27. The King’s Confession

 

Having the whole of Earth expecting a young man with no experience in warfare, to succeed in this war against the Galactic Government, is oftentimes worse than being bullied. The pressure and judgment that comes with leading an army into the vast darkness of space, to find a Tree that was planted by my ancestors, is a job that requires too much mental capabilities, in which a twenty-one year old mind is unqualified to take part in, but having the same DNA and bloodline to the people who managed to succeed in this, somehow makes me eligible for the role. It’s 3015, shouldn’t hereditary monarchies on Earth be banished by now? 

Having only one person to solely rule the world is considered stupidly inefficient, and that would be true if there was only one world humans reside on, but given how humans invented an option to choose a home on multiple worlds. Wouldn't it be easier to have a leader per world to discuss matters of worldly state, than that of reaching out to the multiple countries on those separate worlds for communications? Ceoda said to me that a King of the world does not rule it, but speaks for it, like an ambassador. The image of King is only an illusion for structure, but the only Planets that use this illusion is Earth and Reduntia. And they say Earth abuses this power the most. So I’ve been investing more thought on quitting my Kingship than thinking about the deal those Galaxins queried a day ago. They’re living two floors below our hotel suite, awaiting for my answer. Ceoda knows the owner Gallois himself, so we managed to score the best room on this floating hotel. Judging how I’m King, I thought I wouldn’t have need to drop names just to get a room worthy of Royalty, but I now realised that my Kingly status only applies on Earth, which makes sense considering I’m the King of Earth, and not the King of the Galaxy.

“My Ferna,” interrupted Kinvame. 

“You here to hurry my response to the Galactic f***s residing below us?”

“I came here to hurry the process of dispatching off this hotel, My Ferna.” I wished my step sister Ceoda was here to mentor me, but having her babysit my world was better than giving the Regency to someone I don’t know. And calling her for advice is recommended to be avoided by my War Councillors, due to the communication hackers.

“Dispatch to where,” I asked.

“To the next Planet for the gather intel, we’ve already leached as much as we could from this miniature world, My Ferna.”

“I didn’t ask for the reason why we should go, I asked where we should go.”

“Our scouts say that Planet Hon is a good place to start.”

“What makes it so good to start?”

“The Tree robbers was last speculated to be refilling their ships at Planet Hon.”

“Prepare to dispatch and send that Galaxin to my suite.” I wanted to say, please at the end of my demand, but apparently it’s not Kingly to say please or thanks to any of my employees. I mean servants…  

“On it My Ferna,” confirmed Kinvame. Asking him to stay for the meeting would have been wise, though I didn’t want my War Chief judging me for the response I have planned for the Galaxin. He was quick to arrive, and was greeted in by a new assistant that Ceoda sent me just under a day ago.

“You can leave us, Ms. Watson.” I was still getting used to her, so I decided to avoid addressing her on a first name basis. 

“You forgot to introduce the envoy by name,” whispered my butler to Craneri. 

“The Envoy Jerry Masonger, representing General Virton, My Ferna,” she quickly said, I waved Eri my permission to leave with my butler. Though my Kings guard was still present. 

“Have you created an official response for the General Virton, Mr Larferna?” It was odd being called Mr than that of My Ferna or King Remipor, but I gladly welcomed the taste of normalcy. 

“I do, but I also have some questions for you to answer before you shall have mines, fair enough?” I said.

“Ask away,” he kindly gestured me to begin. 

“Everyone in the Galaxy knows that I’m actively pursuing the search for the Larferna Tree, and your Government wants me to stop and is offering me residency near the new location of my ancestral Tree.”

“That’s correct,” he said.

“If I was agree now and once I know the location, what’s to stop me and my army from taking it back then and there?”

“We have enough man power to stop any attempt on such things, Mr Larferna.”

“Wars in the thirty-first century isn’t just won by brute force anymore, the Larferna Tree isn’t a rope that people can merely use for a game of tug of war.”

“And that is why we should share it, before we both tug too much and break it.”

“What I find hard to agree on is that your Government would be so trusting of allowing us the new location of the Larferna Tree.”

“You’re right about how wars today can’t be won by simply brute force, it is now won by contracts, a contract that I have right here for you to sign. Stating that if you betray us once we have given you the location of what you’re seeking, then we would have permission to export you from the Tree’s locale with our full retaliation.” 

“Ambush seems more likely waiting for us than the Larferna Tree, Jerry.”

“So paranoia is the great prevention of the peace treaty?”

“Having every human on Earth relying on me gives me the excuse to feel paranoid, and this isn’t a peace treaty worth considering.”

“Then what is?” I’ll rather discuss that with your boss, Jerry.

“Why would your General send me an expendable envoy, but Ceoda Moore gets an ambassador, like Wyman? Is your General Virton scared of me and my people, Jerry?”

