The Emissary of the Flame

The Third Chapter: Confirmation

All along Julia's trip, she remained quiet, for her thoughts were still in distress because of the strange vision she had a while ago about the chauffeur who was controlling the carriage she was riding.

Her eyes were locked at the view outside the carriage. She was trying to get her thoughts away from what she had seen a while ago. Good thing, the fresh air eased her wariness.

They were able to arrive at the cafeteria at exactly the time they were required to return. She was about to prepare herself for exiting the carriage when she noticed many soldiers assembled around their place.

What is happening? Why are there so many soldiers in this place?

"Lady Julia, we're here." The chauffeur told her. His voice was still filled with peace, contrary to what she felt when he called her name.

Shivers were abruptly sent to her spines. Talking to this man was already sufficient to bring back all the despair she had felt a while ago. She had discerned her hands were trembling, and her heart was in a high-speed chase. It was like her breath would leave her because of the terror she was having at that moment.

She could not determine the reason for that daydream yet, but she hoped it was just another peculiarity and not clairvoyance.

Because of this, her subconsciousness was set to avoid Mr. Thompson at all costs.

Once they had parked beside the cafeteria, the young lady immediately went inside her room, completely neglecting to give further instructions for the packages they had bought from the marketplace. She had also forgotten what she had observed in her surroundings.

Good thing, Bradley had noticed their arrival and swiftly went outside to offer the older man help. He saw the lady and had this urge to greet her because he knew she was tired of the long trip she had early this morning.

"Hey, Julia---" He was about to greet her, but then she just entered the cafeteria without even recognizing his presence.

He had observed something was different from the lady. It was obvious that she was wary for reasons he did not know. Now, he could not stop thinking. What happened to her in the market?

Usually, Julia would greet everyone inside the cafeteria with a smile. Even if she were experiencing something that was not good, she would always be cheerful to other people. That was his favorite sight, and for the first time in his entire stay in that cafeteria, he was not able to see that lovely smile he had always been seeing.

Why was she acting like that? He only wished for her to remain smiling, especially for the special event that would occur later at 12 o'clock a.m.

"Bradley." His thoughts had awakened when he had heard the usual voice of the chef calling his name. "Assist Mr. Thompson when entering the packages."

The younger man had observed that even Mr. Campbell had recognized that Julia was also uneasy. It was visible that they wanted to ask about her situation, but then they chose not to interfere. The lady might be a child who always smiles, yet she was still a human being who might experience distress.

"I know you are worried about her." The chef added and tapped the back of the young man to comfort him. "But if she wished to remain silent, then we have to respect her privacy."

"But---"

"Just stay beside her until she discloses what bothers her."

"Mr. Campbell, can you give me a hand? I do not know where I should put these supplies." Mr. Thompson called him while carrying the packages. "Lady Julia had forgotten to leave instructions for the goods."

"Oh, just leave it inside the kitchen." Mr. Campbell responded, and the other one just nodded and followed his command.

"Do you think she will be okay?" Bradley asked again. He could not stop from querying himself as to what had happened to the young lady.

The head chef sighed. "Focus on your work right now. Lend Mr. Campbell a hand because Mr. Bradford, the newly hired servant, will be arriving in a little while. I have to discuss with him the things he must know for this cafeteria."

The younger man nodded. "Alright, chef." Well, he had to focus first on his job right now. It would not hurt to wait for Julia to open up her circumstances, right?

He made a mental note to ask her later, not about her situation, but also her thoughts of accepting his gift for the said young lady before she finally turns 19 years old tonight.

---

She tried her best to distract herself from overworking, but then she could not erase the memory she had a while ago. She was now washing the pile of dishes in the kitchen sink. She wished her mind could be washed out by the flowing water she had been feeling in her hands.

"What could be the reason why this palce has so many soldiers this afternoon?" She heard a kitchen servant ask.

The other one shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have the slightest idea about that. But they have been assembling around the area since this morning."

"Would it be because there would be an act of rebellion here in our city?"

"Huh? The empire has been peaceful ever since King Edward II became the king of Great Britain."

