Perspectives

Chapter 20

Desperate rage filled screams coming from the top drawer of his dresser could be heard until the bedroom door snapped shut behind him. Kalen stopped outside the door, taking a moment to close his eyes and take a long breath. What I did was right. He assured himself. And yet Piper's anguished cries still hauntingly echoed in his mind. 

Kalen cursed under his breath. He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this, he wasn't supposed to be so sympathetic towards her. She was a human, just some inconsequential human. He shouldn't be feeling so bad about leaving her behind, in fact he shouldn't even be leaving her behind at all. Though Lord Rothgard hadn't specifically asked that he bring the human to the meeting, he likely would have liked him to. But Kalen just couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be safe, that Piper would be in danger.

Kalen shook his head vigorously as though trying to clear the confusion from his mind. "Damn it." He muttered, running a hand down his face. 

"Kalen, hurry up! We need to leave!" The voice of his father called from downstairs. Kalen released a deep sigh before quickly descending the stairs and making his way to the small room where the transporter unit sat, already whirring softly in preparation for use. 

Danver Stenton stood waiting next to the transporter unit, dressed in a long gray overcoat with the collar lifted up around his neck. While Kalen didn't look dissimilar to his father, their relation wasn't perfectly evident at first glance. Danver possessed stronger more square features in contrast to his son's more angular and pointed ones and had eyes like dark coffee. The two did have the same dark shade of hair, however Danver opted to wear his in a looser partially undercut style.

"Your mother will meet us there, are you ready?" Kalen's father asked as he pulled short black leather gloves onto each hand.

Kalen gave a wordless nod in response, focusing his attention on buttoning his blazer so as to not have to meet his father's intense stare. When he looked up, his father was stepping into the blue glow being cast between the metal apparatuses on the floor and ceiling. "Clear for transport." His father announced.

"Transporting to Aston Hall in Krestin of the Karth District." The automated voice of the transporter unit stated. Kalen shut his eyes against the bright flash of blue light that followed. When he reopened his eyes, his father was gone. 

Following suit, Kalen stepped into the transporter unit. "Clear for transport." He sighed, to which the unit responded the same as it had for his father. Then came the familiar tingling sensation that came with his body dematerializing and his vision went to black. The entire process was almost instantaneous but for the brief moments it took for the transporter to properly rematerialize his body in the new location. With public transporters you would sometimes have to wait up to minutes in what was basically limbo while you waited for the transporter to be open for use. Aston Hall however, housed a transporter unit for all twelve members of the Sovereign Council. 

When his vision returned, Kalen took in the large transporter room of Aston Hall where resided twelve individual transporter units. As it was with the rest of Amasis' capital building, the room was unbelievably impressive with its high ceilings and elegant decor. Kalen noticed a few other council members just arriving, however he pulled his attention away from the background and settled it on his father who stood waiting for him in front of the transporter unit, along with his mother beside him. 

Mareen Stenton bore a stronger resemblance to her son with similar facial features and matching gray eyes. Mareen however, possessed long tresses of lightly curled strawberry blonde hair. Dressed as would be expected of someone of her status, Mareen wore a deep purple fitted blazer that had silver buttons all down the front sides, her long skirt matching the purple of the blazer. Beneath the blazer was a textured white top that rose up her neck and was decorated with an emerald broach that was most certainly a family heirloom.