The Fifth Element
Chapter 11: Finn Asks…
Finn was let out the cage. Simon motioned for him to walk with him.
"Alright Finn, I suppose I owe you some answers to. I'm sure you must have a tremendous amount of questions. I promise I will answer them to the best of my ability.
"Well, I guess the biggest question I can ask if why you have a little prison in your bedroom?" Finn asked. This question caught the Ice King by surprised. True enough, the only cage in the entire Ice Castle WAS in fact in the Ice King's personal quarters. Perhaps it was the bed, laundry hamper and drum kit that gave it away.
"What can I say, I used to date this girl who was into that. Never bothered to take it down. Too much effort." Simon said. He was lying through his teeth. He was NOT proud of why he owned that cage. He erected it in one of his less than lucid moments, and had done something despicable. He kept it up as a reminder of what he was capable of if he lost control, but he didn't want to overwhelm the poor kid.
Finn seemed to accept this answer. It was a bit of a political trick Simon picked up as king. Slip an innuendo into something you'd rather keep clandestine, and suddenly, everybody stopped asking questions.
"Alright, how about this, where am I?" Finn asked. Simon took Finn to the nearest window he could fine. It was a good one, with an excellent view of Polar City.
"This," Simon began, "Is the Ice Kingdom, and I am the Ice King, Simon Petrikov. It is home to all things that thrive in the Ice and Snow. It is my dominion, for here I am the master of Ice. The forever winter. The king of cool. I am The Ice King."
Finn was left breathless at this, and he was drinking in the view. "Awesome" he muttered, in a tone that Simon knew meant he was very impressed.
"Unfortunately those raiders caused a lot of damage." Simon said, pointing to the ruined portion of the city. Penguins and Snow Golems were scattering and running around, trying to contain the panic and find the wounded. "But, we shall rebuilt. We always do."
"Who were those guys attacking you and your penguins?" Finn asked.
"Raiders, from the Breakfast Kingdom. Agents of the Citchen alliance!" Simon spat, his voice boiling with contempt. The Breakfast Kingdom had crossed the line today, attacking his innocent penguins.
"Citchen Alliance?" Finn enquired. Simon sighed.
"You see Finn, we live on the eastern region of Ooo. Home to four great Kingdoms, Fire, Ice, Slime and Candy. Each kingdom has a vital resource that the others need to survive. Therefore, to get those resources, we raid one another, constantly stealing and battling each other for control over resources, and the minor kingdoms. If you need power and energy, you must raid Fire Kingdom. If you want metal and materials, you must raid Slime Kingdom. It's been this way for centuries." Simon explained.
"Why can't you just trade?" Finn asked. Simon gave a weary smile. That was a very good question.
"Nobody has enough resources to support 4 whole kingdoms all at once. Enough for one or two Kingdoms, definitely. Enough for two or three kingdoms, maybe. But definitely not enough for FOUR whole kingdoms." Simon sighed. "Somebody's gonna have to go hungry. And nobody wants to be that guy."
"Yikes," Finn sighed. "So now everybody's at war, and everybody's on the verge of starvation?"
"Sad but true, kiddo." Simon sighed. "It's been this way for centuries."
Finn thought long and hard. Simon had began to walk, and Finn decided to just stare out at the wrecked city. "Simon!" He called. "I have one more question."
"Sure thing Finn." Simon said. "Hit me!"
"What's going to happen to me now?"