Chapter 7: Meeting of Rulers

Laura snuck back into the village a half hour later than usual. She was making her way back to the mansion, but suddenly stopped a few feet from the front door. Laura remembered why she had even left in the first place. Was she really going to waltz back in only to be scolded by her mother? Laura quickly turned and walked off, heading over to Cello’s house.

She crept toward the window, peering her eyes into Cello’s bedroom. It was a small, square room. The walls were painted a sky blue, and a large wooden dresser stood by the wall across from her bed. There was a long rectangular mat with swirls of pink and blue designed on it, and at her door was a smaller version of that same mat. It was a nice little room, perfect for one person. Laura gently tapped on the glass with her index finger. Cello’s ears twitched; she begrudgingly flipped over and opened one eye to see what was making that noise. Laura smiled and waved, Cello perking up upon laying eyes on Laura. She smiled and quickly got up out of bed to open the window.

“Hey, Laura,” Cello greeted, “What brings you here so early? Come inside.” Cell motioned with her hand, and Laura swiftly hopped inside the room.

Laura whipped around with a huge grin on her face. “I’ve got something amazing to tell you,” She said, her eyes sparkled with joy. One would think Laura had made some groundbreaking discovery.

Cello looked at her, intrigued. She replied, “Really? Sit down, tell me everything.”

And so, Laura told Cello her encounter with Anthony. She first described him, going into much detail about his handsome face. Laura talked about his profession, why he had snuck into their territory, and all the places he had been to around the world. Even recalling events made her spread warmth through her heart. However, Cello did not share the same enthusiasm as her friend.

“You know humans aren’t allowed in our territory, right?” She questioned, then continued, “He’s lucky you found him before one of the night patrols did.”

Laura replied, “That’s what I told him. But that’s beside the point, can you believe I got the chance to meet someone that amazing?”

Cello humphed. “He’s not all that,” She waved him off. “What does that little astro-whatever he called it even mean in the grand scheme of things anyway? If you ask me, it means nothing.”

Laura laughed. “It’s astrogeology, and Anthony is amazing, Cello.” Laura lay back on the bed, staring wistfully at the ceiling. She continued. “I can’t stop thinking about him…” Laura trailed off, becoming lost in her thoughts.

Cello rolled her eyes and lay back next to Laura. Cello turned her head to look at Laura. “I think you’re just tired,” She told her, “How long did you sleep last night?”

Laura broke out of her daydreaming and looked at Cello. “Like, four hours,” She replied, “why?”

Cello sighed, smiling as she shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?” She sat up, still looking at Laura. “You need to go back to your house and get some sleep.”

Laura looked at her friend, but before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. It opened slowly, making a small crack. “Cello?” A man’s voice called out, “Who are you talking to in there?”

“Hi, Mr. Fenick.” Laura replied before sitting up.

Mr. Fenick peeked his head inside and saw the two girls sitting on the bed. Laura smiled and waved at the middle-aged man. “Oh, good morning, Princess. When did you get here?”

“A little while ago. I came in through Cello’s window.”

Mr. Fenick chuckled and said, “I see. Well, next time just knock on the front door. I thought Cello was hiding a boy in here.” He joked and laughed.

Laura laughed too, while Cello rolled her eyes, unamused. “Gross, Dad.”

“Well, I’ll let you two continue your chit-chat.” Just before Mr. Fenick closed the door, Laura asked him to stop. “Could you leave it open? I was just about to head home.” Mr. Fenick nodded, “Sure thing. Oh, and Cello, breakfast is ready, so come get it before it gets cold.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Mr. Fenick turned and walked back to his room to get dressed for work. Laura and Cello got up and headed to the living room.

“I like your dad, he’s always nice,” Laura complained as she watched Cello pour a glass of water.

“Yeah, he’s great,” Cello replied, “It was rough for him after mom died about four years ago, but I’m thankful he’s remained with a positive outlook on life.”

Laura became a little melancholy being reminded that Cello’s mother was gone. She remembered how devastated Cello and her father were. Laura tried her hardest to comfort Cello, knowing the pain of losing a parent.

Laura gave Cello a small smile. “That’s good,” She said, heading toward the front door and grabbing the doorknob. “I’ll see you later?” Cello, drinking some water, gave a thumbs-up. Laura smiled, nodded then headed out the door.

Laura finally went back home, but when she entered, she was not greeted by a frowning Nia. The housekeepers were on the constant move, as usual. Berus was most likely still asleep…so where was she? Curious, Laura looked around parts of the house to find her. Eventually, Laura caught one of the housekeepers while she carried some laundry.

“Your mother?” She asked, her voice soft and light. “I believe I saw her heading to the meeting room.” Laura nodded and thanked her, then headed downstairs and made her way to the meeting room.

The door was ajar, so Laura peeked her face a bit through the crack. She saw her mother sitting at the desk, her face covered by a series of lights.

“This is outrageous!” A furious male voice shouted, “This was clearly an attack done by the humans, and if we don’t act now, they will come for us next!”

“Agreed!” A woman’s voice added, “This has been a long time coming, I bet! We should’ve done something sooner rather than wait until tragedy struck!”

