CHAPTER 13 URI
Like he said, with that ring as my I.D., I had no problem getting' past the Military Police or inta the palace, nor even for seein' Reiss himself. Well... see, is prob'ly the wrong word, 'cause I don' believe I ever actually saw him, at all.
Once granted entry ta the palace, I were ushered inta, what looked like, a deserted, unused wing; dusty, the curains drawn, furniture drapped with what were prob'ly once white sheets, now brown, an' the air thick with the scent o' mould. Through the dis-used corridors I were led, 'til we finally reached a darkened room, where he stood in the shadows. There were no minders, no guards, jus' him an' me an' an envelope o' money on the table, lyin' in the filth o' the dust.
He told me that the envelope had been there since our last 'chat', jus' waitin' for me ta arrive an' claim it. He said he never gave up hope; that he knew I'd come, didn' know it'd be this long, but he never doubted that I would come, an' now it were time for me ta do my duty an' help put the right King on the throne.
Then he left, not quite sure how, secret entrance or tunnel, I assumed, an' I were greeted with Palace Guards that escorted me back through the corridors an' back out inta the sunshine. The whole thing only took five minutes an' it were over so quick, 'twere like it had never happened at all. But I didn' care. Jus' so long as I got this done quick, an' got Kuchel an' Levi out inta the sunshine afore they lost the healthy flush they had in their cheeks, that were there now."
" So it began. I still tracked Uri, still saw you, " I smiled, lookin' at Jas.
"An' that's when I began ta notice that when he rode out, he were ridin' out with less guards, an' sometimes only jus' with his brother Rod. I got ta know his new schedual. He weren' out as much as he used ta be afore he were king; Kingly duties, I guess. Well, 'cept for his duty o' makin' Paradise safe for the Ackermans!
It stopped bein' a job an' I got angrier an' angrier at how, once again, I'd been betrayed by my faith. Once again, I'd believed in someone. An' once again, they'd let me an' mine down! I began ta understand what Grandpa had ment 'bout a blood-feud o' generations we Ackermans had against the King.
An' I guess that's partly why I made my mistake."
"Mistake....you, Kenny??!" Jas chided, with a look o' mock horror on her face.
I tussled her hair an' she laughed.
"Yeah. Me. But that's not why Uri's alive today", I continued, " 'cause when I rode out trackin' Uri an' Rod that day I'd decided ta finally kill the King, I were so full o' anger, still that's not why my shot missed. Actually, I'm still not completely sure it did miss. An' it sure as Hell, ain' why Silver Lady failed ta even injure him. 'Cause after that shot were fired, outta nowhere, a full grown, real, giant-ass Titan appeared! It were the biggest thin' I ever seen in my life, sorta half human, half monster, an' it jus' picked me up from the ground. Uri were nowhere ta be seen, an' Rod, well he didn' seem scared, he were jus' yellin' for it ta kill me. I remember thinkin' , "Is this what Gramps ment when he were talkin' 'bout the King havin' the power o' the Titans, an' how they could command them? But why were Rod tryin' ta command it? He weren' a king. Or didn' it matter 'cause he were a Reiss? But if so why weren' it killin' me?"
Not gonna lie Jas, I were shit- scared. I were cussin' it an' tryin' ta stab it, an' then pleadin' like a baby for it ta spare me, all while I were held tight in its grip, 'bout twenty feet in the air. Its hand engulfed my entire body, with only my head an' shoulders pokin' out o' the top o' its hand an' my feet the bottom. I were waitin' for it ta crush me, takin' no effort at all, while it were wavin' me 'bout an' inspectin' me. I jus' couldn' believe that shit like this really existed! I mean, seriously, What The Fuck?! An then it jus' sorta drops me down, but not too hard like, an' I'm layin' on my ass in the grass, with Rod still yellin' at it ta kill me.
