Vincent and Jamie and Catarina: When Freshiedency Reaches Its End

Six Days of Separation: Day 4

Jamie woke up in her hospital room now as sprightly as before she had the disease. She did not feel any more pain or weakness from her malady or the needles being pricked inside her daily. Though she still had to carry her two dextrose hangers around, she had more strength and energy to do it. She was able to walk almost normally, but she took tiny steps with her six "feet" just to adjust herself from laying in bed for so long. She decided not to test her wings, for she knew that while she was generally okay, she is still recovering and any strenuous activity will cause a lot of strain on her. However, in terms with her physiology, especially breeder nature, she's fine.

She went to the washroom, which was thankfully designed for Natura breeders, and checked her reflection.
Her cheeks had that rosy color again, a good sign that her health began to improve. While she was there, something stirred in her backside terminal. She knew that her body was returning to normal, and decided to empty out her guts that morning.

Completely relieved after a moment, the breeder began to go back to bed, and began to drift again to sleep.

...

At nine thirty, Dr. Markus and the driver nurse arrived in her room with a tourniquet and a syringe once again. Jamie knew that this was her daily routine since day one; it did not seem painful to her already. It was numbing her arms, however, and she didn't like that feeling at all.

Now the nurse actually opened the TV, which was currently running the Mandala Today coverage of President Svalbård's last national address after a single seven-year term in office. It was actually a high definition live-streaming and the camera was actually pointing to the flat part in the middle of the Palace stairs. This part held a podium, with which the President would always give his or her speeches. On its left side was a projector, which would display the main points of his speech.

Jamie kept her eyes transfixed at the TV, as the tiny clock displayed on the lower right hand corner of the screen counted down.

...

Vincent was heavily contemplating.

Different thoughts about what would happen to the country when he will be gone ran through his mind, but these thoughts were superseded by the thought of Jamie. He had been sitting in the back of the limousine for some time now and was about to drift off to sleep when Catarina, who was sitting by his side, tapped his shoulder lightly with one of her legs

"We're already here!" she said, and scuttled off the limousine first. Vincent followed suit, and once he stepped out, the crowd applauded for him. He walked up the stairs with a smile and waved to the people below. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bunch of familiar people down below: Elaiza and Laodhmair, Clotho and Ridan, Philomella and Zenthi, Norman and Noelle, and Cee, Jay, and Ceejay. He waved to them with a bright smile and then disappeared behind the doors of the Palace.

When he and Catarina entered the office, Catarina suddenly said, "Hey, Vincent! I, uh, have something to do in the kitchen first. Catch you in a bit!"

"Again?" Vincent asked her, but he dismissed it and said, "Your call." Immediately, Cat sped out of the room.

Vincent shut the door to the office, sat down in his chair, and reviewed his speech and the note cards that he wrote along with it. He was actually considered the "People's President" not only because he is politically and economically wise, he is very sociable and environmentally friendly, and he is a well devoted Christian; but also because he gave short but substantial speeches. These speeches were quick and direct; he did not want to bore anyone with tons of numbers or too much words. All he wanted was to get the point across succinctly.

His mind worked very quickly, and instantly, he was able to keep his 50-minute speech --- his longest speech --- in his head; his brain cells were the most active at this time, especially now that it was already 9.50AM, ten minutes to speech time.

Vincent decided to rest his mind and went out of the office. He walked along the corridors, greeting each and everyone a good day. As he walked toward the kitchen, however, he heard a faint sound, like the sound of two metals grating against each other. In between sounds, he may have heard Catarina murmuring to herself. So, he placed an ear to the door and listened. Unfortunately, the first words he heard were Divide. And. Conquer. Divide. Then. Kill.

He ran back to the office, not only because it was almost time for his speech, but also because of those six words.

...

He went back out to the people at exactly 10 AM, together with his notes and papers towards the podium, where he was greeted by the same crowd. Back at the hospital, Jamie was terrifically excited, accidentally releasing a few (unfertilized) eggs which smashed on the ground.

"Oops," she giggled, and took a deep breath to relax herself.

Meanwhile, back at the Palace, the crowd silenced themselves. Vincent looked at his friends below; they gave him thumbs-up for encouragement and also for the go-signal. The President then cleared his throat and began.

Dear friends, visitors, and citizens of Mandala, I am Vincent Svalbård II, current President of Mandala so far. But this job is far from easy, yet it is rewarding...

Jamie was watching from her room, smiling and applauding softly at certain points of her mutual's fifty minute speech.

---

In lieu of the entire speech itself, here is a list of things Vincent has done during his entire term. Most of them were done in the last three years of his life.

--Survived and staged a peaceful revolution
---Survived jail time
--- implemented the Restoration Law, which made jails use vocational training and rehab
---designated several natural sanctuaries, most of which are found on the lower East part of Mandala.
--- created an economic and environmental zone along the western spoke of Mandala
---opened new jobs for the people of Mandala.
---devoted money for research and development of ecofriendly and economic materials like recyclable plastics.
---Visited orphanages and / or helped the people in work during Fridays.
---Gave helpful advice to people on the radio whenever he guested.
---Honored those who were before him, especially his father.
--- strengthened relations with other countries in the Other World
--- supported Greenpeace and their efforts on safety and economic awareness.

...

With his speech closed and done, Vincent bowed to the audience and retreated back inside the Palace. Jamie applauded from her hospital bed, along with the doctors.

"We have some good news for you, Jamie," Dr. Markus told her, "You will be discharged in two days time, since your health stats are now improving at a massive rate."

Jamie gently got off the bed, went to her doctor, and hugged him as if he were her old man. She whispered her thanks many times towards him.

"Settle down now," Dr. Markus assured her, "Rest easy."

Jamie yawned in affirmation and went back to her bed. The attendants turned off the TV, pulled up the blinds for the light to enter the room, shut the electric lights, and finally closed the door as the breeder headed straight for Dreamland.