Doctor Who_ The Dying Days - Lance Parkin [87]
'With this sword do justice,' the priest intoned, 'stop the growth of iniquity, protect the Holy Church of God, punish and reform what is amiss and confirm what is in good order and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life, that you may reign forever with him in the life which is to come.'
'I am to sshare my throne with this Jessuss Chrisst?' Xznaal bellowed. 'I will accept no joint ssovereignty. Bring thiss Chrisst here. I challenge him to a duel, with weaponss of hiss choossing.'
Gerayhayvun hurried forwards. 'No, no, my Lord - your majesty. I'll explain afterwards.'
Xznaal nodded, glaring. 'You will do that.'
The ceremony proceeded. The sword was removed and laid on a flat table. The priest explained what was happening. 'The earl who is the greatest of those present, in this case Lord Greyhaven, will carry the sword naked before the king.' He turned to the humans. 'The price of the sword belongs to the Altar,' he declared. He turned back to Xznaal. 'The peer who carries the Sword of State now exchanges it for the sword you were bearing just then, the Jewel ed Sword for one hundred shillings.' Greyhaven placed a bag of coins on the table and handed over a larger sword. The human required two hands to lift it.
'Thiss ceremony iss ludicrouss. Iss thiss really how it iss done?'
'It is, and I agree,' Gerayhayvun called over. 'But it is necessary.'
Xznaal turned back to the priest. 'The hilt of that ssword hass beasstss carved upon it,' he observed. 'Explain.'
'They are the lion and the unicorn, your majesty. Symbols of this land.'
'Undersstood.' Xznaal was beginning to feel more groggy.
'These are the Armills, symbolising sincerity and wisdom.' Two gold bracelets bearing stylised flower designs.
Next, the priest handed a gold globe the size of an impact grenade. 'Now, receive this Orb, set under the Cross and remember that the whole world is subject to the Power and Empire of Christ our Redeemer.'
Xznaal snorted, causing the priest to step back. 'Er, the Coronation ring is now placed on the fourth finger of the right hand and, er... ' He waved the ring feebly around Xznaal's claw.
'Leave it,' Gerayhayvun snapped. 'We'l worry about that later. Just give him the sceptres and get on with it.' Two gold rods were handed over - one apparently symbolised "Kingly power and justice", the other was the "rod of equity and mercy".
The priest said some prayer, and then held up a crown. It was gold, with the cross and fleur-de-lys motifs that appeared on many of the artefacts.
'This is St Edward's crown, your majesty. It dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor, as far as we can tell.
When I place this upon your head, you will be the rightful King of England.'
Xznaal hissed his pleasure. As the crown was lowered, the first few voices were raised. Nervous at first, the human crowd gradually got into the spirit of the occasion.
'God save the King!'
'God save the King!'
'God save the King!'
Trumpets and cannons were sounding in salute. Xznaal hoped that his gunnery crew didn't think of it as an attack.
'The moment that you sit on that throne, your majesty, you wil take possession of the kingdom,' Gerayhayvun informed him over the clamour.
Xznaal moved eagerly over to the next chair, throwing himself down. It didn’t even creak under his weight.
'All hail King Xznaal the First,' Gerayhayvun said quietly.
Xznaal couldn't stand, not weighed down by robes and baubles. The power of his voice was undiminished, though, and he roared for attention. The crowd fell silent. He had prepared the speech that fol owed, perhaps spending more time on it than was appropriate when addressing beasts. 'Martian legendss sspoke of great hallss full of treassure where the greatesst warriorss went to when they died.' He said. The humans strained to hear him. 'Truly thiss iss ssuch a place.'
The humans slapped their paws together, apparently a sign of appreciation. Xznaal let the noise die down and then continued. 'On Marss, water is rare, frozen solid. Here it fallss from the ssky. If you humanss were