The Little Ballroom, the largest habitable space in Palace Royal, was doing double duty tonight. The throne had been set up for the oathtaking, with the audience lined up along the walls. Afterward, the dance floor would be cleared for the ball to begin. As they reached the antechamber, Sabrina could hear the muted roar of the crowd beyond the thick doors. "Good God! It sounds like a football stadium in there."
"It's a good turnout," Ford agreed. "But then, this is a historic event."
"God save me from historic events," Sabrina groaned. "I've had enough to last a lifetime already."
Tirqwin was the first to greet them as they entered the antechamber. Sabrina hugged him, careful not to crush her roses. "Tirqwin! You made it!"
"Of course I did," he replied warmly, kissing her cheek. "How could I miss your official re-entry into Praxatillian society? Are you very angry with me, Sabrina?"
She pretended to consider. "All in all...no. I owe you so much, Tirqwin."
"We will call it even. Khediva sends her best wishes, by the way."
"Thank her for me. Have you seen Scotty yet?" Sabrina looked around for her brother in vain.
"No, but Mara assures me he is on his way to being his old self. I confess I cannot wait to see it!" A long, rolling bell sounded somewhere nearby, and Tirqwin looked at Ford. "Come along, Niavar. We are due on the dais. You know what to do, Sabrina?"
"Yes, we've rehearsed it a dozen times," Sabrina said. "Is Scotty already out there, then?"
"He shouldn't be," Ford frowned.
"Here he comes," Tirqwin smiled, looking toward the doors.
Scotty dashed inside. "Sorry I'm late! Hiya, Tirq, great to see you! Rina, you look terrific. Good luck!"
"Why so late?" Sabrina asked.
Scotty made a face. "You'd never believe what an argument they had over what I should wear! It should have been a uniform, but nobody could decide about my rank since I'm not back on duty yet and will have to go back and be a cadet first anyway. Then they found out I don't have any civilian clothes yet. So we had to find some. I have no idea whose these are." He gestured to the crisp charcoal suit he was wearing.
Ford eyed it appraisingly. "Baldaran's, I'd bet. You're about the same build, and I think I recognize that."
"We can figure it out later, if you insist," Tirqwin said. "But for now we are late! Come along, Scotty! And try to behave as befits my ward."
Scotty sniggered and winked at his sister as he followed Tirqwin and Ford out into the ballroom.
Sabrina peeked out the door. The huge room was mostly dark, lit only by candles set in long, ornate metal stands at intervals along the path to the dais and some dim lighting around the walls. She could easily make out the throne, though, and Mara already seated there as the family gathered around her. Scotty's entrance caused a ripple of excited comment in the audience, which faded only slightly by the time he, Tirqwin, and Ford reached their places.
The Royal Chamberlain, a not-quite-elderly man with whom Sabrina had become fairly well acquainted over the past two days, stepped to his place on the other side of the doors. Sabrina slid the door shut so that no one would see her; she could easily hear the Chamberlain's deep, carrying voice as he began the ritual.
"In the name of Her Majesty, Maratobia ya Tassan nar Miahn zu Yanklozhquar, Queen of Praxatillus, I summon her kinswoman, Sabrina ya Tassan nar Hamilton-Devon, to swear fealty to the crown."
Sabrina counted carefully to three—the Chamberlain had been most insistent on the timing—and opened the door. "I am here."
"Do you come to swear this oath freely and without constraint by any entity, living or dead?"
"Yes. I will swear this oath solely of my own will."
"And do you understand the consequences and implications of the oath you are about to swear?"
"Yes. I am committed to this course."
"Then approach, and make your oath." The Chamberlain stood aside for Sabrina to pass.
Sabrina walked up the narrow, candlelit aisle at the pace the Chamberlain had dictated in their rehearsals, slow enough to be seen by everybody but not so slowly as to appear reluctant. She supposed in time she might get used to having her actions so thoroughly choreographed, as if performing in an elaborate ballet, but for now it gave the scene an unreal feeling. And yet this was a very real thing she was doing, something she felt was right and knew would change her life, probably even more than the last oath she'd sworn. That had been an oath of service, which was more specific, though she dimly recalled making a pledge of fealty somewhere between her adoption by Rayland and the Regent's Oath.
She wondered if she would have felt this way if she had ever had a wedding. At Mara's wedding, she had been too busy looking for assassins and praying for things to go right to be conscious of feeling much of anything.
At last she reached the large, plush cushion at the foot of the dais, and she dropped a curtsy to Mara before kneeling on it, careful to spread her skirt so she wouldn't trip when she got back up. Then she looked up at Mara and waited for the next part, the break with tradition. Usually at this point, the monarch merely stated that all in her service must swear fealty, and asked if the subject wished to enter her service. But Mara had decided more was required of this particular ceremony.
"Welcome, my cousin, beloved daughter of my father's brother Rayland. When you first came among us a century ago, you entered my service at the request of my father the King. Neither he nor you could have foreseen what that service would come to mean, or the demands it would make of you. All the countless acts of heroism and sacrifice you made over the years have played a large part in shaping the world that you have come back to. You have never been forgotten. Every day that my husband and I live is in part due to you. Our children could not have existed had you not found the courage to act as you thought right, against overwhelming opposition. And so the crown of Praxatillus will owe you a debt down through the centuries, as long as this family endures. It seems almost redundant to ask you to swear fealty to us, whom you have helped create. But by doing so you will take your place among us again, as part of our family, part of Praxatillus. You have expressed your desire to do so, and thus I invite you to make your oath so that we may once again embrace you as our own."
