Atticus

Willocks

The taxi driver came to a screeching halt , parked at the entrance of the Hotel . 

20 Shillings , said the Taxi driver .

Philippe took out a bill and handed it over to the taxi driver 

Thank you , said the driver

Philippe then opens the door , and enter the hotel . Its quite alright , he thought to himself 

There were around 15 odd steps which Philippe strides over and heads over to the reception . There was a young lady at the desk 

The young lady remains seated , May I help you sir ? she asks 

Yes , of course says Philippe

He reaches over to his pocket , takes a piece of paper given to him by Alex and hands it over to the receptionist 

She glances over at the paper . Picks up a key and hands it over to Philippe . 

Room 106 , she said . First Floor

Thank you , said Philippe

Just the bag sir ? she asks him

Yes , I carry light . remarked Philippe

He smiles and walks over to the staircase , overlooking the elevator . 

He walks up the stairs , opens the room marked 106 and enters it . Not a big room, he utters . but it will do the job .

He opens the curtains , and looks over the street . 

 Philippe lights his pipe 

Not too many people at this time of the hour 

At the same time , Atticus draws the curtains . 

As Atticus draws the curtains , the doorbell rings . That must be Anna , he walks over to the door and opens it 

He opens the door and lets her in 

She closes the door behind her and hugs him . Atticus hugs her tightly for a good few seconds

She looks up at him , it is quite shocking , what happened over there . And Chris , that is terrible , she says 

Atticus slowly moves away from Anna and sits on the chair of his apartment . The whisky by his desk . 

A Drink , he asks her ? 

No , No thank you she replied

Atticus then goes on to pour a drink for himself . To my friend Chris , he toasts 

Are the police any close to finding out who it was ? asks Anna

No , not at all . they seem to be getting far away every day from the closure . replies Atticus . Now that the bosses are involved because of the fleets that have gone missing . Things are about to get messy . 

Are you in trouble Atticus ? asks Anna worriedly

No , I'm not in nay trouble. I have just been given leave with pay for a couple of months till these things sooth over 

And what about Chris ? Anna asks him . Will they find out who killed him ?

Yes , I sure do hope so . Atticus replies . I have given them all the information i know and thats that . Lets see what happens 

And his parents ? asks Anna . Do they know what has happened to their son 

No , I do not think so . Think it has been a couple of years since he last spoke to them . And I think the police would eventually get to them and tell them what has transpired 

Its all so strange , Anna said 

Yes , yes replied Atticus . Very strange of course 

Far away in the Forests

 Darticus enters his house . Keeps his armor on the side and seats himself on the chair . 

Darticus then walks out to the round of chairs where people were seated outside his home . The elders and the important people are all sat there . 

The people are already in deep discussion , he then seats himself at the chair in the center 

What will be the fate of the kingdom ? The elder man asks . There is no heir to the kingdom ? what will happen to the people and the lands

The king will be succeeded . By a nephew . replied the other elder men seated there

Anyway the rule of the king will be there for another 10 to 15 years at least  .  He is not at his deathbed said Rylo . Rylo was the the counsel and army general of Darticus . Rylo also was the son of the elder man of the tribe .

Yes , 10 years is a short time , when you have lived long enough as me . You know it is short . Then what ? what is to become ? Will the successor be as just as the king . 

Just as the king , Smirked Rylo . Maybe eons ago he was a just man . But he has been slipping to the edge recently . 

Yes that maybe so . Said Rylo's father . But the most just king we have seen in over a 500 years . King Maximus  . 

We have been given our separate land and rule Rylo here . We cannot expect the same from the next king

All the people remained silent . Darticus too remained silent

The elder man continued to speak .

After his death , there will be instability and the most affected of everyone will be us . We should expect war . 

War ? Rylo responded ?

The days of Maximus are gone father agreed , but they still boast of an army 10 times larges than ours or anyone in the lands

We shall not plan for war . Rylo iterates

There will be war . Raised a voice from the center . There always was , and there always will be when a king takes over from another . Do not be naive Rylo 

I'm not being naïve chief , do you expect us to win over them at war . 

Darticus looks over at Rylo , No i do not expect us to win . but i expect us to be prepared . It may be after 10 years , it could be next week . But i want us to be prepared . Stated Darticus firmly

The elder man agreed in unison

We have to form allies with all the people of the forests , the ones who are our enemies . We have to get them on our side . We need everyone on our side . All the people of the forests we need on our side . 

Yes sir , replied Rylo

Rylo , take a few of our men and start forming allies . Start with the ones that are friendly with us 

I shall come with you , said Rylo's father . If that is okay with you . King Atticus 

Darticus did not hesitate for a moment and agreed at once . That shall be for the best , he proclaimed

We shall then set early morning tomorrow , said the father 

Yes , let that be . Said Darticus 

To our lands , said the poeple seated there 

To our lands , responded Darticus