50, The missing chest

Zerden had got older. Worries that hadn’t been there before was now visible in his face and so was a thin scar that ran from his eyebrow to his cheek. Ayya nodded at him and waited for the recognition in his eyes when he realised who she was. Not even when his eyes drifted to meet hers, did she see it. Instead, he seemed to realise his mistake, and his eyes darted straight ahead as he saluted her. Ayya hoped nothing had happened to his father, that Anna’s dream of a retirement for her husband was the reason Zerden now wore his ribbon across his chest. They had finally reached the end of the line, and the king turned to face Ayya.

“My lady, I have made sure to have prepared the best guest quarters for you and your companions. It’s getting late, and you have had a long trip. I suggest you take the evening to get some rest and I will introduce you to my council tomorrow morning,” he said.

“That would be wonderful. It will be nice to sleep in a bed for a change,” Ayya smiled.

“I will make sure that food is brought to you and, after breakfast tomorrow, I will send someone to show you the way to the council chamber,” the king told her.

“Perfect. Thank you for being considerate,” Ayya said.

“Not at all. You have travelled all this way to help us. The least we can do is let you rest. This is Meata. She will show you the way to your chambers,” the king said. Ayya got the second shock of the day when Mrs Meata stepped up and curtsied to Ayya. Ayya looked at the woman that had tormented her for years and she felt her back stiffen. Tenac read her like a book as usual and took half a step to get closer to her.

“Let’s go then,” Ayya said with a strained smile. As they walked through the castle, Mrs Meata told them about its history and interesting facts. If Ayya hadn’t known how the woman behaved towards her subordinates, she might have thought she was a kind woman. The difference between the woman in front of her and the one in her memories made the experience surreal.

“This is the west tower. It has all the rooms you will need. Just pull on one of the cords and a servant will come to help you. Do you have any requests when it comes to the food?” Mrs Meata asked as she showed them into the common room in the tower.

“No, we are not picky,” Ayya said.

“Dinner will be brought up within the hour. Would you like me to show you around?” Mrs Meata asked.

“That won’t be necessary, thank you,” Ayya said. Mrs Meata excused herself and left.

“So that’s her?” Tenac asked.

“That’s her,” Ayya confirmed.

“You know I could…” Tenac started.

“Stay here with me and avoid an international scandal. Yeah, I like that idea,” Ayya smiled. “Come on, our rooms are down here,” she then said and led her friends to the rooms at the other end of the common room. This time, Ayya wouldn’t be staying in the peacock room. She would take the room that Tariana had been using. It was directly connected to another room with a door. Tenac took that room and Hinat and Firlea had the rooms on each side.

“You can tell the riders that they can arrange themselves in the other rooms as they like,” Ayya told Tenac. He nodded and left them to speak to the riders.

“How are you feeling?” Hinat asked as they were taking their cloaks off and settling down by the table.

“It’s strange to be back. I have such powerful memories of this place, but it doesn’t completely fit with what I’m seeing now. And I have met two people that don’t recognise me. Have I really changed that much?” she asked. Both Hinat and Firlea pretended to study her for a moment.

“Yes,” they both nodded.

“Ayya, I don’t know who you were when you were here last time. But you have changed a lot since I first got to know you. We all have,” Firlea said.

“She’s right. You are confident and you have stopped hiding yourself away. You have come into your magic, and it shows,” Hinat agreed.

“The food is here,” Tenac said as he walked into the room, sparing Ayya to have to reply to what her friends had said. As they ate, the waggons arrived, and servants were bringing their belongings up. Ayya sighed of relief to know that everything had gone smoothly so far.

“Let’s unpack and then retire early. I want to be ready as early as possible in the morning,” Ayya told the others.

“I have stationed two riders outside the door. We can sleep soundly,” Tenac said. When Ayya was unpacking, she realised she was missing her chest. It was nowhere in the room or in the common room. As she got back from searching the common room, Tenac came walking into her room from his.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I think they left my chest on the waggon,” Ayya told him. “It’s no big deal. I’ll just ask a servant to get it tomorrow,” she added. Tenac looked at her.

“I can get it for you,” he said.

“You don’t have to do that. It’s dark and snowing. It can wait,” she told him.

“And you are uncomfortable because you don’t know where it is. I’ll get it. Explain to me how to get to where it most likely is,” he insisted. Ayya nodded and walked with him into the common room, up to the large windows where she and Kopa used to sit. She explained how to get down to the door.

“The door is just below us,” she told him. “That building over there,” she then said and pointed. “Is the stable. The waggons should be stored at the far end of it,” she ended.

“Okay, that should be easy. I’ll be back soon. Don’t do anything dangerous while I’m gone,” he smiled.

“Please don’t get lost. It will be embarrassing for both of us if I need to ask the king to send his men to search for you,” Ayya smiled back.

“I never get lost,” he scoffed as he got his cloak and left. Ayya sat down in front of the fire to wait for him. There were a couple of riders that were still sitting in the common room, but most had withdrawn to their rooms.

Time passed and Ayya started to get worried. After half an hour, she got nervous and after forty-five minutes; she knew something wasn’t right. She really didn’t want to send the king’s men to search for Tenac.

“Hermen, Lomi, please get your cloaks. We are going out,” she told two of the riders in the room.

“What?” Lomi said.

“Lady Ayya, the commander won’t like you leaving,” Hermen objected.

“It’s the commander we are heading out to save. Now get your cloaks,” Ayya insisted and left to get her own. She stopped by Hinat’s room and explained the situation to her. “If we aren’t back in half an hour, let the king know,” Ayya told her friend.

“Can’t you just send the riders? I don’t like the idea of you leaving this apartment,” Hinat asked.

“No, I can’t risk that they get lost as well. I will find my way, so if I’m not back, it’s not because I’m lost,” Ayya told her.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Hinat said. Ayya shrugged. She was determined to find Tenac. She left the tower accompanied by the two riders. They quickly worked their way down to the courtyard without any sign of Tenac. Ayya could see that one of the stable doors hadn’t been closed all the way as light seeped out from it. She headed towards it. When they got closer to the door, she could hear voices that were low, but she still heard the seriousness in them. Ayya looked through the cracked door and saw the back of one man. She could see that he had drawn a sword and was facing something that she couldn’t see. She pulled on the door and stepped inside, closely followed by the riders. The sight that greeted her left her speechless. The man she had seen when she peered in through the open door was Zerden. He stood with a drawn sword, looking at someone on the other end of the storage space. Ayya followed Zerden’s gaze and there stood Tenac. He had Ayya’s chest behind him as he also stood with a drawn sword. Both men had their focus on the other, but both of them quickly glanced at Ayya when she walked in with the two riders. Tenac’s eyes got larger as he realised she was there. The two riders drew their swords as well. Great, all she needed was a minor war in the stable of the foreign king that she was visiting. This was just wonderful, Ayya thought.

“Put your swords away,” Ayya said loudly. She was speaking to everyone, and no one listened.

“Take her to safety,” Tenac ordered the two riders. They walked closer to Ayya and were reaching out to grab her to take her out of the situation.

“Touch me and I will make sure my father knows you laid hands on me without my consent,” Ayya told them. They more or less jumped back. Ayya hated to use her father like that. But she needed them to back off and let her resolve this situation. As they both were stronger than her, that left either using her father or magic. She preferred her father. “Lower your swords,” she told them. This time, the two riders did as she asked. She turned to Zerden and Tenac. “Both of you lower your swords. We can’t have an incident like this,” she told them, switching to Common. Both men looked at her, but neither did as she asked. “I am not asking, I am telling you. Put your swords down,” she insisted.