Our limo ride was expected to be short, but scenic. From the mansion to the capital were these beautiful valleys that people somehow built houses and villages in. They were so pretty and peaceful, like something out of a story book.

  Just beyond those interesting settlements was the silhouette of a grand city that came into view, one we'd already seen from a distance, but this time we were much closer to it than back at Little Conburg.

  I thought the city of Urnan was huge? My goodness, Congerlin was even bigger!

  Those skyscrapers were so tall, some of them were almost touching the clouds! Now I understood why they’re called “skyscrapers.” There were two especially massive structures there. Yamin was happily able to point out one of them.

  “Oh my gosh!” Yamin announced, as a particularly massive building with seven spires came into view. Each spire was adorned with a shield and star at the tops. Above the very middle of the whole building was one last glowing orb, this one even more like a tiny star, twinkling like it was pulled directly from the night sky. “Look at that! It's the Grand Cathedral of Life!”

  “That it is.” Miss Lauri moved to hover over Yamin’s shoulder. “Your father used to make a pilgrimage here every year. He’d always come back and say ‘I’ve seen the light again.’”

  Yamin’s father must have been associated with the church then. I hadn’t seen him yet, and Yamin hadn’t talked about him at all.

  “Is your dad a priest?” I asked.

  “He ‘was’ a priest,” Yamin’s tone fell sullen. “A few years ago he passed away.”

  My breathing started to get uneasy. I could feel my crystal heart start flashing irregularly.

  “Oh…” Indena said in a weak tone, struck harshly by the news as well.

  “I'm so sorry to hear that,” Marek said.

  “It was a few years ago now, so I’ve had a while to process it,” Yamin said as Miss Lauri's motherly instincts kicked in and held her close.

  Reflexively, I opened up a STATUS tab in my PARTY menu. I could see all the heartbeats of my party members, but one person was at the very bottom of the list who wasn’t a party member. His heartbeat was still ticking away.

  It was dad’s heartbeat.

  Before he left, I noticed that I was still able to see his vitals. It’s the one thing that kept me connected to him for the last four years. I checked it as often as I could to make sure he’s still okay, even if I wasn’t sure how up-to-date it was.

  I grabbed onto Yamin’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Her expression was full of sorrow, but quickly turned hopeful. She probably knew exactly what I was thinking, and the bond we shared because of it.

  Our fathers were missing in action. Her's was just a little further away than mine, but we both could still feel their love pushing us to keep living.

  “So… uh…” Indena attempted to alter the subject. “What’s that other building?”

  “That’s the Royal Palace,” Marek brought up. “It’s the place where not only the queen lives, but the parliament meets.”

  They mentioned that before. The structure was supposed to have Nazalian details all over it. I couldn’t say that comforted me at all, since the Nazalian’s had a creepy obsession with hands.

  “While I’m thinking about it…” Marek started, “Yalda, there are some things you should know about the parliament, just so you understand how to navigate it…”

  He explained to me that there were two major political parties in the country. The Queen’s party, which he swore allegiance to, and the Pole’s party. Currently, there was a massive power struggle between the two parties for control of the government.

  The government was the political party that held the majority of the seats in the parliament. Historically speaking, the Queen’s party had held the majority since the start of the constitutional monarchy, but the last election cycle lost them one seat, meaning now the Poles party was finally taking the government for themselves.

  As the name implied, the Queen’s party was headed by the queen. Thanks to some very careful planning, the monarchy of the country managed to hold onto their power as a more democratic institution took place. However, the Pole’s party was headed by an aristocrat named Damian Van Hanol. He was set to be sworn in as the first ever prime minister of the country.

  “They’re the guys who want to start a war, right Marek?” I asked.

  Marek’s face cringed as he covered his eyes in shame. “Yeah… I mean, we think so… Please don’t mention that while you're there.”

  “You sure about this war thing?” Indena asked.

  “Of course,” Marek nodded. “Many of the aristocrats that head the party come from great military leaders of the past. We also have evidence of them funding enemy nations.”

  “But they control the tabloids…” Miss Lauri grumbled, “so what they say is considered the truth. They’re the idiots who convinced the people that my discoveries with mana is nothing but a theory! Anti-science fools…”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Yamin put her hand over her mothers mouth to calm her down.

  “Shush, mother…” she said in a calm tone. “Please don’t start again.”

  If the Pole’s party were so bad, I’d have to be careful around them. But honestly, I kinda’ saw them as a rival that needed to be kicked down a step and put in their place. As the Eighth Star Angel, maybe I could be the one to do it.

  ~☆☆☆~

  The highway we were driving down fed right into the city. Unlike most of the people who were either forced to park on the side of the big street, or some sort of parking building, we were allowed to park the limo in an underground section meant for VIP’s.

  Guards inspected our car and everyone in it, confirming all of our identities and that we weren’t carrying anything dangerous… As far as they could tell. Granted, my body has offensive measures built into it that could obliterate this city a dozen times over, but apparently they were informed to overlook that part, so I didn’t say a word.

