“What begins must always have an end, for that is the nature of all things.”
[A Chicago Puffy Proverb]
[Months later-1 day until the 100th year anniversary celebration of velvet’s coronation]
As we walked under the cover of the setting sun, I could feel a chill in the air. Winter had come early this year, the first snowfall being less than a week ago. We were all walking to the scheduling office at the ground level of the Stablelot gate, once we were there the place was packed with both guards and decorations, with the décor mostly being orange banners, and portraits of multiple monarchs of the Doe dynasty. We went up to the crowded poster to see where we would be posted for the celebration. Please be the White Palace, please! After a bit of shuffling around I see the portion of the poster for Royal Guards and to where each unit was assigned, reading it in my head.
[Royal Unit 1- Palace Entrance and courtyard-keep out troublemakers, and check guest invitations]
[Royal Unit 2- provide further support to Unit One]
[Royal Unit 3- Patrol the lower levels of the Palace, and watch out for spies and assassins]
[Royal Unit 4- patrol upper levels of the palace, with the same objective as Unit 3]
[Royal Unit 5- King Lilian’s and Crown Prince Beau’s bodyguard]
[Royal Unit 6- Stablelot Gate Duty… NOTE, by personal request of His Majesty]
**NO!**I’ve been stuck at this gate for months! And for a chance to be at the palace and do something important, Lilian decides to leave us here! Why though, does he think were some sort of freak unit!? Like if guests saw us they would unfortable by the Old man, Tribal, Changeling, and woman! Everyone else in my unit get’s a lok at the poster, with Dar speaking as he sees where we have been asigned.
“Gud mowe gate duty, nu way am goin’ to be standin’ fo’ houws, heawin’ aww that wich douchebag tawk.”
Charles let’s out a chuckle, as we all stand back so other guards can look. As we walk back to our bunk I try my best to keep my composure., With now where I’m assigned, feeling exhausted from months of work without break, and sending now multiple letters to my parents without response… I felt like I was going to have a breakdown. As we walked I felt like venting a least a little so I speak having about an idea I was having.
“Hey Emiwy was thinking, I hab been sabin’ whatebah I can fo’ some time nao, an’ was thinkin’ about hiwin’ a pwibate inbestigatow to weawn about my pawents. Shouwd Emiwy do it?”
Ix looks at me and speaks.
“I don’t know, Emily. It’s obvious something is going wrong, but who knows. It may very well be you had been sending the letters to the wrong place, or the Seaside mail service is incompetent. But ultimately I lean yes.”
Charles speaks his breath cloudy by the cold air.
“Dah wettah sewbice am howwibwe! Took them 2 months just to send a wettah between hewe, my fowks, an’ back to me! Howwibwe!”
Charles just sayings his frustrations seemed to puta frown of his face as we made it to the bunk rooms. Once inside I felt a sense of warmth overcome me, I saw fireplace lit in the corner with several guards laying by it, sleeping. Getting to our beds we started to take off our armor with Charles looking at Dar speaking.
“Few months untiw spwing bacation. Daw what am ‘ou goin’ to do, once 'ou get paid, goy any famiwy back at Maximus?”
Dar looks at Charles with a slight forwn, he diudnt like talking about his family. With the times we did ask him, he changed the subject. Dar speaks in a surprisingly neutral voice.
"Daw am 100% not goin’ back to Maximus, ow my Daddeh… Daw maybeh find cheap pwot of wand in New Junction, ow happyfawm. An buiwd a house ow somethin’.
Ix speaks with her now having no armor on and laying on her bed.
“You’re Dad?”
Dar speaks realizing we heard him give a comment about his dad.
“Daw doesn’t wan’ to tawk about it. Daw am tiwed, goodnite.”
And with that we all decided not to cause any more drama and sleep for the stressful day ahead of us.
