54, The second day

After eating dinner and taking a long bath, Ayya went to bed and when she woke up the next morning, her body was almost back to its normal self. They followed the routine they had done the previous day and before Ayya knew it; they were walking back towards the council chambers.

“You are not going into that room alone today,” Tenac told her as they walked.

“Tenac,” Ayya started.

“No, Ayya. I didn’t argue with you yesterday because you were so tired that you could barely stand. I’m not having that today,” he said. Ayya looked back at Hinat and Firlea for support.

“Don’t look at us,” Hinat told her.

“We’re with him,” Firlea agreed.

“Great, mutiny on the second day,” Ayya said, rolling her eyes. They were all quietly laughing when they entered the waiting room. As the day before, Zerden waited in front of the doors. He raised an eyebrow as he heard the laughter.

“Lady Teeran,” he bowed his head. “His majesty and the council invite one of your party members to join you in the meeting today,” he then said.

“Thank you, castellan. I will bring my bodyguard,” Ayya said without hesitation.

“Of course, I remind you that the rules regarding weapons are the same as yesterday,” Zerden said and gestured towards a small table. Ayya nodded and took off her knife and handed it to Hinat.

“Wait here with the riders,” Ayya told both her friends. They nodded. Tenac had removed his weapons and handed them to one of the riders. He was giving out instructions to the rest of his men.

“Ready?” Ayya asked when he was done. He nodded. She turned towards Zerden and gave a nod, and he walked up to the double doors and the guards opened them. Tenac was walking half a step behind Ayya to her right. She felt better having him there.

“Ayyanapia Teeran, protector of the white rose of Treenia, candidate of the aari and deputy of the Lady,” Zerden announced her, and there was a pause. “And her bodyguard,” he then added. Ayya started walking into the room, expecting Zerden to turn around to leave. She could see two chairs had been put out facing the platform with the thrones.

“Was there anything else, castellan?” the king asked, and Ayya looked over her shoulder to realise that Zerden was still standing inside the doors.

“I need to insist on staying in the room as long as lady Teeran has her bodyguard present, your majesty,” Zerden said.

“Ah, I see. My lady, do you have any objection to this?” the king asked Ayya.

“No, your majesty. I can’t see it making a difference,” Ayya said truthfully.

“Then I will allow it,” the king nodded. Zerden nodded towards the guards holding the doors and they closed them as he walked past Ayya and Tenac to take position behind the king. Ayya walked up to one of the chairs and nodded towards the king, both men sitting in front of him and then the council. She then sat down in the chair and felt Tenac stand at her shoulder. She knew he wouldn’t take the second chair.

“Thank you for joining us again today, my lady,” the king said.

“It’s my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me,” Ayya smiled.

“Let’s get started,” the king said, and then the questions started again.

---

They had been going most of the morning, and Zerden was amazed that Mary was still holding it together. The questions and innuendos they were throwing at her would make a seasoned warrior crumble. But she continued to sit in the chair, straight back, her hands folded in her lap, when they weren’t moving to help make her point. She didn’t look frustrated or flustered. Zerden wondered who this was. The Mary he had known couldn’t have managed more than five minutes of this. Her bodyguard stood at her shoulder with a face that could have been carved out of stone. Not a feeling showed on it, making him hard to get a read from. Zerden had watched the two of them interact outside this room, and there was an intimacy between them he didn’t like. The way they would seamlessly switch over to the foreign language no one seemed to know, or how he had reacted when Mary had come out of the council chamber yesterday. No, Zerden didn’t like it at all.

---

“Let’s break for a quick lunch. We will have food brought in,” the king said, and Ayya nodded. She appreciated a short break as she needed to talk to Tenac. Ayya could feel his anger radiating off of him. He needed to calm down before he attacked the bishop. Food was brought in, and a small table was placed between the chair Ayya sat in and the empty chair next to it. A tray with fruit, bread, cheese, and cold cuts were placed on the table along with wine.

“Do you think it’s possible to get some water?” Ayya asked the maid. She nodded and returned quickly with water. “Thank you,” Ayya smiled at her. “Come, sit down and eat with me,” she told Tenac in Heulu.

“I’m fine standing,” he said.

“Good for you. But I’ll get a kink in my neck if I have to keep looking up at you while I’m talking,” she said.

“Fine,” he said, taking the empty chair.

“Thank you, now relax. Your anger is almost palatable,” she smiled and handed him a green apple, his favourite.

