Black Flame

Chapter 3: The Rendezvous

"Alex... you must wake up."

Alex stirred slightly as he began to wake up. He stretched a bit, breathing in the wood-scented air. Opening his eyes, he saw Eliza standing beside his bed, looking down at him, a frown decorating her face. Alex sat up, rubbing his eyes and scratching his back.

"Hurry up and pack, your car leaves in an hour."

Alex sighed, remembering what he was going to be doing. He frowned as he turned his head to look at Eliza.

"An hour? That's hardly enough time! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"Your father wished for you to sleep in, said he wanted to make sure you had enough energy. Now hurry up and get your lazy butt out of bed," Eliza ordered, turning around and leaving the room.

"Good morning to you too!" Alex shouted angrily towards the door.

Alex pulled the blanket off of himself before getting out of bed.

He quickly made his way over to his closet, where he began trying to figure out what to wear.

"Should I wear something formal?" He asked himself, before shaking his head. "I wore my suit last night... and it probably smells like that meat Uncle Felix gave me. That wouldn't be a very good first impression..."

Alex sighed, he was going to have to wear some of his more casual clothes, and possibly deal with his father's disapproval.

He quickly began to dress, picking out a pair of blue jeans and a red plaid button-down collar shirt, which he tucked into his pants before running his brown faux leather belt through his belt loops. He then slid on a pair of white cotton socks before putting on his brown faux leather boots. Walking back over to his bedside, he slid open the drawer on his nightstand and retrieved a wooden box. Placing it onto his bed, he opened it and pulled out a 9-inch long, double-edged knife that was contained within its black vinyl leather sheath. Alex ran his finger across the wooden handle, admiring the intricate patterns carved into it. He smiled before attaching it to his belt in the appendix position. Alex heard the sound of something being rolled down the hallway toward his room.

"Excuse me, sir, I believe that you will need these."

Alex looked towards the doorway, seeing Winston standing there with two suitcases, a carry-on, and a rolling one. Both of which he recognized as his fathers.

"Thank you, Winston. Please leave them at the door."

Winston nodded before placing the carry-on onto the floor and walking away. Alex walked over and retrieved the two suitcases, bringing them over to his closet where he began packing. Once he was done packing his clothes, he reached up to the top shelf of his closet, retrieving an empty canvas backpack. Walking over to his bed, he laid down on the floor and grabbed the paper bag that Felix had given him, before shoving it into the backpack. Alex then proceeded to head to his study, placing some of his favorite books into the backpack along with his copies of 'The Divine Will' and 'The Proclamations'. Alex exited his study and made his way to his bathroom, where he packed his toothbrush along with a jar of toothpowder, a fresh bar of soap, which was still in its box, and some shampoo and conditioner. Finally, he headed downstairs where he retrieved his radio, cassette player, and the many cassettes, which he stored inside the gift boxes that they had come in the night before. He peeked inside his backpack, making sure the paper bag was properly concealed under the pile of other items, before making his way back to his room and fetching his other luggage, which he brought down the stairs and placed in the foyer right next to the main door. He smiled and headed to the kitchen, where he grabbed a quick breakfast consisting of bread, cheese, and a little wine, which he brought to the dining room.