"Your Majesty, my Lord Consort, your royal highnesses, my beloved cousins," Sabrina began, "I come before you today after a long absence, not of my choosing, to ask to be accepted back into the family. I thank you for your gracious welcome, and hereby pledge my loyalty and service to Her Majesty the Queen and her heirs. I promise to act at all times in the best interests of Her Majesty and the people of Praxatillus, to strive for their welfare and protection. Should I ever deliberately break this oath, my life is forfeit. This I swear, on the eternal Trees."
Mara nodded and got to her feet, walking over to the cushion to take Sabrina's hands and help her to rise. Then she kissed her cheek and turned to the audience. "I hereby confirm you as lady of the estate of Fibräaé and a member of the royal family, with all the privileges pertaining thereunto. We rejoice in your return."
"As do I," Sabrina replied.
"Citizens of Praxatillus," Mara said, as Sabrina turned to face the audience with her, "I present to you my kinswoman, Lady Sabrina ya Tassan nar Hamilton-Devon, a heroine in our past and now, once again, a bright part of our future."
There was a tiny, breathless pause that reminded Sabrina for just a second of the agonizing moment after the Regent's Oath, when they had waited for someone to hail her. But this time there was no hesitation, no brave single voice breaking the silence, but a huge shout of welcome, overwhelming even in the vast space of the ballroom. It took the echoes a long time to die away from the corners of the vaulted ceiling.
Then, suddenly, the room was ablaze with light, and it was time to step off the dais to receive an embrace from each of her family. The throne and candles were cleared away long before she was finished, and the orchestra was just striking up when she reached Marie. "That was great!" Marie said. "I'm glad I got to come."
"I'm glad you did too," Sabrina smiled. "It wouldn't be the same without you. Who are you going to dance with?"
"I get to dance?" Marie breathed, her eyes lighting.
"Why not?" Sabrina laughed. She turned to Scotty, who was standing nearby talking to Baldaran. "Scotty?"
"Yes?" he turned to her politely, then grinned. "What?"
"Have you met our cousin Marie?"
Scotty looked surprised at the name. "I guess I have now! Hiya, Marie."
"Hi," Marie breathed, staring up at him in something like awe. "You're my cousin Scotty."
"Actually, I'm more of a relative than Sabrina is," he grinned. "I'm almost your half brother."
"Then you'd better dance with her," Sabrina said.
"I don't remember how," Scotty protested.
"I can teach you! I've been having lessons," Marie said proudly.
Scotty glanced at Sabrina, then shot a look over his shoulder to where Aurora was standing, smiling at them. She nodded slightly, and Scotty turned back to Marie. "Okay, sure. But go slow!"
Marie giggled as they set off toward the dance floor.
"Now there's a scary couple," Ford said, almost in Sabrina's ear. "So, as the guest of honor, who are you going to favor with the first dance?"
"Hm," Sabrina said. "That's a really tricky protocol question, isn't it? It should probably be your father."
"Baldaran outranks him."
"Does he?" Sabrina smiled at Baldaran, who laughed.
"Not in your estimation, and rightly so!" Baldaran said. "But Father doesn't dance with anyone except Mother, by time-honored tradition. I would be honored and pleased to dance with you, Sabrina, and indeed I intend to. But the first dance is entirely up to you, and I see quite clearly that Niavar thinks it ought to be him!"
Sabrina grinned. "And that should influence me because...?"
Baldaran laughed again, and Ford gave her a mock scowl. "Come on, Sabrina, you said you were going to rehabilitate me. This would make a good start."
"Oh. Well, if it's a matter of charity, then I guess I can't refuse."
Ford gave her a look. "Behave yourself, Cousin!"
"I have to confess," Sabrina said, looking at the would-be dancers waiting expectantly for them, "I haven't the faintest idea what that is they're playing."
Ford grinned. "I'll show you my foolproof method of faking my way through dances I don't remember."
"Oh, dear." She raised a mock-worried eyebrow.
"It's not that bad. Trust me."
She hesitated a moment, then smiled and took the hand he stretched out to her.
——————————-
From one end of the room, Mara and Tirqwin watched, smiling, as the dance got underway. "It is good to have them back," Tirqwin said.
"Yes, indeed," Mara agreed, with a happy sigh. "Now we can be completely happy."
"Is that a prediction of a blissful, trouble-free future for us?" he asked.
Mara gave her charming, trilling laugh. "Trouble-free? Tirqwin, honestly. You'd be bored. And so would Sabrina and Scotty. Not to mention Niavar. No, I'm sure there'll be plenty of trouble. But that doesn't necessarily preclude happiness, you know."
"Probably better than anyone," Tirqwin admitted, sliding his arm around her waist. "But do we at least get a little while to enjoy ourselves?"
"I'll try." Mara leaned against him, content. Then she frowned. "Did you ever tell Sabrina that the reason you weren't here when she got back was that Homeworld thought they'd found Malvarak?"
"No," he sighed. "She has not asked, and I did not think it was worth worrying her."
"We'll find him someday," Mara whispered.
"That is what worries me."
Mara was silent for a while. The dance ended, and Scotty immediately made his way to Aurora's side, while Sabrina handed Ford over to Marie and accepted Baldaran's invitation to dance. "We shouldn't be sad today of all days," she said. "Today is about second chances. Those are rare, and should be celebrated."
Tirqwin smiled. "Yes. And I do, believe me."
"Dance with me?" Mara grinned up at him.
"Always."
THE END
The adventures of Mara, Tirqwin, Khediva, Sabrina, Scotty, and Ford will be continued in The Haunted Way.