THE DAUGHTER

Morning had come and gone, and the square was alive with townsfolk. Monte watched a mother carrying one child with two more in tow take a few deep breaths noticing the walking children become distracted. An older man guffawed inaudibly at the scene as he crossed their path. A young couple walked hand in hand, oblivious to any chaos around them and more than willing to display their affection to anyone who cared to see it.

Monte finally turned to Keiran and found his face stoney, eyes fixed on one spot. Following the gaze Monte found a pair of Guard, partially hidden behind a row of decorative hedges. They were standing near the gap between two buildings that marked the entrance to the Old City. Monte hadn't noticed them before.

"Have they been here the whole time?" Monte asked.

"Aye. And they're always about these days. Nobody is happy about it." Kieran said, eyes not straying.

"I wonder what changed." Monte said.

"They're watching me, I know it." Kieran said after a pause.

"Watching you? Why would the Guard be watching you?" Monte asked.

Finally, Kieran turned towards Monte. His gaze was colder and deeper than Monte remembered it. No trace of a smile remained on his face.

"Same reason they're watching you." Kieran said.

Watching me?

"Now I have to get going, and these two are right in my path, so I'll be going the long way. Are you staying in town much longer?" Kieran asked.

"I told Orna I would go see her in. After that I suppose I will say goodbye to Alaya and head back to the Capitol." Monte responded automatically. In truth he hadn't given it much thought.

"Well… Just try to stay out of any trouble." Kieran said, then he turned and headed through an alley away from the square.

Stay out of any trouble?

Why had the Guard on the Square troubled Kieran so much? Monte assumed they weren't the Hammer and Hand from earlier. Likely they were just other Guard assigned patrol for the morning. Maybe the people felt better with Guard present after the Night of First Tolling, so they were more present. That did nothing to explain Kieran's behavior.

The mother hadn't made much progress. Monte started watching her again as she finished breaking up a scuffle between the two older children. She grabbed one by the hand and pulled him along, the other made a satisfied face then stuck out his tongue. Monte turned his attention toward the Town Hall just as it seemed another skirmish was about to break out.

It had been a few hours since his questioning session ended. Orna was likely back in her office by now. He didn't have to wonder for long, as soon as he walked in the door, Monte was swept up in the chaos of the Town Hall. He was only a few steps inside the door but had clearly become an obstacle for the mostly young staff members. They moved, faces set in uniform pouts, from office to office with haste. Monte had to take a step back to avoid colliding with a young man buried in reading something as he trotted through the hallway.

Unlike the last time Monte had been here, the front office was alive with people moving from room to room. Last time it had been much later in the evening, so Monte assumed what he saw now was a typical day.

"Monte!" A voice called over the din of the busy room. Monte had taken a few steps inside and turned around to find Orna herself.

"Great timing, I feel so in the way here I was about to leave. Is it always like this?" Monte asked, looking around the room. His eyes passed across Orna's hands before meeting her eyes again. She still wore the ring. Despite his skepticism, Monte did his best to keep his mind occupied in the present.

"Since I've taken over day to day duties, yes. I can see how it might feel chaotic but I assure you there is a system in place." Orna said, smiling. Monte watched her remove the ring from her finger and slip it into the pocket of her pants.

Thanks for that.

"Come, we will go to my office. And I'll see to it that we're not interrupted." Orna took Monte's arm and led him towards a staircase. Moments later they were seated in the familiar office. With the thick paneled doors shut, it was quiet and still again.

Monte looked around the mayor's office. Not much has changed. The desk and chairs were still arranged in the same way as they had been. Monte studied the bookshelves and noticed some rows of books looked a little thin and disheveled. Someone had pulled some of the volumes down to read from since the last time he'd been there.

I would have guessed those were just decoration.

"Downstairs it felt a lot different, but in here it's like nothing has changed." Monte said as he looked around. He pulled out one of the seats across from the mayor's large wingback chair and sat down.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Traditions die hard around here as you know." Orna said. She took the seat she'd had last time Monte had been here. Now it was officially hers.

"I imagine you had little competition in your bid to replace Padrig." Monte said as a way of asking a question.

"You likely won't be surprised to hear there was some grousing about my patronage, how I was here as Padrig was attempting to sell the town for parts, and how I so rudely assumed I would be elected without question." Orna said. Monte raised his eyebrows.

"And I admit you are correct. Most people got over all that quickly. Especially when the bells started up again, and the rats went away." Orna said.

"What of the old mayor? Are the people still as angry about his actions?" Monte asked.

"Most of the anger has died down. At trial the town made their voices heard. It wasn't unanimous, but his life was spared, and he will remain in the town, though imprisoned at least for the time being." Orna said.

"I'm relieved to hear that justice was done." Monte said.

"Padrig owes you a good deal of thanks. His henchmen on the other hand…" Orna trailed off.

"I suspect they didn't have the same goodwill from the town." Monte said, knowingly.

