63, Catching up

“I thought he would stay asleep a while longer,” Mrs Korpi said and got ready to get up from the table.

“Sit, mom. I’ll get him,” Sandra said. 

“Your son?” Ayya asked Erik.

“Yes, he’s eight months old,” Erik said proudly. Sandra came back into the room, holding a child on her hip. Erik stood up and took the boy, and walked over to Ayya. “Mary, this is Marion,” he told her. Ayya smiled at the child and held up her fingers for him to grab. The boy took a sturdy grip and started to happily make gurgling sounds. As Ayya leaned in to get a closer look at the adorable boy, he let go of her finger and reached up and took a grip on the bone rose that she wore.

“You know your family’s handiwork. That’s a clever boy,” Ayya cooed as she gently tried to make him let go. Erik helped her and as little Marion let go, Erik saw what he was holding.

“You still have that?” he asked. Ayya was adjusting the leather strap the rose hung from.

“Of course. It has become very special to me,” she told him. “I even bought one of your matching hairpins,” she added.

“I can exchange it for you. I have similar pieces that are of higher quality,” Eric offered. 

“No!” both Ayya and Tenac exclaimed. 

“Sorry, it holds a lot of sentimental value,” Ayya said, rubbing the rose around her neck. The baby gurgled happily and waved his arms, attempting to reach for the necklace again. Ayya smiled and let him take her finger instead. “He is a handsome boy,” she told his proud parents. Erik sat down in his chair with his son in his lap. They talked about what had happened the past five years and reminisced about some memories. Ayya didn’t try to get them to use her new name. She was more than happy to remain Mary in their company. Her friends picked up on it and tried their best to call her Mary as well, even though Ayya saw it was hard for them. “How is Ida?” Ayya asked. 

“Oh, she is doing good. She married a farmer last summer and has moved out of the city. It’s hard for my mother’s heart not to see her regularly, but I’m happy that she is safe,” Mrs. Korpi said. 

“I can understand that. If you talk to her, please congratulate her for me. A farmer? That surprises me. There aren’t that many farmers hanging around here,” Ayya said.

“It was father Link that introduced them. James, Ida’s husband, was visiting some family in the city and attended church with them,” Erik explained. 

“You still go to father Link’s church?” Ayya asked.

“It became a habit. Now the entire family goes. It has been a great comfort. Nothing much changes there, you know how father Link is,” Erik told her with a smile. 

“As reliable and calm as ever, I presume.”

“Always,” Erik said, and they both chuckled. The conversation left Ayya with a nagging feeling there was something important about it, but she couldn’t quite grasp what it was. They stayed with Erik and his family until Mrs. Korpi asked them to stay for dinner. Ayya politely turned down the offer, saying they needed to get back to the castle. Ayya knew food was a precious resource, and she didn’t want her friend to have to feed four extra people. As they got ready to leave, Ayya got a hug from both Mrs. Korpi and Sandra. When Erik walked up to her, she hugged him as well. 

“Thank you for keeping your promise to me,” she whispered to him. 

“Thank you for making me give it to you,” he said. She nodded, and then she promised Mrs. Korpi to come by before they left the city. They walked out into the streets and were surrounded by riders. It had started to snow again, and they walked back to the castle in silence, smiling at the people walking on the streets. As they got back to the common room, Tenac took Ayya’s cloak to put away and Ayya stood in front of a window. She watched the snow come down and adding to the already thick blanket that covered the castle and city. Tenac came back and sat down on the windowsill and pulled Ayya down to sit next to him, leaning her back against his chest. He put an arm around her waist and they sat like that for a moment in silence. 

“What is bothering you?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I have had this feeling like there is something I should know, or realise, since Erik and I talked about father Link. But I can’t, for the life of me, seem to grasp what it is,” she told him. 

“Try to not think about it. Focus on something else, that usually helps me,” Tenac said.

“Any suggestions on what I should be focusing on?” she asked. 

“A couple, but since we are in public, why don’t we talk about what the next step is when, or if, the talks with the council resume,” Tenac suggested. Ayya smiled and pecked a kiss on his cheek. 

