Chapter 2 (Dicussion)

Luxer city Middle town Avory Avenue train station.

As Evelyn jumped down from the train she streched and looked around the station, many people were getting off trains and many were getting on them, many of them were dressed simple, some gray and brown clothing with a necktie, and some time a hat, while the ladies wore dresses with fancy hats or more modest clothes various couples were going on some trains for a sweet trip, while groups of guards were stationed at various point of the station for possible inconveniences.

The complex glass panels on the walls were making beatiful figures on the floor, the gigantic pillars that were sustaining the station were adorned like everything else, with intricate stmbols an patterns the station, was just like any other important building in the City or any City, a piece of art to be both functional and good looking for the eyes.

Soon she started walking along the streets of the middle town Avory Avenue, it was nice the walk ways were pavemented and the streets were full of carriages and bikes, the dome wasn't fully visible but it still let enough light through for it to be called a day.

She would've prefered to walk with her crew but most of them needed to rest so they took a train to the so called Mead district to book some taverns for a few nights.

As she walked through Avory Avenue she noticed the people going around the street, some were adults working or goint to work, some were kids going to school or working some small jobs, still left better than those in the under town, as she walked she avoided more than one theft from her pockets.

Some paper boys were shouting to get attention, some shops were selling some snacks or offering a discount of food soon to be thrown away, she couldn't buy any of it for the tight budget of the group.

The sound of people talking freely was refreshing, the sunlight was relaxing, the smell of the city was bad with the horse shit and sewage manholes were emitting a foul stench, but certainly it was better than the battlefield in the fog.

Soon she arrived at the cable way for upper town, the guards stopped her, "permission for entering?" A guard asked his air black and eyes brown, Evelyn clicked her tongue and took out a paper with permission signed from Lloyd Lelotte, the guards freezed at reading the name on the permission and soon made way for her to enter the cable way.

The panorama was good... more splendid then she thought, the sunlight was shining along the the dome lines, the light refracting in a way visible only by upper town and the cable way.

As she arrived at the upper town, the sun shone from above the dome even more intensely, the refracting light making it see like a rainbow and fireworks permeated the air, the streets were pavemented with stripes of grass and flowers, some benches and trash cans sprinkled along the grass strips, some elettric carriages were going around on tracks, the odor was even better than middle town as she walked along the streets and followed them to her destination.

Many rich people were around the street just enjoying the day, some girls in normal dresses others with more sport like dresses, the mens dressed like a typical gentlemen with a double brested coat a top hat some gray pants a waist coat and a walking cane.

The aroma of some shops were almost drawing her in but she could resist it, as she walked she was given distainful looks, after all wearing pretty much soldier clothes without being a soldier of a noble or richman here was basically admitting to be a lower people who needed to scavange from the Fog to get food on her table something that most people here felt was beneath them.

While she went deeper into upper town she looked up at the center, the palace of union stood tall over upper town, the palace where nobles reunited when they needed to discuss something important in the city they were in, it made upper town pale in comparison to details.

But not in complex roads, she passed through Abony Avenue, Ophiuchus Lane and Polaris Boulevard, she almost got lost in a secomday road before she checked a city map before she found the right way.

As she walked to Selene Avenue she noticed how it was more... adorned to say the least, it was made of mansions each with gardens filled with flowers and some staues, the statues were of everything one could imagine, some humanoid staues representing the owners maybe, others were more symbolic like abstract concepts, she didn't understand the appeal of it.

Except one 13th Selene Avenue it had lot's of flowers of various colors some blue some red, some orange some yellow, they seemed familiar, but she felt strange seeing it with very few marble decorations shouldn't archdukes mansions be more extravagant than simpler nobles?... she didn't care really care so she ringed the door bell before starting to tidy up her light brown hair.

Soon a butler opened the door, he had light red hair and blue eyes as he made way for Evelyn inside the mansion, "the young master Valet Lloyd will be the first to meet you, then we will introduce you the young master" the butler said calmly and politely as he approached a pair of big wooden oak doors.

As the butler opened the door, a elegant room filled with bookshelves and some red armchairs and sofas, a small table at the center of the sofas and armchairs, and on the sofa behind it a young man with blonde hair and eyes resemblingthe color of fresh grass, he was dressed in a black and white suit, he looked refined and elegant.

"So you are Miss Blackthorn, i'm Lloyd young master Lawrence Valet, happy to meet you" Lloyd said politely as he got up to shake her hand, as she took it Evelyn realized something, the firm grip and the callous palm was certainly of someone who did a lot of manual labor, but something else was behind it a sense of slight threat was certainly there.

Evelyn didn't let herself be intimidated and gripped his hand just as firmly, "yes good to make your acquaintance Mr. Lelotte, can we get to talking? I'm not someone who likes to beat around the bush" she said calmly with a polite smile that hid quite a bit of anger.

"Yes of course what would you like to discuss first? Payment or working hours?" Lloyd replied calmly as he sat down and poured some purple tea down in a pair of cups.

"I believe first i would like to talk about payment, i want to be sure i'll be compensated fairly" Evelyn replied as she looked straight at him with a still polite smile.

"Well the base payment the lord was proposing was of 5 pounds and 7 sparks at hour with bonus for events" Lloyd said calmly as Evelyn freezed for a fraction of a second, that would quiet a lot based on the bonus for events but she should push for a bit more.

"Only? It seems a bit low to protect the third young master... why not round it up to 6 pounds an hour?" Evelyn said calmly as she looked down at the cup of tea, made from Efcharístisi flowers, 'pompous' was all she could think upon looking at it.

"Mhm in that case we should lower the bonus for the events, after all we should really teach you proper etiquette for such occassions and the teachers are a bit expensive" Lloyd remarked calmly with a polite smile that irritated Evelyn even more.

"Feeling stingy Mr.Valet? I thought the Floro family was well off" Evelyn said calmly with her polite expression cracking for a split second as she drink a small amount of the tea.

"Well then tell me why should we pay you as much as official junior guards of the family when you are a simple mercenary?" Lloyd replied calmly as he sipped his tea.

"Do your junior guards have 5 green stars rank?" Evelyn questioned calmly and confidently with a slightly smug grin as she drinked the tea.

"No, so i guess the rumors you are at a wall in your growth it's true" Lloyd retorted calmly his polite smile getting slightly wider and his eyes narrowing.

Evelyn stayed quiet to not curse him heavily, if she did she would certainly lose the offer and get a worse reputation than before, "well in the end the final agreements will be made by the young master once he returns from the meeting" Lloyd sighed as he put down his cup of tea.

"Oh a 16 year old in a meeting? Seems they are eager to make him work" Evelyn scoffed annoyed at the Valet reply why send a minor in a meeting to represent an archduke? It was dumb.

"The young master goes to such meetings since he was fourteen years old, he is more than capable and renowed enough to be in a contest as heir even if he isn't eligible" Lloyd bitterly replied leaving Evelyn dumbfounded.

'Why was he protecting what would most probably be a brat? And worse a pompous brat.'

But as she thought that some footsteps were making their way towards the room they were staying in, light and delicate like the ones of a kid.