Both on the left and right side of the ballroom, Sania was fazed by the unwelcoming stares. It felt as though they expected somebody else other than herself and they did.
As she took a few steps forward, Sania overhead someone murmured in the crowd,
"That is not Tehila."
The awkward silence was uncomfortable, and Sania could barely move her feet. For the first time, Sania tightened her grip on Taffi's hand. He sensed that she was nervous and didn't hesitate to whisper into her ears,
"Don't look at any of them, just keep your eyes on me the whole time."
Once they were halfway to the center of the ballroom, Taffi changed direction and Sania followed suit. She tried to ignore the stares and whispers that filled the air.
She also didn't see Tehila or Taffi's mother inside the room.
"Could they have decided not to show up?" She asked herself with a sigh.
Taffi stopped in front of the man who represented his late father on his behalf and handed Sania over to him with a smile.
The old man whose hair and beard had turned all grey due to his age, took Sania's hand from Taffi and stood on his feet.
Before leaving for his throne, Taffi gave Sania a reassuring smile and Sania smiled in return even though the anxiety plagued her expression.
"Ahem." The old man cleared his throat to draw attention to himself and the young Princess whose hand was in his.
"I may not be the only one who finds this incident rather surprising." He said, followed by a round of laughter from the guest.
"Princess Sania, am I correct?" He asked and led her to the center of the ballroom.
"Yes, my Lord," Sania retorted and tried not to look at him directly.
"Today, you lose that title." He continued and once again the hall went silent. This was the moment they all waited for. This statement was a confirmation that he had accepted Sania into their family, but to complete the ceremonial ritual, the Queen needed to be present.
It was at this moment that everyone else noticed the Queen's absence. They all looked around the room for her but she was nowhere to be found.
"This is what I was avoiding," Sania said to herself. She looked up to Taffi for intervention as always, but was surprised to see a smile on his face.
"Is he blind?" Sania thought, she couldn't help but wonder how he was so oblivious to the current situation.
The old man who stood next to Sania was also calm and collected and this raised Sania's suspicion. She believed that there was something they weren't telling her.
"It appears that the Queen may have gotten stuck in her dress. Perhaps does anyone else has a suggestion as to why she is late?" The man asked and there was another round of laughter. But for Sania, there wasn't anything funny about his statement, rather they instilled fear into her bones.
"While we wait," the man continued,
"Let's all have some drink and enjoy the feast." He picked up a silver cup from the table and raised it with a cheer.
When he returned to take his seat, Sania remained where she was for a while, unable to move due to fear and anxiety. Their laughs sounded like mockery to her ears, and she avoided staring at their faces.
Sania was yet to leave when she felt his hand hold onto her. She turned briskly and was immediately captured by Taffi's ocean eyes and charming smile,
"Let's sit down and wait," he said and directed her to the chair next to his throne.
Once she was seated, he snapped his fingers, and servants, lined up in front of Sania, each with either a different kind of wine or fruit in their tray.
"No, I'm good," Sania rejected everything that was shown to her. She was too nervous to eat or drink anything. Her mind was occupied by the Queen's arrival, if it was going to happen that is.
"Oh, just take a drink," Taffi encouraged her
Taffi sensed her anxiety but didn't want to explain anything to her. He took a drink in a golden cup and handed it over to Sania.
"Just a sip, it's your special day, so enjoy it." He added.
Sania frowned, she found his behavioral change very suspicious and annoying.
"Where is the Queen?" Sania mustered the courage to ask the burning question that plagued her mind.
"I'll answer after you've had a sip," Taffi replied with a smirk.
'Now he is intentionally getting on my nerves' Sania thought and sighed heavily. She took the cup from him, took a sip of the fruit wine, and looked up to him for answers.
"She'll be here in no time, she's probably getting ready, you don't have anything to worry about," Taffi explained, but this only raised Sania's suspicion a bit more.
"Only a few moments ago, he seemed worried about what his mother would do, what is happening?" Sania wondered.
After ten minutes of drinking, and conversing amongst the guests, a guard walked up to Taffi and nodded his head before him, after which he took a bow and walked away.
It was a sign that Taffi understood, and immediately, he transferred the information to the old man with nothing more than eye contact.
The man stood up and struck his cup with the spoon several times. This act drew all attention to him and once again there was silence in the room.
"Can you join me, my lady?" he said to Sania and slowly stood up still feeling uneasy.
"As it is tradition," the man began after Sania had gotten to him.
"The former Queen steps down for the new, and passes her crown with some blessing unto the new generation."
Sania's heart skipped a beat, this was the moment she dreaded,
"With a standing ovation... And of course, some decorum, let us welcome, the Queen of Azeera."