The Inaugural Address

PART III - CHAPTER IV

4.

"I'm looking for a Mabel Galivee," Leo shouted to a station attendant over the rush of another train passing a station outside Rotorua, Virgonian Territory. He was following directions to meet up with Mabel upon the instruction of Charity, his old friend who had supposedly come back from the dead to write him a letter requesting his assistance. Not only was Leo suspicious of the situation because the supposed author of the letter, he was also suspicious that the person he was instructed to meet at the station was known to have been arrested and held captive by the Ariesan soldiers months ago.

Leo had come to realize that the chances of the letter being a fluke were rather high on the train ride over. How could two of the most influential people in the rebellion fake their death to everyone – even their closest friends and family? How could Mabel have escaped captivity from the Ariesans and somehow now be able to show her face in public without getting arrested instantly? Things didn't seem to add up, but Leo couldn't ignore a letter of such supposed importance.

Despite his choice to take the trip alone so that he could control who discovers what, Leo suddenly began to miss Brock's, and even Kaster's, protection. Furthermore, he regretted not telling either what he was going to do, even if he did so with much consideration. If Philip was alive, it could jeopardize his relationship with Brock. He looked fondly on Philip and of course wanted him to be alive, but he knew news that Phillip hadn't passed away would create some heavy tensions between Philip, Brock, and Leo. Why would Brock choose to stay with Leo if Philip, the first love of Brock's life, weren't actually dead?

"I don't know, kid, keep looking. Most people waiting for passengers meet downstairs by the cargo and baggage claim." The attendant responded, his tone as vibrant as his entirely plain and forgettable gray uniform. Leo may have been understandably stressed, but that didn't stop him from maintaining his fashion-centric instincts.

"Alright, thank you." Leo replied passively, noticing a sign above a set of stairs across the pavilion instructing passengers to baggage claim. He quickly transferred his attention to the stairs, and began to cross over to them, however reluctantly.

As he approached the stairs, Leo's level of comfort continued to descend with every step he saw, each one landing lower in his view. While the stairs descended, his nerves ascended. He couldn't help but feel like he was about to look back in time... back to a time of heightened personal uncertainty and insecurity hidden by a well crafted disguise of grandeur. According to his recollection, life prior to Philip's unfortunate departure consisted of considerable longing and loneliness. Being true to his sign, Leo longed for the certainty and unity of his current life... post-Mabel, post-Philip, even post-Charity. Now more than ever he wished his current life to remain instead of the alternative reality of Philip and Charity still being alive. He knew such a desire could make him seem selfish in the eyes of others, but for just this once, he didn't actually care what other people might think of him. So, once he reached the first step of the stairs leading down to where he was to meet Mabel and face his past, he couldn't bring himself to take the next step. He was too enthralled with Brock. He was too in love with the convenience of the present.

"No," He whispered defiantly under his breath. He turned away from the stairs and headed over to the other side of the platform. Ironically, as he approached the side of the tracks headed back toward Taupo, he heard a train approaching the station. He thought it strange that the universe brought him this close to returning to his dark past just to deliver another train to take him back to the reality he preferred, the reality with Brock and the new rebellion. Regardless, he knew he needed to board the train and leave the station.

At that point Leo began to find comfort in the possibility that his requested presence was just a fool's errand. It was still possible that Philip and Charity were truly gone as everyone had assumed. He couldn't even guarantee that Mabel was still alive after her arrest, or that she was at the station. For all Leo knew, Alexandria's administration – or perhaps the loyalists of her predecessor – could have sent the letter to lure him out to the station to be captured. If that were the case, thank god he was about to leave.

In typical fashion, Leo was able to find much-needed comfort with enough overthinking.

Leo entered the train and took a seat facing the direction the train was headed. He chose to take one last glance at the station and instantly regretted doing so, because awaiting his gaze was Mabel, standing right where he was standing moments ago, atop the stairs. Her emotionless facial expression despite locking eyes with Leo left him with an uncomfortable weight in his stomach. The train began to move forward as he noticed two other people top the stairs behind Mabel. Leo quickly noted both bore similar emotionless expressions. After identifying the two additional individuals, Leo's stomach continued to sink. Both Charity and Philip were still alive.