Calm and Calamity

Chapter 67

Day: 731

Days Left: 4749

After Corinna Warren had fallen asleep that night, she awoke to the darkness in her unconscious mind. She turned around to face Queen Corinna IX standing before.

"You were right," said Warren. "Harmony left me to escape just as Your Majesty warned me."

The queen was silent for a moment, then replied, "the chimaera has not yet escaped. All of her attempts thus far have failed."

"What will happen if she does?" Corinna asked, though she already knew the answer.

"The chimaera's memories will be wiped." The queen raised her head. "She will be moved to a different sector run by another country so that they may gain the profits."

"Another country?"

Queen Corinna nodded. "The countries of the world agreed to pass the chimaera around every so often as she is a large profit-maker." The monarch paused. "But you should not be focusing on such matters, Miss Warren. Instead, you should be celebrating."

"Celebrating?"

"We came here to inform you that it has been another six months. One more of your relatives involved in treason has been spared from execution. You have survived and saved four people, Miss Warren; just twenty-five and yourself remain."

"Right..." Corinna winced. "I'm sure it'll all pass by so quickly."

Lives Saved: 4

Day: 735

Another montage of videos was presented in the auditorium before the wealthy sponsors to celebrate the second year of Corinna Warren's imprisonment. Though Henry was happy that Corinna had survived this long, these feelings were mixed with more fear and doubt.

Thirteen more years...

Of course, Reyes Huxtable took credit for the recent success of the previous broadcast. The other sector heads and technicians praised him for the sheer coincidence that drama and action finally occurred just after his job promotion. Whenever Henry overhead Reyes bragging about his successes, Henry wanted to vomit. How could he take credit for Harmony leaving to escape again?

Henry sighed, feeling a pang of guilt from thinking that. He remembered watching the conversation live on the screens; though they could not see inside the house, they could hear the muffled audio and Harmony storming out.

It was odd; at first, Henry was a bit disgusted and distraught that Corinna started dating Harmony, knowing the inevitable fate for when Harmony would abandon Corinna. But later, Henry believed that Corinna and Harmony could stay together. And then seeing Corinna after everything that happened...

The montage played all of Corinna Warren's best bits throughout her two-year imprisonment. Duke Hartnell was particularly emotional, rewatching Corinna and Harmony's blooming relationship, the golden knight fight, and Harmony finally leaving the village. By the end, Duke Hartnell, as well as a few others, were in tears.

Finishing the video footage for the night, Henry then moved on to the next event, which most of the sponsors were gathered here especially for: the betting for Corinna Warren's new mask design. Henry only hoped that it would help his second cousin survive for the next thirteen years.

Day: 737 (Food Drop-Off)

Without Harmony, no one else was still interested in going to the food packet drop-off area apart from Clarence. Everyone else had given up on the idea that they would ever receive food donations in this sector until the peace treaty disbanded. However, there was still a sliver of optimism residing in Clarence, as well as a desire for following a routine. Every food drop-off he witnessed, regardless if nothing was sent, felt like another giant step towards his prison sentence being over.