and had to keep all her concentration to just standing still and not fighting the urge to empty everything she had drunk on the floor. She managed to hold it in her but the effort was too taxing to pay attention to the laughter and chatter. She picked up that the girls were talking of a game and had nodded agreement to them, not even understanding what she was agreeing to. Talking was out of the question. She was afraid that if she were to open her mouth she would loose her battle. Just as she was deeming herself to feeling a bit better the commotion started. The Accepted was gone.

 

Kalinde flashed her eyes about the room, but could not indeed see the other girl. "She's gone?" she muttered to nobody in particular in shock and was surprised at how slurry her voice was. It was barely coherent. I'm not going to touch this stuff again, she told herself. Knowing full well that she could not keep onto that promise. The girls around her were starting to panic, but Kalinde was too drunk to panic with them. She just swayed in place trying to get her vision clear and her brain to working again.

 

Miya was the girl who assumed control of the situation and gave orders to everyone about the means of escape. It made sense. If the bunch were seen running about, they would surely be caught in an instance. Kalinde nodded to her ideas and trailed behind Miya as the group slowly piled out of the room. Kalinde held onto the wall for support as her own feet were no longer capable of holding her steady, and the wall also helped her keep to the right direction. Miya did a good job in signaling the girl off into the corridors, and when it was Kalinde's turn to flee, she staggered pathetically forward and knew that if she were to be caught in this state her punishment would be fierce. She only hoped that she manage to escape to the confinement of her own room and down a pitcher of water to clear her head.

ooc: would you all rather escpe or do you want Stel to catch you in the halls?

OOC:  Darienna will be catching everyone in the morning.  Unless anyone specifically wants to be caught by Estel? :)

OOC: I'm just wondering how she will do that if your character didn't drink any wine. ??? I have nothing against my character getting into trouble. I just don't remeber any weaving which would serve that purpose from the books.

OOC: I'd be happy for Megain to be caught by BOTH Estel and Darienna. I'm evil that way. ;D

 

IC:

 

Megain hurried along the passageways, her circle-light bobbing up and down in front of her. It wasn't too easy to keep a hold on the flows - her head felt like it was wrapped in cotton wool and she couldn't seem to think straight. Maybe the fruit juice had been added to... She had a vague notion that they did that in some less civilised parties.

 

She turned a corner and promptly fell over a broom that a careless servant had left lying around in the hallway. As she lay on the floor, stunned by the sudden collapse, a thought came as if from far off - someone's really got it in for me tonight. Maybe that Accepted left the broom there on purpose.

 

At that moment, footsteps sounded from around the corner, too close for Megain to escape...

The Blue Sister sighed, she really did hate spoiling these Novices' fun...  Who was she kidding?  She was Estel Liones Sedai: failure at everything but being a downright bitch!  A pity though, Estel had enjoyed her parties as a Novice and Accepted.  Not that she had had many friends even back then, but being host to a few and generally staying "in the know" about all things "against the rules" kept her a regular attendee.  One particular party near the end of her years in Novice White came to mind, Light burn her--only some thirty years ago but it felt like forever.  Eqwina had hosted that one and while there was little Estel could actually remember about the party, it had been memorable.  She had broken a bottle of brandy, emptied almost entirely by herself, over some poor Trainee's head.  After that, the party had gotten broken up and she had spent the morning throwing up into the pots she was trying to clean. 

 

Those were the golden years, before she had ever heard of Orion Mantier, Light bless and curse him, or Matthias bloody Talcontar and even before she even started thinking about being a real Aes Sedai.  When Sirayn Sedai was a name and face she knew by sight and never imagined meeting, Estel hadn't imagined having a son back then either.  To make a long, painful story short, that party happend long before all of her problems started.  Oh to be back in Novice whites, when there were freedays to look forward to, Trainees to giggle about, Accepted to prank, parties to attend and the only thing to worry about was being caught by the Mistress of Novices.  No responisbility!  For a scrap of cloth, the Shawl weight awfully heavy on thin shoulders.

 

Her nostalgia kept her busy until she nearly tripped over a bundle of white cloth on the ground.  The bundle turned its bleary, bloodshot eyes upwards in the perfect expression of "oh damn!"

 

"Lovely evening, hmm...?  Though, isn't it a little late for you, Megain."  Estel laughed at her mentee's face.  "Almost a shame to turn you in.  Normally I'm not supposed to say this, but you're so drunk you probably won't remember in the morning: it makes me damn proud that my mentees are out breaking rules.  I have a reputation, after all."

Megain tried to process the words that her mentor was saying, but they didn't make sense. She couldn't do much more than blink up at her mentor, before suddenly turning on her side and retching.

 

Oh, Light, I really am drunk... Is it always like this? I'll never touch alcohol again!

Despite her revulsion, Estel knelt down and held the girl’s hair away from her face.  Kneeling patiently, or at least as patiently as the Blue Sister was capable, she couldn’t help but think of little Faerthines who would be nearly... ten, now?  Light, her baby boy was growing up without his mother.  She had already missed the first decade of his life; his first steps, his first words, his first teeth, all those important achievements were done and forgotten and Estel had missed the chance most women lived for: raising her child.

 

When Megain finally stopped vomiting, the Domani Sister helped the girl to her feet, draping Megain’s around her own thin shoulders and nearly falling over from the weight.  It had been some time since Estel had done any work in the Yards, perhaps she ought to go back and try and rebuild most of the muscle she seemed to have lost.  However, her own weakness could not be helped now, and mentor and mentee stumbled down the hall, leaving the mess behind them for servants or particularly unfortunate Novices to clean.

 

By the time they were turning the corner into the Novice’s Quarters, sharp pain was shooting down Estel’s spine; she was bent almost double, her frail upper body sagging against the weight.  For the first time, she was realising just how much weight she had lost during her fit of depression a few months back; if she really looked in the mirror, rather than just glancing at it to fix her hair or face, how unhealthy would she find herself?  This sight in the Novice Quarters was totally embarrassing and unbecoming for an Aes Sedai but, luckily, it appeared any of Megain’s co-conspirators had already managed to stow themselves safely away in their rooms or else were already with Darienna in the Mistress of Novice’s office.  The Blue Sister pitied any who were as drunk as her mentee, punishment would be brutal and scrubbing pots with a massive hangover was hell.

 

Finally getting Megain into her rooms, Estel stretched her back, wincing at the painful popping noises it gave in protest to such brutal overuse.  “Seeing as you’re unlikely to remember any of this later, anyways.  I’m just going to let you know I’m not going to Darienna.”  She received nothing but a groan in reply and strangely, that satisfied her.

 

Turning and leaving, still stretching her back, the Blue started making promises to get back to the Yards soon—no doubt those would evaporate in the morning when the spell of this night had been broken.  However, she could always hope that one of these days she really would be able to change herself and rise out of the rut she had created for herself as she flailed in the mud of the problems she created for herself.