The person fully dressed in black remained watching Fernand sleep for a few minutes, and after making sure that Fernand would not wake up so easily, they went to one of the bedside tables and then opened the last drawer, placing a small cloth bag inside.
Asleep, Fernand knew very well that dream he had gone through several times before, and as much as he tried to avoid it and wake up, he could not: he would be forced to watch one of the worst days of his life again.
It had been thirty years ago: he was climbing the wide spiral staircase of Kupole Hrad, the castle that housed the royal family of Tachlovicka, located in the town of Pleiziň in the cold north of the country. At the top of the stairs, there was a long hallway filled with rooms. Above the spiral staircase, the sky could be seen through the orange glass dome. The light that came in illuminated the walls completely covered in green marble. When he reached the third-floor corridor, Fernand came face to face with his wife. Ekaterina had long, curly red hair. She, on that night, wore a beautiful evening dress, embroidered with a few pearls. She was missing her heels, which made her a little shorter than Fernand.
"Where is your mother? The kids are already in the car. We're leaving now!" Fernand said in an apprehensive tone; sweat covered his forehead.
Outside, a loud siren was hooting, which echoed throughout the city. People were screaming and running through the streets, and the lampposts emitted a red light.
"She does not want to come, Fernand," Ekaterina grabbed her husband, who was wearing a long brown parka, and kissed him deeply. "I need to stay and convince her, go with the kids, I'll convince mom, and we'll use the other car..."
"There is no time, Ekaterina; they already triggered the anti-missile alarm. The Detracting Powers have already made their decision. We need..."
"Fernand, for God's sake, go! Our kids are alone out there. Go. I need to convince mom, or we'll take shelter in the basement of the castle..."
"Ekaterina, no! This castle was not built to withstand today's artillery!" Fernand spoke, looking at the sky through the orange glass dome. "You go with our children, and I'll take your mother out of here by force."
"Fernand, that's not how it works," Ekaterina started to cry. "For God's sake, don't leave our children helpless. Go, I'll take care of my mother."
Fernand sighed desperately and looked his wife in the eye. Ekaterina's green eyes consistently penetrated him in a way that embarrassed him like no one else. He ran his hand over his wife's delicate, freckled face. He noted the emerald earrings he had given her after a year of marriage. They swayed, so hard it was Ekaterina's heartbeat. Fernand then kissed Ekaterina in that slow and sensual way that only the two of them knew.
"Dad! Mom!" The boy's scream echoed throughout the staircase.
"Sebastien! We're coming!" Fernand replied. He looked back at the woman.
"Go, Fernand," said Ekaterina giving Fernand one last kiss and turning towards her mother's room.
"Dad! Mom!" Sébastien's scream was now beginning to have a greater fear. Fernand did not react for a few seconds. He looked at his wife hurrying into the hallway and then at his son at the foot of the stairs. He weighed the consequences and made his decision, "Come, Sébastien," Fernand ran down the stairs and caught his son with his right arm, lifting him into the air as he ran through the green lobby. The boy, only five years old, was the couple's middle child.
"Where's Mom?" The boy in suspenders and bow tie looked at the stairs waiting for his mother.
"Mom is coming in a few seconds, son," Fernand said, his gaze fixed on the door ajar.
As he went out into the cold night wind, Fernand realized that his son had left the car with no coat, but that was not the time for reprimands. He ran to the car and handed his son to a young girl who was waiting with the back door of the car open. The girl settled Sébastien in the last empty seat of the car and closed the door while Fernand got into the driver's seat, side to one of his daughters, Alice, who was in the passenger seat. When maneuvering the car, which was practically a minivan, everyone was startled by the big bang.
An intense light turned the night into day, and great noise left everyone deaf for a moment. The car Fernand and his children were moved some meters to the side, almost tipping over, as everyone inside screamed. The glass blew, scratching the passengers' faces. Fernand braked the car and turned it off, taking nearly a minute to understand what had happened, a loud buzzing in his ear made him dizzy, then he opened the door and walked out into the cold night, as he walked around the car he saw the castle on fire, part of it collapsed.
ASTURIAN ISLAND
06.01.8462 - 7:45 PM
The Manor was silent when Richard and Vaughan entered the library and settled themselves in two armchairs near the rarely-used fireplace. Vaughan had never had a face so scarred by dark circles. His long black hair wasn't as neat as ever, much of it falling over his face. Richard was as always well dressed, hair combed, but his face showed his concern.
"Van, you need to feed; self-destruction will not help. Please listen to me," Richard said, crossing his legs. "We're going to find Jeannie. We're going to let Charlotte know today what's going on; there's no reason to be violent these days, let alone against a girl like Jeannie. Think, it doesn't make any sense Van. Jeannie is fine."
"Richard, don't say that; you don't know," Vaughan said while biting the nail of his right thumb.