Laura instantly knew her mother was talking to the rulers of the other Empires. The first two who talked were Emperor Fenrir of the Fenrir Empire of Asia and Empress Kiya of the Kiya Empire of North America. But why? What tragedy could’ve happened that had them so riled up, and why did it involve the humans?

The meeting continued, and a calmer and demure man spoke. Emperor Lobooru of the Lobooru Empire of South America. “We can’t just assume this was their doing,” He said, relaxed and proper. “From what the footage suggests, this masked assailant is obviously an experiment.”

Emperor Fenrir slammed his hand down on a desk. “There are no avian experiments whose wings are on their backs! Let alone having six!” He pushed back his hair and continued. “This is obviously some horrid attempt at replicating our kind! If we let this get too out of hand, they could create an entire army!”

“We have no evidence that suggests such accusations, Fenrir,” Emperor Lobooru replied, keeping his voice calm and cool.

Empress Kiya shot a gaze at him through the camera. “Open your eyes, Lobooru! How could you possibly defend them when we know what they are capable of!” She leaned closer to the camera, “Did you forget it was them who created the Lucifer Hand, causing it to run amok and even impersonate one of our own? Now this masked man comes in utilizing the same fungus to create these…beasts! And yet you think they’re innocent?!”

Emperor Lobooru did not respond and looked at Nia, who was sitting slouched in her chair. Her eyes to her desk, showing little interest in this bickering. “Empress Nia,” He spoke, drawing her attention up. “What is your say on the matter?”

Nia finally sat upright, sighing before she answered. “I believe it is far too early to create a conclusion for either side,” She said, “We should first apprehend this masked man and interrogate him to see what his goals are.”

None said a word for a moment. Emperor Lobooru finally spoke up. “Agreed, getting a hold of him would help clear the air as quickly as possible.”

“And how exactly do we plan to catch him?” Empress Kiya asked, “Do we go on a wild goose chase until eventually finding him? Or do we simply twiddle our thumbs until he comes knocking at our doorstep?”

Emperor Fenrir nodded in agreement. “Who's to say he hasn’t already planned for us to create safety precautions?” He added. “For we know, he could already have infiltrated one of our villages in a new disguise, and we’d be none the wiser.”

Nia rested her head on her hand. “It’s hard to say just how this masked man operates,” She said, “He made an attack in broad daylight wearing a purple outfit. I don't think stealth is on his mind; he must have clearly wanted to be seen.”

“I also believe we are missing a huge piece of evidence,” Emperor Lobooru said, “He was strong enough to take down Frenki. We were blessed with the strength of the Hellhound, and if that masked man could accomplish such a feat, that alone means he is on par, if not stronger than each of us.”

A long silence filled the room; no one knew how to respond to that. Nia took a long, exasperated sigh. “Well, with all this in mind, for the time being, we must all just stay on guard and wait for further development.”

Emperor Lobooru nodded in agreement while the other two gave looks of contempt. But begrudgingly agreed, and they all ended this meeting. Nia slammed her head on the desk and let out a longer, louder sigh. Laura continued watching her through the crack in the door, keeping absolutely quiet. Nia eventually raised her head and began typing on the holographic keyboard on her desk.

Light shone once more on Nia’s face, and the picture of a man in glasses stared at her. “Hey, hey!” He chuckled, “How’s it going, Nia? You’re looking a little dreary. What’s up?”

“Armin, I have to ask you something,” Nia said.

“Shoot.”

Nia asked. “Have you or any of your scientist coworkers been trying to create experiments?”

Armin, confused by her question, took off his glasses and set them on his desk. “No, we ditched trying to recreate experiments years ago,” He replied, “Why?”

Nia pulled up a picture of the masked man on the screen, and Armin peered at it. Nia said, “This was taken this morning. This masked man attacked the Frenki Empire, murdering Emperor Frenki himself.”

She showed him another picture of those red beasts that attacked the citizens. Nia continued, “Reports say the masked man expelled some kind of red mist from his mouth, and spores from that mist created these things.”

Armin stroked his chin as he gazed upon the images, tilting his head after hearing what she said. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Spores? Like fungus or plant spores?”

Nia nodded. “Yes. The science team there reported that it was similar to the Lucifer Hand that you and Ferral took out ten years ago.”

Armin’s eyes widened. “Th…That…That’s impossible.” He stuttered with his words. “We made sure not a single trace of that fungus was still alive. How could this have happened?”

“I don’t know,” Nia said, “But some of the other leaders believe that humans are the cause of this masked man. I was hoping we could launch some kind of investigation to try and capture him. Get some information about who he is.”

Armin, still somewhat baffled, nodded in agreement. “Yes, we’ll do that,” He replied, “We’ve had ten years of relative peace, I’d rather not have it ruined by some guy trying to stir trouble.”

Nia and Armin continued to discuss ideas, all the while, Laura listened intently. Once they were done talking, Nia stood up from her chair and was about to head out of the room. Laura quickly dashed off. With that, the hunt for this masked man would soon begin.