Briar and her father were already in the horse-drawn carriage when Inspector Canterbury called out to them.
"You know the drill, Thomas!" he called. "No interfering with the investigation and no messing with the evidence!" Yes, Briar's father's name was "Thomas Edison". Very original on my part. I know.
"I've got it, Paul," Briar's father replied. He then turned his gaze to Briar as the carriage began to move. "Inspector Canterbury is an important connection for the House of Edison. Someday, I will die and you or Florian will have to take over the family. No matter what- Do not make an enemy of the Canterburys. Understood, Briar?"
"Yes, Father," Briar replied, fiddling with a ribbon. The rest of the ride was relatively silent. Even as an adult, Briar had never really bonded with her father. He was always the silent type, and she never really knew what was going on behind his stoic face.
The ride took about four hours, which meant that Briar had four hours to think about her strange situation. So far, it seemed like a repeat of her past life. This meant that she would probably be living her past life all over again. Briar shuddered as she realized that she would have to go through all 11 remaining years of the Nation's education.
If Briar was repeating her life, though, then why did she not go back to being a baby? And that raised the question- Why was Briar in her seven-year-old body instead? She mulled over that question for nearly the whole ride, before deciding that it probably didn't matter.
As she came to her conclusion, the carriage arrived at the Capital City, Favillia. Its gates were made of beautiful platinum that gleamed silver and scarlet in the setting sun. Its walls were carved with murals that depicted the Maternal One and the story of Favillia's founding.
Someone should really write a sequel for our sacred text, Briar thought. They should call it "Legend Part Two". Who even decided to call it "Legend" in the first place? The author of this story is so ass at naming.
The fourth wall sucks. I just wanted to highlight that. Anyway-
The inside of the city was glimmering with the lit street lights. City workers hustled around, lighting the lamps. The lamps were powered with Astrite, which was a mysteriously powerful ore that was found in the far mountains. It could only be stimulated with electricity, which was what Briar's ancestor had contributed to.
It was a beautiful city. Favillia had the lowest crime rate in all of the Nation. The history of the city was quite dark, but the Imperial Family lived here. They hadn't made public appearances for about seven years. Rumor on the street was that they were sick.
"You're here, Thomas," called Inspector Canterbury's voice. Briar looked out of the carriage to see him smiling up at her father. "I thought you'd never arrive."
"Enough, Paul," Briar's father replied. "You know full well that your stallions are faster than these carriage horses. Furthermore, you informed me that there was no rush to get here. Naturally, I did not find the need to bring faster horses." If there was no rush, then why was it an "urgent case"?
"Haha! I'm joking with you, Thomas," Canterbury laughed. "There truly was no need to arrive quickly, my daughters and I merely took a quicker route to Favillia. They're resting in the House of Canterbury's lodging as of now." Oh, that was right. The House of Canterbury had a hotel in Favillia that they ran. The reason they had it was unknown, but the hotel was over 200 years old. The architecture sure was amazing.
"Ah. Could you take Briar as well?" Briar's father asked. What? No way. Briar could never stay at the House of Canterbury's hotel! It was way too fancy and she would probably screw up and embarrass her family somehow.
"Sure, why not? I'll let you two have separate rooms in our best suites," Inspector Canterbury replied cheerfully. Wrong answer, you dolt! "How about she shares with my daughters? They should get along nicely, although Anemone is quite hard to understand and get along with. She's quite cold."
Briar was zoning out due to boredom while he said this, but the bit about Anemone caught her attention. Normally, people younger than nine years old would be at least slightly extroverted, trying to make friends. They would be social, and the introverted-ness would begin to show around age ten. As a young lady who had already lived 20 years, Briar knew something was off. Anemone didn't seem like the type to have main-character syndrome, after all.
"Alright, young Miss Edison," Inspector Canterbury said, turning to Briar. "Thomas- that is your father- and I have some important business to attend to. So, the maid will lead you inside. Please do follow her." The maid in question smiled at Briar and held out her hand. Briar took it.
The lobby of the hotel had sleek marble floors. There were several magnificent white pillars around the lobby of the hotel, giving it a very professional and fancy feeling. Two staircases curled up to the second floor.
The maid guided Briar upstairs.
"There's still more. Have you ever been on an elevator, Lady Edison?" the maid asked. Briar shook her head no. Elevators weren't common, but with Astrite they could run quickly and smoothly. It was quite pricey and only seen in the finest of establishments.
"What floor is the room on?" Briar asked.
"The top floor, which should be… about 16." Whoa. 16 floors? That was over three times as tall as the Edison Manor, from what Briar had heard. The maid summoned the elevator. When it arrived, Briar got in the elevator with the maid.
"Hey, hey! Is the elevator fast?" Briar asked excitedly. This was her first time on one, due to their rarity. "I've heard that they can outspeed the Emperor's fastest horses!"
"Well, it all depends on the quality of the elevator, Lady Edison," the maid explained. "Some elevators can take a few minutes just to go up eight floors, while others can go that distance in half a minute."
"Then how fast is this one?"
"We're here, Lady Edison," The maid smiled at me. The elevator was pretty damn fast. "Please follow me into the Canterbury daughters' room."
"Why do I have to share a room with this inbred swine?! Out of my quarters, lowly servant!" A voice that Briar recognized as Calliope's carried across the hall. The shout was followed by a rattled-looking maid running out of the room.
"Miss Erica, that child is impossible!" she complained to the maid accompanying me. "She insists that she won't share a room with Lady Anemone, calling her an 'inbred swine' of all things!"
"That's just not right!" Briar blurted. The two maids stared at her, shocked. Briar put her hands over her mouth. After a moment, she lowered them.
"I'm visiting Miss Calliope!" Briar ran into the room that she knew they were staying in, and slammed opened the door.
"What do you want, Ediso-" Calliope was cut off.
"It isn't right to call someone 'inbred' just because you don't know their family line! I've heard that Miss Anemone is quite amazing, both in intelligence and business deals!" Briar protested indignantly. "Please leave Miss Anemone alone!"
"It's none of your business, Edison!" Briar looked towards the corner to see none other than Anemone, who looked positively furious. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and her face was turning a slight shade of red. "I don't need you to stand up for my bloodline! This is the problem with you nobles! You assume everyone is lower than you, and you pity them for it!"
"It's nothing like that! I call you a swine because that's what you are!" Calliope joins the fight! "You're of lowly birth, and Father adopted you off the streets! I'd bet your mother was a prostitute from some backwater brothel! You don't even have a real family!"
What was this argument about? Why did Calliope hate Anemone so much? Why? Why?? Why?!
"I've had enough of you!"