Lolita boarded the main deck of the cruise ship on the ocean. The security guards recognized her as James' daughter and didn't ask ID from her.
She approached the servant standing by the railing.
"Tako Kúntaǂ." The servant said as Lolita grabbed the glass from his serving tray.
"What?" Lolita raised an eyebrow as she sipped her shrimp cocktail.
"He's speaking Zo-pak, Lolita."
David Trescot, the ruler of Sumer, approached her in a sharp blue suit.
"Sounds like gibberish to me," Lolita said.
"Lolita, please! Do you not realize there are fifty million native Zo-pak speakers in the world?" David replied.
"David, Zo-pak is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn," Milton Sudan chimed in, joining them in a purple satin tunic. "You must master biblical clicks and retro clicks. In my language, Aka-pak, you only need to learn the dental clicks."
"Are you going to build bilingual Zo-pak schools in Cascadia?" David raised an eyebrow.
Milton shook his head. "Government funding is better spent elsewhere."
"You can't deny Zo-pak speakers an education in Cascadia!" David's mouth dropped open.
"You need to invest money in educating Sumerians about birth control! Your country's population is out of control. The average Sumerian woman gives birth to at least eight children! You need to have the one-child policy in your country."
"I don't believe in mandatory sterilizing; it takes away people's freedom," David responded.
"I'm going to the washroom," Lolita said before she left. She passed the pool on the deck.
After a brief detour to freshen her lipstick, Lolita snuck up behind James, who was deep in discussion with a woman. Her black, shoulder-length hair contrasted with the fiery red of her Komodo.
"Lolita, do you know Yesmin Trixie? She's the ruler of Jayland." James pointed to her.
"Dad, of course, I know her. I have a daily subscription of the Ruler magazine that informs me about all the world's rulers."
Richard Scott approached them with a swagger; his cashmere suit and classic, side-parted hair made Lolita cringe. Wine glass in hand, he kept his head held high.
"James, you look rather grey," Richard remarked. "You should retire."
"Richard, you're being rude to James!" Yesmin snapped
Lolita sneered at him. "Richard Scott, you're the reason Intermarium's economy is failing. Ossory used to be a province of Intermarium. We used to generate copper revenue from the Alloy Mountains."
"Oh, please, I'm not at fault for anything," Richard said with a shrug. "For starters, the people of Ossory wanted independence. They didn't want to live under a hereditary monarchy. They wanted a parliamentary democracy and laws they had a say in."
"You're at fault! Do you not forget that war you started with us?" Lolita pressed her rosy lips together.
"I declared war after your father rejected my request, as governor of Ossory, to become an independent nation," Richard replied. "Dorne supported our borders to protect Ossory's resources from exploitation. After the war, Dorne dissolved and became a province, because Thomas Lincoln refused to pay taxes on copper. Since the unification, the Ossory economy has improved, especially through the cottonwood plantations."
"Two million Intermarium soldiers died, and five million more were left wounded, crippling our public medical system!" Lolita argued, her eyebrows furrowing deeply. "Intermarium wouldn't be a third-world country if our land hadn't been torn apart by your revolution!"
Lolita furrowed her eyebrows.
"The people of Ossory are thriving because we're no longer paying high taxes towards your ruler, James." Richard countered.
Lolita's tone was cold-ice. "Thomas Lincoln was a fool to hand Dorne over to you. It belongs to Intermarium, not to you."
"Thomas knew when it was time to step down, unlike James," Richard shot back. "His health was failing. He supported our revolution because he hated being forced onto a throne just because of a monarchy."
He paused to take a slow sip of wine before studying James's hollow eyes.
"James, look at yourself. You don't look well enough to run a country. Have you ever considered updating your ancient laws? A bloodline shouldn't dictate a nation's future."
"I have to agree with Richard," Renee Clinton said, smoothly sliding into the conversation. "What qualifications do your children have, James? To become the ruler of Catwerp, I needed a master's degree in political science from an accredited university."
James's cheeks flushed pink. "Formal schooling hasn't been an option for my children. I've spent years teaching Ethan myself and preparing him for the responsibilities that will eventually fall to him."
Renee's lip twisted. "I think your children lack political insight without any formal education—"
"Renee," David interrupted, joining them. "I have to disagree with you. Education isn't the end-all and be-all. I became ruler of Sumer through my political party."
"Your party won because your parents are rich oil magnates," Renee said.
"My country doesn't have the resources to fund political parties," Daniel said. "As a result, candidates must self-finance their campaigns."
"Lolita, do you want to grab the salmon canope from the buffet?" Yesmin said with a smile.
"Sure," Lolita responded. They approached the buffet covered in a white tablecloth. Lolita put her empty glass on the table and grabbed herself another shrimp cocktail. The music string orchestra played in the background was calming, like the ocean's water.
Ethan yelled, "Lolita, what the hell is this? Why were you kissing Axel?" He held up a magazine whose front cover featured a photograph of her kissing Axel.
Lolita suppressed a sigh. At least she looked good in the picture. Despite being hungover at the time, her diamond heart-shaped earrings caught the light perfectly.
"It's nothing," she shrugged, tossing her hair. "Axel isn't important to me."
"Lolita! Axel punched me and broke my nose!"
"So what? You deserve it."
"You're a slut."
Blood rushed to Lolita's face, turning it a deep, furious purple. Slap! Her hand cracked across Ethan's cheek, leaving a striking red mark.
"Don't you ever call me that again!" she hissed.
"Enough!" James bellowed, stepping directly between them. "I am sick of listening to you two bicker."
"She just slapped me! I'm already in pain because of my broken nose." Ethan pointed at his bandaged nose.
James whipped around to face Lolita, yelling furiously. "Lolita, is Ethan telling the truth? Have you no shame? He is already hurt—"
"Then make me first in line for the crown instead of him!" Lolita shot back, slicing right through his lecture. "Do that, and we'll have nothing left to bicker about."
James shook his head. "Lolita, Ethan is the rightful heir because he's the eldest born—"
Bang.
Renee screamed.
Ethan lay on the polished floor, his white tuxedo covered in blood. A bullet hole on the side of his head. Lolita froze like a statue. Beside her, James fainted from the sheer shock, dropping to the floor. A servant raced over and knelt on the marble to attend to James.
The music died. The ocean breeze carried away the remnants of the conversation, leaving the cruise ship locked in a suffocating, deathly silence.