Chapter 26 #2
I take a bite of my eggs and watch as she does the same. We’re going to let her talk to her people tonight, but we won’t start preparing for that until later. Still, it might help her stay focused if she’s not distracted by books or movies or whatever else she finds to entertain herself with today.
“Why don’t you stick with me today?” I suggest. “I’ll be busy, but we can talk about what you’re going to say tonight. Make sure you don’t miss any critical points.”
“Of course,” she agrees, her smile getting even wider.
After breakfast, we go to my office. I move a chair over so she can sit beside me at my desk.
I’ve got a few meetings to get through before I can discuss anything with her.
The first is with Lady Sharog. She’s in charge of taking care of the humans that were sent here, but I’m more concerned about the testing being done on the food.
I start the meeting and Lady Sharog appears on the screen a few seconds later. The orc wrinkles her nose when she sees Clover sitting beside me, but she doesn’t say anything about it.
“Are our human guests still doing okay?” I ask.
“They’re guests now?” Lady Sharog sighs with raised eyebrows. “They’re fine. Restless, but fine. They’ve been asking when they’ll be able to leave the hotel.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for that yet, but we can allow them access to the entertainment area near the hotel,” I offer.
“Take them in small groups and make sure they have plenty of guards. If any of them try to escape, they don’t get to leave the hotel again until we figure out what to do with them. ”
“If they try to escape, they should be whipped,” Lady Sharog argues. “They should have already been whipped.”
Clover shudders and I notice it. That tightens my stomach again, because I regret dragging her down to the dungeon and scaring her half to death. She may have been ready to accept her Reparations Penalty with as much dignity as she could, but she was still terrified.
“We’re not whipping humans anymore. At all,” my voice relaying that I am not to be argued with.
I squeeze Clover’s little hand. “We don’t need reparations anymore, so the humans should no longer be penalized for what happened two hundred years ago.
It’s not like any of them had anything to do with it. ”
Clover likes what I said but Lady Sharog doesn’t. I can see it in her eyes. But that doesn’t matter. I’m the king and my word is law.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” she replies dutifully, glancing at Clover again. “Understood.”
“The main thing I care about is the food the humans sent,” I growl. “Why is it taking our scientists so long to test it?”
“They’re trying to be thorough, Your Majesty, but I got a report this morning,” she says, her hands moving like she’s typing something.
“From what our scientists can tell, what President Highton said is accurate. The testing hasn’t revealed anything unusual about the food, other than the size.
That’s likely because they were grown using advanced hydroponics. ”
“Alright, tell them to keep what they need for testing. Lock down the rest until I decide what to do with it,” I growl. “I’m sure some of it has already rotted.”
“Surprisingly, no, Your Majesty,” she replies. “It seems to last longer than what we grow. We didn’t even have to store and revive any of it for the testing.”
“That’s good for the humans. Doesn’t matter to us. I appreciate the update.”
I end the call with Lady Sharog, then meet with a few other orcs.
President Highton’s speech was given to his nation, but it was a public broadcast, and there’s some unrest in Uzrirgard because of what he said.
I’ve released statements addressing his lies, which seems to have helped, but most citizens are still nervous about the prospect of war.
I notice Clover has been writing things down while I’ve been talking to the other orcs, so I glance over to see what she’s working on.
“Are you taking notes, little human girl?” I chuckle, sipping my coffee.
“No, just thinking about what I’m going to say tonight,” she replies. “I want to tell the truth. I just don’t want to say something that will make things worse.”
“I have a few talking points for you,” I say, searching through my documents until I find the one that was sent over by the Lords and Ladies. “I’ll print it for you.”
I look over the document once it’s printed and cross out a few things. She needs to speak from the heart, and there’s no reason to squeeze in any other orc agendas. Focusing on the current crisis is the best option.
“There, I think those are the important things you should touch on,” I say, handing her the paper.
“But it’s ultimately up to you. I’d prefer if you hit the talking points, but if something feels wrong about one of them, don’t feel obligated.
It’ll be more effective if it doesn’t sound like you’re reading a script. ”
Clover quickly scans the document and nods. “I think I can work most of this in.”
“Good. Spend the rest of the day working on it,” I tell her. “I’m going to make a few more calls so that everything will be ready when it’s time for you to go live.”
“Will you let me do a few practice runs with you beforehand?” she requests apprehensively. “Just us? I think I’ll be less nervous if I know you approve of it.”
“Yes, that’s perfectly fine,” I answer gently, patting her hand, mine lingering longer than it should. Gently? Me?
After several more calls and a quick meeting with the war council, we’re set for Clover’s speech. Our engineers will hack the television broadcast. She’ll be on every station at the same time. If someone has their television on, they’re going to hear what she has to say.
I just hope the truth is as effective as she believes it will be.
If it isn’t, peace may no longer be an option.