"Of the ones who survived meeting you, none saw the next morning. Word of the violence that night spread rather quickly and far. My main task since being appointed has been giving the townsfolk a feeling of safety." Orna said.

"How can anyone feel safe when they saw the Guard involved in the riot? I admit I was concerned to see that myself." Monte said.

"You're right. We had those men transferred. I brought in new Guard and have installed them around the Square to keep an eye on things." Orna said.

That's why I didn't recognize the Hammer and Hand.

"A wise decision." Monte said.

"Simple stuff really. The hard part is trying to get people to start coming here again." She continued.

"Just tell the Clockmaker you're cutting her off again and throw another party." Monte smiled as he said it. Immediately he knew he'd made a mistake. His joke didn't make Orna laugh, on the contrary, she lowered her gaze to her lap.

"I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this." Orna said.

Oh no.

"My mother passed on a few weeks ago. It was peaceful. She lived a full life." Orna said, raising her gaze to meet Monte again.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Monte said. He let a pause fill the air as he looked down at his hands.

"There was so much I still wanted to learn from her." He said.

"And I'm sure she wanted to teach you. Even in her last hours she couldn't stop talking about you and that cat." Orna said.

"So you were with her when she…" Monte started to ask, then trailed off.

"Oh yes. My mother and I spent so much time together. My father and I though. That's a different story." Orna said with some unexpected lightness.

"Oh? I just saw Kieran at the Café. He didn't mention anything." Monte said.

Though he did seem a little off.

Orna's expression darkened again.

"My father didn't take the news well. He has becoming obsessed with assigning blame for her death." Orna said.

I understand.

"He doesn't believe you?" Monte asked.

"He doesn't believe anyone. He's upset with me for involving the Guard, something he likely would have done himself when he occupied this office. He and my mother had been mostly estranged for years, but it seems that has passed on to me. He hasn't forgiven Padrig either. He has been rather difficult lately." Orna said.

He feels guilty.

Kieran had been acting quite strange. Was it possible he was somehow involved? Was he trying to blame someone else to make himself feel better? It didn't seem like him, but then again, Monte had only known the man a short time.

"Kieran and I grow further and further apart all the time. It displeases me. In all my mother's belongings I found nothing as evidence of their love. Notes from your father, however…" Orna said, an impish grin forming on her face.

Monte studied her features again and was reminded of how similar they were to his own. Her eyes were a piercing blue like the Clockmaker's, but also like Monte's father's. Her cheekbones were high and pronounced, and her nose featured the same severe slope as his. Were the two of them somehow related?

It's impossible.

"He seemed quite fond of my mother, many years ago." Orna said.

"She told me they worked together on the clock tower mechanisms. They must have spent many hours together. But my father was faithful to my mother for as long as I knew him." Monte said solemnly, trying to let the idea pass from his mind.

"Of this I have no doubt. And you've reminded me!" Orna said. She fiddled under the table for a moment and produced the ring.

Was that still in her pocket?

"Of the many crafts I found squirreled away amongst my mother's effects, this has proved the most interesting." Orna said.

"Yes. The mind-reading ring." Monte said, trying not to let his tone drip with too much sarcasm.

"I think you'll be surprised to learn I found it inside a jewelry box containing several notes from your father. They were more than five and twenty years old, mind you. But they explained his work at the time. I believe it was after the clock tower was completed." Orna said.

Monte simply stared at the ring. It would take time to process the information. Right now, all he had were more questions. Why didn't his father tell him about this power? Is it possible this is what the Company have been searching for? Learning his father may have been the creator of such a powerful device made him far less skeptical.

"May I… use it? I can see it coming in handy in my line of work." Monte said.

"I'm afraid not. I believe this ring is too powerful for me or you or anyone to use. Though I have worn it several times, I wish to be rid of it. I intend to destroy it, with your permission, of course." Orna said.

Monte once again had no response. He hadn't considered using it himself before hearing about his father's connection, not believing it worked at all. Now he wondered if it could help him divine the truth.

"Before you say anything else, I must tell you something I managed to hear with it. Something not meant for anyone to know." Orna said, speaking the second sentence quietly and slowly. Monte broke his stare and looked up at Orna again.

"What is it?" Monte asked.

"I do not know who to attribute the thought to, I overheard it in the crowded café one morning. But someone intends to kill Padrig, and ensure his secrets die with him." Orna said.

Monte didn't have time to respond. Just then a booming knock came at the large, paneled door. With no pause the door swung open and three young staff members from downstairs spilled into the office.

"Mayor. I know you said to leave you but... I'm sorry." The first office staff said. He was a man not much younger than Monte. He and the other three wore dire looks.

"Another body was found. Thrown from the clock tower. The Guard have just come to inform you." The second staff member said, a young woman with sandy hair.

The third staffer was another young woman who left no time before adding her piece.

"The victim is still on the square, though we're assured the situation is under control. And the body belongs to Padrig." The third staffer said.

She delivered her news and silence filled the office for only the thinnest slice of a moment. Then the bells from the clock tower rang out twelve long tolls.