The Restoration Protocol

8 || the second key

Prince Lotus takes them to the wine cellar. That sharp, panicked shake of the head from Soleil earlier was all he needed to understand the gravity of the situation. And he gathers pretty quickly that Mariko and Boey are equally as aware of what was going on, thus he pleads with them all to wait quietly together in the cellar until he could — hopefully — resolve the matter with the WPD in a discreet manner.

So long as they aren't yet aware of the reason for this extravagant celebration, perhaps Lotus could get away with just playing dumb. Mariko wonders about that. Soleil and Lotus are good friends, yes, but to what degree that could influence the authorities in charge of protecting their own respective Keyholders, such remains a mystery to her. And she has no choice but to hold her breath and wait for now. Unable to leave, seeing as no one got around to explaining to Lotus why they need his key...

"Party bad idea?" Boey says out of nowhere. Watching people pace makes him anxious, and Soleil has been doing nothing but that since Lotus left them here. Here, in this giant, luxurious wine cellar, the sight of which also makes him anxious. Rows upon rows of neatly lined bottles on gorgeous hardwood shelves may be satisfying in an aesthetic sense, but it's still wine. The little voice in his head chimes again and again, you shouldn't be here.

Mariko, on the other hand, spends the slow-going minutes of Lotus's absence inspecting the fancy bottles and their equally as fancy labels. She picks up one called Dhuergicchio d'or Rosato. Her mom used to tell her the best wines are the ones you can't pronounce — something to remember once she becomes old enough to drink, of course.

"Boey, what's this word say?"

"Put it down, Mari..."

"Soleil, can you open this?"

Soleil doesn't respond. Still pacing. Rubbing her fingers together, too. Mariko purses her lips. So even androids have nervous habits...

"Prince Lotus has it under control, Soleil. I don't think you need to worry."

"I know," she blurts. Her eyes dart to Mariko, as if in apology, but she looks away just as abruptly. "I should have spoken up sooner. I behaved selfishly. If I had stayed on track, we could have been out of New Floravale before the WPD caught up to me-"

"I still don't understand why you're running from them," Boey interjects, tensing as Soleil's head snaps in his direction. She clearly doesn't mean to intimidate him. The boy's reaction seems to urge her to take a step back and relax. It works well. After a second of closing her eyes, drawing in a deep breath, and muttering the words 'pause for recalculation' to herself, her expression takes on a new air of calm.

"Yes, I know this all must be a bit confusing to you. An android acting on intuition." Soleil reaches into the collar of her dress to take out the key she had been wearing — never having taken it off, even after changing clothes entirely. She holds it in her hand for a moment just to stare at it. "The WPD are androids, too, you know. They are following their own set of orders. But my loyalty is to my father, and to the preservation of Paracosia. Theirs is to the duty of protecting me and little else. However, the incident at my concert yesterday raised some doubts on that matter..."

"You don't have to explain yourself," Mariko assures her, carefully returning the wine bottle she was holding to its place on the shelf. "I don't know about anyone else, but I believe you. You know more about how this world works than we do. We're just tourists here."

"Maybe so, but I feel like I am a tourist myself sometimes..."

Soleil's voice tapers off, her thoughts seeming to travel somewhere untouchable until, in the beat of a heart, her full attention is gripped by a knock at the cellar door. She and Mariko turn their heads up to observe the jiggling knob. Boey gasps and ducks under the tall bar stool he had been leaning against. Soon enough, however, the three of them are greeted by the soft, muffled, and pleasantly familiar voice of the prince, who must have felt the need to alert them it was him at the door to avoid any unnecessary panic. A bit too late in Boey's case. He shamefully straightens himself out as Mariko scurries up the stairs to unlock the door.