Then outta nowhere, this steam starts commin' outta it. An' it's almos' like this Titan jus' freezes. An' outta its head or shoulder or somethin' I sees Uri appear, all sorta dazed an' kinda bloody 'round his eyes. An' that's when I realise, that Uri IS the Titan. The King o' Paradise is a fuckin' TITAN!! That's what Grandpa ment, 'bout the King havin' the power O' the Titans!"
The feelin' o' her pullin' away from my embrace, interrupted my story. An' I looked down ta see her face filled with confusion.
"Whoa, hey,hang on there Kenny. What the hell are you talking about? Are you seriously trying to say that the King, that Uri, is a..a.. Titan?! Are you deranged?" she blustered.
I laughed, " Well, Hell yeah, but not in the way you mean it!"
" I keep forgettin' that you, even you, with ya wisdom an' kindness is jus' as blind as the rest o' Paradise. That ya have no idea o' the truth 'bout our lives, our history, our King. I promise ya Jas, that what I'm tellin' ya, the same as what Grandpa tol' me. It's the God given truth. Paradise were created as a sanctuary by the first King to protect humanity usin' his Titan power. An' I dunno if'n Grandpa knew all this, 'cause if'n he did he never spoke o' it ta me. Or maybe he jus' died, afore he had a chance ta - but it weren' jus' that the King had an ability ta control the titans. It were that the King himself,were a Titan! An' every king since then has had the ability ta become a titan. I dunno why or how yet. But I know it's the God given truth o' the world we live in", I finished.
"But how can we not know this? Is this what your Grandpa meant when he told you how the King had the power to wipe his people's memories? That it wasn't just the past we don't remember, or the unquestioning way we live our lives, but that we don't even know who or more importantly,WHAT our king is?" she questioned, tryin' ta make sense o' it all. She paused an' then looked up at me, expectantly, "So is it only the Ackermans that know this, and the rest of us are in the dark?"
I smiled at her at her bafflement. She looked so innocent, like a chil' that had been told that the tooth fairy ain't real. An' she jus' gazed up at me, waitin' for answers. 'Cause for once, the tables was turned an' I were the one that knew the truth.
"Yep", I said, finally. " You're catchin' on. The King's power is 'xactly why none o' ya know this. An' no, it ain't jus' the Ackermans that know, who an' what the King truly is. All the noble families that serve on the King's council, and preside over the King's Church's ; they all know. All them that was descendants o' the first noble families o' the first King. All o' them keep the secret o' Paradise an' it's King."
" But how did you learn all this? You, yourself just said that it wasn't from your Grandpa, well not all of it, anyway?" she asked, the disbelief fading from her sweet, trusting face.
"Oh, Owl! What is it, you think I DO on the King's council; sit aroun' pickin' my own ass, an' beddin' down all the pretty servants?!" I taunted, sarcastically.
She blushed, tilting her head, so's her hair covered her beautiful face. Pulling her close to me, I embraced her , chuckling softly, "You know that no matter how many pretty servin' girls there are, that it's only one has my heart, dontcha Owl? Always has, always will!"
Her arms tightened 'round me, an' I felt my hunger for her grow. Cuppin' her face in my hands, my mouth sought hers, drinking in her warm sweetness. Breathing her in, I felt the heat o' her response, as her desire matched my own.
But it weren' time.
Pullin' away, breathless an' shakin' I held her close an' gazed at the midnight blue o' the sky, wishin' this would never end, but knowin' it would have ta. She said nothin' only held me as my breathin' became even.
"There's a lot that's still a mystery ta me, 'bout this whole King, Titan an' Paradise bullshit. An' I'm a guessin' that's part o' the reason I left Levi. ' Cause ya was right when ya said that Kuchel died after I found somethin' else ta be my reason for goin' on. Same with this. All through my years in the Underground with Levi, I had ta be here too, be near Uri, learn the truth o' what this world is. An' the more I stay, the more I know an' that ache for more, gets jus' a little satisfied, jus' a little", I said when I could trust my voice not ta shake. "So's that day, the day I went ta kill Uri an' he turned inta a fuckin' Titan; that were the beginning o' it all, when that Titan jus' held me in it's fist an' I were cryin' like a baby, 'til it jus' lays me down on the grass, gentle as a kitten.
