Vanderbilt was i nhis office, staring vacantly out the window at the pedestrians walking past. Thinking about the previous times he had gone through this endless process. "It is over..."

"What is over?" Eleanor asked, for she was also in his office, on his orders, though Vanderbilt did not remember those orders now.

"The Honeymoon period," Vanderbilt statted to explain, briefly pausing to collect himself. "The time where the most change can be made at once is gone, lost to the wind. If everything continues the way it is, things will change glacially slowly in New Winstam."

Eleanor found herself staring at Vanderbilt, unsure of what he means with a growing concern rising in her chest. "What do you mean, Minister?"

"The streets of New Winstam are literally being ripped up for a sewer and tram line, the business leader are cowed by my ruthlessness, and the mayor is started to tamp down on our actions." He sighed, touching his forehead with his fingers. "Today Eleanor, we have lost the initiative. All the options are either blocked or exhausted, we sinply have to wait."

Eleanor looked a Vanderbilt, a real, long stare at the aging old man. "I must admit, this seems rather sudden."

Vanderbilt turned back to look out the window, "Perhaps it seems sudden to you, but my ideas were always something I came up with on the spot. We were bound to run out of viable ideas sometime, perhaps you just did not expect it to be so soon."

"Then what are we to do?" Eleanor asked, thinking of the daring mements she had in the Ministry.

"We are to wait, wait for some things to end and some things to begin. I will not think harshly of you if you wish to leave now, at least for a time." Vandeebilt turned feom the window to look back at Eleanor, a sad look on his face. His eyes however, showed the kind of excited impatience typical of a child waiting for their favorite blanket or toy to be handed back. "Worry not, I am not done yet."

Eleanor found herself unable to talk at such a scene, she simply nodded, then turned on her heels and walked out the door.

-‐--------

Eleanor told her colleagues the news, their expressions slowly shifted towards dissapointment from the beginning to the end. There was a brief, awkward period of silence to digest the events.

"So...what are you going to do" Eleanor asked of the two boys, feeling the hit from the still air.

"Well, I suppose I will have to stay at the ministry...maybe take part in the inspectorate" Jacob replied, trying to grab on to Eleanor's topic

"...I will go back to my cleaning job then, I do not exactly have many sources of money." Clein replied.

"Thankfully, I have saved enough to get out of New Winstam, I am going to the capital, maybe I will learn the name of the city while I am there." Eleanor was the last to finish their talk, but she still felt dissatisfied. "So...goodbye for now, I guess."

"I will see you later."

"Bye."

The three parted, a weird, awkward sort of parting, but a parting nevertheless. But Eleanor was still left with a question, one she kbew would not fet an answer for a time to come. "Say, what do you think the Minister will be doing during our break?"