“So you want me to recruit the envoys, while you destroy what remains of the Order?” asked Mia after Tyronne withdrew from the peculiar podium.

“The Shadow Council must be destroyed as soon as possible. Although their army was crushed, they still have a notable influence. I am afraid that they would organize their own resistance.” Replied the Paragon in a haste. He handed some papers over to Mia.

“So what then?”

“You’ll go back to the Grey Palace, ask for a Renovation Permit from Nathan and rebuild your house on my account. Seamus will be sent there as well. Things are getting serious.”

“You’ll renovate my mansion?”

“Yes, I will.”

“So what can you offer the envoys?”

“A career.”

“One for both of them?” she smiled.

“I am not in the mood. I still have to deal with your idiot friend.”

“What did he do?”

“Something forgivable.”

“I understand.”

“I can give Ivan a seat in my council, he must be skilled in economics, and Leah could be an attained entertainer in the West. There are a bunch of them already in the South, but none in my nation.”

“Sure.”

“There is one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“There is a gal named Lia. You will be going back with her and pay a close attention to her behaviour. I want to know a lot more about her, you should send me a report on her after you got to know each other better.”

“Where can I find this Ivan?”

“I guess in his room.”

“You helped me plenty…”

“Close to your room, I guess it is a bit farther away but it is still on the same corridor. I think it was the thirty-second room. Leah’s was the forty-first.”

“I’ll be going then. Thank you for your most gracious deed of helping a humble servant of yours.”

Mia read the papers stocked in her hand, then ventured to the Conference floor, without even thinking about the way she would persuade her targets. Although nobody was hurt during the invasion, there was a mess on the floor, which was a result of the sudden referendum. Nobody knew what would happen next, so they wanted to prepare for an unknown disaster that might be happening any time soon. That included the envoys’ staff as well. She approached Ivan’s room and knocked in.

“Who’s that? Are you with the Paragon?” asked a woman from behind the door.

“Yes, I am.” Mia answered.

“Why would someone like you be sent by Tyronne?”

“You have a filthy mind, don’t you?” Mia smiled.

“Eh?”

“I was sent to negotiate, don’t worry. I am certainly not someone, who creaks the bedstead.”

“How do we know you are the negotiator?”

“I tend to force open doors and probably shoot people till they die… But I am rather peaceful today.”

“Anna, let her in.” A gentle male voice commanded the woman. The door opened, and Mia stepped in. The woman, who opened the door, had a tender body and an innocent look. Her eyes were weary of the constant struggle that put their life in danger. Her black hair was short compared to Mia’s.

“Please, take a seat…” After Mia sat down, Ivan followed her example.

“So what can I do for you?” asked the envoy

“Do you know what happened?”

“Yes.”

“You are not a prisoner. You know that right?”

“Are you sure?” the woman asked.

“After we had this discourse.” Said Mia.

“About?”

“A seat in the Council.”

“Heee?” Both of them were surprised, to say the least.

“Tyronne wants to establish a Council fit to rule the Five Regions.”

“What does he want me to do?”

“Is it hard to figure out?”

“Not at all.”

“I have brought you a contract that would give you citizenship. It also gives you certain privileges as long as you are loyal to the State’s leader.”

“This is not very attractive…”

“You get a house, a big one and money. Isn’t that enough? You do not have to pay for anything. We provide guards and safety to all of the ministers.”

“Ivan, we should take this opportunity.”

“We will be branded as traitors, for starters. They might send assassins to kill us.” Replied the envoy.

“Tyronne might execute us, too…” said Anna.

“She said we are free to go.”

“That is right.”

“We have a complicated situation here. My father does not like my current partner, and we are afraid that he…”

“I understand. She can stay as well. You will be guarded. Any assassins, accidents or insult would lead to a casus belli against the North, and that would be much desired.” Mia proposed a solution.

“What do you say?”

“There might be no North to worry about. According to the contract, if the region falls, you have to take over as a governor.”

“Will I be limited?”

