Xenophon was pushing Nombu up the stairs. Nombu was trying to retain his dignity, but there were so many stairs, even Xenophon and Alcander. Alcander sweat a bit more that Xenophon, and only I knew the reason why. To an onlooker from the side, it looked as if Alcander too was pushing me, forcing me, up the stairs. Actually he was supporting me, dragging me up the stairs, doing all the work for me, without making it noticeable unless you knew that I couldn't move my legs. We were almost to the top. Alcander had removed my blindfold halfway up, much to Xenophon's disapproval. I had been staring at the palace ever since.
Immense columns rose out of the ground and seamlessly attached to the simple style roof. It was huge, people were bustling all around, and I would like to say I've never seen anything like it before, but I have. That was what got me the most, it looked strangely familiar. I felt like I had been here before, but it was different somehow. Trumpeters stepped out into view and blared a short commanding melody to which everyone rushed inside the large, double doors. Once the people left, it reminded me of a deserted place, some ancient world I had learned about in history. And then it hit me. I HAD learned about it in history. It was the Parthenon, but as it would have been during the Greeks rule, completely intact. It was amazing! I gasped, suddenly everything clicked. All these foreign names and words I had heard were not actually foreign at all! They were very similar to the Greek language. I couldn't believe it. This was like an alternate universe that was both Earth's past and futuristic at the same time.
A noise broke my musing. "Ahem." Alcander put a chubby finger up to his lip with a pointed stare and then motioned for me to look ahead. We were just walking through the large double doors. A large crowd parted to make a large aisle for the four of us to walk down. I saw three figures waiting ahead. As we got closer I picked out Napah on the far right. He smirked, looked towards the wide man next to him, saw a growing frown and started to wring his hands. The wide man's face was now turning a very deep shade of purple, accenting the green, solid, hunk of metal on his head that slightly resembled a crown. The woman standing next to him looked at him with disgust, but also at me with worry. Her green, intricate, dainty crown made her emerald eyes pop. She was a beautiful creature, and that is an understatement.
A gravely voice interrupted my admiration. "This is no longer a public gathering." A murmur went through the crowd. Whispers wafted through to me. I caught things such as, "He can't do that!" and "What else is he trying to hide from us now?" The man with the crown spoke again, instantly hushing the crowd. "In order to protect you I must continue this in private. I will deal with this miscreant on my own. You are dismissed." With a shuffling of feet and constant mutterings, the purple people filed out.
"Napah! Why would you make this a public hearing!?! Do you want everything we've worked for to go down the drain?" He hissed. "The public can not know that he exists. What am I going to tell them?"
Napah cringed away from him. "Yo-your s-sire...I-I," he stuttered, "I apologize. I d-d-did not m-mean to cause you any problems! I do my best to please you. I will have the Evac post a notice all over Kevtpo immediately saying that it was merely a mentally ill citizen. In fact, I will even have notices printed and sent out through Oeon, and delivered to every Apxikn." He continued in an even softer whisper, "I will also have them keep an ear out for any suspecting citizens overstepping their bounds." Napah pleaded trying to regain his reputation.
"Humph, I guess it will have to do. How do I know that the Evac, your so called elite soldiers can follow through inconspicuously? I can't afford any more mistakes. They are watching me, making sure everything follows through. The citizens have to be completely unaware and keep this place running. If they stop working nothing here will work, but they can't know that. Everyone is watching me now, and it would blow your miniscule little mind if you knew what they are capable of."
