While the Prefect was still speaking, there came a knock on the door. And the prefect allowed the person to come in when he identified himself as Walsh.
The captain stepped inside and bowed towards the prefect, and to the other's surprise, bowed before Richard and Cyrus. “I apologise for what I did to your friend”, he said. “It was uncalled for.” Neither of them said anything until they realised the captain wasn't going to raise his head up until they did so. “It's alright”, Cyrus said. “A lot had happened recently and you were just doing your job. I can't blame you.” Then Walsh got back on his feet to face the prefect. “To prevent something like this from happening again, by your orders, I have sent out my men to purge out everything that is left of the rebellion, and just this night, they have uncovered a few of them.” “Then why are you telling me about them?”, asked Kendrick. “Punish them as the policies demandRichard was confused about what to say. “I don't know this town all that well”, he replied. “Where do you think we should go?” “Are you scared of heights?”, she asked. “No”, he replied. “Where is that coming from?” “Let's go to the rooftop”, she said. Kendrick widened his eyes. “You really are afraid of heights, aren't you?”, she asked. “No, that is not the case”, Richard said. “It just sounds so odd. Hope do you think it's a good idea?” “Are you worried the soldiers patrolling the streets would consider two persons sitting openly on a rooftop as fleeing rebels?”, she asked. “Well, yes”, he said. “It might not be safe.” She smiled. “Alright then, how about the upper balcony?”, she asked. “There would be enough lights to show that we are harmless and aren't trying to hide from anybody. Besides it's just a man and a woman having fun time at a brothel.
Serena and her new friend, Richard sat at the balcony next to her room. The view outside was fantastic, and it was just now that he was starting to take in the beauty of Fayhold, which seemed hidden during the day. The night lights were spectacular, although the people on the streets looked uncomfortable with the soldiers walking around, investigating as they looked for the rebels. “Have they come here?”, asked Richard. “Yes”, she replied. “Yes they have. Not long before you three left.” “Wait, why was there only two of you?”, she asked. “If I remember correctly, there are supposed to be three of you.” “Good grief”, Richard said. “So it's now you realise that?” “Where did he go?”, she asked. “Let's just say something came up, and he had to stay behind while we came back”, Richard said. Then she looked down, taking note of how an unusual number of soldiers were talking the
Serena fell silent, and Richard swore within himself, feeling like he had just said something weird. “It's entirely up to you though”, he said. “I didn't mean to put it that way. It's your choice.” What came next was sudden laughter from Serena which made him even more sure that he had said something embarrassing and inappropriate. “Alright then”, she said. Richard widened his eyes. “You are serious?”, he asked. “Yes”, she said. “It'd be exciting having a person like you around when I leave for the first time.” “Mind telling me why you haven't stepped out?”, asked Richard. “It's just so odd to me.” “Let's just say that I gave obligations here”, she said while turning to look away. “Obligations that do not permit my absence for extended periods.” “I see”, Richard said while staring out to the skies. “Too bad. I wanted to go out with you tomorrow...” “Richard?”, sh
It was dawn, and things in the town were slowly returning to normalcy.Cyrus and Felix had gotten out of bed, with the Prince excited to meet Natalie, even though she had not formally summoned him yet.Each of them was sure of what Richard was up to when he left but chose not to talk about it. But would each bring it up when they felt necessary? As we were getting ready for the day, they heard a knock on the door. Cyrus and Felix looked at each other, knowing that it couldn't be Richard.Felix walked over to the door and opened it, surprised to see the younger lady who looked a lot like the woman Richard was infatuated with. She looked tired like she had been up all night and craved several hours of long-needed sleep. “Are you Cyrus Theodore?”, asked the young lady. “No”, Felix said as he stepped aside, revealing Cyrus walking towards them. “I'm Cyrus”, the other man said. The young lady nodded wh
Natalie sat on her bed, looking out the window as if expecting Cyrus to pop up out of nowhere to see her. She was excited to see him and was glad her father had put in word for Cyrus to come. If left alone for the lady looking after her, she wouldn't even be allowed to see anyone, thanks to the strict security measures taken in the house.She was in the home of Apollos, one of the new members to f the council of elders, and was especially taken care of by his wife, Elena. Elena was also a friend of Natalie, and it was thanks to their friendship that Kendrick had the idea of sending her to love with Apollos, her husband. The couple had three children, and that made it fun for Natalie - who loved children.The past whole day felt good, as the children loved being with her all the time. They had fun together, and one of them, the oldest, was the funniest of all. It was almost as if he was trying to make her laugh with everything he did, and he was
Several minutes later, the quad was reunited at the upper room where Natalie rested.“Alright everyone”, Cyrus said. “I'm the light of revealed circumstances, we might be staying around for a while longer.”“How long?”, asked Richard.“At least three weeks”, Cyrus told him. “Natalie cannot move around while her injuries haven't fully closed up yet.”“I agree”, Felix said. “It an injury like that, riding a galloping horse would be a nightmare.”“That's true,” Richard said in a tone that revealed that he was the one most tired of living at Fayhold, even though it had barely been a week since they had arrived.“How are you?” Richard asked Natalie.“Felt a lot better, but not as bad as it looks,” she said.“In the meantime, I would have to meet with the prefect so we could talk more about my marriage to Natalie, as well as our next destination,” Cyrus said.“And where would that be?” asked Richard, suddenly
It was a few weeks later when Natalie was able to walk again with minimal pain, and the prefect was able to fully resume his duties. The building he lived in had been mostly restored to its former state, and the city had returned to normalcy. At that time the walls that were being built around the area were complete, as no rebels were trying to mitigate its progress. The city was peaceful and had become a formal client region of the Empire. It was a peace the region had never known ever since the Emperor's people invaded, and Kendrick feared that it was just a clan before the storm.What feared him the most, even above that was the fact that his daughter's wedding was coming up soon, and that would be the best time for some hidden rebels to cause a comeback. Because of this, he made extra preparations, expecting the worse.As a result of this, the day of the wedding looked more like a siege at the Prefect's home. But he didn't mind, as everyone
Deep in the heart of the Midlands, at the very core of the Empire's capital was the castle of the Emperor. Here in the Midlands, he was known as the King of the Midlands, but to those outside of the territory, he was known as the great Emperor, Athanasius.He was a man in his early thirties, adorned with blonde hair and blue eyes. Looking ten years younger than his actual age. What made him look formidable was his near-perfect body build and his well-chiseled face He sat on his throne, staring into the space with his legs crossed and a signature smile on his face, one which looked way more intimidating than he would if he looked serious all the time.No one was in the throne room with him at that time, as it was still very early in the morning. He had planned for a meeting with the senators and nobles of the area to discuss their possible future conquests to expand the reach of the Empire's Sovereignty.What was going on through his mind was the