He paused. I could tell I had surprised him there. “What about them?”
“Well, they want democracy. That can’t be a bad thing.”
He sighed. “Maybe. In your country, democracy is all well and good, but here in Starkland, we’ve had a monarchy for many hundreds of years. People don’t understand a democracy. They’re not ready for it.”
“You can teach them.”
He shrugged. “The rebels are teaching them enough.”
“They’re killing people,” I said.
“Yes,” he agreed, “they are.”
“But so are you. I’ve read some bad things about your royal army.”
“So have I,” he agreed. “Not all of it is true, but some of it is. That’s the problem with a war, especially a civil war. It’s always bloody and always worse than we think it will be.”
I shook my head slowly. “It can’t be so simple for you.”
He sighed, putting down his drink. “My people are dying, Bryce. It’s not simple.”
That surprised me. There was genuine emotion in his eyes. I didn’t think he was a heartless bastard, but he did seem like a playboy who didn’t think much about suffering.
That look he gave me, though, said otherwise.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Come,” he called out, and then servants flooded the space.
I sat back and watched, completely taken aback.
Ten rolling trays were wheeled into the small kitchen, each one manned by a different server. They proceeded to take the tops off the dishes as servants placed plates and silverware around us. I sat there, basically as still as a statue, while Trip watched me, smiling. The servants were fast and efficient, and soon they began to place food in front of us.
The spread was incredible: rich soup, hearty breads, all different kinds of meats and vegetables cooked in sauces I could barely describe. Once we had plates placed in front of us, Trip stood up.
“Thank you, gentleman,” he said. “If you’ll excuse us.”
The servants bowed in unison and then disappeared.
When they were gone, Trip sat back down. I laughed, genuinely amazed, shaking my head.
“Do you do that for all the ladies?” I asked.
“Only the special ones,” he said. “Dig in. Enjoy.”
We began to eat, and I had to admit that it was incredible. Starkland wasn’t a famous country or a big country, but its food was delicious, and that was basically my main criteria for whether a country was great or not.
According to this meal, Starkland was truly a magnificent country.
“What do you think?” Trip asked after a minute of silence while we ate.
“It’s delicious,” I said honestly. “I’m finally impressed.”
“Interesting. It took food to impress you.”
“I guess I have my weaknesses.”
He smiled, nodding slowly. “Yes. I guess we all do. I can’t wait to find out a few more.”
“I have no more weaknesses,” I said.
“I doubt that very much.”
I shook my head and dug into my food. Soon we began to fall into a normal conversation. He asked me questions about what my life was like back home, and I got him to tell me funny stories about growing up in the castle.
Time slowly flowed past like that. Eventually I even forgot that I was having a meal with a king. Instead, I was just eating with Trip, some asshole I happened to know.
Except he wasn’t such a huge asshole, at least not all the time. When he told me about how he got lost as a very little boy, wandering the halls of the castle and crying, he wasn’t being an asshole. And he wasn’t an asshole when he told me about crawling around underneath banquet tables during a royal dinner, tying people’s shoes together.
It was surprisingly nice. When we finished eating, Trip hit a button on his control panel and a few minutes later some servants came and cleared away the mess. Once they were gone, he poured us more wine and we sat on his couch.
“That’s convenient,” I said to him once the last servant was gone.
“I can’t complain,” he admitted. “Being king has perks.”
“I’m sure you always had those perks.”
He grinned. “Got me there.”
“This has been nice,” I admitted, sipping my wine.
“Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“You’re not so bad when you’re not being a dick.”
He laughed, grinning at me. “That’s what I like about you, Bryce. Not afraid to speak your mind.”
“I guess you’re not used to that.”
“That’s true. Not a lot of people will say whatever they want to the king.”