103, A surprise
They got the message the Demes’ delegation would be arriving the following day, just before lunch. Tariana, Ayya, Kopa and Tenac made their way to the river field to welcome them. The council joined them after a while and it didn’t take long before they heard the beating of hooves, letting them know the delegation was close. A carriage in dark wood with lots of golden details stopped in front of them. Ayya noticed several other smaller carriages coming to a halt behind it. The king and queen travelled with a court. The door to the gilded carriage opened and King Richard stepped out with a broad smile and then helped his queen down. Ayya returned his smile. It looked as the last months had done him good. Even if he was notably tired from the travel, he looked more carefree.
“King Richard I and queen Eleanora,” they were announced.
“King Richard, it’s so nice of you to come,” Ayya said as she stepped up to them. It was up to her to make the introductions.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It’s a good way to start our newfound friendship. And how can I turn down the opportunity to sleep amongst the Che’hul?” he happily told her. She smiled at him.
“Let me introduce the Lady, Tariana, head of the aari. I believe you met on her last visit,” Ayya said.
“We did, briefly,” the king said and bowed to Tariana. “My Lady, thank you for all the help you have provided to my subjects. We are eternally grateful,” he said.
“We are happy we could be of assistance,” Tariana said. The king and queen were then introduced to the council.
“I have to admit, it looks impressive,” the king said as he looked at the sanctum. “But isn’t it a bit unpractical to not have a land way?” he added. Tariana chuckled.
“We are used to it. It doesn’t bother us,” she told him. “I will have to give the two of you a tour tomorrow,” she added.
“We would love one. I picked up some friends on the way I thought lady Ayya would like to meet,” the king said and walked up to the second carriage. As he opened the door, Ken stepped out, followed by Anna. Ayya’s mind stopped working for a moment.
“Ken, Anna, what are you doing here?” she finally asked.
“You invited us, remember?” Anna said with a smile.
“I did, but I didn’t think you would come,” Ayya said honestly.
“We did send a reply to the invitation,” Ken said.
“The king and I thought it would make a nice surprise, so we decided not to tell you,” Tariana said. Ayya hugged Anna.
“It sure is. Come, I know you must be tired, but there are a couple of people you have to meet,” Ayya said to them. “Ken, Anna, this is the Lady,” Ayya begun and Tariana greeted them with warmth. “And this is my father, Kopa,” she said. She was thrilled to be able to introduce them to each other. They greeted each other and Kopa turned to Ayya.
“Your mother is expecting you. We have arranged for the Bores to stay in your old room,” he told her.
“Did you know about this?” she asked Tenac.
“No, I’m as surprised as you are,” he told her.
“That is very generous of you,” Ken said.
“Not at all, it’s the least we can do,” Kopa said. “I’ll be home as soon as the official tour of the city is over,” he then told Ayya. She nodded.
“I guess that means we are heading to my parent’s house. Don’t worry about your luggage, the riders will bring it,” she said. As they walked, Ken and Tenac discussed the layout of the city. Ken, of course, picked up on the strategical strong points. Ayya asked Anna about how the trip had been. They stopped outside her parent’s house. “This is where you will stay for your stay here, except for the two nights we will be spending out on the plains,” Ayya told them.
“What a charming house,” Anna gushed.
“It is, and it’s located really nicely. Close to both the sanctum and the marketplace,” Ayya said as they walked through the gate.
“And it’s close to our house as well,” Tenac added.
“You have bought a house?” Anna asked.
“Yes, we were lucky and my dad found one close by which suited all our needs. We will show you after we feed you and let you rest,” Ayya said. She opened the door and let them in. “Mom, we are home and we have guests with us,” she called out. Bettina came walking from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron with a big smile on her face.
“Welcome, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said. Ayya introduced Ken and Anna to her mother. Bettina settled for a nod toward Ken and a smile, but when it came to Anna, she gave her one of her hugs. Anna smiled and hugged Bettina as well. “I have made a curry stew. It’s a good sturdy meal after being out on the road. After we have eaten, Ayya will give you a quick tour so you find your way around and then you can go for a rest while we send Ayya and Tenac to pick up Jason from school,” Ayya’s mother said as she ushered them into the kitchen.
“You have a lovely home,” Anna said.
“Thank you. Now sit, and relax,” Bettina said as she showed them to the kitchen table. Ayya started to set the table with the help of Tenac. She stopped and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for this,” she said.
“Of course,” her mother said. “I didn’t think you would mind us eating in the kitchen,” she then said to Anna and Ken.
“Not at all,” Anna said.
“My brother and his wife will be joining us tomorrow and then we will need to eat in the diningroom if we all want to fit,” Bettina continued.
“I hope we aren’t causing you any inconvenience,” Ken said.
“No, not the least. We have plenty of room and you are family. Of course you will stay with us,” she said. As they ate, they talked. Anna was complimenting Bettina’s food, Ken and Tenac talked about the journey and Ayya jumped between the conversations. It didn’t take long before Kopa came home and joined them. As Ayya always had suspected, he and Ken got along splendidly. After lunch, Ayya showed Ken and Anna to their room. She showed them how the bathtub worked. They were both fascinated by it, and she told them to rest for as long as they liked. When they were ready, they could just come downstairs. Ayya walked downstairs where Tenac and her father had cleared the table and her mother was sipping on a cup of tea. She gave both her parents a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Thak you,” she said.
“You are welcome. I have to admit that I’m doing it’s just as much for myself as I am doing it for you,” Bettina said. “I’m curious about them and now that I met them, I like them,” she added.
“I knew you would. Ready to go get Jason, Tenac?” Ayya asked.
“Ready,” he confirmed.
“We’ll be right back,” Ayya told her parents before they set off. Jason was as happy as always. He and Tregan had fast become best friends and Jason retold what the two of them had done during the walk home.
“After we have settled into our new house, we should invite Tregan and his parents for dinner,” Ayya said.
“Really? That would be awesome,” Jason enthusiastically said.
“Your friends are always welcome in our home,” Ayya told him. She then told him about Anna and Ken. When they got to her parents’ house, Anna was sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea with Ayya’s mother and her father was playing Kai with Ken in the living room. Jason didn’t hesitate to run over to Kopa and stood looking as they played. Tenac brought over a chair for him and then joined Ayya in the kitchen.
“He looks happy,” Anna said as she watched Jason.
“I think he has found his place,” Ayya said as she sat down. Tenac sat next to her and put his arm on the back of her chair. He had become more comfortable about showing affection in front of her parents.
“I have been telling Anna what will be happening later in the week when we all are going out to the clan,” Ayya’s mother said.
“It all sounds so exciting, Ken is over the moon at the prospect of getting to see all the horses and when we learned, we would be spending two nights with the clan, he was like a child,” Anna told them. Ayya smiled.
“My family is looking forward to all the guests arriving. It’s rare for so many guests from all over the world to visit a Che’hul clan. My grandfather would have been most pleased if he was alive,” Tenac told Anna. Ayya felt a little pang of sadness when she thought about Ceran. She put her hand on Tenac’s leg to let him know she understood where his mind was. When Ayya and her mother started dinner, Tenac kept Anna company, and they were joined by Jason, who was thrilled when he realised Anna wanted to know everything he had experienced since he got to his new home. The adults smiled as he enthusiastically told her everything, from how he met his grandparents, to exploring the sanctum, getting his horse, working on their new house with his father and grandfather and school.
“That is quite a lot to manage in two months,” Anna said.
