The smell of mold, that is what Edison could smell as he regained consciousness. His eyes fluttered open to see an unkempt library surrounding him. How long had he been unconscious? His mouth felt dry as the Western Continent. He hadn't had any water for ages obviously. The shelves surrounding him were covered in thick layers of dust, and the air felt musky. He suspected the books were the cause of the smell, maybe a flood soaked all the books or something. Behind him, Edison heard the creak of a door. Rusted hinges squeaked as if they came from an era long past. There hadn't been a flood in Varoux in many years? He drew two conclusions, he must have been very far underground for everything in this room to have been submerged and that this building must have been very old. Glancing upwards, Edison could see a line on the walls, one that gave the illusion of the room still being wet. Although it most certainly was not. This line disproved his original theory.
The click of heeled shoes brought Edison back to attention. He twisted his neck to see a woman in librarian like clothes. She held a clipboard and wore a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. She wore round horn rimmed glasses that had a slight red tint to them. Her stark black hair contrasted strongly with her ghostly pale complexion. She held an air of arrogance, not somebody Edison would want to associate with. She seemed as if she'd criticize him at any wrong move, and Edison made a fair amount of those.
Flipping to a page on her board, she clicked her tongue.
"Young man... You have made a grave error. Do you not know to control your actions in case of catastrophic events?" She scoffed as if disappointed with Edison. He glanced at the woman with extreme sincerity, Edison paused and reconsidered.
"What are you on about? If we are to discuss being irrational, it's clear that you are calling the kettle black. To be frank, it is completely ridiculous for someone in your circumstance to be lecturing myself. You kidnapped me‽"
"Something like that pales in comparison to what chaos you have ensued!" The woman broke her calm composure in favour of a flash emotion, showing the true panic that she hid behind the facade of arrogance. Edison was thrown aback, was she talking about what he said to the emperor? He had thought it would be a great idea, the emperor could influence him to do greater things. For example, not ruthlessly killing his servants. The emperor had his flaws, but Edison was sure that he was a man who considered internal affairs and loyalty to be of high importance.
Fostering his subjects was very important for the emperor, he didn't have a meritocratic system for nothing. Edison was confused, what had happened?
"Since you haven't realised what you've caused, I will make it crystal clear. The Empire attacked Princess Aurelia, as a show of dominance. She was assasinated, they have declared war against Kalad-. You have started a war."
"...Well sh-".
What actually happened within the king's chamber.
Placing her hand within his, Virgil Matthen smirked. He was not a man of patience, but instead he considered himself a man of emotion. His wife, the Queen, was beautiful, but a marriage of political gain was all their relationship ever was. They only had Aurelia out of the need for an heir.
He had become tired of the monotony of ruling a kingdom and his bland wife. Virgil had needed something to spice it up. His personal maid Mary was who he found his solace in. She spent almost all hours of the day with him. They hadn't done anything that would condemn him among the church, just friendly companionship.
"You should tell me about that scribe, it is absolutely brilliant how he keeps coming back." She was fond of teasing the young scribe who constantly was looking for Aurelia's hand in marriage. He had gone along with Mary's idea, only because he knew of Aurelia's distaste for the man's antics.
"If you insist." Virgil was always happy to tell Mary of whatever she wished.
"He returned last night and asked that I relay a message to my daughter. I interrupted him and told him that my grandmother had passed away again. The poor fool bought it, and left me alone. It took all I had not to burst into laughter. The young man has no limit to his ignorance." Clutching her stomach with one hand, Mary curled over in laugher. Using Virgil as a crutch to avoid falling over.
"He genuinely hasn't seemed suspicious whatsoever?"
"Unless he is an impeccable liar, I don't believe so."
"What a knee slapper sire, I cannot get enough of this fool. You are absolutely killing me with these stories."
"He must be quite a nitwit, to fall for the same tall tale." A large crash came from outside the door. Virgil and Mary both looked towards the doorway in shock. Had somebody been spying on them? This could be disastrous for his reputation. Grabbing for Mary's hands once again, he nodded to her and pushed away from her slightly.
King Virgil Matthen swung the door open, looking to his left he saw nothing but the greatest mess of a hallway. His priceless art pieces shattered, and blue footprints following out of the spilled paint, and through the archway at the end of the hall.
"What happened here?"
