Page 29 of The Protector
Boulder nodded.
We had many more interesting conversations, and he was surprisingly well informed about the world. But unfortunately, his perception of the Motherlands was all wrong. He confused our kindness with oppressiveness and he classified our men’s gentleness as being submissive to women.
There were moments when I almost raised my voice at him. Like when he insisted that women were supposed to be protected because we were fragile and inferior to men. Although I suspected he wouldn’t report me for improper use of language, I was determined not to lower myself to his level and use strong words that were hurtful and forbidden, but a few inappropriate phrases passed through my mind when we discussed their way of living versus ours.
Since I arrived, there had been several times when I’d felt frightened. Especially on the first day, when Boulder first locked me in and shortly after stormed in with Khan and Magni. One giant of their size was intimidating enough, but to have three of them intensely staring at me at the same time had made me almost pee my pants.
Magni was the tallest of the three and the one that scared me the most. Unlike Khan and Boulder he kept his long hair tied in a hairband; probably to show off the tattoo running up his neck. I thought it was hideous and made him look like a prehistoric Viking. And it was strange to me that Magni and Khan were brothers, since Magni was dark blonde with blue eyes and Khan was his opposite. Khan’s hair color was pitch black, his eyes were a deep brown, and his skin was either tanned or naturally brown. I wondered if the title “brother” was an honorary title because, except for the fact that they were both tall and strong, they didn’t share any similarities in looks.
But it wasn’t just Magni that had scared me. When nighttime came, Boulder had barricaded the door by pushing the sofa in front of it, practically trapping me inside with him. My heart had been pounding like a woodpecker in my chest, fearful that he would take advantage of the situation and thinking of ways I could defend myself if he did. To be honest, I hardly slept at all that first night, but to my relief, he kept his distance and never touched me.
I kept asking to meet Laura, the woman Khan had mentioned that Magni was protecting. For some reason, she was never available and I quickly suspected that the men were making up excuses. It annoyed me since I had questions for her and would love to hear how she had experienced the ceremony where she chose Magni as her protector.
On the second morning, Boulder agreed to take me to see the area that I was here to excavate. We left before sunrise in order to avoid people. And just as on the day he brought me from the border, he flew himself. I was pretty sure the ten-minute ride in his hybrid as he called the drone would have taken much longer in one of the safety regulated drones that I was used to from back home.
When we reached the destination, it was everything I had dreamed it would be. Like a child in an amusement park I wanted to get my tools and get started right away, but Boulder insisted on a short visit, and so we returned to the manor after only an hour in the early morning sun.
“Tomorrow, you can be outside all day,” he assured me, and he was right.
On the third day, the games started and I was told they were happening simultaneously in cities around the Northlands. It frustrated me that it was necessary and that I couldn’t just be appointed a bodyguard without all this unnecessary nonsense.
Khan excitedly told me he was happy to get the chance to host a tournament and that it had been years since the last one was held in this area. “It’s good for the men’s morale,” he told me.
“I don’t understand why anyone would go through this much trouble to become a bodyguard,” I responded. “Wouldn’t it be better if the men collectively decided to quit the fighting and just let me do my job? The sooner I can get to it, the sooner we can all have answers and I can return back home.”
“In theory that sounds good, but in real life things work differently here,” Khan stated and left it at that.
The first fight I witnessed made me almost sick. It was like witnessing something from the medieval days when two men stepped shirt-less into an arena and fought like their lives depended on it.
I stood on the balcony of the Gray Mansion. With Boulder on my right side, Khan in front of me, and Magni on my left side, I was caged in and had to peek around Khan to see anything. The lovely park had an amphitheater, much like the Romans used to have, and it was cleverly designed so that the mansion created a backdrop for the audience and the large balcony we stood on had an excellent view of the performance.
I counted twelve hundred seats and all were occupied, with more men walking around the park or trying to get in.
Khan, Magni, and Boulder were commenting as two savage-looking males entered the arena and the audience cheered.
It all went incredibly fast when one of the men attacked the other and the fight broke out. Shocked by the violence, I gave a loud scream, but the roars from the pumped males overshadowed my cry.
Horrified, I looked up at Boulder. His eyes were fixed on the game and shone with excitement. Magni shouted a loud “Hell yeah” and Khan was laughing.
“You’ve got to stop this,” I pleaded and pulled at Khan to make him turn and face me.
“What did you say?” He laughed.
“Someone is going to get hurt, you’ve got to stop this,” I pleaded again.
He dismissively waved a hand at me. “It’s amazing. Look how alive they are. Look at the audience. I’ve missed this rush of excitement; I think we all have.” With an elbow to his brother’s ribs, Khan grinned. “We should have these games more often.”
Magni nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the fight.
I couldn’t look when one of the men forced the other to the ground and choked him with a knee to his throat.
Even from this distance I could tell the man on the ground was dying. His eyes bulged out, his face was redder than a ripe cherry, and he couldn’t breathe. When he clapped the ground and the attacker pulled back, loud “boos” erupted from the audience.
“Why are they making that noise?” I asked.
Boulder looked down at me. “Because he surrendered.”
“He didn’t have a choice. That man was killing him,” I argued.
