Karma, Part 13 - Bloom

The walk through the city was always nice, though it was nicer during the summer, when there were blossoms in all colors at every corner of the city. It was one of the things the House of Grace took care of here. The Matriarch was a huge fan of flowers, and it wasn't a secret. What was a secret was her secret garden, which Ruune had accidentally stumbled upon the last time she was here.

Well, half-accidentally. She had started to wonder about the architecture of the House; there seemed to be space in a certain spot, but she never seemed to figure out what was there. And then, she had found a door in the basement that led to a small courtyard with practically no other way to access it. The courtyard was filled with all possible types of flowering plants, and in the middle of them, the Matriarch. She had seemed incredibly embarrassed about it, though why she would be embarrassed was beyond Ruune. Sure, she cultivated a strict and professional persona, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy gardening in her free time, even if that meant she would be covered in dirt when she was done.

Either way, her orders filled the city with flowers every summer. They lined a lot of the streets, especially close to the House of Grace, but wherever you were in the city, you couldn't turn around without seeing at least some flowers growing in the flower beds in parks or boxes on street corners. And they were all possible colors, seemingly all possible kinds of flowers. Their scent filled the summer heat, mixing in with the cool wind carrying the smell of the sea. It was beautiful, and made the whole city feel happy and alive.

But the lanterns in the winter were nice too, making the city feel cosy instead. And on a cold day like this, cosy was just what you wanted. So Ruune was fully enjoying the walk through the narrow streets, even if she was starting to feel the distance they'd walked already today.

Tikka, however, kept getting more and more tense as the House got closer.

“You really think something’s off here?” Ruune asked, and then they rounded the corner to the square in front of the House of Grace.

The square was full of people. Full of angry people.

They stopped in their tracks. Tikka’s tension immediately changed. It went from weariness to something more eager. How it was possible Ruune hadn’t managed to distinguish the noises of a mob from the bustle of the city was beyond her.

“What is happening here?”

“Let’s go ask!” Tikka said, almost cheerfully, and skipped over to the edge of the crowd. She tapped a man on the shoulder. “Excuse me, hello, we just arrived in the city, and we’d like to know what’s happening here.”

“What’s happening? What’s happening is that we’ve had enough!” the man shouted. “It may have started small, but enough is enough. It was all well and good when the Matriarch wanted to take responsibility for guarding the city gates, but then she started to put all these other rules in place too. There’s barely anyone allowed to take passengers across the River now, and half the bridges are closed. The pubs haven’t been open past midnight for months! And now they’re asking for more tithes? I don’t think so!”

Tikka looked almost excited.

“Come on,” Ruune said, pulling her away before she got too invested. “We’re not staying here.”

“In Karinne?” Tikka asked, hopeful.

“In the crowd. I have work to do inside, there’s no point in lingering out here.”

“And how do you plan to get in? There’s no way they’ll open the front doors with this crowd here,” Tikka answered, but followed as Ruune made her way around the crowd.

“Through a side door, obviously. The Houses are all but identical, remember? We can find the northern side door easily.”

“You think someone will…” Tikka’s voice faded away. It took Ruune a few steps to realise she had stopped.

“What is it?” she asked. Tikka was staring over the crowd.

“I…” Tikka said, then shook her head. “I thought I saw someone I knew. But I guess I didn’t. Let’s go.”

The side door was exactly where expected. Ruune knocked. They waited for a while. Nothing.

“Maybe no one is home?” Tikka suggested. “ Or, you know, they don’t want to open any doors right now?”

“Or maybe no one happened to be nearby.”

Ruune knocked again, aiming for a gentle but firm knock. One that would say, I would like to get in, but I’m not with the angry crowd. It took a couple more tries until the door cracked open, and the face of a young acolyte peeked carefully at them.

“Good evening,” Ruune said as pleasantly as she could. “My name is Ruune Norja, and I have been requested here by the Matriarch to do some work for her. Would there be any chance I could get in and talk to her?”

The boy narrowed his eyes at them.

“I will go ask,” he said. He disappeared, and the door was closed again.

“Smart kid,” Tikka said, “not letting just anyone in. Then again, he did open the door. If we really wanted to get in, we could have easily forced it. So maybe not that smart after all.”

It took a while before anyone showed up again. This time, when the door opened, there was a proper priest behind there.

“Miss Norja?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s me. I believe we’re expected.”

“You are. You alone,” the priest said as she stared knives into Tikka, who wasn’t even trying to look like she was harmless and not at all on the crowd’s side.

“This is Tikka Metso,” Ruune said. “She is my travelling companion.”

The priest narrowed her eyes.

“If we’re both not welcome, I suppose we can leave,” Ruune said with an exaggerated sigh. “The Matriarch has been waiting closer to two months for me specifically by now, but I’m sure you will find someone…”

“Fine,” the priest interrupted. “Come in, then.”

She opened the door just enough for the two of them to slip in, then closed it behind them, making sure to lock it.

“...someone in to calm the crowd,” they heard from the Matriarch’s room as they got within earshot. “Someone to be the voice of reason from the inside. They will not listen to us, but they might listen to each other.”

The priest they were following knocked.

“Yes, come in,” came the voice, and they stepped into the room. “Ah, miss Norja.” She gave the priest she had been talking to one last look of very clear “you know what to do” and waved him away.

“Welcome back to Karinne, miss Norja,” the Matriarch said. “What a day you’ve chosen to arrive.”

“I did not choose the day, exactly, your Grace. Today is simply the day I finished the journey,” Ruune replied.

“Of course. I trust the roads have treated you well?”

“They have, your Grace. And as you can see, I am no longer traveling alone, at least not for the time being.”

“Ah, yes, it is nice to have a companion on your travels. Welcome to you as well, miss…”

“Metso, your Grace,” Tikka said with impressively little sarcasm at your Grace. She even gave a small gratitude gesture, though it was doubtful anyone believed it. The Matriarch gave her the blessing in return and quickly turned back to Ruune.

“Would you like to get started on the work tonight?”

“If it is okay with you, I think I would rather get to work rested tomorrow morning,” Ruune said, smiling as politely as she could for the both of them. “I will gladly take a look at what exactly you want me to do, but as well as the roads have treated us, they have been long. So tonight, if it is alright, we would much appreciate a wash, a warm meal, and a good rest.”

“That is fine, we do not need the work done this minute,” the Matriarch said and turned to the priest who had escorted them there. “Annie, I believe you can see that they get everything they need tonight?”

“Yes, of course.”

They were already heading out of the room when the Matriarch’s voice called back their attention.

“And please, do not worry about the crowd outside,” she smiled, not quite able to hide the tenseness of it. “It is perfectly safe here, in the House of Grace. That crowd is loud, but it is not dangerous. They have not tried anything more than banging on the doors, and I do not believe they will. And even if they did try to force themselves in, they would not be successful. The House is well-built, and I have guards at the front door. But as I said, they won’t go that far. They will get tired of making noise in the cold and dark soon, and will return to their families and warm homes.”

Ruune nodded. She was hopeful, but not delusional. She gave her another gratitude gesture, and then they left, washed and ate and settled in for the night. She did not unpack her bag that night.

It was a good call. The Matriarch turned out to be wrong. The crowd, indeed, did not go home. They stayed in the cold and dark making their noise. And then, during the night, their anger blossomed into violence.

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The topic for tomorrow is Bridge.

 ~matleena