“We’re at war with you Mr Larferna, not Ms Moore.”

“Hows it feel knowing that you’re expendable then?”

“Talking to world leaders and passing on important messages that could save millions to billions of lives, seems like a fair trade if all the risk I have to endure is being expendable.” 

“So being close to important people makes you feel important?”

“It’s a side effect I happen to take pride in.”

“So how important do I make you feel, Jerry?”

“If you accept the peace treaty I’m here to offer, then I’ll be feeling pretty damn important to history, Mr Larferna,” he said hopefully.  

“But Jerry, you won’t be remembered in history at all. Try naming all the envoys who delivered the peace treaties that stopped all the wars that have been fought over these past centuries?” 

“I don’t do this to be remembered by the people who read history books, I do it to save lives.”

“Then you’re only saving the lives of wicked men.” 

“Is that the message you want me to bring General Virton? That I’ll never be in the history books?” he giggled out.

“Just because I refuse whats offered here today, doesn’t mean I’ll refuse future negotiations. But what I want you to relay to General Virton is that I want to hear his main offer, not this residency bull crap that only Ceoda would go for.” No offence to my step-sister. 

“How’d you know we offered her a similar proposal?” Wait, they really did? I wonder what Ceoda’s response was?

“Ceoda always had a passion for living on my Planet, and you just confirmed that she made a deal with you folks in return for a residency near my ancestors Tree.” His muscles between his eyebrows were struggling to keep down a possible frown, indicating that he could be regretting what he had just accidentally revealed. 

“Tell me what she promised you in return,” I asked, with the type of tone that Jakcon used on me during my schooling days, the time when he bullied me non-stop. 

“She’s your Regent, ask her yourself and leave me out of it, I’m just an envoy.”

“Anward,” my toughest Kings guard approached me.

“Yes, My Ferna?” he said. 

“My verbal talents don’t seem to work on Jerry, maybe you should try and use your physical talents to do what I seem to fail on.” Without any word of confirmation to what I’d just asked, Anward quickly took out his mini knife, pulled down Jerry’s trousers and snipped off the envoys left testicle, and my other guard quickly planted a towel below Jerry’s crotch, to catch some of the blood thats dripping, as I hate dirty floors. 

“I always predicted that revealing myself to this sort of violence, would somehow bring back the memories of my teenage bully, Jakcon Remelan. But I have to admit, this is on a whole new level, in which is completely not reminding me of Jakcon. In fact, it’s showing me how easy I had it, because I only had a few bruises, whereas you have a missing ball.” Why have I become so bold? The old Quent that I was, would most likely do what I’d just done, but only in his head. So why did I actually do it? Was it really my shyness that was holding me back the whole time, as Ceoda had said before.

“So what did Ceoda give you guys,” I asked slowly, while struggling to slow the adrenaline that is so clearly making my voice shake a bit.

“For permission to allow Planet Sankto to breed livestock on the Vingt Kings territories.”

“Send him to my private surgeon to have his testicle sewed back, and send in my psychiatrist.”   

“Yes, My Ferna,” said Anward.

“Don’t worry Jerry, my surgeons will have you reproducing in no time,” I shouted, while my men took him away. 

Before I set off in search for the Larferna Tree, my councillors, and Ceoda included, prepared a care package suited only for Kings. It included the best Doctors, surgeons, a psychiatrist, an unknown number of undercover bodyguards whom I don’t even know where they are as of right now. I have cases of my blood type, an Exporta machine, lecturers in all fields of education. A batch of the most attractive women, skilled at the arts of physical pleasure, which I have distanced myself from, as I don’t want to connect on a physical level before I even had the chance to connect with them on a mental basis. All I see is lust, and impulse actions don’t usually reward you with the longterm satisfaction that I desire. Maybe that’s why I sent for the psychiatrist to ease my stress, than that of a simple ejaculation. 

“My Ferna? I have your psychiatrist, Dr Yerno,” it was Ceoda’s recommended assistant, Craneri Watson, who brought him in. Since finding out about how Ceoda secretly gave permission to turn my Planet into another capitalist world, I started wondering if she sent Eri to spy on me. If so, then I should keep her around, and maybe use her to relay false information to her real employer, if she does indeed have one. Or maybe I should get Anward to confront her.

“You can leave us, Ms Watson.” She bowed and exited. 

“I have been theorising when you would summon me, My Ferna,” said Dr Yerno.

“How long does this therapy session last, Doctor?”

“Industry standards state that it should only be one hour, but since you’re my King, the session can end whenever it pleases you.”

“An hours fine, for now.” He begun by gathering two chairs, and facing them in opposite directions, at a healthy distance of course. 

“Tell me why you decided to see me,” he gently asked.

