In the end, Anthony chose a nice, simple grey jacket at the back of his wardrobe and left the room, heading toward the staircase. As he approached, he heard quiet footsteps– soft, but deliberate. A figure in white suddenly stepped out from the other hallway into the landing.
ACK! It's Sora...! Anthony tried not to yelp.
He froze on the spot, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. Don't turn around, please don't turn around, he silently begged.
His prayers were answered. Sora descended the stairs without so much as a pause, gliding away like a phantom. But where would he be going at this time of night?
It wasn't Anthony's business… but he wanted to know, struck by curiosity all of a sudden.
Should I follow him? I definitely want to, but if I'm caught, he might actually kill me.
He hesitated, watching the last swish of white below. Then, after a few seconds of stillness, he took his chance and crept after him.
But… there was no one there.
Sora was gone.
I swear I saw him. Where the heck did he go? I didn't imagine it, he was definitely there. That pressure, and his usual intimidating aura were real. That's why I froze. But now, there's nothing, not even a trace. One of his many powers, maybe? But I never thought teleportation was one of them.
Though with him, who knows?
Even if it was real, it's nothing to do with me anyway…
Learning to ignore strange things in the palace was one of the very first lessons he'd ever learned. His teacher used to say that a curse was placed on the palace by the Guardians long ago, during the Great War.
The King's magic, together with the healing power of time, had worn the curse down, but it would flare up now and again. People would see things that weren't really there, or they would get completely and utterly lost on the massive lower floors.
Even the veterans of palace life weren't immune to the strange phenomenon. And there wasn't a thing anyone could do about it, other than acknowledging it and moving on.
'Apparently it was worse in the old days,' she'd said. 'It wasn't a rare occurrence for some of the more sensitive types to go mad after living here for a while. There's a legend us old folk like to tell the young'uns about a woman who began to see horrific apparitions every day. They say she used to be a normal person, just like you. Ha…'
Anthony had always dismissed it as a baseless ghost story. But now, standing alone in the stairwell, he felt glad it was just an illusion. If the real King had been there, he would've noticed him immediately.
'Maybe the curse is just stronger today,' he muttered. 'That's probably why it felt like the real deal.'
I should just listen to that story's advice and move on. I'll probably forget about it soon.
He shook it off and decided to change course. You know what? I feel like going to the garden terrace. I saw a bunch of people there earlier. Probably the usual Friday night crowd, the ones who haven't gone home yet. It's 7:30 now… if I hurry, I might get there by 7:40.
Laurelian Palace towered on a coastal hill, a magnificent structure stacked with levels, turrets and spires. It was the kind of majestic building one would never imagine to find anywhere outside fairy tales.
The first floor held the rarely-used throne room, banquet hall, staff facilities, and entrance to the garden terrace. It also housed the execution dungeon, not that anyone went near it unless their job demanded it.
The second floor was dedicated to offices and workshops– close to a thousand in total. The third had the bedrooms of sixth and fifth tier workers, as well as a dozen shared common rooms. One of the palace's unique comforts was that everyone got their own room, even if it was small.
Most new hires expected cramped, crowded dormitories. But Laurelian Palace had been built to showcase the might of the kingdom– and how much they cared about their own citizens. The nation's most gifted architects were tasked to spend years meticulously designing it for the perfect balance of comfort and practicality, all to accommodate the 2,000 residents it was meant to hold.
The fourth and fifth floors contained the slightly larger and nicer rooms of fourth- and third-tiers respectively, with the fifth also housing the Grand Library– a massive haven of books from Laurelian and beyond. It was open to all residents. Access to foreign literature was a much coveted perk of palace jobs, and Anthony had spent hours reading there himself.
The sixth floor held the vaults and the most secretive archives, accessible to only the King and his second-in-command.
Above that, the top floor– a place far removed from most.
The entire building was breathtaking, inside and out. But being so vast, it was ridiculously easy to get lost in. Staff often joked that you needed to double the time you thought it would take to get anywhere on time.
That's why Anthony gave himself ten minutes to get to the terrace– though Kieran, someone whose job required him to know every nook and cranny of the palace, would make it easily in under five.
He finally arrived at his destination.
