Ember's Eve

Pea Harvester

Royal Avenue

Present-day

22nd December 2020

The car closed in on the gate to Royal Avenue. A significant number of peaceful protesters stood around the area waving their banners. Those who noticed the DPD sign on the vehicle frowned and directed their chanting at it. Dimitri could see his name spelt out in different fonts across the banners. He lowered his head. Several guards stood in front of the closed gate in their riot gear. Through the gates, there were even more guards patrolling. One of the guards stepped forward to the vehicle and tapped on the driver's window. Andrew let down the glass "We're from the DPD."

"I figured; the problem is we weren't informed about a visit from the DPD."

"Hey," Kenneth called out "check in the back seat."

The guard turned to see Iva waving at him. He gave a quick salute and signalled the others to open the gate. "I'll radio the other checkpoint," he said. The royal avenue lived up to its name, the atmosphere here was different from everywhere else. The road's median strip was landscaped with well-pruned plants. The houses were a totally different story. Guards patrolled every inch. Any newcomer would fail to resist the urge of gaping through their vehicle windows.

"This place wreaks of rich assholes," said Kenneth

"I live here" Iva responded

"I'm sorry princess"

"I'm not a prince..." Iva paused. The déjà vu hit home, the familiar tone in which the man spoke she could swear she knew this guy. The car passed Alfonsi's house, the building and the whole area surrounding it had been adorned with yellow tapes. The words CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS were literally shouting all over the tape. Less than a metre away was the Royal Capital. Andrew noticed another security checkpoint and slowed down as they came close. Iva popped her head through the car window to avoid wasting any more time. Andrew drove past the checkpoint and dropped his speed before parking the car neatly. "Okay Newsboy," Kenneth got out of the car "Thanks for the ride, we'll take it from here."

"With all due respect detective," Andrew frowned "My name is Andrew."

"okay"

Dimitri and Iva joined the detective. The Royal Capital stood many stories high with a vintage design. An illustration of the royal crest was placed at the building's peak. Kenneth could tell the building wasn't actually that old. Nevertheless, the architect did a good job of replicating the royal courts in England. Just before the building was a tall statue of a man waving at an invisible crowd. The statue guy held the royal crested cane and the ring on his finger was emphasized. An inscription beneath the statue said: The father of Daunthill.

Kenneth stared at the sculpted stone. "Who's that"

"Late Grand Chief, Rowland Dilli," replied Iva "My Grandfather"

"So you're next in line I guess?" Kenneth asked.

"I don't think I want it," she said "Besides, Female grand chiefs don't exist here."

"I would ask why but that's information isn't top of my list right now." Kenneth kept moving.

Dimitri stopped and observed the foot of the statue. Flowers had been planted around it to create a border. Dimitri remembered how his parents had brainstormed the decision of using flowers as a border or not. "What's wrong?" Iva walked up to him.

"I remember my mom and dad working on this." Dimitri narrated "It was one of the few jobs that brought the family together to make a decision. They called me and Cole to give our opinions. As usual, I could only care less at the time. But it hits different now."