Crash!
"We're running out of money!?"
Dropping the plate of food onto the floor, Simon's mouth hung wide open, shocked at the revelation.
"YES! What did you expect, that money rains down from the heavens!? The amount of funds we need exceeds what we have by 10 times! Unless we rob the Empire, we're fucked!"
Screeching louder than a Banshee, Duncan gestured wildly with his hands, pissed off at the senseless waste of money. "I may be the head honcho of Silvertree Corporation, but dammit, I have people to feed as well!"
Breathing deeply, he turned his head once more. There, he saw the two women and a child collapsed on the floor, with a puddle of unknown liquid underneath them. Sensing the shocked gazes of the men, he relaxed what he had done. "I-I'm sorry guys. It's just that...*haah*, it's just that I have a lot of things to deal with here, most of them linked with money. Without much left in the bank, we're screwed. So unless we find new ways to get money, we're gonna have to scrimp wherever we can..."
Sighing in defeat, Duncan scratched his head. "Plus, we cannot introduce new technology or things willy-nilly without the Church finding us out and branding us as heretics. So please, try to understand why I bought the land here. Also, it's not that close to Eroslam Kingdom anyway..."
Looking sheepish, he tried his best to apologise, yet failing as the girls consoled a now crying Kiana. Seeing a young child cry because of him, the guilt grew heavier and heavier, until he couldn't stand it anymore. "Arrrggghh! Hey little kid, big brother is sorry for scaring you. As a sorry-for-you gift, do you want this Cikolet...?"
Taking a packet of Cikolet that he often carried with him, he gingerly handed it to the now quietly sobbing Wulfin. Seeing that Duncan was genuinely trying to apologise to young Kiana, they let him get near him, where he promptly began waving it in front of her. "If you accept big brother's apology, you can have this chocolate..."
Despite the hostile stares from Celine and Goblina, Kiana, sensing that there was no ill intent, gingerly took the Cikolet. Gazing back and forth between the Cikolet and Duncan, when she realised that he actually meant what he said, a wide toothy grin grew on her face. "Yay! Thanks for the Cikolet!"
Just before she took a bite of the Cikolet, she stopped. Before Duncan's confused eyes, Kiana promptly ran up the stairs to her room, from where she dragged down a small jar of jam. Grabbing ahold of a piece of bread, she spread some jam on top of it, before breaking a tiny piece of the Cikolet and putting it on top of it. Then, she attempted to take a bite, but failed, for it was too big for her.
Undeterred, she took a small knife, cutting the area where she had put the jam and Cikolet into a small circle, before putting the whole thing in her mouth. "Mmm, delicious..."
Munching happily with eyes closed, the group quickly fell in love with her cute eating face. But Duncan, on the other hand, felt a jolt of lightning go through his mind. Billions of volts of electricity flooded through his neurons, going left, right, up and down, before merging together back into a giant explosion of an idea.
"Jaffa cakes..."