"Well, other European countries still envy us because of the king's authority over India and Scotland. Not to mention, other countries are still royal to the crown."

"Everyone! Mrs. Clara was calling everyone to assemble in the hall." Another kitchen servant arrived and had called them.

She did not want to leave her job, but she had no choice. It was her aunt's request. Before leaving the dishes, she got a glass of water because she could already feel her throat drying up from not taking any liquid. After that, she finally followed the other staff of the kitchen on their way to the hall.

Once they had arrived at the said place, she immediately saw Mr. Campbell and Bradley along with the crowd. She had also seen her aunt and beside her was a young man standing. She could only view their side profiles. That was why she could not observe them properly.

"Good afternoon, here at this moment, I want to introduce to you the newly hired kitchen servant that will assist everyone in their workload." She saw Aunt Clara looking at the man beside her like she was giving him a signal to do something. "Mr. Loryzen, please introduce yourself to everyone."

The said young man stepped forward and allowed Julia to see him properly. "My name is Loryzen Bradford. You can call me Zen if you please, but any of my names will do."

Wait? Bradford? Have I already heard that before?

When she saw the man that her aunt had introduced to them, her mouth instantly gaped open. A man with grayish shaggy hair, pointed nose, pale white skin, red rose lips, and mostly those unreadable gazes from his gray eyes. Wait, that was the young man from a while--

"Please bear with Mr. Loryzen. He is an immigrant from London. He is not accustomed to our traditions here in Manchester. Lecturing him about our culture would help him adjust to the lifestyle we have here." Her aunt clapped her hands. "Now, we can return to our chores. Thank you."

She could not believe what her orbs were perceiving right now. The newly hired kitchen servant was none other than the man she had encountered in the marketplace earlier that morning. Like seriously?! What the heck was he doing here?!

So that was why the surname Bradford was familiar, because he was indeed the man who annoyed me a while ago!

Every servant of the cafeteria was about to return to their respective places when the guard of the cafeteria had entered frantically while panting hard to catch his breath.

"Mrs. Clara!" He yelled out, which caught the attention of everyone inside the cafeteria, including the customers.

Clara, who was about to continue baking again, left her task and ran to meet their guard. "Mr. Smith, what happened?"

"Mr. Thompson..."

The moment the young lady had heard the name she did not wish to hear, she did not know why her hands started to tremble again.

"What happened to Mr. Thompson?" Her aunt asked.

"Mr. Thompson died in the bombing just a while ago!"

"What?!"

"He died because of a 4th-degree burn, after being directly hit by the explosives planted by the terrorist group. He was with his wife."

"How about Mrs. Thompson?1 How is she?!"

"Fortunately, she was buying bread when the incident occurred, and was spared."

This announcement had caused a ruckus for all the remaining servants of the cafeteria.

But for Julia, the ruckus was not enough to describe how distracted her thoughts were at that very moment. It was just an understatement. Because all the familiar sense of terror, horror, and despair that she had felt after witnessing the peculiar vision she had, had returned to her instantly.

Her heart was almost attacking her chest, which caused her to have difficulty and painful breathing. She sensed her hands were in a tremor that had caused her to drop the glass she had been holding since she left the kitchen. Her body was quivering, and her knees were wobbling, which caused her to fall to the ground.

There was no other word that could describe what was happening to her besides the word anxiety.

Her eyes widened in realization. From what she had seen, all the events after her visit to the marketplace that had transpired did not contradict all the scenarios she had perceived from that strange vision.

From the soldiers, she had seen on the roads, from the same horse and carriage she had seen from her daydream, and the moment she saw Mrs. Thompson grieved in front of her husband. All occurrences concluded in one specific incident,

and that is the death of Mr. Thompson.

"No. It---It can't be." Her lips muttered when she had realized that the vision of that scenario she had witnessed after seeing that flame-like symbol of Mr. Thompson's chest was not just a daydream but clairvoyance.

But why was she able to see this incident before it had taken place?!

And how in the world were her eyes able to see such an event?!

These were the questions that agitated her before her sight became dark.