Page 100 of The Ruler
Looks were exchanged and a few mutters voiced.
“I am the only one in this room who has lived among the Nmen, and I say that we’re missing out on some amazing men that carry their masculinity as a badge of honor.”
“But they mistreat women,” Leah said.
“I understand your fear; it has been planted in us with horror stories from childhood, but there are men on the other side of the border who are wonderful, brave, caring, loving, and funny.”
“But they hunt.”
“Yes, that’s true. Our cultures are vastly different, and they have much to learn about how we live and vice versa. I’m not saying we can expect them to give up hunting or swearing anytime soon, but surely you can see that we have more influence through dialogue than judgment,” I pointed out.
“If you marry Lord Khan, you can’t be on the council,” Isobel pointed out.
“You’re right, but I am a Motlander at heart and I’ll make it my life mission to work toward a union between our nations based on mutual respect. It’s naïve to think these men could ever be like us. They are proud and crude and their native language is profanity, but Christina and I have both experienced the magic of pure masculinity.”
Their faces and gasps expressed their distaste.
“I know you associate that word with greed, power, destruction, and death, but as I said, we forget that it was never the majority of men. Masculinity also means protectiveness, and the Nmen will die to keep their women safe.”
“Are you sure you’re not confusing protectiveness with possessiveness?”
I ignored that comment. “This is the first time in history that there has been peace for three decades in the Northlands. Lord Khan is slowly lifting his nation out of some dark centuries of fighting for dominance, and now is the time to help peace take root.”
“But how?”
“By showing them that there is hope.”
“Hope for what?”
“They long for women.”
“Oh, Mother of Nature, what a disturbing thought,” Jolena exclaimed.
“You say that because you have never known the love of a man, but we know from the past that there are plenty of women among us who long for men too.”
“What is she speaking about?” a young member asked.
“I’m speaking about the forbidden books.”
“What books?” the young council member asked again.
“More than two hundred years ago, a woman wrote a series of romance novels about Nmen that made them sound like amazing, virile heroes, and it made women from all over the Motherlands want to enter the Northlands to find a partner.”
“It was all fiction,” my mother said. “Nothing but lies.”
“Yes, so we’ve been told, but now that I’ve lived there, I can testify that it was neverjustlies. Her imagination was close to the truth.”
Naomi Gray from the Purple Area spoke up. “What are you suggesting? It’s not like we can tear down the wall and have them join us. They would violate our rules and laws without even realizing it and our people would be terrified.”
“And we can’t allow our modern women to be auctioned off in their barbaric tournaments either,” Isobel said.
“I agree.” I smiled softly. “I think we should take one step at a time. First I would like the council’s blessing to join Lord Khan and help him lift his people into a stable, peaceful existence. It is my mission to educate them and steer them toward a democracy rather than a dictatorship.”
Mutters and nods made me optimistic that the majority of the council could see the logic behind this.
“We should vote,” Councilwoman Leah suggested.
My heart hammered like a drum when they voted, and I smiled when eighty-seven percent supported me.
