Moving Up in the World

Oliver would get answers.

He couldn’t go to the guards, obviously. They would want information Oliver didn’t want to give.

He strode along the hallway, following Emilia who was more familiar with this part of the building.

She knew where High Official Ledrein’s office was, but whether he was in it was another question.

High Officials often went to help with inter-city trade, or met with influential people in order to come to deals. Of course, they could also just be out socialising, leaving work to their subordinates.

There were only five High Officials of the Finance Ministry in the city, they each had a fancy office, larger than a Low Officials, but smaller than a Middle Officials.

They had plenty of people working for them indirectly, but they didn’t need to directly oversee them.

Their offices were decorated such that wealthy visitors could drink tea and discuss their finances in comfort.

In one such office, the door slammed open.

Emilia was the one doing the slamming, but she stopped in her tracks.

The occupants of the room, a panting Middle Official, a befuddled High Official, and a third person who stood with excellent posture, who seemed unpleasantly surprised.

The latter, a man Oliver hadn’t seen before, wore butler’s finery.

His long black tailcoat seemed exceptionally well maintained. He had a full, curly black beard and short cropped hair. He looked to be in his forties.

The butler sighed, “Daughter. I’ve just heard something quite disturbing.”

Oliver edged around the frozen Lower Official, eyebrow raised to apex.

Connecting some dots. “Hold on a minute, what’s this about?”

The butler, Emilia’s father, looked from Emilia to Oliver, "So this is the one, is it? Young man, you’ve been quite helpful to my daughter, but you’re dismissed.”

Emilia turned from ice to thunder quickly, and she put an arm out in front of Oliver. “Oliver, you’re not dismissed, and don’t talk–let me talk.”

Terique fidgeted, he seemed like he knew what was going on, but was uncomfortable to be there.

Curtis just settled into his chair, intent to watch the show.

Emilia’s father exhaled. “We’ve been over this.”

“We certainly have, but kidnapping is way over the line. Where is the boy.”

“Terique got a bit ahead of himself, we don’t have the boy.” Emilia’s father folded his arms, “I don’t need to resort to that, to get what I want.”

“Bullshit!” Oliver was, fed up with the charade, "He wouldn’t just disappear, in the middle of the scholarium, no less.”

“If the boy truly did ‘disappear’, go call on the city guard. Don’t assault one of my associates.” The butler frowned. “Distasteful. Distasteful, distasteful, distasteful. There will be consequences for your behaviour, I’ll see to it.”

Emilia shot Oliver an annoyed look for talking, then spoke to her father, “Oliver claims to have been threatened by High Official Ledrein.”

The butler paused, then glanced at Curtis.

Curtis shrugged.

"That was one thing, this is another.”

Oliver was having none of it. “Why should I take your word? You’re a weasel.” He took a step forward, glaring. “Mighty coincidence, Levi disappearing right before the evaluation.”

Oliver didn’t know what sort of moral standards people had in this world. But he sure didn’t have reason to suspect they were very high.

Between getting attacked by bush wizards and avoiding the death sentence, Oliver thought it was perfectly possible that these people would organise a kidnapping over petty workplace issues.

Nay, Oliver thought it was likely.

At least, to the extent he was thinking at all.

Emilia’s father leaned forward and stared Oliver in the eyes. “Yes. A coincidence is exactly what it is.”

Emilia’s eyes widened, and she watched the event in slow motion. Unable to prevent what was about to happen.

Before anyone could stop him, Oliver’s arm came a-swinging.

The loud *SMACK* silenced the room.

The butler stumbled, then, in perfect silence, with perfect grace, straightened up as if nothing had happened.

Emilia was pale white, Terique was frowning, Curtis looked excited.

There wasn’t even a mark where Oliver had hit Emilia’s father’s cheek.

The middle aged butler smiled calmly. “That was a mistake.”

Oliver just stuttered, looking at his hand which had gone red from the impact.

“W-w-what”

What is this guy made of – is he gonna hit me back!?

Emilia’s father nodded at Terique, "Go, fetch the guardsmen, tell them the Willowen family’s head butler has just been assaulted.”

Oliver just got… confused.

—

Levi and Stephen stood across the road from the ministry, watching a group of guardsmen escorting Oliver away, a bag over his head.

Stephen exhaled, pained. “That was him?”

Levi nodded, solemn. He knew better than to run over and intervene.

Someone must have found out that Oliver was from Earth?

The professor placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s best we leave.”

Levi looked up at him. “W-what about Oliver…”

Stephen grimaced, "Consider him lost, lad. We should probably hide you away for the tim-”

Emilia, arguing with what seemed to be a butler across the street, spotted Levi.

She did a double take.

She started trying to cut off the conversation, and after doing so, started speed-walking in Levi’s direction.

Levi saw her, noticed she had Oliver’s bags, and tugged urgently on the Professor’s robe.

