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Scarlet

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The Count presses the small tablet on the table, and a projection of light flickers to life above it. Shapes form in the light, eventually becoming a cylinder on top of a wider, shorter cylinder. Grunting in satisfaction, he begins his lecture.

“The city we’re in, Wornsbirth, is actually a small town. Towns are very large due to the formation called the townheart, the large crystal behind the estate."

He taps the tablet again and a red light shoots out, creating a rough diamond shape in the center of the cylinders. “When people gather together in large enough numbers, a small crystal forms. This crystal is able to repel monsters of a strength proportional to its size. Larger crystals repel stronger monsters, more people in one place makes the crystal bigger. Crystals that were used to protect people like this were named townhearts, because the crystal needed to be in the center of towns. An invisible wall is projected around the townheart.”

A third tap causes a blue light to form a larger cylinder around the others, centered on the red diamond. “But only at a fixed distance, effectively creating a ring of safety around the town. The issue is that the crystals only grow wider in proportion to their height, with the height being much larger. The floating crystals basically grow upwards only, so the radius the city can fit into grows very slowly. Eventually people started building on the crystal itself,"

He pauses for a moment, looking at the two of us. “After a long enough time, the technology developed to be able to support tiered cities. Most towns have at least two levels above the ground, the top level being reserved for the nobles."

The bottom cylinder changes color to green. “That is the common area, where most people live."

The upper two cylinders also change color, the top to purple and the center to blue. The model looks like a three layer cake. “The upper tiers are usually divided up, the top being reserved for local administration and nobles." He points at the blue layer. “The center layers can be anything, and vary between towns. Here in Wornsbirth the center layer is mostly shops that sell to nobles and commoners."

Putting his hand over the small tablet, he smothers the colorful lights. His face becomes a deep scowl. “Recently, the current king discovered the energy in the crystal is not used to create the protective ring, or to keep the rock floating. He had magicians and engineers design devices to use the energy of the crystals, along with a way to measure the rate the energy replenished. The lights in our home are powered that way."

Count Holdings frowns. “The scanners used to measure people's statuses were invented by the king himself. The damn things are so accurate that they got used in almost every crucial system in the kingdom."

My curiosity gets the better of me. “Sir? Do you not like the king?” After I manage to get my question out, I hold my breath.

Holdings looks up at me with a scowl. “What was that, missy? Sir? Do kids call their dad that where you come from?” His scowl becomes a not-so-nice smile. “The question you just asked could be interpreted as treason by malicious parties, so be more careful in the future." A sigh escapes the large man. “But no, I don’t dislike the king. I’d call him a friend, but an aggravating one." Smiling ruefully, he looks at me again. “Enough questions now! It’s time to listen to your dad."

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My newly appointed father begins his tirade again. “You’ll need one of these." He tosses a small gold pin with a coat of arms onto the table between us. “This is an Identification card, invented by his highness as well. Most places use it to verify a person when making a large purchase."

Picking it back up, he fastens it onto his bright orange suit. “They can only be read by the scanners made by the royal palace… in theory. In actuality, there are plenty of bootleg scanners floating around. Most of them are made of scraps from stolen or broken scanners. So once you two get yours, you need to be careful in shady places,"

Pausing, the Count thinks for a moment. “I think that’s the absolute basics of the city." He plops down into his trunk throne, sighing in relief. “Zenith, you may go, for now I’ll tell the servants to treat you as they treat me." He waves Zenith away and turns his focus to me. “Scarlet, for now I’m going to give you this."

I examine the object handed to me with curiosity. In my hand sits a small silver ring with a glowing blue stone set in it. “This is a ring made with a small shard of the townheart," the Count explains. With a somewhat sad smile, he continues, “It was my late wife’s. I’m giving it to you so that the servants can easily identify you. I’ll inform them to treat you the same as Zenith, with the added instruction to lead you to Zenith or I if you ever seem distraught. I told them to do this for the person wearing this ring, regardless of who that is."

He gives me a warm smile. “So don’t take it off!” His jovial chuckle makes my heart squirm. “Alright now, get! I need rest." Leaning back in his seat, he closes his eyes.

Quietly, I make my way out of the dining hall.

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After almost an hour of wandering the massive estate, I cave and ask a maid for help finding Zenith. She tells me that the twins went to the library. Thanking her, I rush off, relieved to finally have a destination.

I then get lost for another hour searching for the library.

Just ask a maid, moron!

This is gonna be my house, I will not ask a maid to chaperone me to the library.

Coil snarls mentally. Whatever, bitch, be lost for another hour, see what I care.

Snorting, I grab the handle of a random set of doors. I know where I am, this is the library for sure. Swinging the large doors wide, I look into the room. Sure enough, the walls are lined with shelves of books.

Oh, god damn it.

Laughing victoriously, I strut into the learning center and quickly spot Zenith’s two forms sitting at a long table. As I skip over to them, I notice them reading a book with each body. I stop, dumbfounded.

“How the hell are you managing that, Zenith?”

The two teenagers jump in sync, almost falling over together as if rehearsed.

“Scarlet? I didn’t see you come in." She tries to hide a blush with her hand. “I was practicing my multitasking. I can manage reading now, but I read about three words a minute. More practice is required." She nods solemnly at me, looking like a total dork.

“Sure thing, Miss Multibrain, this dual lobed mortal is gonna sit here and take a nap. I didn’t want to go to my room immediately and look like some shut in."

Oh but you’re okay wandering a house for two hours. That’s not embarrassing at aaaaaalll. Coil’s sarcasm drips in my mind, I can almost feel it coming out of my ears. With an angry scowl I lean back in my chair, and give myself some rest.