Human One

19. Truth Revealed and Truth Hidden

"And over here we have our sixth bathroom." Iris says, stopping to point at a door as we trail behind her. "Would you like to go inside it?" She asks, turning to us with shining eyes.

I glance sideways at Becky, see she's in the middle of yawn, and shake my head. "No thank you, I'm still in awe over the fifth bathroom."

Max beside me nods his head in agreement, trying to smile but turning it into more of a grimace.

It's been almost half an hour since the tour started, and the most we've see has been a few guest bedrooms and hallway bathrooms.

Iris shrugs and turns, continuing down the hallway, and I sigh, catching Becky's eye who gives me a sharp look and gestures for me to talk to her.

"Say, um, Iris? Do you think we could maybe visit some of the more important rooms in the Villa? I'm curious to see the......erm....architecture?"

I hear the slap as Becky face-palms beside me.

Iris looks blankly at me over her shoulder for a second, before perking up. "Oh I have just the room in mind!"

She starts to quicken her pace, and Max, Becky, and I all smile at each other, before following.

Iris leads us down a few hallways and up a short flight of stairs to another hallway, before finally stopping inf ront of a set of doors.

"This is the Drafting Room, where many important documents about the Lightling territory are kept and plans that concern this region formulated. I haven't exactly asked for permission to bring you in here, but it should be fine as long as you don't touch anything."

All of us turn to look at Max, who looks hurt. "What? You think I would-.......nevermind." He sighs in understanding.

Iris places her hand on the door, and a dim, whitelight glows beneath her palm for a second, before the door opens. I wonder if that's some kind of Lightling lock.

She steps aside and waves for us to enter. Becky walks in first, Max close behind, and me right after. 

The first thing I notice is the shape of the room, completely circular, with rounded bookshelves placed along the walls and skylights built into the ceiling. A table sits in the middle, a few papers and books scattered across.

My eyes are drawn to a dark form at the same time that form clears it's throat, and when my eyes focus on them I see that it's the same man from before who I ran into in the hallway....Andre I think his name was. Andre, the Military General of Lightlings, Cato's father, and most importantly, brother of Malia. 

"What are you doing in here? This room is for authorized Lightling Personnel only." He scowls, standing from the chair at the table he'd been sitting in.

I open my mouth, but no words come out, at a loss for what to say. 

Sorry, I thought this was the best opportunity to go snooping into your Lightling affairs, but it's okay because I'm saving your  High Commander from death caused by one of your own comrades or maybe even you? 

Yeah, how about no?

"Please excuse us, sir. I did not know you would be in here." Iris rushes in, bowing her head. "I was just giving the guests a tour of the Villa."

"Well the tour ends here." Andre says adamantly. "We don't need them knowing the whole layout of the Villa in case they're plotting something."

I stop myself from commenting on how ridiculous that is, since if I really was plotting something, I probably wouldn't need a tour to go scouting the layout.