This Is The People
3 days later. In the morning. Presidential precinct.
Luis, Roam, and Lesly stood in Luis's office. They formed a little group as the sky was strangely gray. It had been 3 days since Fox was preemptively jailed, something no criminal in Lýmoca ever gets to experience, and those who do are few and get out fast. For the sake of preparing matters, the SCJ has decided to hold the public sentence statement for Fox at the end of the month.
On the night of the trial’s 3rd day, just as its second sessions was commencing and the 13 seats hadn’t arrived at the courtroom, and Fox was waiting for them to arrive, numerous news reporters rained Lýmoca with news. But not only news, evidence, too.
Be it independent or those aligned with the BLF, who has notoriously ‘sided’ with the current government, as they ‘only show good things from them’, as any other media claims it. Pieces of news never seen before came to light.
It was an already known fact that the SCJ leaves so much to be desired. In other words, corrupted to the bone. It wasn’t an exaggeration when the number of a few things correlating with apprehending criminals and the ignorance of courts around the country were above a legendary 90% figure.
But it was never really a talk. Sometimes, out of nowhere, the news of a person being convicted of a sudden crime with newfound evidence and the criteria of even a Supreme Court Minister towards someone with a celebrity status made heads tilt. It always left one wondering if there was almost something coming out to light, although most were… ‘just’ aware and moved on the next second.
But that night, without a doubt, countless news showed concrete and natural evidence of things. Nobody expected this, but seeing was believing this time, and it was becoming official as more and more people studied these pieces of evidence over the entire internet, live or through carefully edited and worked videos.
Afterwards, not too long after the news were replaced, Lýmoca’s social media was overall ‘taken’ by the feed from the trial.
First was the sassy, unstoppable, mighty old lady. She somehow evoked something in the hollow emptiness inside Lys’ hearts, male and female alike, from any age. Similarly, she showed the Supreme Court Justice was another group of people they could talk back to, and reprimand.
Armando wasn’t a schemer, he didn’t mean to have this happened, but it did anyhow. And then, when the beauty came to ‘the stage’, matching the Supreme Justice Minister’s beauty and maturity, things got even more intriguing.
Nevertheless, the lovely talk of the therapist on Fox’s stead… kinda made them feel as if this monstrous person they always hear about is indeed a human being, like them. Of course, that was a little broken when Fox broke the handcuffs towards the end of the live feed.
Nevertheless, the back to back face-off between these two beauties brought the internet to become divided, including from other countries. The non-existent barrier language aided in the interaction across borders, but it didn’t end there.
While the Supreme Justice Minister’s words were heavy and thought-provoking, the therapist’s mindset and determination, not being afraid of talking back to such a high power in the country for a ‘criminal’, also evoked something in them.
The old lady doing it could be considered an elderly being allowed to be sassy, but then? What about the much younger, beautiful therapist Mona?
She wasn’t the only person from her 20s to her 60s who still had a lot of mobility, and the will to think for their livelihood, families, loved ones… and the land; their country. Lýmoca’s average of young people between 20 and 40 of the population is 35%, an incredibly young age, and it didn’t seem like it would dwindle in the next years, especially after re-integrating Preut.
With all this, even though Supreme Justice Minister Vanessa Valyer’s quick interrogation was intense, it was Mona’s consistent, paced, concise wording that made those couple of minutes a bit too difficult to follow. At least more than in the previous speech she gave.
But the most views, to everyone’s surprise, even to the few loyal supporters of the person himself, went to President Luis Heartez when he showed up and spoke for Fox. It was a never-before seen scene of him, not even when his daughter was almost threatened to lose her life in a movement near Preut when its civil war was just fresh.
Nevertheless, that was it for the ‘resisting’ show the Lys saw for the first time. It wasn’t just a declaration of ‘resistance’ against a corrupt, uncaring government with their fists raised and that was it. Lýmoca saw the old lady, the therapist, an ‘abandoned’ lawyer, and the very President himself show up to speak in his favor, against the Supreme Court Justice!
… But 3 days have passed, and no matter the call for support the president echoed with, there was no movement in the first. In the second, some people went to the capital of Proteros and spent a few hours in the noon and afternoon before leaving to somewhere. And then, in the morning of the 3rd day, just past 10 AM, after Luis’s earlier morning meetings, a lot of people converged in the central square of the capital, but they didn’t move.
