Page 120 of The Ruler
“But wait a minute, there’s not a single ten-year-old,” Pearl said with a baffled expression. “The idea was to find children as young as possible so they would have at least three years together. Your boys move on when they’re fifteen; some of the boys will only have a year or two.”
“True, but then new ones will come in,” I argued.
“But we want them to form deep friendships,” Pearl said.
“Which is why we’ve selected the best boys, chosen for their openness.” I didn’t mention that looks and charm had been a criterion too. I wasn’t stupid! I had told Archer to find the bravest, brightest, strongest, and best-looking boys in the whole country. If these boys were to represent us in the Motherlands, I would make damn sure we sent young men who would ignite sexual desire and activate a fireworks display of hormones in the Momsi girls.
Pearl narrowed her eyes and shot me a suspicious glance, but she didn’t pursue it any further when Archer said: “All the boys will arrive on Tuesday, while the girls arrive Monday. We agreed it was good to give the girls a day to acclimate before letting them meet their new classmates, and the plan is that when the boys arrive on Tuesday, all the girls will be here at Boulder’s house with Christina and Kya.” Archer had a very authoritarian voice and with the way he took over the room, it was easy to see why he would be a good mentor. He might be young, but Archer was an alpha to the core.
“That way, we can get the boys settled and give them instructions before we introduce them to the girls.”
“Okay,” I said. “Sounds reasonable to me.”
“Yes, and with the girls arriving Monday, we have only three and half days to get the last things ready,” Boulder added. “Christina and I will pick them up by the border and make sure they get safely to the school.
“What if someone sees them?” Pearl asked.
“They won’t,” Christina said firmly. “The council has given me permission to pick up the girls in the Motherlands. No one will see them, because I’ll make sure they’re already inside the hybrid when we cross the border.”
“You don’t have room for nine girls in the hybrid,” Pearl said practically.
“No, but they’ll arrive spread out over the day, so it’ll work fine.”
“I’m happy to send a security escort.” I nodded to Boulder.
“And how about sleeping arrangements?” Pearl asked with a glance in Magni’s direction. “For the adults, I mean.”
“We’re building an annex on the grounds with rooms for the adults,” Boulder said. “So far we have six adults who will share the night duty between them.”
“I don’t understand.” Pearl shook her head.
“I have an assistant called Marco; he’s twenty and I’m training him to be a mentor,” Archer explained. “Then there’s Magni, who will be teaching fighting and survival skills with me. He has agreed to take a few shifts when his schedule allows him to. Kya has taken Shelly on as an assistant and Christina has volunteered to take some of the night shift too.”
“Shelly is the sister of Rochelle, right?” Pearl asked.
“Yes.”
Boulder leaned in. “The plan is to give every one of the adults a small cabin for themselves but to have them rotate in sleeping at the main house with the children. There will always be at least one adult male and female present.”
“But Shelly isn’t an adult,” Pearl objected. “She’s only fifteen.”
“She’ll do fine,” Christina assured me. “You’ll see when you meet her.”
“We had to make decisions when you were gone,” I told Pearl.
“Yes.” She nodded. “But now that I’m back I want to be fully involved.” Her head turned to Kya. “Maybe I can help you somehow. We should expect the children to be divided in their academic levels.”
“That would be amazing,” Kya said. “And you’re right, one of the biggest challenges will be that the children are on different levels.”
“But you won’t be sleeping at the school,” I added, because the very thought of sleeping alone again bothered me. I had almost lost Pearl, and I intended to spend every night with her getting my fill of what I’d missed out on.
She only bestowed me a quick glance, and it reinforced my feeling something wasn’t right.
“Who is going to be Shelly’s protector?” Pearl asked.
“She won’t need one,” Magni declared.
“Of course she will – she’s a young woman living among grown men and pubescent boys,” Pearl pointed out.
