ARKADIA
07.01.8462 - 2:58 AM
Charlotte was motionless, her face illuminated by the screen lit from a device in her hands, a rectangular board about four times the size of an MC. She faced the gigantic city from her balcony, the highest balcony in all of Arkadia. Located in the north of the town, which formed a perfect circle, cut by an isosceles triangle, The Crystal, as the royal building is known, as its name implies imitates the shape of a crystal, the tallest tower in the complex being twice as hight of the second tallest building in Arkadia.
Designed by thousands of architects a few hundred years ago and envisioned by Charlotte's father, who created the city to be the scene of all world politics, home to the Sovereign Supreme and most of the officials of the World Government. Arkadia is a city full of theaters, cinemas, operas, art galleries, parks, museums, technological institutes, libraries, and technology in constant growth and development. Every newcomer would be amazed by the gigantic proportions of that city, strategically built between three rivers in a world geographic center.
Besides the grandeur of the city and the World Government, the balcony Charlotte stood on was part of what is the smallest royal residence in the world. The Royal Apartment is a regular size apartment located at the top of the tallest tower at the center of the eight buildings complex in the shape of a large crystal that houses the entire globe's political, cultural, and financial center. Most of the towers have more than six hundred floors, surpassing three thousand and four hundred meters in height. It is located in the extreme north of the city, in front of The Two Rivers Square, named after the two rivers that cut across the city from north to south and flank The Crystal.
Charlotte's top floor residence, the 842nd, had only seventy square meters plus a twenty square meters balcony that gave a privileged view of much of Arkadia. The place had only a tiny kitchen, where Charlotte, most of the time, prepared her meals, a large bedroom with a four-poster bed and a glass door that opened onto the balcony, a bathroom, plus a small room with four armchairs around a round table, a space that was the only connection to the Crystal and exit access from the Royal Apartment.
Arkadia is a city with more than six hundred million inhabitants, formed by forty-seven percent of government employees. The town is built on a plain occupying an urbanized area of more than 16 thousand square kilometers. As all the avenues on the triangle sides were called, the side avenues have about 140 kilometers. A subway network consisting of almost 6,000 stations, impossible to remember, crossed the entire city, divided into a complex system.
Among the absurd numbers and records of the World Capital, which has twelve interconnected airports to handle the daily traffic of people, was included the function of demonstrating power and intimidation. Many died in the construction of Arkadia. It was known that the large cement blocks that support the city buried bodies of builders in work accidents. Reports were that the building was taking place at such a fast pace, putting manual workers' safety aside, and fatalities occurred with a particular frequency.
Virtually all of the intellectual and creative force brought into the creation and construction of the city died before seeing the paving of the main roads, all prematurely due to constant stress and long hours of restless work. Even with a fast pace, the construction took almost a century to be inaugurated, and some aspects idealized centuries ago are still under construction.
The city now known for being the center of the world was once known for sucking the life of its builders and masterminds. Charlotte had been the first Queen of Arkadia and unique so far: her father had died a few years before the city's inauguration, and her older sister, Agatha, had also suffered a tragic death in one of the city's construction camps, the field where they were building The Crystal. Her body had been lost under the earth and cement as well as that of other workers. It was strange for Charlotte to imagine that she ruled the world over her older sister's remains.
Charlotte observed the brightness of the city. In the last ten years, a technological and energy revolution made possible the almost unrestricted use of electricity. It allowed each building to emit its light and illuminate the city even at night, making the capital's skyline even more beautiful. Still, it caused an annoying problem for the many birds that ultimately lost the distinction between night and day, resulting in a new nickname for Arkadia: the city where the birds always sing.
After carefully reading all the words on the device's screen, Charlotte gave a grim smile. Her wrinkles intensified. Her white skin gleamed in the pale light of the device, the eyes that were once intense blue were now faded, she pulled back into a long braid her hair that blended into white and blond. The queen wore a gray dress in a shade that almost matched her skin, ignoring the chill of the night.
'Years since a murder, is something going on?' Charlotte thought. Earlier, Fernanda, her private secretary, the person who knew the most about Charlotte's secrets, had delivered the message that had come from Richard. Fernanda knew about the sovereign's unusual hours, so bothering her in the middle of the night wasn't strange. The information on the screen was simple: two missing people, both public agents. Charlotte pulled out a small rectangle made of glass from a discreet pocket in her dress. She raised her MC to her eye level and then said:
"Fernanda, I need you here on the Royal Balcony as soon as possible."
