I guessed a part of me was disappointed. When we first arrived at Fairwell, Anna had mentioned that any of us settlers could make it into the government one day, if we played our cards right and proved ourselves to be motivated individuals. And while, perhaps, some of us might eventually make it intothe lower rungs of management, I couldn’t imagine we’d ever get high enough to have the power to effect real change here. At least, it would probably be generations before that happened.
Native Fairlanders had the advantage of massive inheritances to boost their position—wealth built up overcenturies. How could we ever compete with that?
“As for the other two Chiefs, however,” Anna went on, drawing my attention back to her. A small smile quirked the edges of her lips. “They have been a little moreinterchangeableover the years. Particularly the Chief Operations Officer position. There are a number of families close to Burchard’s level of wealth, who are vying to succeed him in the next Assets Review in a few month’s time… my father included.”
I gazed at her. “Oh. So, your father’s trying to be one of the top three?”
“Yup.” She nodded. “I’m not sure exactly how many coins Burchard has to his name, but my dad’s been workingsuperhard this year to upstage him.” Her smile stretched into a full on, almost leering grin. “I told you we like competition in this place, eh?” she added, giving me a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.
I nodded, even as my stomach dropped at the reminder of our deal. I’d managed to forget about that for a few minutes, distracted by the view and the concept of Fairwell’s governance. I didn’t appreciate her reminding me.
I wasn’t finished with this conversation yet, though, so I didn’t let myself get sidetracked.
“And what does your dad do exactly?” I asked. She’d mentioned he was a governor/executive, but that hadn’t explained what he was actually in charge of.
“Chief of Outreach,” she replied.
“Oh,” I replied softly, taking a moment to process the information.
That would likely explain the phone call I’d overheard with him and Anna, where it had sounded like he was bossing her around. Since Anna worked in outreach too, he wouldliterallybe her boss.
It would also explain why Gerard had experience and expertise in training people for Outreach, given it was his father’s specialty.
“It’s why I invited you here to do the registration,” Anna went on. “He has all the forms up in his office.”
“I see…” I replied, then wondered why Gerard hadn’t invited Jessie here to sign her registration form too. They’d done it at the restaurant they’d eaten lunch at today, from what she’d told me. Maybe that location had just happened to be more convenient for him at the time.
“Now, shall we continue?” Anna said, clapping her hands together. “My dad’s expecting us. His office is right at the top.”
I moved away from the window to follow her. As we continued to climb the spiral staircase, the place reminded me more and more of a fairytale, and I couldn’t help but think of Rapunzel. The stairwell seemed to extend up through the entire turret, with breaks at every landing, and aside from the modern lighting and abstract paintings that started to appear on the walls, the place maintained its charming, rustic feel.
I doubted, however, that the occupant of the top of this tower was in the habit of letting down their hair.
All the doors on the landings we passed were closed, so I couldn’t get a glimpse of what the rest of the turret was like. Which, by the time we reached the fourth landing, started to make the journey feel never-ending.
“You’re not a fan of elevators in this place?” I asked, panting slightly as we mounted another flight of stairs.
She smirked. “We all enjoy the exercise—works off the extracalories.”
It was no wonder her thighs looked so muscular…
“You got to the door pretty quick,” I remarked.
“That’s ‘cause I’d just been in my study, which is near the front door. No worries—we’ve only three more floors to go.”
Sucking in a breath, I gripped the banister and kept climbing. As we neared the fifth floor, a delicious aroma filled my nostrils. It smelled like some kind of sweet pastry.
“Apple pie’s on the menu this evening,” Anna chortled.
Arriving on the fifth landing, my eyes moved to the door on our right, which was open.
“Is that you, Anna?” a mature, female voice drifted out from it.
“Yeah. Tani arrived,” Anna called back, then gave me a look and nodded toward the doorway. “Come on, let’s say a quick hi to my mom.”
She made for the door before I could answer, and I followed her obediently, even as I felt a prickle of apprehension. I stepped into a grand kitchen… which was more beautiful than I ever imagined a kitchen could be. It was a huge, circular room, and followed the same decor as the rest of the turret, fusing modern with medieval. The same gray stone covered the walls and floors, and spacious black tabletops stretched luxuriously around its edges, sprinkled with sleek cooking gadgets and sparkling kitchenware. Conical steel lanterns hung low from the high ceiling, casting a warm yet bright glow around the room.
It made our old communal kitchen back home seem like a hut.
