The Tragedy of Renya

1.2 Wanting to See Someone

???, Renya

Outside the window people were walking across the street. Some merchants were shouting as they tried to sell their wares, while other people quickly ran to buy some, or were heading to or from their work. A few carriages were rattling through the streets, and in front of them the crowds dispersed to make way, only to come together again as soon as the carriage was gone. City life in Renya; it would never change. Each day the people would change, but it would be busy outside every single day, as it had been busy outside for many years now.

It was completely different from inside. The room was quiet; nobody was speaking and there was only one person in the room. There were paintings hanging on the white marble-like walls, and a silver chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. On the stone floor was a large carpet, and there was a small coffee table in the middle of the room. Three couches were placed around it; all three of them were pure white and had 3 pillows on them. A desk was standing in an alcove that looked out over the street, with a few papers and writing utensils on it. There was a drawer against the wall, which held a bust of Lord Andrey Pentel, the ancestor of the family. There were a few crystal glasses on the drawer as well, all of them decorative. There was also a glass on the coffee table in the middle, though this glass was nowhere near as ornate and detailed as the decorative ones. However, this one was filled with a red wine. There was a platter with some fruits on the table as well. All of these were brought in for the single man who was lying on one of the couches. Lord Hendri Pentel, heir to the Pentel family. He was also the only man who lived in the house; there were servants, of course, and there was his wife. The house was too large for the two of them. But it was the house that Hendri had grown up in.

Still, he could not help but feel the house was too large for just the two of them. Even though he had personally sealed away the basement, and forbidden anyone from entering, there were more rooms than he or his wife would ever need. He sat up and finished his glass. He had a meeting with the city council today; they were starting to ask questions he wasn’t comfortable answering. Details about his wife, about the state of the city. Things he did not have satisfying answers to.

One of the doors to the large room opened and his wife came in. He smiled at her. She stroked his face, noticing how worried he seemed.

“It’s fine, Lea,” he told her, gazing deep into her purple eyes, “the city council will surely listen to me.”
“Everyone will listen to you,” She smiled, looking back at him, “you have the charisma to make them listen.”

Hendri nodded.
“They’re starting to become a pain though. I wish there was a way to get rid of them.”

Lea smiled at him, almost as if she knew a way to get rid of the council members.
“They don’t matter,” she said after a while, “in the long run they’re no more influential than flies.”
“Not like you and me,” Hendri agreed with his wife. She turned away, her blonde hairs waving behind her as she left the room.

“You seem to be spending a lot of room in the library lately,” Hendri told his wife, but he didn’t receive an answer anymore.

He called in a servant to take the fruits and the glass away. He had work to do.

After a few minutes a young girl came in. She had black hair in a single ponytail and the uniform of those serving the Pentel family. Hendri knew he’d heard the girl’s name once, but he could not recall it.  The girl put the empty glass and plate with fruits on a tray and left the hall, leaving Hendri Pentel alone once again.

She went down several stairs to the kitchen, walking carefully. She’d walked this same route so often already but she still was extra careful on the stairs, remembering the many times she’d fallen and made a mess. The further downstairs she went the more other people she encountered. All of them were wearing the same outfit as she was; a long blue dress with short sleeves and a white shirt underneath of which only the collar was visible. On the dress was a pattern with the Pentel family crest embroidered on the bottom, and the Pentel family crest was also embroidered on the chest. The men, however, were wearing a shirt that was almost similar in pattern to the women’s dresses and wore pants underneath them, which had the Pentel family crest embroidered on the front pockets. The girl went even further down, until she finally reached the ground floor of the mansion. There she headed for the kitchen where she put the tray down. Immediately a woman from around thirty years old, with unnaturally curly hair and a jump in her step took the fruits off and started putting them back in the pantry. The girl took the glass out and started cleaning it, together with the tray and bowl the fruits had been in. Another servant of the Pentel family came past and put some cups belonging to the servants down.

“Hey, can’t you clean your own things?” the girl laughed as she took one of the cups and started washing it. The man laughed and headed on.

The girl finished cleaning the cups and put them on a board to dry. She turned around and looked at the clock. Five ten, she thought, and realised her working hours had ended.

“Have a good day everyone,” she shouted through the hall, and left. She first went to the women’s dressing room where she changed out of her uniform and put it back in her locker. Instead of her uniform she was now wearing a light blue shirt with a dark blue skirt. She grabbed her shoulder bag and left the Pentel Mansion.

She blinked a few times when she came into the bright sunlight outside. She then headed towards the center of the city, as she’d been doing every day lately.

From all over Renya the giant dark tower that was the center of the city could be seen. It was the starting point of the city, built by the first Lord Pentel when he founded the city. The tower was the place where the Goddess of Renya had first been seen, the girl remembered, as she stood in front of the tower. The Goddess would protect the city and its inhabitants. At least, that’s what they’d all been told. The large statue on top of the tower could not be seen from down here but on every side of the tower were alcoves with in them statues of the Goddess. In front of these alcoves were flowers and offerings to the goddess. All of them had a different request; please help a family member to the afterlife. Please allow me to gain more wealth. Please let him or her fall in love with me. The girl bowed to one of the statues and made her wish.

Please allow my brother to return home safely.

She’d been praying like this every day for a long time now. Ever since her brother had left she wanted him to return safely. She couldn’t tell how long it had been since he’d left, but she knew it was longer than he had planned.

Still, there had been no message of anything to happening to him. The girl nodded to herself and thought he’d come back soon. Any day now.

She headed away from the city center again, and headed for her home. Her home was in the outskirts of the town, nearly at the large city walls that protected the city. For many years Renya had been at war, but it had been uncommonly quiet for a long time now. Perhaps the world had finally decided to come at peace. Then again, the girl smiled to herself, today news had arrived of a war between two countries in the far north.

The girl’s house was a small one, with only three rooms. The ground floor was the living room, on the top floor was the bathroom and two bedrooms. She’d been living in this house together with her brother for several years now. In fact, he was the one paying for the house and had invited her to move in with him because he was away on business so often and he didn’t want people to break in.

She walked through the living room and checked both bedrooms. Both were exactly as she’d left them.

Her brother hadn’t come home today either.