Page 12 of The Artist
“Yes, Old Europe is a little wacky if you ask me. Some of your buildings seem to defy gravity, and the way you light up all the houses in colors is… well, interesting.”
Celeste mistook my words for praise. “Thank you. That’s why this is all strange to us.” She waved her hand around. “I mean, why?”
“Why what?” I dipped my spoon into my soup.
“Why are you Northlanders so obsessed with the past?”
Before I could speak up, Freya answered, “You have to remember that the Northlands were founded by men who wanted things to remain as they always had been. There’s a lingering glorification of the good old days before the Toxic War when men ruled the world and women were pretty objects. That’s why a woman still can’t be the ruler here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start, Freya. It’s not something you have to involve our guests in!”
“Why not? If this is a summit for leaders then it’s relevant to talk about equality and progressive thinking, isn’t it?”
“I’d say so,” Celeste said in support. “But Indiana once told me there’s still a chance for you to be a co-ruler.”
Freya shrugged. “He’s referring to the agreement that was made between the Motherlands and the Northlands after the earthquake that destroyed the border wall.”
“What big earthquake?” Victor asked from across the table.
“It happened on October 26thin 2437. With the border wall crumbled in places between the Motherlands and Northlands, it would have been an opportune moment for my father to attack. Instead he kept his men from crossing the border and negotiated to have men on the Motherland council. The council members in turn demanded that he should allow a female co-ruler in the Northlands. In the end an agreement was made that once the Motherland council reaches equality between the number of men and women on it then the Northlands must follow suit and have a female ruler who is equal to her male counterpart.”
“Interesting.” Victor wiggled his spoon while talking. “The last time I checked there were around thirty men on the council.”
“Thirty-eight,” Freya said dryly. “We still have twelve seats to go before we reach equality.”
I raised my brow and gave her a hard stare. “We?”
“I meant the Motherlands,” Freya corrected herself.
A chair scratched across the wooden herring bone floors as Thor rose up. Like his father Khan, Thor wore an air of importance around him. He took time for everyone to quiet down before he spoke. “It’s good to see all of you with us this evening. I hope you all enjoyed the first course and while we wait for more delicious food to be brought in, I’d like to take a minute to share our plans for this summit with you. As protocol dictates, we’ll have our annual discussions with relevant topics, but you’ll also get time to explore the breathtaking nature around here. Every year we have competed in teams to bond and this year is no different. We have a whole range of fun activities planned. From snowball fights to sledding down mountains, I guarantee that you’ll have a lot of fun here. But for now, let’s raise our glasses and cheer for another fun and important summit between our nations.”
We all raised our glasses.
“Cheers,” I said and clinked my glass with the people close to me.
Simon grinned and exclaimed a loud, “Santé.”
“What did he mean by downhill sledding?” Celeste asked and placed a hand on her belly. “I’m five months pregnant and I don’t want to risk getting hurt.”
“We would never put a pregnant woman in danger, or any woman for that manner.”
“Is that so?” Belle, who was close enough to hear me, laughed. “Then how do you explain that scar on Aubri’s forehead or the one on her jaw?”
I sighed. “My sister is a special case. She’s the daughter of two warriors and determined to prove to the world that she’s just as tough as us men. Aubri gets angry if we go easy on her.”
“Are you talking about me?” Aubri asked from halfway down the table.
“Yes, your brother claims that men of the north would never put a woman in danger. I just pointed out that your scars prove that you’ve been in danger.”
“You’re damn right and I’m proud of my scars.”
Indiana laughed. “It’s good that Aubri has a few imperfections. It’s been hard to protect her from male interest considering how pretty she is.”
“Aww, that’s sweet of you to compliment her like that.” Harper from the Motherlands placed a hand to her chest.
“Don’t be fooled, he’s being sarcastic,” Aubri said and threw a piece of bread in Indiana’s direction. “And just so you know, he’s the one who gave me this scar.” She pushed out her chin to show a faint scar that ran along her jawline.
“Oh, come on. We were ten and I told you not to follow me up the tree.”
