Page 71 of The Ruler
“What do you mean?”
He squinted his eyes and looked thoughtful. “She’s got dark creamy skin with large brown eyes, but not dark like yours. Hers is more like pale brown, almost…” he thought about it. “Like a glass of beer.”
“Eyes like beer?” I frowned.
“Yeah, you know – that golden amber color beer can have when the sun shines on it.”
“Uh-huh.” I bent over trying to catch my breath.
“And she’s got really big lips and curly long hair with black roots and brown highlights like she’s been in the sun a lot.”
I looked up at him from my bent-over position. “You really studied her, didn’t you?”
He shrugged. “I would never touch her, but I would have to be blind to miss her exotic beauty.”
“So, you interested in protecting her?”
“Maybe.” He ran on. “But I’m not sure, because I still have duties here that I need to think about and I’ve been wanting to dedicate myself to a higher level of training.”
“All right, we’ll figure something out, but I was thinking that maybe you could help Archer and train the children a few hours a week.”
“You mean teach them to fight?” He looked back at me and slowed his pace so I could catch up to him.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, that could be fun. But what about the girls? You don’t expect me to teach them, do you?”
“According to Pearl the boys and girls should be treated equally, so yeah, you’re going to teach the girls too.”
We ran for a few more minutes in silence before Magni spoke again. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That my wife left me to learn how to fight from some flimsy Momsiboy and now I’ll be training little girls how to fight here.”
“Do you regret not teaching Laura when she asked you?”
He didn’t answer and I didn’t press him further. I was just happy that Magni was finally pulling out of his grief and rebuilding his life.
After our run, I took a shower and walked into my suite with a new mental clarity. Pearl had been ready to leave. I had no doubt that rainbows was her code word to the council that she was ready to come home. Maybe they would hold back one boy, ten, or possibly all of them until we returned Pearl, but in any case, keeping her here knowing that they wouldn’t return Laura was pointless. Magni had accepted his loss and it was time to end this farce.
Pearl stood by the window looking out and seemed deep in thought when I joined her and leaned against the doorframe.
“I think it’s time for you to go home,” I said calmly.
She turned with her eyes full of confusion.
“The council isn’t going to return Laura, and Magni is finally accepting that she’s gone.”
“You want me to leave?” she asked in a low breathy voice.
“No.” I met her eyes. “I would like you to stay, of course, but you’re no longer a hostage.”
“But the school project…”
“What about it?” I locked my eyes with hers, curious to see what she would do now.
Creasing her forehead, she gestured with her hands. “Well, for one, there’s the interview with Kya today and the selection of the children.”
