Original [Story and Discussion] Divide

[Gaige]

The room was grey from ceiling to floor, almost as though it symbolized the meeting of two opposing forces such as this. The only color of any kind was in the clothes of its occupants.

The two sides in this debacle were clear from the outset. One was a tall, heavily muscled and thickset man, dressed in a crisp white shirt and jacket, accentuated by cream trousers and polished white shoes. A head of sleek black hair sat on his head, accompanied by narrow blue eyes in a slender, well defined face.

On the other side were a couple: A man and a woman. The man had black hair as well. His, however, was unruly and tousled, unlike the man on the opposite side of the table, who had his neatly combed into place, without even a single split end to ruin the air of neatness. He wore a ruffled white t-shirt, along with a stained black leather jacket, left open. He had stretched his long legs and occupied a second chair with his feet, and his baby blue eyes flitted from the man to his partner, and sometimes even to the ceiling, becoming a dreamy look. Almost as if he wasn't listening at all.

The woman, on the other hand, stayed focussed on the well dressed man opposite her. A thick white dress started at her shoulder blades and fell to her ankles. On her feet she wore a sparkling pair of scarlet high heels, which matched her long, lustrous crimson hair, which fell to her middle back.

She, like her partner, wasn't sitting in a way that would be socially unacceptable. Her feet were tucked underneath her rear, elbows propped on the table as she listened to the opposing side's argument- or rant, which would be a more accurate description.

"Would you sit properly?" the well dressed man snapped eventually, a vein protruding prominently on his forehead.

The man raised an eyebrow with a mix of curiosity and bemusement, and the woman outright threw back her head and laughed, the sound both chilling and seductive. "Do you hear this nonsense, Samuel?" She looked at the man on the other side of the table and spoke to him. "Law is already trying to control us."

Samuel looked at the other man calmly, and waited for his partner to finish before speaking. "I have an issue. You're trying to keep us in your white prison and your leader can't even meet us here personally." Samuel tilted his head to one side, a stray strand of hair falling over his right eye as he smiled softly. "You'll forgive me if I'm a little skeptical, I'm sure."

The man's eyes narrowed in fury. "How dare you insult the Chairman! He is a great man, and he will lead the human race to salvation!" He was displaying a behavior very unbecoming of a Lawful citizen as he ranted fervently about his leader.

"If you love him so much, why don't you marry him?" crowed the woman, feeling childish. Samuel chuckled before he could stop himself.

The man's face became deathly white as he heard the woman's words, his speech momentarily frozen. "S-sodomy?! How dare you suggest such a vile, filthy act to a Law-abiding citizen such as myse-"

"A little sodomy is good for the soul," murmured Samuel, causing his partner to giggle. "You see what we're saying here? The cage of Law might have no real bars, but it's a cage nonetheless. We are not interested in changing for your sake."

"You'll regret this!" hissed the man.

"We'll see," murmured Samuel and his partner as one. With that, they stood up, chairs scraping noisily back in a gesture of defiance before they left the room.

The man sighed, massaging his temples with his huge hands, before pulling out a small microphone-like object and speaking into it. "Negotiations have failed. Inform the Chairman. We will proceed as planned."

 

[Gaige]

Chapter One: Dawn of Law

Waking up to the sound of his alarm, a young man, in his mid twenties or thereabouts, stood up instantly, stretching to relieve himself of the tension that had accumulated thanks to his worries the night before.

Glancing at his clothes, he stood up, walked into his en-suite bathroom- one of the many perks of the job- and quickly washed and shaved, to give himself a clean, approachable appearance. One of his duties was looking like an everyman: Both approachable and likable.

That done, he got dressed. Though as an official of Law, he was bound to wear the same white shirt and jacket as everyone else, accompanied by crisp white trousers and prominent black shoes, he was allowed to make his appearance a little more "human" to keep his appearance as a man of the people. Therefore the sleeves of his shirt and jacket were rolled up to the elbow, the hem of his trousers scuffed, along with his slightly dusted shoes.

Combing his short brown hair into a neater shape, he observed his pale, smooth features in the mirror and touched his new chin, only lightly sprinkled with stubble now. He looked much younger than his twenty six years: closer to twenty, really.