In this 1,026, 1st month, 2nd week, 4th day; the 2 most important people in the country, presumably, stood with Luis’s presidential secretary, watching the crowd far away from his office. There was a ‘river’ of people filling the roads between 2 districts near the heart of the capital city.
It was esteemed, according to the information flowing into them from Whites at play, that ‘a few’ hundreds of thousands were present. And as more information slowly poured in, Luis grasped his chin with his index, middle fingers and thumb, looking through the window, concerned.
“They are accumulating. It might be just fine to wait a little more, there’s still time.” Lesly didn’t want to, but she couldn’t bear to see him in this way. She placed her hand on his shoulder, which he patted a few times before supporting the elbow whose hand held his chin.
“Any more information from their movement? Are more people coming, or going somewhere?” Luis turned his eyes to Roam, gluing on him to wait for an answer. Roam blinked, lightly smacking his lips open, but taking a little time to respond. “We have just received the latest report, sir. Nothing yet.”
Luis nodded. The 1-minute reports were coming in smoothly, but he considered lowering it to 50 seconds to see how it worked before downing it to 30 seconds. Luis returned his focus to the crowd of people several hundred meters away, still congregating between the districts.
“No more movement, a few thousand people are still moving from the east to join the rest. Some seem to communicate with their phones. Do we have permission to intrude in their communications?” A voice came from Roam’s phone after a few tens of seconds.
Roam looked at the president, but Luis shook his head. Roam nodded, while Lesly also focused on the people, stepping a little closer to the window, which Luis seemed ‘afraid’ to do. Lesly’s breathtaking black eyes widened, trying to constrict her pupils to see better.
Luis couldn’t take it anymore and took his WID out of his left rib under his jacket. He pressed its interface a few times, and a youngish boy’s voice sounded from it, albeit robotic and with some interference. “Big Presi! Qué tal? Do you need something?”
Luis ignored the casualness the voice spoke to him with and just asked, feeling dull. “Yes, check the people’s movements as they come in, just their movement. Tell me if there’s something strange, like everyone congregating at a spot after arriving or something similar.”
“Okay, understood boss!” The youngish boy replied. Luis ignored the casualness and form of address before thinking of something. “Check what their traffic generally goes to, if to check their communication channels or social media, that will be it, nothing more nor intrusive. Is that alright?”
Luis lowered his WID and checked the window, about to step up with Lesly’s lead, but he stopped and looked down at his WID. “Hey, bluebug, is that alright? Bluebug?”
Luis frowned and stared at Roam, who frowned lightly. He thought for a few seconds before commanding Roam, “Send word to the Whites, something seems-”
But just then, Lesly tapped his wrist like crazy. He turned to her, a little scared. He felt a bit too tense lately, and the idea of someone attacking them and strangling Lesly entered his worried mind, even with the protection he now had for himself and everyone important. But he saw a safe and sound, thankfully, and joyous Lesly staring ahead, forming a rooftop with her hand in front of her breathtaking eyes.
“Look!” Lesly pointed at the window afterwards, and just at that moment, Luis’s heard the youngish boy’s voice again. “Sir, they are moving… moving to the presidential precinct! Some trucks arrived with a bunch of signs and blank posters! They are moving altogether!”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Luis deactivated his WID with a thought and looked up, stepping forth. Lesly smiled, looking at him from the side, while Roam looked at the distant, long street with unimaginable thoughts.
“They are… they are moving…” Luis muttered, his mouth opening wider when seeing the tiny figures far away move a little tiny wee bit. Roam grinned, turning to his President, “They are moving for you, sir.”
“No…” Luis said that, but he was already grinning. Then, as he spoke further, his smile fully formed, increasing more and more. “They are moving for lye.”
***
Supreme Court Justice building. In an open hallway with a direct, large view to the outside. 6 days later.
Vanessa Valyer looked at the endless crowd below. More were coming this way, and this was just at 8 AM. The city looked the same, with as much bustling as always from morning to night. But these people here were all relentless and moved the direction of the country to the Supreme Court Justice, just as it had thought things would soon be forgotten.
It started with a meager congregation of a few, then a few thousands in the capital, mainly from Teros within the capital city, among few others. Many more protests like these took place around the country every year, most amounting to nothing but a weak or cancelled short walk.
