The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 16.4

Sabrina spent the morning at Fibräaé with Éllina, staying for lunch, then flew back to Dansestari to meet with the Royal Chamberlain. They finally decided on a date for Sabrina's oath-taking and official presentation and several other details. Shaking her head as she left, Sabrina reflected that she'd known of fancy weddings that had gone off with less planning than this seemingly simple action of hers needed.

The comparison lingered in her mind as she made a trip to the Palace City studio of the couturier who was making her gown for the occasion. It looked like cloth of silver to Sabrina's Earth eyes, but she knew it was made of something else. Still, it was glamorous and madly expensive, and that seemed to be what mattered. After years of carefully budgeting her clothing allowance and buying the conservative suits that were ubiquitous in DC, she found it a treat to indulge her taste with no regard for money or the need to blend in.

The couturier had made a three-dimensional holovid of her in the gown to study and test adjustments on, and Sabrina asked for and received a copy. She had promised to show Marie what her dress looked like. Marie's behavior had been alarmingly angelic ever since Mara had told her she could only go to the oath-swearing if she attended all her lessons and generally behaved herself, and Sabrina wanted to encourage and reward her.

She took Tristan with her, both because Marie loved to receive visits from him, and because Sabrina was still endeavoring to train him on a leash. She hadn't had a reason to do it before, living in an apartment with a private balcony when he needed fresh air, but now she wanted to be able to take him out into the gardens, and she didn't trust him on his own.

The walk to the Royal Residence took far longer than usual, with Tristan shying away from strange noises and smells and trying to stalk various small creatures that rustled the shrubbery. By the time they got there, the nursery was empty, and Sabrina belatedly remembered that Marie and Malick were scheduled to take a field trip to Deltarr that day. Sighing, Sabrina left the holocube for Marie and recorded a brief message for her on the nursery comconsole. Then she turned to her cat, who was merrily batting around a small vial of bright blue liquid.

"Tristan! Stop that!" Sabrina scolded, bending down to retrieve the tube. It felt alarmingly warm to her fingers, and when she looked around and realized it had come from the chemistry experiment set up on a table nearby, she put it down quickly, thankful it was well sealed. "Are you trying to blow us all up or something?"

Tristan flicked his tail in annoyance and began looking around for other interesting playthings. Sabrina scooped him up in her arms. "Come on. I don't want it to be dark before we get home, okay? And you don't seem to be learning this leash thing very fast."

He squirmed and meowed a protest, but she held onto him firmly until they were outside again, when she gave up and put him on the ground. He immediately sat down to wash his front paw. Sabrina folded her arms. "Come on, Tris. Let's go home. Please?"

Ignoring her, Tristan switched paws. Sabrina opened her mouth to try to get his attention, but she caught movement out of the side of her eye and refrained. She had enough of a reputation without being caught uselessly scolding her recalcitrant cat in a courtyard. She picked him up again and marched determinedly toward her building, managing to hang onto him despite his constant squirming. It was only in the corridor outside her apartment that she finally lost the battle. Tristan leaped to the floor and raced away from her, squeezing in behind a large, heavy piece of furniture resembling an old-fashioned sideboard. It was dark and ancient-looking, in contrast to the brightly-painted vase and exuberant display of flowers sitting on top of it.

"Tristan!" Sabrina said sharply. "Come out from behind there!"

There was no reply from the cat. Sabrina knelt down and put her ear to the small space between the sideboard and the wall and heard various muffled sounds that told her he was crawling around underneath, probably looking for a comfortable spot to curl up and wait smugly while she tried to figure out how to extract him. Sabrina pushed at the massive piece of furniture and wondered in despair if it might not actually be easier to move the wall.