by Taylor Kole
Finding the royal box, shock etched every face but one. Flavius wore a serious look as he leaned over the balcony’s edge.
He broke the silence by shouting in a strained voice: “JoshRidley! JoshRidley! JoshRidley!”
Agrippa joined him.
Within seconds, the entire stadium was chanting.
“JoshRidley! JoshRidley! JoshRidley!”
EPILOGUE
After overthrowing the evil men that controlled Betaloome, part of JoshRidley wanted to wipe his hands together and retire. His wanted to live with Junea and his child in peaceful seclusion, but that wasn’t how it worked. He now wore the crown.
To lessen his responsibilities, he established an American-based democratic republican style of government, assigning Cronin, Flavius, and the bowman officer who had saved JoshRidley—plus two men, each of the officer’s suggestions—to work out specific details for transitioning to a more inclusive world that benefited all.
Over the months since, he had traveled back and forth between the pavilion and villages in Bristalius on a tour of the nation. He hosted two town halls and heard plans for expanding safety in the territory.
He met with many dignitaries in Atlantis—where, on the advice of his counsel, he deposed one in four. He learned even with their superior training, armor, and weapons, Atlanteans had no experience in the woods. They needed the courage of the men from below. Together, their diversity created a strength. With the new training, they hunted trappers and fought off swarms of eviscerators.
The next three months passed in a routine of working and living. Hunt demons around the Pavilion of Parturition by day and return home for a night with Junea.
On the twentieth man lost, JoshRidley stopped traveling with a squad. He would have to clear alone, at a much slower rate. His men built pitfalls and erected walls along the trails.
His dream of quickly restoring the land to a relaxing countryside met reality and elongated.
It would happen, just slower,at a lessened cost of life.
Returning home after hours of clearing an overgrown field, JoshRidley found an excited Flavius waiting at the open stone door. “JoshRidley, it is time.”
With a smile, he forgot the troubles of his kingdom and went inside.
Junea stood in a vertical vat filled with a dark green fluid. JoshRidley held her hand through the ninety minute labor. Seeing his child pushed into the fluid, he nearly punched through the glass to pull the kid from underwater.
When the child was retrieved naturally, and the cries of new life filled the near, JoshRidley cried with joy.
“It’s a girl, m’lord,” one of the maidens said, passing over the heavy infant with difficulty.
“What is her name, sire?”
In Bristalius, naming a child before it drew its first breath brought bad luck, but he’d been thinking of a fitting name for months.
Staring down at the cooing pink child, he said, “Xena. Xena, the princess warrior.”
Silence followed his naming. Looking up, he read confusion on their faces.
A moment later, Flavius said, “The people expect a more Earthly name. Can you not do better?”
Frowning, he suppressed his disappointment. He had thought long and hard on female names and anticipated a great reception at Xena, the princess warrior. Thinking on the fly, he uttered the first bad-ass Earth woman’s name that came to him.
“Her name is Ronda. Ronda Rousey.”
The room jeered and clapped, echoing the name as one word: RondaRousey.
With the babe in his arms, he ambled to Junea, stretched on his toes, and planted a kiss on her lips. Her hand slipped behind his neck and held and held him close. “The moment I saw you, I knew you would be the greatest god to ever descend.”
Over the following months, he developed another concern. If he and a trained army cleared the realms too significantly, making Betaloome peaceful, effectively destroying LLI’s business model, they would unleash a greater swarm of insects. Perhaps the god hunters he heard about would target him.
“My lord,” Agrippa’s urgent voice called from the door, pulling JoshRidley from watching his sleeping child. “A trapper has been spotted, a thousand paces to the north.”
Reaching for his blade, seeing Flavius go for his salca, JoshRidley would never be bored again. The work of a god was never-ending.
Virtual Heaven is Taylor Kole’s first novel. If you enjoyed this novel, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. With over 1 million novels published a year, reviews are how readers pick through the slush.
Taylor likes loud chainsaws, a well-mowed lawn, and spending time with loved ones. His hobbies involve getting lost in virtual reality, having “guy’s night” each Monday, and reading each night. He considers story the world’s greatest commonality. Thank you for blessing him with your time by reading his work.
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