Sylas sipped his tea, enjoying the caffeine he had stirred in in the early morning. His tea bags were spiked with caffeine, specially stored in his and Professor Cao's secret cabinet.
He had been warned not to drink caffeine in the evening, but usually disregarded the advice.
Usually that led to sleepless nights of painfully excruciating studying, reading, and other random topics he stumbled across in the late hours of night.
One time, he had consumed so much caffeine that he didn't sleep for a full two weeks, locked away in his room. Even Yue was concerned when he asked what day it was, stumbling downstairs holding an open book on the study of physics applied to house blessings. Professor Cao considered removing his caffeine supply, but when he saw the symptoms and effects of Sylas' withdrawal, he reconsidered.
Last night, he went downstairs again, drank more caffeinated tea, and ended up finishing the mystery novel he was reading. He had placed a bet against Ashlee that he could finish the book faster than her even though he wasn't a fan of fiction and she had a head start of about a third. Unfortunately for her, Sylas was addicted to caffeine and had a strong sense of competition, and had now won twenty gold, thirteen silver, and five copper pieces from her. The novel wasn't that boring; it was just that it made no sense. There were so many red herrings, random quips about nonsense thrown in as filler. And those god awful twists- why would the investigator investigate a murder he committed? It was illogical. Surely, his superior would realize that the case was oddly going nowhere, and that key pieces of evidence were missing from the vault. Who had access to the vault? Nobody except the detective. And the reason why was even more idiotic. Just because he wanted to be famous? It was a stupid motivation. And the way he hadn't worn gloves, didn't bother to change his suit after the murder, and was caught on leaving the crime scene hours before someone had reported it?
Sylas scoffed. He could plan a much better murder. He would wear gloves, stun his victim before killing them, and take a clean laceration to the jugular. Minimal blood to clean up, and he would then charge the body so full of electricity that it would burn to a crisp. Anyone could use fire. Nobody would trace it to him. Later, he would use a mixture of chemicals to create a piranha solution and douse the body so it would simply shrivel and disintegrate. Many people in the palace had access to the laboratory, and piranha solutions were often stored in the back storage anyway. He could probably add a few smears of blood away from the crime scene, making it seem like the victim had survived and tried to get out of the room. Any high court house could kill with ease; only a lower court house would struggle. The remains and waste would probably be tossed in among the rest of the uneaten food after dessert, to be emptied outside palace grounds. No body, no way to tell who was murdered. Sooner or later they'd do a head count to figure out which Elite was missing, and someone may assume that the blood was the result of a training accident.
"Hey, watch where you're going!"
Sylas snapped out of his murderous thoughts, looking down to find his tea spilled on his little sister's fancy new lavender cheongsam. He quickly set his cup down and scrambled to the ground, grabbing a fistful of napkins to try and dry up the affected area as well as his sister's dress.
"Great," she huffed. "Now I have to wear that stupid hanfu. Gee, thanks a lot Sylas." Ashlee spat, wrinkling the fabric as she tried to wring out the tea. She didn't have much luck.
Sylas didn't have to guess what she was talking about. "If mother dearest wants you to wear it, you probably should. Plus, all houses are expected to attend, and in proper wear. Also-" he walked over to the nearest rubbish bin, dumping the soaking clump of tissue. "I beat you. Finished the novel last night."
Ashlee scoffed. "There's no way that's true."
He raised a brow. "Would you like me to spoil the plot for you? The twist is quite stupid, actually-"
"No, no! Please, no spoilers. Just- I'll give you your prize later. But then again..." Ashlee looked down. "That could pay for the repairs for the damage you caused to my dress."
"Did you run into me on purpose?"
Ashlee rolled her eyes. Gods, she was spending too much time near Roza. "You think I would try to ruin the only purple dress I have?"
Sylas picked his cup up again, sipping whatever tea and caffeine was still left. "It's you, Ashlee. I don't know what to expect." He left the cup on the table, grabbing Ashlee's arm as he dragged her out and up to her room.
A moment later, Ashlee came out in another qipao- notably more periwinkle than purple, but passable. Sylas nodded and led his sister down numerous flights of winding stairs, down to where a carriage was waiting.
