The King's Beloved

The City Lord brought Elliot to the tallest building in Tenebris to see the beauty of the whole city and discuss a couple of things. Upon reaching the top of the building, they went to an open balcony with a pool and bar at the side. The servants guided them to an isolated seat with the best view of the town. And indeed, one could see the beauty of the city in its fullness, from the position where Elliot and the City Lord was.

But despite the beauty, Elliot\'s mind was elsewhere again.

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"Aww, I wonder when will I have your undivided attention," the City Lord teased Elliot. "I\'m hurt. Here I am doing my best to be able to talk to you and yet you ignore me".

Elliot turned to him after staring at the night sky.

"I don\'t understand what you want from me, and me alone, I presume. Since you\'ve always wanted to separate me from my friends this whole time," Elliot\'s face turned serious.

"Well, as I mentioned back at my home, I want you to be my successor".

"Why is that? You don\'t even know me".

"Actually, I do. I know you very well, Elliot," the City Lord said with an evil grin on his face.

Elliot furrowed. "How do you know my name?"

"That\'s what the woman called you, right?" he dodged the question again.

"But Rania was whispering that time, and we were far away from him. There\'s no way he could have heard that," Elliot thought in his mind. But he relinquished the thought since he had a more pressing issue at hand, "I need your help to get to a temple. Do you know any temple around here?"

"A temple?" the City Lord raised his eyebrows. "This is a city, there is no temple here".

"I see, then I should go," and Elliot quickly stood up from his seat.

"W-wait! So impatient," the City Lord stopped him.

"I don\'t like wasting time. And I\'m worried about my friends. Besides, I don\'t trust you," Elliot blatantly told him.

"Look here," he gestured to him to sit down. But Elliot remained standing, looking down at him. The City Lord sighed, "I know we didn\'t start our relationship good, but I promise you, I don\'t mean any harm. As I told you, I want you to be my successor. So I won\'t do anything that will displease you".

"Too bad, you already did".

"Can\'t I be forgiven? You walked in my room while I was in the middle of something!" the City Lord pouted and pulled out a teary eye acting.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Whatever, state your business. I\'m guessing you want some favors done, before you tell me where the temple is".

At these words, the City lord stopped his crocodile tears and his face lit up.

"As expected of my successor! Very perceptive, indeed!"

"What do you want?"

"You see, I need someone to run this city for me while I take a nice and loooooong vacation. Don\'t worry, you won\'t do it for free, I can pay you with whatever amount you want, and give you anything that you desire! Fame? Fortune? Power? Anything!"

"Why would you go hunting for a stranger to run your city? And you\'re supposed to be a City Lord. Clearly you don\'t know how to properly run a place".

The City Lord\'s eyes lit up. "Ooohh, and how do you think I should run it?"

"First, don\'t go looking for strangers to be your successor," Elliot started his lesson. "I suppose you\'ve been here for quite a while now, and you already worked with a lot of people. From those people, choose the most trust-worthy man, or woman, who also cherishes your values and has the skills and abilities to run your city. Once you find him or her, teach him and guide him, and mentor him all the way - don\'t just go shoving responsibilities. And once he\'s ready, he can rule in your stead. You can just relax in the background and support him when needed".

"Hmmm … interesting," the City Lord smirked. "But what if I can\'t find one?"

"The only time you won\'t be able to find one is when you keep belittling your people," Elliot replied with conviction in his voice. "People are complex, changing beings. They are each unique in their ways, and hold immense potential. So it\'s impossible for you not to find one".

"I see …," the City Lord smirked again. "Well, thank you for the advice. But I still want you to be my successor".

"Did you even listen to anything I said?" Elliot frowned.

"I did! And I\'m convinced that you\'d make a really great ruler!"

Elliot sighed. "Ugh, I have something else far more important to do. I cannot stay here for long".

"Even if I offer you money? Fame? Or women? Or anything else you want?"

"No. Besides, I\'m not interested in money, fame and women".

"But money makes the world go round! And women, ah! I reckon you\'re a virgin so you don\'t know yet, but - it feels really good inside them," the City Lord grinned maliciously.

Elliot shook his head in dismay. "You should only sleep with your wife after marriage, not go around doing it with anyone. And you can have your money, I don\'t need them".

"That\'s why you\'re refusing them. Because you don\'t \'need\' them. But do you know how much other people do?"

Elliot furrowed, getting confused as to where he\'s getting at.

"The money that I offer you, if you don\'t need it, you can give it to the poor - to people who have nothing and even have to beg in order to eat; to people who are sick and need money to pay for their medicines; to an economy who\'s going down because of unforeseen circumstances; to countries who need help in times of calamities. There\'s so much more that money can do. Money brings happiness".

Elliot pondered over what he said.

The City Lord continued. "As for fame, let\'s say, this city is under a threat, and you need your people\'s cooperation to resolve the problem, Fame and Reputation will help you with that. Without it, no one will follow you!"

A moment of silence passed by.

Then, Elliot looked straight into the City Lord\'s eyes.

"If that\'s how you\'ve been running this city, then I can see now why it has turned out like this".

Unable to explain why, the City Lord began to tremble.

Perhaps it was because of the words Elliot said …

Or the fact that his eyes seemed to pierce through his very soul ...