23. The Insecure Genius

 

Do you want to know what the five-year old Ceoda thought when she discovered how to lie for self gain? Well, I instantly shied away from it. The youngling that I was hated the destructiveness of lying, but then I started to become wondrous by it. And at the time, my guardians would rarely buy a book teaching kids on how to study the human mind. That type of s**t usually gets found in the psychology section, but they don’t let kids my age study in that department. And that gave them enough reason to restrict me from learning it. So I decided to find out how books are made, because if they won’t let me read what I want to read, then I’ll write what I want to read. I then discovered that it is created by humans, writers they call them. Then I opted to find out how writers write, like do they just make it up? Or do they find their ideas like how pirates find treasures? My teacher told me that experiences is how most writers come up with their stories. And to gain experience, I would have to live my life… or live someone else’s. I was five, which means I haven’t really experienced much, but there are all these books and biographies written by people who had already lived theirs. So I read as many of them, learning and gaining all the experiences they’ve had. Until finally, I picked up on how to lie expertly. But after what I did today, I now consider myself the most cynical thirty-first century liar. So as I stood lying to Remipor Larferna that I am his stepsister. I also mentally patted myself on the back for coming up with the best insurance to secure my residency here. Because siblings often share, so when the other sibling holds something of use, and in Remi’s case, it’s the control of this world. The chances of him exiling me from this Planet is now lowered dramatically, cause who in their right mind would do that to their own blood? Remipor recognises that family matters so much more when you’re a sovereign, and now he thinks I’m part of his.  

Remi looked at me for the first time with eyes of care, than with the usual eyes of lust that I often find present in him. 

“You’re my big sister,” he said to himself. “You’re the true heir,” he whispered. 

“I am the b*****d daughter of your dad, and that restricts me from the consideration of being named heir.” It was wise to lie that I’m his step sister than that of a sister born of the same parents. As we look nothing alike and have no genes in common, except for the fake peanut allergy I pretended to have. Plus, lying about being his stepsister stops me from ruling his Kingdom, which is actually what I want to avoid. 

“In most worlds yes, but on this Planet, the oldest rules first.” F**k! I totally bypassed this, but I knew just how to respond. 

“Look, I already rule over Planet Moore, and it’s hard work. I am also the C.E.O of my C. T. Galactic delivery service, I own Ceoda.com, and I control the Exporta programs, I also have the authority over many other mainstream companies. And if I were to rule Earth too, I would mentally break down and die. You want your sister to die now?” I said it in a sassy manner. 

“Of course not,” he said.

“Then rule in my stead?” 

“Only with your mentorship,” he sternly said.

“Why do you think I offered it in the first place? If I hadn’t discovered our siblinghood, then I wouldn’t have asked to become your mentor,” I lied.

“It makes sense now, the firstborn of any family usually mentors their younger siblings, and you’re the oldest of mines.” 

“You should still rely on looking out for yourself though.” 

“Mentoring me already,” he jested. 

“You asked for it,” I smirked, but my smirk wasn’t meant for him, it was meant for my victory of successfully having Remi under my full influence, but he doesn’t know that.

“Any advice on what we should do now?” he asked.

“Find Annel, and make that press conference I told you to do, but don’t tell anyone that we’re related.”

“Why not?”

“Like you said, oldest rules first, and I don’t want to rule remember.”

“What about our cousin, how should we get him back?” He’s talking about Octlyn, haven’t thought of him in awhile…

“The five ships that we’ve sent hasn’t reported back yet, so I got Annel to send in ten more ships. We’ll get back our cousin. Sergusto wouldn’t risk killing him. His Planet still needs  the Larferna tree, so I’ll form a deal to trade Octlyn back for his weight in Larfern wood.”

“When Octlyn comes back, can we tell him of our blood relation?”

“Only him,” I smiled. 

“I still can’t believe my sisters a genius,” and I still can’t believe you ruthlessly sent 800,000 Reduntians to public starvation, without showing any sign of hesitation. 

“And I still can’t believe you found out so early,” I said instead. “I’ll come find you later, brother.” He grinned at that, “Looking forward to it, sister.” And I left him in my Exporta room, allowing him to freely re-watch the staged video that the unreleased technology from my Planet is capable of creating. My scientists managed to invent a new form of CGI that can design the vessels of humans to near real life standard. Enabling us to create fake memory video’s to present to whomever I want, a new form of manipulation I call it. 

“Hold on,” he suddenly said. I turned around to see that it was Remipor.

“Why did you withheld telling me of my councils corruption? As well as the murdering of my mother. If you told me from the moment you found out, you could had prevented them from triggering the Reduntian invasion.” 

“I wanted to see if you could identify them as enemies yourself,” I lied. “I never expected them to let in the Reduntians.” 

“Another one of your tests… How many casualties in the next one, huh?” 

“I’ve been responsible for a lot of innocent lives, you think geniuses just know it all? See every f*****g angle of every damned possibility? I’m still human, Remi. I make mistakes too, and today you’ve witnessed my biggest one,” I pleaded. I had the tears too, no one’s ever seen me cry before. So that rarity help makes the tears even more real. Real enough to fool Remi again, it seems. He walks up to me and gently gives me what society calls a brotherly hug. 

“You need to stop testing me like this,” he muttered. I thought nodding would suffice in a situation like this, and I was right. After a five minute hug from my supposed little brother, I wiggled myself away by saying, “I need to wash up before anyone see’s me crying.” 

