The small gathering lasted for a night. Since Brother Rein was drunk alongside Thomas who had decided to bond with the Chief and Rein. Sister Katey decided that she might as well sleep in the orphanage.
Melia and Alden took care of the plates alongside Paul and Lina who were rather diligent when it came to helping Nana. The kids who understood how grateful they are for Nana were rather obedient. They treated Nana as their mother and guardian and were grateful all the time.
After taking care of the dishes, and settling everyone. The orphanage became quiet as everyone went to sleep.
The next day, Alden woke up early, went to the bakery, asked Anna for bread, and went back to the orphanage to deliver the bread to the kids who were already forming a line. Sister Katey, and Brother Rein had work so they ate the breakfast prepared by Nana and left the orphanage.
Melia didn’t do any of the chores. Nana knew that the three were going to the Capital so she prepared bacon and eggs for them.
Alden prepared a cup of coffee for Melia and Thomas and finished their breakfast before it was seven in the morning. Alden prepared himself, and wore a bomber jacket under his shirt.
Melia wore her woolen coat and carried a leather bag and briefcase. Thomas wore a service jacket and slacks. Alden took the keys to the car they were going to use.
It was a four-wheeled automobile with fog lights that could be retracted. The four-seater was usually driven by Melia when she delivered her important documents to the city.
Alden started the car and let the engine make a noise while he called for the two. He was about to enter the driver seat when Thomas offered to drive them. Alden refused, and insisted that he should just let him do it. It was not like Melia would allow Thomas to drive her car for now.
Melia took the seat next to the driver’s seat. Thomas crouched down, and occupied the backseat. Then she opened the window of the car, and rested her elbow while looking at the mobile phone in her hand.
It was a button phone with a small screen on it. She typed on the buttons, and sent a message.
“You got a beeper phone?”
“It’s handy. Costs most of our salary, but it’s a good purchase, you know?”
“We have a dial phone.”
“Nana used it all the time. Besides, I think having one would be good. Also, here.”
She fished out the same beeper phone. “It has a CIM so you can contact me. Oh, and a part of your salary is going to be going to the subscription for it.”
“Thanks I guess?”
She snorted. Alden went from block six to four by the time he pocketed the beeper phone in his bomber jacket. He kept his eyes on the road, and followed this street that had a small creek on the right side.
“They should really remove those floating flower pads on the creek.”
“That so?” Alden slowed down when he entered the main road, took a right, and continued driving to the eastward road where both sides had wheat farms growing neatly.
“Fine, keep your eyes on the road,” Melia fiddled with the radio station, and played the AM station.
“Could have played music.”
“I could have, but I heard that they have traffic news today.”
Alden didn’t reply, and listened to the radio.
“It’s a bright day for our citizens of Holmia! Ain’t that right, Brad?”
“That’s right, Ryan. Today many of our roads are closed off in preparation to welcome the important guest from the Old Empire. You might have heard of the rather famous name of Chief executive officer of the Angelus Company, Ms. Bella De Ziba. She has been one of the most beautiful and illustrious guests of our nation. Born in the Old Empire, our guest has received the ownership of the Angelus Company, and has established control of many brands, manufacturers, and even some of the shares of the Webman Company, who is now famous with those fancy electronic devices that the kids play today and of course the equipment that we’ve been using! Feel free to sponsor us, Webman Company!” They played a rather awful laugh track. “But according to our sources, not only that CEO of the Angelus Company has graced our nation with a visit, she is also accompanied by the League of Nations' Peace Ambassador, Ms. Velia Whitefall and her sister Velna Whitefall.”
“Three ladies visiting us,” the radio host whistled. “And they look like unreachable flowers, don’t you think so, Brad?”
“That they are, my friend. Of course, these three ladies have been invited to represent a cause in the transcontinental summit.”
“That’s right folks, with the transcontinental summit undergoing, expect bumper-to-bumper traffic. It is advised that everyone avoids highway 80 of the main road. The coastal freeway however is open, though with how main roads are, expect heavy traffic.”
Alden looked at Melia.
“What?”
“Nothing. So, am I going to watch the car?”
“That’s why I brought you for, duh,” she gave a rather silly smile.
Alden looked forward. There was a logging truck that was riding in front of them. Most of the region of Holmia’s southern territories were forested while the northern areas had been a mix of the desert and great plains where no tree would grow for miles.
After five minutes or so of travel they were riding next to the coastal road where they could see the sea and the rolling mountains. Alden noticed on the rear-view mirror that Thomas had rested his head on the side of the car.
He lowered the volume of the radio, and drove timidly. There was an 80 mph speed limit. On the left side of the road was a rocky wall while the right side was the edge of a cliff, leading forty meters down the sea.
***
About one hour and a half of travel. They were in Port Milag, a coastal district that either led to the Hilips or to the main Capital City of Holmia.