A few seconds later, the apartment door opened, and Fernanda crossed the small living room and bedroom towards the balcony.
"Good night, my queen," said Fernanda behind Charlotte, who enjoyed the bustling city in the distance.
Fernanda was one of two people who had free access to any part of the world; the other was Charlotte. She had already worked for Charlotte for forty years, and she won the sovereign's trust to the point of being the only one who could enter the Queen's room without an invitation. Fernanda was a mature woman with a serene, focused face, white skin, whiter than Charlotte's, shoulder-length straight black hair, and determined brown eyes. She wore a suit and a green skirt, her posture as decided as her eyes. It was impossible to tell if the Supersovereign first secretary was serious or smiling slightly due to a strange curve in her lips. This ambiguity had brought her to the post she had arrived at: people finally gave up on unveiling her face and ended up believing that she was with the expression that best suited the moment.
"Good night, Fernanda," Charlotte turned and faced Fernanda. "Prepare a small commission to go to Asturian Island with me right now."
"Yes," replied Fernanda. "Excuse me, Charlotte," she made a small curtsy, and at Charlotte's nod, she then turned her back on the queen and entered the royal room, walking through towards the exit door.
Fernand knew that this visit was unusual, they used to visit the Island on an annual basis, for the mere maintenance of Royal Diplomacy outlined by the advisers of Richard and Charlotte, but which always encountered inconveniences on the part of the two heads of state, who always got in the way of any negotiation.
Fernanda thought the attitudes of Charlotte and Richard towards each other were pure childishness and family competition, for several times the two were unable to put aside their personal problems to resolve any diplomatic decision, which made Asturias a kingdom to have lesser relations with Arkadia and to be the greatest critic of Arkadia's super-sovereignty over the whole world. Something that intrigued Charlotte's secretary was why the Supersovereign Queen did not cover all of Asturias with the dark stain that in the past, she had used on much of the Ancient World that had rebelled against the total control of Arkadia.
Three and a half decades ago, the so-called League of Detracting Powers, composed of the oldest and most traditional kingdoms the world has ever known, raised a protest against all the control of Arkadia and the subservience of sovereignties to a World Government. The world ended up going to war, and eventually, many of the smaller kingdoms ended up supporting Arkadia out of fear of reprisal. After both sides developed more powerful weapons, Arkadia finally rediscovered the use of a simple one. The weapon used in large proportions could be highly harmful was unlike chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Arkadia would be able to precisely delimit its effects.
Despite the development of this weapon, Arkadia postponed its use as much as possible. Still, after a series of attacks, mainly on the kingdom of Tachlovicka and Rasshiryay, Charlotte made her decision. Arkadia decided to apply The Dark Smoke over the Powers of the ancient world who incited rebellion against the World Government. The Shadow of Eternal Night covered vast parts of the Original Continent and the Far Continent. Charlotte ordered the destruction of roads and bridges, and patrols made minute lookouts around the gigantic edge of the Shadow of Eternal Night. Everything that came out of it was soon apprehended and taken to a massive prison built two hundred miles south of Arkadia.
Fernanda was worried about the last-minute task to organize. Organizing a commission in a hurry would be laborious, especially for a long trip, which would take more than twelve hours; however, her job was to make things possible as soon as possible, and that would be what she was going to do. Upon entering her office, inside her apartment, just below the queen's room, Fernanda sat on the edge of her chair and picked up the phone, dialing the Rouge's direct number.
ASTURIAN ISLAND
06.01.8462 - 08:07 PM
"Charlotte is about to leave Arkadia. She should get here around nine o'clock in the morning. So it would be good if we were all ready by half-past eight to await her arrival," Richard announced to the entire kitchen.
Mila and Scarlet exchanged suspicious glances while Mário filled his plate with corn and diced cheese. Lélia, while cutting a piece of omelet, lightly touched the arm of Fernand, who was sitting beside her, who already had his mouth full of chicken.
"Fernand, after dinner, come to my room," she said in a discreet and imposing way.