"Van, please, what good will do you weak to help us solve this? Jeannie is fine, and there's no reason for you to be like this..."
"Stop it, Richard. Who are you to say such a thing? You don't know what it's like to be in my place, to have a missing daughter. The closest thing you had to a family relationship was your mother when you were barely old enough to remember! You don't understand how it feels: the thing you love the most to have disappeared."
Richard closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He took a deep breath, trying to control himself so as not to start a fight with Vaughan. He felt his eyes filling with tears and tried to keep any of them from passing between his closed lids. 'What do you mean I never lost someone I loved? Just because I didn't remember my mother doesn't mean I didn't love her deeply.' he thought, grimacing to keep the words just in his mind.
The library's double doors opened, and Fernand, Lélia, Mila, Scarlet, and Mário entered. They stopped and stared at Richard, trying to make sure they hadn't come in at the wrong time.
"Sit down," Richard said, pointing to the various armchairs, ottomans, and sofas that circled the fireplace. "We still have a few minutes until dinner."
Mila, Scarlet, and Mário sat in the armchairs that were right next to Richard. Lélia and Fernand went to where Vaughan was seated and hugged him.
"You two are in the same clothes from earlier. Didn't you try to rest anything?" Lélia asked.
Fernand, still pale from his nightmare, stepped forward and also gave Van a tight hug.
"Stay calm, my friend," he said, looking deep into Vaughan's eyes. Fernand clasped Vaughan's shoulders with his hands and hugged him again. "We will solve all this, and whoever did it will pay dearly. I promise you," Fernand had a strength in his voice that sounded even threatening. Respect and affection have always existed between both of them, despite the natural rivalry.
"Thank you, Fernand," said Vaughan.
"We couldn't rest, Lélia; we ended up discussing everything that might have happened. Finally, the soberest decision now is to disclosure what is happening to Charlotte. I'll let her know right away..," said Richard when Nair entered the library, wiping his hands on her apron.
"Dinner is ready, guys. We'll eat in the kitchen," said the old lady with a friendly smile. She always knew that in moments of deep crisis, a meal made with love and a smile on her face fed the soul.
"Go all of you ahead. I will stay here to send a message to Charlotte. I'll be down in ten minutes at most, okay?" Richard looked at Vaughan, who nodded.
Mila was the first to rise and hug Vaughan around the waist. Everyone left the library and started towards the door leading to the stairs connected to the kitchen.
"You have to stay strong, Van. We'll need your strength and intelligence to pulverize the person responsible for this. Regardless of whether you are a Chief Representative and publicize diplomacy, it will not come clean," Mila spoke in an almost excited tone.
No one understood why, but Vaughan managed a smile, something in Mila's way had always managed to lighten his mood.
When they arrived at the kitchen, the atmosphere had already improved a little. Scarlet helped her mother put the pans on the table, and Mário helped get the glasses and cutlery. Nair looked at Mário and then at her daughter.
"Congratulations, my dear. You've really got an amazing boy. You know, the two happiest days of my life were: when I adopted you, and you came into my life, and then when you and Mário got married, and he came into my life," said Nair.
Scarlet couldn't count the number of times her mother had told her that.
Richard walked into the kitchen, his face heavy. Wrinkles on his forehead showed that his mind remained restless. It was rare to spot expression lines anywhere on his face. At nearly three hundred years old, he had been bestowed with a very ancient magic that lingered in only a few members of his family. The Herrschers, Richard's maternal family, became the most powerful family on the entire planet precisely for, after coming to power in the small region of Östlichen Reich, managing to maintain the same government line for years under the same sovereign. The origin or motive was unknown, but it was common for one family member to live between two and even three times longer than the rest of the standard population.
After the death of Wagner Herrscher, the first of the family who came to power by leading a revolution against the government at the time, around six hundred and fifty years ago, it became common to pass control only to the heirs who had the particularity of aging more slowly. Wagner himself only came to power when he was almost eighty years old. His hitherto unprecedented strategy of attacking the dynasty guards of the time from the top of a hill at dawn covered by fog earned his family more than half a millennium of a domain, which only grew by annexing strategic points of territory through arranged marriages.
When the discovery of the New Continent took place, the Herrscher dynasty was already the most powerful on the globe and soon conquered all the new lands, annexing them to the already vast empire. In the lasts of the nearly three hundred years of Charlotte's Government, the dynasty was already indirectly ruling almost the entire known world.
"I was able to contact Charlotte. I sent a message through Fernanda; now we just have to wait for an answer. Years without any problems with violence, it is likely that she will be very concerned about it."
"Richard," Lélia began, "I think your aunt will only get in the way."
"Lélia, what other option would I have?" Richard looked deep into the eyes of his secret lover.
Lélia remained unanswered.