52, The council

Ayya woke up in a strange bed in an unfamiliar room. It took her mind a minute to remember where she was. She let herself stay in bed for an extra ten minutes to think the day through. She would be meeting the king and his council. Tariana had told her what to expect. This was the part of the mission where they had always failed. The church, represented by the bishop, didn’t want the aari in Dermes. They did what they could to make sure they wouldn’t be allowed to help the people. Ayya just needed to get the council on her side. She had no idea how she would do that, but she knew it needed to be done. Ayya got up and got dressed in a robe. She would get into her dress after breakfast. She didn’t want to risk the beautiful white dress that Cheara had made to be ruined by a stray dollop of jam. Hinat, Firlea and Tenac joined her for breakfast in her room. They all discussed different strategies that they could use to persuade the council. When they were done, Tenac was sent out of the room and the aari started getting ready. Ayya looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Cheara was a genius, she thought. Ayya had asked for a modest dress. The dress code in Dermes was a lot stricter than in Salmis. Ayya had no intention of conforming to the dress code entirely. But she thought it wouldn’t hurt to at least be a little modest the first day of meeting the council and the bishop. The slip dress was white with a rounded neckline, not too low, and had sleeves that hugged her arms. Hinat had had to help her tie the strings that made the sleeves tight. There were also lacing on the waist. There was a small puff sleeve just below the shoulders. The dress wasn’t so much a dress as it was decorations for the slip dress. It had two detached sleeves that flared out and were more along the line of Salmisarian fashion. They were in a silver-grey fabric to give some variety. Then there was what Firlea referred to as the apron. It hung from her shoulders and was tied at her waist. The outer part was made from the same silver-grey fabric as the sleeves. But in the middle, there was a white fabric that was embroidered with roses in a thin silver thread. Ayya had her simple bone rose around her neck and the shield her parents had given her was pinned by her shoulder. Firlea had helped her braid her hair into a low hanging bun. Her friends joined her in front of the mirror. They also had stunning dresses, but they had gone for a simpler style.

“We look good,” Ayya smiled.

“You look amazing,” Hinat said.

“Someone will have to follow Tenac around to mop up the drool, otherwise someone will slip and fall,” Firlea joked. Ayya rolled her eyes and gave her friend a shove. There was a knock on the door.

“The escort is here,” Tenac announced through the door.

“We are coming,” Ayya said. “Ready ladies?” she then asked her friends.

“Ready,” they both nodded. Ayya opened the door and walked out into the common room, where Tenac waited with a group of riders. When he saw Ayya, he smiled, and she smiled back.

“You look lovely,” he told her.

“Thank you, Tenac. Are we ready to get going?” she asked.

“We are,” he nodded, and they all got into position. Their little group was led by four riders, followed by Tenac and then Ayya. Behind Ayya came Hinat and Firlea and lastly four more riders.

“Wouldn’t it had been enough with four riders?” Ayya asked Tenac.

“No,” he said. She smiled. Sometimes he reminded her of her father. Outside the door, two of the castle guards were waiting. They took the lead as they showed them the way to the council chamber. They ended up in an almost perfectly square room. The door they entered through was in the middle of one of the walls. On the opposite wall there were enormous double doors, guarded by two castle guards. The room that spread out on either side was painted white with gold inlays and had expensive looking chairs along the walls. Thick carpets covered the floor. This was a waiting room, Ayya realised. Infront of what she presumed was the entrance to the council chambers, the double door, Zerden stood.

“Good morning,” he greeted with a small bow as the four first grey riders stepped aside to let Tenac and Ayya step forward.

“Good morning, castellan,” Ayya said, inclining her head slightly.

“His majesty and his holiness are inside with the council. They have asked that you come alone, my lady,” Zerden said to Ayya.

“No,” Tenac said. Zerden raised an eyebrow.

“I can assure you she will be perfectly safe inside,” Zerden told him.

“Tenac, it will be fine,” Ayya told him in Heulu.

“I won’t allow it. You are not going into that place alone,” he told her.

“It’s a test, they want to see if I’m willing to give a little,” she told him.

“They are the one that asked us to come. Why are they testing you?” Tenac said, sounding grumpy.

“We have talked about this. We knew this was coming,” Ayya reminded him.

“Not this. I have never agreed to let you be alone with these people.”

“Come on, worst-case scenario, I drop a tornado on them, and we are done for the day,” Ayya smiled. “I need to do this, Tenac,” she then said, more serious.

“Fine,” he nodded.