Next on my lying list is Meeroc, no doubt he’d already gathered a form of questions for me. I have been avoiding him ever since I recovered my vessel via Exporta, having my left leg back enabled me to walk away from him. But when I was detained in the hospital after sawing my leg off, Meer was by my side, asking constant questions about what Faavel possibly did to me. So I promised him that I would answer all his questions once we take back the Royal Palace. And now we have, hence why I’ve got fifty phone calls from him and over seventy texts. I responded to his most recent message, which was: where are you? I told him I was in my office and he appeared within three minutes; that’s Annel standard. 

“That was as fast as Annel, Meer,” I smiled in greetings, but he ignored my jest and closed the door behind him.

“What happened after our escape? Did Faavel hurt you after the beating he gave you?” he rushed out.

“No… Instead, he hurt someone else in my place.”

“Who?”

“His servant of the day named Craneri, I don’t know where she went though, but she saved me from rape, Meer.” 

“And did he?”

“It was close, his shaft was dangling near millimetres away from my vaginal area.” I said it in a tone that showed Meeroc that I wasn’t really bothered about the near rape I’d endured. So that he doesn’t have to worry that I was indeed traumatised. 

“Did he touch you?” 

“Not in the way you’re suggesting,” I lied. I had to, I couldn’t tell him that Faavel broke my hymen. As I was saving that for Meer to do. He walked up to me, planting his left hand on my jawline. 

“I have to confess, I almost ejaculated when I witnessed you killing him.”

“I guess we’re both sadistic’s now, because I felt the same way.” I held his left hand in my right, and kissed him in celebration of our reunion. Meeroc didn’t ask me any questions after that, which was funny to me. Because it took me near enough the whole day to mentally prepare myself for the many questions I thought Meer had. Seems like he only cared to ask the ones only to do with my virginity and honour. 

“Would you like a drink? I know it’s your mini bar but I’ll do the pouring,” he offered.

“Of course I’ll drink with you,” he blushed out a smile and shied away to the mini bar.

“What flavour do you feel like having today,” he asked.

“Bitterness with a hint of sweet success,” I requested. 

“Fresh lemon juice mixed with cherry ice cubes it is then.”

“Add a straw too, I have some meetings after this and I don’t want to smudge my lipstick.”

“Is it a solo quest?” He’s acting awfully clinging today, and to be honest, I appreciate the attention. 

“Yeah it is, but you can come keep me company if you want?” I offered, walking up to him. He passed me my drink and guided me to my two seated sofa, to do what though? I just told him I have meetings later. Meeroc situated his back on my whole couch and placed me to cover his front body like a blanket. 

“Of course I’ll go with you,” he muttered. We laid there for quite some time, I wasn’t bored or anything. But this wasn’t in my schedule, so why would he do this? Is this what couples do? Lay together all day, without much dialogue? Are we achieving something here? I aimed to make facial contact with him, as looking at his chest for my main view is a little bit unsatisfying. His eyes were closed, I tried blowing it, hoping he would open them. He didn’t. Meer’s fell asleep, so I slipped away quietly and got ready for my meetings without him.

My first meeting was with the Head War Chief Kinvame and the rest of Remi’s War Commanders. Since Remipor decided to replace his Larferna guards with his main army. Devising which men should be chosen to guard the Palace is a tedious but important job. I was made late by Meeroc, and entering into the meeting late was something I found disturbing, no one said anything though. They knew my social standing here, they know how much more powerful and important I am. But that’s why I’m never late, because I hate allowing people to think that my reason for being late is due to the fact that I acknowledge my social status, and therefore lack the respect to attend meetings on time, just like most egotistic leaders do. 

“Sorry I’m late,” I said. Apologising has always been rare for me. 

“It’s okay, Madam Moore,” replied Kinvame. I wanted to ban him from calling Madam Moore, as it was Faavel who used to call me that. 

“Would you like a drink?” offered a servant.

“No thanks, let’s just start the submissions.” As we talked and talked for over an hour, about who to trust, and who is capable, not just physically but mentally. I started to ponder what Meeroc was doing, like was he still sleeping? Would he feel abandoned when he realised I sneaked off? Maybe I should have left a note for him… F**k! I feel like a crap girlfriend now, hopefully I’ll be able to master this relationship soon, just like how I mastered lying and many other things. After our hiring session is done, we moved onto even more tedious matters. Such as what uniform these new guards should wear. I excused myself at that point, wasting my potential on outfit choices was an insult to my mind. So I planned to call someone that I knew would appreciate how valuable my brain is. She was already standing outside the meeting room when I walked out. 

“I was just about to call you, Annel,” I said, half surprised. 

“I couldn’t track down Craneri, I really tried but I think she’s left the Palace.”

“It’s okay, Annel, did Remi come to you about the press conference?”

“It’s already done, and the public cheered him for it, some commoners shouted their fear of him, but it was a small percentage.” Fear Remi? His reign is starting to take a turn into something I never predicted. 

“What is the people saying about him,” I asked. 

“That he's willing to betray anyone that isn’t an Earthling just to insure his world outlives all the other Planets. After retaking the Palace without any damage, his people bowed to him.”

“People bow to Kings all the time, even when they haven’t earned it.”

“Yes, but this bow was far different from the Larferna standards. Instead, they kneeled down onto the floor, dirtying their hands in the process.” It was the slavers bow, it was a bow that showed the complete submission to a master. 

