Respect

“Let’s leave them to it,” Tenac said and guided Mary towards the others, that was standing looking at something at another stall.

From the weapons stall, they moved on toward the area with foreign goods. The man with the bird wasn’t there, to Mary’s relief. But the stall from Dorme was there. She knew it before she saw it. The smell of meat skewers was unmistakable.

“What do you say we eat lunch here?” Tenac asked them. Mary smiled at him. He knew how much she liked the skewers.

They all agreed, the smell of grilled meat had made them all hungry. As when she had been there with Tenac, they found an area on the outskirts where they could sit and eat. The conversation went on. The group seemed to get along fine. Mary noticed that both Roan and Picip kept their distance from her. But she understood, and it didn’t bother her.

“Do you want to have a look at the stall as well?” Tenac asked her as they had finished eating and she nodded.

As they all were quite a large group all together in the limited space of the market, they had developed a system of splitting up into smaller groups. Spreading out to different stalls and then coming together and splitting up again.

Mary saw that Jontak ended up in the same group as Firlea every time. She sent a meaningful look to Sinhera, who nodded. She had noticed it too. Hinat seemed to get along with Roan, and he devoted almost all his attention to her.

As Tenac and Mary walked over to the stall from Domne, Sinhera joined them. Mary looked over at the things on display.

“Hello there,” the merchant greeted them in Common. “Oh, aren’t you the young lady that was asking about bone work?” he asked, looking at Mary.

“I was. Do you remember me?” she asked, surprised.

“I never forget a beautiful woman,” he said, smiling. “I actually have some bone work with me this time. Just in case you would drop by,” he told her, showing her to the other end of the stall.

Mary walked over, followed by Tenac and Sinhera. There on the corner were some pieces of bone work. There were some simple combs, a couple of spoons, some needles and hairpins. Mary knew at once that they came from Erik and his father. One hairpin had the same five petal roses on it as her necklace.

“I would like the hairpin with the roses on please,” Mary told the vendor.

“Of course,” he said, and they heckled for the price. In the end, the vendor handed her the pin as she handed him money. She put the pin in a pocket and smiled at the man.

“If you have further business with master Korpi, please let him know his work is beautiful,” Mary told the vendor. He looked at her wide eyed.

“I will, Miss,” he said with a slight bow.

“It was a beautiful hairpin,” Sinhera said. “And it matches your necklace,” she smiled at Mary.

“It does. It’s the same craftsman who did both,” Mary told her.

“How do you know?” Sinhera asked.

“I grew up next door to them. It’s easy to see in the details,” Mary smiled.

When they gathered into one group again, they decided it was time to head for the wall. They exited the same way they entered, so that Mary could collect her knife and then headed off towards the wall.

It was the first time Mary had been out in the city, walking about in her new clothing. The difference was substantial to Mary. She had never been treated with disrespect. Most of the time she was walking with either Kopa or Tenac, so people always had shown respect.

But her black dress with the white armbands got a different reaction from people. They were almost reverent toward it. It was the same behaviour as people had shown priest in Domne. It shocked her. She made a mental note to talk to Firlea and Hinat when they got back.

As they made their way up onto the wall, Mary was amazed at how far you could see. For miles, the plain stretched around them. The grass wasn’t as yellow as she remembered it. The new grass had grown. Making the plain a mixture of yellow and green.

The hills and the gentle breeze made the illusion of the ground moving in a soft rolling motion. This was what Mary imagined the ocean would look like.

“It’s amazing,” she said to Tenac that was standing beside her. He smiled at her.

“It is,” he agreed. “Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is.”

They walked along the wall for a while. Jontak spotted a family of rabbits playing around and they all stood there, watching them. The walls were manned by the city watch and sometimes one of them would stop and talk.

As it started getting late, the group decided it was time to head to their respected home bases. Tenac led them off the wall and into a street that Mary knew.

“Are you sure you will be okay from here?” he asked Mary.

“We will be fine. Thank you for a fun day,” she added.

“I had a lot of fun as well,” he said. “I’ll send you a note and we can decide on time for training sessions,” he then said.

“Do that,” she agreed.

“And it’s almost time to start your swimming lessons. You will get a note from me as well,” Sinhera smiled and hugged Mary.

“I almost thought you had forgotten,” Mary said.

“Never,” Sinhera said, and they both laughed.

“Bye Jontak,” Mary waved to him.

“Bye Mary, see you around,” he waved back.

Mary and her two friends headed back towards the river field.

“So?” Mary asked Firlea as they were walking.

“Jontak asked if I wanted to go with him to the marketplace next Saturday as well,” Firlea smiled. Her two friends did the mandatory squeal, making her blush.

“Good, I’m happy for you,” Mary said. “But just so you know. If he asks you to go on an excursion with him, maybe suggest you do something else,” Mary then added, warning her friend.

“Why? What do you know?” Firlea asked. Mary told her what Tenac had told her about Jontak’s excursions. Hinat laughed and Firlea had a grin on her face.

“Hinat seemed to get along with the other rider, Roan?” Firlea then said, trying to shift focus.

“He’s fun to hang around. But he’s a big flirt. You can’t take someone like that seriously,” Hinat said.

“Just something to pass the time?” Firlea asked.

“Yes, something like that,” Hinat agreed. “But let’s talk about Mary and Tenac,” she said.

“Yes, let’s” Firlea said.

“What about Tenac and me?” asked Mary.

“You two stuck together like pages in a book,” Firlea said.

“And you seemed friendly,” Hinat added. Firlea nodded.

“Of course we are friendly, we are friends,” Mary said.

“Aha, just friends?” Hinat asked.

“Yes” Mary insisted.

“Mhm” Firlea said.

“Come on, we are. I don’t plan on having any romantic flings,” Mary said.

“Oh, I agree. That didn’t look like a romantic fling,” Firlea agreed.

“Definitely not a fling,” Hinat said.

“What are you insinuating?” Mary asked.

“Oh, come on, Mary. You two obviously have feelings for each other” Hinat smiled.

“If you are talking about romantic feelings, then no,” Mary said.

“Fine, deny it for now. But one day, I’m going to tease you so bad for this,” Firlea said.

“Same here. Once you two get your heads on straight, me and Firlea reserve the right to endless teasing,” Hinat agreed. Mary’s friends laughed and Mary just shook her head.

“Did you notice the people seem to treat you differently since you are wearing the trainee clothes?” Mary then asked, desperately hoping to change the subject.

“Yes, it’s like the respect we are receiving has been more than I have experienced before,” Hinat agreed.

“The respect and the love for the aari caries through even to the trainees,” Firlea pointed out.

“People all over Salmisara respect the choice to dedicate your life to helping others. They see it as a noble way to spend your life and therefore they offer you respect,” she continued.

Mary thought about it as she lay in her bed, waiting for sleep. The people here offered their respect to those who gave their devotion to help others. It said something about the standing the aari held here. Mary was understanding just how important the people of Salmisara thought the aari were.