The Kingdom

Imperialism

A bright sun gleamed down on the Arche, Ludere. Your typical weather before everything goes dark. Everything here is such a jovial place to spend time that it makes you feel warm and adrenalised inside. Out here in this isolated Arche, the children play from dusk until dawn and the parents socialise with others, smiling about and not a single thing to worry about. Such a carefree and positive atmosphere compared to the other Arches. Zoe was just outside her shelter playing with her older brother while her mother had been inside all the while to keep the house in order. Most days, it would be different and exciting for everything in the small village called Silvermerrow, but today would stand out like no other.

"Come on, Jackson! No fair! I had the ball first before you even stood up! You can't just rip it out of my hands!" Zoe remarked, trying to grab the ball back.

"Nope!" Jackson smiled. "You should've known where I was before you let your guard down!" He began to run off, the purple and pinkish ball in his firm grip.

While Zoe groaned and began to chase after her only brother, their mother watched from the window and smiled before stepping outside. "Okay, children. Maybe it's time for you to go inside and eat," she politely suggested.

The both of them stopped and immediately glanced at their mother before looking at each other and back again. "Fine, Mom," Zoe gave in and walked towards the house. Jackson soon followed after her, dropping the lavender ball in disappointment. Inside the house, it smelled of Lagiber. Similar to a human's apple, but with a zesty gingery aftertaste. The keyword is "human's". Up here in the Floating Arches, the word "human" is foreign and not used as much. Instead, it's substituted for the word "Homin". That's what you call the living organisms that live far below the clouds, or the many few that live far above it. Well, up here, the primary life form is non-human. We call them Vivere, or Vitae if it's plural. Sure, Zoe is a homin living up here with the Arches and Vitae, along with the rest of her village and family. They can eat the food that's grown on these floating, scattered islands while also maintaining a normal, healthy human diet.

"What are we eating today, Mom?" Zoe asked, peeking over the counter and seeing a pot over the fire. It looked a delicious green colour; the source of the Lagiber scent.

"It's your favourite. I just added a hint of that Lagibberish fruit thingy, from our neighbour that runs a produce stand. She was giving them away for something common in return. It's to add flavour, but it's really strong," she replied.

Zoe nodded. "Thanks! And Mom, it's Lagiber," she corrected and went ahead to set up the table for three as their mother got the soup ready. Both Jackson and Zoe took a seat before their mother did and started to scoop up the soup. "Careful, it's hot," their mother warned, taking her portion. The steam rose and danced from the soup and then vanished into the air. They thanked their mother then dug in. The soup, floating with pieces of bok choy, chicken, and even Lagiber bursted with flavour. Like a water balloon, the second it hits your tongue the zest had spread. On the inside, their taste buds were going crazy, but on the outside, they took their sweet time to savour this delicacy. Once they were done, they got off their seats and went to the waterfall to wash their dishes. It was a short walk there, so one at a time, they exited their shelter and crossed floating islands via the bridges, roots, and vines that connected them. The climbing of rugged roots had worn down their delicate hands, but they were used to it and treated it like nothing. A few minutes passed and their eyes met the large island with a gaping hole for a pond. Trees and many vast areas of underbrush were dotted around the fall, and near the edge was a small waterfall that fell off the floating island and down to the clouds. Maybe even passed that. The three eached kneeled on the edge, close to the small waterfall, and began to scrub their wooden bowls and spoons with the tips of their fingers, making sure that it was truly clean and free from the remaining food. After washing, they got up and went back home, having small chatter here and there. "You should've seen the look on Zoe's fa―"