Fan Fiction ❯ Skies of Arcadia, the noble airpirate 2 ❯ The royal palace. ( Chapter 2 )

Skies of Arcadia, the noble airpirate 2

The royal palace.

 

As morning dawned on the land, the Cygnus arrived in upper Valua. Lawrence stepped onto the docks and looked around. His home hadn't changed one bit. There were rich old hags sipping coffee, spoiled brats eating sweets, and anyone from lower Valua who dared set a foot in upper, was executed on the spot. Yes, home sweet home…

“Let's head for the palace.” Alfonso said, stepping onto the docks too.

“Wait, shouldn't I drop my things off at home first?” Lawrence asked, holding up his suitcase.

“Home? Hahah, don't be silly! Admirals of the imperial armada live in the palace!” Alfonso laughed heartily, pushing back a lock of his hair.

“Wow, really?”

“Yes. We have a whole floor to ourselves. Though I still find it barbaric that we didn't get Jacuzzis in our bathrooms. I had to send a request to get mine installed.” Alfonso said grumpily, as he led the way to a small vessel that would take them to the palace.

“Is that so?” Lawrence asked uninterestedly.

“Yes! And the standard beds are not at all suitable. I had to bring my own custom bed.” Alfonso continued, and they both stepped into the boat. Pow hopped in after them. A soldier saluted them, and then turned to the helm. With the push of a few buttons, they were heading towards the palace.

“So when do I get paid anyway?” Lawrence asked, imagining himself swimming in the money.

“Well, apart from your admiral salary, you will receive a part of the inheritance, spread out over a year. So that's one-twelfth a month. Okay, one-twentyfourth, since I get half the money too.” Alfonso explained, and Lawrence groaned. He was hoping to receive all the money at once.

 

Soon, they were walking through the hallways of the royal palace. A very large and impressive place, filled with paintings of the past emperors and empresses.

“So where are we heading anyway?” Lawrence asked, staring at the ceiling to keep his eyes off the paintings.

“Oh, we've already arrived.” Alfonso said, stopping in front of a pair of large oak doors, decorated with gold. “Now, don't worry. This is standard procedure.”

“Huh? What is standard procedure?”

“Come on, don't be shy! In you go!” Alfonso said cheerfully, opening the door and pushing Lawrence in. The confused helmsman blinked for a second, as the door closed behind him. If he thought the palace hallways were impressive, they were nothing compared to the room he was in now. A large hall, complete with pillars and a red carpet leading up to a throne. Sitting in it was none other than Empress Theodora herself. She ignored Lawrence, and continued eating her large tub of ice cream. Next to her stood a surly man in a long black cloak, and a blond boy who seemed to be about 18 years old. Lawrence gulped and steadied himself, before he began walking up to the empress. The hall was lined with valuan soldiers, who stared after him. When he had finally reached the end of the carpet, he could think of nothing better than to kneel before the empress.

“Rise, boy.” Said the cloaked man, and Lawrence got to his feet again. “I am lord Galcian, leader of the armada. So, you think you have what it takes to be an admiral?” the man asked. Lawrence knew it was a rhetorical question, and therefore didn't answer. “What are your specialties boy?”

“Swordfighting and purple magic.” Lawrence responded.

“A swordfighter eh? Very well, let's see how you fare against Ramirez.” Galcian said, and the boy stepped forward, drawing his sword.

“Are you kidding?” Lawrence asked, as he was almost a head taller than Ramirez.

“I assure you, Ramirez is quite capable.” Galcian said, and the boy glared at Lawrence, holding his sword in front of him.

“Very well then.” Lawrence sighed, and he moved his hand towards the hilt of his sword. The next second, Ramirez had a small cut across his face.

“Uhm… excuse me for a second…” the boy said feebly, and he fled from the room.

“Impressive…” Galcian admitted. “Very well, count yourself in. The royal dressers will come to your room in an hour to take your sizes for a uniform. There will be a meeting at six o' clock with the rest of the admirals, to inform you of your duties. That is all.” Galcian said. Lawrence gave a faint nod and turned to the door. As he left the room he saw that Ramirez was waiting for him in the hallway. He was leaning against the wall, wearing a band-aid, and looked quite pissed.

“You! You can't be from upper Valua!” he spat.

“What?”

“You can't be from upper Valua! People from upper Valua are snobs!”

“I'm sorry that I don't meet your expectations…” Lawrence said coldly. He turned to leave but Ramirez blocked his way.

“Don't you get it? You ruined my world domination theory!” he shouted.

“Huh?”

“My theory is based on the fact that humans are snobs, and they are not fit to rule this world! You just ruined it!”

“You're nuts!” Lawrence said, stepping back.

“I will catch you doing something snobby! Oh yes I will! And then my theory will be confirmed, and the era of darkness can begin!” Ramirez shouted, laughing maniacally. But he was interrupted by a cheerful shout behind him. He gasped and looked back.

“Hey Ramirez!” Alfonso called, waving happily as he approached them.

“Ah no! This- This isn't over!” Ramirez snapped at Lawrence, and he ran off.

“Hmm… Such a shy boy…” Alfonso said, watching him go. “So anyway, how did it go?”

“Oh, good.” Lawrence mumbled.

“So you got accepted? I knew you would. I never had to do a test ofcourse. Father paid the empress so I could skip that.” Alfonso said cheerfully, and he flicked back his hair.

“Yeah, what is with the empress anyway?” Lawrence asked.

“Oh, ever since prince Enrique left she fell into a state of depression. All she does now is eat and order people around. Not much difference from before anyway.” Alfonso explained. Lawrence wondered what Enrique would do if he knew about this. “So anyway, let's go! I'll show you the admiral section of the palace.”