Parental Permission

"What is going on here?" My father asked. He stared directly between me and Michael, surprised to see him here.

"Uh, I made a new friend?" I said, unsure about how to answer his question. I mean, there was no possible explanation that I could think of on the spot that would've explained the situation.

"Do you know who he is?"

"Yes," I said while repeating the s syllable and scrunched my eyebrows to figure out what to say. "Yes, I do."

I turned to Michael with pleading eyes. "Help, please," I said in English.

He shook his head out of embarrassment and walked forward towards my father. "Mr. Zephyr, it's a pleasure to meet you," He said in Avalonian. I look at him with surprised eyes.

"What? I can speak multiple languages too," He retorted in English.

My father looked with confusion at our exchange. He didn't recognize our words. Eventually, he just shook his head and continued.

"Likewise Prince Michael," He put his hand out in a friendly manner towards Michael. Michael returned the gesture and shook it.

"Actually, it's king," I corrected. God, I sounded like the nerd emoji.

"King?" Henry questioned. "What happened to Nacio?"

"That information wasn't supposed to be revealed," Michael said while glaring daggers at me.

I put my hand to my mouth. "Oops, did I say that out loud? That's my bad."

He glared at me a little more before turning over to my father. "Nacio is doing well, however, he's grown out of the role."

"Age is an enemy we can't get away from," My father said with a sigh. "However, I do look forward to working with you in the future."

"I too look forward to working with you. Zack has said some great things about you."

"I did?" I asked. I blinked while trying to recall what exactly I said, but nothing came to my mind. "Nope, I did not," I said bluntly.

"Weren't you the one that told me that to truly understand someone, you have to know their past?" He asked. "Well, the converse must be true. If I understand you, then I understand your past. I know that you're life wouldn't be nearly as easy if your father hadn't been here to shield you."

I amusedly stared at him. His point, all things considered, was valid. I guess without my father, I would've been sleeping with one eye open. But to play devil's advocate, I wouldn't be in that situation if it weren't for him.

"I guess you have a point."

He triumphantly smirked before shifting his focus to my father. "Sorry for intruding Mr. Payne, but Zack is helping me out with an issue back at home. We're here because he wants to recruit people and pick up a few supplies he needs."

His face went rigid upon hearing Michael's words. Many questions went through his mind, but one dominated all his thoughts. "What is he helping you with?"

I turned to Michael and examined him. Our eyes met and he received my silent question, wondering if he would reveal the truth. He didn't give me an answer. It could've been that even he didn't know, but I wasn't sure. I tried to guess what he would do, but it was to no avail. It was oddly refreshing and reminded me of why I was so attracted to Michael in the first place.

I was aware of Henry's gaze on the two of us, yet it was more of analysis than critical or anger. He didn't have the slightest idea.

"He's helping out with a domestic issue," Michael said. I had to admire his poor attempt to skirt around the truth. Deep down, we both knew it wasn't going to work and my father's next question confirmed it.

"And what exactly does this issue entail?"

He tried to think of a satisfactory answer, but he couldn't come up with one. That just left one option; the truth. "It is protecting the last safe and free place in Atlantis."

The atmosphere in the room got tenser and thicker. Henry was radiating aggression, yet his demeanor portrayed something different. "Where are my manners? Perhaps we should discuss this over a meal."

The two of us shared a gulp and slowly nodded our heads. My father immediately turned his back and started moving towards the door with the two of us trailing behind.

This was going to be hell.

-----

Compared to Atlantis, the food here was worse than dogshit. All of my cravings were satiated in Atlantis, especially pizza. Going five years without pizza was painful and would drive anyone insane. Who doesn't love a good old pineapple pizza? Me, I tricked you. Don't eat pineapple on pizza.

But I'm straying away from the story and offended some Canadians. Not sorry.

In front of me was what was called vegetable soup, but it was more of a green and bitter liquid. I stared at every spoonful, weighing the pros and cons before putting it in my mouth and contorting my face in disgust. I dumped some of my soup into Michael's bowl, only to get an angry face.

"So, how did you two meet?" My father asked.

"It's a ... long story," Michael said, taking a long pause in between the words.

"Well, we've got plenty of time," Henry said. "All I want to do is ensure my son's safety."

