In the darkness of early morning, a few hours before dawn, Ines Ferannen struck her flint and steel, lighting a single tallow candle. She rubbed her hands together against the mid-winter chill that seeped in through the room�s single window and under the door. Having donned her plain white dressing gown, she picked up her pile of clothing and bath things, gathered the night before, and stepped softly from the room so as not to wake her roommate, her belongings in one hand and the candle in the other.
The Accepted quarters were gray and silent as Ines made her way to the bath chamber. Almost no one woke this early, not even the novices working the first sitting of breakfast. She stepped into the bath chamber just as the first of the servants did, bringing up hot water by the bucket to fill the copper tubs. Ines laid her belongings on shelf by the door and hung her dressing gown from a peg on the wall. Taking her washcloth and a cake of creamy white soap from her pile, Ines headed toward the first tub that was being filled. She picked up a bucket that lay next to the tub and filled it with water from the tub.
She wet her washcloth and rubbed the creamy soap to a rich lather. She scrubbed her long, pale limbs and slim body vigorously. The cloth dropped from her left hand as she picked up the soap with her left. Closing her deep blue eyes, Ines looked upward and began washing her long, dark hair. It looked nearly black, but was in truth a rich, dark brown. She worked the suds from her scalp to the end of her hair, just past her hips. It had been longer, before.
Setting down the soap, Ines reached for the ladle. She scooped some water from the bucket and sluiced away the soap. When the suds were all gone, Ines climbed into the copper tub. She sunk into the water until it reached her ears and relaxed. Her thoughts drifted back to life before the White Tower.
**********
It was the same as nearly every night. Ines lightly touched the toes of her dance shoes in a box of rosin, leaving a sticky layer on the silvery-blue fabric so she wouldn�t slip when on point. The music started, and Ines danced her way out from the wings. The spangles on her pale blue dress sparkled as she leapt across the stage. Her long limbs and pale shoulders were bare, and her short net skirts whispered with her fluid moves. She moved easily to the lively viols and flutes, counting the steps in her mind as her body flew through the dance. Ines curtsied as the music came to an end, bowing her head to the audience. Applause filled the hall, and Ines curtsied deeper. As the applause quieted, Ines straightened. Conar, her carneira, winked at her from the first row of chairs. She beamed at him before the lights went up and the curtain went down.
Ines figured Conar must have run the whole way to her dressing room. She had run, but he managed to make it there before her. No sooner had she closed the door than he was undoing the three rows of tiny buttons down the back of her bodice. She kissed him softly, her hands in his long dark hair, then more urgently as his hands traveled down her body.
Some time later, as they lay together on the floor, still entwined, a knock sounded at the door. As Ines was stirring herself to answer it, her mother walked in. Ines was flustered, but her mother seemed not to notice in her excitement. "An Aes Sedai would like to speak with you, Ines. Get your dressing gown on and get out here." After the command was issued, she closed the door. Reluctantly letting her lover go, Ines stood and gathered her dressing gown around herself. She leaned down and kissed Conar, "I�ll be back as soon as I can." He smiled a little lazily as she turned and left.
"You danced well tonight, Ines," the Aes Sedai said as Ines closed the door behind herself. Her hair was nearly as longer than Ines� was, when it was loosed.
"Thank you, Aes Sedai," Ines replied, curtsying deeply.
"You are, no doubt, wondering why I came to speak with you, especially at such a time." She saw Ines� blushes, and laughed. "Shame does not become you, my dear, and there is no shame in spending time with one�s carneira. However, I�m afraid you�ll have to leave that fine specimen of a man behind. You�ve great potential, my girl. You�ll channel one day, whether you want to or not. You could be stronger than me, one day. But you must come to Tar Valon and be trained, else you may not survive channeling on your own."
The words sunk into Ines� mind, and she was both pleased and displeased with them. Her mind was a-whir with thought of her family, of the her dance troupe, and especially of Conar. "May I say good-bye, Aes Sedai?"
"I have other business here, so we�ll not leave for another week yet. You�ll have plenty of time for...good-byes." The Aes Sedai smiled, then turned to go. "I know your position, child. I once had a carneira as well."
**********
She had missed Conar terribly for the first few years, receiving letters, but unable to see or touch his face. She treasured the memory of their good-bye. In the safety of her chambers, they had both wept. Conar held her close. "You�ll always have me," he whispered to her. "You�ll always hold my heart and soul in your hand. Not even the last embrace of the Mother can take that away from you. Now go to your destiny, and remember me."
Had she remained in Malkier, Ines probably would have wed him. But five years after putting on novice white, she received a letter from her mother, along with Conar�s sword, telling her that her beloved had perished in the Blight. In anguish, she fled to the gardens with the sword, fully intending to take her own life, but as she ran, Conar�s voice came to her mind. Not even the last embrace of the Mother can take me away from you. Go to your destiny.
She stood for a long time at the edge of the reflecting pool that evening, staring, and thinking. At last she raised the blade, braced herself, and sliced off her knee-length locks at the chin. She left the hair where it lay, and returned the sword to her room. Staring in the small mirror, Ines painted on the ki�sain, white for a widow, though she had never married, and now would probably never marry.
******
Ines stood in the tub and stepped out. The water was still steaming, but she hadn�t time to relax any longer. She dried herself with a length of toweling from the shelves buy the door, donned a short shift, and took her belongings into the outer dressing room. She set her things on a low stool in the corner.
Her movements were fluid as Ines warmed and stretched her muscles, preparing to dance a little as she did every morning. Stringed instruments played a lively tune in her head as Ines spun, leapt, and kicked her legs high in the air. She danced for only a few minutes, just long enough to make her feel awake, then washed her face and combed out her long hair. She donned her stockings and white dress with its seven-banded hem, then finally adorned her forehead with the ki�sain as she had every day for eight years, and headed down to breakfast.
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