Chapter 16

On the day of the coronation, it rained. The rain came down in heavy torrents, leaving both those who were part of the royal procession, as it slowly (partly out of decorum, but also because the rain had made the cobblestones slippery) marched through the streets, as well as the on-lookers, drenched. Despite the bad weather, the streets and sidewalks were so packed that there were scarcely room to move one's arm and no wonder; for the first time in centuries, Vinoli was about to get a new monarch.
Argath walked at the head of the procession, she was partially protected from the rain by an umbrella, carried by Lorenzo. Behind her walked three court-ladies, whose duty it was to hold up the end of the ceremonial cape, decorated with jewels, so that it would not get dirty. One of the three women, who had been the recipients of this honor, was Nasari.

As she walked behind Argath, her face wet from the rain, Nasari thought of her children: She would have given anything to be with them, instead of being here. Sadly, that was impossible, all she could do was hoping that they were safe and that her relatives had taken them in with open arms. Somewhere behind her, Nasari could distinguish the sound of her husband's footsteps and her thoughts now went to him. Ever since she had moved into the palace, they had not seen much of each other. The last time they met had been the old king's funeral and that meeting had been all too brief. Although, she had agreed with Jeraddin's decision, there were times when Nasari wished that the whole family had just left the palace in secret that night. At least then, they would still be together.

Eventually, the procession reached its destination; the temple dedicated to the goddess Visaria. During what had come to be known as The Dark Age, the worshipers of Visaria had been persecuted by the forces who had ruled over the nation at that time. When Sharan was chosen to be king, he remembered the help that the goddess' servants had given him in the past and so, he made her Vinoli's patron goddess. On the temple-stairs, the current high-priest had been waiting. He was an owl, whose feathers had become grey with age and who used the staff of his office as a cane, to support himself with. He and Argath greeted each other by a slight inclination of the head and then, the procession followed the high-priest inside.

Inside the temple, everyone fell to their knees, except for Argath and her three ladies, who continued to walk toward the altar at the end of the temple.There, they too knelt down. The priest looked at Argath.

"Do you swear to serve and protect the people of Vinoli, as your father did before you?" He asked.

"I swear."

The priest nodded, satisfied. On the altar, beneath a painting of the Goddess, smiling benevolently, sat two lacquered boxes. The priest now opened the first box and took out a golden crown.

"Behold!" He called out. "The symbol of power!"

He then placed the crown on Argath's head.

"Hold out your claws", he said.

Argath did so and from the other box, the priest produced a scepter, which he placed in the Princesses' outstretched claws. Argath clutched the scepter so tightly that her knuckles whitened.

"By the power of my office, I hereby crown you the first queen of Vinoli", the priest declared. "Rise, Queen Argath."

Having said that, the priest knelt down. Standing up, Argath gazed at the carpet of bowed heads that stretched out in front of her. With her eyes glittering triumphantly, she raised the scepter above her head. As if on a given signal, Lorenzo stood up and called out:

"Long live the Queen!"
The fox's words hung in the air for a few seconds and then, from a multitude of throats, they rose up, causing the temple walls to tremble slightly:

"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!!

Only two voices were silent. Outside, the rain kept falling and as she briefly glanced at her husband, Nasari couldn't help but imagine that this was no ordinary rain, but the tears of Visaria herself, falling from the sky.