Tʜᴇ Pᴀᴛʜ Tᴏ Hɪɢʜɢᴀᴛᴇs

Iɴᴛᴏ Tʜɪɴ Aɪʀ

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 16

"Zo vat vould vu like to do now?" Reich asked with more enthusiasm than you knew he possessed.

The day had slipped away from the two of you, and as it grew colder beneath your skin you had decided to retreat back indoors. "I am quite hungry." You answered as you ambled along side the German, the floorboards beneath you groaning in exasperation. The boy nodded. "Right, I hadn't zought of zat."

Yet as was per usual, he had thought of that. There was really nothing in the world he didn't think about, there was always something running circles in his mind, day in, day out. But the idea of relinquishing your hunger had been a thought not of anxiety, but one of reason.

He couldn't have told you why he was really at the door this morning. It hadn't been to ask whether or not you wanted to spend some time with him. It had really been that his father requested that he retrieved you for breakfast, his father had wanted to speak with you.

But after Reich had found you still in a state of deep sleep, he had left to come back later in the hopes that you had woken up by then. But when he returned around midday he found you still passed out, but yet again, the boy had let you be. It was only come evening did you finally awake, and by then not only was the Empire no longer needing you but breakfast was an inconceivable notion. So Reich had to come up with an excuse perfectly on the spot, though to his relief you had woefully missed his lacuna and decidedly went along with him.

However he had not a thought of how largely he had effected German Empire by doing this.

The Empire had waited impatiently for you to arrive for a small breakfast, though to his disappointment his meeting had arrived faster than you had. Though he knew you would have been awaiting him after his meetings denouement, he couldn't shake off the anxiety of not knowing whether or not you truly would. It wasn't that he had a sort of Catoptric Tristesse, but it seemed that in that moment he had been a little more than afraid that you had forgotten to show. Yet he knew that once all this talking had died he would see you yet again, even if he had to get you himself.

But alas, once his meeting had adjourned and he'd marched back to the kitchen he had found it empty, aside for Wilhelm making some sort of dinner over silver pots and live fires. Wasting not a moment the Empire asked if he had seen you at all today, to which the pudgy chef had denied seeing you at all.

The Empire felt as though he was going to burst. Where could you be? It wasn't like you knew this house, you couldn't find your own way around. Perhaps you hadn't left his bedroom then. So he had taken it upon himself to check on you, just to assure himself that you weren't hurt or doing something you weren't supposed to.

And yet, once he opened that door he saw an empty room. Not even your rodent or clothes remained. It was simply an empty room, and at that moment all he could think was one thing; you had disobeyed him.

You had broken simple orders to stay put and only leave once escorted by him or his son. That was when he had an epiphany, such a strong one at that he felt almost as though a lightbulb bad been switched on. Through his mounting anxiety the Empire stumbled down the corridor and to Reichs room, more than prepared to see the two of you in idle conversation or between a deck of cards.

But alas, neither of you were there. It was as if you had just vanished into thin air. He felt lassitude evaporate from his mind, and his anger build up until it bubbled and blistered under his skull, scorching him. He couldn't tell if he was falling or if the world was spinning. He tripped back down the hallway, and toward his office, intent to make a phone call he would later regret.