"As Guardian for the West, we present Thundershrike of the Clan Windrider. He and his mate and their kin will dwell on the ledges of the western border. They will have the additional boon that as they protect us, so we will protect their eggs and young with a permanent detachment of the Guard stationed with them. That detachment, of Eltaria's finest, will henceforth be called the Dragonguard."
Thundershrike was an old dragon, enormous and proud, the color of blued steel. His Clan was rare; dragons did not usually like to lair in the open, and their nests were vulnerable to attack. He inclined his head to Lily, every line of him expressing gratitude.
"As Guardian for the North, we present Kukris, of the Clan Parbellum. He and his kin will dwell in the mines that the Dwarves have emptied of their treasures, and in addition, will serve as guards to the Dwarven convoys conveying their precious cargo to our capital."
Kukris was everything that people thought of when they thought of a dragon. Red and gold, fierce and strong, his ornamental spikes were particularly long, his teeth particularly large and sharp. He had been the first to accept, for Parbellum had long ago made their peace with the Dwarves of their homeland, and their numbers were putting a great deal of stress on the available lairs. This was an opportunity they would never have refused.
"And as Guardian of the South, we present Precious Peony, of the Clan Wazashi. She and her clan are new to these lands, but are long in friendship with the peoples of their own. They will dwell along the river canyons, and above Lake Arrowhead, in the wind and water-caves there."
Precious Peony looked very different from the others; her snout was shorter, her wings more ornate, and she was more snakelike. Her scales shone like opals or pearls in the bright sunlight, and she bowed rather than nodding her head. Unlike the others, Peony's sort of dragon was as much at home in water as in the air. It had been the idea of the dragon champion attached to Godmother Elena's Kingdom to recruit her and her clan; like Clan Parbellum, they were beginning to feel crowding in their island home and welcomed the chance to split the Clan and make a new home here.
"This is the treaty we have made. The dragon clans are to act as our defenses on the borders and protect the Dwarven mines in the mountains. In turn, we are to provide them with food, which the Crown will pay for out of the Privy Purse, in the form of special herds and flocks which will be pastured nearby. We are also to help them defend their lairs and nests from attack. And in return for the special protection they afford the Dwarves, and the gift of shed skin, the Dwarves will supply them with ten percent of the production of their mines, with which to build their hoards. We believe this treaty will be of immeasurable value to the Kingdom of Eltaria and lead to a firm foundation of alliance with dragonkind that will only strengthen our security as the years pass. People of Eltaria! What say you?"
The acclaim was slow to start — these were, after all,dragons — but after a moment, a few started to cheer. More joined them, cheering or applauding, and more still, until at last the entire crowd roared its approval, and the dragons lifted their heads and roared back until the roof shook.
Lily waited patiently for the cheering to stop, which it eventually did. When she had relative quiet again, she look another deep breath. She had been looking forward to this part formonths.
"As you know, the Prince and Princess were wed two months ago. His solution was discussed, negotiated and, as of today, is in place. Flocks have been moved to their new homes. The dragons are today picking out their lairs. The Prince and Princess have been administering to the day-to-day needs of the Kingdom under the eyes of the Council and us. And now it is time. This day, we, Queen-Consort Sable, do hereby abdicate all pretensions to the crown, giving over the rule of Eltaria to King Siegfried and Queen Rosamund. Long live their majesties! Long live the King! Long live the Queen!"
This, of course, was completely unexpected for everyone but the four on the balcony, and after a moment of silence, as she placed the Royal crown on Rosa's head, and Jimson took the State Crown from its box and put it on Siegfried's, the roar that went up actually rocked the balcony under their feet. Then she stepped back into the Palace, to let the new King and Queen properly greet their subjects.
"Someone is likely to have a polite tiff at usurping the coronation," Jimson observed, as they made their way back to the Queen's suite. Everything that Lily wanted had already been sent back home to her Castle. It only remained for the two of them to leave.
"Someone can have all the tiffs he wants," Lily retorted. "The last time we had a coronation, there was nearly a war amongst the priests and clerics over who was going to get to perform it. Now they can all blame that 'foreign interloper, Queen Sable' and unite in their umbrage."
Jimson threw back his head and laughed. She loved that laugh. She loved to make him laugh. She had always known he was witty, but she had never known what a good sense of humor he had. The past two months had brought many revelations.
"Now, have we gotten everything taken care of?" she asked as they passed through the doors of the suite and closed them behind themselves.
"Well, let's tick off the list." Jimson marked off the needed tasks on his lingers. "Dragons, abdication, coronation."
She nodded.
"Rosa knows the mirror spell, so any time she needs to consult with us or have a lesson in magic, she can just step through."
"And Siegfried has the firebird to advise him on magic and whatever the Tradition is going to try to sneak by him."
"We've cowed the Council into acting as a Council should, and not trying to bully them." Lily laughed. "Or Siegfried has. That one day he roared at them, it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud." She ran through the list in her mind. "There will still be problems. And Eltaria will still need its very own Godmother. It's too wealthy and too full of magic not to."
Jimson snorted. "Eltaria will still need the Godmother, the Queen-Godmother, and the — what would you call me?"
"Utterly captivating. I cannot wait to get back home so we can drop all the 'Queen and her guard' nonsense. I was so tired of stepping through mirrors every time I wanted to seduce you!" She gave him her "look" through lowered lashes.
"And here I thoughtI was the one doing the seducing!" He kissed her nose. "All right, then — "
For the last time, Lily discarded the persona of Queen Sable, and with it an invisible burden she was only too glad to set down. She and Jimson each picked up an identical hand-mirror from the table beside the "traveling" mirror.
"Mirror, mirror, in my hand," they chanted in unison — and a green face appeared in each. Now, of course, she realized that the green Color was just the result of the image having to pass through the veil between their worlds.
"Godmother Lily!" said the one in her hand, and "Master" said the one in Jimson's.
"Is everything ready for us at home, Apprentice?" Jimson asked, a little sternly.
"Oh, yes!" they both said. "And the Brownies do not wish you to leave like this ever again, Godmother," added the one in Lily's mirror.
"WellI don't want to, either," she replied fervently, and turned to Jimson. "Well, my love, shall we?"