Saul turned his eyes in his son's direction as he listened to what he had to say. It was rather pointless to him, though, since the Prime Minister's authority was not absolute, even if he could possibly get away with some things. Parliament was a legislative body whose Prime Minister was chosen from the political party with the most seats. Lopez had executive powers, yes, yet they were still checked by the legislative branch of Parliament in some way.
Besides, he could understand how matters in policy making came to be. The final king with absolute authority in Metargo, about a thousand years ago, abused his authority in ways unimaginable today, which prompted the nobles of the time to rally the masses of the people and convince the royal family during that era to sign the first of several documents which gradually took away authority from the King and emplaced in a council which would eventually become Parliament. A thousand years have passed since that time, and here was the result. In all honesty, Saul was relieved that the royal family's authority has not been absolute for so long. In his eyes, that was one less thing to worry about abusing.
Karenâs eyes close to his, which was comforting, in all honesty, interrupted his thoughts. Hearing her words, he managed a soft smile. âOf course, Karen.â He laughed a little when she mentioned being prompt. âNo problem with being early, I suppose. It would show that we are serious about this. I just finished what I wrote, so Iâll be waiting outside, my dear.â
Turning towards Scoar, he said to him, âI know you are trying to prove yourself, Scoar, but we already know you are capable.â Patting him on the shoulder as only a father would, he asked him, âIs it not that which counts?â With that, he went out the door and waited in the hallway.
--
Aaron nodded towards Beathasâ questions and heard what May said. He waited for the princessâ answer to Specialist Fermanaâs question before saying anything. With the idle chat out of the way, Aaron said, âSince everyone is up, already, we should get on with the escort. May and Kyle shall go with your parents and brother.â A glare towards Kyle, he said to him, in particular, âAnd no funny business with anyone along the way to Diplomacy Hall, inside it, or coming out of it, Private!â
Kyle glared back. âItâs not like I donât have boundaries or shame, Sergeant!â
Shrugging, Aaron then turned his attention back to Beathas. âIâll come with you. And, as for Cain, I think itâs time he actually did as he was told, for once.â Getting on the commucations device on his concealed wristband, he contacted Cain with, âSpecialist Numi, Iâve had enough of your goofing off! Youâre part of Lion Team, now, which means you canât go doing your own thing all the time! Weâre here to escort the royal family, not to party, so get your ass over here to the hotel, right now! Donât make me tell you again!â Hanging up, he told Beathyas, âSorry, your highness, for the language, but Cain is so irritating, thinking he can run off all the time. Had he taken his part in the squadron seriously, Iâll bet the so-called âEagle of Mercyâ would have been shot down during the invasion that took place here in Benjlakk, before we continued the4 fight with Mysticara.â
Kyle put his hand on Aaronâs shoulder while expressing his annoyance. âOh, come on, Aaron! Youâre not still hung up on Zechariah Malachi beating you in mech combat, are you?â Aaronâs glare made Private Scipio cross his arms angrily while glancing away with, âI know, stupid question. Iâll just be going with May to escort the rest of the family, like you said.â
While Kyle went with May to do that, Aaron was about to speak further when he spotted two Benjlakki soldiers coming their way, one of whom he was familiar with. Crossing his arms, his eyes motioned for Beathas to look in that direction while he said, âWell, what do you know? The famous âEagle of Mercyâ has come to this building.â Glancing in Zechariah direction, he asked, âAnd, what would he be doing here?â
Zechariah saw and heard Aaron Lextu, whose voice he remembered well, which set his teeth on edge. With Aaron right in front of him, Zech answered the question while glaring back. âI happen to be patrolling, Aaron, plus helping out a new addition to Brown Wing Team. Donât pretend we have anything to talk about, since you seem to only care about some stupid reputation, just like during the invasion.â
Aaronâs teeth were now gritting. âThe Lextu family tradition is stupid, you say? What about the Malachi family tradition that you seem to be upholding, similar to my family tradition, along with your own] reputation? You take no pride in that?â
Zechariah clenched his fist that was hanging beside him. âMilitary tradition means nothing to me. I heard of the horrors of war, and I came to hate fighting because of that.â
âSo, why did you fight, then?â
âI was drafted. I had no choice but to fight.â
Aaron scoffed at that response. âA Malachi that was drafted? Thatâs a laugh.â Glancing in Beathasâ direction, he posed the query, âIsnât that right, Princess Beathas?â
âThereâs a first time for everything, Aaron. BesidesâĻâ Before he could say what else he wanted to say, the name all of a sudden registered into his mind, which made his eyes widen in shock, his anger quickly dissolved. âWait a minute! Did you say Beathas?â