[The day of the 100th anniversary Celebration]
The overcrowded streets were bustling with music and parades, while we watched from the upper part of the gate. It was currently the early afternoon, with celebrations reaching there peak. And not just that looking up at the palace I could see the 3 highest levels bursting with light, with unidentifiable figures on balconies. Dar and Charles were slumped over sharing a liquor bottle, with Ix laying on her back looking up at the sky. As I went to go look down and check the gate, I saw Ix look at me and speak.
“Is it true almost every dynasty showed up? damn that’s crazy.”
I was about to speak until Charles beat me to it.
“Yup, an’ fank Anu we nu did hab to escowt them.”
Dar gives a slightly annoyed face at Charles and gives a slight bum to his shoulder, as he speaks sounding slightly drunk.
“‘Ou stoopi’… Ugh. Fiwstwy onwy dah dynasty heads, dewe spouses, an’ heiws, wewe dah onwy ones giben inbitations. An’ secondwy, one dynasty hasn’t come, House StwongWing.”
What but how! House StrongWing and House Doe have such an interlocked history! I speak.
“What! Why nu did dey come!? House StwongWing an’ House Doe go back since dah beginnin. Souw hewped put Bewbet on dah fwone!”
Dar shrugs and takes another sip of the drink, than after speaks.
“Emiwy ‘ou nee’ to stahp wookin’ at dah past, an’ wook at dah nao. Obah a centuwy of powah stwuggwes, gweed an’ just bittewness, hab dah weft dah two houses as wibaws. That’s why dey nu did come, to gib anothah insuwt.”
Was I really that blind to what was going on in the outside world!? I look down with a bit of sadness, hearing the sounds of joy and celebration around me.
As afternoon slowly started turning to dusk, I saw Charles and Ix had decided to take nap, leaving only me and Dar on watch. As we sat looking down at the gate Dar looked at me and spoke.
“Hey Emiwy… Daw just wanted to say sowwy fo’ how daw tweated ‘ou duwin’ twainin’. Daw hopes am daddeh am otay.”
I was left in a bit of a shock hearing that. It had been months since those incidents. And after that Dar’s demeanor improved massively, with him becoming a more involved member of our unit. I speak
“Oh that’s otay’, an’ fank 'ou about my Daddeh.”
As we watch I speak again.
“'Ou know Daw, ‘ou awways seem to get sad when am Daddeh am bwought up, an’ yestewday ‘ou dodged dah question. Do ‘ou feew comfowtabwe tewwin’ me why? it’s otay’ if 'ou don’t, Emiwy just thinks it wiww make 'ou feew bettah.”
Dar hearing this looks up and after a few seconds of silence I feel like I shouldn’t have said that, then Dark finally looks down and speaks to me.
“‘Ou know Emiwy, daw am technicawwy nobiwity. Ow weww my Daddeh am, Daw wont be inhewitin’ anythin’.”
I speak shocked by this revelation.
“What!?”
Dar provides context.
“my house, house obwound. Am dah most powewfuw twibaw dynasty in maximus. Ow at weast it was, it seems wike my fathah an’ owdah bwothews am mowe den happy to do 'way wiff ouw hewitage, in owdah to fit in wiff wawgah society.”
Hearing this I’m still in shock, than Dar speaks again.
“He’s ashamed of ouw hewitage, he wan’‘s to puwge it fwom ouw histowy. Daw wemembews when he caught me gettin’ my scaws. he beat Daw hawf to death, sayin’ Daw was an embawwassment. An Fathah was dah weason am eben hewe, he weached his boiwin’ point wiff me. An’ when an oppowtunity opened up fo’ Woyaw Guawd positions, sent fwuffy off.”
Dar’s face is full of sadness, as I go over to him and give him a hug speaking as I do.
“Oh Daw Emiwy am sowwy, what a howwibwe man!”
I go back as Dar speaks.
“Fank 'ou… Am alwso wite I do feew a bit bettah nao that daw spoke about it.”
Dar now looks out at the celebrations and feast’s going on down below and looks back at me, looking into my eyes and speaking.
