The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 3: Journey to the Past

"Yes. She had a daughter, Tassandra, who is now grown. I believe she is pursuing advanced studies on Lthos."

Sabrina recalled that Jahgh's actual name had been Tassan nar Jaghaëirav. She had barely known him, but Aliza had been her trusted lady-in-waiting and a good friend. "I have so much to catch up on," she sighed.

"If it will comfort you, my mother says that Her Majesty has not changed much during her reign. She says that the Queen will always have a young heart."

Sabrina smiled. "Yes, I can believe that. And yet she must have changed. She changed while she was gone during the Regency, and I never spent enough time with her to get to know her as well again afterward. Now...ninety-two years." And she never sent for me, never wanted me.

"She has only ever spoken of you with the utmost respect and affection," Aurora said.

Sabrina shook off her mood and summoned a smile. "I'm glad to hear it. So, how long have you been Chief Attendant?"

"Mother retired three years ago, and I took over from her. She wanted to retire before, but Her Majesty did not wish to train a new attendant. I believe she wanted me for the post mainly because, having grown up around it, I was already so familiar with it. It was also an ambition of mine. But this is the first crisis of any great magnitude during my service."

"I hope it will be the only one," Sabrina said fervently. "So it's been mostly calm, then, these past ninety-two years?"

"Mostly." Aurora smiled a little. "The Guardian always has much to cope with, and I believe in the early years of her reign there was still much to do on Praxatillus itself. But the Realm is at peace, and mostly prosperous now."

"We are coming up on our emergence point," Ford announced. His voice sounded strained. "Khediva, are you ready?"

"Yes, Niavar, I am ready," the Ship's voice said.

"Everyone find a secure hold," Ford warned. "This may be rough."

"Like the last one," Scotty muttered, taking a firm grip on his seat.

But emergence was smooth, like ones Sabrina remembered from calmer times aboard Khediva. When they were in normal space, Ford, pale and sweating, grabbed at the console. "Khediva, when are we?"

"We are before the shift," Khediva assured him. "I am working out the exact time—"

The Adventure began to shudder. "We are shifting!" Khediva cried, her voice broken with static.

Aurora cried out in pain. Sabrina had already started toward the main console, where Ford looked almost too exhausted to stand, but she turned back at the cry. Scotty stumbled forward and landed hard in the seat beside Aurora's, reaching out for her shoulders. Sabrina staggered to the main console, fighting the quaking ship, and reached Ford just in time to catch him as he lost consciousness. She looked frantically around for help, but Scotty was busy trying to keep Aurora's unconscious body from sliding off her seat, and Major Ilyanan was busy with Lndor. She found time to be grateful that humans and Praxatillians didn't seem to be nearly as affected by the phase shift as Miahns were.

Ford's deceptively slight form was heavy, and Sabrina lowered him to the floor, cradling his head in her lap and wiping the sweat away from his cool face. She gritted her teeth against the bone-jarring vibration and closed her eyes against the headache it was giving her. Just as she thought she couldn't bear it anymore, it stopped.

There was a moment of breathless silence; then Scotty called out, "Everybody okay?"

"I'm okay; Ford's unconscious," Sabrina said.