748 T.D.o.N.B: Scars from the past
When I woke up, everybody seemed to be busy in the kitchen, so I didn’t go there to interrupt. Instead, I went straight to Will. As usual, there were few people waiting outside of his office, and the blonde secretary was making sure nobody would get in out of the order.
– He has a meeting – she informed me when I showed up.
I ignored that and didn’t even stop as I approached the door. She also didn’t try to stop me. I guess after all this time, she finally accepted it wasn’t going to work with me.
I just burst in, but the view took me by surprise. Inside, except Will, were two other people Joseph Wu, and another one, whom I barely knew, but the name somehow stuck with me – Anthony Goldbloom.
– Speak of the devil – said Will.
While the two others turned around in their chairs.
– Mister Peter – said Anthony, and he even stood up to show respect, which was so weird that it almost completely confused me. Joseph only nodded.
After an awkward moment, which I needed, to regain my composure, my focus switched to my friend.
– We need to talk. It’s very important – I said to him.
Will nodded too.
– If you don’t mind, I’m gonna speak with him. If he says it’s important, it is – he informed his guests. – I’ll be back shortly.
Then he stepped from behind his desk and approached me. It was kinda obvious that we needed to go to a different place since the information I wanted to relay wasn’t supposed to reach the ears of the two outsiders.
I took us to Loistavadvaar. When surrounded by the jade buildings, and with the silver light shining from above, we could finally speak.
– I have them – I started. – The seeds.
– I heard you went somewhere, so I was expecting that – he informed me. – Show me.
So I pulled one out of my vault and showed him. It looked quite weird. It was more or less the size of a volleyball ball, but it had these big wrinkles over it like there was an outer layer that shrunk because it got dried out of water.
I have it to him, and he took it, to have a better look. I watched as he turned it around, looking at each side, but there was nothing really there to see. Then he gave it back to me.
– You got only one? – he asked.
– No, I have eight – I answered.
– Eight… That would be You, Nobuo, Nill, Martin, Hatta… – he started counting.
– Ki’rai – I added interrupting him.
– … Ki’rai, maybe Marcella, and possibly…
– Druoag – I interrupted again. – I bet The Great One will want him to get stronger. He is a powerhouse right now. Imagine how strong he can get if he uses the device properly.
– Yeah, you might be right. By the way, where is he? I thought he would be here – said Will.
– He is bringing back the ship we used to get there. His powers don’t work, but I was able to leave my anchor there – I explained.
– So you can get more? – he asked, and his eyes got bigger.
– No. This is as much as I could get for now. In the future, it might change, but for now, that’s all – I shook my head. – Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know. That place has its rules, and you better not break them. I felt that I got enough seeds, so I stopped picking them up.
Will slowly nodded, clearly digesting my words.
– What if I would go there? – he suddenly asked.
– Maybe you could get more – I shrugged my shoulders. – But let’s stick to what we have for now. We need reliable people to entrust with those seeds, and we don’t have more of them really…
– What about Aisha? – he asked.
I opened my mouth to say that ‘I don’t trust her’, but I managed to stop myself in time. He saw through me right away.
– You are still not over what she did? Even after all this time? – he raised his eyebrows.
– Look… This is too important. I got burned once, and I don’t want to get burned twice. Maybe in the future – I said.
Will snorted while shaking his head.
– It was years ago. She changed since then. She is loyal and is not even trying to do anything to take over. She found her own place and is feeling good there. I don’t understand why not trust her. You do trust Hailwic, though? – he asked.
– Yes, but she was always open with me. No backstabbing. If she didn’t like something, she would always say up front – I said.
It made him sigh and shake his head again.
– Well, you have the seeds, and The Great One on your side, so I doubt that in the end anybody but you will have the last word on who gets what, so I just have to trust your decision, I guess, but that doesn’t change the fact that I disagree. There is no reason to hold a grudge, just so you know – he pointed out.
– I’m not holding a grudge, I just don’t trust her enough. It’s different – I argued.
He clearly didn’t want to continue this discussion, since she just shrugged his shoulders.
– Let’s go back because I have an important meeting with those two – he changed the topic.
– Yeah… Come to my place this evening. I’ll be gathering people to discuss this with everybody.
– Ok – he nodded.
Then I took us back. Both Anthony and Joseph were waiting for our return, and they clearly expected some answers, but I didn’t give them anything. I just left, while Will was left with those expectations focused on him.
After that, I visited everybody else who was supposed to be involved in the decision-making of the future of the seeds. It took me only half an hour, so I had plenty of time to help with the preparation of the food. I tried my best to make it fun for the kids.
I believe I succeeded because we ended up making a big mess with a lot of laughter during the process.