“Did Remi asked them to kneel like that,” I questioned. 

“Thats why I’m telling you this, they did it in their own accord.”

“How many people?”

“More than a hundred thousand, not just the surviving Palace residents came. The civilians  outside the Royal estates showed their support too.” 

“Was it filmed?”

“It was,” Annel quickly pulled out her solar phone and showed me the clip. She was right, near over one hundred thousand Larferna citizens acted the slavers bow for Remi. 

“Did you talk to him after this?”

“No, he went straight to his room to sleep, he said.” Remi went to sleep like it was nothing? The first time I had that many people praise me, I was preforming in my first ever concert. The amount of cheers and attention I got that day lingered with me long after the concert ended. I remembered how I stayed up for over two days thinking about it. If sleep can easily take him after what just happened, then maybe he is fit to rule? Maybe he’s immune to mass validation, and thus enables him to block out all the ego that can come with it? 

"You're his manager, shouldn't you be with him,” I asked.

"I don't want to risk waking up the King," said Annel. 

"Daylights still present, and we don't want our King to have a messed up sleeping cycle. He's got plenty of morning meetings tomorrow, so go check up on him."

“What about you, I'm your head of assistants, shouldn't I be close to you instead?"

"You want to assists me?"

"I do," she does sound eager. 

"Write a note detailing my pardons of leaving without Meer, and place it in my office where he could see it, but do it quietly, he's sleeping." Annel was probably hoping for a more important errand. I know this because the muscles located between her eyebrows are pulsing a small vibration, which I guess is her trying to hold back a frown. And in my short brief amusement of witnessing Annel’s attempt at hiding her cute frown, my phone rings. I pressed answer and activated the speaker, then I handed it to Annel.

“Hello, this is Ceoda Moore’s assistant speaking.” 

“Tell her that it’s Sergusto Reduntia, and that he’s willing to trade Octlyn for something in return. I’ll like to make my entrance here within the hour at the peak of Mount Nuru, and a proposal of what you’re willing to trade for the Heir of Larferna,” then he hung up.

“Fetch all of Remi’s War Commanders to meet us at the council room.” She sprinted away without saying goodbye, and I jogged my way into Remi’s room. 

I found him relaxing on his balcony, with a portable vaporiser in hand, taking big tokes of whatever that is making him unsober. Looks like my theory of him being immune to mass validation is false, seems like he’s dealing with his fast growth of popularity by fazing it out via weed. Maybe he’s aware of how dangerous it can be if he becomes addicted to the attention? 

“I heard about the slavers bow, how do you feel about it,” I asked, as I walked to lean on the balcony next to him. 

“I didn’t know how to react, Ceoda, was I supposed to wave my hand in response? Was I meant to bow back,” he jested, but his tone was serious. 

“So what did you do?”

“I froze and did nothing,” he mumbled. 

“Here’s some homework for you, I’ll have Annel create a video montage of how all the many leaders respond when faced with a similar situation. Watch them all and form your own opinion on how you should respond. Sound good?” he nodded with a smile and nudged my shoulder with his.

“Annel probably told you I was sleeping, so what brings you here?” he said it playfully, and went to take another hit of his vaper.

“You should hold off on that for now, we have a meeting to attend, Sergusto’s just made contact about Octlyn.”

“Where’s the meeting held,” he asked. 

“Council room, we should probably start heading,” I said, but he was already making pace to the meeting room. I galloped myself in a dignified way to catch up to him, and failed as I was the last to walk into the council room. I had a few weird stares from some of the War Commanders, no doubt thinking that being late is a commonality for me. 

“I had a phone call from Sergusto Reduntia, he’s wanting to trade Octlyn for something in return, he asked us to present him with a proposal within the hour at Mount Nuru,” I informed. 

“Why did he call you,” asked Commander Haesin.

“You jealous? Want me to tell him to call you next time?” I remarked.

“Where about on Mount Nuru are we meeting him,” asked Remipor.

“The peak,” I answered. 

“Marching the King’s army there would take more than an hour,” said War Chief Kinvame, frowning a defeated and worn out expression.

“The King should wait below Mount Nuru with his army, to be battle ready incase Sergusto tries anything,” advised Commander Haesin.

“Should the King really be there at all,” I asked. 

“The public loves our King, so why not?” Commander Haesin pointed out. 

“I’m not using the transaction of getting my cousin back as a mere publicity stunt, and I’ve only been King for about less than a month, no one can love me that fast, especially since I’ve only done three public appearances.” 

“What should we trade for Octlyn,” I asked, changing the topic.

“His weight in Larfern wood?” suggested Kinvame. 

“We should also offer something more, or at least withhold it and present it to him if he refuses the Larfern,” I said. I could see how Remi cringes at the thought of me withholding something again. 

“I mentioned to Faavel about allowing every pregnant women of Reduntia to give birth on Earth, and to let them raise their children here until they grow larger lungs to withstand the Reduntian air, before sending them back,” said Remi. 

“Okay, thats another offer, anymore?” I asked.

“Well, you killed his brother, why not have his weight in Larfern wood for a standby offer. Just incase he suddenly feels sullen about his brothers death and asks for more. That’s another counter offer right there,” suggested Commander Haesin. 

“Thats three possible offers in total,” I said, as I ignored the mocking tone in Haesin.

