64, A good boy

At breakfast the following day, Ayya, Tenac, Hinat, and Firlea made plans for the day. They still hadn’t heard from the king or the council and therefore assumed they had the day for themselves. 

“Tenac, you will go and find father Link and invite him here for tea. If he accepts, that will take up our morning,” Ayya said.

“We need to send a note back to Sinhera, or she will come storming in,” he reminded her. 

“I can help with that,” Hinat offered. 

“When you are gone, maybe I could stop by the stables. I haven’t been to see Addon and Estrela since we got here,” Ayya said.

“Wait until I get back. I don’t want you to leave the tower unless I’m with you,” Tenac objected. 

“It will be fine. I need to do something or I will start climbing the walls, especially when you are away. I will take two riders with me,” Ayya told him.

“Four riders,” he said.

“Fine,” she agreed.

“And I’ll join you,” Firlea said.

“It will be fun,” Ayya told Tenac.

“Okay, but just to the stables, no crazy exploration or visiting old friends.”

“I promise. We will just go to the stable and give Addon and Estrela some apples and come right back,” Ayya agreed. 

“Could you not bribe my horse?” Tenac sighed. 

“We have had this conversation, Tenac. Addon is a good boy. He deserves some apples.” Both Hinat and Firlea laughed. After breakfast, Tenac headed out into the city. Hinat sat down to write the note to Sinhera and Ayya and Firlea, headed for the stables with four riders. 

“Lady Teeran.” Ayya stopped halfway across the courtyard as she heard her name being called. She turned toward the sound and smiled. 

“Your majesty, castellan,” she greeted the king and Zerden as they came walking. 

“Touring the castle?” the king asked.

“Heading for the stables to check on my horse, trying to keep busy,” she told him. “Do you have a couple of minutes to spare? I remember promising to show you our two Che’hul horses,” she then offered. The king looked eager to accept.

“I can make the time for a treat like that,” he agreed. He offered her his arm, and they started walking. “Should you be outside without your bodyguard, my lady?” he asked.

“Tenac had something he needed to do. The riders will protect me if needed,” she said as they walked into the stables, followed by Firlea and Zerden. “Before I show you the horses, there are a couple of things you should know,” she then told both the king and Zerden.

“Such as?” the king asked.

“Don’t get too close to them. Neither of them like strangers and can be unwelcoming.” That statement made Firlea giggle. “And Addon is protective of Estrela, which makes it worse. That’s why your groomsmen have been told not to go near them. They are being cared for by riders,” Ayya explained. 

“We will keep that in mind,” the king said. Ayya led the king and Zerden to the boxes where Addon and Estrela stood. 

“This is Addon. He belongs to Tenac,” Ayya told them, taking out an apple and giving it to the impressive stallion. Addon looked at the king and Zerden while he took the apple and devoured it. “It’s okay, boy. They are just here to see how impressive you are,” Ayya told the horse in a soft voice, switching to Heulu. She rubbed his forehead.

“He is magnificent. He must be a star,” the king said. Ayya smiled at him.

“He is,” she told the king and handed another apple to Addon. 

“Are you sure you should be that close to him, if he is as temperamental as you say?” Zerden asked, sounding worried.

“It’s fine. He knows me and he’s a good boy at heart,” Ayya said, scratching Addon behind the ears. “And this is Estrela. She’s mine,” Ayya continued and moved to the next box. Estrela grabbed the apple Ayya was offering and munched on it as she looked at the visitors. 

“She is beautiful,” the king said as he studied Estrela. “Another star?”

“Yes, she was gifted to me by the former chief of my clan when I became an aari,” Ayya told them. She could see how closely Addon watched the two men. Firlea must have seen it as well as she took an apple and gave to him to distract him. 

“You’re a member of the Che’hul?” the king asked.

