Elsyan Tiendra looked up, and her eyes met Mathius's and in them she could see forever. Then he whispered into her ear "My princess, we made it. We have made our vows and I will love you forever" At those words she flung her arms around him and she wept for pure joy and the overwhelming feeling of love.
"Mathius" she said, "I will never let go of you" The way out will come but once… Those words echoed through her mind as a faint memory of some other time…some other place. Be steadfast. As Elsyan lifted her head from Mathius's shoulder she saw a shimmering light in the forest at the edge of the field where they were sitting.
"Oh no!" she gasped.
Mathius took hold of her by her shoulders as she began to weep uncontrollably.
Worriedly he asked "What is wrong, love? "
Elsyan lifted her tear stained face to look into the eyes of her love and felt the fear of losing the one man she could ever feel complete with.
The way out will come but once. Be steadfast.
Faintly she said "Oh Mathius!…I must …leave you ….now!" She then quickly got up, still sobbing, and started to run toward the shimmering arch in the forest. Mathius attempted to stop her and yelled to her. "Elsyan! What are you doing!? Please don't leave me!!" As Elsyan heard his cries of anguish at her abrupt departure her heart wrenched at every word he uttered, but she dared not look back. She then ran through the shimmering arch and the light overwhelmed her.
Elsyan came out of the arch, still crying and barely able to stand. She came into the room where she now remembered as the testing room for all Novices being raised to the Accepted. An Aes Sedai took hold of her to stop her running and another lifted a silver chalice high over Elsyan's head and poured cool clear water over her.
"You are washed clean of Elsyan Tiendra from North Mantheren. You are washed clean of all ties that bind you to this world. You come to us washed clean, in heart and soul. You are Elsyan Tiendra, Accepted of the White Tower." The Aes Sedai lowered the chalice."You are sealed to us, now".
Elsyan glanced around at the Aes Sedai and realized her nakedness, with the overwhelming feelings of confusion and heartache mixed in, that she could only say through stifled sniffles "Can I be alone, now?"
The Aes Sedai provided Elsyan with her new cloths and showed her to her new room. Everything was changing so fast! I am crazy, is what she thought as she threw herself onto the bed.
"I have no idea what I am getting myself into and it's all your fault Mathius!!!" she exclaimed. "But…I love you so I am helpless…" It all started back in Mantheren in the palace of the King and Queen. Light! Why do you have to be the Prince of the royal family! I could have fallen in love with…with the….the stable hand for Lights sake and I would have had a peaceful life, but here I am, for you! Wiping away tears and drying her face, Elsyan got up from her bed and noticed how much nicer these quarters were from the Novice's. Ever since she got to the Tower her surroundings have kept escalating in looks and comfort compared to how she lived back home. She had worked as a personal servant to the King and Queen having been adopted by the Head servant of the Royal Palace. Her room there was nothing compared to this. As she looked through the new closet of clothes she thought back to what the Aes Sedai had said after she finished her test.
"You are washed clean of Elsyan Tiendra from North Mantheren…." I am not from there anymore, she thought, I have a new home and place in this world now and a servant no longer! Elsyan began to realize her newfound freedom and the only thing that still tied her to Mantheren was her Mathius. Because he is the King and Queen's son, the love between Elsyan and Mathius had been forbidden and even though they cared for her, they said that they were to stay apart or Elsyan would be sent off. Royalty did not have any relations with servants.
Burn them! She thought as she slowly pulled the new Accepted dress to her shoulders. Elsyan was not about to be forbidden her love and stay to see him everyday with no chance of her having him. And she wasn't about to let them send her to Light knows where, either! She had to do something. Deep within her, she new she had a power that was small, yet given the chance to grow, it would flourish. She knew she could touch the One True Source. So, on the evening that the King and Queen had their annual dinner to celebrate the arrival of spring, Elsyan prepared herself to be set free. That night many people were invited including some Aes Sedai, who seated themselves around the King and Queen's table. Elsyan, being the servant of that table, was to bring the wine out so that the first toast could be given to start the celebration. She gathered the cups and carried them out to the table with a slight smile gracing her lips and placed the cups down in front of the Royal family. She also took the chance to wink at Mathius, who raised his eyebrows in question. As she placed a cup in front of one of the Aes Sedai, Elsyan tried with all her might to touch that spot of warmth and openness that she had been working on so hard for the past few months. It nearly made her knees weak, but it was enough to make her plan work. The Aes Sedai's head turned around fast to look straight into the eyes of Elsyan. For a brief moment Elsyan stood there shocked, looking into the eyes of that ageless face, but quickly regained herself and did her best curtsy and slowly turned and walked away. At that, the Aes Sedai excused herself, delaying the toast, and went to Elsyan, which began the huge changes in her life two years before.
As she looked down at her dress she smoothed it out and then went to her mirrored dresser and found her only treasure that she has kept since her childhood. As she picked it up she moved her long brunette hair out of the way so that she could place the necklace around her neck. It had half of a coin placed upon a chain that she has worn ever since she could remember. Many times she has searched her memory for where this necklace had come from. Her Mother, or rather her foster mother, Siena, had told her that she had it when they had found her outside of a village that had been burned to the ground. Elsyan had since concluded that her real parents had burned in that fire. This all made her think back to her first trip inside the ter'angreal.
It was a terrifying experience that made her shudder as she placed the half of coin inside the front of her dress. There had been a fire in which she felt extreme heat and heard the anguished cries of the dying. She was lost in the mist of it all and tried to escape, somewhere…somehow, but felt trapped! She only lived because of a young boy who grabbed her hand and began to pull her towards clean air and safety, but before she even saw his face or before they stopped running she had found the arches to bring her back. The experience gave her only a small clue of her childhood, which involved that young boy and this necklace she wore. Maybe someday she would find out her story and her real name. Her first name was real, but as a three year old when she was found she didn't know her last name, so Siena gave her one; Tiendra, which means "the found one" in the old tongue.
Elsyan turned and looked at herself in the mirror and was amazed to see herself standing there in something other than that ugly Novice's dress. With a smile beginning to form on her face she said "Well, Elsyan, you have done well. Let us see how the kingdom will react now when they see their servant!" She giggled to herself, "Aren't you the silly fool! Although, I have much more to accomplish!" Satisfied,she turned and walked to the door and opened it, but before she stepped out she turned to see herself in the mirror again.
"Don't give up on me yet, Mathius!" she declared and walked from her quarters, determined.