Chapter 1
A gentle breeze blew into the somewhat dark room. The scent of fresh air filled the room. Angela rolled over and briefly opened her eyes. Still partially asleep she wondered if she had just dreamed the whole thing. Was she still in the cell? Did she get freed from it? She looked toward the door. It was different. She looked around. It was all different. She was freed from the death cell. She was the first one to ever leave the death cell alive. However, why was she freed from that cell? What does this group of people want with her? These were just some of the questions floating around in her head.
She would have kept asking herself questions, but she heard a knock on the door. The man who saved her entered. "Angela, good afternoon," he said. Angela nodded and sat up. "If you want, we can get you some food or maybe you would like a tour of the place," he said. Angela smiled and responded, "Maybe some food would be nice." The man stepped out the door and motioned for her to follow him. After a few twists and turns, they ended up at the same place she was the night before. A cook approached her and asked what she would like to eat. Angela shrugged and said whatever you have. The man whispered something in the cook's ear and the cook left.
Angela looked around. It was the same room, but it was different now. No one else was there now. No dagger in front of her. It was quiet. It was peaceful. Beautiful pictures hung on the wall. She could tell that at some point this room was much better maintained, but alas no longer. "Angela, I don't think I've introduced myself to you. I am Jon," he said to her sitting at the head of the table. The smell of a nice warm lunch was coming in from the kitchen. Angela smiled and her stomach called out for the food. "Trust me, you will enjoy the food here. You probably haven't had a good meal in ages," he said. With that said, the cook entered the room. "Your request is my command," he told them.
"Excellent," Emperor Russ III said in his throne room with the Directrix by his side. "We shall make an example of the captured men," he said with a glare. The messenger left quickly. The Directrix finished off his chicken leg and grinned. "Maybe I should talk to the traitors myself," the Directrix said. "Teach them to betray the Empire," the Emperor said with a smile. The Directrix left the room. Robert Russ IV looked over at the emperor and said, "They are going to pay. They made him stop eating chicken." The Emperor nodded in agreement.
"My son, there will always be people who don't like you. There will always be those who love you. There is only so much you can do. If people aren't happy with you, there isn't anything you can do," the Emperor told Robert Russ IV. His son nodded. "However, you still have to try your best to rule for the best of the people. Elizabeth Smith never realized she hurt the people. She never realized the poison she spread. Her daughter can still be saved. She could still be very helpful in our hands," the Emperor said.
A servant entered the chambers and stood there waiting to be acknowledged. "Your highness, there is news that the Statue of the Directrix shall be completed by the end of this week," the servant said. The Emperor stood up and smiled. "Excellent! Let a feast be prepared," he said snapping his fingers. He rose from his throne and went to his private chambers. The servant rushed off to prepare the feast for he knew that if he didn't, it might be his life. Robert Russ IV looked around and stood up. He smiled and took out a book. He read some of the pages and chuckled silently. He closed the book and walked out into the Imperial Garden. He watched as some Cloudless Giant Sulphurs flew past him up towards his father's room.
The Emperor sat at his own table in the atrium near his room. He watched the beautiful Sulphurs and smiled. They always marveled him. He wanted to be like a butterfly. He wanted to be able to evade predators with the ease of the butterfly. He wanted to be able to make ships that flew like the butterflies. There would be no way his enemies could ever cause harm to the Empire. There would always be glory.
One Sulphur landed on the table. The Emperor's eyes became fixated on the butterfly. All of a sudden, a plate of food landed on the butterfly. The Emperor looked up at the servant with rage in his eyes. The servant's face went pale as he froze in fear. The next thing the servant knew was the Emperor's sword in his chest. The servant gasped as his life poured out of him. He fell lifeless on the floor. Another group of servants came in and carried the dead body off. One returned with a towel for the now bloody sword. He cleaned the sword off and left. The Emperor stared at the food and ate it all. He then stared off into the Garden area.
His stare was broken by Angela's voice. "Jon, thank you," she said. "For what, my lady," he asked. "For freeing me," she said. Jon smiled. "Angela, sometimes I think you are the freest of us all. You have an inner joy and an inner freedom. We have been enslaved to normality. We don't remember joy sometimes. We forget that there is a life to live. We get wrapped up sometimes in our own bitterness, we sometimes forget what we try to protect," Jon said with a sigh. The only noise heard after that was nature. An uncomfortable silence filled the air.
Angela noticed two Viceroys in the air flying upwards. One flew away to the other side and the other landed on Angela. "It's not often a butterfly lands on someone," Jon said. Angela giggled. "I'm just lucky, I guess," she said with a high heart. Jon couldn't help but smile. There were many things she didn't know. Maybe that was good for the time being.
[ Part I, Chapter 4 ] [ Chapter 2 ]
| Jump to: |
Quick Links: Bobby's Stories | Nathan's Stories | Government | Map | Main