There was no sound in the car as it travelled through the dark; no one spoke.
In the back seat, Vonessia sat with her legs crossed and looked out the window with her typical calm smile. Assad was next to Sévon in the front passenger seat, attempting to be calm but he couldn't deny that the atmosphere was very tense.
The only other sound in the car was the hum of the engine until Sévon had finally spoken
"We're almost in Yorna."
Assad glanced at Sévon
"Good." Vonessia said from the back.
He slowed down the car slightly.
"That means soon we'll have to change vehicles."
"Why do we have to change vehicles?" Assad looked away.
"Because you can't drive these types of cars in Yorna." Sévon laughed quietly.
Assad had a shocked expression.
"Wait… no way."
"Yes way. There was a law passed hundreds of years ago by a previous Emperor of the Empire." Sévon stated.
Assad was baffled at how he can be told that a whole city would not allow cars.
"You mean to tell me that an entire city doesn't allow cars?"
"There is a good reason," said Sévon with a grin.
"Yorna is not simply another city."
"Really." said Sévon with a light tap of the steering wheel, the road ahead began to close in on him.
"Yes, really," said Sévon, and began tapping the steering wheel lightly as the road closed in.
"The previous Emperor of the Empire regulated machines from fifty years ago going forward. He did not want to see nobles use developed technology, so in his words summarised, all of us who live in May or the third sector are practically spoiled brats who don't respect culture. So the use of traditional transport was still allowed." Sévon explained.
Assad looked out of the windshield and saw city lights from far away.
"By traditional…you mean? Like a horse?"
Sévon replied, "Most of the carriages are ornate for the nobility, and Yorna insists upon maintaining a façade of elegance."
Vonessia finally spoke from the back seat.
"It also prevents any modern... technological advances from being introduced into the district."
Assad raised an eyebrow.
"You mean this city is practically antiquated?"
"Yeah, you could say that." replied Sévon with a smirk.
A moment later, the vehicle reduced speed and pulled into a courtyard illuminated with lanterns and enveloped by large stone walls. Many luxurious carriages stood in perfectly straight rows, each drawn by an outstandingly groomed horse. A number of servants moved swiftly between carriages, aiding various guests who were arriving.
Sévon parked the vehicle and shut off the engine.
"We're here," he said.
He stepped out of the vehicle, walked around to the rear and opened the rear door for Vonessia, offering his hand.
"Director."
Vonessia descended in a graceful manner, hardly acknowledging them at all as she adjusted the sleeve of her cheongsam. As Assad descended out through the opposite side of the vehicle, he stopped to look around the courtyard. Surrounded by extravagance, he had never anticipated the grandeur of this place.
Near the largest carriage stood a tall man wearing a well-fitted black coat with his white gloves on.
His body was erect, and when he saw the group walk toward him he bowed deeply.
"Good evening to you," the man spoke plainly and without apprehension.
"I have been assigned as your chaperon to the auction house."
Sévon glanced at Vonessia for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Please, lead the way."
The man nodded to Sévon, who opened the door for Vonessia, who had a difficult time climbing into the carriage; Sévon assisted her. Assad was not sure what to do since he had not been on a carriage before. Sévon noticed and offered to assist him.
Assad agreed. He tried to hop on the carriage but had a hard time; Sévon assisted him onto the carriage and then entered and tapped on the side signifying to the driver that they were ready to go. The driver heard the signal from inside the carriage, so he took off, and the horses started pulling the carriage.
As they travelled towards the gates of Yorna, there was silence inside the carriage just as there had been within the car; no one spoke.
Sévon had his right hand resting on his cheek while looking out at the countryside. Vonessia sat back with her legs crossed, a picture of loveliness looking straight ahead at the driver, while Assad was not sure what to do.
Seeing how cool Sévon looked with his hand resting on his face, for whatever reason, he decided to imitate him and put his left hand on his face. The carriage continued on until it arrived at the gates of Yorna.
When they arrived, they found guards standing in front of the gate. They stopped the carriage from moving.
"Please produce identification and reason for entering," one of them asked.
"I am escorting Lady Vonessia to the Ruikha Empire's Seventh Auction", responded the driver.
The guards seemed to be unfamiliar with the name, but after a moment, they were able to remember. The guard then requested to see the driver's identification, which he produced immediately. The guard examined the driver's ID and then permitted the carriage to enter the gate.
As soon as the man nodded to signal the carriage to begin rolling again ; Assad quickly glanced back at the guard for a brief observation. He realised immediately that his gaze had caught the guard's attention, and that the guard turned to see him.
This caused Assad to flinch momentarily; but soon regained himself and went back to copying from Sévon ; this happened before the carriage entered the quiet portion of Yorna, which would allow him an opportunity to examine the beauty of that city compared to the city of Kurayamiya.
The night sky shined on Yorna to bring out the beauty of the buildings, despite the fact local people were relatively quiet there.
When they reached the auction house after a while, it was very impressive, shall we say. The entire building has bold vermilion walls, sweeping golden roofs and dragon motifs; guardian lion statues outside and red silk lanterns giving the building a very royal appearance. Assad was astonished by the auction house.
Assad wanted to show some maturity since he was no longer a child, but he wanted to know how nice the inside of the auction house was. Sévon saw his to-Sévon visible distaste for standing still as he waited for the auction to start.
"While I can understand your excitement about being at the auction house for the very first time, I don't think it's a good look for you to act like a child when you are trying to suppress your excitement," Sévon said while he chuckled.
Now being embarrassed that he was found to be excited, Assad looked at Sévon and nodded.
"Shall we be on our way?" Vonessia asked.