Nobody in the main square noticed our arrival, due to the panicked sea of people, recently informed of Recaro’s death. Knowing that a murderer was dwelling within the city, the citizens nearly tackled each other over to get back to the safety of their homes. The hovercrafts seldom moved in the crowd, families eventually ditching their form of transportation to go home on foot.
“No need to panic,” the Empress’s voice rang throughout the streets. “That is all.” A loud beep indicated the end of her announcement, and the speakers rigged on the sides of buildings and hidden within plants were silenced.
“Let’s get home,” Ellie shouted over the cries of children looking for their parents.
I looked around in horror, unable to take in my surroundings with much clarity. Everything was hazy as people ran past us, holding their family members for dear life.
It took me a moment to realize that Ellie was tugging on my arm. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To Recaro’s house.”
I stared at her. “Is that safe?”
She looked at the crowd of frantic people. “Probably not. But I have to at least see if there’s anything . . . unusual.”
As much as I imposed this idea, I had to admit that I was a bit curious myself. “Okay.”
We walked through the square, tightly holding our hands together to prevent separation. Flowing with the crowd, I found that we were taking a route opposite the direction Ellie’s house was at.
Up above the heads of wigged women and their husbands, I could see the mountain that I had created only the day before. I knew that those series of random events was putting a heavy load on the citizen’s shoulders, and I instantly felt a pang of sorrow. What have I done? I didn’t know why, but I even convinced myself that Recaro’s death was my fault.
I would later find out that it was, in fact, somewhat my fault.
The crowd began dissipating at a wide, stone road decorated with bricks of various blues, reds, and yellows. The houses that lined this street were massive villas, overlooking the newly created bay that seemed to hug the Nile.
There were still a few families walking amongst this street. However, I instantly noticed that those particular individuals looked much wealthier than any of the commoners I had seen down in the main square. This was probably due to the fact that those wealthy families had servants that would go down into the streets and buy their wares for them.
And since Ellie and I were clothed in our pajamas, caked with mud, we felt extremely out of place. Even if they were dressed in the apparel they wore the day before, they would still feel like they were a fish out of water. These houses belonged to families who were in the highest tire of the upper-class region.
From where we were standing, the muffled yet distinct sounds of crowds stampeding through the city streets came to my ear. However, the women that tended to their gardens and the children that played out it the street didn’t seem to notice.
Odds are, they probably didn’t know that a murder had taken place in one of those villas the night before.
“Recaro’s house is at the end of the street,” Ellie whispered.
