London. Early morning.
A light rain washed over the familiar places, and a white mist spread through the streets. For many, these places seemed familiar, but it seems that something is clearly wrong with them. Somehow there are fewer steam pipes and people seem to be familiar, but they don't seem to be.
A guy with short blond hair and a little stubble came out of one of the houses, he looked no older than 30. With a slightly outstretched smile, he picked up a stack of fresh newspapers and, stuffing their holdall, rushed to deliver them.
He scattered several newspapers as he walked down the street. After that, after walking a couple of blocks, he brought a quarter of his assortment.
The rain stopped, and the sun came out of the clouds. The guy got hungry and went into a pie shop on Fleet Street. He was greeted by a thin and nondescript girl who looked like she had only slept for a few hours, or maybe she hadn't gone to bed at all. The guy took off his hat and said.
— I'm sorry, but is it possible?..
Before he could finish, the hostess interrupted him.
— The barbershop is on the floor above.
And I was about to go on with my business, but then the guy already spoke.
— Actually, I came to you, I heard you have the best pies here in the whole city.
The girl smiled and immediately brought a plate of pastries to the customer. The guy sat down at one of the few wooden tables and began to eat. After taking a bite of the pie, chewing and swallowing a piece, the newspaperman asked.
— Whose meat is this? A little harsh.
The girl raised her head and spoke tensely.
— Horse meat... My uncle brings me from far away.
The guy shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat. He took out one of the newspapers and quickly scanned it. Suddenly, he was attracted by the news and, finishing the pie, the guy wrote down something on the same newspaper and wrapped the remaining pies in it.
Then I got up and left a clean newspaper and a couple of coins. Outside, he hurried to the square, where he began selling the remains of newspapers. After receiving the money, the guy brought a smaller part to his place of work.
Then I went to a strange alley. Leaning against the stone wall of the building, he knocked three times, but nothing happened. The guy rolled his eyes and said.
— Can you just open it and not play?
A slit appeared in the wall and a pair of dark eyes shone out.
— Password...
The guy stood opposite and spoke.
— I'm not going to say this every day, just let me in. Ok?
The voice came from the wall again.
— You know the rules, Bert.
The guy sighed and said.
— Bonaparte N.
The slot disappeared and the door leading to the basement opened. The guy went downstairs, but the same man stopped him and said.
— No tricks this time.
The guy grinned.
— Listen, can you finally tell me your name for normal communication?
Rolling his eyes, the interlocutor walked forward.
— I told you, it's a secret.
The guy followed him and said.
— In that case, since you can't pronounce my last name in full, then maybe you can take the first part, Lam.
They walked along an old wooden corridor and stopped at the door, the guy named Lam said.
— Let's agree on at least an "L" and you, without further ado, just take what you came for?
Bert shook hands with a smile and entered the room, while "L" remained at the entrance. There was a counter inside, and behind it a woman and a warehouse. The newspaperman came closer and leaned on the counter and spoke.
— Hello again, I'm here as usual.
A woman in her 50s, wearing glasses, looked at the guy and said.
— Who are you?
Bert reached into his inside pocket.
— Have you forgotten everything again? I'm a newspaperman, I bring you the latest newspaper, and you...
The woman got up from the table with the words.
— Oh, guard, I forgot about you, I thought you were gone a long time ago.
Then she went to the warehouse and continued to mumble to herself.
When she returned, she gave me a bag. Bert thanked the lady and left the room. At the entrance, he handed over the bag "L" and left the headquarters under his escort.
On the street in the alley, Bert said goodbye to "L" and added.
— If you have time, don't be shy, come and have a drink.
— I don't drink at work yet. — "L" closed the slot.
Bert walked forward, muttering to himself.
— Fucking supervisor, mark my words, your desk will close, in 50 years even the homeless won't know.
A light fog complemented the barely falling rain.
An unknown room.
In it, due to the lack of good lighting, only the silhouette of a man was visible, who was rushing from wall to wall. There was a knock on the door and a voice came from the hallway.
— Your Majesty... Are you all right?
He was a guy about 25 years old, with dark hair and a small mustache. Suddenly, the door opened and a girl in a dress with short brown hair came out and said.
— Winston, I told you in private not to call me "Your Majesty" is the wrong attitude, I don't want to put myself above others, and even more so you.
The butler bowed and spoke.
— Well, Miss Elfrida. And I would like to take this opportunity to say that today is a busy day, because there will be a ball in the evening, where most of the nobles and Chief Justice Turpin will come.
After that, the Princess proceeded to breakfast. There was only the princess herself and a boy with glasses at the table, who looked more serious than the other adults in the room. Winston, who came up later, said.
— The King and Queen will not be able to attend the breakfast due to the heavy workload.
The princess, without looking up from her meal, showed no emotion. Only the boy decided to speak out by saying.
— They work so hard that they don't even have time to eat. You can't do that. And then he continued sorting through the food.
The princess spoke emotionlessly.
— Being the ruler of an entire Kingdom is a very difficult task.
But seeing that the boy continued to sit sadly, Elfrida, smiling, added.
— But it's always worth remembering that they work for all of us so that everyone can live happily ever after.
The boy was amused. And the princess got up, came over and held out her hand with the words.
— And now, William, we have classes waiting for us.
Several hours have passed.
The Crown Hall.
In it, the king and queen sat on a throne, and in front of them stood the grand chamberlain. He was reporting on the preparations for the ball. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Winston looked out and said.
— Your Majesty, the guests have arrived.
The king and queen went to their chambers, and Winston and the grand chamberlain were sent to meet the guests.
