Page 147 of The Warrior
Isobel took a sip of water from the glass Pearl handed her. “I’ll recommend he spends some time in a place of reflection to find his mental balance again. He’s been making some very poor choices.”
“In other words, prison,” I muttered.
“It’s not a prison.”
I angled my head and raised an eyebrow. “Can he leave?”
“Yes, of course, as soon as he’s well again.”
“Funny how you talk about human rights, when you fucking mind-control your people. We might lock our people up for criminal actions, but we stay out of their heads.”
Isobel looked at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We only try to help people feel better.”
“No one is questioning your good intentions, Mother,” Pearl said. “It’s just that sometimes good intentions can lead to bad situations. Just because you don’t understand or condone people’s behavior doesn’t mean you should lock them up until they agree to see things your way.”
“No, it’s much easier to kill them,” I said to break the heavy atmosphere.
“What?” Isobel gaped at me.
“When some stupid-ass rebel wants to attack Khan and Pearl, I tell them to change their minds or die.”
“He’s kidding, Mom,” Pearl told Isobel with a smile while Khan refilled her glass of water. “It’s just Magni’s strange humor.” Pearl gave me the stink-eye and shook her head as to say,It’s not funny.
I shrugged and leaned against Laura, whispering into her ear. “Looks like Isobel would rather hear lies than the truth after all.”
CHAPTER 37
Matching Couples
Laura
Isobel folded her hands in front of her. “As I’ve mentioned before, letting Nmen with a criminal past take part in the matching program would be unwise. We should exclude those individuals.”
Pearl’s hands were folded on the table in front of her. “Mother, I understand and appreciate your concern. Khan and Magni, however, have made a strong point that any man who has served his sentence shall not be further punished by his past. I tend to agree with them.”
Isobel’s cheeks were growing redder as the two women battled in what Motlanders would consider a fierce argument. They even resembled each other in body posture.
“This is something I’d need to discuss with the Council. Allowing such matches would be upsetting to many of the members.” Isobel lifted her hands to massage her temples. “As it is, this matchmaking program is causing great distress for many of us. To include men with violent pasts would increase our concerns further. If something were to happen to any of these women, it would be on us. We allowed it.”
I leaned forward. “With all due respect, Chairwoman, there is such a thing as a free choice. These women aren’t children and they understand they’re taking a risk. If something happens to them it’s onthem, not you.”
“But our role is to keep our people safe.”
“I get that. Councilwomen are like overprotective moms, but you’re suffocating your people with your love. The applicants aren’t children and they don’t need you to limit their options by excluding men who might be their perfect match. Let them make that decision for themselves.” My speech was more to the point than Isobel was used to, and her eyes darted to Pearl, as well as to Christina and Erika, who were both in the room too.
All morning we’d been working on finalizing the matching process. Khan hadn’t been able to join us since he was with Magni dealing with urgent matters.
Pearl was looking over the deadlines for the project. “We’ll need your approval before tomorrow night, Mother. Every woman will receive her top ten matches tomorrow night and she’ll have two days to decide which five candidates she wishes to meet in person.”
“Erika made an excellent suggestion that Khan agreed to.” Pearl smiled at our mother-in-law. “Why don’t you tell it yourself?”
Erika gave a small smile and looked at Isobel when she spoke. “As you might have heard, some of the most wealthy and influential men in the Northlands were charged with conspiracy to overthrow my son. As a result, their assets were confiscated, and Khan has approved some of that wealth being used to fund new experimental schools and initiatives to support the Motlander women’s integration into our society.”
“That’s wonderful.” Isobel smiled.
Erika nodded and angled her head. “Yes, and fitting if you think about it. Those men held a very low opinion of women. They considered us intellectually impaired. This money can support women getting to work here and keep them safe from men who might feel threatened by them.” Erika paused and looked around at Christina, Pearl, and Isobel. “I have to say that being part of this project has been nothing short of amazing.”
I rubbed Erika’s back. “It’s empowering to see women make decisions, isn’t it? I used to think you were the strongest woman I knew because I saw you stand up to both Khan and Magni at times. Now I know that we can give the men a run for their money. We are going to bring the Northlands up to a new standard that will benefit everyone living here.”
