by Dasrim Hasik
The camera shifted and panned over to the actual groundbreaking event, making Alara pay close attention. The hospital was coming into being very rapidly -- they already had three floors done, and ore floors were being snapped into place. The windows were very large and ornate, with big stylized R's placed every few spaces between the windows.
Another man in a yellow tunic waved to the camera, signaling that he was the announcer for the groundbreaking ceremony. "Thanks, Petros and Joycee. Yes, groundbreaking is going along very, very well. The people are helping finance the mental energy requirements for the construction. The hospital will be done in only a few hours, which is a record for any construction going on in the City. It looks like the people really want this!"
There was a murmur of solid approval, and more floors came into place quicker than the others had been. It seemed to speed things up as more people arrived after looking at the broadcast.
Alara watched along with a mix of surprise, shock, and disgust. A hospital that catered to everyone meant that girls like her would have to share a room with girls like
Bridget…or even more lower class than that! And everyone would just go along with it like it was the coolest thing in the world? That was something that really upset Alara down to her bones.
This could not be allowed to continue. She didn't care how mad it would make Jack. She would just have to find a way to either get back with him and lead together, or crush him and take over herself.
Why beg a man to rule by her side when she had the intelligence to rule alone? It wasn't like she was some low class creature.
She was the Councilman’s daughter. Jackson Stonewell was a nobody from Earth that somehow managed to impress the Circle of Dreamers enough to become king. He wasn't going to be the king that they needed. Not when his roots were so otherworldly.
The construction took a few more hours, but the broadcast channels wouldn't stop recording the moment. Alara sat in the bathtub, watching the entire scene unfold.
Even though her skin began to chill over being in the tub too long, she didn't care. She couldn't look away, couldn't get out of the tub. A tear rolled down her cheek before she could stop herself.
Bridget was in her space, looking at her man with an expression that she used to share. Who cared that she hadn't been completely honest with Jack? That was beside the point.
He was supposed to marry her, not Bridget. Alara didn't know too much about the merchant girl, but she did know that the other woman was taking things that belonged to her. The very idea of them together made Alara's blood boil.
If she had been able to brush off the damage, she would have blasted the viewing screen with a burst of mental power before she would have to be subjected to more of this filth.
It disgusted her that Jack would even waste his time thinking about the lower ranks. He was the king -- his attentions should be on capturing the City of Schaler and forcing those people to recognize his crown and leadership. What else was a king supposed to do?
As Alara finally lifted herself out of the tub, she felt empty. There were wounds that needed to be healed, and even though she finally received the pampering she deserved, there was just so way to fill in the holes of her heart.
She never really expected them to get filled anyway. People would never allow it, and there would always be someone waiting to cause problems for her. The only solution she really had would be to fight hard for her slice of the pie. That would be the best way to make everything right.
Of course, if Bridget Garwicke could just die and leave Jack alone, that would help things immensely. She summoned the serving girl that addressed the needs of this side of the Great Hall and snapped simply, "Clean it up. Turn off that viewing screen while you're at it. No one needs to see that filth."
The girl bowed to Alara, and the older woman knew that the servant wanted to debate the broadcast with her. She would not hear of it. "I don't care what you think about the hospital. Of course lower class trash like you would think it's a good idea. How ungrateful! We provide all of your medical needs, so you will not need to go elsewhere for them."
Alara ignored the fact that her parents often deemed what was appropriate medical treatment and what wasn't. If a servant needed a procedure that proved too costly to the family, it wasn't scheduled. There were no other options for servants, so complaints were minimal.
And being thrown out of an important family's house would make it harder to get a servant's job in another home -- once you get a bad reputation, you never really lost it. There were many punishments she could give the servant girl, but she decided to be nice.
"Just clean it up. I am going now." She left the room without thinking about the magnificent roof that was placed on top of the building, marking the project finished for the time being.
Oh, Jack. This was just the first round. I have plenty of time to teach you a lesson that you will never forget. By the time I'm done with you, there will be no one to heal your wounds.
Chapter 10: A Satisfied Mind
Jack felt good. He could finally step back home for a little while, and simply reflect one everything that had passed before. The hospital was built and there was already a temporary medical team in place. Apparently, many doctors and nurses had been waiting for this moment, and they celebrated Jack with much applause. He would never really get used to all of the attention.
He was used to being an invisible nerd, and now he was one of the most photographed and revered people around. Of course, he didn't have 100% support from everyone. He still thought of the rebels that probably lurked in the shadows, and he thought about the different television shows on the communication network that debated the building of the hospital.
Alara's father had gone onto one show and mentioned that it was a very weird event, but he figured the king would explain himself to the Council in good time. He didn't want that meeting with the Council, didn't want to feel like he would be explaining himself all over again to the wrong people. He wasn't here to be liked per se -- he was here to lead.