That done, he moved into his living room, throwing a little cologne over himself before setting it down on a glass table.

his living room, like most of his house, was a crisp white, interspersed with the occasional picture of nature, but nothing of real substance.

Making his way to the soft white sofa near the middle of the room, the man switched on the TV, tiny white crystals of life a prelude to the picture of a large, ancient stone building on the screen.

A man stood to the left of the camera, enough to be in clear focus, but not enough to cover up the building slipped onto the top of the hill.

The observer already knew what the man was about to say, and he had started nervously chewing his lips before he even knew it.

"I'm outside the Halls of Reconciliation, so named for the negotiations between the authorities of Order and Chaos that took place yesterday. For several hours, representatives from both societies met to discuss future relations, and were apparently unable to reach a common ground. A man and woman who have named themselves The "King" and "Queen" of Chaos were seen leaving the Halls at approximately 4PM yesterday afternoon."

The camera briefly shifted to a blurred picture of a tall man and woman, dressed in oddly primal, dirty clothes, walking down the hill, arm in arm. Their faces were not turned to the cameras.

"The two declined to give LTV an interview. However, we have received notice that a press conference has been called in Divinia for later this morning. Junior Minister Alan Cristoph will answer the questions of the media at 10am today."

Upon hearing his name mentioned, Alan's green eyes wandered to the clock above his television. 8:15AM. Not long until make or break time now.

As though in answer to the report, a ringing sounded from the glass table Alan had set the cologne on. The small phone, a flash of red in a desert of white, was ringing every two seconds.

He made his way over to the phone and picked up the receiver, holding it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Alan?" A male voice responded. "Hello. You took my advice to get up early? Good, good. You already know you're speaking, of course. Margaret has sent a car to your location. It should arrive around nine. Is that alright?"

"Yeah." Alan swallowed the rapidly growing lump in his throat. "That's fine."

"Excellent. I'll see you in an hour. Margaret will be waiting at the House. The Chairman won't be present. He's otherwise engaged again."

"Yes. That's fine," whispered Alan, his voice getting quieter thanks to his nerves. The man on the other side of the phone didn't notice this, and put the phone down without another word, abruptly ending the conversation.

Eyes closed, Alan massaged his temple with one large hand, before making his way over to the sofa and sitting down again. Hearing about it on the news was one thing, but being told directly by your superior was another. And he could do nothing but wait for the car to arrive now.

And before long, it did. He heard the single sound of the horn beeping, and gathering all the strength he could to stop himself from falling over, he stood and walked to the elevator on the opposite side of the house.

A keycard emerged from the folds of his jackets, which was slotted into a device fitted into the wall. After that, fingerprint, eye, and vocal samples were taken, and it was only then that the elevator doors opened, with an optimistic little beep.

As they descended to the ground floor, ironically cheery music played through the speakers. High up on the wall, just out of smashing distance, even for one as tall as Alan. But of course, that would be against the proud ideals of Law.

A little too quickly, the doors opened again with the same cheery ping as before, and Alan emerged onto a grey stone floor with a plush white fur carpet. Through the glass doors, Alan could already see the stretch limo waiting for him. White, of course.

Pushing the doors open noiselessly, past a patrolling guard, dressed in white chest plates and armed with a white ivory spear- both more for show than actual practical use- he got into the car, to a cheery greeting from the driver, only halfheartedly returned by Alan.

Before Alan could even think about getting out, the doors locked themselves. They had their occupant. The bullets were bulletproof and magicproof, and the doors wouldn't be opened. There was no way in. And unfortunately, there was no way out.

There were only a few people out at this time of the morning, most dressed in white, of course, with only the occasional few wearing anything like blue or green. None made eye contact. There was no cheerful hello or polite small talk while citizens waited in queues. There was no interest in learning about others. Obtaining knowledge was not important to citizens.

As it should be was something Alan could not help but think. A simple life, devoid of unnecessary clutter was the road to true happiness. Those such as him should be left to the true running of affairs.

It was only a matter of time before he arrived at the large building and the doors were unlocked. Part of him wished they had remained locked, but it was too late now.

