The procession went on, winding through the streets in the Mint Quarter. Canals filled with the smell of peppermint ran alongside the sidewalk, their water curling lazily around boats shaped out of chocolate. The children pushed their hands against the railings, watching as the white and green mingled in the liquid, enthralled even as a creeping sense of discomfort traced their spines.
The streets were flanked by buildings made of shimmering chocolate bricks, their windows adorned with sugar-spin lattice designs. Steam-powered mechanical devices, fueled by chocolate, whizzed by overhead, some shaped like birds with metallic wings, others like insects with legs made of brass. They glided by with an uncanny accuracy, their motion smooth but somehow far too purposeful, as if they were marching to a drill command.
A man polishing a bronze pipe by the side of a canal caught Nia's attention. He stopped mid-polish as they walked by, and his eyes, black holes that reflected light in a liquid-like manner, seemed to draw all light into themselves. He didn't speak, didn't even blink or breathe, but somehow, Nia could feel the hold of his stare as they walked away.
"It's like they're statues," Lina whispered to Leo.
"Except. watching."
Aya shivered, shutting her notebook.
"It's not statues," Aya said. "They're alive. But not fully… not human, maybe."
"Stop imagining ghosts," Felix sneered. "These are just people, that's all. They're not ghosts just because they have a little discipline."
Tomas didn't argue. He was observing a network of machines humming deep beneath the streets, his fingers restless with the urge to pry a panel open. The pulsing pipelines seemed to resemble veins, and steam vents spat out clouds of vapor as if exhaling, filling the air with a bitter-sweet smell that made him feel queasy.
The voice of Vellum rang out, smooth and authoritative. "Observe, my guests, if you will, how each detail contributes to the rhythm of this city. Every street, every building, every sweet produced in this city is a part of an orchestral symphony."
They walked out into a square, dominated by a fountain, its surface glinting like melted caramel, shaped into a woman holding out a cup. Trickles of chocolate cascaded from her outstretched hands, flowing into the basin below, curling around each other in neat spirals. Nia saw that the flowing chocolate wasn't messy and natural-splattered, as if it were a practiced, living thing, shaped by a knowing hand, with minute disturbances rippling out, breaking out, and dying, as if the liquid itself were conscious of being observed.
"I'll bring you water," Albert offered, nodding toward the fountain.
"No," stated Vellum sharply, and a shudder ran through the air. "You will not touch anything unless it is given to you."
He hesitated, flushing, before saying, "It's just chocolate."
"Chocolate, my boy, is never just chocolate," Vellum declared, amber gaze holding him fixed. "It carries desire, memory, even fear. Respect it, or it will remind you why rules are made."
Felix took a step back, muttering something under his breath. A shiver ran through Nia's veins. It was the first overt threat – a gentle but strongly worded lesson.
The group proceeded into the Nougat Line, with gigantic factories puffing out aromatic clouds. Steam billowed around, mixing with chocolate smells, curling and uncurling into forms that looked as if they were alive. Aya took a deep breath, her lids shutting as colors erupted behind her eyelids: black patterns crossing gold, violet peaks amidst an amber background.
"What is it?" Nia asked.
Aya shook her head. "Something wrong. Something sour hiding in sweetness. I can taste it."
"I saw this myself," Tomas nodded. "The equipment… it operates at a different pace down here. Faster, sharper, and it hums."
The hand of vellum extended over the factory buildings. "Our city is alive in many ways," he whispered. "Every gesture of the chocolate, every sigh of sugar, every heartbeat beneath the streets is part of the symphony," he went on. "And yet—" He let the word flutter in the air. "Even the most perfect city has a part that you do not see," he whispered.
The attendants stiffened as they approached. One rested a gloved hand lightly on Vellum's arm. The Confectioner looked toward the blackened street, and his face gave away nothing. "Patience," he whispered. Then, to the children, "Shall we continue?"
The air seemed to relax, but the vibration didn't cease. Nia could feel the humming against the soles of her feet, through the very marrow of her bones. There was something moving down there, watching, waiting.
"I bet those streets are just storage or old factories. Nothing to worry about," whispered Felix, defying the warning, to Lina and Leo.
Aya's fingers tightened around her notebook. "Do you hear that? The beat? It's pulsing, and it comes from there, from under the city."
"Whatever it is, it's not normal," Tomas whispered to Nia, drawing closer to her. "It's not machinery or people, but something else."
They were directed by the vellum to a square lined with ubiquitous sweets stalls, each filled with swirling truffles, caramels, and candied nuts made out of chocolate. The sellers motioned toward a tasting tray, inviting the others to try a sample or two. The children
Nia hesitated, taking a morsel that resembled a small cocoa blossom. The melted chocolate was warm, dissolving immediately as it touched the surface of her tongue, and finally, for an instant, all was well with the world. Then a cold, sharp spark ran through her mind – a memory that wasn't her own, a glimmer of fear and starvation.
The tour proceeded through fountains made out of liquid nougat, streets flanked by peppermint columns, and bridges constructed out of solid white chocolate. Nia's discomfort grew with each passing minute. She began to realize patterns – symmetric shadows, citizens marching as if they were obeying commands, and the pulsing heartbeat that never seemed to end beneath the streets.
Finally, they arrived at the end of the Nougat Line, and a street was obstructed by high walls – blackened chocolate, old and fissured, as if the shadows of the city had been absorbed by it.
Vellum stopped, turning to the children. "This is an area even I don't often visit. The Bitter District. It exists, yes, but this is not part of the tour. You will not go in."
A nervous contraction twisted Nia's stomach. She could feel the calling growing inside. The vibrations humming through the city intensified, pulsing to the beat of her own heartbeat. Aya touched her arm. "It's alive," she whispered.
"Nonsense, nonsense," Felix scoffed, trying to appear brave, although his hands were shaking ever so slightly. He, too, seemed to feel the unspoken draw of the blackened street.
So, Vellum indicated a further route, lined with caramel lighting and sugar glass facades. "Then let us continue," he suggested, smoothly turning their course. "There is much to see, and the day is long."
However, her gaze remained fixed on the darkened street as they walked away. It was a promise, a threat, a question, and, ultimately, a sign that the Bitter District would claim their interest sooner or later.