Futuristic Searching For Solace in Solis

[No More Pretending]

Welcome to Solis, city of wonders!

Solis is the center of everyone’s attention, especially during the social season. Its high, floral towers and railways provide a shining beacon to the rest of the nation. But, venture down below the parks and Canopy Quarter, and you arrive in the sunless part that the city hides. The lower classes live there, unable to make use of the sun’s light for their energy. Instead, they rely on coal and steam, struggling to make ends meet in the dingy world of Arcadia, alternately called “Steam City.”

For now, we’ll venture back up to the bright, colorful Canopy quarter, to one of the tallest of the ‘Trees’ where the Aristocracy lives, and to a dim bedroom where a woman lays, sleeping.

The automated blinds swung open as they were programmed to, the same time as yesterday. In the same manner as yesterday, the woman grumbled and rolled over, fighting the pull of the waking world. With a sigh, she sat up and fumbled around for something. She finds the item she was looking for and holds it up briefly before pulling it on. It was an ornate prosthetic made to look like it had been pulled from some delicate ball joint doll and wrapped around the remainder of her right leg in curved, golden tendrils. With a slight movement, she got the foot to point and flex, then stood to get ready. A member of the household staff stepped in to help at some point and once she was all dressed for the day, she went down to breakfast. Hopefully, any social engagements she had were set within walking distance.

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

Octavia lay on her couch in the living room of their apartment - if you could call it that. Their apartment resembles more of a hut, pieced together by several different kinds of scrap metal. The furnature had also been used at least 10 times before coming to them and the couch had a gross stain on it. "As if an alley cat gave birth on it", her had said when they had gotten it, but at least they had furnature and a place for her younger siblings to grow up, especially Alexia, with her being the youngest sibling here.

She sighed and looked at the ceiling. Octavia had been out all night. The first half because of a secret mission, and the second half to get some distance of said secret mission. A chill ran down her spine even thinking about it again. She looked down to her right hand again, where the chief's pin was. She sat up, sighed again and felt over the pin with her hand. "What's that?", suddenly someone asked. Startled, she quickly put the pin in her pocket and faced the intruder. It was Portia. "Nothing important", she answered, hoping to end the conversation quickly, but the 12 year old didn't take the hint. "It looked like it was the chief's pin. Why do you have it?", she said. Octavia didn't know a good reason for it either, so she just shrugged her shoulders. "Shouldn't you be in bed?", she asked instead. "Yes, but Alexia's constantly kicking me in her sleep and Corentin's snoring", came the answer. Not seeing anything wrong with that reason and it being almost morning, Octavia refrained herself from making her sister go back to sleep.

"You wanna go watch the sunrise, since you're also up?", she offered after a short pause of silence. Her sister's eyes light up. "Yes, let's go!" "Hold on there though. You should put on some clothes first. Near solis it's usually a bit chilly during this time", Octavia told her sister, as she walked over to pack a backpack to have some breakfast and a bit later, Portia came back, fully dressed, as they snuck out of the apartment. "You do realise Maggie's going to kill me when we get back", Octavia said, well knowing what kind of treat this was for her sister. They walked through Steam City until they came to a bridge. With the help of Octavia, Portia was able to climb all the way to the top, where both of them sat down. Octavia handed her sister a piece of bread and a bit of milk that was about to expire, taking the same things for herself. The sun was nowhere to be seen just yet, and since they were almost in Solis now, they could see the lights of the other part of their city.

"What do you think life would have been like if we were born there?", Portia asked gesturing towards the city. "Dunno. We'd probably live in a house and everyone would have a room to themselves. Imagine that, not having to share with your siblings?" Octavia grinned and started tickling the other girl at the end to lighten the mood again. Though she couldn't help but wonder if this was the place Minerva had ended up. For the sake of their youngest sister, she hoped that was the case. She stopped tickling Portia and she calmed down. "I wouldn't want to live there though", the 12 year old said. "Because that might mean that you weren't my sister," she added. "Portia, I'll promise you one thing. No matter where we are or what we do or which life it is; I'll always be your sister, wether you like it or not", Octavia answered and hugged the girl. Portia was definitely her favorite sibling of all of them. By now the sun slowly started to rise, guessing by the color of the sky. "Look, it's starting", she whispered to Portia, who sat back again, ready to see the sun rise and how it turned everything orange. The two sisters just sat there in silence, enjoying the view and the warmth of the first rays of sunlight on their faces.

Octavia always liked sunrises, especially since she joined the resistance. It meant that a new day had begun, and whatever happened the day before was in the past now - nothing more than something like a dream the night before.

 

[No More Pretending]

Marguerite rested her chin against her palm as her itinerary for the day was described to her. Plates of various foods appeared in front of her, but she didn't have much of an appetite. She instead focused on her coffee for a moment, taking in its earthy aroma as she stirred her pain medication into it. Her attention was quickly redirected by her attendant waving a delicate hand in front of her face. “Lady LeBlanc? Have you been listening?”

