Mary's Path

Mildy, Leana and Mary waited as the Lady worked her way through all the farewells, most were stiff and frosty, and Mary could clearly see why the talks had not led to a solution.

Suddenly, the castellan caught Mary’s eye. For once, she didn’t shy away when his eyes met hers. She lowered her head in a gentle but clear bow to thank him for everything he had done for her and was rewarded by him also bowing his head and then giving her one of his rare smiles. Mary could do nothing but answer the smile.

Her eyes looked towards the entrance to the kitchen and there stood a small group of people looking towards the farewell ceremony in the castle courtyard. Mary couldn’t mistake one of the people, it was Mrs. Karrots and therefore Mary raised her hand as a greeting.

She watched as the small group all waved goodbye to her. She wished she had had time to say goodbye to Mrs. Karrots, she had meant so much to Mary. Perhaps she could send a letter to Mrs. Karrots when she wrote to Zerden’s mother.

Soon the Lady had said goodbye to those who were lined up and Kopa helped her into the carriage. Mary and the two aari followed and Kopa also helped them in, whereupon he took his place on the coach’s cup.

A silent sign was given and then the whole caravan of grey-clad men and women set in motion. Mary, sitting next to the Lady, looked out the window, up at the castle wall. There were two figures standing in the fog.

Mary would have recognized Zerden anywhere and she assumed the other figure was his mother. Mary raised her hand to say goodbye, hoping they could see it. As one, the two people on the crest raised their hands to reflect her gesture. Mary hoped it meant that they had seen her and that it wasn’t just a coincidence.

---

Zerden stood on the wall with his mother, his father had given him time off to escort his mother so she could send Mary off.

He followed the precision of grey-clad people in the castle courtyard and there in the middle he saw Mary’s red hair through the fog. His mother must have seen her too because she gave him a nudge in the side, and he nodded in response.

He watched Mary, she stood on the sidelines as the Lady said her goodbyes. He saw how Mary and his father exchanged a goodbye and how she waved to the group from the kitchen. He had not yet realized that this was the last time he would see her, it did not feel real.

His mother had been crying the whole night before. His father hadn’t been able to comfort her. Zerden had tried to comfort her by saying that she would soon have a daughter through marriage. It hadn’t helped, if anything she seemed worse off ty that thought and Zerden had been asked to leave by his father.

He admitted to himself that the thought of losing Mary had dampened his delight at Sarah’s suggestion that it was time for an engagement.

He watched the woman who, down in the courtyard, had got into the carriage, helped by the Lady’s bodyguard.

She had been a big part of his life for the last eight years and he didn’t know how to fill the hole he suspected she would leave when she disappeared from his life.

The grey-clad people set in motion, and he felt his mother grab an almost panicked hold of his hand. Suddenly he saw Mary bend forward and raise her hand as a farewell to them. In a joint motion, he and his mother raised their hands to respond.

A heartbeat later, the carriage had passed through the castle gate and Zerden realized that Mary was gone. It felt like someone had ripped out a piece of his insides. Somewhere in the area of his heart there was now a large empty and cold hole.

He heard his mother slowly cry and he put his arm around her, as much for his own comfort as for her.

---

Mary saw the crowd that had gathered at the side of the street. There weren’t as many people as the time she had met the Lady for the first time.

As the word spread through the city that the Lady was about to leave them, more and more people came. Mary could hear their cries for help and the fear in their voices struck a cord at her own memories. Feelings of desperation and panic poured into her.

She turned her eyes to the Lady and clearly saw in the woman’s face the pain she felt at not being able to help the citizens.

Mary watched as a lonely tear slowly ran down the Lady’s cheek as she looked resolutely straight ahead. The two aari sat with their heads lowered as if they were praying. Maybe that’s exactly what they did, Mary thought.

Mary turned her eyes to the crowd. There were stranger’s faces looking back, but she recognized the emotions she saw. But then she looked a little further ahead in the crowd and then she saw people she recognized.

At the front of the crowd, Erik stood surrounded by his family. He had a painful but determined face.

Mary raised her hand when she saw him. Erik and his entire family responded with the same gesture. Mary met Erik’s gaze when they passed by him, and he gave her a little nod to show that he had not forgotten his promise.

The tears that had been so close all morning threatened to rise again into Mary’s eyes. She fought desperately to hold them back as she continued to look at the family for as long as she could. In the end, she could no longer separate them from the rest of the crowd and leaned back in the seat.

“Anyone you recognized?” asked the Lady. Mary nodded.

“A close friend and his family”, she said.

“What a beautiful gesture to come and say goodbye,” the lady said. Mary nodded again, she knew that it had meant that they had had to close the store when they all came to say goodbye. It touched her deep in her heart.

Soon they were in sight of the south gate and then they had gone through it and Mary realized, with a sting of panic, that for the first time in her life she was outside the city.

Mary couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, rolling down her cheeks in an endless stream. Mary was not alone in shedding tears, all four women in the carriage had given up their attempts to hold back their feelings.

Mary eventually calmed down and wiped her tears. She turned her attention to the landscape that slipped by. She had never seen open traps and fields before. She was fascinated by everything she saw.