He knew enough from his experiences on Earth to know that once you started caring more about your image than what people actually wanted and needed, you were in for a hard road ahead. It wasn't something that you focused on, period. He didn't want to be the king that was so focused on his image that he was willing to let the people starve or suffer because he had interviews to make.
He heard the derision in the Councilman's voice. He wondered if the man knew his daughter wasn't with Jack anymore. He probably did, and that's why he was so disgusted. He figured he could at least have a one on one meeting with the man and see if there was anything that he could do to smooth things out.
Of course, he doubted that severely -- once one of the leadership class was annoyed with something, they never really seemed to let it go. He was beginning to get his memory back -- through dreams and even in daydreams throughout the day. He would remember bits and pieces of his life here, slices of memories that never really seemed to tell him the whole story.
Bridget was cooking something for him as well, some sort of shrimp and grain dish that was making him hungry. The more she took care of him, the more Jack began to really see her. She was someone he felt he could build a life with -- he just didn't know how to approach her. He didn't know how to even take her on a date. People would end up reporting his every move -- that wasn't very romantic or private at all.
And even if she was interested in him, she would have to deal with the media circus head on. People cared about class and status too much for his liking around here.
He tried to pretend like it didn't really bother him, but he it honestly touched on nerves he knew were still raw from life on Earth. Class meant everything to everyone there, and what good did it bring them? Nothing but unhappiness and strife. He didn't want to see that happen to the City of Reversia, or any other Cities on Planet Rubicon.
He wondered if there were more Cities and even countries on the planet than he first as
sumed. There was the City of Schaler where the rebels stayed, but Bridget mentioned other places as well. He couldn't remember them clearly, but he could always ask her.
He wanted to ask her more questions, if only to hear her speak. She had a soft voice that had its own sense of confidence. If you could get her talking about something that really mattered to her, she wouldn't stop talking about it at all.
However, you had to get her thinking in the right frame of mind. If you didn't, then she would get nervous and even a little shy. There was no reason to feel like she should be shy at all -- not from Jack's point of view.
Bridget was very intelligent and it was hard to keep her off his mind. He enjoyed having her right by his side at the groundbreaking, and he had insisted that she stay at Quiet River compound for the long term.
There was plenty of space, and Jack really didn't want to be alone right now. Alara's betrayal was still in the air and it bothered him. How long was she planning to betray him like that?
Was she going to just sit silent and think all would be well long enough for him to marry her? Did she really think that she would get the chance to rule and crush the people under her hand? She didn't believe in class equality, and that bothered Jack greatly. She would never be allowed to run anything as long as he was around.
He worried about Bridget's safety as well. What if Alara decided to come after Bridget? It was a thought that hurt him very much. He didn't want to have to choose between the women, but he knew that he would always choose the City over their collective gripes and concerns.
He wasn’t here for either of them. Reversia needed him now more than ever. He would work on a school next and maybe even a community center. He felt that there should be public things that everyone could use.
Right now it felt like if you weren't a leadership class member or even a merchant class member, you weren't anyone. That didn't sit well for Jack. He wanted to see people be able to start at the bottom and work their way up.
His holding company would see about the land purchase, if he didn't have enough land already. He wanted to open up more shops in the city. He felt that businesses generated a healthy economy, especially when you allowed them to operate without a lot of rulings and suspicions.
When people felt that you trusted them, they tended to do the right thing. Those that wanted to be bad apples would be eventually exposed and removed directly by the people without him having to really do much of anything.
That was the way he liked it -- he wanted to focus more on getting things to flow properly when it came to the City itself. Chasing down every minor violation was a job that he didn't have time for.
Bridget had updated him on the law enforcement division as well as the emergency team. The firefighters and law enforcement would be very pleased to have more of a role in the city's development, and Jack felt the people deserved that as well.
Watching the hospital fall into place taught Jack that he really did have the power to do some amazing stuff here in the City. He had the power to handle things that would have never come to be on Earth. He would have been an invisible nerd forever, whereas here he could be king. He could always be king.
"Jackson?" Bridget had come in with two trays piled high with goodies. He smiled at her and she smiled back, setting them on the table. Behind her, Walter fussed about the loads she was carrying.
"I can get that for you, Miss Bridget." Bridget laughed and sat down, dimming the lights a little. She wanted to use the candles that she had saved from her father's shop.
They were a gift from him, and she cherished that. Her father had been wise in his counsel with her: just dim the lights and let raw emotion speak. So she waited until he had tasted all of the food, and she began to speak her peace.
"You know, Jackson...I've been thinking about a lot of things over the last few days."
When he nodded for her to continue, she blushed and the words came out in a jumble.
"I know it's going to sound bad, but I really like you. A lot. I know that you just got done with Alara and you probably hate the idea of even being with anyone, especially anyone as low on the hierarchy as me, but I care about you. I’ve always had a thing for you, even on Earth. I guess that's why I agreed to stay so long -- I just couldn't get enough of you. And then on the Harbor...when you were holding my hand that felt nice. I'll understand if you don't...um, if you don't want me...because most people don't look twice at me, and that's okay...I'm just..."