It was a lively place, often nicknamed the 'pool area' thanks to the massive, magical pool that somehow flowed across three levels of the terrace. It dated back to the palace's construction, yet was always clean and clearer than crystal, due to mysterious ancient enchantments.
The area was open during rest hours, which varied by department- so it was rarely overcrowded. And when you were tired of swimming, you could visit the sprawling gardens above.
It was widely considered the most fun part of palace life.
'Hi, Rita,' Anthony said, spotting a young woman lounging in one of the chairs. He sat down opposite her. She was one of the friends he'd made while drifting through the fifth floor.
'Oh, hey!' Rita grinned. 'Weren't you supposed to be busy prepping for your very important grand assignment? Shouldn't you be locked in your fancy chamber memorising facts about the school system and how to not be weird when you talk?'
Rita was a third-tier official and head of the education department. She knew all about Anthony's mission– she'd handled all the paperwork herself, organising everything down to the last detail.
'This is preparation. I'm building my social skills. What're you doing, huh? Lazing near a pool at night?'
'Oh, nothing much. Just going through the five stages of grief trying to contain a leak. Too late though. Now everybody at the school knows about you. Better brace yourself for an influx of admirers, my friend. Your days of anonymity are over,' Rita finished, a sly smile on her face.
'...You could've warned me sooner.'
'Nah. I didn't feel like going for a game of hide-and-seek in this labyrinth. No way I was going to go all the way to the top floor and risk running into Mr King. Or those grumpy old heads of law and criminal investigation on the way, either. They'd have me cornered in a heartbeat, and launch into the usual rant of how I'm 'too young' for my job. Apparently 26-year-olds are toddlers in this place, and only adults should do the important things.'
'Huh, those are actually fair points. For once. Are those guys still going after you? Didn't you tell them to 'fuck off?' I bet they're just jealous you got department head lightyears faster than them.'
'One, thank you. Two, watch your language, buddy. Three, yes I did and yes they are.'
'I'm only quoting what you said, Rita. And can't you go to Kieran about it or something?'
'I want to, but he's been super busy lately. Maybe I'll bring it up at dinner if I get a chance. Honestly though, I've got too much pride to ask for help from a friend who used to be my junior. Funny how they're sooo upset over me, but they're tripping over themselves to suck up to him when he's 23. Eh, I've had my time to complain. Now I wanna talk about you. How do you feel? Are you nervous?'
Did that bother her? Anthony wondered. She changed the subject pretty quickly.
'Oh, not at all. I'm completely ready to go catch some rebels. They'll be caught before they know it.' He hesitated. 'But… I don't want them to get executed. Sora said he'll take care of it when I finish my part. If they're students in a school, they're probably just kids with grand ideas of freedom. Their families'll be devastated if they're killed.'
Rita sighed. 'We'd all like to be free. But when we were born in a place like this, the course of our lives was already set in stone. Most just accept their fate, but there are some who'd rather die fighting for their ideals than go on living like this. I'm sure they know the risks– it's been drilled into them since the day they were born. But the hope of a better life gives them the strength to keep going.'
Anthony didn't know what to say to that.
They sat in silence for a while.
Tonight's been ominously weird, he thought. Seeing the curse with my very own eyes, now this deep talk with Rita, of all people. And she's being sincere. That's incredibly rare for her.
'Whew, look at the time,' she said, tapping her watch. It's almost 8:10. This place is clearing out fast– we'd better move, or we'll be late for curfew.'
She stretched, then stood. 'Great convo today, even if it got… interesting. Welp, let's go. No need to hang around.'
'Yep, great social interaction,' Anthony said, rising too. 'You busy tomorrow?'
'Nope.'
'Oh, actually? Wanna go swimming then? Sora's letting me relax until the big day. I'm gonna spend as much time in the pool as possible!'
'Nice! Sounds like a plan. Let's meet back here at ten, 'kay?'
'Okay. Um, can you take me back to the fifth floor? I don't wanna get lost and have some poor guard find me wandering about like a ghost.'
'Man, you made it here in one piece, but you can't go back? Fine, then. Follow me, ya big goof!'
Wow… Anthony thought as they walked away. She really knows how to lighten the mood.