He made use of the elevated highway to skip the congested intersection that was crowded because of the mild traffic. It was still early in the morning, but the traffic had become erratic.
It took Alden thirty-minutes of mindless driving until he entered the Capital of the Holmia. High-rise buildings, skyscrapers, and modern airships dotted the skies. Though the heat from the sun created a haze, the shadows from the airships had made shades, reducing the heat.
Melia eyed the airships with a glance. Thomas, who had woken up, looked at the airship with a grimace. Alden took a stop and went to the fueling station to get some gas. Gas was cheap, and though there are vehicles that have hydroelectric crystals as their fuel source, they were rather expensive, and there was a strict control of them.
Melia handed the money for the gas as she then went to the bank just across the road to withdraw some florins from her bank account. Alden went to the gas station’s convenience store, and took a leak after paying the cashier.
Washing his hands, he went back to the car, and drove back to the national road. The heavy traffic started to show, and they started to become slower.
“Traffic’s heavy,” Alden muttered.
And so became the greatest enemy of our times, the damn traffic, Alden thought. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while patiently waiting for the cars to move. They were a car behind from the traffic light.
“Shouldn’t have driven on this road,” Melia commented. She started typing on the buttons of her beeper phone.
“Highway 80’s full, I know. But we can’t get into the government center if we don’t use this road. Not to mention that if there’s going to be a welcoming parade, I bet that they’d use route 79 and 81 to get to the summit.”
“You’d think that they’d think of using the airships to not bother the traffic.”
“Air restrictions,” Thomas commented on the back. “Any foreign flyers in the city are warned and shot down. There are exceptions, but since that commercial plane in Norad violated the air restrictions, the cities have been strict in regards to that so in respect to the laws, they wanted to use ground transportation. They could use gyrodynes, but want to play it safe just in case.”
“That so?” Alden adjusted his driver’s seat and leaned backward.
Melia slapped his thigh. “Don’t lean too much, you’d break the struts, dumbo.”
“Let me have this for a second, it’s not like the damn traffic is going to move soon.”
Melia sagged her shoulders, and leaned back as well. She tuned in to the radio show, listening to the skit of the radio host who were awfully doing their best to keep the listeners interested in their AM show.
The traffic thankfully moved after forty-agonizing-minutes of waiting. Alden wanted to drive straight through, and bypass some of the cars, but was made aware of the heavily armed Vulcan units guarding the sidewalks with their shoulder-mounted missiles and their tree log sized rifles that could tear even the tanks parked on the side.
Alden meekly drove the car until they finally arrived at the central governance office. He found a place to park, and followed Melia and Thomas to the acropolis.
White marbled pillars and columns on the front, white stone walls, and checkered floor tiles that led to this great hall where it was cool enough. Thomas waited on the side as he filled in the form that Melia gave to her. Alden walked in one of the cubicles, and started answering the questions. He answered the questions, and signed his four signatures before going to the photo booth where he had his picture taken.
He had to wait for two-hours to get his ID that states that he was now a permanent resident of the nation of Holmia. The reason it took long was because it looked like there was something wrong with identifying where he came from and that usually immigration papers were quite a hassle to work with when you have no connections.
After taking his picture, he went out of the office, and gestured for Thomas to get in. It was then that he noticed that there was a commotion just outside of the acropolis. He saw that there was a motorcade passing by. Judging by the shaking of the ground, the black vehicles and the armed and armored cars. Alden realized that the motorcade was passing by the central governance office.
“Hey, it looks like they need to greet the visitors first,” Melia called. Thomas walked behind her, watching the motorcade that stopped not far from the offices.
“Did you at least process his papers?”
“We did, he already has a permanent resident, but we need to handle his current address and have him only vote in our municipality instead of jumping districts.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Course you won’t, why would you bother traveling so far just to throw in another vote?”
Alden crossed his arms. “Oh, that reminds me I have to get something from the car.”
Melia nodded. She turned to Thomas. “Oh yeah, Thomas, you said that you want to greet your superior officer, right?”
“I do,” Thomas stared at the motorcade before taking a step forward.
Melia, who noticed his unflinching gaze, hollered at Alden. The two shouldered their way to the crowd, and saw Thomas salute one of soldiers that were part of the motorcade.
The soldier stared at Thomas for a long time before gesturing for his men to surround him, with rifles pointed at him.
Alden widened his eyes. Melia, who saw this, was about to take a step in when her eyes met with Alden whose gaze told her to calm down and observe first.
A magiborne was enough to be a threat for these people.
And if the soldier knew Thomas, then he had to be careful.
Alden couldn’t fault these people, knowing the affliction of the magiborne and their tendency to go mad.
They wouldn't dare to take chances knowing that there were VIP's in the motorcade.
