PANACEA-Book One-By Hell or High Water

30. Storm to the Power of Two

Hellooo, sorry for the lack of updates. I think I'll just spam what I've gotten done these past weeks and take my leave. In the meantime, enjoy the point of view switch to Nyx!

Paying the empress a visit was about as fun as getting cut right down the middle. Who was I to complain, though? A free ride to the capital wasn't too bad. Really, my only problem was what sort of punishment I was going to be facing. Public execution was funny in theory, but when it was my head, it suddenly became less appealing.

I was sat at the back of the boat. Once we had been walked to the border of Red Gate, we were boarded onto a long boat. The capital was rich in water, while the rest of the empire barely got by. That was none of my business, though. I wasn't particularly thrilled about that, but I was more focused on how small the seats were. People of my size clearly hadn't been in mind when this boat had been contrived. I would definitely be writing a report about this.

I frowned down at my cuffs. I considered melting them off into the water. That would mean I either had to run away on my own, or pick up Mel once again and bolt. The first option was completely out of the question, for obvious reasons. The second one wasn't as bad, but something told me Mel just didn't want to make things worse. Kind of annoying, but understandable. I guess she didn't need me driving things further into the ground. It was a real shame, seeing as how that was one of my only talents.

I sat back, and looked around. There was green vegetation lining the countless rivers and canals that made the streets. It was more green than brown, and less dry. I could even see a few pale blue flowers in the water. It seemed this part of the kingdom was completely fine, in terms of water. This was the capital, though. I could tell by the way people were dressed and by the lavish modes of transportation that the privilege here was amped up from what I would consider the last place to be, a three of four, to a sure twenty.

That was also a tad annoying. This stupid empress was heavily enforcing water usage laws everywhere, but in her own city, water was literally thrown into the streets. No exceptions drought measures my ass. The situation itself was pissy enough, but this just made me even pissier.

I sighed and watched the water pass. Little fish went by, and I somewhat envied them. I would have killed the be in the water in this heat. But then my mind drifted to what kind of fine I could get for even just touching the water, and I slumped back in my seat.

It didn't take long before we were boarded off the narrow boat and escorted towards a tall set of stairs. The were an ivory color, with pearls embedded in the gold embellishments. Other bead-like jewels were placed in the stone, in deep purples and blacks. I looked up to see a palace perched at the top, stretching high up to the cloudless sky. It was box shaped, with a pyramid top, carved with gold. It had six towers, white with purple bricks laid in to make them look striped all the way up to the top.

The gold rooms at the top were impressive, I won't lie. Even from all the way at the bottom, I could tell they were expensive and well built. Still, the shape reminded me a bit of a tit. A sad tit, too, with a pointy nipple and a flag attached. I was about to share the thought with Mel, when the guards at the bottom of the steps spoke. It was a conversation for another time.

"Felons?"

"One of them," the muscular woman holding my cuffs said. Her elbow pressed into my back. I met the eyes of the gold masked guard closest to me, without much reaction. They appeared completely indifferent, as if they met with felons everyday. Come to think of it, they probably did.

The one across from me gave a look to Mel, taking in the general look of her. I remembered doing the same thing when I saw her a few days ago. She had broader shoulders than most women I had seen, and muscled arms. She wasn't too bulky, though. Infact, she was quite slim, at least her top half was. Her legs were thicker and muscled as well. You could tell she spent time doing some sort of heavy lifting. I wondered what must have been going through their head looking at her. They probably wondered what she had done, if not an act of violence. I would believe it if someone told me she killed someone with her bare hands. Infact, I might thank her if she did so to myself.