“You can, and you will. I’m not going to let you go gallivanting all over the Empire when it could kill you. Besides the fact that I love you, you’re my Seer, as you’ve been telling everyone. I need you by my side.”
“You need me out there more.”
Ellie stared at her. “I do?”
“Yes, you do. I haven’t had a lot of visions, but those I’ve had have been meaningful and productive for you and your leaders. Did you know I’ve actually forecast two major battles, and the commander is forewarned?”
“I do know. Chandrajuski, Mike, and Val met with Seeton and Veswicki.”
“What if I can do more of that?”
“Why don’t you do it for us, instead?”
“Why don’t I do it for all of you. I can come back, you know.”
Ellie brooded. All of her Knights, all of her close friends, were out on assignment, each of them in harm’s way. Must all of her loved ones leave her side?
Krys understood. “I’m sorry, Mother. I, too, would like to stay. I’m terrified out there.”
“Then stay.”
“I can’t. You need me out there more than you need me here.”
Ellie wanted more time to think, but in her heart she knew Krys spoke true. Her visions had, indeed, been fortuitous. She changed the subject. “I have a name, you know.”
“Ellandra of the Chosen. I know, but you’re Queen now, Your Majesty.”
“In private, for some, I prefer my name. I have a new name, given to me by Michael. He calls me Ellie. Will you do the same?”
Krys considered. “In my heart, I think of you as Mother. Those two years we had after you pulled me from the orphanage is a time I will cherish forever.”
“And I still think of you as my daughter. Val is learning to call me Ellie, though it’s not easy for him. I’ve formed an Inner Circle, and he’s a member. Will you join me in my Inner Circle?”
“As the Queen’s Seer, it makes sense. As Krys, I don’t have much to offer.”
“Oh, you might surprise yourself. We’re all young for our positions, and we all make mistakes, but we’ve done a lot of things right, too.”
“You’re alive, and that’s something. I truly feared for you when we arrived at Dorwall.”
“It was a terrible time. Many sacrificed themselves in my name, and I will never get over the sadness it brings to me. This is all so horrible.”
“But we persevere, Mother.”
“We do. And your part in it has been to speak in my name.”
Krys paled, but she had known this would come up. She lifted her chin. “I’m sorry, Mother. It was the only way.”
Ellie smiled fondly at her daughter. “I know. I’m amazed that you managed to deal with all those admirals, governors, and senators so successfully.”
“The Great Cats opened many doors. Those they didn’t open were opened by the locket.”
“Ah, yes. The locket. I’d like it back, Krys.”
“Mother?” she asked in horror.
“It’s time to return it, my daughter.”
Krys pulled the chain from under her coveralls and stared at the locket. Never used until two years ago, it had become a part of the person she considered herself to be, a part of her very identity. She removed the chain from around her neck and held it out to Ellie with a trembling hand.
Ellie took it and stood. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
She wasn’t gone long, and when she returned, she had Krys’ whole crew with her. The small lounge was overflowing by the time they all got settled, and Stven had to settle for the corridor, though his head reaching through the door towered above everyone.
She got right down to business, her focus Krys. “As a Friend, you’ve called others to my side. You’ve transcended rank and position to do so, you’ve used my name in the process, and you’ve chosen well. Few exercise such rights. Those that do are called Knights of the Realm. Since learning of your activities, I have waited in hope for your day of Naming. Will you kneel before your Queen, my daughter?”
Krys’ lips trembled. She whispered, “What are you doing, Mother?” forgetting that they were no longer in private.
“It’s time to officially Name you for who you are.”
“Val is the Knight in our family.”
Ellie looked at her kindly, and a little sadly. “Little is known about your parents, but they created two individuals of unparalleled ability. You and your brother are both made of the stuff of Knights, my dear.”
Krys looked to her friends, not only uncertain, but in disbelief about what was happening. Stven nodded his great head, his purple eyes telegraphing triumph. M’Sada’s upper hands were working overtime on his antennae, but he, too, encouraged her with a clicking of his mandibles.
Tarn came to Krys and took her arm, stepping with her to her Queen. “You choose well, Your Majesty,” he said.
She smiled. “In this, I do.”
Tarn helped Krys to go to one knee, not that she needed help had she had her wits about her. She was far more flexible than he would ever be. He stepped back, and Ellie put both of her hands on Krys’ head, then lifted her eyes to her daughter’s friends.
“You are witness to a ceremony few ever see, something very private and almost holy among the Chosen and their Knights. To be chosen as a Knight is not so much an honor as it is a call to even greater sacrifice in my name.”
She lowered her gaze to rest upon Krys. “From the day we met, we’ve both known that our futures were linked. Since then, you have spoken in my name, and to those you have spoken you are called My Lady. It is a title earned and a title respected. Your Naming day has come, and the title My Lady will now be official. You have already demonstrated fealty to the Empire. Krys, do you swear continued fealty to my crown?”
To Krys, Knights of the Realm were legendary characters straight out of the adventure novels she had so cherished during her unhappy years at the orphanage. She wasn’t in their league. Val was, and he had been for as long as she’d known him, but she still thought of herself as the young girl she had been when she first met Daughter. Now, the person she called mother was asking her to leave her childhood behind, to be a woman, an adult… a leader.
She took Ellie’s hands in her own and removed them from her head. She kissed each of those hands, then turned to Tarn, still holding Ellie’s hands. How did he feel about this? The answer to that question was more important to her than the demand from her mother. Did that mean she was already no longer a child?
He returned her look, then went to one knee beside her and touched her cheek. “You are a Knight, My Lady. Say yes.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek, then stood up.
Krys felt an inner strength filling her all of a sudden. Her Naming was unexpected, not something she had sought, but it was okay with him, and it was suddenly right. She looked up into Ellie’s eyes. She wanted to help this woman whom she so loved, and she wanted to help the Empire, knew she could help the Empire. It’s what Seer’s did, at least this Seer.
“I do swear fealty to you, Your Majesty.”
Ellie smiled and pulled Krys to her feet. She reached into one of her voluminous pockets and pulled out two Knight’s Pins. She placed the pins in Krys’ hands, then pressed those hands together within her own. Her eyes closed for a time, then she removed her hands. “Activate the pins, Krys.”
Krys passed her hand over the two pins, and both sprung open. Ellie’s countenance shone forth. Ellie took the pins from Krys, closed them, then pinned them in place on the collar of Krys’ coveralls, saying, “With these tokens, I knight thee, Lady Krys, Knight of the Realm. Your word is my command on all worlds of the Empire.” She drew Krys into an embrace, an embrace that was returned strongly, then turned Krys to face her crew.
“I present Lady Krys.”
Krys turned and buried her head in Tarn’s chest. Ellie stood back in surprise, suddenly fully aware of what this young man meant to Krys. Her heart warmed. Tarn’s gaze met hers, and his arms tightened around Krys. Tarn and his Queen stared at each other for a time, each with similar thoughts. The Naming of a Knight was a call to greater sacrifice. What would that sacrifice entail for Krys? Whatever it was, Ellie read in his eyes that he would be by her side throughout.