The Twisted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 3)

Chapter 3.1

Image: Rayland nar Tassan, by D. Denise Dianaty

Sabrina met briefly with Rayland, to confirm her and Scotty's acceptance of the adoption contract; then she hurried to her office and worked rather distractedly for a few hours until lunch, which she shared with Rayland and Scotty. Then it was time to dress for the Council of Ministers. Selémahs, who had been apprised of the situation by Mara, helped Sabrina pick out a very simple white dress with fitted sleeves, a high collar, and a narrow skirt. She wore her hair down, held back from her face with a white ribbon.

Selémahs went with her to the antechamber of the room in which the Council was convened; Scotty was waiting there, dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt, trousers, and mid-calf soft boots. In a few moments, they were summoned inside.

It seemed that most of the court was there. Sabrina saw Mara and Tirqwin, the only people besides the Council who were seated; she also picked out Therenden in the crowd. He smiled encouragingly at her.

Beside the long table at which the Council sat, Prime Minister Rassir stood with Rayland, who was splendid in his family colors of scarlet and gold. Each of them held a rolled-up parchment tied with scarlet ribbon. Rayland came forward and said in a clear, steady voice, "You have come here to enter into legal bonds of heirship with me in front of witnesses. You are aware of your obligations?"

Sabrina and Scotty said, "Yes." Sabrina thought, I wonder if that clause would have let me out of the regency if I hadn't known.

"Then we shall all signify our consent by signing the contract." Rayland laid the parchment on the nearby table and signed, then handed the pen to Sabrina. She signed, working slowly through the unfamiliar Miahn form, and then watched as Scotty did the same.

The room was so quiet that she could hear the pen scratch on the parchment, and she thought everyone else heard it too. Somehow it seemed so much more irrevocable than her spoken oath to Mara had been. In a way, it was: she could be released from her oath, but she could never be un-adopted.

Then the siblings faced Rayland. He was smiling in a solemn way, pleased and yet slightly distracted, as if aware of ghosts at his shoulder. Sabrina wondered who they all were, how many faces made up the list of losses that had led him to this desperate step. She wondered if any of them would have welcomed her and Scotty.

There was a stir of movement to Sabrina's left, and a man stepped forward, formally dressed, carrying a carefully folded pile of heavy scarlet and gold cloth. He had jet black hair, almost the shade of Mara's, and rich brown eyes that stood out against his pale complexion, the kind Sabrina had come to associate with people who spent most of their time in space. He had a military bearing and the brooding air she had noticed among some of the people who had lost their entire families in the war.

When he spoke, his voice was low but strong, and though there was no real feeling in the words there didn't seem to be reluctance in them either. "I, Miosch Kirak ya Sansfir nar Loär, heir by right of blood to Rayland Tresmanorak ya yel Elzhbehette nar Tassan, acknowledge you as his daughter, by his choice. Welcome, kinswoman."

He bowed his head, then turned to Rayland, who picked it up to reveal a sleeveless robe. Rayland helped Sabrina into it, and Miosch belted the matching gold sash around her waist. Then Rayland said, "I give you this in token of my pledge to shelter, feed, and clothe you as my own child. From henceforth you shall bear not only my name, but all the hopes of my heart, and the hopes and heritage of all those who have come before me."

Sabrina curtsied, careful of the stiff overdress, and replied, "I give you my pledge to honor and obey you as a loyal daughter, to never bring shame to the name that is your gift to me, and to be a comfort and a help to you in all that you do. In doing so I honor not only my new family, but those whose blood I bear."