Chapter 16

Karkat was almost overwhelmed when he entered Myatt. The streets were bustling and noisy with crowds of trolls and the occational hoofbeast-drawn carrige. The buildings were larger and more well-built then the ones in the town, and appeared far more frequently. He also noticed there were far more highbloods here than in the other town. Most of them looked rather rich and stuck-up, walking down the street in fancy outfits with little more than a glance to those around them. Some of them appeared to be guards, moving at a slower pace and looking for any situation they could jump into and enforce the law. There were plenty of midbloods and lowbloods as well, who simply continued along whatever route they were going and trying to get on with their lives. Karkat took in all this new scenery with slight nervousness. He had no idea there could be places as huge and busy as this. He looked at Signless with uncertainty. "What are we supposed to do here?" He asked, raising his voice to a degree that could be heard over the crowd. Signless looked around, as if he was trying to decide that now. "Well... I suppose the first thing we should do is get something to eat." Karkat nodded in agreement along with the others, they were all hungry after coming all this way. Signless headed down the street, working his way through the crowd as the others followed as closely as they could behind him. They made their way to a vendor who was selling some kind of meat on a stick. Karkat didn't think it looked very appetizing, but he was hungry. So when Signless bought some and handed one to him, he took it without complaint. When he took a bite after quickly scanning the food before him, he found that it had a fair enough taste. At least, it wasn't such a bad flavor that he felt the need to spit it out in disgust. So he and the group finished off their meal as they walked, stopping in front of a large fountain that stood in what was presumably the center of the city. "Oh look," Psii said sarcastically as he looked at it. "If it ithn't our beloved queen." Karkat looked up at the fountain and saw a statue of a female troll standing royally upon it, a two-headed trident gripped meanicingly in one hand. "Her Imperious Condesention. The highest of the high." Rosa spoke with no admiration, looking upon the statue with disdain. Dis growled at it and narrowed her eyes. Signless just sighed and turned to Karkat. "That's the main reason why this city is dangerous for us. She has her guards watching this place to make sure no one steps out of line. If any talk of rebellion reaches their ears they'll be on you in moment to beat that kind of thinking out of you." Psii snorted. "Like I care about her thupid guardth. They're all a bunch of weak-willed tholdierth who don't know how to do anything but follow orderth." Signless cast him a slightly annoyed glance. "Weak-willed perhaps, but their physical strength could crush yours in an instant." Psii was unimpressed by this. "I don't need phythical strength to beat them." He bragged, referring to his mental abilities. Signless just rolled his eyes, not feeling the need to argue about it. Karkat looked back up at the statue. This is Feferi's ancestor? They're not very similar other than looks. He thought, rememberin how perky and likeable she was. But the Condense didn't seem to be getting a lot of positivity, at least not from this group. Not that Karkat really liked her either. He felt glad he had ended up with Signless instead of her, because he was pretty sure he would have been speared on the spot if she met him. If not, then he'd end up being interrogated and get killed regardless for his blood color. Thinking about that made him wonder if he should tell the others about the secret he kept in his veins. He knew that they'd probably accept it easier than anyone else, considering Signless had the exact same blood. Yet, he still felt like it was something he should keep to himself, at least for now. He would tell them eventually, when he felt the time was right.