Already sitting inside the carriage was Yue. Since she was the sole member of her house, Sylas had petitioned for her to ride with Ashlee and himself. The actual court rode in larger, more advanced versions of transportation. He had yet to see the secret underground project for himself, but it was undoubtedly large; all the young Elites travelled above land, and the adults travelled beneath.
"Just so you know," Yue said as Sylas shut the door behind him. The carriage set off. "It's going to rain today."
"During the interview?" Sylas asked, shuffling into his seat.
"I don't know! I blacked out, saw rain, and came back to reality. I only get weather-related visions for things happening today." Yue sighed, flopping down into her seat. "I hate weather visions. Unnecessary headaches and pain."
Ashlee twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers. "Why do we have to go anyway? Isn't this Nicholas and Solarie's thing?"
"We're going because every able house member has to. We're not trying to get either of them killed." Sylas replied.
They continued their ride in silence. Sylas could partly hear rumbling from underneath the ground, but chalked it up to the amount of horse-driven carriages on their way to the stage.
As they approached the stage, they realized just how big of a crowd they had attracted. The stage was no bigger than an average-sized classroom, and yet citizens were surrounding the stage like a hoard of hungry animals. The carriage eventually landed in a plot behind a series of buildings, and the trio emerged into the light of day.
"It doesn't look like it's going to rain," Ashlee remarked.
Yue shrugged. "If only that were true."
A guard led them to their seats. The stage was raised at least ten meters above the ground, probably constructed by a Xiao or raised by a Hong. As soon as they were comfortably seated in the front rows of the audience, the guard left and returned to their post on the stage. The chairs they were provided were sturdy, but more wood than cushion. Sylas could see Ashlee stiffening and shifting in her seat, trying to adjust to the odd texture and feeling of the chairs. These were most likely dragged out from various storage closets in the palace, given that the seats a few rows over were of a completely different make and model. A few rows ahead of that, and they were the same type as the dining chairs in the dining hall. Guess they didn't have enough time to manufacture enough chairs.
Minutes later, Nicholas and Solarie appeared on stage, alone. Where were Roza and Gwen? It was only a half-day trip to the Zhelvakov estate if he recalled correctly.
"Good morning, citizens of the Sun Empire." Nicholas greeted. With the help of House Kim, his voice projected over the crowds, silencing everyone. Perhaps it was actually the Kim's who silenced everyone, muffling everyone's voices with their power over sound. Then again, Nicholas' presence was always very... commanding.
Nicholas smiled. He had definitely worked on it- it looked more friendly and welcoming. It might've been a light illusion, but even if it was, they had done an excellent job of doing so. "I am here today to present to you our newest elected representative of variens; Solarie Lin!"
Solarie stepped up closer to the front of the stage, taking an awkward step next to the prince. "Hello," she said, looking pleasantly surprised that her voice had carried over the whole crowd.
And then everything went downhill.
Sylas remembered a lot of screaming. And shouting. And general indicators of fear and terror. But nothing was more memorable than watching those damn shadow monsters, walking in the light, impervious to any sunlight. This was not supposed to happen. The monsters of night were constructed in a way that they would burn in sunlight, and walk during the night. This wasn't how the world was supposed to work. It was the rebels that were supposed to attack- not the monsters.
But he was right. The rebels did attack. The guards on the stage, like the ones that had escorted Sylas, Ashlee, and Yue to their seats, lifted their hooked axes and charged towards Solarie and Nicholas. Sylas tried to move, but the blockades prevented him from reaching the stage. Thankfully, as soon as the rebels saw the monsters, they instantly retreated and dissolved into the panicked crowd. The monsters were still rampaging through the streets; everyone tried to clear out and get away, only causing further chaos and disruption in the chain. Elite soldiers immediately jumped in, snatching Nicholas and Solarie out of the way.
Sylas snapped out of his observation mode and grabbed Ashlee and Yue. "Hey! What gives?" Ashlee hollered.
