Ava relaxed into me, giving a blissful sigh. “Oh, Charlie. I almost forgot we were safe.”
I kissed the top of her head. “When you’re in my arms, pidge, you’ll always be safe.”
Ava snuggled back into me, and her breathing slowed. I took in all the sensations around me, burning this beautiful morninginto my memory. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and I had the most amazing woman in my arms. And the bed— dear ancestors, the bed. It was more comfortable than anything I’d ever experienced. War or not, life couldn’t get any better than this.
Leaves rustled, and the sound came from our room, not outside. “What’s that?” I asked curiously.
“Sprigs. The servants brought him a potted lemon tree to live in, and he’s hopping from leaf to leaf,” Ava explained. “He really likes it.”
I was glad the little guy was enjoying himself, because I was, too. Ava and I stayed tangled up for a long time, until we heard servants enter our living quarters. The delicious scent of fried meat and fresh eggs filled my nose. Oberi perked up from the end of the bed and sniffed the air. His tail thumped against the mattress.
Bacon!Oberi exclaimed, before jumping off the bed.Finally, the type of service I deserve.
What a humble dog you are.I helped Ava out of bed and into her chair, then wheeled her out into the living area. The servants were already gone, but they’d left trays of warm food for us. I lifted the cover on one, and ancestors, the scent of bacon smelled like heaven. I wasn’t entirely convinced I hadn’t died and ended up in paradise.
I dug in, though not before Oberi snatched half the bacon in his mouth and ran off with it. I shoved bacon and eggs into my mouth, and washed it down with the most delicious orange juice I’d ever tasted. There were croissants, and mixed fruit, and all types of pastries I’d never even heard of. Every piece of food I put into my mouth was more divine than the last.
This was different from the Institute, where the cafeteria only allowed you to take so much, or you had to worry about otherinmates stealing food off your plate. No one was bothering us here, and we could have as much as we wanted.
My stomach expanded the more I ate, and I realized for what felt like the first time in my life that I wasfull. Still, I couldn’t stop eating. I didn’t want any of it to go to waste. There were starving people all over the world, and it would be wrong to let any of this rot?—
I paused mid-bite. I realized Ava was chewing slowly, as if this was a normal meal for her. Come to think of it, she’d only leaned over me once to grab a pastry. She’d hardly eaten anything.
“Pidge, how much food is left?” I asked.
“We haven’t even eaten half of it. Why?” she replied.
My very full stomach sank, and I pushed myself away from the table. “This is too much. It’s not fair that we’re given more than our share. I’m a prince now. I won’t sit here in gluttony while people in my kingdom go hungry.”
“Charlie, there’s enough food here for everyone in Ilamanthe,” Ava said.
Her words barely registered at first, because I didn’t think it was possible. After a few beats, it sank in.
“Everyone?” I wondered. “Even the people who don’t live in the palace?”
“Yes,” Ava said.
I furrowed my brow. “Food has always been a scarce resource in my world. How can there be enough for everyone?”
“There’s always enough food,” Ava said. “The people of Ilamanthe choose to distribute it fairly, rather than punish those without access. When people go hungry, it isn’t because there aren't enough resources. It’s because people in power choose to withhold them, because they make more profit when people have to struggle.”
I felt resistance to the thought, even though I wasn’t sure where it came from. “I thought there was only so much to go around, and not enough for everyone to share.”
“That’s just what you were taught. The world isn’t a pie. Just because one person gets a slice doesn’t mean they’re taking something away from someone else. There’s enough on this planet to support everyone, and for everybody to thrive. But some people don’t see it that way, so they think that hoarding what they have is going to protect them somehow.”
It was a completely new concept to me— everyone getting access to what they needed, regardless of how society chose to judge them. It was exactly what I wanted as prince.
“If we can give everyone food, then we can give them whatever they need,” I realized. “Access to housing, healthcare… we could set up a universal base income soeveryone’sneeds are met.”
Nobody would have to be poor and homeless like I did. Nobody would have to starve, or fight to obtain what they needed to survive. It was an amazing way to think.
Ava reached out to touch my hand. “I know you aren’t sure about this prince thing, but you’re already thinking like one. And when the crown is passed on to you, you’re going to make a great Emperor.”
For the first time, I dared to dream what that would be like. Being Emperor wasn’t about living here in this fancy castle, getting whatever I wanted. It was about helping the people outthere. Ilamanthe may be a paradise on Earth, but there were still people outside of this city who needed our help. Once we rescued the supernaturals from the Warden’s concentration camps, they could join us here, where everyone was taken care of. Sharing what we had was the only true way to end peoples’ suffering. The Warden was going about it in all the wrong ways.
“I don’t understand why the Warden is forcing people to follow him and join The Mission, if his true desire is to stop suffering. There are other ways to do it with the tools he already has,” I said.
“Because the Warden doesn’t really want to stop suffering. He just believes he does,” Ava said coldly. “He likes the idea of keeping everyone under his control. He believes if he has ultimate power, he’ll be able to craft the world to his liking. He wants everyone to think, act, and behave like he does, without any outliers. The world wouldn’t be beautiful if everyone was the same. In fact, it’s more dangerous if no one is allowed to be different.”