An' he, Uri, jus' sorta stands on the shoulder o' this steamin', giant titan, an' I'm screamin at him, at the Titan, an' I throw Silver Lady at him, an' I get him right in the top o' the arm. But he doesn' even flinch, an' Rod's cockin' his gun an' aimin' it at me and yellin', "Let me kill him! Let me kill him!"
An' Uri dreamily sorta says, "No Rod, he's an Ackerman".
An' he gets down off that giant Titan, that's still frozen, an' he still has my knife in his arm an' he comes ta the grass in front o' me, an'... An' he gets on his knees an' bows down ta me. The King bows down ta me! An' he starts apologisin' ta me, an' beggin' my fogiveness, all while MY knife is still stickin' out o' HIS arm. I try ta kill him, an' he apologises ta me!
'Cause I'm still ready ta kill this guy, if Reiss doesn' shoot me firs', but I jus' sorta lay there, jus' gob-smacked, in shock, like. 'Cause the KING is kneelin' ta a sack - o' – shit, like me. Then I know, that Uri ain' like every other king. I look in his eyes an' I know it's gonna take time, but it'll get betta. An' that's when I see that he knows so much more than I could ever comprehend. I can see it in his eyes. It all makes sense ta him. He could be the one ta answer all the questions I have. An' I hear myself askin' if he would have me for his body guard. I hear myself askin' if I could SERVE the King. An' in my mind, I hear Gramps tellin' me, we Ackermans, "served the King", that "we're the only threat ta the throne, but we still got a will ta serve it."
I showed him the ring, an' explain the whole story ta him. An' the next thin' I know, ther's a vacancy on the King's Council, where a Reiss had once served, an' it were now bein' offered ta me.
Truth be told, I didn' even care 'bout makin' the world safe anymore. I jus' wanted ta be 'round Uri. Sittin' with him, I'd ask why he bowed ta me, what did he see, what did he know an' how could he love so much, when this world were so shit? An' he'd apologise for not doin' betta, an' for makin' Paradise a sittin' - duck. Or he'd talk 'bout how he wanted Paradise ta be a haven for the last o' humanity. An' when I'd tell him ta fight , he'd jus' look at me an' smile. Still does.
I don' know what he sees, but if I were a Titan, would I see it too?
How much power does it take ta see peace? I dunno. Maybe a King's power? 'Cause I don' see it.
So's here I am, an' here I've been for nearly the last seven years. An' if the past is any indication, we'll be getting' a new king soon. Uri doesn' have long. He looks like an' ol' man, even though he's only 'round my age, 'round thirty-five, thirty- six.
An' things have changed a bit, but not enough. After I joined him, it still took another two years for the laws ta change, not much, but jus' a little, so's it were safe for the Ackermans ta be safe 'bove ground. Oh, we's still couldn' travel too much in the day, so's we still had ta move 'round at night. But the persecution mostly stopped an' the takin' o' our lands became unlawful. But, more than anythin' else, the relentless torment an' abuse, stopped or at least now only goes on in whispers behind closed doors, instead o' the daily torture that used ta be the norm for anyone that were known ta be an Ackerman.
I could breathe the night air in freedom, not jus' 'cause I worked for the King, but because I were free. An' I knew it were time ta get Kuchel an' Levi, an' bring 'em up ta the surface with me. Two long years o' bit by bit, makin' changes ta the laws that were killin' us. Getting' the rest o' the nobles on the Council ta agree, an' the Military Police, enforce. But it had finally become safe, an' Uri could only make it betta, not 'cause I were his friend, but because he saw.
So's I went back ta the Underground. Back for Kuchel.