City of Magische Geschöpfe [Complete]

Chapter 24: Ready, Set, . . .

Roman:

It was chaos. Organized chaos, mind you, but chaos all the same. Everyone was going through the motions, getting ready, cleaned, and warmed up for whatever was to come. Similar to any other day, except now there was a certain edge of panic to it all. A manic energy that sizzled under the nervousness. It made me very uneasy.

Nothing had happened all morning, but it was exactly that which was the problem. If the words of the messenger boy were to be taken truthfully, then something should be happening . . . since yesterday. But nothing had so restlessness was in order.

My vision flickered as I scanned the castle to check where everyone was. No one was asleep anymore, which was good. We all needed to be up and ready at all times. Then again, the more people that were up and moving, the more the tension built. Ah the pros and cons.

I did not know what to make of my revelation and honestly it did not matter, because oh, was I ever tired. So I just watched from the second floor, eyes straying every few minutes to the boy on the stairs. I caught his eye and winked. In return he rolls his and walks away, leaving me standing there.

I sigh and push off the banister, instantly bored again. I was not quite sure how Roberta was running this operation, but somehow Alleacia and I never had anything to do while many other's were run into the ground daily. Still, every time I asked the same answer came.

"No, Roman. Everything has been taken care of." Usually followed by a pat on the arm.

Perhaps it was favoritism on another level. After all she raised me and adopted Alleacia the moment she became an orphan. Many of her other so-called children strolled leisurely through the day as well. Yes, probably favoritism.

The place was also quieter than usual, since everyone went home to lie in wait. Leon was back working in the ministry, Maura and her father father had gone back to their Sector, as had all the other Lords and Ladies. It made it easier for everyone to get into position and all of that stuff. So should I not finally have some boots to polish? Oh no, I was stuck here watching everyone.

Then the alarm rung and the doors flew open and true chaos broke out.

I watched it, unmoving from my perch up here. There he was again, the messenger boy, not any more discreet than last time. What did he honestly think was good about bursting in here like the world was on fire. Perhaps it was, but all it did was drive everyone here into a panic and give away that Sector Six was not, in fact, abandoned. All in all, a very bad idea. Perhaps his job was so hard a tedious that he got whatever enjoyment he could get out of it. What an unproductive way to do it though.

The alarm rung in my head and surely would for the next while. Who's idea was to make it a wailing screech. Weren't there better ways to do this? Maybe no one thought this would be needed, so the first idea were all taken, slapped together, and then this cautionary alarm system was created. Well it turns out it was needed and if I survived this, my first act back on the job will be to correct this horrendous mistake.

"Go, go go." Shouted Roberta from the center of it all.

Then it really clicked. The alarms, the messenger, and what it all meant. This was going to happen, and it was going to happen now. My home was descending into chaos. Its first civil war, or war of any kind. The alarms meant that someone in the Majesty, most likely Leon, had noticed an attack and hit panic. And panic is what we did best, apparently.

Go, go go. Move. Mobilize towards the doors and run for the gates as fast as you can. It was surreal. I stood here in the place I used to play games, and waged a war against people I knew. I was trained for law enforcement, sure. I knew how to defend myself, but this was something I never could have predicted would happen.