The car drove through the dense trees while Scarlet and Mila shielded the vehicle with a spell. Mário and Marta looked at the blade in fear.
"Leave the knife there," Lélia said. "There may be some spell or potion on the blade. It's dangerous to touch."
Lélia was speeding along the narrow road, and at every turn, she made everyone grab their armrests so they wouldn't be thrown to one side. Well into the woods, Lélia decided to go back to the unfinished business at the manor.
"Guys, the thing is," she said. "Fernand's call. He was in Vindobona doing an investigation for me. It turns out he was inside the Royal Library in the Hofburg just now, and someone blew up part of the building."
"What?" Said Marta. "He is fine?"
"I think so. But there's something else, as soon as part of the building exploded, the Arkadian guards came in to see what was happening. Fernand said that the guards already knew that he was the one who had invaded the building. He's running away from Vindobona now. I don't know where to.
Mila sighed deeply. Everyone in the car was looking worried.
"Lélia, how did you know that I put a protection spell on the cabin?" Scarlet's voice sounded cold inside Lélia's car.
Lélia stared at the girl in the rearview mirror and frowned.
"Richard told me," Lélia said. "The spell caused him to be expelled as soon as he tried to open the door."
"Hm. Understand," Scarlet spoke.
"What? Do you think I'm part of this?" Lélia questioned indignantly.
"No," said Scarlet disconcerted. "I'm sorry, I'm nervous, that's all."
"OK," Lélia said, shaking her head as if to ward off her indignation. "Guys, pay attention: as soon as we get to the airport, I'll stop the car as close to the airplane's stairs as possible. Here's what we'll do: Vaughan and I will get out of the car first to cover you. We will all exit on the right side of the vehicle. So, Marta, as soon as Vaughan and I give the signal, you'll open the back door, and you must run into the aircraft, take a seat in the back seat. Mila, Scarlet, I need you to leave right after Marta and start performing the protection spell on the plane. Nair, you go after the girls and finally Mário. Got it?" Everyone agreed with the car's evacuation plan.
The car remained silent until everyone arrived at the airport. Lélia's small plane was already as Vaughan programmed, with the engines running and the door on the left side open. Lélia slowed down, taking the car around a curve and driving over the brush to a carefully trimmed grassy area for a few meters. As soon as the vehicle entered the airstrip, Lélia accelerated again towards the small plane, making a detour and stopping on its left side, a few meters from the open door. As soon as the car came to a complete stop, Vaughan opened his door and stepped out onto the lane, looking carefully in all directions as Lélia climbed over the armrests and out through the passenger door as well.
"Vaughan, take care of the North. I'll take the South," she said.
Everyone did as instructed by Lélia a few minutes before. As soon as Mário stepped out of the car, Lélia put her hand on the boy's shoulder and hurried him towards the aircraft, following him to the stairs. Vaughan was the last to enter and manually pulled the airplane door behind him. As soon as the door was closed, the entire plane lit up with a green light and a strange sense of calm. Vaughan looked back and saw Mila and Scarlet still holding hands, their heads bowed.
"Nice spell," Vaughan commented, sitting in the nearest seat as the plane began to pick up speed along the runway.
ARKADIA
12.01.8462 - 7:20 am
Arkadia did not significantly change between seasons since it is located close to the imaginary line between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Even though it was winter, the first rays of the sun were already relentless on the city built in the middle of the desert. That was the most important day of the week. For a considerable part of the town population, it was the last working day of the week. As faithful followers of a constructed system of working and non-working days, Arkadian citizens believed that Arcturus-day was the closing of a minor cycle, where they should have seen an evolution in their personal and professional projects. It was natural that the bustle of the city that day started early. People commute early to their jobs, some to ensure the completion of their plans, others simply to start the three-day rest period earlier.
For Fernanda, that day had started differently. She had been awakened half an hour earlier by one of Charlotte's employees. The new guy apologized for the inconvenient time and didn't even say another word, just handed Fernanda a device with some images. It was a sequence of shaky videos from outside the National Library, recorded by an MC and a picture of a file with various personal data.
Fernanda entered her kitchen alone, holding the device with her left hand and making a gesture with her right, which caused a coffee capsule to fly out of one of the cabinets and be placed inside an orange machine. After some noises, the smell of coffee invaded the small kitchen, and a transparent cup came flying towards Fernanda. Her eyes were glazed over at the videos of much of the Library on fire. She went back to the file and reread Fernand's data. She knew that image had been taken from the Royal Office's security system.
"Who would have thought, Fernand," she said with a smile, looking at the photo of Fernand in the file.
