When I awoke the sun was once more out in its morning glory, at the
height it assumes at about the 9 o'clock hour, and the room was warm and
cozy because of it, as it shone in through the glass walls. My first
sensation upon waking was one of peace and bliss, the feeling
experienced when you wake up late to a nice warm resting place,
especially so when all the rest of the world is hard at work and you are
not. I breathed in the air deeply and contentedly while stretching my
arms, legs, and back in a most relieving fashion, and then turned
towards the table in the center of the room, from whence I smelled an
extremely appealing smell, that of a hearty breakfast.
As I did so, however, my joy was sent to a bitter, premature death, for
there sitting at the table and smiling sardonically at me was the King,
arrayed in all his pomp and splendor with his powerful pose, which,
while it had impressed, and even to a point overwhelmed me, before, did
no such thing to me now, for I was fresh with indignation at the
exclusion of the humanoids across the sea from the paradise of Daem.
He saluted me in a polite manner, and I him, though there was little
affection behind it. Then, without any more ceremony, I sat down and
began to eat, repulsing any attempt of his to start a conversation with
persistent vigor, until I had finished, when I stood and demanded where
exactly I was to make my toiletry. He laughed and said that he was
wondering how long I would last, but as I was still too unpleasant to
respond with any familiarity, he showed me to a little room that was
tucked off of the side of the bell that formed the entrance to the domed
chambers of the upper tower. The top of the tower itself was a half
complete sphere, while the room only occupied the upper half, so that
the bottom was divided between the entry way and the toiletry room. I
spent a few moments grooming and washing myself and preparing for the
day, and then rejoined him in the room. He was still sitting on his
chair and I took the other. The meal had been carried away.
He began the conversation by saying, "My dear Jehu, I must apologize for
keeping you in this position, but you must understand that the outcome
of this war is very serious, and I will not risk it to your
sensationalism."
"Sensationalism!" returned I, "Is that how you would describe a touch of
humanity?"
"What do you mean?" he questioned, apparently interested in what I said.
"Well," I began, regaining myself, my former indignation being exhausted
by the spirit of my opening comments, and my normal sober reasoning
returning, "I have been observing your society, which you suppose to be
enlightened, but I have seen some things, which, I am afraid, are
evidences of the opposite."
"Go on,"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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