  The guards greeted Marek very warmly, probably because he knew them personally. They seemed a bit nervous around me though.

  A tunnel awaited us before an elevator. The tunnel had a fancy looking red rug, gold trim that lined the walls, and all sorts of extravagant pottery on cute looking tables.

  “I feel so important,” Yamin commented. “Where does this lead to?”

  “This tunnel will lead us right into the Kingdom district of the city,” Marek answered. “From there, we’ll make our way to the Royal Palace.”

  Apparently, this tunnel, and several others scattered around the city, led to different places in order to allow VIP’s to move without much notice. Marek said there was a more direct tunnel that led into the Royal Palace, but it was less glamorous and only for emergencies.

  Once we reached the elevator at the end of the tunnel, it zoomed up so quickly that it felt like a rollercoaster ride! Indena wasn’t very amused by it.

  “You could have warned us about that part,” she grumbled to Marek.

  “Sorry…” he shrugged. “I forgot they haven’t fixed the elevator yet.”

  I thought it was fun, but I guess not everyone else did.

  Anyways, this elevator led us all the way to the surface. Another row of guards inspected us as we exited, then they allowed us finally to step on into the city proper.

  Two things struck me when we emerged back into the open air. The high population density, and the pleasant aroma of baked goods that filled the air.

  A little above us was a balcony with a Café on it. It looked really high class, especially since everyone seated at it was wearing the most beautiful dresses and suits I’d ever seen.

  The extravagance didn’t stop there. This area was like a big park. Thousands of people were wandering it with all sorts of different intentions. Some had tiny dogs they were taking on a walk, others were happily sitting in the bright green grass, sipping tea and reading a book. Roads spread around, but they were so thin and sparse that small walking paths seemed more efficient for these people.

  Even those paths meant to be trampled over by hundreds daily had a gorgeous aura to them. They were made of marble and silver. I felt bad having to walk on that.

  But everything here was just merely a decoration that pointed to the true icon of the Kingdom district. A ginormous palace stood as the centerpiece down the way. The sun reflecting off of its pearl white surface made it all the more noticeable and glamorous, a bit hard to look at though for anyone who wasn’t used to such brightness.

  While we took some time to enjoy the sight, two groups of conversation formed. Yamin, Indena, Uncle and Miss Lauri were talking together about getting some food before we walked all the way to the palace. It was certainly going to be a trek.

  Miss Cynthia and Marek however both walked over to a bushel of roses and took a few sniffs of their lovely fragrance.

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve been on a walk here, hasn’t it?” Cynthia snickered as she turned to Marek. “We used to play here all the time as children.”

  “Last time we came…” he put a thoughtful finger to his chin. “That was the baking competition a few years ago, wasn’t it?”

  Baking competition?

  I tugged on Marek’s new coat and waved for him to come closer so the others wouldn’t hear. “Is that a date you went on with Miss Cynthia?” I whispered.

  “I wouldn’t call that a date, since we were competing against each other,” he laughed.

  Cynthia had something to add. “It’s an event that comes along once a year. Chef’s from all over the Face of the World come to test their skills and make the most extravagant dishes to impress the royalty.”

  “That’s how they pick who’ll be the top class chef cooking in the Royal Palace,” Marek continued. “Even if you don’t win, there’s a chance you could be discovered by another company.”

  “It’s actually how Mistress Adalyn scouted me,” Cynthia said. “She liked my cookies so much that she wanted them every day,” she snickered. “I still have your grandmother to thank for that, Marek.” her smile turned to a frown, and she let out a deep sigh. “That was such a good day too.”

  Both of them were longingly looking at the other with sorry eyes.

  “Did something bad happen after?” I asked.

  “Well, the next day I had to leave for a temporary Navy service,” he revealed. “To the public, it was to boost my chances of getting elected into the Royal Council… But in reality, my father… He wasn’t happy with…” his fist clenched tightly.

  Marek didn’t sound like he wanted to talk about it. Miss Cynthia had to turn away to keep from making eye contact.

  He told us before that he’d joined the navy due to a romantic affair he’d had with someone becoming public knowledge. News of his enlistment overwhelmed the scandal and he basically got off scot free.

  If I put all the pieces together, I think it was easy to pick out who his true love was and why a man of higher class wouldn’t be allowed to be with her, especially when he already had someone else lined up to be his wife.

  Yamin came over, noticing they looked sad. “What’s with the long faces?” she asked, kindly.

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” Marek lied.

  “Alright,” she responded. “Everyone’s thinking about getting food. Do you guys have any recommendations?”

  Suddenly, Marek's eyes lit up. Cynthia's expression also grew more positive along with him.

  “A little food brings up the mood, right?” I smiled, parroting his words.

  “But of course it does!” he announced. “I know of a few places we can Stop at along the way!”

  Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please support me, Taylor The Writer, here on Royal Road! :)

  Face of Eternity Christmas special! So look forward to it! I'll make sure to put a link to it in the author note on Friday's chapter.