The small gathering lasted for a night. Since Brother Rein was drunk alongside Thomas who had decided to bond with the Chief and Rein. Sister Katey decided that she might as well sleep in the orphanage.
Melia and Alden took care of the plates alongside Paul and Lina who were rather diligent when it came to helping Nana. The kids who understood how grateful they are for Nana were rather obedient. They treated Nana as their mother and guardian and were grateful all the time.
After taking care of the dishes, and settling everyone. The orphanage became quiet as everyone went to sleep.
The next day, Alden woke up early, went to the bakery, asked Anna for bread, and went back to the orphanage to deliver the bread to the kids who were already forming a line. Sister Katey, and Brother Rein had work so they ate the breakfast prepared by Nana and left the orphanage.
Melia didn’t do any of the chores. Nana knew that the three were going to the Capital so she prepared bacon and eggs for them.
Alden prepared a cup of coffee for Melia and Thomas and finished their breakfast before it was seven in the morning. Alden prepared himself, and wore a bomber jacket under his shirt.
Melia wore her woolen coat and carried a leather bag and briefcase. Thomas wore a service jacket and slacks. Alden took the keys to the car they were going to use.
It was a four-wheeled automobile with fog lights that could be retracted. The four-seater was usually driven by Melia when she delivered her important documents to the city.
Alden started the car and let the engine make a noise while he called for the two. He was about to enter the driver seat when Thomas offered to drive them. Alden refused, and insisted that he should just let him do it. It was not like Melia would allow Thomas to drive her car for now.
Melia took the seat next to the driver’s seat. Thomas crouched down, and occupied the backseat. Then she opened the window of the car, and rested her elbow while looking at the mobile phone in her hand.
It was a button phone with a small screen on it. She typed on the buttons, and sent a message.
“You got a beeper phone?”
“It’s handy. Costs most of our salary, but it’s a good purchase, you know?”
“We have a dial phone.”
“Nana used it all the time. Besides, I think having one would be good. Also, here.”
She fished out the same beeper phone. “It has a CIM so you can contact me. Oh, and a part of your salary is going to be going to the subscription for it.”
“Thanks I guess?”
She snorted. Alden went from block six to four by the time he pocketed the beeper phone in his bomber jacket. He kept his eyes on the road, and followed this street that had a small creek on the right side.
“They should really remove those floating flower pads on the creek.”
“That so?” Alden slowed down when he entered the main road, took a right, and continued driving to the eastward road where both sides had wheat farms growing neatly.
“Fine, keep your eyes on the road,” Melia fiddled with the radio station, and played the AM station.
“Could have played music.”
“I could have, but I heard that they have traffic news today.”
Alden didn’t reply, and listened to the radio.
“It’s a bright day for our citizens of Holmia! Ain’t that right, Brad?”
“That’s right, Ryan. Today many of our roads are closed off in preparation to welcome the important guest from the Old Empire. You might have heard of the rather famous name of Chief executive officer of the Angelus Company, Ms. Bella De Ziba. She has been one of the most beautiful and illustrious guests of our nation. Born in the Old Empire, our guest has received the ownership of the Angelus Company, and has established control of many brands, manufacturers, and even some of the shares of the Webman Company, who is now famous with those fancy electronic devices that the kids play today and of course the equipment that we’ve been using! Feel free to sponsor us, Webman Company!” They played a rather awful laugh track. “But according to our sources, not only that CEO of the Angelus Company has graced our nation with a visit, she is also accompanied by the League of Nations' Peace Ambassador, Ms. Velia Whitefall and her sister Velna Whitefall.”
“Three ladies visiting us,” the radio host whistled. “And they look like unreachable flowers, don’t you think so, Brad?”
“That they are, my friend. Of course, these three ladies have been invited to represent a cause in the transcontinental summit.”
“That’s right folks, with the transcontinental summit undergoing, expect bumper-to-bumper traffic. It is advised that everyone avoids highway 80 of the main road. The coastal freeway however is open, though with how main roads are, expect heavy traffic.”
Alden looked at Melia.
“What?”
“Nothing. So, am I going to watch the car?”
“That’s why I brought you for, duh,” she gave a rather silly smile.
Alden looked forward. There was a logging truck that was riding in front of them. Most of the region of Holmia’s southern territories were forested while the northern areas had been a mix of the desert and great plains where no tree would grow for miles.
After five minutes or so of travel they were riding next to the coastal road where they could see the sea and the rolling mountains. Alden noticed on the rear-view mirror that Thomas had rested his head on the side of the car.
He lowered the volume of the radio, and drove timidly. There was an 80 mph speed limit. On the left side of the road was a rocky wall while the right side was the edge of a cliff, leading forty meters down the sea.
***
About one hour and a half of travel. They were in Port Milag, a coastal district that either led to the Hilips or to the main Capital City of Holmia.