"Stop it." Bridget looked up into Jack's warm green eyes and felt confused. This was the part where he was supposed to lecture her, remind her that they had far too many differences between them to honestly make anything work.
This was the part where most men reminded her that she wasn't what they were looking for. Why bother with a nerdy girl who favored jumpsuits when they could have any number of women that were far more experienced in too many ways that Bridget wasn't.
She remembered the first serious relationship -- and her last one. The man merely wanted a virgin he could add to his collection, and when things didn't work out, her status dropped.
It didn't matter that she had given him her heart, it just mattered that she had given him something she couldn’t get back, and that automatically made her suspicious. Most guys wouldn’t have her after that, calling her damaged goods and plenty of other names.
Jack's hand reached for hers and she froze, waiting for the rejection that seemed to be on its way to her. "Look, Bridget. I'm not going to lie -- I don't really know what I want, and I would be lying to you if I said I didn't want you or care about you.
I wouldn't have this amazing life waiting for me without you believing in me. I just don't want to force you into caring about me just because I'm the king now. I want to be more than just a king to you -- I want to be a man for you and you a woman for me.
That's the way I want it. And I don’t want to rush, because you’re special. I just...I want everything to work out. I want you to have a satisfied mind."
Bridget grinned and tore into her food for a minute, taking time to savor everything while it was still very hot from the stove and oven.
"I get that, Jackson...but I still want you to want me too. So much here in the City is about where you come from, and what your parents do. My family is a group of successful merchants, but when you have people to hire and salaries to pay out, you don't always get as much to bring home as you might imagine. My parents have had to work very hard for everything they get, while some people don't have to do that. Alara is a better choice for you."
Jack shrugged. "Why? Because she's from a rich family where image is everything? I don't know if I want that type of woman to be my wife someday -- and yes, I want a wife. And children. I want to be a family man, I always have. On Earth, I just never had the chance because I was still in school and I had nothing to offer a woman."
"And now?"
"I have a whole world to offer her. As I become more confident, I want to offer more than just shyness and lack of conviction. I've lived my whole life in fear of what might happen, and I think I just need to start trusting my instincts a lot more than what I do now."
Jack finally noticed the candles on the table and smiled at them for a moment before turning his gaze back on Bridget. Her long, elegant fingers were curled around the wineglass, and she looked up at him without speaking.
"Where did you find these amazing candles? They seem to automatically brighten or dim, based on what we're saying."
Bridget smiled. "They are mood candles. They reflect the mood of the people in the room. Now that we’re working through our issues, the candles are brightening. If we were to fall into a bad mood, the candles would dim themselves to reflect that. My father markets them as Truth Candles, because you can tell a lot by someone's mood."
Jack nodded, but was unsure of what to say from here. He wanted to go upstairs and sleep, but he was unsure of what to do with Bridget. He didn't want to sound like he rejected her, but he didn't want t
o rush into bed with her, either. He figured he would start things slow between them and see where life took them.
Dinner was finished, so Walter cut Bridget to the punch line by cleaning everything up. "Go relax, Miss Garwicke. You have other things to concern yourself with."
Jack chuckled at Bridget glared at the floating household helper, but didn't say anything. He got up and stretched. "I'd honestly like to go to bed...um..."
He blushed, not sure what to do from here. He didn't have the type of confidence with girls that other men did, and he knew it. He was fully prepared for Bridget to turn him away.
The kiss that came next threw him even more off course. Her lips were soft and tasted like fruit, even though they hadn't had dessert. She said simply, "I'd like to go to bed too. If you'll have me."
He grinned. "A beautiful woman invites you into bed? I'd be crazy to turn that down."
As they walked up the stairs together, hand in hand, Jack realized that having a satisfied mind definitely went both ways. Raest opened up a package and grinned to himself.
The crystals suspended on cords would serve his purposes well. Schaler was a beautiful City in its own way, even though it didn't have the same framework or connections that the City of Reversia had.
That angered him, but he figured that he would let it go. There was plenty of time to get angry. Plenty of time to rage against a system that seemed to always leave him behind.
He was born to a lower class than everyone else, and it haunted him. He never felt like he was good enough to earn anyone's attentions. He was forever stuck trying to prove himself.
Finally, he was at home with the rebels. They feared him. He had enough mental power to really be dangerous, and they had seen firsthand what a trained mind could honestly do.
He had gotten reports that the boy king pulled off the hospital, but he knew things the boy king didn't. He knew that the structure would break if there was doubt laced into the construction.
That was the danger of having the public do anything, but he wasn't going to say that to his supporters. They believed in the great lie that people could have a chance at changing their own future.