(Not Much Of) A Past To Tell

[Mitsukai]

This will be my "debut" into the Amphitheatre scene. I know that my writing has a lot of room for improvement, so bear with me.

Also, I'm a bit iffy with the title so that might possibly change...

Looking back on my previous post in "As a hunter stalks" (free advertising for you Ashen ), I've been thinking of Nynaeve's "past". I dabbled a bit in my profile for the Pumpkin Gatehouse, and now I've decided to put my ideas into actual story format.

Part of the reason for this piece of work is to, obviously, explain Nynaeve's history. Another main reason however is to explain this "Academy" that Nynaeve was raised in as this information will be needed for an RP idea I have...

Constructive critism and comments will be much appreciated.

And without further intro, I start... in the next post.

Edit: Forgot to note... this story will differ slightly from the one I gave in my character profile for the Pumpkin Gatehouse...

Editedit: Another note... later on, this story will also include a bit of history on the five children... Juliette, Nati, Caleste, David, and Evan...

[Mitsukai]

... a child...?

The middle-aged healer paused in mid-step, feeling a slight breeze dance around him as his ears strained to place that muffled sniffling sound in the otherwise silent forest.

Someone was crying.

He closed his eyes, listening carefully.

There.

Opening his eyes, he began walking towards the source of the sound til it brought him to a small clearing.

A little girl sat on the grassy forest floor with her back against the bark of an aged oak tree and her knees curled up to her chest. Her mid-length, reddish hair covered her face from the healer's view, but he could see the poor child's shoulders' shaking. Judging by the size of her, she could be no older than three.

Three brisk strides bought him to the young girl's side. Crouching down, he took her into his arms. She was trying hard to stop crying which resulted in hiccups and sudden sobs with sniffles in between.

"Where are your parents dear child?" he asked softly while rubbing her back reassuringly.

"I cant fin' t'em," she whispered after she had calmed slightly- only to have the tears start again.

Saddened to hear this, the healer tried his best to comfort the child but to no avail. She wanted her parents, and he could not give them to her.

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((Ah, the horrid, awkward first post. Hopefully it will get better as the story continues, but that's all for tonight. ))

[Mitsukai]

((*looks around* No comments? Ah well, I'll continue on and mayhaps they'll pop up...))

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He looked down at the child sleeping in his arms. The poor thing had fallen asleep crying, and even now, in her current state of unconsciousness, she kept mumbling "Mama" and "Papa". Her face had a frown, and it was obvious to anyone observing that she was having a fitful slumber.

Sighing, he grunted slightly as he stood up with the little girl cradled in his arms, the child not at all that heavy. It was dangerous to stay here even though the weather was mildly warm, and using the dimming light of the setting sun to guide his way, he began to head towards the orphanage.

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((I realize that all of my additions to the stories so far have been short, and more likely than not they’ll stay that way. Just to let everyone know.))

[TheBlackSoul]

Not bad. Reading about the history of a certain person can get interesting...

[Mitsukai]

((Yay! My first comment! Thank you BS. Now... on with the story.))

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Why did I let them stay up?

Annabelle sighed as she sank down in her favourite armchair, clear blue eyes appraising the sight around her.

Children. Plenty of them. Running about like bats out of hell.

They've had way too many sweets... and probably the excitement of Midsummer's Eve is getting to them...

She was exhausted. Utterly exhausted.

Annabelle had just finished chasing after a boy whom had been running around with a girl's undergarment on his head. Needless to say, the owner of the said undergarment was chasing after him, face bright red. She had been in the kitchen at the time, baking cookies. They had almost burned, bringing the house with it, and if one of the other children had not managed to burn his hand by touching the oven, she would have forgotten about them completely...

All because of a dare. Good lord.

Wincing at the memory, she then saw something she did not like. A group of children, in a circle, entranced with whatever was in the center.

Sighing again, she pushed herself off the chair and approached the group.

"Now what goes on here?" she called out, demanding an answer. The children jumped slightly and parted so that she could see.

Two boys. Fighting.

Ignoring the other children's protests, she approached the two boys with a glare and pulled them apart.

"Why on earth are you two fighting?" she asked them in a stern voice.

The two boys stopped their "punching" movements and glanced at each other before looking down at the floor.

The one boy mumbled something incoherently that she couldn't make out while the other looked anywhere but at her.

One of the children that had been watching the fight piped up, "They wanted to fight. Gweneth heard them and said they could go ahead. If they got hurt, she would heal them up so it would be okay."

Frowning at the two boys, Annabelle commanded, "Upstairs. Now."

Like a pair of puppies that were just scolded, they slunk up the stairs.

"Gweneth, come here."

A little girl, no older than three or four, walked up to the woman. She had light blonde hair and blue eyes.

Smiling innocently, the girl said "Yes Annie?"

Pulling the girl to one side, Annabelle sighed. "What were you thinking?!?"

The girl looked thoughtful. "If they got hurt, I could kiss the boo-boo away."

What she said was quite true. The girl has shown remarkable ability for healing... even though for now, it was only in the form of kisses.

She'll be getting a lot of requests for healing...

The girl wasn't fully aware of her ability yet. Neither were the other children. It had to stay this way until the girl could go to the Academy for formal training.

"Gweneth honey... you can't be kissing people better yet..." she said softly.

Gweneth pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why not?" she demanded.

Annabelle struggled to think of a reason that would satisfy the child. "Because you're too young," she finally said.

The girl's eyes welled up with tears at the unfairness of all. "That's not fair!"

Pulling the girl into a hug, she said, "I know dearie. You'll just have to wait... alright?"

The girl nodded her head just as there was a knock on the door.

Thank goodness for a distraction...

Sighing in relief this time and not exasperation or exhaustion, Annabelle rose to open the door for the newcomer.

"Have another spot?" Daniel asked wryly as he stood on the doorstep with a young red-haired girl in his arms.

[Mitsukai]

Annabelle tsked and ushered the two of them in.

"Children. Bed. Now."

The children fell silent, having heard the "tone" in her voice. The "tone" that left no room for questions, if, ands, buts, or anything of that sort. One by one, they went upstairs to their sleeping quarters, Gweneth included after much persuading, and the three were left by themselves downstairs.

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((Ach.. it's late and I can't sleep... but I'm too tired to post anything more. Till next time.))

[Mitsukai]

Daniel gently placed the sleeping child on one of the sofas before taking a seat opposite of Anna who was watching carefully.

"Well?" she inquired, a bit of a frown on her face.

Daniell sighed before explaining. "I found her by herself in the forest when I was out walking. The poor child was crying and saying how she couldn't find her parents..."

Her frown deepended. It always saddened her to hear these stories, but at least this would be a good spot for her to stay until they located her parents.

If they could.