“And how much will this cost,” someone asked, it wasn’t any of Remi’s War Commanders, so it must be the Kingdom accountant. 

“You’re only here when we lack resources, and Larferna is the richest Kingdom to exist. So why are you here,” I asked.

“Whenever there is a transaction to be made, I make sure you all don’t go overboard with the offers,” the accountant replied.

“And are we over spending,” asked Remi.

“If you keep handing out Larfern wood by the weight of human vessels, then the public will eventually know you as the King who gave away trillions. And that could inspire a lot more kidnappers to target your close ones.” 

“Are we over spending,” Remi sternly asked again. 

“Any solutions Mr account man,” I quickly asked. 

“Offer him a small sum of money in trade for Octlyn, for the public to see. Then we secretly give him enough trillions to buy the Larfern wood himself. But I would rather let Octlyn die and have our King marry someone right now to father some heirs himself, much cheaper I’d say.”

“The King can only play the marriage card once, we should save it for when we need it most. Like for example, when we desperately need an alliance with another Planet to keep peace. That would leave us with the option of giving Sergusto the Larfern in return for Octlyn. But Reduntia is one of the poorest Planets there is, people would question why he suddenly has enough trillions to buy parts of the Larferna tree,” stated Kinvame.

“We could just lie and say he’s financing it. But I should mention that the public isn’t just our world, it’s the whole Galaxy. People will talk and theorise about todays deal, as it is the first time any Earthling Ruler has made contact with a Galaxin for a trading purpose other than soil." He’s right, maybe Sergusto has no intension of trading Octlyn, but only for the sake of opening us up for market. If we offered him even a fraction of what we intended to give, then the other worlds would no doubt queue up to be in the same situation as Sergusto. And that could act as the slow chip to Earth’s financial downfall, and eventually it’s lifespan. Sergusto has turned our harmless Octlyn into a usable weapon… 

“How many people do you think know about Octlyn’s kidnapping? Like, does the whole Galaxy know yet,” I asked. 

“Not officially but some people have suspected it,” answered Kinvame.

“What type of people? Is it just commoners, journalists or politicians?”

“I don’t know Madam, but it’s only within the Palace.” 

“The moment Sergusto broadcasts to the public that he’s got Octlyn, is the moment we need to abandon the deal,” I said.

“Why,” said Remi. 

“There are trillions of people living in our Galaxy, meaning theres a lot more Sergustos out there, I. E. kidnappers. So if you give him what he wants in front of the public’s eye, then a lot more will take his place in milking you dry,” I said. 

“Are you trying to form poetry?” mocked Commander Haesin.

“Don’t weigh in your voice when you have nothing of use to say,” instructed Kinvame. I smiled my thanks to the War Chief, as we both watched Haesin frown to himself.

“Sergusto wanting to meet us at the peak of Mount Nuru proves this theory, why else would he want such an open space to make this transaction? If not to let the whole Galaxy bare-witness, he probably even has a satellite camera hidden somewhere, broadcasting the deal on live TV.” 

“Ceoda’s right,” muttered Remi. “Getting Octlyn back will cause more damage to Larferna as a whole,” he glanced at me boldly. “Cancel the meeting with Sergusto.” 

“Then how should we get him back, My Ferna,” asked Head War Chief Kinvame.

“We’ll call him and ask to change the location,” I answered. “Annel, you managed to trace the call yet?”  

“It’s a public phone box located in the south of Derutin City, but I’ve managed to hack the Reduntian servers and stole Sergusto’s private line.”

“Call him and give me the phone,” she dialled it fast, and handed the phone even faster. It rung a total of two-seconds before someone picked up.

“Sergusto’s Butler Notsh speaking,” he said, in a posh tone.

“Sergusto’s enemy Ceoda speaking,” I mocked. Kinvame hand signalled me to put the phone on speaker, and so I did.   

“How did you get this number,” asked Notsh.

“Faavel of course, we have him alive but Sergusto hung up before we could tell him,” I lied. The faces of Remi’s war council didn’t seem amused by my sudden spontaneous venture, but Remi and Annel seems to be a fan of it.

“How do we know he’s really alive?”

“Well, you haven’t offered any prove that Octlyn’s alive, but you don’t hear us complaining about it. Now fetch us your master ay?” Haesin quickly pressed mute.

“What are planning?” he whispered, why is he whispering when he’s already muted the call? What a paranoid man… 

“I don’t know, just freestyling really,” I whispered back, and pressed un-mute.

“Butler of the century here,” I jested, and continued waiting. 

“I love unscheduled phone calls, especially from rich girls such as yourself, Ceo.”

“How you doing, Sergusto? Weather treating you okay in Reduntia?”

“Who says I’m there?”

“Just wanted to see if you’ll lie to me.”

“Oh I lie, but never about the weather, there’s no point, because anyone could just web search the current weather to catch you out.”

“How about a web search to see if your brothers alive?”

“I hear more than six men breathing, maybe even a female too. So did you call me up just to show off your taunting skills in front of your little gang?” he chuckled softly.

“I called to request a change in location,” maybe I should had used the word demand instead of request? 

“Sure, how about we meet on the island where Remi’s keeping my 800,000 soldiers?”

“Feeling sullen about your loss?”

“You folks helped revealed that 800,000 of my men were just weak surrenderer’s. If it wasn’t for the Tree Lord, those men would still be calling themselves Reduntian soldiers. Therefore I should thank Remi for firing my craven warriors in a more permanent way.” 