“Thank you. Now, please make sure Firlea and Hinat are comfortable. I don’t know how long I’ll be,” she said. “I’m ready,” she told Zerden in Common.

“I don’t think I need to say this. But to be on the safe side. No weapons allowed,” Zerden said with a smile that told her he didn’t think she had any weapons on her.

“I had hoped he wouldn’t mention it since I’m a woman,” Ayya told Tenac in Heulu, as she detached her knife and handed it to him. “Please hold this for me,” she smiled.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you. If anything happens, let me know,” Tenac told her in Common, making sure Zerden understood.

“Shall we?” Ayya asked Zerden.

“This way,” he told her and escorted her to the double doors. “Ayyanapia Teeran, protector of the white rose of Treenia, candidate of the aari and deputy of the Lady,” Zerden proclaimed as the double doors were opened by the guards and they entered inside. Zerden only escorted her a couple of steps inside. Then he bowed and walked back out, the doors closing behind him.

Ayya looked at the scene in front of her. She was standing in a circular room. The red carpet she was standing on stretched all the way to the opposite wall. At the end of it was a platform with two thrones on it. On one of them the king sat, the other was empty. Just in front of the two thrones, at the front corners of the platform, there were two chairs. In one of them, the bishop sat and in the other was the man that had been introduced to Ayya as the head of the council. Two-thirds of the round walls that circled from either side of the throne towards where Ayya stood were filled with what looked like giant marble steps. On them there were cushions, and the council was sitting on them as benches. All eyes were focused on her, and Ayya noticed that there was nowhere for her to sit. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Time for the second test, she thought. Ayya squared her shoulders and slowly moved forward, towards the thrones. She would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her nerves or any sign of weakness.

“Your majesty,” she said as she was about five steps from the throne. She inclined her head slightly. “Your holiness, council man, honoured council,” she added. Nodding first at the bishop, then at the head of the council, and then acknowledging both sides of the room.

“My lady,” the king said with a nod. “I will start by thanking you for answering our request for your aid. There has been a history of mistrust and disappointment between our two countries. It is comforting to know that we can put that behind us,” he told her.

“Our first and foremost duty is to help people, your majesty. We do not distinguish between where you live or what god you worship,” Ayya said.

“The invitation and request for help was sent on my command. I’m sorry to say that it was a rash decision, and I had therefor no opportunity to seek my council’s approval. For you to help our citizens, you will need the approval from two of our three governing branches,” the king explained. Ayya nodded. She knew this. “Do you agree to let us question you about your intentions, your means of work and your faith to able us to make this decision on an informed base?” the king asked her.

“I agree to let you question me and I swear I will speak only truth,” Ayya told him while looking him in the eyes. He seemed startled by this. There were probably not many men that would look him in the eyes, and even fewer women. But Ayya wanted him to know that her promise wasn’t made lightly.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said. “Who will ask the first question?” he then asked the men in the room. Ayya was acutely aware of the fact that she was the only woman there.

“I will start,” the bishop sneered. “Why are you here?” Ayya Ignored the fact that he had forgone her title and smiled at him.

“I’m here because your king sends a request for help,” she told him.

“And you, the, the aari,” he said the word like it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. “You decided to come out of the goodness of your hearts?” he spit out.

“It was not a simple decision for our council to make,” Ayya admitted. “But in the end, they decided that the first and most basic mission of all aari is to help those in need. That is why the aari was founded. They therefore allowed the delegation to be sent,” Ayya told him.

“And you think…” the bishop started.

“Dear bishop, I know you are keen to get to the bottom of this. But I believe you have had two questions already. I would like to get one in,” the head of the council smiled. Ayya met his eyes, and she found his grey ones filled with warmth. She might have found an ally.

“My lady, what kind of help can you offer?” he asked.

“We can offer several kinds of help, depending on what is needed. Of course, we have magical abilities that can help assess what the sickness is, where it comes from, and how to cure it. But we also have knowledge about herbs and their healing properties, how to care for the sick. And in Salmis, we have the largest collection of texts ever collected on all and any subjects. It can be available to us by a simple message to the Sanctum,” Ayya told him.

“You are planning on using magic?” The bishop was bright red in the face.

“We are planning on using whatever means is necessary to help the people,” Ayya said.

“That is heresy, my king,” the bishop shouted and stood up, looking at the king.

“Calm down, bishop. Lady Teeran is not a subject of ours and neither is she a member of your church. I therefore think she is free to express herself as she chooses,” the king said. This was going to be a long day, Ayya thought.