The ballroom began to be replenished by the upper strata of society. But there were also unremarkable people who seemed to be trying to hide and not attract much attention. Chief Justice Turpin was one of the last guests to arrive.
Princess Elfrida also went to the ballroom, but when she saw that William was following her, she said.
— Where are we going? I doubt there's anything you'd like there. You better go to your room or take a walk, I'll call Winston now, he'll take you, okay?
After that, the princess entered the hall, and a frowning William sat down on a bench. Elfrida greeted the guests, but she had a longer conversation with the Chief Justice. They discussed their personal lives more than any business issues, while a man was watching them closely. He was about to approach, but at that moment, the king and queen entered the hall.
After all sorts of greetings, the sovereigns approached the princess. The king didn't say much, but the queen started talking.
— I'm really sorry that we spend so little time with you, you know... But don't rely on us either, it's time to start thinking about finding a mate, because so many princes have already jumped in, and it's not enough for you.
Elfrida said, a little frowningly.
— I told you that I don't need others and I already like one young man, but you don't even try to get to know him.
The king fit into the conversation.
— We've been discussing this, it's not appropriate for a princess of the kingdom to hang around with some ragamuffin. Moreover, we have already agreed with highly respected people...
Elfrida interrupted.
— He is not a ragamuffin, but a cultured and interesting person, and even a foreigner, which means cooperation with other states.
Somewhere near the royal house.
The two guys left the carriage and horse behind a tree and headed towards the palace on the way.
"L", seeing the royal house, said.
— Oh, I think there's an unscheduled meeting, so are we going back?
Bert looked around and said with a smile.
— Don't be a nuisance, what's his name? The scout! We'll find a loophole, and I know just one.
The guy objected.
— But I'm not... forget.
They went around the castle. Bumping into a gap in the wall, Bert said.
— And here it is.
"L" bent down, looked around and asked in a whisper.
— Well, where does this mysterious passage that leads to the garden of the palace come from?
Bert scratched his head.
— I don't remember myself, he was here before that, but it seems that something so interesting happened here... Imagine, everything is like a blur, I just remember a greenish flash and..
Suddenly, William and Winston came out of the corner, seeing Bert, the boy asked.
— And who are you?
The butler took the boy back, saying.
— Please take a walk over there, I'll be right there.
And he went up to Bert and whispered.
— Ryan, what are you doing here!?
The guy also replied softly.
— You know yourself, especially since it's been exactly one year since...
The butler, waving his arms, interrupts.
— Don't fill me in on your adventures.
Winston sighed.
— Listen, there's a ball at the palace today, the princess is very busy, her fate is being decided today, so could you reschedule your meeting?
Bert, in a serious voice.
— I'm her destiny, so please don't bother Winst.
After that, Bert walked around him and went inside, leaving the Butler frowning. William came across him, the boy was about to ask something, but Bert was ahead of him again.
— I went out to breathe. Get some fresh air. Is that clear?
And then he left the boy, and William, in turn, noticing a silhouette that quickly slipped by, followed him.
Bert, on the other hand, was quietly heading for the gym. When he reached the door, the guy carefully opened it and jumped inside. Looking around, he found the princess with his gaze and slowly began to move towards her. Along the way, avoiding every person, however, he accidentally bumped into some man, from whom a razor fell out with a bang. Bert apologized, picked it up and handed it to the man, who took the razor and watched the guy with unsmiling eyes.
Burt, having become close to the princess, waited for a moment and approached her. Elfrida asked in surprise.
— Ryan, what are you doing here?
Bert took the princess by the hand and spoke in a serious voice.
— I'm deciding your fate.
Elfrida hesitated at first, but soon smiled at the guy. Following that, she shouted towards the king.
— Father, behold my betrothed!
The king narrowed his eyes and said.
— Who are you?
Bert smilingly wanted to say hello, but accidentally a meat pie fell out of his holed pocket, from which blood flowed.
When the king saw this, he cried out.
— Guards! Capture the murderer!
But there were no guards around, and only the king's scream caused a panic. People began to leave the hall screaming. Several guards squeezed through the door and immediately headed towards Bert and Elfrida. Ryan was dumbfounded and didn't know what to do, but suddenly the princess hugged him tightly and whispered.
— Run, or they'll catch you...
Bert looked at Elfrida and, turning around, ran out of the secret exit, which greatly surprised the king.
On the other side of the castle, "L" was sorting papers in an office, putting some of them into his inner pocket. Suddenly, William ran into the room, causing the guy to freeze. But because of the sudden screams, the boy was distracted, and when he turned around, he saw only an empty room and a broken window.
At about the same time, Bert was rushing down the corridor in the direction from where he entered, but two men got in his way, one of whom stabbed the other with a razor and, looking back, ran away. Ryan ran up to the man and spotted the judge, after which Winston ran up with a scared look. And Bert immediately tried to explain himself, but the sound of security guards could be heard in the distance, which caused the guy to quickly run away in the same direction as the man. The guards ran up, saw the body, and asked about the incident, to which the butler only pointed out the direction.
In the carriage, "L" asked.
— Well? How did it go?
Bert didn't say anything, just stared into the distance...
London.
Night.
It was snowing slightly and several streets were illuminated by lamps. A knock on the door. It opened and Bert was standing on the other side, looking around, he only noticed a silhouette that immediately disappeared. But when he heard crying, he looked down, and at his feet lay a basket covered with a cloth, on top of which was a note. After reading it, he picked up the basket and opened it. There was a child in it, crying either because of hunger or from the cold.
Bert sighed and then went into the house with a smile, closing the door.