I am saddened by your lack of enthusiasm for Christmas dynamite and slightly proud that you think I could turn anything into a continuation of that fairy-tale :) (Well, gnomes are technically fairies.) I'll email you the year-long poem I think; posting it on the blog seems a little inconsiderate of other people.
Soothing It took nearly thirty minutes more for Fabian to shoo everyone out of his office; Cass was the easiest now that she had a crusade to embark on but the Maestro and Sebastian kept erupting over the slightest little thing and even had a five minute argument over who should leave the office first. When Fabian finally got the door closed on them all he had a headache and his coffee was stone cold. He considered going to make a new one and decided that he didn't want to risk meeting anyone else; with that thought in mind he locked his office door as well, and sat down at his desk. There was the usual stack of paperwork waiting for his attention and, for once, he felt that reading purchase requests and turning them down would be soothing and a pleasant change from the events of the morning. He managed to get through most of the stack before a knock came at his door that was repeated, and then repeated again, and then kept repeating. He sighed, felt annoyed with himself for sighing, and unlocked the door. He only just stepped back in time to avoid being struck by it as it was flung open. "You're hiding," said Cass marching in and sitting down. "I've checked the paperwork -- I had to go all the way back to the Articles of Incorporation, can you believe? -- and the Halls of Sunset should definitely fall under our remit. There was an Imperial declaration about them but that was rescinded a couple of months later and at that point there was a new declaration that made them part of the Museum in perpetuity. The Assessors were assigned to them but... there is paperwork there, there are minutes of the meetings of the Imperial Council, but they're under heavy security. I tried dropping your name in a few places and the best I got told was that if you cared to ask for them yourself you could be told No to your face."
"Thanks," said Fabian. Cass glanced at him as though uncertain what he meant so he kept his face perfectly still and then smiled a little at her. Her frown suggested he hadn't said the right thing, but she continued. "The problem seems to be the Day of No Sun--" "Isn't it always?" "What do you mean by that?" Cass stared at him now, her frown deepening. "It just seems," said Fabian, who hadn't really thought about his comment, "that everything in the last few days keeps coming back to the Day of No Sun." "Yes.... Well, it was a momentous event," said Cass. "It's not like you have the Sun not rise for a day and have no-one notice, is it?" "I'd have thought it was impossible," said Fabian. "Oh, nothing, nothing, just ignore me. You were saying that the Assessors were connected to the Day of No Sun?" "No, I wasn't actually. Where did you get that idea from?" Cass pressed her lips together into a thin line. Fabian shrugged. "Fine, what I trying to tell you is that after the day of No Sun the Assessors became more reserved and then there was the issue with one of them getting killed in the Museum, and after that we seem to have split apart somehow but they kept hold of the Halls of Sunset. So they really do have to give them back now." "That migh--" "I've requested a tour of them." "--t not be... you what?" "In your name, of course, so you'll have to attend. Bring some important people with you too. You must know a few." "You did what?" "I've suggested Friday as a good day; enough time for them to find the keys and dust, but not enough for them to hide anything they're doing wrong. Which will be grist to our mill." "You did what? And I don't know what that means." Cass stood up. "Really? I should have thought you would. Invite some friends, or make some friends and invite them. Whatever it is that Directors do. I want this to be hard for them to refuse." "Cass--". Fabian's words disappeared as Cass marched out of his office as briskly as she'd entered.
Cass is certainly a force to be reckoned with. I'm... happy? That she's on Fabian's side? But maybe he'd prefer if she was pointed in a slightly safer direction, career wise...
3 comments:
I am saddened by your lack of enthusiasm for Christmas dynamite and slightly proud that you think I could turn anything into a continuation of that fairy-tale :) (Well, gnomes are technically fairies.) I'll email you the year-long poem I think; posting it on the blog seems a little inconsiderate of other people.
Soothing
It took nearly thirty minutes more for Fabian to shoo everyone out of his office; Cass was the easiest now that she had a crusade to embark on but the Maestro and Sebastian kept erupting over the slightest little thing and even had a five minute argument over who should leave the office first. When Fabian finally got the door closed on them all he had a headache and his coffee was stone cold. He considered going to make a new one and decided that he didn't want to risk meeting anyone else; with that thought in mind he locked his office door as well, and sat down at his desk. There was the usual stack of paperwork waiting for his attention and, for once, he felt that reading purchase requests and turning them down would be soothing and a pleasant change from the events of the morning.
He managed to get through most of the stack before a knock came at his door that was repeated, and then repeated again, and then kept repeating. He sighed, felt annoyed with himself for sighing, and unlocked the door. He only just stepped back in time to avoid being struck by it as it was flung open.
"You're hiding," said Cass marching in and sitting down. "I've checked the paperwork -- I had to go all the way back to the Articles of Incorporation, can you believe? -- and the Halls of Sunset should definitely fall under our remit. There was an Imperial declaration about them but that was rescinded a couple of months later and at that point there was a new declaration that made them part of the Museum in perpetuity. The Assessors were assigned to them but... there is paperwork there, there are minutes of the meetings of the Imperial Council, but they're under heavy security. I tried dropping your name in a few places and the best I got told was that if you cared to ask for them yourself you could be told No to your face."
"Thanks," said Fabian. Cass glanced at him as though uncertain what he meant so he kept his face perfectly still and then smiled a little at her. Her frown suggested he hadn't said the right thing, but she continued.
"The problem seems to be the Day of No Sun--"
"Isn't it always?"
"What do you mean by that?" Cass stared at him now, her frown deepening.
"It just seems," said Fabian, who hadn't really thought about his comment, "that everything in the last few days keeps coming back to the Day of No Sun."
"Yes.... Well, it was a momentous event," said Cass. "It's not like you have the Sun not rise for a day and have no-one notice, is it?"
"I'd have thought it was impossible," said Fabian. "Oh, nothing, nothing, just ignore me. You were saying that the Assessors were connected to the Day of No Sun?"
"No, I wasn't actually. Where did you get that idea from?" Cass pressed her lips together into a thin line. Fabian shrugged. "Fine, what I trying to tell you is that after the day of No Sun the Assessors became more reserved and then there was the issue with one of them getting killed in the Museum, and after that we seem to have split apart somehow but they kept hold of the Halls of Sunset. So they really do have to give them back now."
"That migh--"
"I've requested a tour of them."
"--t not be... you what?"
"In your name, of course, so you'll have to attend. Bring some important people with you too. You must know a few."
"You did what?"
"I've suggested Friday as a good day; enough time for them to find the keys and dust, but not enough for them to hide anything they're doing wrong. Which will be grist to our mill."
"You did what? And I don't know what that means." Cass stood up.
"Really? I should have thought you would. Invite some friends, or make some friends and invite them. Whatever it is that Directors do. I want this to be hard for them to refuse."
"Cass--". Fabian's words disappeared as Cass marched out of his office as briskly as she'd entered.
Greg- fairy tale? Sure.
Cass is certainly a force to be reckoned with. I'm... happy? That she's on Fabian's side? But maybe he'd prefer if she was pointed in a slightly safer direction, career wise...
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