The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 20.4

Sabrina fell asleep at some point during a long, involved, and probably inaccurate description of the U.S. Air Force and Scotty's place in it. After all, she'd been in the middle of her night when they'd made planetfall, and she was emotionally exhausted as well.

She woke up to full daylight in her own bed, now sporting a lighter wood finish and airy white linen hangings, with Tristan curled up around her head. He heard the change in her breathing as she woke and reached down to paw at her nose, letting her know where he was and that he was already thinking about wanting his breakfast.

"A few more minutes, Tris," she yawned. He gave a sigh, then a yawn, and settled back down to nap some more.

Sabrina lay quietly and thought, smiling. It seemed like forever since she'd woken without a sense of tragedy hanging over her. But Scotty was going to be all right. Not quite whole, but all right. There were huge blank spaces in his memory, some of which would never be filled in, but as time went on and he accumulated new life experiences, those would become less important, she hoped. At least he was sane and stable, with a future ahead of him.

She remembered that Mara had mentioned something about plans for his retraining, and she decided she'd better get up and see if she could catch the Queen for breakfast. So she got dressed, paying more attention to her appearance now that she was back home, and was about to go into the study to check her comconsole for messages when Mara appeared.

"Great minds think alike," Sabrina smiled. "I was just going to call you. Have you eaten?"

"No. Is that an offer?"

"Certainly. Have a seat and we'll see what they've given me." They went into the kitchen, and Mara sat at the little table there while Sabrina rummaged through the cupboards. She ended up ordering meals from the provender rather than cooking, though.

"You said something about plans for Scotty yesterday," Sabrina said, when they'd had to chance to eat a little.

"Yes. Well, nothing definite of course, without your consent," Mara said. "But the thinking is that Scotty's going to need some fairly extensive re-education to take his place in the Defense Forces again. At the same time, there will likely be holes in his socialization skills and other things. I had thought of procuring tutors for him, but Leran nar Daroun has expressed a desire to act as Scotty's tutor, bringing him up to a level where he could enter a military academy. Selémahs has invited Scotty to come and stay with them, living as part of their family, while this is occurring. Leran would see to his retraining, while Selémahs would oversee his socialization and other nonmilitary skills. You would of course be welcome at any time in their home."

"That's...that's extraordinarily kind of them, Mara, but—"

"I know, Sabrina, but think about it. Dansestari is not the best place for Scotty to be right now. There are too many people, too much going on. Simplicity will be better for him until he has more of his memory back. I will continue my work with him until we're finished, of course, but otherwise I think it would be best for him to be in a real home, somewhere removed from here. And Leran and Selémahs will be able to show him how to go on in Praxatillian society, something that I do not have the time to do, and, forgive me, you do not have the knowledge."

Sabrina gave a tight little smile, as if she didn't feel the sting in that remark. "Maybe Leran and Selémahs should take me in too."

"Oh no, that's hardly necessary," Mara smiled. "Niavar will show you how to go on. He does know, even if he doesn't always use his own knowledge." She took another bite, and after swallowing, continued, "Commander Mukryilla has taken a great interest in Scotty's condition, and she's talked with Leran about this. She approves of the plan. She would like to see to Scotty's re-education herself, but her duties do not permit it."