“You can thank him by meeting us at the Larferna Palace.”

“Nah, the chances of a trap seems likely. How about we don’t meet at all? I’ll deliver Octlyn back to you via our Galactic half-day delivery service, while you’ll mail me my Larfern wood.”

“How much do you want? And how can we be sure you’ll even send him?”

“I want to hear your proposals, and if its good, then I’ll send Octlyn first.”

“We can offer you Octlyn’s weight in Larfern wood?”

“Notsh,” he said. 

“Ser?” Notsh replied.

“Go check how much Octlyn weighs?” he ordered. “Just a moment, Ceo, I would have checked Octlyn’s weight beforehand if you had given me a little notice.” 

“He’s thirteen stone,” I said.

“It seems so,” he gasped out a low grunt. “Notsh, make sure to feed Octlyn a bit more than usual ay,” he joked.

“I’ll feed him right now, Ser.”

“So do we have a deal,” I asked.

“Nope, I want enough Larfern wood to cover Octlyn’s body size, not his weight.” I looked to the Kingdom accountant for approval, he nodded twice. 

“Okay, deal. When can we expect Octlyn back alive?”

“Since I’m sending Oct first, I need reassurance that you’ll send me my Larfern once you’ve gotten him back.”

“And what do you consider reassurance?” 

“I know you killed Faavel, Ceo, but if you had captured him alive instead, then that would had been reassuring enough. So now I want something else, his body back.”

“Done, I’ll send your brothers body at the same time you’ll be sending Octlyn. Then once we have him back, we’ll send over your Larfern wood, deal?”

“Make sure you stick a fist sized chunk of Larfern in one of Faavel’s pocket ay? I want a little taste.” 

“Sure, whatever, is that a deal,” I asked again, hoping to be done.

“You’re going to have to send my brothers body before I send Octlyn.”

“Send him to where? Back to Reduntia?”

“I have a ship parked outside Earth, I’ll text you the coordinates after I hang up.” 

“Okay, deal?”

“It’s a deal, be sure to send Faav after I hang up.” I waited for him to end the call but he was still on the line, and all we could hear was muffled breathing.

“Are you still sending Octlyn if I hang up first,” I asked.

“Sorry… I was just crossing off one of my bucket lists. Jerking off while a Quadrillionaire genius is on the other line has always been an urge in my fantasies.” And Sergusto hung up then. 

“Well, he came fast,” I jested, everyone was all smiles except Haesin.

“You should have asked if Sergusto made contact with the five ships we’ve sent to retrieve Octlyn,” noted Commander Haesin. 

“Then you should had reminded me,” I remarked.

“You’re a bloody genius no? I expected you to remember it yourself,” he barked.

“Not every genius has top peak memory, that’s so stereotypical of you,” said Remi. His reason for defending me must have been from what I’d said earlier, before he embraced me with his brotherly hug.

“We should probably call back the other ten ships, or better yet, have them look for the other five,” suggested the War Chief.

“Kinvame is right, have it done Chief,” comanded Remi. 

“Gladly, My Ferna,” he said it proudly. 

“Sergusto didn’t seem that bothered about losing his little brother, did he?” asked the accountant.

“He’s psychotic, just like his brother Faavel,” replied Kinvame.

“Psychotic people can still have emotional attachments,” he said. 

“What I’m most surprised is, why hasn’t he asked Ceo for an Exporta? Immortality has to be more appealing than saving his own people, so if he’s willing to save his Planet. Then wouldn’t that make him an emotional person?” stated Haesin.

“I’ve met a lot of world leaders in my lifetime, Sergusto is one of the cynical one’s. And saving his world will definitely make the public think otherwise,” I responded.

“So if he’s so cynical, then why didn’t he also ask for an Exporta alongside with the Larfern,” asked Haesin.

“If you were my enemy, would you trust undergoing a brain operation from me?” That shut him up. Haesin was acting the quiet Commander during our earlier war meetings, but now he speaks every chance he gets, stating obvious s**t. I wonder if the other silent Commanders in the room will follow in Haesin’s footsteps. 

“We still haven’t found Faavel’s body, and if we did, it’ll be unrecognisable due to the huge fall from the helicopter,” noted Remi. 

“I’m not even bothered about the body, I’m still thinking of why he would even trust us to send the Larfern once we have Octlyn back,” I said.

“And are we going to,” asked Annel.

“If its for the innocent people of Reduntia, then yes,” said Remipor.

“Would a body sized chunk of Larfern even save a Planet that big,” asked Kinvame.

“If their botanists are as good as mines, then a duplication could have potential,” I stated.

“How long would that take,” asked Remi.

“I don’t know, I’m not a botanist.”

“If it does indeed work, the other Planets, and especially the Galactic Government will be forced to ask us, why give it to them, and not us. We’ll be open for market,” said the accountant, at least he gets it. 

“The matter of Faavel’s body should be the priority here,” said the War Chief.

“Ceoda, you said you weren't bothered about finding his body, why,” asked Haesin.

“If you know anything about Exporta, then you’ll know that cloning is also an invention I own.”

“How did you managed to clone him, weren’t you too busy being his prisoner?”

“I was, but when Remi asked ex-commander Garferel for a photo of Sergusto. I took the time to ask for Faavel’s portrait too. Therefore gaining me the ingredient I needed to clone him.”

