“Thank you for making time for me,” Jaid smiled at her ‘patient’, though the corners of her lips curled with vexation.
Words scrawled on the wall above Drim’s head, his face as equally perturbed.『You said that you’d force me to sing karaoke in front of everyone if I didn’t.』
“So I did,” Jaid shrugged. “Since you’ve been ignoring me, I needed to up the stakes.”
『I didn’t mean to ignore you. Things have just been—』
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you’ve been busy,” the knight tried to pretend like she wasn’t bothered. “And I do understand that. Running this business while also running a political campaign must be very taxing and time consuming. But this is also crucial and can’t be neglected. You might not really get the extent of just how badly everyone wants to see you get better, how many people are relying on you and your voice, and even more that just want to see you back to your old self.”
“That, and when it feels like you’re purposefully avoiding me it just pisses me off. I swear, I’m going to have to order a clone to follow you around just to make sure that you can’t make any excuses. So tell me. Have you been practicing, or do I need a clone to monitor that too?”
『I have been practicing!』 Drim immediately went on the defensive. 『But—』
“But it’s not progressing as fast as you would like, causing you to feel disheartened and killing your motivation?” Jaid interjected, and the man could only slowly nod in confirmation at his failings. “I guessed as much after your first cancellation. Pretty much every book I read said that this was likely to happen. Everyone in similar situations goes through it, so it’s not just you.”
“Can you tell me what’s holding you back, or making you feel like you’re not moving along? With your words, if possible.”
Drim sat in silence a bit longer, his mouth scrunched, annoyed that he had to speak, but he still tried anyways. “Mmmm-is jus- mmm-it’s hard.”
“Heh, I’m sorry, but that’s almost funny coming from you,” Jaid had to stifle a laugh. “You who runs one of the biggest businesses in the world, slays the fiercest monsters, ruler of the now strongest and most feared country. You’ve spent your entire life working hard, training endlessly, enduring the most grueling conditions and challenges. And this is what stumps you.”
“I understand that this is no easy feat, but just the complete change in attitude and vulnerability is staggering. It’s almost cute. But I have heard from Phon that you’ve always had trouble with talking, always quiet and reserved, and why you became the ‘Silent’ Slayer. So this is your weak spot. And that’s perfectly fine. We all have something, or many things.”
“Just because it’s not coming naturally, it doesn’t mean that you’re failing. No, this certainly isn’t your fault. Your mother failed you for getting you into this, and... I failed you, giving you this burden. But just like everything else, hard work is all you need to overcome this. I’ll be with you every step of the way, and I’m not going to let you slip back again. Even if it means I have to have a clone stalk your actual bedroom to make sure you’re committing.”
“And to make up for missing these past few days, this session will be a rather long one. I’m not letting you leave until we’ve made some real progress, and I’ve asked Deborah to hold off on any meetings and dealings you have for today. Your schedule is clear, so settle in.”
“Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but since we’re going to be here a while, I’ve brought some food along.” The knight opened the insulated bag that she’d brought with her and the tantalizing aroma filled the room. She pulled a container out, opened the lid, and immediately took a bite. “Mmm, that’s good. You know, I’ve always eaten a lot since becoming a Fiend, but with all these freestanding clones, I basically have to eat like ten or more meals a day to keep them running.”
“Since it’s so much work, I basically have a clone just to eat and relax. And while the rest of us get the nourishment, energy, and the sensation of being satiated, we don’t get the taste and the texture. It’s just unfair, y’know? And I don’t want to be unfair to myself, so every now and then, I have to take the task on myself and enjoy.”
Right on cue, Drim’s stomach grumbled. Jaid expected as much to happen since she’d caught the man just before a meal. “Hmm, this might not be enough, though, so I’ll likely order more soon. Happy to get some for you too, if you just… tell me what you want.”
After a bit more light torment, the king was able to get out of his slump, food serving as a proper motivator. There was a bit more humming practice, and from there they moved onto trying full sentences. And with enough perseverance, they got there. By the end, Drim could say a complete thought, with only or two hums or mumbles.
“I feel like we’ve made amazing progress, but this is likely a good place to stop,” Jaid brought up after going through a set of exercises. It had gotten late enough in the day that they likely wouldn’t get any other work done, but if they wrapped up now, they could still make plans for the evening. “We’ll meet again tomorrow, one way or another. Don’t make me come looking for you.”
“N-no, umm-” Drim stopped her. “-mm-we can-mm g-go a bit longer.”
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“Sure,” the tutor smiled and sat back down. Jaid had to admit that she was getting tired herself, but as long as her student was willing to keep working, she’d give it her all too. “Now let’s try something a little more difficult. ‘The sleepy gray Pox—’”
◆◆◆
“M-morning Pox. Morning M-mini.” Drim pet the two who were still half asleep on his bed. “Thank you both f-for not judging me.”
