The Fall: pt I

Collection: the Fall
Chronicled by Project 23

​The bunks of the ship swayed back and forth, as only one man laid there sleeping peacefully. Then a voice came over the announcement speakers, “We are approaching the tower and getting ready to climb the ladder to the palace, all hands on deck.”

His eyes gracefully opened as if he had an amazing dream. He clothed in a hybrid suit, where the inside is an English inspiration from the Victorian ages. The mid-layer has a brace-like armor piece, that covers up to his rib cage, but not below his waist. Covering the brace and elegant inside, are various straps including his satchel, mid-chest holster, and belts. His pants are not gentleman like, being a rough, black denim meant for work. Among his various belts rests a loaded holster, with a six-shot revolver. Finally, his coat was rugged and full length with a hood. He jumped down onto his heavy boots and walked towards the steps that had exit plastered near them. He walked up the metal steps to a deck of a ship, where he saw the captain peering at an enormous tower with a water gate entrance. Then, he walked over to a podium on the deck and spoke into the com system, and the gate opened. He walked towards the captain, the captain responded, “ Sir we are only 15 minutes away from the sky castle. And I see you're awake, West.”
West responded to the captain, “Good. Also I’m allowed to sleep, so go away before I start something.”
The captain responded like a shy child, “Sorry, I will prep the ship for the elevator now.”
“Good.”
The ship entered into a sea gate to an enclosed room, designed specifically for bringing ships to the top of the tower. When the ship entered the elevator, the sea doors closed and locked behind the ship. Claws came down and grabbed the ship by its sides. When the ship began to be rise up the tower, the crew began to form on deck. The crew started to put on a very serious aroma for the presentation of the ship. When the ship started to reach the top, a very large split hatch opened and the ship went through, then docked immediately. The ship docked to a high security palace level meant for daily usage and governing tasks. The ship docked exactly on cement and steel engraved steps, leading to a pearl white cement road, leading to the sky palace. West stepped onto the steps, looking outward to the nearby capital city. He broke his trance and started walking the pearl walk towards the gates of the palace. As he walked away, the ship began to lower, and the hatch closed. When he made it to the fences of the palace, he walked over to an interface near the entrance gate and pressed a call button which asked, “Business?”
West responded “This is West, Reporting back after tour.”
A long silences lasted a minute then a answer came around, “Meet in the main eating hall on floor twenty. Welcome back.”
West, “Thanks?” West started his way through the almost empty, but pristine palace. The only people roaming the halls were guards in new uniforms, black and red instead of white and gray. All the guards looked at him weird, as if they hadn’t ever heard of him and his legend before. When he reached the highest floor, he entered a grand eating room lit by chandeliers hanging from above, and small candelabras upon a long table. A forty-year-old woman and a young fifteen-year-old with dirty blonde hair sat at the at end of the long table. As West got closer to the two, he brushed his hair out of his face and smiled at them, pulling a letter out of his jacket.
When he started to get close, the older woman began to cry and spoke two words, “Ten Years.”
Then, the girl next to her said something straight faced “Help.”
In an instant, they both turned to black smoke and all the candles went put out all at once. One small, solitary candle lit in a person's hand walked towards him. A young woman in her early twenties looked at West in disgust, as if he had created mass nostalgia.
Then words broke the silence, “Why are you here, traitor?”
West respond with a question “What do you mean?”
Suddenly, the young woman broke proper edicate and blasted at full volume, “YOU KILLED THE QUEEN, THEN KIDNAPPED THE PRINCESS! LEAVING THE HEAD SPY TO LEAD THE NATION TO RUINS!”
West in shock responded in confusion, “WHAT! I LEFT TEN YEARS AGO! HOW COULD I KILL ANYONE! TO KIDNAP THE PRINCESS IS TREASON OF THE HIGHEST OFFENSE, RIGHT NEXT TO MURDER!”
She responded with an equally angry tone. “The Pirates, Empire, Heros, and the Old, deem you guilty. I am your executioner, alongside everyone else in this nation. You are wanted.”
Then, the room’s lights came back and she dropped the candle. She wore a dress top, but her legs had specialized armor on. The armor had one long blade and a massive built in spike for the shin guard on each piece. Before he knew what was happening, she bursted into a sprint as if the armor weighed nothing. She managed to get near him and kick him in the part of his armor protecting his stomach. He was thrown back, near the other end of the table near a window. Guards flooded the room after the kick to apprehend him. He staggered towards the window, then jumped out into the night. Everyone in the room rushed to the courtyard at the bottom of the twenty floors. When they reached the bottom, there was nothing. They walked to the gate entrance of the compound and looked towards a nearby edge of the sky castle. They saw a dark figure of a man jump legs first off the edge.
The woman screamed “GET HIM.” Then the guards went into a sprint towards the tower to get into a ship to pursue.
The the lady took her dirty blonde hair out of her messy bun and said another command, “Get the spy master now.”