The Twisted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 3)

Chapter 10.3

The next time Sabrina woke up, she felt much better and ate almost all of the meal Sehaèri brought her. She received Selémahs and Therenden briefly; when they left, Darice came by, looking abashed.

"I have to apologize, my lady, for allowing that incident to endanger you," she began. "I—"

"Darice, don't be ridiculous. You are only supposed to precede me into dangerous or uncertain situations; how could any of us guess my conservatory was dangerous? And you did very well. They didn't get me, after all."

"That was you, not me," Darice said ruefully.  "And Citizen Nikolar. He fought like a wild animal." She took a deep breath. "After such an incident, I am obliged to offer you my resignation—"

"No!" Sabrina exclaimed. "I won't accept it. I don't want any other bodyguard. And I don't want to hear any more about it. You did very well; I'm pleased with your performance. Besides, I don't want to have to get used to anybody else. I'd miss you if you left."

"Thank you, my lady," Darice said, gratified. "I'll do my very best. It won't happen again."

"Good," Sabrina said. "Citizen Nikolar has already tried to take the blame, and I think I lost the argument, so I'm not going to argue it with you."

Darice smiled. "I've been helping clean up the conservatory. The royal gardener is trying to save your yellow rosebush; he has repotted it and is lavishing attention on it. And some of the botanists want to do a genetic analysis of it to see if they can develop a version that will thrive in various Praxatillian climates, but they've been told they must wait for your permission. We're also installing better security there. Those apartments have been disused for a long time, and even when they were in use, the Guardian doesn't generally require a lot of help security-wise."

"Yes, I know," Sabrina said. "I always thought that giving Mara a bodyguard just gave her something else to worry about. Not to offend you."

"No, of course," Darice said. "I always knew I was more decoration than anything for the Queen."

"Well, you've just proved you're very necessary for me," Sabrina said. "When are they going to let me out?"

"I think soon. Secretary Sansfir is going frantic trying to conceal the reason for your indisposition."

"Is there any word of Scotty?" Sabrina asked.

"No, except that he is no longer on Naferi Station. I don't know any more than that, except that the team Commander Rayland sent after him are on his trail. I'm sure it won't be long before they find him. We do know he hasn't gone to Homeworld itself; we've been monitoring the traffic."

Sabrina sighed. Darice hesitated, then said earnestly, "Please don't worry too much about him, ma'am. We'll get him back. The Commander doesn't fail when he sets out to do something."

"I know," Sabrina said, more to cheer Darice up than from any real belief in getting her brother back.

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She was discharged later that day and spent the afternoon reviewing paperwork and meeting with Rassir. Justek sat down with her and worked out her schedule for the next few days, a light one as the doctors insisted. She was to have another meeting with the Citizens Council the next day; that was one meeting she was adamant about not rescheduling. Since their first meeting, the members of the Council had been back to their constituents, collecting ideas for speeding the planet's recovery and suggestions to improve existing programs. Sabrina wondered when Tassan had found time to go back to Zarn.

Rayland came for dinner, reporting on the search for Scotty with a theory that he had gone to Lthos after Naferi Station—a theory Sabrina suspected was based more on hope than evidence. But she hoped for it too. With Haaron on Lthos, it was certainly the best place for Scotty to be. He also reported that the three agents for Homeworld arrested for her kidnapping attempt had undergone mindscans and were in rehabilitation; the two would-be kidnappers had turned out to be mercenaries and were being held for trial.