He made use of the elevated highway to skip the congested intersection that was crowded because of the mild traffic. It was still early in the morning, but the traffic had become erratic.
It took Alden thirty-minutes of mindless driving until he entered the Capital of the Holmia. High-rise buildings, skyscrapers, and modern airships dotted the skies. Though the heat from the sun created a haze, the shadows from the airships had made shades, reducing the heat.
Melia eyed the airships with a glance. Thomas, who had woken up, looked at the airship with a grimace. Alden took a stop and went to the fueling station to get some gas. Gas was cheap, and though there are vehicles that have hydroelectric crystals as their fuel source, they were rather expensive, and there was a strict control of them.
Melia handed the money for the gas as she then went to the bank just across the road to withdraw some florins from her bank account. Alden went to the gas station’s convenience store, and took a leak after paying the cashier.
Washing his hands, he went back to the car, and drove back to the national road. The heavy traffic started to show, and they started to become slower.
“Traffic’s heavy,” Alden muttered.
And so became the greatest enemy of our times, the damn traffic, Alden thought. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while patiently waiting for the cars to move. They were a car behind from the traffic light.
“Shouldn’t have driven on this road,” Melia commented. She started typing on the buttons of her beeper phone.
“Highway 80’s full, I know. But we can’t get into the government center if we don’t use this road. Not to mention that if there’s going to be a welcoming parade, I bet that they’d use route 79 and 81 to get to the summit.”
“You’d think that they’d think of using the airships to not bother the traffic.”
“Air restrictions,” Thomas commented on the back. “Any foreign flyers in the city are warned and shot down. There are exceptions, but since that commercial plane in Norad violated the air restrictions, the cities have been strict in regards to that so in respect to the laws, they wanted to use ground transportation. They could use gyrodynes, but want to play it safe just in case.”
“That so?” Alden adjusted his driver’s seat and leaned backward.
Melia slapped his thigh. “Don’t lean too much, you’d break the struts, dumbo.”
“Let me have this for a second, it’s not like the damn traffic is going to move soon.”
Melia sagged her shoulders, and leaned back as well. She tuned in to the radio show, listening to the skit of the radio host who were awfully doing their best to keep the listeners interested in their AM show.
The traffic thankfully moved after forty-agonizing-minutes of waiting. Alden wanted to drive straight through, and bypass some of the cars, but was made aware of the heavily armed Vulcan units guarding the sidewalks with their shoulder-mounted missiles and their tree log sized rifles that could tear even the tanks parked on the side.
Alden meekly drove the car until they finally arrived at the central governance office. He found a place to park, and followed Melia and Thomas to the acropolis.
White marbled pillars and columns on the front, white stone walls, and checkered floor tiles that led to this great hall where it was cool enough. Thomas waited on the side as he filled in the form that Melia gave to her. Alden walked in one of the cubicles, and started answering the questions. He answered the questions, and signed his four signatures before going to the photo booth where he had his picture taken.
He had to wait for two-hours to get his ID that states that he was now a permanent resident of the nation of Holmia. The reason it took long was because it looked like there was something wrong with identifying where he came from and that usually immigration papers were quite a hassle to work with when you have no connections.
After taking his picture, he went out of the office, and gestured for Thomas to get in. It was then that he noticed that there was a commotion just outside of the acropolis. He saw that there was a motorcade passing by. Judging by the shaking of the ground, the black vehicles and the armed and armored cars. Alden realized that the motorcade was passing by the central governance office.
“Hey, it looks like they need to greet the visitors first,” Melia called. Thomas walked behind her, watching the motorcade that stopped not far from the offices.
“Did you at least process his papers?”
“We did, he already has a permanent resident, but we need to handle his current address and have him only vote in our municipality instead of jumping districts.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Course you won’t, why would you bother traveling so far just to throw in another vote?”
Alden crossed his arms. “Oh, that reminds me I have to get something from the car.”
Melia nodded. She turned to Thomas. “Oh yeah, Thomas, you said that you want to greet your superior officer, right?”
“I do,” Thomas stared at the motorcade before taking a step forward.
Melia, who noticed his unflinching gaze, hollered at Alden. The two shouldered their way to the crowd, and saw Thomas salute one of soldiers that were part of the motorcade.
The soldier stared at Thomas for a long time before gesturing for his men to surround him, with rifles pointed at him.
Alden widened his eyes. Melia, who saw this, was about to take a step in when her eyes met with Alden whose gaze told her to calm down and observe first.
A magiborne was enough to be a threat for these people.
And if the soldier knew Thomas, then he had to be careful.
Alden couldn’t fault these people, knowing the affliction of the magiborne and their tendency to go mad.
They wouldn't dare to take chances knowing that there were VIP's in the motorcade.
