The Four Chimes

Chapter 14 - ARI

As we entered the hallway leading to our home, I noticed that the hallway was empty. I let out a sigh of relief. At least they were late, too.

I opened the door and walked in. I turned around to face Tsano. "Have you ever been here?"

"No, I haven't. It's... nice." Tsano gave me one of her trademark wide smiles.

I turned around again to face the living room. "So here we have-- Wait, what?"

"Hey," Paile said, nodding his head at us.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

"How did you get in?"

Tanta got up from the armchair and walked within sight. "We know you keep a spare key under the doormat."

"You really shouldn't do that." Paile smirked.

"Someone could break in," said Tanta.

"You already did break in!" said Kurie.

"But we're your friends. So it's different," said Tanta.

"Plus, we were getting tired of standing in the hallway," said Paile.

Kurie rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I totally forgot we were supposed to meet right now."

"So. How did the coronation go?" asked Tanta.

I stepped forward. "It definitely wasn't what any of us expected."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, to start off, there was this crazy metal canopy that went over the entire Square and covered the sky."

"And then it lit up," said Lera. "Like stars. But it didn't seem like any kind of magic I knew of."

"Do you think it's those lights they installed in the palace?" asked Paile.

"Maybe," said Tanta.

"What lights?" asked Kurie.

Tanta sighed. "They're trying to 'update' the palace by replacing the old gas lamps with these weird electric lights. They're brighter for sure, but they also burn out every two seconds."

Paile smirked. "I'm surprised they stayed on the whole time."

Lera faced Paile. "They might not have. To be completely honest, I don't think many of us were paying attention to the lights."

"Why not?" asked Tanta.

"There was this speech," said Tsano. "You know how the speeches are always shallow platitudes, to say the least?"

"Of course," said Paile. "I would expect nothing less."

"Well, this speech was different."

"Different how?" asked Tanta.

"It actually meant something. There was a feeling in the air... You can tell these people cared. They saw something in that speech. 'Bring glory back to Lhartaon.' He inspired people."

"What else did he say?" asked Paile.

"Strengthening the military. Replacing magic with technology. Rooting out those who didn't 'believe in the nation'."

"A kid said all that?" asked Paile.

"Sure, he said it, but I doubt he believed it," said Lera. "He was surrounded by guards that seemed to be meant to intimidate him rather than protect him. And no kid would say that speech perfectly unless their life depended on it: his might have."