The Collector and Her Steed

Chapter 36

"Heisenberg, you can always show me how machines work at the factory. I don't wanna slow down your work." Pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she watched Heisenberg shove a second cookie into his mouth.

Through a mouthful of cookie crumbs, he spoke, "Hey you've kept the girls away so I've actually been able to stay focused. It helps not having to chase down the wrench while a swarm of sentient flies carries it away every five minutes." Shaking his head slightly, he leaned over to press a kiss to Mira's cheek but she put her hands up to catch his face before he got crumbs all over her. Giggling as she brushes the crumbs off, she releases his face only to have him lean away with a disgruntled look on his face.

Rolling her eyes, Mira leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I wasn't rejecting you ya fuckhead, I was rejecting your crumbs." Messing up his hair, she got up on her feet. Leaning back down quickly, she plants a kiss on his forehead. "Daniela wanted me to go hang out in the library with her, come find me when you're done here. I know you wanna get out of here as soon as possible."

With that Mira stepped away and walked out of the room. Making her way down the hallways leading to the library, her eyes wander over the intricate art that filled the castle. The art alone probably would easily cost hundreds of thousands of lei, if not in the millions. If Mira were to guess however, it's doubtful that at the time the art was created it was worth that much. Considering how many generations lived in that house she could only assume how old some of the pieces were. Walking through the room with the piano, she couldn't help but allow herself to run her fingers over the keys. Pressing down a few of the keys, a soft trill of sound rang out and filled the room. With a faint smile forming on her lips, she continued into the library.

As she stepped through the doors, Mira found Daniela already curled up in one of the chairs with a book of poetry. Glancing up from said book, Daniela smiled "feel free to peruse, no one but me really hangs out here so the books might be a bit dusty." Replacing her gaze on the yellowing pages of her book, Daniela went back to reading.

Walking around the room Mira glanced at the shelves piled with books. From what she could tell most of the books were printed in the late 1800's to the mid 1900's, however there was the occasional modern book thrown in which she guessed came from Duke. Scooping up a book, Mira nodded approvingly at the title Greek and Roman Mythology: An Image Archive for Artists and Designers. Taking the book over to a chair sat across from Daniela, Mira plopped down and started flipping through the book. Over the next hour or so they stayed fairly quiet, only the sound of pages being flipped filling the room. Daniela was the first to break the silence.

"Hey Mira, what's life like outside of the village?" By now she had placed her book down on a side table and was watching Mira. The young woman had a very hopeful expression on her face as she waited for an answer.

Gently setting her book down, Mira cleared her throat. "Well let's see right now science is currently going through a major boom, especially in the medical industry. Scientists are getting even closer to curing cancer, they are discovering treatments for illnesses that were deemed untreatable. They're finally working on replacing plastics with biodegradable materials which hopefully will lower the amount of trash going into landfills and ending up in the ocean." Pausing, Mira looks down at the book in her lap. With a sigh, she continues, "However there are horrible things still happening. There was the incident in raccoon city, a decently large city in America that was overrun by bioweapons that ended up having to be bombed to control the outbreak. Not a lot of people know the real reason, but due to the work my mother used to do we of course learned about it. There are countries trying to use bioweapons in war, causing horrid outbreaks that could potentially lead to the downfall of entire countries. There are people out there trying to fight this and stop these things from happening but as more bioweapons are created and sold on the black market, it's harder to control." Looking back up at Daniela, a faint smile forms on her lips. "But not everything is bad, countries are working on being more inclusive to all forms of people and are working on trying to work on global climate change. People can be with who they want and hopefully can eventually raise kids in a world that isn't a ticking time bomb."

As Mira spoke, Daniela's look of hope faded, but at the mention of people being with those they wished to be with that look came back. "Do you think my sisters and I could ever leave this village, even if it was just for the summer? You said countries are being more supportive of all sorts of people. I want to be able to see the world, I want to be able to see what life outside of the castle is like."

Sighing, Mira slowly shook her head. "If anyone got word that you're, well uh different I believe you all would be hunted down to be tested on. I would love to be able to show you life outside of these mountains but I doubt with you being the way that you all are, that it's possible to safely travel. I'm truly sorry Daniela, but if it makes you feel better I will gladly let you live through me so you can experience some things. I can drop off some stuff so you can see what modern life is like."

Daniela goes to speak but her yellow eyes flick up to something behind Mira, turning she finds Heisenberg standing in the doorway with his grease stained shirt tossed over his shoulder. Setting the book to the side, Mira stands up and walks over to him. Rubbing some grease off of his cheek, she smiles. "You all done working?"

Nodding, he wraps an arm around her waist. "Yeah, it's working just fine now. Hopefully it stays working so I don't have lady supersized bitch breathing down my neck anytime soon." Chuckling, he looks over at Daniela. "So, what have you two girls been up to?"
"Oh well Mira was just telling me about life outside of the village before you walked in." She still has a hopeful tinge to her voice as she speaks. "Since my sisters and I can't leave, she's going to bring us some modern things to look at. Don't let mother know though, she may think we're trying to leave."

Nodding his head, Heisenberg runs his fingers through his hair. "Is that so? Well I won't be chatting with the large one any time soon so your secret is safe with me." Looking down at Mira, he smirks. "Now let's get going, I want to get you home before dark."

Leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek, Mira rolls her eyes. "Oh please, I know you'll protect me from anything out there that goes thump in the night. I haven't got anything to be worried about. But yes, let's get going before you get into any trouble." Spinning out of his grasp, Mira giggles at the exasperated look forming on Heisenberg's face. Waving to Daniela, Mira ducks out of the room and heads to the stairs without waiting for Heisenberg. Hearing his heavy footsteps behind her, she continues on her way to their room.

It didn't take long for them to pack everything up and bring their stuff downstairs. All of the girls were waiting in the main area, waiting to say goodbye. As each of them gave Mira a hug, she reassured them that she would be back in a reasonable amount of time with some presents for them. Waving their final goodbyes, Mira and Heisenberg headed through the door and started their way down to the village.