Aaron glanced back in his direction, âOf course, I did1 Is it really a surprise that the Princess of Metargo would be in Benjlakk for this event?â
âSheâs theâĻ Princess?â
Aaron crossed his arms. âWell, duh! You didnât know that?â
Zechariah glanced in the girlâs direction and finally got a good look at her. It was definitely the same woman, which added to his surprise. âNo, IâĻ I didnât know.â
âAnd she did not know you were a member of the Malachi family, huh?â
Zechariah shook his head, then walked on over to the Princess. âBeathas, IâĻ Iâm sorry for not telling you sooner. I did not want you to focus on what the media or news said about me if you were to know I was actually this rumored âEagle of Mercyâ. I wanted you to focus on the real me, not what others say about me. Iâm not some legend looking to make a bigger name of the Malachi family.â He took her hands gently, looking in her purple eyes with his blue ones, and continued. âIâm justâĻ Zechariah. That is what matters, isnât it?â
--
Sarxas glanced in Clarissaâs direction while pondering for a brief moment. âHmmâĻ a kingdom, you say, and a smaller one, at that? There are only two kingdoms out of the smaller nations, and you donât look like a Dwarvaran. Is it safe to assume you are from Betaku, Clarissa?â Tapping on the tablet again, the tiger Feliniri immigrant added, âWell, anyway, the nearest hotel would be to the south of Diplomacy Square.â A piece of paper with directions came out, which she handed to the white-haired woman. âHere. The directions to the place are easy enough to follow. Oh, and my name is Sarxas. It's... Feliniri for 'Sarah'.â
--
Benjamin laughed a little when Clarissa spun around in her child-like way. Even after the hard fighting in the previous war, she maintained some degree innocence. âWell, letsâ go, thenâ
It took a bit to make it to the scientific sector of town, but they made it right when Benjamin received a message on his Communication Disk. It was from Lilira, which made his eyes widen. He had not contacted her in a while, and she wanted some time with him here, In Justicra, it seems. He tried to get in touch with her, but no response. Finally, he just left a message.
Hey, Lilira,
Itâs me, Benjamin. Iâm currently patrolling the scientific area with a friend. I should be near you, so If I see you, Iâll come talk to you, okay? Sorry for not getting in touch with you sooner.
Hanging up, Ben sighed and told Catrina. âThat was a childhood friend of mine from back in Southeast Fertaninn, Lilira Nonora. We were very close before the war, not that a relationship started or anything. Although, I wish one had between her and I. I could have refused to enlist, but back then, I was bent on upholding the family name where my younger brother refused to until he was drafted, which kind of adds to the guilt for not getting in touch with her for a while.â His smile when looking at Catrina, again, was more of a sad one as he rubbed her head like a sibling would. âHey, donât worry about it, okay? Letâs just get back to what we were doing.â
Continuing the patrol in the area, the last thing he expected was to see an unconscious individual dragged by two men in black suits and ties. âWhat theâĻâ He took a closer look at who it was being dragged, then noticed the brown-haired girl as the same one that just tired to get in touch with him. That made his eyes widened as he sprinted in that direction. âLilira!â
It was at that moment that the man not holding on to the unconscious girl pulled out a plasma handgun and fired upon Ben, whom barely had enough time to evade and take cover behind a wall while motioning for Catrina to do the same. Once he was certain the redhead was beside him and safe for the moment, he shouted, âDamn! That guy has had military training, I can tell!â Pulling out his own handgun, the Corporal leaped out of cover to shoot the attacker in the head, only to find out Lilira was already in the hovercar and vanishing. âNo!â Just as he said that, one of the men in the car threw an grenade in his direction, which he got out of the way of in time to grab Catrina and pull her away from the blast. Looking at the redhead, he asked, âYou okay?â
--
Gracchus laughed with Machara for a moment. âWell, coffee in bed does sound nice for everybody. I may do that, sometime.â Shrugging, he added, âAnd yes, there are big plans. We are, after all, escorting the Chieftain of Natrulkra and the Head Councilor of Mysticara. All three of us have been chosen for that.â
While everyone else grabbed a mug, Agathe added, âI am a bit worried, though: not just that this meeting may turn out unproductive, but also because of this alliance we are forming with Caninisia. That country and Felinir have had a rivalry in several ways over the years, something that has caused friction between them. Should this alliance become official, the Feliniri might side with Metargo just to oppose the Caninisians.â
Gracchus nodded. âI know. That is disturbing. But, thereâs nothing we can do about it, so weâll just worry about whatâs going on here, for now.â Laughing some more, he added, âAnyway, Machara, about being coffee crazy. I grew up around coffee farmers, so it canât be helped, right?â