“So when Our Ferna staged that fake battle, why did we go through all the trouble to find a fake Sergusto? When clearly you can just clone him.” 

“Haesin, cloning is a 6 hour job, and during that staged battle, we only had hours to prepare.” 

“Why did you clone Faavel? You didn’t know Sergusto wanted his body back,” asked War Chief Kinvame.

“I clone nearly every important person I meet, incase they die and require an Exporta to survive.” Everyone in the meeting other than Annel and Remi was exchanging unsure glances at one another, no doubt thinking who I’ve thought important enough to clone.

“Where is this clone then,” asked Commander Haesin.

“Annel’s already texted someone to send it the moment Sergusto hung up on me.” 

“What about the fist sized Larfern he requested,” asked Haesin, this f*****g boy doesn’t shut up. 

“Yes, we sent that too, my Lord of Questions.”

“Where do you think he’ll send Octlyn,” asked Remi.

“Probably near the Palace,” replied the Chief.

“Kinvame’s right, though we should station more men for lookouts around the Palace,” I suggested.

“And some ground scouts a few miles out, and air scouts too.”

“Commander Haesin, you will take the charge for Head of Lookouts. Meeting ends here?” Everyone nodded in approval, as no one else had anymore questions, not even Commander Haesin. 

I left the council meeting with Remi, while every other person rushed to get their jobs done. The King seemed a lot more like his old self, after hearing that he’ll be seeing his pal Octlyn again. 

“Why did you gave Haesin the command of the scouts,” I asked. 

“Sergusto mentioned that he’s sending Octlyn via his Galactic half-day delivery service. Meaning Haesin’s going to be waiting for hours, and we all know him to be the talker. I heard a scouters job gets boring, and I know Haesin to be a man that will keep his men company with his non-stop chit chatting skills,” he sarcastically said. 

“A ruler who give commands to those who plays at jests are in danger of becoming a rational leader.”

“You always jest, and I gave you the command of my Royal council, was that rational too?”

“Yeah but I didn’t joke my way to earn that promotion,” I remarked.

“Should I recall the meeting and give the scouting job to someone else?”

“Too late for that now.” 

“Do you think Faavel was bluffing when he said Sergusto mouth raped him?” Even I don’t know, from what I’ve seen so far, the Reduntians is an insane bunch.

“Bluffing most like,” I lied. “We should still get him a psychiatrist for when he comes back though.” 

“Makes sense,” he agreed. We walked for a bit, without a destination. It was funny, two of the most powerful people on this world are currently not busy. I always thought Remipor was the curious type, going through nearly a decade of being bullied and forced to be alone, could only result in Quent living in his own mind. And when you’ve lived in your own mind for that long, you tend to wonder about what other people minds are like. Which was oddly weird, because he hasn't even asked me a question of what I've been up to all these years. If you just discovered that you had a long lost sibling, wouldn't you want to ask about them? I think I just admitted to being a hypocrite… I am playing the big sister after all. I should do the asking first. I was just about to ask him about his past when he turned to me.

"I'm thinking of adding Kinvame to my Royal council, what do you think?"

"Well, so far we have Annel, you, and me, so adding a War Chief would definitely enhance things.”

"Any more candidates,” he asked.

"That Kingdom accountant seems knowledgeable, maybe have him do a trial test?"

“Add Kinvame to the trail too then,” I nodded while texting Annel to form up a test, as well as a list of candidates. Remi was quiet again, time to ask about his past then.

“What has my little brother been up�"” I was interrupted by one of the Larferna guards. 

“My Ferna, there’s a cylinder like object parachuting down, we think it’s Lord Remelan.” 

“Where?” 

“Near your Royal gardens,” the young soldier informed. Remi was rushing away before I even bothered to give my reaction. I tailed him like a dog as usual, when he visits my Kingdom, I’ll have him tail me instead. 

Kerra Marcie had always loved gardens, Remipor told me that she has a glass garden herself at the back of her little tree restaurant. And seeing her in Remipor’s garden was usually a commonality, it was her favourite place to chill. So now his beloved Octlyn will make her favourite place his homecoming destination, coincidence? F**k knows… Everyone was in position when I got there. Remi, Annel and Kerra is standing a quarter mile away from the parachuting cylinder package, it was in the size of a human body. Larferna soldiers was in position to pursue the package as soon as it lands. Commander Haesin was advising the men on what to expect when I walked over to interrupt his meeting. He started his usual frown towards me, but I saw something different in his eyes for the first time. His eyes were the same as any man who wanted to bed me, maybe he’s been purposely acting the a*****e in front of me this whole time, because some men usually treat their crushes with disdain. Apparently someone gave them the advice to treat the people you adore with a s**t attitude, because girls like a******s supposedly. Maybe that was popular back in the twentieth century, but definitely not in this era.

“What’s the plan Haesin? Do you have the bomb scouts ready?”

“Bomb scouts?”

“When you get a delivery from Sergusto Reduntia, would you just carelessly open it,” I asked. 

“My men know what to do,” he stated.

“Tell me what their plan is then,” I said.

“See for yourself,” and I did. The cylinder coffin has just landed, and his soldiers started to make their way to it. They had these sticks that I presume are bomb detectors, the package was less than a quarter mile from us, so we watched as Haesin’s bomb squad made their slow way to retrieve Octlyn. Before anyone could reach it, the latch to the cylinder coffin opened. Octlyn fell to his knees, making us think that his legs are damaged. He sticks his face into the grass ground that is Larferna, and breathed in enough air to be considered over indulging. 

