My Wight Wife is Modernizing our City! 5

The second chore of the day, aside from infecting all of your wife’s closest confidents with the nerd virus, is to attend the town meeting! An assembly of all the gentlemen and women in the ward so they can air issues that have come up since last they met. Your wife tries to attend as many as possible. She won’t stand for feedback being “watered down” by being passed through a third party. If her ward is to be perfect, she must listen with her own ears.

The doors to the community centre swing open as you and Cecille strut down the central isle and to the table set up on stage. There are a few whispers of excitement from the newest residents, for whom the sight of a Wight is not common knowledge already. That being said, a vast majority of the women who attend these meetings are still lowly zombies who have not advanced to a higher state of being. Most of the complaints and feedback come from the men who still have the ability to talk properly.

You sit next to your wife of a comfortable wooden chair and await the beginning of the meeting. Eventually a ghoul emerged from behind the velvet curtains and takes the head of the table. Her name is Suzuka and you think she’s from somewhere in the East. She’s quite evasive about it. You suspect that however she ended up hundreds of miles away from there and in your town is a sensitive subject.

“I call to order this meeting of the ward of Cecille Aumont‎, under the providence of the Chief God and the great Undead Kingdom. Today we are blessed with the presence of our Lady and Lord, Madame and Monsieur Aumont,” There’s a polite applause from the gathered crowd of around two hundreds couples.

“The clerks have accepted the following bills of order. A petition to rename Appendix Road, a request for electricity in the old Workmen’s District, and a formal complaint of the water quality at Townsend Road. If your petition was rejected on this occasion, you may resubmit it at the following meeting. May I call Monsieur Clarke to the floor?”

A bearded man, still living, stands from a chair near the front and holds up his arm, “Here!”

“Monsieur Clarke has submitted motion three to the consideration of Lord and Lady Aumont, a request for electricity to be installed in the Workmen’s District.”

He bows, “My Lady, while I understand that there may be constraints on the speed at which such improvements can be made, I must emphasise that the Workmen’s District is modernizing at a rapid speed. Hand tools are being replaced with the kind of thing you can buy at LichMart, and they require a power source. Poor Mister Brady’s house has been turned into the local charging station. I doubt that he paid for the benefit so that everyone else could ask to use it.”

There’s a murmur of agreement from the crowd. Ward residents can pay private companies to hook their homes up to the grid, but it can be a challenge. Formalizing the power and water systems was one of the first measures you took when it came time to lead the Ward.

“While he is always gracious enough to permit our greediness, I say that it is high time for the ward to take measures and electrify the area so that all may handle their own affairs.”

“Aye!” the crowd repeats.

Cecille nods, “Thank you for your concern Monsieur. When the next district is completed, we will continue our objective to modernize the oldest streets in the city. The area around your home is of primary concern, as many craftsmen live and work there. By my word, it will be done.”

Cecille then nods to Suzuka who pulls the parchment over. Suzuka completes the formalities by stamping the paper with a big red seal which represents the power of your noble house, “Motion accepted! The Workmen’s District shall be electrified pending assignment from the ward authorities.”

Clarke bows again with a smile and sits back next to his wife, an excitable looking ghost.

Suzuka picks up the next motion, “Monsieur Li, the floor is yours.”

A man on the opposite side of the room stands up and raises his arm, “Here!”

“Monsieur Li has submitted motion two to the consideration of Lord and Lady Aumont. A formal complaint for Townsend!”

“Yes. Lady Aumont, as of the past week a most concerning development has gripped Townsend. Our usually clear and pure water has been tainted, and now we find it barely drinkable.” A small section of the crowd cheers aye. They must all be sitting together. “We requested that the water company rectify the issue, but they claim there is nothing amiss. We have been drinking from bottles ever since. We request a formal arbitration from the Aumont family.”

Cecille looks over the details with a discerning eye. She is a master of town planning herself, so if something is wrong, she’ll spot it right away, “When did this poisoning occur?”

“Last Wednesday Lady Amount. And our request for assistance was rejected on the Friday.”

Dealing with the occasional private company was just a fact of life. Cecille couldn’t quite control everything that was happening in the Ward, as much as it would make life easier. Over several decades many places within the city have paid privately for water and power – and that means that they must deal with the responsible companies should something go wrong.

