Free In the Hall of the Martian King by John Barnes

astonishing. A panth often won the fight before
     anyone else in the room knew there was one.
    Panths were naturally all but hairless; Dujuv’s only visible hair was his eyebrows, which were a mere scattering of a few
     coarse hairs on his deep brown skin. They had little subcutaneous fat; naked, Dujuv looked like an anatomical drawing. “It’s
     good to see you again, pizo,” Jak said.
    “And to have you along on this, old tove,” Dujuv answered.
    “The Rubahy say that a meeting of three old friends is seven gladnesses,” Shadow on the Frost commented. “Three who are glad
     to be with each other as three; the gladness of each one not to be away from his toves; and the gladness of each pair. I feel
     that saying at this moment. It honors me to stand in both your company.”
    “And it honors us, your oath-friends, as well,” Jak said, giving the reply that he knew was correct—though even after five
     years of friendship, Rubahy social customs were a permanent bewilderment to him. “Let me introduce my assistant, Pikia Periochung.”
    Sib, Gweshira, and the silent young woman all gathered for introductions; when Pikia had been introduced all around, Dujuv
     said, “And you are to receive your official greeting and welcome to the territory of the Splendor of the Splendiferous Chrysetic
     People from Princess Kayadi Guntrasen, recognized second heir of King Witerio Guntrasen of the Gunemabuv Branch of the Kaesenedi
     Dynasty.”
    “If you call me anything other than just ‘Kayadi,’ ” she said, “I will slap you. My brother Prince Cyx, or Heir Number One
     as I call him, is fond of ceremony. I have decided to let him have all of mine.”
    A whirling cloud of dust bounced over the nearest hillside. Turning to follow Jak’s gaze, Dujuv said, “Oh, there she is now.”
    “She?”
    “What has sprung over our short Martian horizon,” Shadow explained, “is a hovercar, which is why it is kicking up such a large
     cloud of dust, carrying Teacher Xlini Copermisr, which is why it is late.”
    Dujuv shrugged. “She’s very dedicated to her work, so she never leaves it till the last second. Still, no one gets around
     in the Harmless Zone better. She’s the first one I call when I need advice in dealing with some petty king. If they had let
     her handle the whole deal, it would be done by now.”
    “She said more or less the same thing about you,” Jak said.
    Dujuv nodded. “She would. My predecessor told me to follow her around as much as I could, keep my mouth shut, and
listen
for my first two months. He should have said
three
months, or four.”
    The hopping and leaping cloud was nearly on them. The hovercar burst from the base of the great pillar of dust, slewed sideways,
     flared its flexible skirts toward them, and coasted to a sloppy stop beside the goal, throwing red-brown dust up toward them.
    “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Teacher Copermisr said, hurrying up the walkway onto the goal, as if she were five years old and they
     were going on a picnic.
    Introductions were repeated, and then Kayadi said, “Well, I have to go stand around uselessly at a party all afternoon. And
     no doubt you all need to confer. We set you up with the guest pavilion, Dujuv, with private rooms for everyone. If you like,
     take one of the royal taxis there.”
    “That will be fine,” Dujuv said. “Thank you for being the one who came out to meet us—this wouldn’t have been so pleasant
     without you.”
    “You mean it wouldn’t have been as efficient. With my father or brother you’d have had a brass band and a full military review,
     and with my mother, my grandma, or either of my sisters, you’d have all been inspected for the presence of eligible men with
     some aristo blood, for possible matching up with my minor cousins. But be sure you remember, Xlini, I’m counting on you for
     an invitation to a dig this fall—otherwise I’ll be stuck going through my second social season.”
    Teacher Copermisr grinned.