Things settled into a comfortable routine without any discussion. Lirael both appreciated and hated it, suddenly furnished with a suite of rooms in the royal castle and a kingdom to help rebuild—and a family to match.
Only, they weren't quite family, not the way she'd imagined it would be. They weren't close like the Clayr. In the months after it had all ended, Lirael saw little of them beyond official, working things. Sam came to fit her new hand. Ellimere came to give lessons in protocols. Sabriel gave curt, short lessons about being Abhorsen in between trips to go repair the broken countryside, but she never spoke about their father or their relationship or anything else Lirael might have wanted to know. She had never felt more lonely, or more bored. Without the Dog, she was beginning to feel like she was sinking again.
It was Touchstone who finally, surprisingly, helped ease the tension.
He hadn't come to see her before, busy with all of the many administrative tasks she hadn't considered but must be part of running a nation, and assisting his wife whenever possible as well. But one morning he knocked on her door, a tea tray in hand with breakfast piled upon it, and Lirael couldn't refuse such unlooked-for kindness.
"Sabriel should be back the day after tomorrow if everything is under control," he said after they had both taken tea and toast. "I thought we should apologize to you. We've taken you from your home and just dropped you here, and I'm sure you've been, well, bored." He laughed softly. "I'm sorry. It was a shock for Sabriel—and you, too?—to find she had a sister, that Sam isn't going to be the Abhorsen. Though, frankly, I think we're all relieved about that."
He shifted forward and touched her hand. "Lirael. I'm quite certain Sabriel would love to know you better. We all would. Just…speak to her. It will come out right."
Two days later, another knock at her door. Sabriel nodded at her when Lirael opened the door. "Good, you're in. I would like to get in some more training, maybe show you where the armoury is so you can get some sword practice here—it'll strengthen you in Death—"
"Sabriel," she cut her off, "could we talk instead? It might be nice to know my sister."
The smile was slow coming, but it blazed like the sun.