65, Father Link

The tea had just arrived when a rider announced that father Link had arrived.

“Please show him in,” Ayya said. She stood up and waited with Tenac by her side. Father Link was shown into the room. He hadn’t changed in Ayya’s opinion. He looked tired, but that was expected at times like these. 

“Father, thank you for coming. Please have a seat,” Ayya said.

“Your grace, it’s an honour to be invited. When you send your bodyguard to extend the invitation, it is hard to decline,” father Link said. 

“I have an urgent request to make to you and I thought it best to send someone I trusted,” Ayya said as she poured the tea. 

“A request, your grace? I don’t know what you think I can offer you, but I will do my best,” he said. 

“I will jump straight to the point as we both are busy people, Father. We have met before. For years, I came to your church to seek solace. I went by the name of Mary back then,” Ayya told him. Father Link froze in the middle of lifting the teacup to his lips and stared at her. 

“Mary?” he asked.

“Yes, I used to go to church with Erik Korpi and his sister Ida,” she added, if he had a hard time placing her. 

“My dear child, I remember you. How could I not? Your path has taken you to unexpected places,” he told her. Ayya had to laugh.

“It truly has, father. You know my history, it is why I’m here now. When your king sent the latest plea for help, I couldn’t let it go unanswered,” she said. Father Link nodded as he sipped his tea. He had always been a good listener, Ayya thought. “I don’t know how much you know about the process of us helping the city. But to start my work, I need to get the approval from two of the three governing branches. We have the king’s approval, but are still in discussions to gain that of the council or the church,” she explained. 

“I can imagine that is a challenge,” father Link said.

“It is. That’s why I need your help,” Ayya admitted.

“I would love to help. Even as a man of the church, I can’t see a hindrance to accepting your help. I have to believe that God wants us to get help. What is to say that you arriving here isn’t his answer to our prayers. But I hold no power over the church and even less over the council,” the priest said. 

“I’m not asking for your political help. I need a character witness on my behalf. Someone who can attest to who I am,” Ayya explained. Father Link paused and looked at Ayya in silence for a while before sighing.

“May I be frank?” he asked.

“Please, I prefer it,” she said.

“I can’t in good conscience swear to tell the truth and then be your character witness, my lady. The young woman I knew was a good-hearted woman and I would have stood by her side if she had asked. But to be frank, I do not know who you are now, and therefore I would be lying. I can’t place my hand on the holy book and lie,” father Link said. Ayya smiled at him.

“I would never ask something like that of you,” she said. “I understand what you are saying and I have to apologise for not being clear with you. It’s not who I am today I need verifying. I’m asking that you verify who I was when I lived here. I need someone to verify my story is truthful, that it’s not something I have made up to get an approval.” Father Link smiled at her and put his cup down.

“That I can do, my child. I would be more than happy to help you with it,” he said.

“I am most grateful for that, Father. I don’t know when we will resume our talks, it has been put on hold for the moment. But would it be possible to send a message to you when we resume them?” Ayya asked.

“Of course, just let me know and I will be there,” he said.

“Thank you, Father. If there is anything you need in return, let me know,” Ayya told him.

“The only thing I will ask is you keep fighting and when you get the approval, that you help us end this long nightmare. It needs to come to an end,” father Link said.

“That I can do,” Ayya promised. They continued to drink tea and talked about old memories. Father Link told Ayya that Erik and his family had become regulars at his church and Ayya told him they had visited Erik. Ayya invited the priest to stay for lunch, but he declined as he needed to get back to the church. They said goodbye and Ayya sat down with Tenac and her friends to discuss the meeting. 

“Do you think it will work?” Hinat asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s the only solution to this stalemate that I can see. If it doesn’t work, we will regroup and think up something else to try,” Ayya said.

“I think it will work,” Firlea told them with confidence. 

“I agree,” Tenac said. 

“Thank you. I hope the king has some good news when he comes this afternoon. I’m getting restless with just sitting around, doing nothing.”

“I don’t think you can say you have been doing nothing,” Tenac told her and laughed. 

“You know Ayya, unless she is doing three things while reading an ancient book, she is being lacy,” Hinat said and joined in the laughter. It was a welcome tension releaser, and the friends turned the conversation to less serious matters and enjoyed being relaxed. 

Just after three in the afternoon, a rider announced that the King and Zerden had arrived. Ayya had once again ordered tea, but this time she had made sure the table was set for four people. The King and Zerden walked in and Ayya smiled at them.

“Rick, Zerden, come in and sit down. I hope some tea and sandwiches will be okay,” she greeted them.