“To a certain degree. You have to provide a certain amount of products and taxes to your overlord, and his authority will always be over yours. You are to manage the country, mostly and introduce laws that increase life quality and prosperity.”

“Let’s say I accept, what will be then?”

“As soon as Tyronne destroys the remaining resistance, he will form a new government, in which you will fill the position of the Minister of Finance. If you sign this contract, a delegation would come to pick you up. They would introduce you to your duties and to the other members of the cabinet. If you sign the paper, in the name of the Paragon, you and your family will be protected against any threat.” She handed over the contract and the paper. He took out a pen from a shelf, and signed it.

“Please do…” he said.

“We will.”

“Thank you with all my heart.” Anna responded.

“I’ll be going. I have other matters to attend to…”

“I hope you succeed…”

“We’ll see…” She set for the next envoy, who seemed to be an easier target. When she knocked in, nobody responded. She started to ask her neighbours and random people about her location. She asked several people, until she met one of her attendant, who did not care about his envoy, as he resented politicians.

“Sir, do you have any idea, where I can find the Envoy of the South?”

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“I guess she was playing the piano next to the conference room…”

“Are you sure?”

“Only Southerners can play the piano. She told me that she wanted to try that piano before she would die…”

“You should have started with that.” She walked to the previously mentioned room.

She heard someone playing the piano behind that specific door. Entering the room, she found a woman, wearing a red dress, sitting in front of the instrument. Her fingers were dancing on the keyboard. Mia recognized the piece of music as her father often listened to classical music. He told Mia that he had a friend in the South, who was a master of the piano and a star of the nation. Of course Mia’s dad got lots of recordings, which he helped to make. This was Chopin’s Minute Waltz, one of her favourite.

“You seem to be a professional.”

“I’ve been doing this my whole life.” Replied after she finished the piece.

“Can you play Claude Debussy’s Arabesque, no. 1?”

“Interesting request.”

“Why?”

“Nobody really cares about impressionist pieces even in the South.”

“My father loved it.”

“Where are you from?”

“State of Virtue.”

“You heard about Debussy? That is more than surprising.”

“I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Mia. Nice to meet you.”

“Leah. Envoy of the South.”

“Your technique seems to be unique.”

“Are you a fellow pianist as well?”

“Far from that. I can’t play.”

“Why do you think that, then?”

“My father was a friend of B. F. Maximilien.”

“Who?”

“The Bold Finger.”

“Have you met him?” she asked in unprecedented enthusiasm.

“No, unfortunately, but my father helped him to record his play with a gramophone.”

“I have a disc about his play in the Great Theatre, just above the Cultural Hub.”

“That is one of my father’s creations.”

Leah started to breathe intensely.

“She lost it.” Mia thought. “So why are you alone in times of these?”

“I heard they have a piano here made before the Worldfall and is in good quality. I wanted to try it out, before anything bad happens…”

“Worldfall?”

“Fall of the Old World in your dialect. The Northeners call it The Loss and the East named it The Cataclysm.”

“Well, I have to inform you about those bad things…”

“Sure…”

“The Paragon wishes you good luck in your career.”

“Is that all?”

“He offers you unique privileges as a state entertainer. Everything you need is given, and the people will love you. We do not have any entertainers, you see…”

“This is interesting…”

“You will be given privileges, but you have to do as Tyronne says. Your concertos will be organized by professionals.”

“I still have a family back there…”

“I don’t think anyone would like to welcome a politician back…”

“What are you saying?”

“According to the traditions of your people, every politician is a cast out, but feel free to correct me.”

“You are right…”

“Thanks for the info, Tyronne…” Mia thought. “We would provide you your dream career…”

“Wouldn’t your people hate my performance?”

“We’ll put ’approved by the Paragon himself’ into to your concert’s advertisement, and everybody will love it. It is that easy… All you need to do is to write your name on the contract. Here are the contents and here is the one you need to sign.” She put them on the piano, and took out a pen from her pockets. Leah signed it.