“First you tell me who hired and recommended you to be my psychiatrist.” Please don’t let him be another one of Ceoda’s recommendation, after what she’d kept from me, I can’t trust her right now. 

“I was approached by your Royal councillors,” he said.

“Which one?” As Ceoda is part of my council too.

“The Head War Chief Kinvame, he asked me to work as your psychiatrist because I was considered the best on Earth.” I nodded my relief and begun to answer his question,

“I wanted to see you because just recently, I ordered one of my guards to conduct violence on a man that I wanted answers from. What scares me is that I don’t feel any guilt, I thought I would, since I’ve experienced violent acts against myself in the past.”

“Did it give you any pleasure in the suffering of that man you wanted answers from?”

“It pleased me that I managed to get the answer I wanted from him, but that was it.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“What made you diagnosed me as worried?”

“I’ve been in your employ for three days now, and you finally called me in for a session just moments after you ordered a man to be attacked for intel. You’re obviously worried that you may be a sociopath.” 

“Am I?”

“I need more time spent with you in order to give you a full diagnose of your mental health.”

“You said you were one of the best psychiatrist on Earth?”

“Nominated by my patients.”

“But now am your only patient?”

“You are.”

“What happened to your old clients?”

“Your War Chief Kinvame made me disconnect with them, as taking care of the King is a full-time job.”

“Considering you’re the best, your price per hour must be very expensive.”

“It is, My Ferna.”

“And the ex-clients who paid you must be very rich indeed.”

“They are financially secure, if that answers your question.”

“They must also be powerful people too. Who were they?”

“Client confidentiality restricts me from answering that, My Ferna.”

“What if the King orders you to?” If Dr Yerno does indeed have past clients whom are powerful people, then taking away their Doctor to keep for myself, might conjure me some possible enemies in the future.

“No one powerful enough to disrupt your peace, My Ferna.” Dr Yerno slyly said. 

“How can you be so sure,” I asked.

“They ran a risk check before hiring me, and the same for my past clients too, incase any of them decide to showcase any angry towards me or you, for abandoning them for their King.”

“And how to do feel about ditching all your clients for me?”

“All psychiatrists are heavily curious about the workings of the human mind, especially the minds of leaders. Plus, I’ve already studied and peaked my interest on all my old clients. You are as fresh as they come, along with the royally status, it made my decision in taking this job easier, My Ferna.”

“So I’m just another research case?”

“Every client a psychiatrist takes on, goes towards their practice, experience and research, it is the key to what makes the best Doctors.”

“So what if you decide to drop me for a better, more interesting client, like Ceoda Moore for example.”

“Even if I wanted to, I have signed a contract binding me to you for life, a hundred years to be exact, unless you fire me.”

“Any regrets,” I asked. 

“Ask me that again after a few more sessions.”

“Then I’m ready to begin.” He merely smiled courteously in response.

“What was your plan originally? Before all the King stuff happened,” he asked. That question shocked me for a bit, no one has asked that yet, not even Ceoda, Atalie, nor Octlyn.

“The plan was to work a summer job at Kerra Marcie’s restaurant.”

“I meant what was your plan, not the plan your ex-guardian made for you.”

“How’d you know about my ex-guardian?”

“Your councillors gave me your life story, or personal files as they called it.”

“So you know about Quent.”

“I also know about Jakcon, and what his purpose was.”

“And what was that? What did the file say?”

“That he was there to make you hesitate as a habit, for when you become Ruler of the most desired Planet.”

“Then why wasn’t I hesitating when I ordered that envoy to be hurt?”

“That is something I want to find out too. Now answer me this time, what was your original plan before you realised that you are King.” It took me a few precious seconds to think before I could answer Dr Yerno.

“I just wanted to find a friend at that time.” And I did, Octlyn Remelan was conveniently introduced when I finished my schooling, just right after his big brother Jakcon finished his mission of bullying me. 

“Seems to me, even your original plan was manipulated, and the idea planted, thus you have no original plan to begin with.” 

 “If you knew that, then why ask at all?”

“To see how truthful you are, and if you were to lie, then I would have discovered how you would lie. Or one of the many ways on how you would lie.”

“If I don’t want to tell you something, I won’t lie, I’ll just merely tell you why I can’t tell.”

“That suits me fine, My Ferna.” 

“A few more questions and I’m calling an end to the session.”

“But what we just talked about so far is only a zipper to a very large unzipped bag.” 

“We’ve got a hundred years to explore that bag, Yerno.” 

“Fine, then how many questions do you consider a few?” Am surprised he never corrected me to address him as Doctor, as I know this to be a Doctors pride.

“Theres three letters to the word few, so lets just round it up to three questions.”

“Okay, how do you feel about losing the Larferna Tree?” the question he asked didn’t seemed cheeky, instead it sounded sincere and genuine, which inspired me to answer him honestly.

“I don’t care at all.”