Perspectives

Chapter 2

Kalen let out a long sigh as he stepped out of the transporter unit, his personal assistant exiting closely behind him.

"Sir, you have a health assessment tomorrow morning at nine." Kalen's assistant, Natali told him in her usual clipped manner.

Kalen nodded in acknowledgement as he began untying the gray silk cravat he wore around his neck, stuffing it into the pocket of his short red overcoat afterwards. He glanced over at the large golden clock that was in the corner of the room to see that it was half past five.

"I'll have the chef begin preparing your evening meal." Natali told him before swiftly exiting the room.

Though Kalen had been surrounded by people almost constantly throughout the day, as soon as he got home he was almost immediately met with solitude. This was not unusual for the seventeen year old. Kalen's parents spent most of their time staying up in the nation's capital, attending Sovereign Council meetings and dealing with other matters that the Baron and Baroness were expected to deal with. He had grown accustomed to being home alone but for Natali, the chef and the maid. He supposed he didn't mind it, or at least he wasn't about to admit to himself that he minded it.

Kalen began to make his way through the vast and empty halls of the Stenton Estate, the clicking of the short heels of his boots echoing loudly throughout the house. He could feel the stares of the cameras positioned all throughout the house watching him as he climbed the marble staircase up to the second level. Though he was used to it by now, he was thankful that his parents had agreed to his request of no cameras being placed in his room. He wasn't fond of the feeling of being constantly observed.

Kalen wrapped his hand around the golden handle on his bedroom door, the cybernetics inside it quickly reading his fingerprint and unlocking the door with a click. He tugged open the door and stepped inside.

The bedroom was as extravagant as the rest of the house, though it was only slightly above average in size, it made up for it with all of the amenities it had. A large holographic television took up over half of an entire wall and the wall adjacent to it had a fully stocked kitchen, only lacking in an oven.

Kalen pressed a button on the wall nearby his bed, shortly afterwards a small door slid open in the wall, revealing a dark empty box. Kalen pulled the cravat out of his overcoat pocket and dropped it into the box before tugging off the coat and his black buttoned vest and placing them into the box as well. Leaving him only in a loose white dress shirt. He then pressed the wall button again, causing the compartment to close once again. The articles of clothing would be taken through a electronic sorter and returned to his closest in a matter of minutes.

Kalen grabbed his night wear from his closet before slipping into the bathroom that was off of his bedroom, hoping to fit in a quick shower before his meal was ready. He was about drop his sleep wear onto the counter when he noticed something strange lying on top of the white marble countertops. It looked like a doll. Why would there be a doll in his bathroom?

Kalen leant over the object suspiciously, his eyes widening as he realized just how realistic it was. It looked like a miniature girl, complete with thick chestnut brown locks and a little outfit. Kalen had never seen such clothing before, it seemed an odd choice for a doll. All of the dolls Kalen had ever seen had always been dressed up in large dresses and had their hair curled up in extravagant styles, but this doll was wearing a pair of short pants made out of a weird blue material and a top with a plaid pattern on it.

Kalen leaned in closer, it was then that he noticed the chest of the doll rise and fall.

"What the hell?"

~

Piper felt like she had just been hit with a ton of bricks, her head was aching like crazy and her muscles felt unreasonably heavy. She let out a low groan as she began to force her eyelids open. At first everything was blurry, all she could make out were colored shapes.