Acoma soldiers escorting their mistress fought to keep even ranks against the relentless press of bodies, all calling out in awe and appreciation of the Lady who was Servant of the Empire, and all straining with outstretched arms to gain even a touch of the curtains that shrouded her litter. Legend held that the touch of a Servant could bestow good fortune. Since the Lady herself was not within reach, her soldiers had learned that the commoners would settle for her clothing, or, barring that, for the curtains of her litter. After one time caught off guard, when Mara had gone out with what had seemed a suitable escort before the title had been bestowed by the Emperor, and arriving at an appointment across the city with both her robes and her litter hangings in soiled disarray, her officers had learned better. Now Mara did not venture forth in public with fewer than an escort of fifty. Lujan decided in a sweat, even fifty were barely sufficient. The folk loved their Good Servant to the point where they would risk crushed toes, bruises, and even a blow from a spear butt to get close to her.