“Oh, no, sorry… Could you repeat that?”

“I said that first you have a luncheon with Arturo.” She fought a relieved sigh. Thank god, someone she actually knew. At least Arturo would be a little fun to be around for a few hours. “And then you have an appointment with Doctor Ugol, and then your final fitting for your dress for tonight's soirée. You cannot be late for that. I really must stress this, my lady. Tonight, Lord Agacent is expecting you there, and you know your father is very adamant you at least try to get along with him--”

“— Because the Agacents are a nice old family with good prospects. Yes, Amira, I know. I will try to be on time, but you know how much Dr. Ugol loves to take his time. You can't rush art and all that lovely… stuff.”

“Dr. Ugol is your prosthetist, how artistic can a leg be?” Amira asked, her voice beginning to take on that put-upon quality Marguerite had begun to expect on days like this. It was only going to get worse from here, she knew. It was the beginning of the social season of the year, and there was never any shortage of places to be and people to meet. This was of course in addition to the meetings with doctors for her prosthetic, dermatologists for her scars, and the various tutors she was still forced into spending time with to keep her busy. She supposed it was her father's way of staying involved. Taking an interest in furthering her studies even now that she was a grown woman. It didn't really matter, though. Her prospects were quite limited.

Of course, as the sole heir to her family name, all she was supposed to do was use her time to suck up to the other families in the transportation industry and anyone that had an official title. Lords, Ladies, Marquesses, Dukes. She nearly needed a tutor to help her keep track of the peerage she was exposed to daily.

“What time is Dr. Ugol going to be making his house call?” she asked, watching as Amira's face fell further.

“I'm afraid his schedule is too packed for house calls. You'll be taking the train today.” Marguerite's eyes shot directly to look into Amira's, and she took on a wooden expression.

“The train…”

“It's the fastest option and your afternoon is very full. I'm afraid that is how you have to travel today.” She jumped a bit when Marguerite stood suddenly and walked toward the door to leave the dining room.

“Yes, well, I understand… I will be in my study until Arturo arrives.” She shook her head. Damn. She made it to her study and sat at her desk in front of a large window. She sighed and put pen to paper, taking advantage of the time to continue pursuits of her writing. It didn't bring her great joy, but it was… peaceful. The sunrise was almost over, and for her, it held nothing but a promise of stress and annoyance.

 

[Hiuly of Starmoon]

A few minutes later the sun had fully risen and it was time for Octavia and her sister to go back to the small apartment they lived in. By now Octavia was also really tired and ready to get some sleep. "Alright, let's go", she said and proceeded to help her sister down from the bridge. They walked further down, level for level until the air was almost thick enough to cut with a knife. You never noticed when you lived there, but coming down from the surface, it's as if you'd walk against a wall of stale air. They finally made it back and walked in the door. The rest of the family was up by now, eating what little food they had for breakfast.

"Where have you been?", Maggie exclaimed, seeing the two walk inside. "Beds empty, no note; you could have been killed!", Maggie exclaimed. "I'm not too worried about you, Octavia, but Portia's 12, we have to pay more attention to her and make sure she won't get hurt down here", She said, causing the 12-year-old to pout and Octavia to cross her arms. "There's a plate on the counter for you two", Maggie said, still angry about the two disappearing the way they did. Portia went over and got it, while Octavia made her way to the room in the back.

She walked over to her bunk and let herself fall onto it. "Maggie was incredibly worried, you know," She heard a voice coming from the bunk above her. Lyra. She was practically her twin, they almost looked identical and were the hardest to know who you were talking to. She was also older by an hour. "Yeah, I know", Octavia answered and got up to change into the shirt she sleeps in. By now Lyra had also left the room, so she had it to herself for once. She took out everything from her pockets and spread it all over her bed. There were several hair ties, a few bobby pins, two plastic straws, and the chief's button. She stowed all the items under her mattress until she would be able to either get rid of them or give them back or give them to somebody else. She climbed into bed, under the very light blanket she had for years at this point, and immediately fell asleep.

"Hey, Via, wake up. They got a new mission for you", she woke to Lyra shaking her. "The good news is, I'll be coming with you this time", she said. So whatever the mission was, it involved a demolition expert. "I already got all the info and I'll fill you in on the way", Lyra explained, and Octavia changed back into her normal clothes, grabbed her backpack and the two sisters set off.

"There's this huge soiree thing tonight in Solis and all the important people are going to be there. The resistance needs you to cause a distraction and preferably get some info out of all those rich people. During that time, I'll break into the vault and steal the plans for Solis's infrastructure plan. That's it for tonight though", Lyra explained, as the two walked towards the bridge. "But we should check out the building first", she added as they walked over the bridge to sneak into Solis. They had fake IDs stating that they were diplomats of Steam City. That granted them access to Solis. They walked into the nearest train station and off they went.