Sitting on Lélia's other side, Vaughan was too distracted to notice the short conversation between Fernand and Lélia. He thought about where his daughter might be. How many coincidences and strange connections had he already lived. Was that just one more coincidence? The last person to have been murdered on the entire planet had died at the hands of one of those who ate with him that night. Who approved Lélia's trial was Charlotte; despite this, they created a link, something that no one could understand. Lélia started to have Charlotte as a mentor while she was imprisoned. They exchanged letters with unknown content. The matter had reached the point of Charlotte's visits to Lélia in the Ice Prisons.
A shiver ran through his body. It was then that everything stopped, and he remembered something he was trying so hard to forget. 'The best way to keep a lie is to believe it yourself,' this was always clear to Vaughan, and in this way, he led his life, there were some lies, which after being told and retold, he believed; however, the greatest of secrets saved by him had just revealed itself to him again. He started to get dizzy, felt self-hatred, and wanted to scream the truth to everyone at that table. Vaughan got up and hurried out of the kitchen while everyone was already engaged in different subjects, trying to keep their minds off the worrying facts.
Nair gaped at him without reaction as Vaughan left the kitchen.
"Should I bring him some food?" She asked nicely to the rest of the table.
"I don't think so, Nair. It's better to leave him alone, for now," Richard replied.
Everyone then awkwardly returned to their side conversations.
After dinner and a lot of irrelevant talks, everyone seemed to have covered in their minds that one of them had disappeared. One by one, they said goodbye and went up to their rooms. Finally, only Nair, Fernand, and Lélia remained until the old lady said goodbye, leaving Lélia and Fernand alone, who casually continued their conversation.
"Well, it's late, and tomorrow we need to wake up early, let's go up?" He called Lélia.
"Sure. To your room, correct?" Fernand asked, getting up and pulling the chair for Lélia to get up.
"Yes, for a few minutes."
The two went up in silence to Lélia's room, on the fourth floor of the Manor. Lélia entered one of the most luxurious rooms in the Manor; it was all decorated in shades of red and mahogany, pretty similar to Jean's room. She led Fernand to a small table in front of one of the bedroom's three floor-to-ceiling windows. The two sat in the two armchairs around the table and faced each other. Lélia then raised her right hand and drew a circle, casting a spell that prevented any noise produced in the room from leaving it. She then turned back to face Fernand.
"You were one of Oswaldo's main apprentices. You know him better than I do, better perhaps than anyone alive," Lélia said.
"Yes, of course, I am one of the few who know his methods and his activities," Confirmed Fernand.
"Well, Richard and Van also know Oswaldo's true functions, obviously, but you are the one who knows his methods in the best way. The fact is: Oswaldo was retired, he worked as a representative just to not lose his cover right away, but he was already retired from our secret service since 8460. Since the retirement age of a representative is higher and seeing that his main disguise was as a representative, Oswaldo was forced to keep his occupations despite being already out of service. There's no current mission, and there's no reason he's gone unless someone found out about our secret institute. And if anyone found out, that someone is Arkadia," Lélia fixed her eyes on Fernand. "Fernand, would you think Oswaldo was a centered man? Decided? More than that, a good decision maker?"
"Definitely, without a doubt." Confirmed Fernand.
"Well, just like him, you, Richard, and Vaughan, I also believe that even though we have become One State, we must still maintain our military and strategic power as well as energy self-sufficiency, among other matters. Espionage has never been so frowned upon as it is today. If other states also have intelligence and espionage centers, then that shows that we are really good at what we do, that this unbridled oppression placed by Charlotte has made us smarter and more careful," even with the spell active, Lélia whispered all her words. "Never has the work of a spy been so complicated and dangerous, and of everyone in the department I handle, Oswaldo, I believe, would be the last to be careless. To everyone, I'm just the director of a study for Strategy that's practically a joke, with no actual application, but no one but Vaughan, Richard, and those who work as my secret agents know what I really command, which isn't in payrolls or any contract. I have a hunch Arkadia is suspecting something. I'd like you to try and find out everything you can when Charlotte arrives tomorrow morning.
"Of course, I'll do that, but Lélia, do you think there's something that connects Jeannie's disappearance and Oswaldo's?" Fernand asked.
"I do not think. I'm sure."