The locks could be heard disengaging and my door slid into its side panel.
Not long later,Allainmarched in, his gaze moving swiftly, taking in his surroundings, before he turned to me.
“MistressLaura,” he greeted.
Not that crap again.
“Really, you can call me?—”
WhileIspoke, even ifIhadn’t had the opportunity to say many words, he opened the leather satchel that rested against his hip and pulled out a tablet.
And he interrupted me when he shoved it toward me.
Automatically, my hands moved to take it, butInearly bobbled it, for the instant my hands were close, he let go, soIhad to catch it.
I stared, knowing it wasDY5000XX, the most expensive tablet on the market and oneI’dbeen wanting to buy, even ifIknewIcould never afford it.
The resolution of the display was second to none.Thecomputing was warp speed.Thememory capacity was astronomical.EverydesignIdrew could be stored on one of those tablets, even in 3-Dand with motion simulation, regardless of how memory-heavy they were, without slowing its processing.
It also had send, receive, pic, vid, magnifying, telescopic, holo, tracing and tracking capabilities.
Yes,Isaidholocapabilities!
“The password for that tablet is ‘pink,’”Allaininformed me. “Youcan change it to what you wish after you gain entry.Yourschedule is in the calendar.Ittook some doing, but you’ll be withMadamGarwahfor training.She’sby far the best, knows centuries of royal etiquette, and she trainedQueenCalisaherself.”
I said nothing, just stood in my jammies staring at him.
He continued speaking.
“Considering you have employment, classes will be in the evenings.Theywill, of course, be interrupted by any engagements made with you byHisRoyalHighness.”
I felt my brows wing up, butIstill could find no words.
Allain pulled out another tablet.Itwasn’t aDY5000XX, but it wasn’t shabby either (if you’re curious, it was aDS3500Pro).
“Now,Ihave a few things that need to be sorted,” he declared.
I opened my mouth, to say what,Ihad no idea, but it would be something regarding asking after what the heck he was on about.
He got there before me.
“It’s established you have no dealings with your parents.”
My middle swayed back likeI’dbeen hit by a wave.
How did he know that?
He looked from his tablet to me. “However, you haven’t officially filed for no contact.Doyou wish to do so?”
I didn’t even have a chance to open my mouth (not thatIwould,Iwas still stunned), before he went on.
“And before you answer, it’s recommended by thePalacethat you do.Yoursires have no offences on record, outside your father being flagged byHisMajesty’sRevenueDepartmentfor underpayment of taxes.Yourfather fought this.Helost.Hefiled his official displeasure, which is, obviously, on record, but he was refused reevaluation.Hethen missed the three initial payments, until incarceration was threatened, and then he began paying.Thisisn’t good, but it isn’t dire.However, we’re operating under the assumption that, since you have not logged time with them, and they have also not logged time with you, there’s some issue that’s lasted at least thirteen years.Ratherthan there being an attempt at reconciliation, considering what’s to come, which makes you vulnerable to emotional manipulation due to lofty connections, we recommend an official filing.”
Logged time?
Boy,Iwas seeingImight need to message my province rep to share my displeasure about theTraceandLogLawwhich allowed the government to collect data on where your crafts went, as well as anyPalm, tablet and portable comp units registered to you, because really…it was none of their danged business.
Sure, when the whole thing went down, they’d said they’d only use this data during criminal investigations, and then only after a magistrate provided a warrant after receiving probable cause.