“I thought I’ll never breath this air again,” he laughed to himself, then he turned serious when he saw that the whole Royal court was staring at him, most of all Remipor, his King. The soldiers quickly rushed to him, two men abandoned their sticks of detection, picked Octlyn up by the arm and carried him back to us.

“Get him a chair,” I ordered.

“And the Doctors too,” added Quent. 

“Check if he has any blood metal in his bloodstream,” I quickly told the Doctor. I also texted my Exporta surgeons to do a brain sync on Octlyn, just so I could witness what really happened to him. 

“Que… Remi, Sergusto’s plan was to lure your army onto his Planet. If you go there, we won’t stand a chance, the air they have, it’s incompatible with us. It’s fu�"”

As our ears started to shun it’s usefulness to us, I glanced around everywhere in panic, trying to find the source that produced everyone’s ears into mute mode. The cylinder coffin was in several unattainable pieces, accommodated with flames from the explosion that had just happened.

“Guards, standby for possible attacks,” it was Haesin who shouted the command. But I knew Sergusto hasn’t planned anymore attacks, he just planned a failed assassination is all. 

“An attempted bombing,” speculated Annel.

“A delayed bombing now,” I corrected. My phone instantly started ringing, I handed it to Annel to answer, but she stood frozen.  

“It’s Sergusto calling,” she said. 

“I’ll answer it instead,” I took the phone back from her, and quickly ran a few responses in my head. Finally I answered the phone call. 

“Ceoda’s enemy Sergusto speaking,” he mocked, saying it in the same posh tone as his butler, Notsh.

“You killed him,” I lied, as I pretended to cry, while starring at Octlyn.

“We had a deal, you were going to send him back alive,” I stated emotionally.

“I did send him back alive, but I never said I won’t kill him once he’s back. I thought you were a genius Ceo,” not him too… Seems like no one is giving me a break with the ‘I thought you were a genius’ whenever I miss-read a situation. 

“Why,” I asked, while trying to ignore the last half of his most recent reply.

“For balance. Now Remi and I both have no heirs, he’ll have to marry soon I suppose. May I recommend someone from Reduntia? Peace is always solved when both sides marry one another.”

“Killing Remi’s heir doesn’t buy you peace Sergusto, and neither will you ever have it, but your people still can.” I hung up on him then, and went to join Remi and Kerra with their celebrations of Octlyn’s homecoming.

“Was that really Sergusto,” asked Oct, I nodded yes. 

“He called to gloat about his supposed assassination of you, but I lied and told him you died.”

“Why give him the thought of victory,” asked Remipor.

“If he knew he failed, then Sergusto would most likely form up another plan, which might prove to be worst than killing Octlyn.”

“Like what,” asked Haesin, suddenly looming behind me.

“I don’t know, want to call him up and ask yourself,” I taunted. 

“I don’t want to sound selfish, but I am. I need a blunt or something, my captives kept me sober for the whole time,” said Octlyn, then he faced Quent. “If you want your old friend back, then get him a joint.” Remi smiled at that, while Kerra was still holding her full attention at Octlyn’s changed face. As he’s gained himself quite the stubble, and possibly a new frown line.

“Lets hotbox the King’s kitchen and you can tell us about what happened on Reduntia,” I said. Then we left Haesin the command of cleaning up Remi’s garden. 

We didn’t really head straight for the kitchen, that was just a plan in the books for whenever Octlyn’s settled. Remi had his Doctors do a look over at Oct’s physicality, nothing was damaged so that was unexpected, and no blood metal was found too. Sergusto might just have better self control than I presumed, which may turn in his favour. Then we left Kerra and Octlyn to catch up or something, for the benefit of their emotions. I originally suggested Remi to postpone their reunion, as discussing what happened to Octlyn was far more important than a relationship between two people. But the sensitive King didn’t listen, and after forty minutes, we were finally in the kitchen with Octlyn, Remi, myself, and Kerra… The War Chiefs, Annel, and the Commanders should attend too, but Quent wanted to keep it informal for Octlyn, which was understandable. Strangers aren’t really the faces you want to see, when you’ve just came back from a long weekend of being kidnapped by a ruthless world leader. Octlyn was raiding the fridge with a blunt in his hand, while Kerra happily whispered to me that Sergusto never actually mouth raped him. So one of the most ruthless leaders has sent back his only leverage without any physical abuse? Now I plan to find out if Sergusto has mentally fucked Octlyn up. 

“What happened on Reduntia,” I finally asked, but he replied facing Quent instead. 

“Sergusto’s plan was to kidnap Remi and I, to lure the Larferna army onto his Planet. I was mad when I saw that you only sent five ships to retrieve me, but now I wished you sent none at all.” So he has fucked him mentally. 

“What do you mean? What happened to those ships,” asked Remipor. 

“The ships survived, though the men inside them are all dead.”

“How?” 

“As soon as they landed on Reduntia, the air they breathed in wasn’t enough to satisfy their lungs. They were in a constant lack of oxygen, and fighting to save me only worsened their stamina. Most of them died probably due to suffocation, but the Reduntians grew up breathing that air, so they’re adapted to it.” I glanced from Octlyn to Remi. Oct was predictably sad, and Quent was mumbling to himself about the stupidity of allowing pregnant Reduntians to raise their children here, before sending them back, and now he knows that he was just offering them a delayed death sentence. 

