Chasing Time

Telling Truths

Sector B3, Middle Terragon.

23:00, 15th July, 3000

They were all back in Layana's apartment building. The roof had become their unofficial hangout spot. There was enough space for them and the air was cooler. They had managed to avoid the Defenders completely and used a transporter to get back to Sector B3.

Stanley had told them the truth about himself while they were hiding. No one said anything after he revealed his true identity. He had no idea how to react to their silence, especially Julia's. He had expected her to get really angry and fly into a fit of rage. Instead, they had all kept silent after and wordlessly left their hiding spot after a while.

They were currently on the roof of the building, seated on a huge mat and observing the lights of the city. Layana managed to put something together and gave them a meal. It was nothing like what he had ever eaten before but it was delicious. The meal was what his father would call 'poor people food'.

Julia let out a breath of air and laid down on the mat, staring up to the dark, cloudy sky. Stanley looked over at her, trying to get her attention. Then he looked at the others, they were all avoiding eye contact with him.

"Okay, so we're just not going to talk about this?" he finally said. They all looked at him and Travis cleared his throat. They fell into silence again until Julia spoke.

"I guess we should refer to you as 'my Lord,' now."

"No, I-"

"If you're supposed to be our next ruler, why did you even join the academy? Why did you ruin my chance of making something out of myself even though you knew that could quite possibly be my only chance?" Julia's voice was quieter than Stanley expected. He was starting to get used to her screaming and shouting at him, so the calmness of her tone unnerved him.

"What happened at the academy was not my fault," he said.

"Not your fault?" she screamed and pushed back up to a seat. The anger and urgency was back in her voice and he fought the urge to smile.

"It was not my fault Julia,"

"Don't say my name. You have no right to call me by my name,"

"What should I call you then?"

"Just don't call me! And not your fault? You and your i***t gaggle of fools taunted me on purpose, knowing the supervisor was watching. You made sure I attacked and you made sure I got kicked out-"

"I did not now the supervisor was there! I swear! Maybe Jared knew but I swear I didn't. The only reason I was teasing you that day was because you were and still are so uptight and it just drove me nuts. You were the second best student there and I respected you-"

"Uh, excuse me, second best?"

"Yeah, I was the best."

"Oh please. Of course they ranked you the best. You're Lord freaking Damien, future Head Councilman of the Council of Thirteen. Ruler of all of Terragon. You think they'd really rank anyone better than you?"

"I...you don't-"

"You're so out of touch with reality. You were a selfish asshole and you ruined my dream. You keep saying that you did not know the supervisor was there but you did not do anything to help when they asked people to come forward. You let me get kicked out, you knew I had no one and you did not care. I don't care if you're the future Head Councilman or anything, and I don't care if Gaya thinks you're supposed to help. I don't want to see your face ever again."

She pushed herself up and started to walk away. Stanley rushed to his feet and ran after her.

"Julia, please wait," he reached her and grabbed her wrist. She snatched it back and glared hard at him. He grabbed it again and pulled her close to him. She gasped and widened her eyes at him.

"Don't you wonder why I'm here? Why I was ever in the academy? I hate being the next in line for a pretentious throne. I know I've done wrong by you and I...I'm sorry. But you don't know me or anything about me and I'd like it if you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not as bad as you think..." the honesty in his voice was a bit off-putting for her. She pulled away from him and looked back at the others who immediately looked away.

"Fine," she said with a sigh "you're right, I don't know you, so I'll give you a chance. Also, that was the first time you ever apologized for being a douchebag,"

"I'm sorry, I'll try my best to be less of a douchebag." Stanley said with a slight smirk. She rolled her eyes at him and pushed past him to return to the others. He stared after her, feeling immensely relieved and oddly happy to be on better terms with her.

•|•|•|•|•

Chamber of the Thirteen, Upper Terragon.

07:30, 16th July, 3000.

They were all there except the Head Councilman. It had become his habit of late to delay their meetings. Whenever he arrived, he always seemed distant, like he was lost in space. It was clear that his son's absence had affected him a lot. All Lord Damien ever thought about was continuation and succession and the only person available to succeed him had run away.

"How much longer do you think he'll take? It's been thirty minutes already," Councilman Tyrell said in a highly irritated tone.

"Who knows? I wonder what his excuse will be this time," Councilman Reia responded with a chuckle.

"I was busy cleaning up your messes," Frederick's voice boomed across the room as he walked towards the roundish table. The Councilmen stood up in response to his presence, clearing their throats and looking guilty.

"The Middlers who think they're Uppers keep asking ridiculous questions about what were doing and I had to use my personal Defenders to get rid of them. What did I tell you all about discretion? Everything is a mess!" he rented as he made his way to the head of the table. He took his seat and waved both hands down.

"Lord Damien, we are not to blame here. This is the Clairvoyant's fault. All the things we got because of his 'revelation' had to be returned because he got confused again-"

"Be quiet," Frederick interrupted Councilman Ryan. The Councilman turned red with embarrassment. Frederick sighed and looked around the table.

"Any news about my son?" He asked and they all looked at themselves uncomfortably.

"Different Defenders in Middle Terragon have reported sighting someone who looked like him although they were all unable to approach the person," Councilman Jayden replied.

"What do you mean unable?"

"According to them, he always gets away last minute and they lose sight of him. The last two reports, he was reported spotted with a blonde woman and man who he seemed to be associated with. After a little more digging, I found out that the blonde woman was one of the trainees in the Defender Training Academy with Lord Stanley."

"What do you mean was? The program is still ongoing,"

"She was kicked out after an incident that actually involved your son," Jayden slid across a file on the table and Frederick grabbed it. He opened it up and stared at the stunningly beautiful woman in it, she had a half scowl on her face and she seemed angry at the world. He skimmed through the writing next to her picture, she was highly skilled.

"Why did they kick her out? She was one of the best."

"She attacked Lord Stanley and his friends."

"Is that really what happened?" Frederick asked without looking up from the file. Jayden cleared his throat. He was in charge of the Defender Training Academy and knew everything that went on.

"Not exactly, but someone had to be punished...and-"

"And she's a Lower, I get it. Why is this woman with my son now?"

"That's not all," Ryan chipped in "there's also news about a self-proclaimed Clairvoyant going around telling people the same thing Draccus told us."

"WHAT?" Frederick exclaimed.

"Yes," Tyrell added "she was also seen with this Julia. We don't have her information yet but we will soon. We have reason to believe that Lord Stanley is associated with these people,"

Frederick stared at the Councilmen, then back at the file. He felt his hands fist up. It was just like Stanley to get involved in something so ridiculous just to piss him off. If there's really another Clairvoyant out there telling people about the apocalypse, it could affect their plans. It was important for him to take control of the situation immediately.

"Find out who this new Clairvoyant is. When you do, reach out to her. Without force, offer her a substantial amount and residency in Upper Terragon along with three people of her choosing. Those are generous terms. Hopefully, she's sensible. We could use another Clairvoyant anyway. If she refuses...well...we'll know what to do after.

"Also, I want you to really find out if my son is moving with these people, if he is, get the message across to him. If the offer comes from him, they might consider it. In the meantime, put more effort into getting rid of the soil here. I don't want a single spec of nature here by the time we have to lift off."