All Chapters of The choices we make: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

“Oh, no, that’s okay” Mary said, trying to force a convincing smile.“I’m really sorry Mary, I would have preferred our walk” he tried again, he seemed to feel her change in demeanour.“It really is okay Tenac, things happen” she said shrugging, but she didn’t manage to put feeling into it.“Can we book the day after instead?” he asked.“It sounds like you have a lot of things going on. We can hold off with setting a new date until it calms down for you” Mary told him, she looked down at her hands.“No Mary, we will set a date now. Tell me a day that works for you.”“You know I’m not that busy, we can work around your schedule” Mary told him.“We both know it isn’t true, you just cancel the things you are planning when I say that I’m free” Tenac told her. She shrugged again.“It’s easier for me to cancel my things. Bettina doesn’t mind”“That doesn’t mean that it’s right. Please look at me Mary” Tenac pleaded. Mary hesitated but then looked at him.“Something is wrong, what is it?” he

“No, you are perfect just the way you are” Tariana reassured her and drew her into a tight hug. After a long hug, Tariana went to sit down at her seat and Mary took several sips of the, mostly cold, tea. “I know your friends in Domne means a lot to you, I won’t suggest you don’t contact them. But you can’t let them decide who you are Mary” Tariana told her. Mary furrowed her eyebrows, she had never thought about it like that.“But shouldn’t I be open for the opinion of other people?” Mary asked.“You should, it’s part of what makes us grow. But you need to first decide if the opinion is a valid one. You need to know yourself and then be honest about if the opinion you are given is a valid one. I know this is hard for you because you have been told things about yourself that aren’t true for a long time” Tariana explained. “For the time being, if you feel like there is something you think you need to change with yourself, go to Bettina, Kopa or even me. We will be honest with you. As yo

“That works for me. But after next week I will only be able to meet you on the weekend for two weeks” Mary told him.“Have Bettina started you on regular patient meetings?” Tenac asked.“No. I’m going to take part in the aari evaluations” Mary said looking gown at her feet. She still felt insecure about her decision. She noticed that Tenac had stopped. She turned around and looked at him.“That is amazing news Mary. I’m so happy for you”“Thank you, but we don’t know if I will be accepted or not” she said.“I have a feeling that won’t be an issue” he said giving her a big smile.“Thank you Tenac”“That means we need to try and work the lessons in around both our schedules” he told her.“We don’t know if I will have a schedule yet” she reminded him.“Mhm, yeah, we do. But we will work it out” he told her. Mary didn’t know why everyone was so sure she would make the cut. But it made her nervous and happy at the same time.The week flew by, Mary didn’t know what she was most nervous abou

When Monday came around, Mary was as nervous as she had ever been. The thought of starting the evaluation and actually knowing if she could start to train was making her stomach clench into a ball of anxiety. As she sat at the breakfast table, trying to eat, her mind was going in a million different directions. She didn’t know what type of test the evaluation would include, she should have asked, she realized. What if they asked her to do magic? She didn’t know anything about that. Kopa and Bettina were watching her as she poked her sausage and moved her eggs around the plate, without realising what she was doing.“Try and eat something Mary” Bettina gently said, placing a piece of bread next to Mary’s plate.“Yeah” Mary said quietly and stated pulling the bread apart, making crumbles that mostly fell onto her plate.“Mary, they will ask you to register your name at the start of the evaluation” Kopa told her, Mary nodded. That had been mentioned in the information that Kopa had receiv

“Do you think that is true?” Firlea whispered to Mary.“I don’t know. But it shouldn’t matter what position you have. Being an aari is about helping people, to make life better for others. You can do that even from the lower positions I assume” Mary whispered back. Firlea nodded. They continued to talk, trying to ignore the other woman as best they could. After a while Mildy walked over to the tables together with a group of trainees. The trainees spread out two to each table.“Please grab your cloaks and follow the trainees designated to your table” Mildy told them. They all obeyed as quickly as they could and were soon being lead in different directions. Mary’s and Firlea’s group started to climb some stone stairs. They seemed to go on for ever, until they reached a door. The trainee in front of them opened the door and Mary realised they were up on the roof. The roof on the sanctum was flat with a wall that ran around the outer edge, about shoulder high. All over the roof there wer