I sighed and took charge of the conversation. "Me and Andres were on the beach when a lost boat sailed to land. We approached the sailor who kept saying he was from Atlantis. We helped him fix his ship and stow away on it. When it finally stopped, low and behold we were on Atlantis."

"Turns out that the sailor was a soldier and Michael was looking for him. He recognized me when we escaped the ship and began talking. Started off with small talk, then one thing led to another and we ended up talking about the war and we came to an accord."

The first step to make up a believable lie is to know it. In the same way an engineer knows his creation and an author knows his story, a liar must know the ins and outs of his lie. I pictured the scene in my head looked for any holes in the lie and resolved it. At the end of it, the whole scene played in my mind.

The second step is to keep everything normal. I made sure to keep everything natural. Body language, tone, inflection, word choice, etc. Slight deviations could build up and make the story less believable. It wouldn't be a problem in a short lie, but one this vivid needs to be perfect to stop the most critical people from being suspicious.

My labor paid off when my father nodded to the story. He didn't show any signs of disbelief.

"And this issue," He began. "What is it specifically?"

This time, Michael took the lead to speak.

"Atlantis is made up of six nations. Currently, it's my nation, England, versus the other five. England is the only place left with a democratic government. We allow citizens to live their lives freely without oppression. However, the leader of the other five doesn't like his citizens seeing an alternative. We're weeks away from being attacked with more troops than we can handle."

Henry took a spoonful of soup and sipped it into his mouth as he thought about the words. He could tell the gravity of the situation.

"You said to 'protect' the last safe place," He began before turning to me. "Do you plan on fighting in their war?"

"Not fight," I clarified. "I'm taking a team to subvert the government."

My father shook his head and began to think aloud. "I don't know which one is worse: being on the front lines or directly attacking a government."

I clicked my tongue. "That's the beauty of my plan. I'm not attacking the government, but only one person."

He tilted his head. "And that would be?"

"Why, that would be the king of course," I said. A look of grandeur came on my face as I uttered my words.

"The king?" He asked exacerbated.

"Technically speaking, the government will permit you to do a lot of things. You can riot, stage protests, and even an uprising. Sure, they'll make up charges, but you can still do it. However, the one thing they can't allow you to do is to take the king. A king has the power to form an entirely new government, but the government can't survive without the king. Remove him and it'll be the worst chaos you've ever seen."

He rubbed his head just to take everything I was saying in. "That's insane. There's no way for you to do that."

"I've got those minor details figured out," I boasted as I began to pick my fingernails.

"Minor details?" He repeated, still rubbing his head.

"I already spent hours explaining and I'm not too keen on doing it again," I said tiredly. "Now, all I need is your permission to leave."

He looked up at me before turning to Michael.

"Did he explain his full plan to you?" He asked. Michael nodded his head. "And what do you think?"

"I agree with you that it is insane, but it's mine and my people's only hope. I implore you to give permission," Michael said assertively, leaving no room for doubt.

The next five minutes were filled with silence. Not even the movement of our utensils, or slurping of soup, made a sound. It was even more tense as the two of us waited for the final decision. If he didn't give permission, he would watch over me himself 24/7 for at least a week, at which point it would no longer be possible to help.

As the tension was reaching bigger and bigger highs, he finally spoke.

"I'll let you go," He said with his eyes closed. When he finished saying those words, he suddenly opened them and it seemed like it was blazing. His face was serious and aimed straight towards Michael. "But if he doesn't come back, there'll be much bigger issues for you."

His threat, while being ominous, was entirely useless. We'd both be dead together. Although we both knew it, the sheer intensity of his words caused both of us to gulp and flinch.

"Of course sir," Michael said. His expression calmed down.

The rest of the dinner was all small talk, getting to know each other, things of that nature.

At least, until we had finished our meal and were getting up. That was when Michael spoke.

"Oh, before I forget, can you take the glamor off Zack?" Michael asked.

My father's eyes widened.

But it wasn't as much as my eyes.

"Glamor?" I asked. "I don't have any glamor on me."

Michael's eyes narrowed in confusion. "You do, although it's a strange and rare form of glamor, however."

I turned to look at my father.

"I think there's something you need to tell me."