Page 99 of The Ruler
A few shot me sideway glances but even more of them smiled at me with a mix of pity or sympathy.
“Our first item on the agenda today,” my mother, the chairwoman of the council, said, “is to hear from Pearl what happened in the Northlands that led to her disturbing decision of refusing to come back, even when she was no longer a hostage.”
My skin heated up from the burning feeling of a hundred sets of eyes watching me closely.
Clearing my throat, I stood up to speak.
“I grew,” I said shortly, and when their confusion showed, I elaborated. “I arrived at the Northlands frightened and full of prejudices about how awful, cruel, and primitive the men would be. But I quickly realized my fears were based on ignorance, and Igrewto a new understanding of the world. I used the tolerance implanted in me from my work in the council to open my mind and see the beauty in the Northlands, and once I did, it was all around me.”
“What is your relationship with Lord Khan?” Leah asked.
“He is my friend and someone I respect a great deal.”
“And how does he see you?”
I thought about my answer. “He loves me and has asked me to marry him.”
I could feel the tension and how everyone was collectively holding their breath.
“And have you accepted?”
“Yes, I have.”
Loud mutters broke out and the pity that shone at me from all sides weighed heavily. Council members were shaking their heads and holding hands to their chests in shock.
“Christina has married Alexander, and as you saw in her video yesterday she is very happy with him,” I pointed out, silencing the mutters. “And I promise you that she and I are not weak or obedient women.” I took a second to straighten my back and let my eyes slide around the room of women.
“Women have been in power for hundreds of years and we have nurtured the earth back from the brink of destruction.”
I saw nods.
“We all agree that it was awful how men dominated women and suppressed them by refusing to share power with them for thousands of years. But even before the Toxic War things started to change. Women were given the right to vote, to study, to be professionals, and to pursue their dreams.”
More nods.
“For centuries we have held on to the belief that men are dangerous and should never be trusted with power.”
No one disagreed.
“But I for one would like to acknowledge the millions of strong men who fought for equality alongside their mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and friends. They were the courageous men who spoke up in halls where women didn’t have a voice.
“Maybe we have forgotten that equality never meant power for only women,” I pointed out. “It means an equal sharing of power between men and women.”
I looked around and was grateful that they were listening to me.
“How can we condemn the men of the past for oppressing women and depriving them of a voice, when we have done the same to men for hundreds of years?
“When did we become the oppressing gender? And how can we say that we’re better than the men in power that came before us, when we too just want itourway?”
“Don’t compare us to those awful men. They declared war on everything good and destroyed the world,” Patricia from the Orange Area said.
“Yes, they did. And we picked up on that and declared war on men,” I said calmly. “We made masculinity a dirty word and raised our boys to be shameful of their gender.”
A few looked down, but I wasn’t done talking.
“The men in power had to be stopped. There can be no doubt about it. But I’m afraid that our war on men is as destructive to the human race as the Toxic War was, albeit slower. The human race will be extinct if we don’t find a cure for the infertility of our men. We’ve known for a long time that our men have low testosterone and that many of them refuse to take injections for it. Why have we bullied our counterparts into resenting male hormones? Into resenting what makes them special?
“How can we punish modern men for crimes committed by their forefathers? And how can we talk about balance when we’ve been overshadowing men for centuries?”
