The Forgotten Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 6)

Chapter 1: Going Home

Cover by D. Denise Dianaty

The snow swirled dizzily outside the transparent pane, twisting into eddies and then blowing out in a fierce stream of blinding white. Sabrina Devon paused to take in the view from her tower window, grateful that the city planners had seen fit to locate the diplomatic compound under the climate-controlled dome in Meskath's planetary capital complex.

"Ambassador?" Thadran Meera ventured, clearing his throat. "Do you have any other changes?"

Sabrina sighed. "No. Leave it alone for now."

Her diplomatic aide frowned at her. "You aren't planning to extemporize again, are you? Because the last time—"

Sabrina turned to face him. "Yes, I know. Don't worry. This is merely the victory speech, Thad. To tell you the truth, I don't have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. Let's all just pat each other on the back and be done with it."

"Why aren't you happy about it?" he asked, puzzled. "You've had a great success here. No one thought this treaty could work, and you've made it."

"How many people died while I did it?" she asked, and then realized that her all-too-literal Praxatillian aide might well tell her. "No, don't answer that. I know, Thad. I really am happy about it. I think I'm just worn out, that's all. We'll go to this big party tonight and then head for home. I need a vacation."

"Somewhere warm," Thad grinned.

Sabrina groaned. "The next time Rassir sends me on a mission, I'm going to download the planetary weather stats first! This is the darkest, coldest place I've ever been. No wonder the indigenous peoples can't agree—they've all got seasonal affective disorder."

Thad, having previously been treated to Sabrina's theories about the Earth diagnosis and its relation to planetary diplomacy, merely smiled. A knock at the door saved him from thinking up a reply. "Ah, that must be Ranja."

"Well, if you're finished poking at my words, I'll let her poke me with pins," Sabrina sighed again. "I hate these grand formal occasions."

"But you must be used to them," Thad protested. "You live at court at home."

"Not really," Sabrina said, in a tone of voice that discouraged further inquiry.

Thad opened the door to admit Ranjalla Hariley, Sabrina's personal aide. Ranja smiled at Sabrina's expression. "Just one last fitting, I promise," she said, carrying an armful of gleaming silver fabric into the room. "And I want you to try on the tiara and make sure the stones didn't come loose during the cleaning process."

"Thad, save me," Sabrina appealed. "There must be some last minute crisis that preempts costume design! She's making me wear a tiara, for pity's sake!"

Thad tried in vain not to laugh. "I think you'll look very fetching in it," he managed to say with a fairly straight face.

"I'll get you for that," Sabrina retorted as he made his escape.

"Has he moved up on the list?" Ranja asked, opening a ridiculously large jewelry case and removing the tiara that Sabrina had inherited through her adopted father, Queen Maratobia's uncle Rayland.

"Hah. He's not even in the top ten. First I have to get Rassir for giving me this assignment—"

"But getting the hardest assignments is a compliment!" Ranja recited, grinning.

"Watch it or you're going on the list too," Sabrina said. "Then I have to get Mara for insisting I take the assignment when I tried to decline it."

"But whatever will happen to Praxatillus if you kill off our Queen and Prime Minister?" Ranja asked, setting the tiara carefully on Sabrina's head. "Hm. This is no good. I need the actual hairstyle."