Praef stood skittishly on his four feet. Taking off his round hat, the priest of the Beast God wiped his brow.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
After fleeing the day before, he had been holed up in his temple until being summoned once again to the palace.
Whatever he had expected, the peaceful sight before him was not it. To him, it was …unnerving.
He tapped his hooves softly in the Queen's sitting room while trying to discern this change of heart.
Brenna and Emira—or rather Noble and Sarai sat side by side on the couch with Counsel and Alyx flanking them in two armchairs.
"A change of leadership is a big decision," the priest reminded them.
"This is lunacy!" Alyx objected. "Clearly, this is being rushed. What is the hurry?"
"Since there was no affirmation yesterday, we technically have no ruler. Isn't that right?" Noble asked the priest.
"I, uh," the flustered man tried to formulate his thought.
Sarai brushed back her hair. "We want to remedy this lack of leadership immediately. There is no time to lose. Brenna will be a wonderful queen."
Both Counsel and Alyx were distrustful of her words.
'At least they are on the same page for once.' Noble mused. 'What is Alyx even doing here?' The second thought was aimed at Sarai.
The redhead's lip twitched. 'He was waiting for me outside the library and I could not shake him.'
'You've always been too sweet. It will be fine.' Noble smiled at her friend. "Thank you for your vote of confidence, aunt. I will work to make you proud."
"So…I will not be skipping or altering the part of the ceremony where we affirm the new ruler, then?" The man in white asked tentatively.
"We will not," Sarai reached out and squeezed Noble's hand gently.
"Then we can proceed," Praef nodded slowly. "I will feel better when this is all settled."
"As will we," the redheaded Awakened could not be happier to not be in charge. Heavy was the head that wore the crown, and one morning had been quite enough for her!
"Do we want to rehearse?" The priest placed his hat back on his head, happy that he had not been burned to a crisp just yet.
"Oh, yes." Noble was relieved by the offer.
"No need." Counsel countered. "If we are to move this forward in time for a feast, we should simply touch on the high points. I can already hear people beginning to gather in the throne room. It will be standing room only before long."
Ever since Counsel had mentioned needing a royal coronation, things had moved rather quickly. In barely three hours, the room had been decorated with fabric of purple and blue and guests had been invited and were already arriving.
'Brave souls, after what had happened the day before.'
At least the Old Guard had been released. That had likely restored some confidence.
The priest went over the instructions, pointing out the differences from an affirmation ceremony. "Queen Emira will need to make a speech to confirm your leadership, Your Majesty," the priest reminded them. "Just like you did for your aunt's fiftieth anniversary."
Noble remembered Lenore saying the speech had made Emira tear up. What exactly had Brenna said?
Since Alyx had written the words for the one-hundredth ceremony, Noble had not thought to look at what Brenna had composed before, if it could even be found.
'A speech!' Sarai chirped in Noble's head.
"Can I not just say that I affirm and move on?" The redhead asked with a tight smile.
Inside the lady was screaming, and Noble could hear every word.
'I don't like public speaking! These people will see right through me! I can't!!!'
Noble knew that Sarai was sometimes uncomfortable in front of crowds. Fighting in front of multitudes, she could do without a problem. That was one of her strengths. But a formal speech? Well, the Nightmare may as well kill her now.
"At least a formal statement would be better than…nothing," the priest answered carefully. He was likely going to say "what happened yesterday" but thought the better of it.
"Alyx," Noble turned to the young man next to her friend. "Would you be so kind as to alter the speech you made for me so that my aunt can read it instead?"
'Noble!' Sarai almost blurted the word but managed to scream it inside the Memory instead.
'If you are focused on a paper, you won't see the people…' Noble assured Sarai. 'And I have a Memory to gift you. It will make your voice loud and clear no matter how softly you speak. You will barely have to make a sound for everyone to hear your lovely words.'
The [Strange Scepter] was one of the two Memories Noble got during the battle with the Tyrant. It had the capability to amplify sound, which was not usually a problem for Noble, who had the voice of a seasoned professor.
But for Sarai, it would help considerably in front of such a large crowd.
'You will do great!' Noble nodded firmly with a smile.
Sarai looked down at her dress. 'I…I hope you are right.'
"I will do that if that is Queen Emira's wish," Alyx glared at Counsel, who was looking more triumphant every moment.
"I would appreciate that," Sarai answered.
"Very well. It shall be done," Alyx begrudgingly admitted defeat.
Noble felt some resentment in his soul, but she couldn't say that she fully blamed him. Not that long ago, the cocky Lord had been flaunting his guaranteed success in Noble's face.
How she had wanted to wipe that smug look off his face!
Now she had, and even asked him to go a step further and help. It was deeply satisfying.
Counsel moved things forward with a nod. He brought forward the headpiece from the table. "Here is the crown we will be using. I know it breaks tradition, but the other one was…is no longer able to be used."
The priest took the crown in his old hands. "I need to go to the temple to perform the rites to bless this, but I will be back within the hour to begin the coronation. If you will excuse me."
Bowing his way out of the Queen's quarters, the man in white raced down the hall in a clattering of hooves.
'Was he… part beast?' Sarai pursed her lips, trying to understand what she had seen.
'You mean the four feet?' Noble asked seriously. 'I think he was just horsing around…'
——-
The hour passed too quickly.
So quickly that Pen and Lenore did not think they could get Noble ready in time. So, a host of young women were allowed in to give the new Queen all the pampering she needed.
It was strange to realize that Brenna did, in fact, have friends. They had just been kept away.
Now they giggled and gossiped about how happy they were how things had turned out.
Noble was slightly irritated by their presence. 'What kind of friends become scarce when things are tough and then pop up happily when things turn for the better? Real friends follow you into even the worst nightmare.'
'Aw, I love you too,' Sarai answered from halfway across the palace.
Soon, Noble was ushered to the door of the throne room. Her entourage filed in ahead of her, giggling with delighted smiles as they found their places. Only Pen and Lenore remained to hold her train.
Somewhere someone had found a long royal mantle with fur lining the edges. It draped across her shoulders and attached in front of her collarbone with a chain.
The golden thread of the garment was almost the same color as Kosi's pristine coat. The mighty Demon stood tall next to her, ready to walk the aisle ahead of her.
At the front of the room, Sarai, Counsel, and the priest were already waiting. If Noble had thought more about it, she would have entered through Emira's usual entrance. She had just gotten caught up in the crowd.
Now as she looked down the aisle waiting for the overture to start, it felt like she was attending a wedding.
In a way, it was. A ruler was being married to a country.
A country that was not her home.
There was no time to contemplate the irony.
The music began.