Ascent of Lies

Chapter 4

FUJITA LOOKED UP TOWARD the big, grey mansion in front of her. It was easily the ugliest building she had ever seen, and she had immediately recognized its origin. Years ago, she had stood inside of it when she had received a medallion for bravery from the mayor of Katalor after she had helped save her planet. After she had lost her grandfather and half of her world's population.

But this was not the same building. It was a near-perfect copy of it, however. Fujita could not make out any differences from the original version.

Fujita had been brought to the Presidential Residence in Ascania Province by Elizabeth, all the way from Tegra Province on the other end of the continent, where she had met the old lady. Luckily, they had been able to fetch a ride.

After the two women had arrived in Ascania Province, Fujita had sent Elizabeth home, where the Daelan woman was sure she would be safe. Fujita did not know if she were in any danger, but until she would find out how she got of Medea, she did not want to take any risks.

After a moment, the door in front of Fujita opened with great effort, and a tanned face appeared to the Admiral.

"Your Excellency!" the man called out, the terror clearly visible on his handsome face, "I– I thought you were inside", he continued, stuttering as he spoke. "I'm terribly sorry, your Excellency! I'll inform the guards of your arrival!"

"No need", Fujita said with a carefully planned intimidating grin. "I just went for a walk, I'll be going inside now."

Fujita walked through the door, uncaringly shoving the poor man aside on her way. The attitude she chose to use somewhat resembled how she used to be as a teenager, yet it was for the most part the exact opposite of how she was nowadays. It scared her how little effort it took her to adopt that intimidating, aggressive approach herself.

The inside of the Presidential Residence was exactly as Fujita expected it to be. Right opposite of the two big entrance doors was a wide staircase that led to the second floor. The stairs were as grey as the outside of the building and were draped with a red carpet. The rest of the floor was made up out of tiny white tiles made of crystalline stone, many of which were cracked from the frequent usage of the entrance hall.

The left side of the hall was decorated with a foreign banner that was draped all over the wall, which was the only difference with the original building. That one had had a flag of the Kataloran Empire, Fujita's home country.

Fujita looked at the stairway, and without further hesitation she climbed onto it to the second floor. Stoutly, she trotted toward her destination. She was not exactly sure what she was expecting to find, but any information whatsoever would help her at this moment.

After a minute or so, Fujita had reached the hallway that led her to an office. She halted before it and drew a deep breath, carefully calming her mind before entering. Then, she knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer.

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The room was poorly illuminated. The face that stared at Fujita from behind a desk at the other side of the room, was hidden in the shadows. Fujita could not make out many of its features, but nonetheless she knew it was the kind of face that stood out in a crowd, that you would remember for the rest of your life. Light that fell into the room from the hallway, reflected in the pure brown and golden-specked eyes.

The face was supported by a body whose female features were all but masked by the clothing worn over it. The greyish tunic that the woman wore, was pressed to her skin by a golden breastplate lined with decorative figures. The body looked no older than that of a schoolgirl, yet Fujita knew that the woman who possessed it was not so innocent.