Page 24 of The Artist
Thor’s tone was annoyed. “Enough of this nonsense. I know you two butt heads, but this is ridiculous. I drew your names and you’ll share a room. You’ll just sleep in there so stop acting like children.”
Even though I kept my face pointing straight ahead, I still felt the glares from Victor and Mason burning into my neck. All my life, I’d had people ordering me around, but I had just turned twenty-four and was fed up. At home I worked ten-hour shifts each day caring for the babies that I loved so much. There were too many to form lasting bonds with and since I was with the three-to-six-months old babies, I had a constant flow of little ones coming in and out of my life.
Our society was built on selfless contribution to the community and lately I’d felt like an ant destined to work, work, work, when all I wanted to do was paint and express myself through art.
I was alone in the living room for about ten minutes until the others came back and plans were shared for outside activities.
As the future ruler of the Northlands, Thor was the one taking charge but it was clear that his sister Freya was behind a lot of the things he explained to us, because once and again he’d turn to her as if to confirm that he had the details right.
“Indiana and Mason, I’m making you two responsible for keeping the fireplace running so that the cabin is warm and cozy at all times,” Thor instructed.
“No problem,” Indiana said.
“Any volunteers for kitchen duty?”
Five hands went in the air, my own included.
“Good. Our staff already filled the pantry with everything except meat. The five who volunteered for kitchen duty are off the hook for a few hours while the rest of us go hunting to bring back something for us to eat tonight.”
Disturbed outbursts were heard from all five Motlanders.
“Thor is messing with you,” Freya said calmly. “No one has to hunt if they don’t want to. I’m staying here and you’re welcome to do the same. It’s been two intense days and tomorrow we’ll be out all day, exploring nature. We thought that today would be a great time to lounge around, play some games, talk, cook, and just enjoy each other’s company or read a book if you need alone time.”
Isaac made an outburst in French. It surprised me when Freya smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”
“Did you understand what he said?” I asked her.
“It sounded like relief and I thought I heard the word introvert, so I filled in the rest.”
“Very perceptive of you,” Victor acknowledged. “Isaac thanked you on behalf of those of us who are introverts.”
“I figured.”
“Who wants to go hunting?” Thor asked.
“Me!” Aubri raised her hand.
In the end, only Simon went hunting with Thor, Aubri, Mason, and Indiana. They all dressed warmly and left after Mason put on more logs in the two fireplaces.
“Anyone up for a game?” Holly, who was extroverted and fun, asked with a broad smile. It was rare for me to have a chance at some alone time, so I went to grab my electronic pad in my bag and pulled a chair to the window.
Behind me the others pulled out board games and got together to talk, while I placed a mental bubble around myself as I opened a sketching program and put my electronic pen to the pad. Outside, the lake was like the top of a head with the trees forming a pretty tiara with this cabin as the front jewel. I took in little details like footprints in the snow, the bent branches on the trees, and the shadow on the ground from the rooftop.
Oliver had brought a guitar and was singing some popular tunes from the Motherlands.
After a few hours, the shadows from the rooftop grew longer and eventually the snow lost its bright glow as the sun wandered off to shine on other parts of the world.
“Shouldn’t the others be back by now?” I asked Freya.
She came to the window and took a moment to look left and right. “Do you know in what direction they went?”
“No.”
“I’ll check their position.” Freya tapped her wristband and a virtual control panel popped up. We had something similar back home but the speed with which she navigated her information made it hard to follow exactly what she did.
“There.” The control panel was replaced with a map and on it were five small avatars. Freya’s was alone which made sense because she was the only one who had stayed behind. The four others were close and moving in the direction of Freya’s avatar.
“They’re on their way back,” she concluded and turned off the map.
