36, Donte

The next morning, Ayya was having breakfast in the dining hall and doing some last-minute preparations for the next day’s trader summit. She had nothing booked for the day, which gave her the opportunity to prepare for the next day. Tenac was off duty and joined her for breakfast. He was scheduled to accompanying Mikhalie, the prince and their parties on the tour of the gardens in the afternoon. As they were talking, Ayya saw a man talking to the prince that were sitting a couple of tables over. The man seemed familiar to her.

“What are you looking at so intently? The prince?” Tenac asked.

“What? No. The man talking to Neherim. I recognise him from somewhere, but I can’t remember where,” Ayya told him.

“Neherim? You’re on a first name basis already?” he asked.

“He suggested it yesterday as Mikhalie and me are to spend most of the time with him.”

“I guess that makes sense. The man talking to him looks familiar to me, too. Maybe he has visited Hinat’s father while we have been there?” Tenac suggested.

“Maybe,” Ayya reluctantly agreed. That didn’t seem right to her, but she didn’t know why or where her brain wanted him to be placed. It wasn’t until Tenac was standing up to leave that it hit her.

“The parrot,” she said to him.

“Excuse me?” Tenac asked, looking at her like she had lost her mind. 

“The man with the prince, we met him at the marketplace in Salmis. It had to have been my second or third trip there. He had a parrot on his shoulder. Do you remember?” Ayya asked. Tenac sat down again and frowned.

“I do remember it now that you say it. You’re right, that’s him,” he agreed.

“He must be here for the summit tomorrow,” Ayya said, relieved to have remembered where she had seen him. Now she wouldn’t have that nagging feeling in the back of her mind all day. 

“He doesn’t look like a merchant,” Tenac pointed out. It was true. The man dressed like a nobleman and not a merchant. The way he spoke to the prince also indicated that he was from the higher parts of society. 

“Maybe he has moved up. It has been, what, four and a half years since we saw him? Alot can happen in that time,” Ayya told him. Tenac hummed and watched the man.

“I had a bad feeling about him back then as well,” he said. 

“I remember.”

“I’ll ask my men to keep an eye on him, just in case,” Tenac decided. Ayya nodded. He had a better understanding of these things than she did.

The following day, Ayya was surprised to find that the man from the previous morning wasn’t among the traders and merchants that were taking part in the summit. She soon forgot about it as she focused on making sure the summit ran smoothly and that they had time to discuss the most important topics. Neherim had excellent knowledge about the subject and the issues that the traders faced. To Ayya’s surprise, Donte was one of the representatives from Ne’xsiss. She hadn’t met him since their confrontation in the marketplace. She had the urge to ban him from the summit, just out of spite. But she also knew she needed to put her personal feeling aside. It was just lucky for him that Tenac wasn’t on duty. He would not have let Donte remain. When they broke for lunch, Neherim asked to join her at her table. Ayya agreed and found that he was more relaxed then when they last had spoken. It made it easier to talk to him.

“I hope this summit will give some tangible results,” Ayya said to the prince. 

“I think it will. It feels like both sides want to make progress and that will drive the topics to become reality,” he told her. Ayya nodded. “It’s no secret that my country has a strong dependency on trading. There is a limited amount of farmable land. We need a steady inflow of basic food to sustain the nation,” he continued.

“That is a powerful motivation,” Ayya agreed.

“It is, but it sometimes leaves us at a disadvantage. As other nations know of our need, they tend to charge us prices that are double, or triple, of what they charge others,” he told her. “I have never seen anyone from Salmisara do that.”

“No, if it ever got back to the Lady or the council that a trader from Salmisara practiced like that, they would get banned or, more likely, charged with abuse of power. We don’t take advantage of someone’s weakness. That doesn’t mean we won’t drive a hard bargain, just that it needs to be fair,” Ayya said. Neherim was about to say something when Donte walked up to their table. 

“Your highness, Ayya,” he greeted them. “Ayya, may I have a few words with you?” he asked. Ayya looked up at him. 

“I’m sorry, no. I don’t have the time at the moment,” she told him. 

“You two know each other?” Neherim asked. Ayya thought he sounded displeased. Maybe because Donte had interrupted him.

“We have crossed paths,” Ayya said. “I need to prepare the afternoon’s topics,” she added and stood up. Neherim stood up as well. 

“It won’t take long. I just need a minute of your time, Ayya,” Donte pleaded.

“Her grace said no. Please show some self-constraint, as we are guests of the aari,” the prince said in a stern voice before Ayya had a chance to respond. Ayya sent him a smile as a thank you. 

“I’m sorry, your highness. My intention wasn’t to be rude or pushy. The subject is of great personal importance and I lost my cool. I apologise, lady Ayya. I will try my luck later,” Donte said and walked away. 