It had been about two weeks since he and Jaid had started his speech therapy, and the progress had been overall outstanding. He’d gone from completely nonverbal, to being able to speak whenever he wanted, almost never needing to hum to initiate it. However, it was still unrefined, filled with stammers and ticks, mispronounced words and slurs. Apparently, that was also the hardest part, so it would still be some time until he was back to normal, and all they could do was keep practicing.
But now that the man was feeling a lot more confident, he’d try to include more chatting in his general life. While Drim had never been the buzzing socialite, he’d at least like to be able to carry on a general conversation with his friends. Of course, he still always had his tablet if things got difficult, but he’d try not to rely on it too much.
“Thank you for the m-meal, Mallea. It wa-was delicious,” he glanced at the butler as she was picking up his plates after breakfast. The woman couldn’t help but smile as her face beamed bright, hearing her first words from him since his return. And wanting to keep the feeling going, he followed up with a very simple, “H-have a good day.”
And that was when the look in Mallea’s eyes suddenly changed, as if she’d been jolted to attention, and her gaze became extremely focused. “Yes. I will have a good day!” the butler muttered before stamping away with expedience.
Drim shook the weird interaction out of his mind and went about his work. He had a few errands to attend to before a morning meeting with Nathym to discuss the progress of their projects. It went well, nothing eventful, until right at the very end when they were wrapping things up. Nathym checked his phone and mentioned. “Ah, I’ve got a bunch of new deliveries of parts for what we were just talking about. I should go grab those.”
“Let me- g-give you a hand,” Drim jumped off his chair to head up with his friend and help out.
But Nathym didn’t follow along. Instead, The Engineer turned directly to Drim and held out both of his arms, his hands cupped as if expecting something. And his eyes were deadly focused, just as Mallea’s had been. Nathym then stated clearly, “I am ready to receive the hand.”
“Eh, huh?” Drim could only stare confused until he figured something out. “Oh, I got it. W-weird joke, Nathym.”
“What joke?” the man asked in return, full seriousness in his voice. But from there, things went back to normal. And after helping with the deliveries, lunch, and a check-in with Callum, it was time for Drim’s daily speech therapy session. But the weirdness never left him, and he had to share his suspicions with his instructor.
“So you think anytime you say something that can possibly sound like an order, your mother’s power is activating and controlling them?” Jaid recapped the mad jumble of words that had just flashed on the Utility Room’s walls.
『Yes exactly!』 the man was glad she understood it without too much explaining.
But her next suggestion caught him off guard. “Well obviously we need to test it then.”
『No, absolutely not!』 Drim outright refused. 『I detest that power and want nothing to do with it.』
“Yes, I understand,” the knight nodded with sympathy. “But unless we test it and try to figure out the cause, we won’t be able to help you contain or control it. Go on then, give me a simple command. It’s fine. I give my permission. Unless you tell me to do something weird, in which case I have absolutely no issue resorting to violence in relation. So knowing that, I believe there’s little cause for concern.”
『I’m not doing it.』 The king remained unmoved.
So Jaid had to take matters into her own hands. She jumped up from her seat and quickly strolled across the room. The woman bent down, getting right into Drim’s face, where she stayed, just staring at him from barely an inch away.
『This is weird.』 Drim finally conveyed after a few minutes.
“So do something about it,” Jaid remained firm, in fact, taking even another step closer. “Tell me to back off, to give you room, to sit in my chair. Or are you just going to make me stand here all day?” the knight then jabbed a prodding finger into his chest, and then another when he remained silent.
『Seriously, please stop.』 It was obvious that the man was losing patience.
“And I will, if you use your words,” the knight continued her pokes, working her way up, until she was finally smooshing his cheek.
“Cut it out!” Drim caved, smacking her hand away.
But Jaid didn’t even seem to register the minor rebuke. Her eyes changed, distant yet focused. She immediately spun towards the desk of Drim’s fake room and marched forward. The knight grabbed the scissors sitting in a tray, and with her free hand, she dug into her mouth, pulling out her tongue as far as it would extend.
Jaid opened the scissors and lined up the blades against the base of the small pink appendage. And that was when Drim tackled her, forcing her to the ground. He pinned her wrists that were still trying to carry out his demand. “Stop! Stop! I’m ordering you to stop!”
The knight’s limbs finally went limp, and her eyes returned to how they were, though now confused. Just to be safe, Drim wrenched the scissors from her hands and pinned her arms to the floor with thorned vines.
Fuming with fury, the king rose to his feet and stormed to a corner of the room. There he faced the ghost of his dead mother and erupted at her with his unrestrained emotions. “How do I turn it off?!” he roared. “Your cosdamned horrible power, how do I get rid of it?!”
“Err, I don’t know,” Eleen could only answer sheepishly. “It was never an issue for me, so I never had to think about it. But you should calm down and—”
“Damn it!” Drim couldn’t listen to any more of her non-answer. So after one last glance to make sure Jaid was already, and releasing her restraints with the snap of a finger, he barged out of the room.