The Rise - Chapter 55
The next day Leon was preparing himself for school in his room. Adjusting his tie in front of the mirror and preparing lines for the debate. He fixed his cuffs then wore his blazer and fixed his hair, brushing it to the side and upwards. He quickly checked on his grandfather who was still asleep. Leon already had breakfast and left some for his grandfather. Leon prepared his lunch and packed it into a small plastic lunch box and placed it into his bag. He went to the front door to put on his socks and shoes. There was a sudden knock at the door.
Given that the last sudden knock was from Veronica last night, Leon thought it may be her coming to go to school with him – though she never told him. Leon immediately stopped putting on his shoes and slowly gets up to check who was knocking through the peephole. The first thing Leon sees is a jet black ring, he then looks up and fixates instantly on the green eyes of the towering man who was at his front door. Under the umbrella, Leon could make out a face – there was a single strand of blonde hair crossing over his face and his hair was pulled back in a pony-tail. Leon abruptly moves away from the peephole as his heart starts to race. He freezes in his place unable to collect his thoughts. There was another knock. This time louder and it sent chills down Leon’s spine. The man at his door, was Thomas Vinzent.
Leon had seen him on television, heard about him from others, and even intimidated his younger brother. But this was different. Seeing him in person like this was a shock – the acting emperor and crown prince himself. He didn’t know how to react. He recollects himself and takes a deep breath, then slowly opens the door trying to put on his bravest face. Thomas was looking down at his ring when Leon opened the door. He looks up at Leon and smiles. There was a stream of rain passing over his face as the droplets dripped off the umbrella.
“I’m sorry, none of my parents are here at the moment.” said Leon raising his voice over the sound of the roaring rain
“I know, I’m only here to see you, Leon.” said Thomas in the same loud voice as Leon
Leon’s eyes wander away as he tries to figure out what Thomas is trying to do.
“May I come in?” asked Thomas cutting Leon’s train of thought and preparing to fold his umbrella.
Leon paused. Every part of his body was screaming to not let Thomas in. But he was alone, and came all the way here to meet Leon in person. There was a part of him that simply couldn’t turn him away. Leon finally moved out of the way to let Thomas in, then closed the door behind him. Thomas folded his umbrella and took off his raincoat, then started scanning the house looking around.
“I’m just going to call my father and let him know you’re here.” said Leon as he made his way towards the phone.
“If you do that, I’ll have to leave. For what’s about to happen, I don’t really need to be here. But just like you, I’m curious. That’s the only reason you let me in. It would be a shame for me to leave without you ever finding out why I came.” threatened Thomas
Leon reluctantly stops and elects to not pick up the phone.
“What’s about to happen?” asked Leon
“We’ll get to that later. I’m more interested in you.” said Thomas as he walks into the living room. “You know, it’s astonishing, you look exactly like my father when he was young. A few more years and some green lenses on your eyes and you’d pass for him easily.” said Thomas smiling.
Leon tightens his jaw as he looks at Thomas with angry piercing eyes.
“Interested in me? The only reason you have for being here is the election. I know you’re behind what happened to George and I’m guessing I’m next, but I never thought you took this much pleasure in toying with kids.” said Leon
Thomas chuckles.
“It didn’t take you long to show your true colors. I was starting to worry you were just some spoiled pampered kid. But I know how you spoke to Sinclair, and now, looking into your eyes – it’s clear, you’re no kid.”
Leon doesn’t reply and stays glued in the same spot he stopped in earlier.
“They don’t teach this in history class, but the Vinzents weren’t always the royal family. Before them were the Backpates, who ruled for hundreds of years. But they became soft, and a man named Vincent Vinzent decided the Backpates were no longer fit to rule. He was successful in his rebellion, but in order to gain the favor of the people, who believed religiously that the current royal family was indeed divinely chosen to rule, he needed to convince the then emperor to transfer royal sovereignty to him.” said Thomas as he walked around the living room. He found a nearby chess table and picked up three pawns and a king. He placed the king facing the three pawns.
“So he lined up the three children of the emperor, and demanded that sovereignty be transferred to him or he will murder each and every child of the emperor in front of his eyes. The emperor declined, believing God would step in and punish Vincent. And so he lost his first born son.” said Thomas as he flicks one of the pawns to the ground.
“Following that, the emperor immediately decreed that the Vinzents were the new royal family chosen by God, so that he could save the lives of the rest of his children.” continued Thomas as he flicks the king piece onto the ground. He then turns around and looks up towards Leon. He picks up another pawn then walks to Leon and shows it to him.
“It’s not personal Leon, in the grand scheme of things, you are just a pawn. I have to eat the pieces of my enemy otherwise they won’t hesitate to devour me.” said Thomas
“What did you do…?” said Leon agitated
Thomas walks towards his raincoat by the door and pulls out a purple envelope. Then takes it to Leon, who hesitantly takes it and then proceeds to open it whilst looking at Thomas suspiciously. The first picture was Leon’s car, but the windows were tinted. Leon’s heart sank. The next picture was colorized differently and it was a clear photo of Veronica and him in the car. The final picture was them caught in the act. Leon slams the envelope shut and looks up at Thomas and hands him the envelope.
“I don’t get it, why are you showing me this.” said Leon putting on his most unflinching face.
“Your poker face is masterful, I was about to buy your bluff. Dating a Tundra girl, who’s your best friend’s sister. You know how close your father and Kevin are, you know what this will do to your relationships and more over, the election.” said Thomas
“Our parents know about everything, you’ve wasted your time coming all the way here just to show me this.” said Leon still trying to hold his facade.
“Let’s see how long that bluff lasts. You have until 10:00am to resign from the election, otherwise the paparazzi will eat this up for lunch, and I’m the chef.” said Thomas as he aburptly turns around and picks up his raincoat and umbrella. He opens the door then stops and turns his head around towards Leon.
“Perhaps you can take some comfort in knowing, that as of today, you are at the center of history.” said Thomas as he left and closed the door behind him.
Leon stood frozen staring at the door as the hushing roar of the rain emptied his mind. He started panting heavily. He grabbed his keys and hastily put on his shoes leaving the house forgetting his umbrella and bag. He ran to his car drenched in rain and rammed out into the road driving as quick as he could to school.
‘The power of the photos lies in their secrecy. The way in which the secret is revealed will decide everything. If it comes out as a scandal, then I’ve lost. But if I can control the narrative, If I can make it seem like this is what we wanted – then I can spin it. A love story. Romeo and Juliet. I can flip the tables. What I need to do now is find Veronica, and make a statement in front of everyone. No. It can’t be words, it has to be action. I have to bet everything that this will work. I’ll handle Justin and our parents later. Right now, I’m running out of time and-‘ Leon’s train of thought is immediately stopped as he reaches school and sees a silhouette of someone standing at the front gate with no umbrella, soaking in the rain.
He comes out of the car slowly covering his eyes from the rain with his hand. He squints his eyes as he walks closer trying to make out the figure.
Leon stopped. It was Justin. His wet hair was covering his eyes, but he was looking directly at Leon. Leon’s eyes wander down to Justin’s hand. His eyes widen. In Justin’s hand was the very same purple envelope.
