Page 6 of Seeded By Two

He had been wiped from the records as I knew my own would be, should I ever be subjected to such a fate.

Forgotten.

But there was perhaps one place where I might still be remembered as the precocious boy I had once been…

Rima 9.

On my way to the Seeding Facility, I finally took it upon myself to take the trip I had always wanted to take while growing up.

I visited my family’s farm.

I grew nervous the closer I drew to it and changed my mind at least a dozen times but never altered the trajectory of my ship.

The only person who knew of my plans was the Prince who had told his security detail that I was to be allowed to leave two days early to scout the Facility in case of danger — it was a ruse and one Security had not fallen for.

Still, he managed to leverage me several hours, for which I was very grateful.

He understood my need to revisit my family.

I was the longest-serving Decoy and the closest to the Prince.

Although I was not the only one, I was chief among them, sent on the most important missions in his stead.

At least, they were supposed to be the most important missions.

I wore a disguise in case my parents recognized me as the Prince, duty always coming first.

I landed the shuttle and approached the Krev who leaned on his hoe, pushed up the brim of his hat with his dirty thumb, and peered closer at me.

There was no look of recognition in his eyes, no sign he knew who I really was.

“Well?” he said in an accent I had, until that moment, completely forgotten about. “What can I do for ye?”

“I, uh…” I began.

What was I going to say?

I had dreamed of this moment a million times and always knew exactly what to say.

And yet now, none of it was coming to mind.

“I’m… a government worker,” I found myself saying. “I’m here to inspect the farm.”

I didn’t know where the excuse came from but there it was.

He spat to one side more as a habit than a rebuke. “You lot came only last month. What brings yer ‘ere agin?”

“There was a… discrepancy with our information,” I said. “I just need to double-check a couple of things.”

My father leaned his hoe against the fence. “Well, if we’re goin’ ta do this, we mightn’t as well begin doin’ in now. Folla me.”

He led me around the farm.

I kept running my eyes over him, looking for something I might have inherited from him…

But saw nothing save his broad shoulders, powerful frame, and tall black horns shiny and well-kempt compared to the rest of his ensemble — but those things were common for all Krev.

The farm was much smaller than I recalled and the magical secluded spots I had often fallen asleep thinking about weren’t so magical after all.

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