“hey Emiwy, Daw knows it’s technicawwy not awwowed, buh wouwd ‘ou wike to go down into dah pawty an’ join dah fun. Ix an’ chawwes nu hab to know, it can just be dah two of us.”
I feel myself getting a little shocked and flustered by his comment and even giving a blush, than Dar smiles and begins to hold one of my hooves. After a few seconds I speak now having an answer.
“Suwe, Emiwy wouwd wub to!”
We start to get up and as we do I can hear the sound of running hooves, than turning to the sound I see… Reverend! He stops at us speaking.
“Nu teww anyone webewend weft!”
I speak confused and shocked.
“Awen’t 'ou supposed to be at dah Pawace entwance!”
Reverend speaks, taking off his helmet.
“Somethin’ am goin’ on at dah pawace, wepowts fwom Woyaw Guawds at dah uppah webew.”
Dar speaks.
“What!?”
Reverend speaks wiping his brow.
“Dah King am habin’ a compwete mentaw bweakdown! cwaimin’ aww dah nobwe guests am howwibwe wwetched peopwe that nu desewbe dewe positions of powah, an’ that “judgment day” was upon them. Den he tuwned to his wife, Queen Isabewwe an’ towd hew that he nebah wobed hew, an’ that dewe awwanged mawwiage was dah wowstes’ thin’ that ebah happened to him. Webewend weft when some of my unit went up, fwuffy think a fite must hab bwoken out!”
holy Shit! I started to think about the possiblity of us all going back to the palace and trying to sort out what was going on, I went over to Charles and Ix an-
A loud deep creaking metallic whine could be heard across the entire city. immediately Charles and Ix sprang to there hooves in a panic, and Dar yells.
“WHAT DAH FUCK IS GOIN’ ON, WHAT’S HAPPENIN! Howy Shit….”
I started hearing screaming and panic down below, and when I got to Dar I saw that he was looking at something up above. Taking a look myself. I saw it.
The foundations of The White Palace trembled under it’s own weight, the building now visibly shaking with a deep whine. No less than 5 seconds after I started looking the tower, it made one final loud roar. As the entire building began collapsing. We Barely even had a few seconds to react, before a just of dust and debris began hitting us. I fell to the ground covering my head, the sounds of screeching metal falling to the ground and screams of terror blasted my ear drums. After 30 seconds the dust subsided and I got up seeing an apocalyptic scene, the only reason we were alive being that we were pretty far from the tower. We all started running down to the ground level, with dozens of city guards joining us. When we got there it was a scene out of nightmares, even though the site was pretty far dead bodies in various states of mutilation littered the streets. going over we began to check for survivors, I heard some chirps coming from a collapsed wall and began to pick it up, once we did the sight was gruesome. A dead mother and father laid with faces frozen in terror and in their hooves two chirpies less than 2 weeks old laid crying and chirping. Going over we kept sweeting the area, around us survivors ran trying there best to leave the city making it hard for us to look. Running over I thought I saw an injured person, with them laying down by a piece of metal. Going my jaw dropped as I saw the horrible sight! Their entire lower jaw had been completely blown off, with their tongue out in the open and blood still gushing out of the wound. Seeing this I vomit and take a few steps back crying at all the destruction. I find a quiet place to sit, as I look seeing all that was infront of me in pure hopelessness, survivors holding there dead or dying relatives, chaotic fights for food or medical equipment, and the desolation of the surrounding buildings. than I look up seeing the place The White Tower used to stand it now a lowering dust cloud and empty space. Than it hits me, The Doe dynasty, every single member was at that party, and almost every dynasty head was there to, and most the recruits at training and Dorri. They were all dead, and Motor… Motor has no King. Than I think about what reverend said earlier about king Lilian’s meltdown. “Judgment Day” Dread and terror washed over me thinking about those words. This was Judgment day, and we were found guilty. Fin
And with that The White Tower Trembled, and Judgement Day has been fulfilled… I can’t wait to start writing the next part, The adventure will officially begin! I hope to have it completed in a few day’s to a week, and of course constructive criticism is appreciated. May you have a good day!