January Black

Chapter 2 - Part 3

Three of the Kitsune descended their respective staircases as Matty and the King left the observatory. The guardians were lean, well-built, and each taller than six feet. With their matching uniforms and haircuts, he found it hard to tell them apart at a glance. Except for Conrad Marlo, of course. A person would have to be blind to not recognize him.

Genetically speaking, the kingdom had blended considerably since the Founders’ migration from the Old World. People with fair skin stood out, as did those with dark. The Marlo family retained many of their Ethiopian ancestor’s genes over generations. Combined with the Kitsune physique, his very dark skin made Conrad Marlo one of the most beautiful men in the kingdom according to Spark! Magazine. They placed him at number seven on their last top-twenty list. Rumor had it that Hadrian nominated him a few years back as a joke, and Conrad had been trying ever since to get out of the annual feature. True or not, the man’s fame preceded him.

Matty gave him a nervous smile and received a shallow nod in return. By reputation, Conrad was disciplined, quiet, and perhaps a bit anal-retentive. Some suggested that he truly ruled Columbia while giving Hadrian the credit, but Matty’s father refuted that. Conrad might be the King’s personal assistant, but Hadrian Steer, like his father before him, was a hands-on kind of guy.

The four staircases were built in graceful curves around the rotunda’s gray stone walls. Matty and the King took the southeast exit from the observatory, which descended along the wall to end at the northeast quarter. Conrad waited until they passed him before leaving his post to fall in behind them.

The floor of the rotunda below them was a kaleidoscope as the party guests pulsed to 120-beats-per-minute of electronica. Heavy bass gave Matty a headache, so he didn’t like club music much. He recognized the popular song, though. A spotlight leveled on him and the King, blinding Matty. The volume cut out on the song and a confused murmur filled the abrupt silence. Two seconds later, the whole room roared with cheers, applause, and whistles. A smile crept across the King’s face, stretching from ear to ear.

About halfway down the stairs, they came to a landing. Hadrian Steer held up one hand. “Lights.” The command registered with the room’s environmental system. A warm glow filled the rotunda, and the party guests fell quiet. The King leaned on the railing.

“I apologize for my tardiness, friends,” he told his guests. “I ask for a bit more patience while I find attire worthy of company as stylish as yourselves.”

The crowd chuckled at the joke.

Every year, the King chose a theme for his birthday party and the palace made it happen. This year, he apparently asked for a sleepover. Everyone in the room wore their pajamas, including Matty’s parents, whom he found standing near the main doors. Judging by their frowns, focused squarely on him, they were too concerned about how he might be reflecting on them to have much fun.

“We love you, Hadrian!”

The squeal ripped Matty’s attention away from his parents. The room became uncomfortably quiet. The King’s casual demeanor turned cold as he stared down at a woman in a flimsy red nightgown holding a hot-pink drink.

“That’s ‘sir’ to you, missy,” he scolded her. The woman ducked into the crowd. Matty followed the disturbance she created in the crowd along her trajectory to the door.

The King took a deep breath and exhaled. He smiled at his guests, pressed his fingertips to his lips before waving both arms over the whole gathering as if conferring a blessing. “And I love you all.” The crowd broke the tension by cheering a second time. Slapping his hands down on the railing, he yelled over them, “I’ll be right back.”