ROYAL ROCK(22)

“This is my favorite part of the city,” I said to her as we pulled down a narrow street.

West Stehen was not as nice as north Stehen. In fact, it was probably the worst part of the city. Most of the poor congregated there, near the waterways, but it was the liveliest part of the whole town.

We pulled over in front of a squat, gray building. I turned off the engine.

“Beautiful,” she said. “Really nice.”

I laughed. “This isn’t an architecture tour.”

“What is it then?”

“Watch.”

We sat there together in silence for a few minutes before finally the doors to the building opened up. People spilled out of them, people of all shapes and sizes and ages and races.

“This is one of the many Stehen food banks,” I said. “If you live in Stehen and you’re hungry, we will feed you. There are hundreds of these all over the city.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really. We pay for it out of the royal treasury. Any citizen is eligible, though we prefer that people use it only if they need it.”

“That’s very nice,” she said.

“In Stehen, we have food banks, free clinics, and even free lodging for the poorest of the poor. We take care of our people here.”

“We have this back in America too, you know,” she said.

“You do,” I agreed, “but not like here. Nobody is turned away, ever. If every single person in this city showed up here in the next hour, every single person would be fed. Every single day, three meals a day.”

“That’s amazing,” she said.

“And the clinics offer as much free medical care as possible,” I said. “Our country has universal healthcare, and I truly believe that healthcare is a right for all people.”

“Very progressive,” she said.

I laughed. “I’m not telling you this to impress you,” I said, “though I don’t mind it if you’re impressed. I want you to understand that just because we aren’t a democracy, that doesn’t mean we’re tyrants.”

“You don’t seem like a tyrant,” she said. “But shouldn’t the people have a say in who rules them?”

“Maybe,” I agreed. “Maybe they do. But right now, they’re fed and healthy and almost all of them have a place to sleep at night. Things are good here.”

“Except for the rebels.”

I sighed. “Yes, except for them.” I pulled back out into traffic and we resumed our tour.

I pointed out the historic bread bakery, an old hotel that was rebuilt hundreds of times over the years because they kept insisting on leaving candles burning all night long, and many other places.

Finally, we pulled down a narrow alley. “I have one last thing to show you,” I said, “but I want a little privacy.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Instead of answering, I swung the wheel hard to the right.

The tires screeched as I accelerated down the side alley. The front security car slammed on their brakes, but it was too late. The following car stayed behind me.

I came to the end of the alley and wove through traffic, speeding up. The big security truck had a hard time keeping up in the narrow streets. We came to a red light, but I blew through it, blaring the horn.

“What are you doing?” Bryce called out, but I just laughed. We made it through the intersection no problem, and the following truck had to stop.

I made a quick series of turns and then finally slowed down. “I think we lost them,” I said.

“Are you crazy?”

“Maybe,” I admitted, laughing. “But, man, that was fun.”

“You scared the hell out of me. Tell me if you’re going to do something insane next time.”

“Why? It was more fun my way.” I smirked at her and drove for a few more minutes before finally coming to a stop.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Come on. Let me show you.”

We climbed out of the car and began to walk down a narrow alley.

“Wait,” she called. “Hold on. We should wait for the security detail to find us.”

I waved her off and kept moving. I heard her run to catch up, and she walked close behind me.

The alleyway ended in a large, dusty courtyard. It was closed in on most sides by buildings all around it. In the center of the courtyard was a large, round fountain.

I walked up to the fountain and sat down on the rim. Bryce walked toward me cautiously.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“West Stehen,” I said. “Well, on the fringes. This is one of my favorite spots in the city.”

“Why did we have to lose the security to come here?”

I gestured for her to sit. “Come on, sit down. I’m not going to hurt you.”