“Ayya, thank you, it sounds great,” the king said and sat down at the table. Zerden took the place to Ayya’s left and Tenac the chair to her right. The king watched them with amusement as Ayya poured the tea. “Have you had a good couple of days?” the king asked as Ayya sat down.

“Yes, we have got a lot done,” Ayya said. The king smiled. 

“And here I thought you would be taking it easy and resting,” he told her.

“It would only stress her out if she were to do nothing,” Tenac explained. 

“That is true,” Ayya agreed. 

“That will come in handy if you become the Lady,” the king said. “Everyone wants to be the ruler, but they have no idea how much work it entrails.”

“The current Lady is a relative of yours. I think Ayya mentioned it in one of her letters,” Zerden said to Tenac. He had made a brief pause before her name, and Ayya knew he had a hard time using her new one. 

“That’s correct, she’s my mother,” Tenac told him. Ayya had no idea why Zerden would bring it up. Was it a way to show the king that he would share information about them? 

“It’s one of the reasons my father trusts him to keep me safe,” she said in a light tone. “My dad has watched Tenac grow up and has trained him.”

“It’s not the first time you have alluded to your father’s protectiveness, is it really that strong?” the king asked. Tenac let out a snort and Ayya hit his arm with the back of her hand. 

“It is,” she admitted. “I don’t know how many details you know about my story. But I was seven when I first met my father. We had a connection from the first day and he wanted to take me back with them when the Lady first got denied the opportunity to help.”

“My mother talked him out of it,” Tenac told them.

“Yes, and he left me here thinking I was safe.”

“But you weren’t,” the king offered.

“No, not in the way he thought I would be. When they came back the second time they didn’t find me in a good condition, I’m afraid. So when he took me back home and made me part of his family, he made sure I would always be safe. Sometimes he can go a little overboard. My coming back here hasn’t been easy for him.”

“But he approves of you?” the king asked Tenac.

“Most of the time,” Tenac said with a crooked smile. There was a lull in the conversation as they all prepared for more serious topics.

“How has the hunt for the two assassins gone?” Ayya asked.

“Both good and bad. One of them was found dead in the lower parts of the city, the other we found alive, but before he could be apprehended, he took his own life,” the king told her. 

“Oh,” was all Ayya could think of to say.

“It will make it hard to find out who was behind it,” Tenac commented. 

“Yes. But whoever it was, they must possess a good amount of power to make a man choose death rather than be captured,” the king said. 

“And death by his own hands as well,” Ayya agreed. Tenac looked at her and she saw the question he had before he asked. “It’s considered sacrilege to take your own life here. Life is a gift from God and by ending it, you are committing a sin,” she explained. 

“It has a positive side. The discussions will probably be resumed tomorrow,” Zerden said.

“Really?” Ayya said in surprise and looked at the king. He nodded. “Are they pretending to be ignorant, or do they actually think the danger is over as the two men are dead?” she asked.

“Probably the first. I can’t imagine that my council is that easy to fool. But I think they want the discussion with you to resume. Both sides seem to want to reach a conclusion,” he told her. 

“If I wanted to invite a guest to the discussions, would that be okay?” Ayya asked.

“Is it someone with military training?” Zerden asked.

“No,” Ayya answered and smiled.

“I don’t see a problem with it,” the king said. “Who are you planning on inviting?”

“I think I will keep that to myself for now. That way, you don’t need to act surprised when I make my move,” she told him with a smile. The king laughed. 

“I like it. I have a feeling this will force the issue and I will be prepared to call for a vote,” he said.

“We can only hope,” Ayya agreed. They steered the conversation towards easier subjects.

“I believe it’s time for us to leave you. You will receive a letter with your dinner to formally tell you the negotiations will continue tomorrow. I hope you have a pleasant evening,” the king said and stood up. The others followed his lead.

“You too, Rick. I will see you tomorrow,” Ayya told him.

“I look forward to it,” he replied and bowed to her. As the king made to leave, Zerden walked up to Ayya.

“I was thinking I could escort you to my parents. I’m sure my mother would like to see you again,” he offered.

“Thank you, Zerden. But I need to prepare for tomorrow. But please tell your mother Tenac and I will stop by as soon as we can,” Ayya said as Tenac stepped closer to her.

“You don’t need to bring your bodyguard. Just send a message to me and I will escort you,” Zerden tried to offer. 

“That won’t be happening,” Tenac told him and placed his hand on Ayya’s lower back.

“Tenac goes where I go, and he isn’t just my bodyguard,” Ayya said. 

“I apologise for my not so fast thinking castellan. We will take our leave and I will explain a thing or two to him,” the king told her, and Ayya saw a mischievous smile play on his lips. They said their goodbyes and when they were alone again, Tenac huffed.