No one took notice, with only some mentions even from the people on the current government’s ‘side’. But when the third day came, and a whooping few hundred thousand congregated, it became a clear warning. One that had appeared before, in the first 2 days, but wasn’t noticed.
How easy was it to reunite a few thousands in just a couple of days? But in the third day, there were hundreds of thousands!? These weren’t just Teros anymore, but people from other states!
That day, the few hundreds of thousands marched to circle the presidential precinct twice, showing a one-of-a-kind parade that the world hadn’t seen… since the Green Transformation.
Were the people rising? They pretty much were. And on the next day, after glorifying the once repudiated presidential precinct, it was the march’s turn to head to the Supreme Court Justice building. More people joined them at that point, emerging as almost half a million.
Days passed, and after the SCJ peacefully welcomed the arrival of so many people encircling them, things changed amidst. What the people didn’t know was a vital warning from the government to the police forces who received ‘new letters’ to mobilize and clear paths for the SCJ building.
After the first time, the workers in the building had to walk through the crowds. After Vanessa Valyer was observed as she moved through countless people to enter the building, she didn’t dare to do that again. The sensation and their silent stares while chanting were… something.
From then on, she took a semi-armored vehicle to slowly drive in and out of the building, slowing her and everyone else’s progress when working. Forcing them to stay in the building for the past 2 days in the end.
The government arranged for as many buildings available as possible and protection to these people, and even quality tents for them to continue protesting, camping around the presidential precinct. It was a curious mini-civil war of sorts, which the ‘lye side’, as even the president claimed in a quick interview when he was walking back into the precinct with Lesly.
The president ensured them food and places for their daily needs, also ensuring they were clean and no incidents occurred. There were a few times where people wanted to give the larger crowd some medicine to enter reason, but the more than a million crowd was immobile. Nothing happened from these encounters.
While the government ignored the SCJ needs, what imploded in every part of the planet was the number of protesters. It went from more than a million after the first day the SCJ building was encircled, to more than 5 million today.
… Today, in the year 1,026, 1st month, 3rd week, 3rd day; with evening approaching, 2 days have passed since the SCJ workers took refuge inside the building. In front of the window at the top, the Supreme Justice Minister Vanessa Valyer stood and watched the people. Another large lump of people were walking towards them from afar… and more from more than one direction.
A person shouted from below, holding a speaker made of glass, looking more like a recipient, with a smallish mechanism in the middle, and with an open foundation on its lower end. “You complain about not being able to work? Since when did you even care and work for us!? You serve the nation, the Lys! But nobody can claim you are with the people!”
“Sigh…” Vanessa lifted her gaze and stared at the sky. The threatening gray clouds of rain in the approaching evening were a little rosy with the setting sun somewhere. It looked like the entire Proteros City was covered by a rectangle of clouds, covering from the south to the north.
“We have laid our decision on true power— that we are the ones to hold it.” A person walked to her from behind and stopped beside her, and tapped her right shoulder. Javier Laran, one of the Supreme Court Ministers, a brown man with short black, trimmed hair, slightly taller than her, and a good pal to the ringleader; stood beside her.
“Yeah, we do.” Vanessa Valyer said with conviction, crossing her arms and looking up at the floor. She seemed somewhat unwilling to look at those below, to acknowledge them.
Seeing this, Javier Laran dropped his eyes. Vanessa turned her head a little and looked at him from the corner of her eyes for a few moments. She returned her chin to the sky and articulated, “Sigh. I already wrote it. Pick it from my attendants. They don’t know what’s in the folder.”
“Okay,” Javier Laran threw his head back a little and returned a ‘thank you’ down his throat. He smiled warmly and tapped her shoulder again before walking away, but was stopped by Vanessa. “Hey.”
“Hmm?” Javier Laran stopped and looked at her. Vanessa lowered her chin to stare ahead, but still not at the people below, although the sight of the city did enter her field of vision on the underside. “Do you think they should still be attendants? Our little helpers. Would they do better with other but similar roles to the current system?”
“Like what?” Javier thought for a moment before asking, swinging the briefcase in his left hand a bit. Vanessa softly voiced, “More freedom to do things on their own, where they can observe and listen… and maybe evolve their jobs to not depend on us entirely?”
“Secretaries?” Javier lifted his left eyebrow. Vanessa smoothly spoke right after him, “Something like that. Yes, it does sound similar. That wouldn’t be far from my thoughts.”