Fernanda drank all the coffee, still very hot in one gulp, and left her kitchen, leaving the device on the table. She entered her bedroom with extremely modern architecture and a bed that floated a few inches off the floor, illuminated by a blue light below. With a nod, the woman made the shade that covered one entire wall of the room lift, revealing a glass wall with a breathtaking panoramic view of Arkadia. She used to leave the room very cold and slept under two heavy blankets, which were thrown over the side of the bed. She ignored the comforters on the floor and went to the closet, quickly changing. She looked at herself in the mirror, her straight black hair was not looking ideal, but at least it didn't make it clear that she had just woken up.
Fernanda went to her bedroom bathroom and quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. She wiped her skin gently and stared at herself in the mirror, giving herself a small smile. She then picked up a small bottle over the sink and began smearing cream over her face. Finally, Fernanda took a bottle of perfume and sprayed it on each side of her neck. She exited her apartment through the kitchen door, taking the device with her. The Queens First Secretary climbed two flights of stairs to the Royal Apartment, stopping just outside the door and taking a deep breath. Since she didn't know if Charlotte had already woken up, she chose to ring the bell first. A few seconds later, Charlotte opened the door with a disoriented face in a crimson nightgown and a cornelian robe over her.
"Fernanda?" She said, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"
Fernanda and Charlotte were sitting at the small round table in the living room of the Royal Apartment. The news had completely awakened Charlotte.
"So we find out who is doing all this?" Charlotte asked. "Is this debauchee Fernand?"
"Apparently, it is. He broke into the Royal Offices. We identified his fingerprints on the door. And shortly after that, both parts of the National Library and the Royal Library burned down. I still...."
"Fernanda," Charlotte interrupted. "first of all, do you have any idea of the irreparable loss of the Restricted Library? The books there were never digitized, and most were unique. And how is there no security for entry into the Royal Office?"
"For a decade, there are no security guards guarding the Office...."
"FERNANDA!" Charlotte shouted, getting up. "I don't need people guarding the Office, but we have the technology! How can anyone access the office?"
"We have the technology to identify any intruder. Anyone trying to access the room would have their fingerprint taken...."
"TAKEN? Fernanda! Taken is no use. We need an alarm; If anyone comes close to that place, I should be notified immediately," Charlotte scolded.
"I see, but you need to understand that all Arkadian guards respect you and would never dare to enter the Royal Office..."
Charlotte put her hands in her face, shaking her head from side to side. She dropped her hands, her eyes red.
"You're not understanding, Fernanda. I was there yesterday, on that damn desk that must have turned to ashes by now. You do not understand the extent of this. Get out of here. Now! I need to be alone," Charlotte said, going to the door and opening it.
Fernanda started to tremble all over, and her eyes filled with tears. She had never been treated like this by the Supersovereign Queen. She got up and left the room without looking at Charlotte, walked down the stairs back to her apartment, thinking about what would happen.
Charlotte walked up and down the small room, giving Fernanda time to descend the steps. With a nod, she closed the doors that led to her bedroom and kitchen, then the Queen of Queens cast a spell that made the room impenetrable. She took her MC out of her robe pocket and said:
"Call Lélia," she said.
A few seconds later, Lélia answered, and Charlotte completely ignored the engine noise in the background.
"What was Fernand doing in my office?" Charlotte asked.
"What? What do you mean?" Lélia tried to pretend that she didn't know anything.
"Fernand, Lélia!" Charlotte cried. "Fernand was in Vindobona, just now. He just blew up half of the Hofburg. What is happening?" Charlotte continued to scream uncontrollably.
"I don't know, I swear! Fernand was in Pleiziň with his family...," Lélia spoke.
"No, he wasn't Lélia. He was in Vindobona invading MY OFFICE. Both the National and Royal Library were burned. I just got the news," Charlotte spoke. "It's Fernand, Fernand is behind this. You have two hours to find out where he is. I will send my men to arrest him. He will be tried for crimes against the state."
"Charlotte, it's not Fernand. It's someone else," Lélia spoke.
"Lélia, I have images of Fernand. He's in disguise, but it's him. We identified his fingerprints on my office door..."
"Charlotte, please listen to me," Lélia spoke.
Charlotte was silent for a few seconds.
"I was on Asturian Island, along with the others. And we were attacked. Jeannie's body appeared, and the killer chased us. We managed to get away from the manor and are on my plane heading to Ástur now. It wasn't Fernand. Whoever is behind this all just attacked us, Charlotte."
"Lélia, if what you're telling me is true, it only confirms what I already knew," Charlotte tried to speak as calmly as possible. "It's not just one person doing this, there are two people. Fernand is one of them, and I also know who the other one is."