[h2]Verveaux, Ventian Capital[/h2]

[i]2:11AM (VMT)[/i]


Voltus drummed his finger's on the table as he flicked through some notes he took down a while ago. It was early in the morning and he had decided to call a meeting with the royal council but it seemed that they had other things in mind. The only other living thing in the room with him was his dog, Chien, though calling her alive was a stretch; a better term would be half-alive as she was half metal and half dog. He looked down at his pooch and smiled, scratching her under her muzzle, "You're here for me.." he muttered, "but my lousy children..." He sighed, they couldn't once come to one of his meetings, even though he spares a lot of time to attend theirs. Chien jumped up onto his lap and curled into a big, furry-metallic ball. Voltus leaned back in his leather chair spinning around and around.

He was jerked to a stop suddenly and fortunately because after half an hour of spinning he felt like he was going to pass out, it seemed Chien had.  He looked over his shoulder to find a slender, pale hand gripping the chair. It was his wife, smiling tiredly down at him. He smiled back up to her and patted his lap. "priyti dorogoy, sidet [sup][1][/sup]." she nodded and flowed over to him, gently picking up the half metal dog and depositing it on the floor before sitting on his laps and leaning into his chest. Voltus in his fingers through her hair, "Why are you awake, dear?"

She yawned then, silently opening her mouth and then closing it again, releasing a little purr of satisfaction afterwards, "You... Letter.." she slipped her hand into the front of her robe and pulled out a sealed envelope, literally sealed, wax sealed. Voltus took the letter from her hand gently and leaned down to kiss her palm, to which she reacted with a tired giggle. He inspected the seal and the paper, turning it over and over in his hands until stopped again at the seal. He had seen it before. 

Voltus picked up his sleepy wife and got out of the chair, gently replacing her there to snuggle into it's leathery warmth. He walked over to his desk, opposite the conference table and rummaged through the drawers before finding an older, creased piece of paper from his father's time as ruler. He held them out next to each other. The seals matched, once was older and already broken but it matched. "What is it that the Sultan wants?" he mumbled to himself, breaking the seal and pulling out the letter. Voltus plonked himself into his chair and began reading.

It took him a while to read it, his Tin was rusty but he managed to get through it with some understanding (thanks to a translation dictionary), he raised his eyebrow. 'Another visit?' he thought to himself, he already had one planned to Eisenkries. He lowered the letter and looked at where his wife lay, Curled in a chair and fast asleep. He smiled and put the letter down. 'somethings are more important at the moment.' he walked over to his wife and picked her up, she didn't react, breathing gently in her sleep. He held her to him, like a baby and walked to the elevator, her long hair dragging on the floor.

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[i]7:43AM (VMT)[/i]

"Casting off!" 

Voltus heard the yells and orders from the field below as he reclined into his seat, feeling the engines of the zeppelin whir to life and vibrate the cabin ever so gently. It was going to be a hell of a long flight to Saroy. Chien came padding along and sat in the chair opposite him, laying her muzzle down on the armrest and looking out the window, it seemed that even she knew the flight would be long. Voltus pulled his legs up onto the seat and bundled himself underneath a blanket, "Mozhet takzhe pospat... [sup][2][/sup]" Slowly he drifted to sleep as the zeppelin drifted into the air.

[b]Ring Ring! Ring Ring! Ring Ring![/b]

Voltus, without looking at the phone picked up the receiver and brought it to his ear, too tired to be mad, "Voltus here." It was a group call, apparently his children were willing to have a conference once they were awake and not tired, Voltus sighed. It was going to be a long flight. Though it didn't seem as it would be a bad flight, he felt the seat to his side shift a bit and he looked up, his wife looked down at him with those grey eyes he adored. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

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[h2]Saroy City Air Dock[/h2]

[i]One Day Later[/i]

Though the call had cut into his sleep Voltus had managed to get a few hours of sleep, however no where near as much as Marie or Chien, who slept for half the flight. Voltus had to wake up earlier and ran the country, he may have been abroad but that didn't mean he was exempt from his duties.

He looked at himself in the full length mirror if the cabin's dressing room, he had bags under his eyes and his hair was in disarray but otherwise he looked prim and proper, his white, winter trench suit closed neatly in front of him and his black trousers ironed and pressed to perfection. He wore no medals, a diplomatic meeting was no place for them, instead he wore his sword by his side, it was traditional to do so and it gave him some comfort knowing he was armed.

His wife snuck up behind him and embraced him from behind, leaning her head around Voltus' arm to see them both in the mirror, she smiled and twiddled the hilt of his sword.

"That looks like coat from wedding." she said, thinking back to the day they were married, in the open courtyard of a northern cathedral. Voltus nodded.

"It is." it was his only winter coat, he only owned three coats, most farmers owned more.  Though he did it out of some kind of humbleness, if he was going to sleep in a palace, he was going to cut things out of his life to make up for it. Marie walked around him, followed by Chien and tugged at Voltus' sleeves, straightening them, she picked up a comb form a side table and combed his hair back as he always had it, she smiled at him and got on her tip toes. Voltus instinctually leaned down, knowing what she wanted and pecked her lips before leaving back to look at her. She was wearing a white dress and had her long white locks plated so it dragged behind her like a rope, traditionally, Voltus would have to hold it for her as they walked. He gestured to her elbow, "shall we?"

She took it without hesitation, "We shall." she replied. The pair walked through the innards of the zeppelin until they came to the departure hatch. Voltus stepped out in to the bright sun and Marie after him. A servant handed them a parasol and Voltus nodded his thanks to them, giving them a smile. He popped it open and held it over his wife, her skin was horribly pale and she'd get terrible sunburn if in the harsh light for too long.

1. "Come darling, sit."
2. "Might as well get some sleep..."