Stephen saw her and assumed the worst, he scooped up Levi and started running down the nearest alleyway.

—

Emilia was running through side-streets, her official uniform drawing eyes.

It was a status symbol, especially to those in the poorer parts of town, where they were now headed.

She had said she would help find Levi, after Oliver had stuck with her under the pressure of her father’s schemes, she was not going to be made a liar.

Not if she had any say in the matter.

—

She was catching up, and while Stephen was exceptionally fit for a fifty-two year old, there was something about the inhuman ability of people in this world.

Something just under the surface, something that made people exceptionally good at what they did, the longer they spent on it, the harder they worked at it.

Something that made people fitter, stronger, better, than on Earth.

Stephen, manoeuvring around a crate in a thin alley, stumbled and tripped.

Levi went tumbling in front of him. Emilia rounded the corner, panting, but not exhausted. She said “Levi– get behind me. Who is this?.”

Levi was confused for a second, wasn’t she trying to catch me?

He didn’t move for a second, despite the prompting from both sides.

Then his eyes lit up. “It’s a mistake!”

Emilia paused, gears turning behind her eyes.

Professor Millard got up off his hands and knees, skeptically, he looked between Levi and Emilia. “A mistake?”

Levi looked up innocently, “Miss Emilia, are you chasing us because Oliver is in trouble?”

Emilia shifted her weight, “Wait hold on, what’s going on?”

“Can you just say?”

“...No, Oliver was looking for you, so I thought… Are you safe?”

“I’m safe, it was a mistake!”

They stood in a secluded alley. In a nondescript part of the dank, lower class area of the city. Nobody was around.

Levi introduced Emilia to Stephen, obviously not mentioning anything sensitive.

“After my test, we were having a chat.”

Realisation dawned on Emilia’s face. “Oliver couldn’t find you!?”

Stephen interjected, “It was in my room.”

Levi spoke regretfully, “We were just chatting after my test, I forgot Oliver was waiting for me… wait… why was Oliver taken away then?”

Emilia had the pained look of someone who’d just realised their understanding. “So it was all pointless then…”

Stephen spoke, "Pointless?”

It was probably a result of the adrenaline rush, but Emilia spilled out a summary of events.

“My father’s been trying to stop me from getting promoted.”

The professor scratched his head, “Your… Sorry you’re going to have to be more specific.”

“He’s been interfering with my work– mine and Oliver’s work now, but for a while before that too. Oliver thought this was part of it.”

Levi tilted his head, “Why would he do that?”

Emilia folded her arms, “To keep it so that he holds the legal right to marry me off.”

Stephen looked affronted, “What.”

She blushed a little, somewhat in anger, somewhat in embarrassment.

“He’s happy for me to be where I am, since it improves my ‘value’, he would rather I don’t move too high up the food chain. My father’s rather influential, but if I reach the upper echelons of society, I have much more say in my own affairs.”

The professor, exhausted, hands on his knees. “My condolences, can you hurry on to the point by chance?”

Emilia averted her eyes, “The men under father’s influence have been making incendiary remarks to Oliver, since he’s been such a help in improving my prospects. When Oliver couldn’t find Levi… He went on something of a rampage.”

Levi could believe it, "Oh no.” It was better than what they thought before, but still.

“What did he do to get taken away?”

“Hit my father.”

Both Stephen and Levi looked at Emilia, then looked at each other, then looked back at Emilia. Levi said "Is that really bad?”

—

“MOVE FORWARD!”

Oliver moved forward, they started undoing the rope binding his wrists, keeping his arms in a steely grip.

“SIT!”

He was shoved backward onto a full-body chair, not the comfortable kind, and he felt straps being pulled over his arms and legs. When they finished, the bag was pulled off of his head.

Oliver squinted, the sudden light blinding him.

They were in a strange stone room, a long barred window to Oliver’s left.

The room was clean and smooth, painted in glowing magical circuits.

There were two guardsmen in the room, along with one smart looking fellow wearing some formal outfit. A big puffy cravat in place of a tie. A lawyer?

“Hello Mr. Crest, I have a few questions for you.”

“Questions?”

The questioner pulled out a simple clipboard, and a fancy quill. “Indeed Mr. Crest, I’ll begin right away. Did you or did you not harm the Head Butler of the Willow household, Marland Steel?”

The magical circuits shone.

“That butle-rrssderrr…” Oliver’s mind hummed with interference, he couldn’t think properly, only the answer to the question came to mind.

“I did.”

The questioner– interrogator made a small smile. “Now that’s verified, are there any other crimes you’ve committed in this city that I should know about.”

“Not that I know of.”

“Very good, very good. There’s not much information on you here, I take it you’re a traveller?”

“Yes.” Oliver felt dread.

The interrogator put his fancy quill to some of Willowhaven’s finest paper.

“I need this just for formality’s sake of course.”

The interrogator sat forward in his seat.

“Would you be so kind as to tell me where you hail from?”