“Thank you…”

“There will be a carriage ready for you. According to the contract, you have to meet the current governor of the West, and he will manage you. I have to go now, I wish you luck.” Stepping out of the room, she bumped into the guards, who were escorting Lia to the carriage.

“Sorry.”

“Never mind. We happen to have searched for you…”

“Is that so?”

“We should start our journey as soon as possible.” They started to move towards their destination, Mia followed them.

“May I have a request?”

“Of course.”

“Could we stop at a manor by the road back? I’ll inform you about its whereabouts, once we get close to the place. I have a house there, which will be renovated soon, so I have to take some measures…”

“Yes.”

Lia did not say a word. She was sandwiched between the soldiers, and was, indeed, in a very uncomfortable position.

“I guess, I’ll be coming with you, if it is not a problem.”

“Sure.”

“I was told we would have a different carriage than the envoys…”

“True. You are a higher priority in the eyes of the Paragon.”

“Shouldn’t misunderstand…” she murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing.” The rest of the walk was quiet, nobody said a word. On arrival, both girls were put into the prepared carriage, and two guards were sitting in the front. Due to the scarcity of proper animals, which would be able to move these vehicles, electrical engines transferred the body to another location. Nobody wanted to spend a fortune on a carriage that could be destroyed in a mountain accident at any time, so a basic set of engines, a wooden body and four tires were included in this perfect piece of engineering.

Mia tried to get close to Lia, or at least tried to talk with her. The traditional way of starting a conversation did not really work out, as she did not say a thing. But…

“Do you have any relatives living nearby?”

Lia did not respond, just looked at the landscape. There was a huge valley next to the road, which was about much, much higher and was located at the side of the mountain range. The air was clean, the sun was thrusting through the atmosphere gently, which was reflected by the little creak that carved out the valley. A forest could be found, covering half of the territory, but the water could be seen anyways. Fish jumped out of the little waterfalls that was throbbing and fizzing. This peaceful noise could be heard all around. Small rodents, mainly squirrels, were drinking water, along with an ordinary elk, which Mia have never seen before.

“I have never seen a male elk before… ”

“Neither do I. How do you know it is a male?”

“Because it has antlers… Have you never studied biology before?”

“It is not compulsory, only to scientist’s kids. I was brought up to be an innkeeper.”

“An innkeeper?”

“Someone managing an inn…”

“I know, I know, but I have never seen anyone doing that.”

“It is not that difficult. You just serve people. They tell you what they need, you bring it out. They sit down, do their thing, pay and leave. It’s uneasy to deal with one or two customers, but that is something you have to accept. Then there are things like getting the ingredients for dishes, obtaining alcoholic beverages, and changing money. Administration is a pain in the ass, but Jack did that instead of me.”

“Changing money?”

“Yes, we have a system, which includes lots of types of tokens. One is used for food, one is for clothes…”

“I have never had money before.”

“Never had money?”

“We don’t have…”

“Where do you come from?” she asked. Being surprised, this question just burst out of her.

“Never mind.” Lia looked away again.

“What is your name?”

“Emily.”

Then Emily gave Mia the cold shoulder for some time. Mia did not know whether to talk to her or ignore her, but she was trusted with such a valuable task, which meant she had to keep talking. Leaving the mountains behind, she started her monologue. She did not expect any response, though.

“We might stop soon. I have a manor nearby. I hope you do not mind that you have to wait some time before we resume our jounrey. I have some business.”

“What kind of?”

“I want to get some measurement of my house, which was abandoned long time ago. The Paragon renovates it for me.”

“Why did you abandon it?”

“It became inhospitable because an infectious disease. But that was long ago…”

Silence struck in again. But this time, it was broken by Emily.

“Did anyone die?”

“My parents…”

“My condolences…”

“It happened long time ago. I am used to people dying around me.”

“My mother died too…”

“Life is not easy.”

“Not like we had a choice”

“I would never choose an easy life.”

“Why not?”

“If you have no problems to solve, you’d feel worthless.”