Cecille doesn’t see anything wrong with the documentation, “Very well. We will assemble a meeting with the relevant parties, oui? You may speak with Suzuka for the details.”

“Thank you, Lady Amount.”

“Motion accepted! Our final motion of the day, motion one, was submitted by Monsieur Hardy and his wife. A request to formally rename Appendix Road! You have the floor.”

“Thank you. Lady Cecille, there is a growing consensus among the residents of the current Appendix Road that the name is rather… macabre compared to our neighbours.”

“Aye!”

“While I understand that the name has been so for many years, there is increasing desire amongst us to find a name that we all find acceptable.”

Appendix Road is one of many locations in the ward with organ related namesakes. Heart Avenue was given it’s name for being the primary artery through the centre of the town. Appendix road earned it’s unenviable name after a residential development closed off a shortcut that many used to get around the busy traffic.

Cecille doesn’t need much convincing for this one. Hopeless romantic and all that – she’d agree in a heartbeat if she had one. The aesthetics of pretty street names are just the kind of thing that tickles her fancy, “Of course Monsieur Hardy! Please speak with your neighbours and decide on a new name. I will be glad to receive it.”

“Thank you.”

“Motion accepted!”

One last rubber seal and the meeting is adjourned, at least formally. What follows is what you like to call the “schmooze hour” where everyone who’s never met Cecille before comes up for an autograph or what have you. Most of the undead women usually ask for beauty tips (be an ultra-powerful undead magician,) or advice on how to catch a human man, (get lucky.)

They rarely ask you for anything, so you like to wander around and see what everyone else is up to. You spy a rare sight in an undead city, a young boy reading a comic book. He looks up at you, “Are you the mayor?”

You smirk, “I suppose I am. One of them anyway. What are you reading there?”

“Zipangu Ghoul…”

“Did your parents bring you here? It’s rare to see a young man like yourself around the Ward.”

“Yeah, my sister got to stay at home though.”

“So you have a sister.”

“A step-sister, she’s way older than me.”

“I see.”

“Darling, are you ready to go?” You glance back and see Cecille smiling gently at the young boy. He seems a bit shocked by the overwhelming presence of the wight, as many people are when they aren’t used to her.

“Yes, I was just speaking with my young friend here.”

He puts down the manga as if he were embarrassed to be seen with it in front of her, “Wow, you’re really pretty!”

Cecille giggles and pats him on the head, “What a charming boy! I’m sure you’ll make someone very happy in the future. But this old woman might be too old for you. Non?”

“Lady Cecille, Lord Amount, I see you’ve met my son,” you turn around and see Li, the man who submitted the proposal about the dirty water situation, “This is Bao.”

“I didn’t know you had a son Mister Li.”

“Well, we’ve only moved in recently. I’d travel down here to meet the wife, so Bao is still getting used to the city.”

“Hm. What do you think of Cecille’s ward, Bao?”

“It’s really big, and dark.”

You can’t argue with that. Li laughs along with you, “So you got married, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Her name is Adelheid – we met at a business convention in my old city and hit it off. A few months later and we moved here.”

Cecille knows her, “Ah, Madame Adelheid! I had heard that she had gotten married. What a wonderful coincidence.”

Adelheid is a vampire. Every vampire belongs to a noble family and house, but that doesn’t mean they all have the same level of influence. In the modern world there are only so many castles and towns to lord over. In the absence of those things many sink their fangs into other pursuits like business. That being said it is not wise to cross a vampire. They are the second most powerful variety of undead behind the Wight, and their houses takes slights against members very seriously.

“I better get going before she worries about where we are, thank you very much for passing our motion.”

“It is my responsibility to see that this Ward is the envy of undead leaders the nation over – I cannot accept such an impact on any one person’s living conditions.”

You pat him on the back, “I suppose that Adelheid will be bringing you to the next ball? It’s coming up soon and she’ll want to show you off to all the ladies.”

“She has spoken of it, although I must admit it makes me very nervous.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll gossip for a while and then you can drink with all the other husbands, it’s just a big party.”

“Ah, well. That sounds okay.”

Cecille pulls on your arm, “Okay, okay. We’ll see you later. Lots to do and no time to do it in!”

Li bows again as Cecille drags you out of the door, “Goodbye my lord.”