“I guess I was right about Sergusto,” I said to myself.

“Right about?” said Kerra. I forgot she was beside me.

“That he’s cynical, because he’s attempted to murder Octlyn just to get even for killing his brother. Instead, he could have traded Oct for enough Larfern to save his Planet, or at least a small section of it.”

“I’m still sending it, Ceoda,” spoke up Remi.

“Sergusto broke the deal, so you’re not obliged to still send him the Larfern,” I said, shocked that he’s giving away trillions to a man who just attempted to kill his heir.

“I want to save Reduntia, but not the villains living on it.”

“From what I’ve seen, near enough everyones a villain on Reduntia,” added Octlyn.

“And how much can a captive really see? Or are you speaking out of anger,” I asked. Oct took a hit of his blunt in response, to keep his anger at bay most like. 

“I wished we held this catch up session at the bar instead,” confessed Octlyn, changing the topic.

“I thought you needed something to eat first,” I smiled. Kerra bended down under the kitchen sink to pull out a bottle of alcohol. 

“Type of drink is that,” asked Remipor.

“It’s a brew I ma�"”

“I don’t even care what it is Kerra, get pouring and I might just preform some sexual acts for you tonight.” I thought that’s what they’ve been doing for the past forty minutes. 

“Okay,” she said eagerly. 

“No offence to Kerra, but hold on for a sec.” I texted Annel to send in a poison taster to the Kitchen we’re in. And the taster arrived like he was standing outside the whole time. Kerra poured the man a shot and he downed it.

“Its poison free, My Ferna,” he confirmed to Remi. 

“Good, would you care to pour us all a drink before you leave?” 

“Of course,” he poured Kerra’s homemade wine into V-shaped glasses, then left. I raised my glass up for all to see, “To Octlyn’s health.” Everyone drank it in one full gulp, I wasn’t sure what type of alcohol this is, but I thought we were meant to sip at it. I nudged Kerra to my attention and asked. 

“Is this lemon�"”

“Lemon grass and sherbet wine.” 

“A drink that I will drink until I die,” complimented her boyfriend. Then everyone sort of touched their faces in unison, including me. Larferna guards are now guiding my body to lay on the sofa by the corner. The white skin on my face was now temporally converted into a dark sticky redness. It was all over Kerra’s face too, and Remi’s, all except Octlyn. As his face was blown clean off. Kerra was screaming as predicted, I would probably do the same if it was Meeroc. And Remi was in shock, lacking any sort of response. Though I wasn’t reacting the way everyone else is, I was waiting on Sergusto’s phone call instead. And surely he did, and surely I answered. 

“Someone I like told me that the best way to achieve something, was to put goal in your head, don’t tell anyone, and if you achieved it, then people should notice a difference. Can you notice my achievement, Ceoda?” I kept silent, and felt tainted by him quoting me.

“Many centuries ago, painters would often splash a few colours onto a canvas and call it art. And today I stepped that game up by splashing it on the floors of the Larferna Palace, with a brush I like to call alcohol bomb.” This time I had to say something.

“What is an alcohol bomb?” 

“It’s Reduntian technology so you won’t understand it fully, but the brief explanation is that I placed a very small bomb on Octlyn’s throat while he was unconscious, and it can only be triggered by one thing, alcohol.” I didn’t stay silent on purpose, but I remained that way for some reason. I was coming to realise that the assassination attempt on Octlyn earlier was just Sergusto teasing us of his real plan. Then Quent ran across to where I am, and I quickly pressed the speaker button before he grabbed the phone from me. 

“You blew my cousin’s head off you terrorist f**k!”

“I know Octlyn's a handsome guy, Remi, but blowing up his entire upper body, including his face. Insures me that Ceoda wouldn't be able to use Exporta to revive him. Because killing is such an emotional task, and I really can't be bothered murdering Octlyn again. I’ve kinda grown an infatuation towards him you see.” Sergusto giggled to himself in a way that made me want to smash up my phone. 

“Before I hang up, I should advise you and Ceoda to look out the window on your north side.” We both rushed to the window by the north of us. 

“You guys in view yeah?” he asked. “I’ll take your silences as confirmation, now get ready to watch without blinking.” And once the Reduntian b*****d hung up, enough missiles to cover the Palace was falling from the clouds, and were coming down onto the roots of the Larferna tree. The bombs kept coming down from above, most likely from space, so a defence attack was impossible at this moment; as we have no space soldiers protecting us. 

“My Ferna! All nine million of your Larfern guards are dead,” rushed out War Chief Kinvame. No one had a response for him, we were all too distracted with watching the Reduntians yank the Larferna Tree from it’s roots, and gone they were with the one thing that made Earth so valuable. The great air of Earth started to dilute from existence as the Larferna Tree departed from its original home. Ever since I landed here, I have spent almost all of my time securing my residency. I have used up a lot of brain power in gaining the trust of the owner of the tree, that I forgot to protect the tree itself. I made the mistake of allowing the mass number of Larfern guards to bypass my worry of losing the one thing, that would be insuring my everlasting future. But when you’re an immortal, you never stop learning, and learning usually tags along with mistakes. This is the first time I’ve meddled in warfare, so mistakes, even for a genius, are ofttimes unavoidable, or am I even a genius anymore…