Page 10 of The Champion
January 8th, 2466
Noted!
Victor
I remembered how my stomach had done cartwheels when I first read that she respected and admired me. It was strange how a whole nation’s respect and admiration meant nothing compared to Freya’s good opinion.
The question burning in my mind at that time I wouldn’t ask her in a message. I would wait until we were face to face and I could see her expression when she answered.
I hadn’t gone into the debate about her pitying me. It was something we would never agree upon.
A few months had gone by before we corresponded again and most of it had been about the summit in the Motherlands. My memory took me straight to the next time things turned personal between us.
August 27th, 2466
Dear Victor,
I have great news.
Belle gave birth to a sweet baby girl. Mason and Belle named her Violetta and you should see the way they glow with pride and love every time they look at their daughter.
Did your broken drone make it home from the Motherlands by now?
Give my love to Aubri and Indiana. It was wonderful to see them again and I’m so happy that we Northlanders will be gifting France with a small army of Explorers to clean land for you faster. That way, hopefully soon, all your citizens will be living above ground.
Love,
Freya
September 8th, 2466
Hey Freya,
Yes, our drone has returned. We were all happy to get a ride back to France with Aubri and Indiana.
I’ve thought about that question you asked me a few years back, about what part of history I would want to visit if I had a time machine.
I’ll tell you next time we meet.
In the meantime, let me ask you this: Who would you say is the most influential woman in the world today, and why?
Victor
I smiled as I thought back to my initial joy of seeing her sign her letter withLove, Freya. It still gave me a buzz of excitement to see that word written from her to me.
In the long discussions fueled by my question, we discussed how to define power and influence. Freya was clever and had watertight arguments. Then our conversation moved on to talk about Banni’s experience of working in the Northlands.
Looking at the clock again, I saw that almost half an hour had passed since I last checked. The other delegations would be arriving in less than an hour. The thought that I would see Freya again soon had my stomach doing a flip. To distract myself, I directed my gaze to a message she wrote me in the beginning ofthis year.
January 17th, 2467
Dear Victor,
Please alert Moreau that we’re coming to talk to him. It’s important that he meets with us!
We should arrive in France in six to eight hours depending on how fast I can get everyone to pack up.
See you soon.
