The ambassador stood on one of the balconies that overlooked the Great Hall. He was thankful to be well away from the crowds that thronged the colonnades below. Even so, his eyes still watered at the stench that rose up from the gathered citizenry. To be down there, amongst the press of humanity, would have been unbearable. The ambassador raised his perfume-soaked handkerchief to his nose and prayed to his gods for relief.
"What does your excellency think?" Maria was the ambassador's aide. She was a native of the city, and had served as a guide to the byzantine customs of this far-flung kingdom. Without her he would likely have ended up in a coffin bound for his homeland, the unmourned victim of an offended citizen.
"It's very ... ." The ambassador paused, wracking his brain for the least offensive thing to say. Having devoted his life to the art of diplomacy, he was used to choosing his words carefully. Still, this occasion challenged him. What he was witnessing today was: "... Lively."
Maria nodded enthusiastically. "I know. The people look forward to this ceremony. It's considered a great honour to witness it." She leaned closer to the ambassador so she could whisper in his ear. "And I must be grateful to you."
"Why?"
"Because I would never have been allowed to be here but for your influence. They had to let me come when you asked."
"Really?" The ambassador was about to enquire further, but he was interrupted by a sudden blaring of trumpets and a great shout from the crowd below.
Maria squealed in excitement and clutched at the ambassador's arm. "Here they come! This is so - !"
The ambassador stared in amazement at the procession that was making its way along the Great Hall. "Is that really a - ?"
"Oh yes." Maria nodded. "It is."
"I had heard accounts of this ceremony, but I did not believe that they could be true! How could anyone commit such an act in public?"
Maria looked about her, fearful that someone might have overheard this outburst. "Because it our way," she hissed.
The ambassador's eyes flicked back and forth between the scene that was unfolding beneath him and the expressions on the faces of the witnesses. "That is no answer," he said. "You must know."
Maria frowned in puzzlement and thought for a moment. "I do not," she said. "This is one of our mysteries."
