Mary's Path
A second offer

“Why haven’t you come to visit us until now?” asked Erik. Mary didn’t want to tell him that she was afraid of his mother.

“There’s been so much to do at the castle, and the castellan has asked me to teach his son to read and write on my free Wednesdays and on Sundays I go to church,” she said. None of that was untrue, so she didn’t lie, she thought.

“That boy who was with you when we met?” asked Erik. Mary nodded. “So why aren’t you there today?”

“Zerden is going to go hunting with the prince tomorrow and didn’t have time for class today and I needed new dresses,” Mary explained.

“I’m glad you came, it’s pretty boring here without you.”

“You’re going to have to learn how to work carve bones,” Mary said.

“Yes, but dad is right. I’m not very good at it,” Erik said a little sourly.

“Do you really think your dad was an expert at doing combs when he started doing it?” asked Mary. “It’s just like in the kitchen. I have no idea how they make those complicated dishes and if I tried to make one, I would probably fail completely. So that’s why I get to chop vegetables and help Mrs. Karrots,” she continued.

Erik nodded and looked a little happier. They sat quietly for a while and looked at the chickens that went pecking around the garden.

“If you want, you can come up to the castle on a Wednesday afternoon and we could do something together” Mary said.

“I’m going to ask my dad if I can leave earlier next Wednesday,” Erik replied. “Will he be there too?“. Mary assumed he was talking about Zerden.

“I don’t know,” Mary replied. “Zerden’s dad is starting to let him do more things and maybe he’s too busy.”

They continued to plan what they would do the next time they met. Both wanted to take a tour of the city and visit a couple of the places they always used to go to before. Before Mary knew it, Erik’s mother called them.

“It’s getting dark my friend, so the old man will follow you to the castle,” she told Mary.

Mary thanked her and felt relieved to not have to walk in the city by herself when it was dark. When she was leaving, she got a hug from both Erik’s mother and little sister.

“Come back soon, my friend,” Mrs. Korpi said. Mary nodded and waved to Erik as she began to walk with Mr. Korpi.

They went quietly a long way. There weren’t as many people on the streets at this time of day and they were able to keep a pretty good pace.

“I’d like to talk to you, Mary,” said Mr. Korpi as they almost arrived at the castle. Mary was waiting for him to continue.

“What would you say about coming and staying with us? You’re almost like one of the family and these months you’ve been away, it’s been empty without you. You could help my wife and you wouldn’t be in the way. Erik would be happy, and Sara adores you. What do you think?”

Mary looked at him in amazement. It was the second time she had been asked to move in with the Korpi family. For a moment, she saw how she lived at Erik’s house, became part of his family and got a home.

But then she thought about what it would feel like to live so close to where her parents had died, to constantly be reminded of what she had lost, and finally she remembered how Mrs. Korpi had walked out of the store that day and how she had forbidden Erik to spend time with Mary.

It may have been the right thing to do for her family, but Mary hadn’t forgiven Mrs. Korpi yet.

“It is an extremely warm and generous offer, Mr. Korpi. But I have a good job at the castle and one day I might even be able to become a cook if I work hard. I am under the king’s protection and am in need of nothing, so I am well off, better than many others. I think I’m going to have to say no. I really appreciate you asking,” she said. She was hoping he wouldn’t be offended.

“You’re a stubborn and independent girl, you always have been. I didn’t think you’d say yes. But you should know that you are always welcome at our house.”

“Thank you very much.”

Mr. Korpi smiled and gave her a hug.

“Now make sure to get inside the castle gate before they close it for the night. I’ll wait here and make sure you get in properly,” he said, giving her a little nudge in the right direction.

Mary nodded and went to the gate. Before she went through it, she turned around and waved at him, he waved back and then turned around to go home.

Mary walked across the yard and towards the door to the kitchen. Inside it was quiet and still, the work was over for the day and preparations for tomorrow were finished. Mary quietly pawed through the abandoned kitchen and was about to turn off towards the servants’ dormitories when a voice came out of the half-darkness.

“You’re home late, my friend.” Mary jumped to the thought that she recognized the voice.

“Did I scare you? I didn’t mean to,” said Mrs. Karrots, who came walking with an apple in one hand.

“It’s okay” Mary said. “I’ve been to a friend’s house that I haven’t seen in a while. Mr. Korpi was kind enough and followed me to the gate” she explained.

“I’m glad you had the opportunity to visit your old friends. Just because you live and work here in the castle doesn’t mean you have to cut off all ties to the outside world. Are you hungry?”

Mary shook her head.

“Good, then I suggest you go to bed. It’s a workday tomorrow and we won’t have time to be tired.”

“No, ma’am,” said Mary, going to her room, crawling into her bed. It took a while before she fell asleep, the thoughts of what had happened during the day flew around in her head.

For the second time, she refused to live with Erik. Was that wrong with her? What would her life have been like if she had accepted Mrs. Korpi that first time, would her life have been better?

She wouldn’t have gotten to know The Lady and Kopa, she thought, and that would be sad. Even though they weren’t with her, she was very happy that she had gotten to know them.

And she wouldn’t have gotten to know Zerden and that thought really saddened her. No, things were good as they were, she may not be happy, but she wasn’t completely unhappy either and that was always something.