“It will be nice to have all our Layers filled once again,” Aloysius sighed as he, too, stole one of Evris’s buttery croissants. “I am growing tired of the chaos of this task.”
“You’re telling me,” Beatrix barked as she stormed into the room. She ripped a chair free and fell into it loudly, the legs squealing from how she threw her weight into it. “If you pick Odessa, I swear to the Gods above-…!”
“Relax, relax… we plan to pick Isadora,” I confirmed to her immediate relief.
“Isadora? Myradius lucis?”1 Peregrine fondly chimed.
“You two are close?” I inquired as Elias took a seat as well. He blew Evris a kiss, and chuckled when I shot him a side-eye for his flirtatious behavior.
“Oh, she spends much time in my Layer. She’s followed me around her entire childhood! We have similar mannerisms, you see. She is delicate, a beautiful flower, but my does she have room to blossom.”
“I felt the same way about her,” I assured him warmly.
Phillip was last to enter the room, and the moment he did, the energy shifted immediately. His new form was, much likeDecimus, close to his original body, with his short white hair like a fluorescent headlight against the dim lights of the Inn. He was, for better lack of term, handsome, but the weight of his cruel acts against my father still made the room fester with undeniable awkwardness. Dad didn’t bother looking up to address him as he sat as far from the rest of the table as possible, tucking his legs underneath firmly. He brought a hand up to hug himself, as he, too, could feel the tension choking the room.
I decided to be civil, as he was my choice after all, and my burden when I would take over the Realm. “Phillip: you’re looking well. Are you acclimating to your new body and Layer?”
“I should say so,” he answered respectfully. His eyes fell on Dad, who was unbothered by our conversation, before he turned back to me. “I hope I’m doing my job well enough.”
“Nothing’s burned down yet,” Dad acidly spat, trying to crack a joke, but his tone was far from funny.
Phillip nodded once before letting his arm stiffly fall. “Have we decided which twin we are going to hire yet?”
“We’re going to vote once the girls are here.”
As if on cue, both girls entered the Inn, and their energy reverberated through the room. It was jarring to say the least and made me tighten up with worry about how Odessa would take the news. “I take it you’re ready for us?” Odessa chimed as she bounced up to us, her sister trailing behind her. Isadora had a firm scowl cemented over her pretty face, but she smirked a little when I winked at her.
“Ladies, please, have a seat,” Dad offered.
Each girl sat in their respective spots, and once they were settled, Evris offered them something to snack on. Isadora was far too nervous to eat, but Odessa did take one of the chocolate eclairs and munched on the edges passively. No one could deny Evris’s cooking, even when nerves were high, and even I knew that.
Dad set his smoking pen down and folded his hands on his clipboard. “Your trial brought interesting results. Nick and I were able to see your strengths and weaknesses well, we believe, and have used them to make our selection. We do value the input of our other rulers, so we’ll hear their votes out first before moving forward.”
“Oh boy…” Odessa grumbled as Aloysius began the ring of voters.
“I choose Isadora. I like her calm nature, and her dedication to her work.”
“I agree. Isadora is a much better fit,” Peregrine interjected.
“Of course those prunes would pick you…” Odessa snarled under her breath, but the two rulers were not fazed by her comment.
“Well, I like Odessa,” Decimus stubbornly said, even with our prior conversation.
“I do as well,” Phillip peeped cautiously.
“Isadora. Isadora, Isadora, Isadora! I will accept no other answer then Isadora!” Beatrix wailed, pounding the table each time she said her name. Odessa cringed at the sound and scooched away from Beatrix. I, too, would not want to be close to her when she was enraged like this. I barely wanted to be near her when she wasn’t.
“Come on, Bea, Odessa has that moxie! She’s just like her mama. She would be perfect to run that Layer,” Elias tried to coax Beatrix, who was having none of it.
“She is releasing demons that are causing flat-out destruction on Earth. We can’t just feed whenever we feel like it. She’s reckless and stupid. I refuse to work with her!”
“Tell me how you really feel,” Odessa snorted.
Beatrix whipped around to jab a finger at her. “Oh, I will, little missy. If Atlas has any semblance of brain cells left, he will see the destruction headed his way from making YOU leader ofanything. As if that Layer hasn’t been through enough! We don’t need a selfish slob like you overindulging and making more problems for the rest of us.”
“Ok, ok, let’s take it down a notch…” I warned gently. Beatrix snapped, physically snapped, her mouth shut and turned back to me, crossing her arms and huffing angrily. I gave her a soft smile to thank her for cooperating, and luckily, she echoed it frailly.
“I like Isadora,” Evris blurted as she sipped her fourth green tea since we had arrived. “I like a ruler I don’t have to worry about. She seems to have a clearer head, a resistant conscience. I agree with Beatrix about the overindulging. Odessa has been breaking our rules and doing whatever she wants down there, and that is not a good first impression.”
