Ivy Letters by Jesse Maas

Author:Jesse Maas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shellville Press
Published: 2022-05-24T01:43:41+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Five

Icy Roads Ahead as Summer Ends

A Ploy for Power

An Airhead for an Heir

Aiming High, Looks Low

Copeland’s stomach dropped as he scanned the newspaper headlines. He sat at the large oak table in the main dining hall, eating his breakfast, as he flipped through the pages. He tried to keep his orange juice and toast down as the stories got increasingly worse.

“Vienna Tunston, a no one from nowhere, catches Copeland Howth’s eye, but the real question is why? Is it a ploy for power? A hate for Summer? Or an unlikely case of true love?”

Copeland read the start of the article and threw the paper down.

“Where do they get this stuff?” he huffed to himself.

“I have no idea,” Martin said as he walked in the room.

“Oh.” Copeland looked up, slightly embarrassed by his talking to himself. “I didn’t see you there.”

“I just walked in,” Martin explained. “From what I’ve gathered, it’s about nine to one out there.” He wasted no time jumping into the updates. “For every nine negative articles, we’ve got one good one to work with. I was hoping for more like five to one, but it could be worse, so we’re doing okay.” He sounded positive. “Don’t waste your time reading those.” Martin walked over to Copeland and grabbed the newspapers from the table. “The comments of irrelevant fools will be of no help to us.” He got quieter. “Our mission is not to please everyone. It’s to save everyone.”

“I hope Vienna is okay,” Copeland commented. “I’m sure she’s never had to face such opposition.”

“If Vienna is anything like her father, I’m sure she’s more than okay,” Martin replied. “Lewis was tough as nails.”

Copeland unconvincingly nodded. He finished his glass of orange juice.

“Alright.” He licked his lips. “What’s next? What’s on the agenda today?” He changed the subject now that he had nothing else to read.

“Nothing,” Martin replied. “I took the liberty of clearing your schedule, since we knew the press reports could be overwhelming.”

“Oh, thank you.” Copeland was genuinely pleased and surprised. “I don’t remember the last time I had a day off.”

“It was December 31, 2117. The day before your fifteenth birthday.”

Copeland was shocked Martin knew the exact date.

“But, unfortunately, you don’t have the day off.”

“What?” Copeland was confused.

“You might not have imperial duties today,” Martin explained, “but we have a lot of research to do.”

“Research?”

“Yes, those who do not study what happened in the past are likely to bring it about again in some form,” he quoted his grandfather, a line that stuck with him after the fall. “We must have a better understanding of what has happened, what we know, and what needs to be done before we take any further steps.”

“How can we do that?” Copeland asked. Most of the historical and cultural information that existed before the creation of Carnot had been destroyed; only a select group of non-fiction books were widely available in the city.

“You’ll see,” Martin replied. “Come with me.”

Copeland left his half-eaten toast and followed Martin out of the dining hall.

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