“Would you just put some extra effort into something that is not worth to do?”

“It is way better than doing nothing. Enjoying life is blindly very attractive, but you’ll have the feeling of being empty.”

“What if I spend too much time doing that?”

“Why not? You’ll only learn from mistakes.”

“Some people tend to degrade every time something does not goes according to their plan. Then they start agonizing over it…”

“Then they are weak…”

“What if you are depressed?”

“Do something against it. If you feel you have no purpose, make up one. If you feel life is not generous enough, well, it is not. Accept it. If you feel being lonely or solitude, then what? You are always alone. Change yourself not to feel that. Be stronger, nobody can do it for you. You have too much to do? Not like you wouldn’t have enough time. You promised yourself to do something for the thousand and first time, and did not do it? Get a hold on yourself. There is no excuse to be anxious. There is no reason to agonize over problems that were generated by ourselves. Don’t regret. Don’t forget. Don’t waver.”

“You forget that some people are just unable to cope with their feelings. Nobody should condemn them for that. You shouldn’t condemn people who want to live their life to the fullest. You should show empathy. They didn’t have the same life as you. They didn’t have the same experiences. Sometimes, these feelings just can’t go away, sometimes, we feel just horrible. Sometimes, it is right to feel awful. You can’t be happy if you haven’t seen the other side of it. I would despise being someone rational. If you just focus on being better, you do not get to experience what it means to be a human.”

“But waiting for a saviour is not a solution. You have to take the lead. Nothing will go as planned, so what?”

“Spending half a lifetime to do something, then see it fail is a reason. Not being satisfied is a reason. Not fulfilling your basic needs is a reason. How come you never been depressed?”

“I was. For a long time. I think everybody has to be. But I couldn’t take it. I hated every moment of it. I was waiting for someone to save me, but they never came. I had to rely on myself, rather than others. Nobody can sort my feelings out. Nobody can take responsibility for my life just me. So I decided to stop suffering, to stop feeling sorry for myself, and to tend to my emotions. If I have a problem I try to solve it, not to complain all the time. I have to solve them. It is hard, so what? Nothing is easy.” Mia turned her head to look out of the window. They have left the mountain pass. “You see that roof in the forest?” She said “It’s my stop. I’ll be back.” She got out of the carriage, and walked to the mansion. Her stop was very close to the roads, but the house could not be seen properly.

“Father used to keep the blueprints in the main hall.” She thought she entered the house. Ivy was all over the walls, stone rubble fell from the ceiling, damaging the wooden floor, which already started to rot. There was a shoe rack next to the door, and stairs in front of it. Although the place was empty, there was a cupboard next to the door that lead to the kitchen. Opening its second drawer, she found the blueprint, which was a bit worn though. There was an exit in the kitchen, which lead to the garden that was used to nurture valuable herbs and insects. This place had a huge ash tree in the middle, behind it was a cemetery, where all of Mia’s close relatives, except for Jack, was buried. The graveyard was separated by a creak. Walking to her parent’s grave, she found the small yellow flowers, one if which saved her life. She picked some, and resumed following the path.

The graves were not in a bad condition. Nobody dared to come here as a result of having an unhealthy atmosphere. Her parents’ were buried under the tree, using the roots as the coffins. This was their wish, which was granted by the Paragon. Putting the yellow flowers on the cross, she started to speak.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to come here. I survived, thanks to you. I was afraid I might never see you again, but I shouldn’t have been. Horrible things happened, out of the blue. Jack died. Vale died. Noah acts strange. I feel I have nobody to lean on. ” She stopped for a minute. “But I have a purpose now. The Paragon asked me to bring up a child, who will be his successor. I want to help Noah by finding the guy he met. I know you are helping me from the shadows. I know you are watching over me, and I am grateful to know that I could always rely on you.” She observed the flowers falling from the ash tree, one of which was approaching Mia. She let the petal land on her hands, and put it next to the yellow one. “I have lots to do. See you soon.”