It took a few moments for Rick to gather himself as silence descended in the area. Well, silence only if you ignored the booms sounding in the distance.

  So while there was noise of battle a day or two of travel away, in Rick’s mind there was irregular serenity to it, but at the same time, it was also in a state of flux.

  All that was in his mind was just a sting of interactions that seemed to be playing on a loop in his memory.

  There was all of his interactions with Rogu. When the Supreme Hobgoblin did his best to respectfully impart the importance of the position Rick held for his race.

  Then there were the interactions with the rest of Royal Retrieval team prior to all of this happening.

  How they deferred to him, how they respected him, how they looked to him for leadership and guidance. How they were always ready to act upon his words and also be the shield that protected his path.

  Then of course his interactions with Jaba.

  The first Goblin he ever actually had a real conversation with. It well over a year ago now, and it was a very shaky conversation for both of them. Rick was still his somewhat hyper yet goofy self, while Jaba who was only Tier One at the time, was a bit overstimulated by all the words Rick used.

  But overtime their relationship deepened as they trained and hunted together.

  Then came Jaba’s Tier Two evolution after barely surviving that interaction with that massive wolf, and their relationship only continued to get better.

  He then focused on all of those relationships he built, Geedi who was keen on having his children before somehow becoming the leader of his Royal Guard and attacking that effort with the utmost dedication.

  Then there was Dal and Tars who lead their respective squads with serious intentionality in an effort to become Royal Guards themselves.

  Then…then there was the Iris River Plains, and all of the Goblins who lived within.

  He learned of their oppression, their generational trauma, and all of their associated troubles.

  It bothered him, it troubled him, it saddened him, but most of all it angered him. So he sought to free them. And after initially only planning on freeing a few at a time every couple months without including travel time, he then changed that plan.

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  And with the position he held, Rogu and the other Goblins didn’t resist his decisions.

  Velora advised against it, Jala showed hesitance, and there were a few other signs to not go through with his new plans, but he missed them all.

  And all of it led to what was happening today.

  Rick used to think he perfectly understood the weight of the position he bore. The position he sought after, but it was only now that he truly felt it.

  That his shoulders now properly held the weight of a Monarch.

  It was heavy.

  It was not a weight that ordinary people could bear without significant consequences to themselves and or the people they led.

  Yet, it was one that Rick was born into. By soul, DNA, race, and whatever other metric or identifier someone wanted to use, Rick was for all intents and purposes, a Royal Goblin.

  There was no running from it, he could avoid it, he could ignore the plight of his people and run away. Living his life how he saw fit.

  But he would always be a Royal Goblin…

  Or at least that’s how Rick thought about it.

  And as he thought about, while the memories of all those interactions and the events that surrounded them continuously played on a loop in his mind, the pressure it brought slowly continued to build in his mind.

  Yet, despite the supposed real weight of his position, and pressure his looping memories added to the situation, Rick wasn’t reacting to how someone else might.

  He wasn’t crying. He had already done that.

  He wasn’t wallowing in self-pity. He had already done that.

  He no longer felt disgusted at himself. He had moved past that.

  Instead…all those emotions had made way for a mix of anger, wrath, revenge. Yet behind that all of that anger, wrathfulness, and feeling of revenge, there was something else. Something a lot more prevalent.

  It was hard to describe with one word alone, but essentially, the thing that was sticking out the most to Rick right now was two things.

  One, the sacrifices made to protect him, and his decision making that likely led to those sacrifices.

  The thought of another brash or emotional decision born from his anger leading to the sacrifice of another Goblin was like pouring a lake of water on the flames that stroked the anger in his heart.

  But it didn’t get rid of all of that anger and desire for revenge. No… It did no such thing. Instead all it did was cool it, temper it like blade of a sword fresh out of the fire.

  And the combination of all those influx of emotions gave rise to a steely, somewhat cold determination.

  Rick wasn’t about to suddenly become an ice cold individual without a heart, but now there was likely little room for humor remaining in his emotional capacity.

  At least for now.

  Velora had been quiet as she observed the internal battle that took place in Rick’s mind. If Rick had began to spiral instead of reaching his current state, then she would have been there to try and put him back together, and if he called upon her for anything, she would’ve been ready.

  So for now all she did was watch and observe.

  Allowing Rick to take this moment to grow a bit more. To pick himself back up.

  And although Velora didn’t know this at the time. It was always better to be the one that picking your own self up out of a rut. If you counted on someone’s else motivation and determination to bounce back then your bounce back could be short lived.

  If that person was no longer in your ear when you needed them again, or they decided to speak down against you for some reason instead of lifting you up, then it would be all for naught.

  Doing it yourself allowed for a higher chance of an individual or Rick in this case, to stick to their plan.

  A plan for revenge of the highest order.

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