PLEASURE & PRIVACY.
It was the hotel's name. Ram worried that it might be a brothel, but then he realized that it also has a diner. Maybe pleasure referred to them enjoying the food and privacy was that their meeting would be kept as a secret?
Ram didn't know.
Anyways, they reached Pleasure & Privacy after a long time.
And thanks to Ram's intention to cheer Em first, he spent his time watching her tarnish Emily Roxane's reputation so horridly that Ram wished he hadn't asked her to do so in the first place.
But so much had happened to Em, she lost her master, was assigned to Ram, who didn't have any control over his powers. She got to know that he had the powers similar to The First Elder of Time and when she got her bearings back, she couldn't access his memories temporally.
But by the end of all this fiasco, she laughed heartily, forgetting about what had happened recently and Ram thought it was worth it.
Em wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes — which were glowing with happiness— with one hand while the other one clutched her stomach. " I know that I shouldn't laugh at your expense, but watching your face while I glorify Emily Roxane was so satisfying" she said.
Ram grimaced. "Stop. You are not glorifying her. And we both know what you intended to do. I already sacrificed so much for you. Do you still want to push further?" he asked.
Em shook her head. "Thanks for your help, Ram. None of my previous masters has done the same to me and I had been alive for so long. Thank you for everything you have done time now," she said.
Ram was touched by her. "I don't know about others, but I care about you. After all, you are a close friend of mine who lives inside my head, have access to thoughts and could help me become anyone I wanted, with your sensory and visual projections. And I think it would be better if you stop calling me as your master. We are friends. My one and only best friend," he said.
Em's eyes were filled with tears and she was trying her best to control herself. She opened her mouth, then closed again. Finally, she nodded and gave Ram a hug.
This was the best part of Em's abilities. Her projections felt so real that if Ram didn't knew about her abilities, he would never have believed that they were just her projections.
"We have arrived," Em informed Ram and she broke the hug, sending Ram outside of his head.
He turned to see that others had already stepped out of the car and ware waiting for him.
When Ram stepped outside, Sandhya ignored him while Chandra was glaring at him. Elder of Light's gaze was filled with curiosity.
Ram ignored them and stared at the hotel, Pleasure & Privacy, in front of him.
No. It was not a hotel, but Red-bricked mansion that had the air of an ancient artifact about it, but at the same time it was maintained so well that it looked like a newly constructed building.
"How?" he asked out loud.
"Power of Time. They used a device that slows down the flow of time for the building to preserve it," Elder of Light said.
Ram gasped. "You said the powers can't be used to influence others, except me and probably the first Elder of Time," he said.
"I did say that. Since the powers of Time can't be influenced on any other living being. But when it came to the non-living objects though it can be done with much difficulty," she said.
Ram stared at Chandra and Sandhya to see that they were stiff. They were not exactly forthcoming to explain details to him. Ram shook his head and turned to Elder of Light. "You are more knowledgeable than others I know since I came to know about The Institute," he said.
"It's too early to decide that. Why don't we go inside?" she said.
Ram nodded and together they stepped inside Pleasure & Privacy, with Sandhya and Chandra trailing after them.
The first thing Ram noticed about the interior was that a rugged red carpet with intricate designs was covered all around the floor. It was so soothing to look at, especially against the low ambient light that surrounded them.
The tables were made out of rosewood, designed with such perfection that Ram wished he could steal them for himself.
'Stop going in that direction. If you were to be caught stealing them, you would damage your already ruined reputation,' Em said.
'It was just a thought,' Ram said.
Each table was surrounded by a semi-transparent barrier that flashed with light from time to time. 'What was that for?' Ram asked Em.
'It was for privacy. Even though it will not prevent others from watching them, it will prevent others from hearing what they were really taking about,' Em said.
Ram nodded. 'They are accomplished by a device, I presume?' he asked.
Em nodded. 'There were many devices that you could only imagine. We have devices for almost anything and unless you were from The Institute, or have connections to one who was form there, you would've never known,' she said.
'That makes sense,' Ram mumbled as he watched various tables filled mostly by couples or families. Only some were filled by people in business suits.
'They are here for business alright, but it was not for what you were thinking about,' Em said.
Ram grew curious. 'And what would that be?" Ram asked.
'Dealings. Hiring of mercenaries and thugs to either threaten others or steal something from them,' Em said.
'And that is legal over here. Don't the authorities care about them?'
'They ignore them basically. They allowed it to happen in the first place to manage the conflicts amongst us. Also, they were busy most of their free time other than scheming against others, fighting or arguing about the People of Darkness,' Em said.
Crazy. They are bunch of crazy people, to allow the hiring of thugs or mercenaries out in the open.
What in the world had he agreed himself upon into?