“I’m an honorary member. They were kind enough to let me be a part of their clan and I gained an extended family,” Ayya told him. The king and Ayya stood and discussed the Che’hul and their horses a while. Firlea made sure that both Addon and Estrela got apples and Zerden watched the situation in mostly silence. 

“Ma… My lady, I think you should step away from that black horse. He looks like he is about to do something,” Zerden said and took a step closer to Ayya. Addon’s ears fell flat on his head as he focused on Zerden. 

“Addon would never hurt Ayya,” Tenac said as he came walking towards them. He passed Addon and patted him on the neck before walking up to Ayya. He placed his hand on her back. “He just gets antsy when unknown people are close to her and Estrela,” he added.

“That is fascinating,” the king said. 

“If you had asked me if horses could be protective a couple of years ago, I would have said no. But I have seen things when Ayya is around horses that make this seem more than plausible,” Tenac said. “We should head back. The delivery will be here in about twenty minutes,” he then told Ayya. Ayya had to think twice before she understood the underlying message. 

“Then we should head back. Your majesty, do you have time to come over later for some tea?” Ayya asked. the king smiled at her.

“It would be my pleasure. What time should I come?” he asked.

“Any time after lunch would be fine,” Ayya said.

“I will be there at three,” the king told her. 

“Until then, have a nice day,” Ayya said. Tenac and Firlea also said their goodbyes, and they headed out of the stable. 

“Your grace, could I have a quick word with you?” Zerden asked as he walked after them. Ayya could feel Tenac tense up, and even Firlea looked displeased. 

“I am a little short for time at the moment. Can it wait until this afternoon?” Ayya asked. She assumed he would accompany the king. 

“It’s not that urgent, but all I wanted to ask was if you would like to meet up at our old meeting spot in the tower this evening?” Zerden asked. Ayya just looked at him. She had a hard time understanding that he had just asked her that. 

“I don’t think Tenac and myself will be able to join you there this evening,” she said. She was thinking a meeting with her and those two would be as enjoyable as light torture. 

“Oh, I was just inviting you. I can come and pick you up. You will be safe,” Zerden insisted. Tenac was about to let loose on the castellan. Ayya could feel him readying to unleash. 

“That won’t be happening,” she quickly said. “I don’t go anywhere without Tenac or a group of riders escorting me. I have promised Tenac and my parents that I would be smart about my safety. And with two known assassins still at large, I can’t go off on my own,” she continued. 

“But you wouldn’t be alone,” Zerden told her.

“She declined your offer. Leave it at that,” Tenac said, placing his arm around Ayya’s waist and more or less towed her away from Zerden. 

“I can’t believe the gall of him,” Firlea said as they walked away. “Suggesting the two of you go off alone, in front of Tenac. It’s obvious to anyone that the two of you are courting,” she then huffed. 

“I’m a little surprised as well,” Ayya admitted.

“I’m not. I have told you from the first night that he is in love with you and I’m predicting that he will try to get you alone to try to rekindle the old feelings,” Tenac said in a dark voice. 

“There will be no rekindling, and no private meetings,” Ayya said. 

“You are right about that. Hinat and I will make sure he stays away,” Firlea said. Ayya looked at her friend with surprise. 

“How?” she asked.

“I don’t know. We will figure something out. We haven’t been waiting for you two to get your act together just for some bad-mannered soldier to try to mess it up,” Firlea told her. 

“Thank you,” Tenac said.

“Do you really think I need their help?” Ayya asked in Heulu.

“No, I know you’re not interested. But I don’t trust him. If I can recruit two aari to help keep you safe, I will gladly do so,” Tenac said. Ayya smiled and shook her head. “Father Link was in the middle of confessions, but he said he would come by at eleven,” Tenac told her as they walked into the common room. 

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “That will give us just enough time to call down for some tea.” 

“Do you want us to be there?” Hinat asked. 

“No, I think I can handle it on my own,” Ayya replied.

“Not on your own. I will be there,” Tenac reminded her. 

“Of course,” she agreed.