Mary's Path

Mary made it back to the kitchen without being noticed. There was still most of the afternoon left before dinner. She could go for a walk or go to church. But Mary didn’t feel to go anywhere.

Instead, she went to her room and lay down on her bead and let the tears start rolling down her face. For once she let herself feel all those suppressed feelings of loneliness, of feeling unworthy and of felling like someone that everyone else only spent time with when there was no better option.

She felt like a bystander that was watching everyone else living their life, having connections to people. But she was just standing there watching, without being connected to anything.

She didn’t blame Zerden for not wanting her the way she wanted him. How could he? But that didn’t mean she didn’t feel heartbroken.

She stayed in bead all afternoon crying. When she didn’t show up for dinner, Mrs. Karrots had sent Josie to fetch her. But Mary just told her she had a headache and needed sleep.

It wasn’t until late in the night that Mary finally stopped crying and went to the bathroom to take a bath and try to relax enough so she could get some sleep.

The next day Mary looked a little swollen in her face but she couldn’t do anything about it so she went off to the kitchen. She started with the porridge as she always did.

“Mary, are you feeling okay?” Mrs. Karrots asked as she came up to her.

“Yes ma’am” Mary answered.

“You don’t look so good my child”

“It’s just the aftermaths of the headache I think” Mary felt terrible about lying but she didn’t want to admit that she had spent hours crying.

“Are you coming down with something?” Mrs. Carrots asked.

“No, I don’t think so” Marry said honestly. The sickness was not as common as it used to be. But people still shunned anyone that got ill. The fear was still real in most people.

“Good, then continue with work”

Mary did just that. She took all her emotions and shut them in a corner of her mind, and she poured all her energy and focus into her work. Mrs. Karrots noticed a difference in her but as she worked hard and seemed to feel better, she didn’t say anything about it.

A couple of more days passed and soon it was Sunday. Mary got ready to go to church as she always did on Sunday. As she was walking out of the castle gate, greeting the guards, she saw Erik waiting for her.

“Erik?” she asked surprised.

“Hi Mary” he smiled.

“What are you doing here? Have something happened?” she asked worried.

“No, nothings wrong. I just thought since I haven’t hade the time to come by in a couple of Wednesdays, I would come by today”

“Oh, what a nice surprise. Eh, I usually go to church on Sundays” she said uncertainly.

“May I join you today?” he asked.

“Of course, if it’s okay with you” she said.

“I’m here to see you, so if you are going to church, that’s where I’m going to” he said with his usual grin on his face. Mary smiled at him, it was nice to have him with her.

They walked along the streets together, talking about the passed weeks and about his family. Soon they reached the small church. As usual father Link stood in the door to greet the parishioners that walked inside.

“Mary, how nice of you to come” he said as they approached him. “And you brought someone with you today, your fiancé?”

“Hello father, thank you. No this is Erik, he’s a childhood friend of mine” Mary said and Erik and father Link shook hands.

“It’s nice to meet a friend of Mary’s. She usually comes alone” father Link said.

“It’s nice to be able to join her. She always talks so warmly about the church” Erik said, and Mary reflected on how grownup he sounded. In her mind he was still the boy that she used to explore the city with. But he had grown up just as she had.

They went inside and took a seat. They sat there throughout the service and Mary thought it felt nice to not be there alone.

Afterwards they thanked father Link for a nice service and went out into the street.

“Let me take you to get something to eat” Erik said.

“No Erik, you shouldn’t spend your money on me” Mary said.

“But I want to, we haven’t celebrated your birthday yet. Please let me treat you at least to a cup of tea” he pleaded.

“Okay, but just a cup of tea” she agreed. Erik seemed happy with that and lead her to a small café.

“If you go and sit down at a table, I’ll bring the tea” he told her, and she selected a table in one of the corners and waited.

When Erik walked up to her, he had two cups of tea and two pastries with him. They looked delicious and Mary could see pieces of strawberry in them. She loved strawberries, which Erik of course knew.

“It’s instead of a birthday cake” he told her as he sat down.

“Thank you, Erik, you are a really good friend” Mary said and smiled at him.

“I’m being a bit selfish as well, I have missed you in the past weeks” he confessed.

“I have missed you to. The shop must be busy” she said and got a bright smile from Erik.

“It is. The economy seems to have recovered from the last wave of the sickness. People are spending thir money more freely” he told her.

“That’s good. I’m happy that your business is going good”

“Thank you. Father is letting me do most of the regular stock now. He mostly spends time in the shop and helps out with the more complicated pieces.”

“I told you that you would become as good as your father, didn’t I?” Mary laughed.

“You did, and you haven’t let me forget it since” Erik joined in the laughter.

They sat at the table talking, drinking tea, and eating pastries for a while. They both enjoyed spending time in each other’s company, it was comfortable. When they were finished, Erik followed Mary back to the gate.

“I’m sorry that I can’t visit you as often as before” Erik told her as they were walkning.

“It’s okay Erik. I know that you are needed in the shop”

“Yes, but my father also thinks it’s important that I can come and visit you” he confessed.

“That’s sweet of him. You must give him my best”

“I will. Can you promise me something Mary?” Erik asked.

“If it is in my power I will” she answered and looked at him.

“Can you promise not to venture out in the city by yourself? It’s not safe for you. If you need to go somewhere, can you please wait for me to join you. Or even the other one” he said.

Erik and Zerden had never become friends even though the three of them had on occasion hung out together. Both men seemed set on disliking the other one.

“What do you mean it’s not safe for me? You know I don’t go out in the city after dark.” Mary said.

“Even in daytime Mary. You must have noticed how men look at you.”

“What are you talking about. Men don’t look at me in any special way” she laughed.

“Do you no see the way their eyes linger on you?” he told her.

“Erik, you are sweet, but I think you have switch on your big brother brain and are seeing things. I appreciate your concern, and I promise to not go out into the city on my own. Even in daytime if it’s not absolutely necessary.” she promised. Erik shook his head in disbelief.

“Someday you will realise just how beautiful you are” he said quietly. Mary blushed and didn’t know how to respond to that. Fortunately for her they had reached the castle gates.

“Thank you for a lovely afternoon, Erik” she said.

“It was my pleasure, Mary. Don’t forget about me, okay?”

“Now you are being silly, I could never forget about you. Say hi to you family for me”

“I will. Buy Marry”

“Bye Erik, I will see you around” she waved as she entered the castle. She looked at the guards and saw that their gaze followed her through the gate. But that was just because they knew who se was, she thought.

Erik was just being paranoid. He was like a big brother, so it wasn’t that strange that he acted like one. He was just being overprotective, she decided. It felt nice to know someone was looking out for her from time to time.