Delilah, this is very important... Although your father and mother were telling the truth to a point, I sensed a lot of hesitation during their joint recounting of how you ended up with Frederick and Seline. I don't think they have been completely truthful about this... and I am yet to discover why this is the case. It was quite clear to me from the discussions between Frederick and Seline that I was privy to, that Frederick and your mother did have an affair. Why this is being denied now, I have no idea, but clearly, there must be some gain to be had from concealing this.
Delilah didn't know quite what to make of it all. Perhaps her parents simply wanted to protect her mother's dignity...? Perhaps...? No!... Enough!... Time was of the essence.
Mirabel, unfortunately, I don't think either of us has the luxury of being able to ponder over this too much right now. To be honest, all I can think of at the moment is Henry. I abandoned him and I have no idea where he may be. From what I have gathered so far, my father's... erm I mean... Frederick's men will need little persuasion now to attack Danny's estate, but Danny doesn't seem too intent on avoiding the confrontation, despite his and Fredrick's seemingly newly-established alliance. The Pizza Initiative confounds me. I feel like I have lost complete track of who is fighting who anymore... whatever else happens though, we must find a way to get out of here and to reunite with Henry. I have a strong feeling that he really needs us!
I have protected you thus far my dear friend, whatever your decision and whatever choices you may continue to make in the future, I am not about to forsake you. My mission remains clear. In some ways, I am that which you are thinking... because I am a Guardian of the Fall.
Have you finished piecing the tablet back together yet, Will?
Mrs Preda's eyes bore through him, piercing green, narrow, and cruel. It was not so much a polite inquiry, as an interrogative demand. Will felt the shiver run down his spine, as he broke into a cold sweat. Mrs Preda always seemed otherworldly to him, as if motivated by evil itself. There were times he was convinced that her nature was more than a little demonic.
Yes, Mrs Preda. It is all done. The engraving is encoded though,... and we don't have the cipher.
Worry not about that dear boy! Whether we have the cipher or not, matters little; what does matter is that Danny and his pitiful little clan no longer possess the tablet. We still have time to convince Otto's nephew to join our ranks, and then we will be unbeatable in the Pizza stakes. In the meantime, breathe a word of this to nobody, and that includes my husband! Now, I have a new mission for you, take this note, under my personal seal, and ride hard to the Fruit Baron's Estate. Make sure that you deliver it personally to my dear friend Seline Busk. Under no circumstances must this note come into the possession of any other; is that perfectly clear, Will?
Will knew better than to cross the wife of the Oil Baron... after all, he had seen enough to know that she seemed to have a much better handle on the operations and goings-on at the Oil Barony than the Oil Baron himself, and the Oil Baron often acquiesced to her demands.
Perfectly, Mrs Preda... perfectly!
he stammered.
With that he took his leave, the note tucked safely in his britches, saddled up a horse from the stables, and galloped off in the direction of... well he didn't quite know what he was heading into... his thoughts were all over the place... all he did know is that it had to be a damn sight safer where he was going to than where he had come from, and the more distance he could put between himself and that woman, the better.
After watching Will depart from the Oil Barony, Mrs Preda sought out her husband in his office and was somewhat surprised to find he had an unannounced visitor.
And who have we here then, darling?
she sneered.
Cyril turned to face her, and as he did, he felt the voice within him quell sharply into silence. The voice that had made him so afraid these past few hours now seemed to have shrunk away itself, timidly in fear. What the blazes was going on?
This is my entry for @dibblers.dabs A Tale of Two Pizzas. If you would like to enter you can do so here
