The Commissioner Part 4

Robert

At face value, Robert found Djerholm, the Fjerdan Capital, to be timidly impressive at best.

It was livelier than he thought it would be, considering the Fjerdan temperament for seriousness, duty and no nonsense. The buildings were painted differentiating shades of various colors, people wandered the streets, looking happy and prosperous as if there wasn't a care in the world.

And above it all, positioned on a sheer cliff that overlooked the cities harbor, was the Ice Court. It's high, stone walls looked formidable from the lower sections of Djerholm, lined with cannons and various other instruments, Robert could see that the Court hadn't gained its reputation for being impregnable for nothing.

They made their way silently through Djerholm, eventually leaving the lower sections and taking the northern road that lead through Upper Djerholm. Here, a variety of shops and businesses seemed to flourish, packed tight and busy with serving the many foreign dignitaries that had come to the Ice Court. The going was slow around here, the carriage slowly dragging its way through the crowded streets into the eventual freedom of the road that lead to the Court.

"I hope Brekker arrived on time," Robert said as they eventually approached the gates of the Ice Court. "I'd be disappointed if he botched the mission simply because of a delayed arrival."

"He won't," Nina assured as she looked out the window, her skin as a pale white and nervousness was etched into her features. "He'd never let this job fail, especially with what's at stake."

"That remains to be seen," Robert replied.

The gates drew closer and closer until the carriage eventually stopped and the door was drawn open by the footman.

Robert stood and stepped out of the carriage with practiced ease, despite his false leg and offered his arm to Nina as she followed. She shyly accepted and they began to make their way towards the entrance of the Ice Court, entering the crowd of guests.

It took a fair bit to even get close to the gate, the crowd so thick and so slow that Robert hardly felt that they were making any progress. Eventually a gate guard did approach them, his long, blond beard swaying under his helmet as he approached.

"Invitation sir, please," the guard asked, putting forward an arm slightly to block Roberts's path. In response Robert dove into his jacket and withdrew a small, wax sealed slip of parchment and handed it to the heavily built Fjerdan.

Let's see if your forging skills are as good as they say Brekker Robert thought to himself as the guard looked over the invitation.

"We're honored to have you Commissioner," the guard said after a moment, handing back the invitation and Robert heaved an inward sigh of relief. "I assume this is your escort?" the guard asked, turning to Nina.

"It is," Robert replied evenly. "Have no fear, she is quite disciplined."

"Very well, but make sure that neither of you cause trouble," the guard said, handing back the invitation and waving towards the next guest.

"Disciplined?" Nina hissed suddenly as they made their way through the streets of the Ice Court, following the thick crowd of guests towards the citadel. "I'm not your pet."

"I'm well aware, but we have to sell the act, Nina dear," Robert whispered back, plastering a smile onto his face for the sake of the other guests.

They continued down the street and through the other guests, following the entourage of richly dressed officials and political figures.

Finally they came to the front gates of the Court, swung open wide like the arms of a parent to a small child and eager to receive the guests into their embrace.

We're in, now it's all up to you Brekker… Robert thought as they entered the Ballroom, right into the belly of the Ice Court…

So…another chapter done and finished, sorry for the shortness of this one and the time it took to upload. With school back I've been struggling to find time to write and I've been fighting against a minor wave of writers block. The next few chapter might get confusing as I might have to skip around a bit to move the story along. This is mainly, when I first began this project I planned to do it in one big document, skipping around the storyline to the places where Robert takes an effect on the story. So that might happen in the next few chapters unless I find some other route to take. Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, see you next time!

-Venture-Man543