“I understand why your mother gave up both times. The endless questions will drive me insane. It would be better if they at least were new questions. But it feels like I’m answering the same five questions over and over again. I don’t know how long I can keep my temper in check,” she admitted. 

“You will find the strength to do it. You have the goal so clear in your mind, you know why you do it,” Tenac told her. “And, even though I hated the idea, today you have shown the rest of us why we are here. It was a good idea to go out and meet some people.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but don’t expect me to agree to do it again,” Tenac said.

“I won’t, not for now at least. This was enough for everyone to get the motivation we needed,” Ayya promised. 

“Back to your council problem. Think you need something to sway the more religious part of the council? If we think about it logically, the church will never agree to us helping,” Tenac started. “But we only need two of the three ruling bodies. I think it’s safe to say we have the king’s vote, so the deciding vote will be the council.”

“Your right, and at the moment they are almost split in half. Half of them are loyal to the church and the other half are more interested in finding a solution. But I agree that it probably will be easier to sway some members of the council than the bishop,” Ayya agreed. 

“If we could manage to do that, the king could call for a vote the moment he feels we have the majority. But how do we swing them over to our side?” Tenac asked. Ayya frowned as the feeling of having the answer to the question came back in full force. Then she realised what it was she was missing, and she smiled.

“I think I know what it was I figured out, without figuring it out,” she told Tenac.

“See, I told you distraction would help. What was it?”

“We have kept who I am a secret. But I think we should tell them everything. Let’s use my background to our advantage and let’s see if we can’t get a character witness that is respected and that can vouch for my story,” she said.

“Who? Zerden? Erik?” 

“No, Zerden is too close to the king, he won’t be seen as impartial. Erik doesn’t have enough of a standing to make an impact,” she told him.

“Then who?”

“Father Link,” Ayya said with a big smile.

“The priest in the church you used to visit?” Tenac asked.

“Yes, he is a man of the church, he has a good standing and he knew me well when I lived here. I think he is our best bet,” Ayya said.

“Do you think he will do it? It has been a long time since you met him and you are an aari now,” Tenac pointed out.

“Father Link never judged someone based on their beliefs. I don’t know if he is willing to do it. I think we should find out tomorrow,” Ayya told him.

“Do I need to plan another outing?” Tenac asked.

“No, I think we will invite him here. I would like for you to go and see if he is willing to come here with you tomorrow,” she said.

“Me? But that would mean leaving you alone,” Tenac objected.

“I will hardly be alone. I’m surrounded by grey riders and I have Hinat and Firlea. There is no one else I can trust with this. It’s too important,” Ayya insisted. 

“Fine. But you need to tell me where to go and what to tell him. Do you want me to make sure he visits no matter what?” Ayya had to laugh at Tenac’s question.

“No, he should only come if it is what he wishes. Let’s not kidnap a priest on top of everything else.”

“Okay,” he agreed. Ayya smiled and cuddled into him. They sat in silence for a while, watching the snow fall. “I know these days have meant that you got delayed in your work. But I have enjoyed them. It’s been nice to meet your friends, get to see everything and not having the castellan lurking around you,” Tenac told Ayya.

“I have enjoyed it as well. It felt nice to get to meet everyone again, to make sure they were safe. Why you are obsessing over Zerden, I don’t know. He never had those feeling for me. Erik, on the other hand, actually asked me to marry him. But you didn’t stare daggers at him,” Ayya said, shaking her head as she tried to understand Tenac’s behaviour. 

“That is easy, sweetheart, it’s clear as day that he has moved on. He is very much in love with his wife and only sees you as his childhood friend. Zerden is different, I know you don’t see it. That’s okay, I do and will make sure he knows you are off bounds,” Tenac explained. Ayya smiled as he used her new nickname and placed another soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Just as long as you don’t fight him, I can live with it. You know I don’t have any feelings for him, right?” she asked.

“I know, Ayya,” he assured her. 

“Good,” she told him. It wasn’t long after that dinner arrived and they joined the rest of the group to eat and talk. The mood had improved, and Ayya felt that they all were more relaxed and focused on their mission.