Wayfarer - Yaena the corrupted guardian

Chapter XX - The council

Chapter XX

The council

 After a dreamless night, I was awakened by knocking at my door. A key turned in the lock, releasing the latch. The door opened slightly, revealing the shy face of Fenna, who slipped into the opening. She carefully closed the door behind her, before moving to the window to open the blind. A ray of morning sunshine shyly entered the room, enveloping it with its aura.

"Good morning." she ventured shyly. "It's time..."

I looked at her neutrally and nodded. I jumped to my feet and began to dress quickly, under Fenna's watchful eye.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You are not very modest. I hoped that you would have waited that I went out..."

I shrugged my shoulders, showing how little importance I gave to these things. She was swinging her leg, her hands crossed behind her back. Something seemed to be bothering her, but she didn't say anything at the time. Once I was dressed, I walked out of the room and came face to face with Finn. He was sitting at the table with a newspaper in his hand. He invited me to sit down, immersed in his reading.

The kitchen had changed a bit since the day before. A fire was blazing in the hearth behind the bar. Two plates full of eggs with bacon were waiting on the table, along with a loaf of fresh bread and a jar of jam. A cup of tea was waiting for me, steaming.

"Eat while it's hot!" Finn invited us.

I didn't hesitate to eat and quickly emptied my plate while devouring half the bread. Looking amused, Finn leaned back in his chair and put down his newspaper.

"So, what do you think?" he said, interested.

The meal was pretty good. I hadn't had such a delicious breakfast in months.

"I hadn't eaten anything this delicious in a long time. I must pay my compliments to the cook."

Finn grinned, splitting his face from ear to ear. He gave Fenna a friendly pat on the shoulder, red as a tomato. He then led me to the coat rack, before going out into the garden.

"Well, let's go." he said, putting on his beret.

It was rather cold that morning. A light mist enveloped the houses, giving them a ghostly appearance. Finn buttoned his coat and shoved his hands into his pockets before setting off.

"Where are we going?" I asked, pulling myself up to his level.

"You see that complex on the side of the mountain up there?" He said, pointing to a large building at the top of the city. "That's the residence of the Lord of Lyon and his council, our destination."

"And... What does that have to do with me?"

"You are the main person concerned. This meeting will determine the fate of you and your companions. I prefer to warn you now, the council is not made up of the most respectable beings. They will not tolerate the presence of strangers in their city. Hybrids, at that."

"So what's the point of this meeting? I'm not too keen on being put down by a bunch of morons."

"You're forgetting the most important thing. The Lord is the only one who makes the decisions. He will decide whether or not you deserve a chance. And it doesn't matter if his advisors agree with the decision. His powers have been conferred upon him by the Emperor himself and he yields in rank to no one."

"In short, all I have to do is convince him?"

The challenge seemed more accessible to me, although it was a big one. I had no reason to believe that victory was a foregone conclusion.