Jack slowly walked towards the old folks home. His heart torn in two. One half wanted to go and be part of the Queens Council and the other part wanted to stay with the green meadows and the bees.
Mrs Right was beating a rug in the street when Jack rounded the bend. She was surprised to see him so early. "You finished for the day?" She asked.
"Ya, I asked Mr Lodovico if I could get off early today to meet up with Mr Jones." Jack said.
Mrs Right stopped beating the rug and sighed. "How did that go?"
Jack seemed to hesitate, thinking about how to answer. His line of thought broke when he spotted the town guard running towards the old folks home. Mrs Right seemed to notice him as well.
He looked as if he was in his 50s and dressed accordingly to the guard dress code which was a long trench-coat and a metal helmet, with green trousers. Not very good in summer but it was the law, and don't ask why.
He came to a holt, catching his breath.
"What's wrong?" Mrs Right asked worried.
"Its Mr Lodovico, he's." He puffed.
"He's what?" Asked Jack.
"He's dead. We found him in Apiary field 9." The guard said breathlessly.
"But that's impossible, I was with him forty minutes ago." Jack said confused.
Mrs Right started to cry.
"I need to see my husband." She said trying to control her tears.
"Where can I find him." Asked the guard.
"He works for the orchards, you'll find him there helping with the pollination." She said.
The guard set of towards the orchards. Jack seemed to fall to the ground.
"Death seems to fallow me. My mother, that man, and now Mr Lodovico." He whispered.
"No, that's not true Jack and you know it. Stop blaming yourself for other people's misfortune." Mrs Right said rapping her arms around him.
"I was just there, how is it even possible?" Yelled Jack.
Mr Right came running up the road to them.
"Where? Is he really dead?" Mr Right asked breathlessly.
Mrs Right nodded her head. "So we hear." She said.
Jack got up from the dusty road and started to sprint towards Apiary field 9 fallowed by Mr and Mrs Right. A large majority of Prata had gathered near Jacks Bee hive. The hive next it had been toppled and was buzzing with angry bees which people stayed clear of.
Mr Lodovico lay on the grass in the center of the crowd. He looked very pail and swollen, but quite dead.
A mutter of murder went through the crowd.
Jack knelt down next to his dead Tutor. A warm hand grasped his shoulder.
"It will be alright." The owner of the hand said. Jack turned to see who it was. It was his former Tutor, Mr Jones.
"I will go, with you to Virtutem Spei." He said.
Mr Jones smiled.
"It was the rebellions who did this!" Someone shouted from the watching crowd. An old lady hobbled into the center where Mr Lodovico lay. She pointed with her old withered long finger at the dead swollen body of Mr Lodovico and shouted again.
"The rebellion did this and they will pay for it! This is the second murder they have done in the past 15 years and this time they will pay for it! They have taken away the only person the people of the QC Nations listened to. They have taken our future and as well as our children's futures away and burned them. We need to spread the word throughout the Nations and fight!"
The crowd went wild. They carried Jack and the body of Mr Lodovico into the towns square where they sent telegrams to the head news office with pictures about the murder. With in twenty four hours the news had reached as far as China and India. It was as if a trigger had been pulled. The people pressured the QC even harder to allow them to go to War with the Rebellion.
The hall of Prata had heard the news and where now filling the town hall.
The Governor, Mr Bud and his wife seemed to look worried, and kept on asking people where there daughter was, but no one seemed noticed. The little council called for order and the people started to calm down.
"I believe that we should of attacked months ago, but did any of you listen? No!" Jim Knot shouted.
The hall fell silent. The head Councillor stood up and motioned with his hand for Mr Knot to take a seat.
"It has come to all of us as a shock that one or more of our villagers could be a spy for the Rebellion. It is another shock that the Queens Councils most famous and cherished writers has been murdered in our own meadows. But we shouldn't turn to war for the answer." He said.
"Then what do we turn to instead of revenge?" Asked someone in the crowd.
"We should look towards the QC for help, protection and guidance." The head Councillor took his seat again. A mutter of agreement went through the crowd. Mr Knot stood up on a seat and faces the people.
"I can't sit here for ever and look at the QC for protection. They haven't done anything to find a way to stop the disease and they won't stop the Rebellion from gutting us. I say shit the QC and hell to the Rebellion!" The room filled once more with cheers.
The Council called for order.
"Do I need to remind you Mr Knot that your language is not suitable in your surroundings, we have young ears in the room." The head Councillor said. Some of the older people in the room agreed with the Councillor. While Knot and the head Councillor argued, Mr Jones lead Jack out of the town hall.
"I need to leave so you better get your things together now." He said.
Jack rushed to the old folks home and gathered his belongings and said his good byes to the old building. He wrote a note and left it on the table top in the kitchen. Jack met up with Mr Jones outside of the Bud's house. Jack had never seen a car before let alone driven in one.
Jones sow how Jack just stared at the beauty of the car. "Its a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, the make is from 1955, sadly the only part that is original is the staring wheel which was in a museum at Virtutem Spei, the rest of the car I had made from plans we found on my trip to the top most of Scotland." Mr Jones said getting into the drivers door.
Jack was about to open the boot to put his belongings in it when Mr Jones advised him to place his belongings into the back seat. He said his good byes to the old town and to Nelly where ever she was.
Jack sat in the passenger seat as Mr Jones drove the car out on the cobbled flat road. The yellowish meadows rolled by at a fast pace. Jack looked out of the back window at the town he and the family he had ever known. It grew smaller every minute. And after an hour Jack could no longer see it.
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