"I know you don't want to do this, but..." Dawn paused and looked at Uni sympathetically. "They deserve to know."
"They do, but," Uni sighed. "It's gonna be hard, you know?"
"I know," Dawn responded. He handed him a set of papers. "Here are the notes you should focus on. Pretty sure the podium's still out there." He looked over to Uni. "You'll do great." He then pulled open a curtain, and the two of them stepped outside.
They stood on the balcony, in front of a crowd of people. Since the guard had sent out that the Queen would be making an announcement, people had been gathering to hear and spread the news. Uni looked out at everyone, up at the podium, at Dawn, and then at the edge of the balcony.
This was where he first saw this kingdom. Where he first became the most important Anim in Tranek, where Eve had shown him to the world.
He looked up at the podium. That was where he had first seen the Queen, his mom, in a position of power. When he had first seen her speak to the world, when he first knew he would look up to her forever. That he could never replace her.
He stood at the edge of the balcony with Dawn, looking down at the people and waving. This was where he had first met his family. But now... it felt empty. To his sides were empty spaces where his siblings had once stood. He could almost feel them, smiling, waving, but... they weren't there. Uni's smile dropped a bit.
Dawn noticed and nudged him. He smiled and gestured to the podium. Uni nodded and walked up, tapping the microphone to test it before clearing his throat.
"Um... Hello, everyone," Uni said nervously, looking out. "I mean, um..." He cleared his throat. "Well, this is my first announcement, isn't it?"
The crowd erupted into cheers. Uni bit his lip. "I... am sorry that my first time talking to you has to be an announcement like this." The cheering quieted, and confused murmurs could be heard from below. Uni took a big breath, and let himself relax a bit. "You see Dawn, here in front of me?" He bit his lip. "He's the only one of my family left in the palace."
The murmurs only got louder. "Excuse me?" Uni had to shout into the microphone to get them to quiet down. "Right." He scratched the back of his neck. "This is hard enough for me to say already without everyone-" he looked over at Dawn, who was making a cutting motion over his neck, his eyes bright. "Um... sorry, I- I'm not used to talking to so many people." Dawn seemed to slump in relief. Uni smiled apologetically at him and continued.
"Well... this morning, I was woken up by the Guard. When I got up, they showed me this." He held up the letter. He then realized that no one could see anything but a scrap of paper. "Oh. Um, it says," he began, before reading off the contents of the letter. As he finished, his breath hitched a little. He started to it over to Leo's letter, but instead stopped and put it away.
"I'm very sorry that this happened. The entire palace is grieving. I- I guess I just wanted to let you all know what is happening."
The crowd got louder and started to disperse as Uni beckoned Dawn off the stage. He looked up at the vents longingly as soon as they were off the balcony.
"You want to go there?" Dawn asked, noticing Uni's gaze.
"I... yes," Uni responded. "It's... well, at least I can imagine they're still there."
Dawn smiled sympathetically and started to unscrew the vents. "Come on. It can't be too hard to navigate."
I swear it's gonna be forever before I finish this book. I mean, I have all the ideas, just no time and even less of that zero amount of time is electronics time. Soo...
The vent room is gonna be one of the last places Dawn and Uni feel really safe in, partially because it still feels like their siblings are there and partially because no one can find them. They don't have their guide, so that might be a bit of a problem. But whatever, they'll be fine.
Don't know what else to put here! Umm... happy new year? Pet a dog? Be a good person? Don't go to jail? Eat some popcorn? Don't brutally murder your friends? Buy some Girl Scout cookies, cookie season starts January 29th?
-Helena!!:D