Page 52 of The Warrior
“What does it do?” Laura reached out to see the box with her hands.
“It gives singing lessons. I have to follow a song and if I’m off key, the box shows it. If I remember all lines and sing the song in a perfect pitch, I go on to the next level.” Mila’s dimples came out when she smiled. “I’m the only one who’s at level thirty-one.”
“Wow, that’s great. Maybe you can demonstrate how it works,” Laura suggested.
Mila moved closer to me and I placed my hand around her. “It’s okay, Mila, you don’t have to be shy with Laura – she can’t sing for shit. She’ll be impressed with your voice.”
Laura crossed her arms. “Says the man who makes people’s ears bleed when he sings in the shower.”
“I hum in a low baritone,” I corrected her and squeezed Mila closer. “So you see, honey, it really won’t take much to impress the both of us.”
“Okay.” Mila took the box from Laura and pointed to the cozy corner. “You can sit there.”
I arranged my seven-foot body on the floor next to Laura, who picked a large orange pillow to sit on.
“Magni, you should use that pillow. It’s my favorite.” Mila gestured to a heart-shaped fluffy one in purple.
“Nah, I’m good,” I said and shook my head.
But Mila wanted me to be comfortable and brought it to me. “Feel how soft it is.”
Laura studied me when I took the pillow. She might think me a softie for caving but there was no way I could reject Mila’s kindness. I took the fluffy pillow and sat on it. Good thing my body was large enough to cover most of the damn thing.
When Mila began singing, Laura gave me a look that said,I didn’t expect this. The girl had a beautiful voice and the machine showed that she was right on pitch.
“Do you want to try it?” Mila asked Laura when she was done.
Laura tilted her head and looked at me. “I’ll do it, if Magni does it.”
“Will you?” Mila's eyes became pleading. “It would be so much fun.”
“Sorry, hon, but my singing voice is best when I’m drunk.”
“What’s that?”
Laura was quick to explain. “Here in the Northlands there’s something called alcohol. People who drink it become silly and irrational. Sometimes they think they have amazing singing voices when they don’t. Other times they think fighting someone is a great idea even if they see double.”
“That’s right,” I pitched in. “You wouldn’t know about it since alcohol is forbidden in the Motherlands. Just like most other fun things are forbidden there.”
“I had a lot of fun back home,” Mila pointed out.
“Yeah, but that was before you knew what it’s like in the Northlands. I’m sure if given the choice, you’d want to live here,right?”
Mila bit her lip.
“I mean, you wouldn’t leave your husband to live in the Motherlands, would you?” I didn’t look at Laura, but the comment was aimed at her.
“I don’t know.” Mila looked down. “Maybe if he wasn’t nice to me.”
I frowned. “Oh, I’d make fucking sure he was nice to you, sweetheart.”
Mila came to sit in front of us, her body leaning against my knee, and she reached for my hand. I burst with pride, hoping that Laura noticed the girl’s adoration of me.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said.” Mila spoke softly. “About you arranging a tournament for me when I’m older.”
“What about it?” I asked. “It’s the only way to be sure you get a worthy husband.”
“But what if he hits me?”