“Well, it’s a nice proposal, but I don’t think it will be accepted.” Javier Laran said, facing her with his other hand in his pants pocket. “They might fear you, with some respect, Vane, but they will deny you as smiling and burlesque as they are with any other citizen looking for answers, where they should have not come to get them from.”
Vanessa became quiet. Aware of the little distancing just happening after his words, albeit honest, Javier said nothing more and left with a nod. Vanessa continued to look ahead as the evening slowly bid the rosiness farewell. It looked so beautiful, reminding her of some historical importance to parts of Lýmoca’s records.
… The people encircling the SCJ building kept on chanting and chatting as they got used to this. It was easier than anticipated, and with the government’s aid, which they conveniently accepted as fast as possible, something they now feel glad about, they could rest and eat well these challenging days.
But then, like some sort of plague striking fast and deadly, more and more people became quiet, with less and less protesters chanting or yelling at the building. The few pieces of trash they threw before avoiding an ugly image of their very historical patrimony a proof of their protest; necks were arched, and eyes narrowed.
“Oh my heave, oh my heaven!” - “He is… wait, he’s out?” - “Whataa…” - “A su madre…” - “Yo, this is real, no?” - “Oh my heavens, we took him out! We took him out!”
Little by little, more and more clamor emerged from the crowd, the few million people slowly became a notion of noise and festivity. A few hidden music bands, ready to sound the patriotic tones of Lýmoca came out, with a little mastermind in his office a bit away from the SCJ building smiling in victory.
***
Supreme Court Justice building. Contention area. At the same time after the people outside became loud and cheerful. In a cell. Obscure, with only dull gray brick walls and a small Mintip door with an elliptical top and a Courusel machinery glass as a small window above.
There were no beds, only a bench made of thin, ordinary metal suspended to the wall with a chain here and there and connected to a rotating bar in the wall. Fox sat on the opposite side of the door, lazily laying his twisted back and relaxed arms down his thighs with spread legs.
He wore the same suit as before. Guards revised him, but no one tried to take his clothes off, and he didn’t change them at any given moment. It had been days of 1-time meals every day. It was a silly little issue, but he was being punished by none other than the guards here. As if the universal guard association just decided to be formed and join against him. It was comical.
But Fox didn’t feel comical. He… felt nothing. Being in such isolation didn’t differ from when he was a pre-teen, even when he was still going to school back in Preut.
In this time, Fox thought a lot, for he only had time to waste. He heard the noises outside for quite a while, slightly different from the other days, and figured they were getting bored so they employed some music, too.
Just then, Fox thought his ears were tricking him. He frowned, pushing thoughts he was comically debating in his head away while being watched from the lower corners of everywhere, and feeling small tendrils of nonexistent shadows coil around his limbs. The door opened.
“Na…” Fox frowned, looking at the figure overshadowed by the warm, strong orange lights behind her. Fox’s polycoria eyes adapted almost immediately, defining Nala Loba’s features with a new outfit on her body. She was accompanied by none, and the guards remained tens of meters away from his containment cell.
Step, step, step, step, step, step… She walked fast towards him, but unhurried. Fox slowly sat up, but Nala Loba stopped before his knees and tilted her head down at him before he could completely sit up.
“Are you so hopeless?”
Her voice was soft. Fox tilted his head to the left, just a tad, and blinked. Before he knew it, with her right hand caressing his left cheeks, gently approaching him, and Fox lifting his right hand, which she caught with her left. Nala Loba kept his legs spread but lifted her knees, guiding them to the bench beside him to straddle his lap.
Fox was stupidly amazed, but before he could know any of it again, Nala Loba let go of his hands and brought them to the hems of his jacket at the middle. Once again, her voice, this time whispering as her gray, light blue eyes narrowed and locked onto his face, sounded as she sat down on his lap.
“No more thoughts, no things to consider… okay?” Nala Loba said. Fox sent his hands to her hips, staring at her narrowed eyes with his polycoria impenetrable black pools. With his hands squeezing their way to her firm, audacious butt cheeks, she delicately grabbed the back of his head and nape.
Her head went down, and Fox tilted his upwards, “Nala…”
Her lips parted slightly, connecting with Fox’s, parting even further with their eyes closing and melting. Glimpses of tongues and teeth baring forth flashed amidst their interlocked mouths.
…