"My first priority is getting you and Yue out of here." Sylas retorted. He charged electricity through his feet, moving faster than everyone else, almost at the speed of light. He couldn't move quite as fast as Nicholas, but he was able to move at the same pace as Roza when she employed the same technique.
As if summoned by mere thought, Roza appeared alongside Gwen while Sylas darted into an alley. "Good, you two just happen to show up after everything's turned to pandemonium." He said with a dash of passive aggressiveness.
"Fashionably late, as always." Roza snarked. Gwen shoved her shoulder, and Roza rolled her eyes.
"We're not late. We were told to watch from above. Make sure our precious prince didn't die." the general explained. "Roza tracked you to this alleyway. Pardon me, but uh-" she nodded to Ashlee and Yue, quietly watching from behind the corner. "Did you really plan to leave them here?"
Sylas stole a glimpse at his sister and friend. "I didn't expect them to leave."
Roza scoffed. "Ashlee? You didn't expect Ashlee to leave the safety net you put her in? Oh, Sylas, you poor naïve soul..." she shook her head.
"She has a point!" Ashlee piped. Yue put her head down, either in pain or complete dismay. It was hard to tell. In the distance, everyone could hear the monsters rumbling, destroying everything. A jumble of noises could be heard, from erupting pillars of rock, blasts of wind, and a multitude of other things. Probably Houses Hong, Cheng, Kozlov, and whatever other destructive powers that came with the blessings of the gods.
But in the argument that ensued, Sylas trying to convince Ashlee to stay where she was while he went back to fight, Roza and Gwen trying to figure out what was going on, Ashlee attempting to persuade Sylas to let her go fight too, and Yue burying her face into her hands as she tried to drown out the voices, something strange happened.
All the noise from the fight had dispersed, a quick bit of madness and mayhem turned to peace and tranquility.
"What's going on?" Gwen looked in the direction of the stage. There were no searing bursts of light to be seen, so clearly the monsters hadn't just been evaporated.
Roza turned. "I'll check it out." her eyes turned silver as she charged lightning through her steel-toed boots. She moved at lightning speed; a fitting and quite literal descriptor. In a few seconds, she was right back in the alley way.
"From what I've gathered, the monsters left of their own volition. A lot of strange things, really. They were walking around in broad daylight, they retreated of their own volition, and nobody has become a corpse. A few civilians were injured, but no soldiers." Roza closed one of her fingers each time she ticked off an item on her list.
"Strange," Gwen muttered, placing a finger to her lip. A few brief minutes of silence, and then her expression changed from piqued interest to utter dread. "Fuck, we have to hold a council meeting. Twice."
Roza sighed and crossed her arms. "I thought I was the one that dreaded those things. I know we have to show up to the military and court council meeting, but do we really have to do our breakfast table one too?"
"Don't forget the prophecy," Yue reminded gently.
The Storm Witch, exasperated, whirled around on her heel. "Where are you going?" Gwen questioned, eyeing her lieutenant general suspiciously.
"Where do you think? To pour myself a glass. I don't care if you banned me from it. I can't be expected to deal with two council meetings while this sober." Roza rolled her eyes, and continued strolling off into the main street.
Gwen followed. "Make that two. I'm not doing it sober either."
"Can we make that three?" Ashlee asked cautiously.
"No!"
"Sure." Roza, Sylas, and Gwen all said at the same time. "I don't see why not," Roza shrugged as Gwen and Sylas both glared.
"The legal age is nineteen. She's three whole years short." Gwen reminded.
"You act as if I didn't drink before I was legally allowed to."
"Not helping!" Sylas called from the background.
They both ignored him. "It doesn't matter. Ashlee, your brother and a high ranking military officer said no, so I'm powerless." Roza explained, before waltzing out again.
"You're a high ranking military officer too!" Ashlee shouted back fruitlessly.
Eventually, it was just Sylas, Ashlee, and Yue left in the alley. He chose to herd them back to the carriages at the stage, or at least back to the palace. But by some horrible misfortune, it began to rain.
"I told you it would rain."
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Happy Valentine's Day! It's Remi :D I really should've added some romance bait into this chapter in the spirit of the holiday, but alas, there is none... maybe next chapter?