“I’m sorry on behalf of my countryman,” Neherim told Ayya.

“No need. I appreciate you stepping in,” she said. 

“Don’t mention it. Please let me know if he bothers you again. I won’t be nosy and ask why he seems so desperate. I can imagine why a man is so desperate to talk to a beautiful woman such as yourself,” he said. Ayya felt herself blush at the remark.

“I think you have misunderstood the situation, Neherim. Donte had a… thing with a close friend of mine. It ended badly, and she has refused to see him since. I think he wants me to try to persuade her to resume the communication. He doesn’t know me that well,” she told him with a smirk. 

“I was under the assumption he was married to the trade minister’s daughter,” Neherim said.

“So I have heard,” Ayya agreed. 

“I see. Well, then, my intervening in the matter was even more fortunate. I have taken up more of your time than I should. Thank you for straightening out the misunderstanding. I’ll see you when we reconvene the summit,” he said with a bow. Ayya walked away from the exchange, feeling confused. Why was Donte so desperate to talk to her? She believed it was an attempt to reconnect with Hinat, but why? It had been almost two years since they broke up. To Ayya’s knowledge, Hinat didn’t have any contact with him after that. Now she had her eyes set on aari Terway, and from what Ayya could see, the interest was mutual. Ayya was also wondering about her own response. Since when had she blushed when men told her she was beautiful? She usually just ignored it. Had the prince’s compliments and smooth talk got to her? In that case, she needed to get a grip. She sighed and focused back on the summit. 

The afternoon went by without an incident. The summit had been a success, and they had arrived on a decision on most topics and set a date for new talks. Ayya was walking back towards her room as Donte stepped out in front of her. 

“Ayya, please, I need to talk to you,” he pleaded.

“I’m not interested, Donte. I’m too tired to deal with this,” she sighed and tried to step around him. He took a step to the side to block her. Ayya looked up at him. “Really?” she asked.

“I’m desperate,” he told her.

“You have to be to block the path of an aari when the place is packed with grey riders. I’m already fighting back my desire to just light you on fire. I suggest you don’t tempt faith.” Ayya took a step to the side. This time, he didn’t block her way. 

“I made a mistake. I need to fix it,” he called after her. Ayya turned around.

“It’s too late for that. She has moved on. Nothing has changed since the last time we spoke. I still stand by everything I said to you that day,” Ayya said. 

“She told her father. I-I kept sending her letters, hoping she would respond to me. I think I pushed it too far, and she told her father. He has withdrawn my permit to trade in Salmi. when I tried to plea with Hinat to change his mind, the ambassador sent me a letter saying that if I didn’t stop contacting his daughter, he would let my father-in-law know about everything. I can’t have it like this. I can’t provide for myself or my wife. My father-in-law wants to know why I have been blocked from my former trading route. Until I tell him, he won’t help me find a new one. I need Hinat’s help. Please,” he begged Ayya. Ayya just looked at him.

“I warned you to mess with her. I warned you of the consequences. You chose your actions, you have to live with them. Go back home, tell the minister what you have done and beg for his forgiveness. I won’t help you,” she told him.

“B-but you’re an aari. You should help people,” he stuttered. 

“It’s true, but I also said that I could refuse to help if it would put me or my fellow aari in danger. I’m going to be general in my interpretation of that clause,” she said. She looked at Donte and judged that it was a fifty-fifty chance that he would come at her.

“Is everything alright here, little one?” Ayya smiled at the sound of her father’s voice and turned around to see him glaring at Donte.

“Yes, it’s just been a while since I saw Donte. He wanted to say hi. Were you looking for me?” she asked.

“Yes, Tariana wants you and Mikhalie to join her for tea,” he said. Ayya turned to Donte and gave him a nod before joining her father to walk to Tariana’s room.

“Wasn’t that the man your friend used to see?” her father asked as they walked.

“It was. He wanted me to relay a message to Hinat.”

“And he got upset when you refused.” It hadn’t been a question, but Ayya nodded. “Do you want me to remove him?” her father asked.

“No, I don’t think he will be an issue. Neherim saw his first attempt and told me to tell him if he tried again. Donte is in enough trouble as it is. He won’t risk angering the emperor’s son,” Ayya said. 

“Okay, but if you change your mind, you will let me know. I will ask Tenac to keep an eye on him. That made Ayya laugh. Her father looked at her with a questioning look.

“When we are home, you huff and puff and pretend to try to scare Tenac. But as soon as something like this happens, he’s the one you trust,” she explained.

“He’s a good rider, and a good man in general. That doesn’t mean I trust him around you on a private level. But as a rider, I trust him. The only one I trust more is myself, and since I can’t always watch over you, he will do,” he said with a shrug.