𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐌 ⸻ argentum chronicles

𝟎𝟔, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐘

THE DOOR flew open.

Adin had been stabbing at a piece of lettuce, trying to figure out how to eat it without the process of chewing it. Why'd he have to eat vegetables anyway?

That was when the door was shoved open with a deafening bang.

Mrs Aulus slammed a fork onto the table, and the ten-year-old drew back nervously. "Sorry, Adin," Mrs Aulus murmured, then turned to glare at her husband's tall frame in the doorway. "Finn, where have you been?" she asked sharply.

"There's no time to explain," Mr Aulus responded hurriedly. "Adin, go pack your things. We have to leave."

Adin pushed back his chair and stood up but his mother stopped him.

As she forced a bite of lettuce into her son's mouth, she demanded, "Leave? Where? Amethirus is our home!"

Mr Aulus pushed past his wife but stopped to look at her. "Not anymore," was all he said before he turned away again.

"What do you mean?"

He couldn't bear to look his wife in the eye anymore. "The Regii Custodes are here."

Mrs Aulus froze, her eyes widening.

"C'mon, Adin, grab your things," Mr Aulus said to his son.

Adin nodded and sped away from the living room, away from the lettuce and weird vegetables that were supposed to be healthy for him. He grabbed his backpack and filled it, just as a pounding knock came to the door.

His mother's bare feet padded across the wooden floor. The doorknob turned, creaking slightly.

"Are you Alcmene Hollan?"

"Yes, how can I help you, sir?"

"Do you know where your husband is?" a man asked in return.

"No," Mrs Aulus lied. "He hasn't come home from work yet."

"Are you sure?" he questioned.

"Yes," she responded, her voice quivering at the lie.

"Very well then," he said as he turned to the men behind him. Coldly, he commanded, "Search the house. Leave nothing unchecked."

✧･☆: *✧･☆:*✧･☆: *✧･☆:*✧･☆: *✧･☆:*

GEARS LINED every corner of three walls, creaking and whining but eventually generating the sweet scent of the King's Tonic.

Of the four walls, one was devoid of gears but was covered with glass capsules, the blue liquid and silver sparkles glinting from the reflection of the sun. At the counter, glass cups were filled with the drink from a gray nozzle until an automated hand brought a tray to each booth.

Looking at the mechanical parts in the room made the gears in Adin's mind turn, too. He couldn't stop thinking about the report that Anna had made earlier that day. If he could make an invention that—

"Careful," Chris warned.

Adin was pulled from his thoughts ( again! ) to find Medea reaching for a glass, though she chose the one furthest away from her. Chris tugged at her arm again.

As her sleeve grazed the top of the other glasses, Adin spotted something sparkling under the sun. He stared at it, and Medea glanced up at him, grinning. "Like my bracelet?" she teased, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a golden circlet around her wrist.