The friendly young chauffeur opened the door with a beaming white grin and stepped aside to allow him out. With a sigh, Alan did so. This nervousness. The knowledge nobody should have to shoulder. It was the very reason Alan didn't wish this on citizens.

Still, he wanted to abide to the Law. He had grown up and been raised in the caring, if stern arms of Law, and he was not about to stop now.

The flight of white marble steps led up to a beautiful domed building with statues of Cupid and Venus, except clothed. Nakedness was disgusting in the eyes of the Law, so even the Gods were covered up.

A large man, dressed in a bulging white tuxedo and trousers arrangement, greeted Alan heartily with a hug as Alan's driver waited patiently in the car. "Alan, my boy. It's been too long! How are you?"

Swallowing his fear, his desire to tell the man the truth, he said: "I'm fine."

"A tad nervous, I bet," the man chuckled- making the understatement of the century. "Don't worry. It'll all be over before you know it.

"I hope so, sir," replied Alan with a thin smile.

"Anyway, come through. I bet you didn't have time for breakfast, so there's some cakes and energy food in the lobby. Keep your strength up. We don't want you fainting in the middle of the press conference, now do we?"

Despite the hearty laugh and the clap on the back, there was some darkness in his voice and Alan suspected that the consequences for something like that would be worse than a mild teasing.

"No, Sebastian," replied Alan, almost robotically.

"Good man, good m,an. Then come with me." Putting his arm around Alan's shoulders, Senior Minister Sebastian led Alan into the House of Law, with its rich red tapestries and cold blue floors, a pale cyan complimenting the red.

Eventually, they came to a room not unlike an old ballroom. Stands where musicians would practice their craft stood unused in the corner. A propped up stage was now only home to a microphone, rather than an array of colourful characters who would have brought any party to life.

One thing that remained untouched, however, was a pair of tables, smothered in a smooth, crystal white tablecloth, laden with all kinds of food and drink. Cereal, toast, eggs, expensive fruits. Some of the contents looked a little out of place, however. Steaming sirloin steaks and roast dinners. A glittering champagne fountain that a surprising number of people were making use of for so early in the morning.

One of these people, a tight lipped woman with white blond hair tied back in a stiff bun approached Alan and Sebastian as they entered the room, the tiniest smile on her face as she held her curved glass in both hands. dressed in a sparkling white dress, she looked stunning.

"Mr Cristoph. It's a pleasure to see you here today. We can't thank you enough for your appearance." She sipped from her champagne glass, her antarctic blue eyes never leaving Alan's face. He felt slightly intimidated, to say the least.

"It's my pleasure, madam Vice Chairlady," he bowed to her, and she gave him a downwards inclination of her head in response.

"Anyway, I must go. As our dear Chairman is absent, it's up to me to mingle with our dear staff and tell them how well they run the machine of Law." Her smile grew more warm, yet mocking at the same time. "If you'll excuse me."

Sebastian and Alan nodded politely, and she took her leave. As soon as she was out of sight in the crowds, Sebastian smiled widely at Alan. "She likes you, Al. Keep this up and you'll climb the ranks quickly."

"I'm happy where I am, Sebastian," he responded with a laugh.

"Course. But you can never be too high up." With a wink, Sebastian took his leave to talk to his subordinates.

Left on his own, Alan ate a little food. It was sporadic, yes, and he didn't have much of an appetite, but who would when your words could comfort or panic a nation?

Margaret eventually made her way over again, the crowd moving aside like the Red Sea to allow her passage. She looked up at Alan. "We'll be starting shortly. Are you prepared?"

"Yeah- Yes," whispered Alan, nodding his head shakily

Margaret placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Myself and Sebastian will step in if there's any problems, which is doubtful. Answer honestly, and keep the citizens following the true path. They are faithful to us. You shouldn't have any trouble."

A burly man dressed in white used a finger to beckon the two over, and was quickly joined by Sebastian. "We're ready to start, Madame. Ministers."

"Thank you," chirped Margaret, before linking arms with Sebastian and walking out of the open glass doors with him.

Taking a deep breath, Alan followed into the bright sunlight, hoping that everything would go according to plan.
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This is a rough draft I'm writing for NaNoWriMo, so if it's a little/a lot shit, sorry.