“They are disrespecting you, the aari, everyone,” he growled and bit into the apple with a fearsomeness like it was the apple’s fault. 

“Yes, they are trying to make us crack, to give them a reason why they should just send us packing.”

“You are just going to take it?” he asked angrily.

“I am. Because outside this castle there is a city where families are dying, where children are being orphaned, because of a sickness that might be curable. I can sit here for a week, letting them ask their silly questions over and over again with different wording. If it means I then get to go out there and help the people,” she told him. He looked at her. She could see him trying to relax, how he relaxed, and then nodded. “Thank you, I know this is hard on you,” she smiled.

“This entire trip is hard on me. There are too many things that pose a danger to you for my liking. Most of them I can’t even protect you from,” he said.

“You are doing a good job so far,” she told him and patted his hand. He just shook his head, drank a glass of water, and ate some cheese and bread before standing up and taking his position again. 

They ended the meeting earlier than the day before since everyone needed to prepare for the banquet. They hadn’t made any progress during the day. It seemed half of the council was against them helping and half was open to it.

“The king won’t ask for a vote until he feels secure he has a majority,” Tenac said as they discussed it back in the common room.

“I would agree with you, but at some point, he will be forced to,” Ayya nodded.

“You need something to swing some of the religious members over to your side,” Tenac pointed out.

“Any suggestions on what that would be?” Ayya asked.

“None whatsoever,” he said.

“Great,” she sighed and then walked into her room to get ready together with Hinat and Firlea. The three friends had a lot of fun being together again. Ayya smiled as she looked at them in the mirror. They had all chosen to go with dresses that were distinct Salmisarian. Hinat’s bare arms that showed through the open slits of her long sleeves made a stunning contrast with her dark skin against the bright white dress. She had let her braids hang loose and her friends had helped her decorate them with silver ornaments. Firlea’s short sleeved and boat neckline revealed far too much skin for a Domne dress. But she looked stunning with her blond hair in a braid around her head, almost like a crown. Ayya’s dress was more than she could have dreamed of. It was simple and yet stunning. The dress was of thick white silk. At the bottom, it was decorated with woven silver thread. The dress left her shoulders bare and her long sleeves were in the same silk material as they flowed down, almost to the floor. They were draped using silver ribbons and underneath you could see a tight sleeve in a white fabric with silver thread woven into it. Most of her hair was left loose, to flow down her back in soft waves. Firlea had helped her braid the front part and decorate it with pearls, giving the illusion of a tiara. Pearls also decorated her neck as she had exchanged her simple bone rose for a string of pearls. Lastly, they helped each other pin their shields in place.

“Are we ready to knock them speechless, ladies?” Ayya asked. Her friends laughed, and they joined hands as they walked out into the common room. Tenac had already changed into his full-dress uniform. No matter how many times Ayya saw him in it, he always made her heart skip a beat. Tenac turned around as the three of them entered the room and his eyes grew bigger as he looked at Ayya. She smiled and walked up to him.

“You look breath-taking,” he told her and bowed slightly.

“Thank you, you look handsome as ever,” she said. They stood around talking, waiting for their escort to arrive. Ayya could have found the way to the banquet hall. But it was foolish to give away that they had that sort of knowledge, especially since Zerden didn’t seem to have told the king about who Ayya was. After a while, there was a knock at the door and two castle guards let them know they would escort them. They formed their usual formation and followed the guards. They arrived at the doors to the hall and Zerden stood waiting for them. He also had changed into a full-dress uniform. When his eyes fell on Ayya, he looked like someone had physically punched him. Ayya knew her dress was a little risky in the local sense, but surely not that risky, she thought. After what seemed like minutes, Zerden regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“Welcome, his majesty will be along shortly to escort lady Teeran inside. In the banquet hall, there are no military personnel allowed. You and your men will have to wait outside,” Zerden told Tenac.

“No,” Tenac simply said. Zerden looked at Ayya.

“If he says no, it’s no,” she said. Her instinct told her she shouldn’t go in without Tenac. Ayya trusted her instincts and Tenac. If they both said no, she would not argue.

“No?” Zerden asked, as if the concept was new to him.

“I’m not letting lady Teeran go into the banquet without protection. I will definitely not be sending three aari in there on their own,” Tenac told him.

“There is nothing I can do. It’s the regulations,” Zerden said.

“Then we will wait for the king and we will give him our apologies for not being able to attend,” Ayya smiled.