Kya
Everything went so fast between my first visit to the Northlands to my moving up there less than a week later.
The hardest part was letting go of some of my favorite students whom I’d worked with for years. Before I agreed to taking the job, I had made it a condition that I could bring Raven with me. Luckily Councilwoman Pearl had accepted.
Raven was a cheeky, fun-loving girl soon to be twelve years old, whose mother suffered from all sorts of crazy diseases that could probably be boiled down to hypochondria, if I were any judge.
The mother’s chronic fatigue, and her constant moving in and out of places of reflection to clear her mind had left a hole in Raven’s life. It was no wonder that the girl had bonded to me. Not only was I her favorite teacher but we looked alike. She had mocha skin, big curly hair, and dark expressive eyes like me. As I had predicted, Raven’s mother had been more than willing to let her daughter go with me. In fact, she had been ready to let me adopt her, which was something I hadn’t shared with Raven. I was still a bit shocked about it and definitely needed time to think it through.
The school turned out to be a charming old stone building that had been a ruin of a church before Christina’s husband, Boulder, transformed it into a boarding school with sleeping quarters, showers, and a large dining room. My favorite part was the old church room itself, with a high vaulted ceiling, that now served as a magnificent schoolroom.
When I first arrived for my interview about the job, I’d met three of the Nmen: Boulder, Khan, and Magni.
Lord Khan was the ruler of the Northlands and I found him a strange mix of charm and standoffishness. He would smile politely and converse with humor, but he refused to take my hands when I wanted to greet him, and there was an air of mystery about him. He definitely wasn’t an open book and neither was his brother Magni, who was the man I’d met once before when he and Boulder came to the Motherlands to find Christina.
Magni reminded me of my most troubled students: brooding, impatient, and without a filter. With his giant frame and permanent scowl, he would have been intimidating if not for the fact that the first time I saw him, he had been cleanly shaved and dressed up with ribbons in his hair to mix in with the gentle and pretty men of the Motherlands.
Now, Magni had a short beard and his blond hair was shaved short on the sides with the rest gathered in a messy French braid. His raw looks, with his battle scars and strongly muscled body, made him look like a prehistoric Viking in my eyes.
And then there was Archer, whom I met after accepting the job and moving up here. He was a mentor, which was their word for teacher, and he was here to help me finalize the curriculum and give me input on how schools were run in the Northlands. Christina had described Archer as cute, and when he walked into the school on my second day here, I thought she’d lost her mind. Cute to me was like one of our pretty movie stars or a celebrity with perfect skin, symmetrical features, and beautiful soft hair.
Archer was nothing like that!
He had dark stubble, visible scars, and large muscles with a colorful tattoo showing on his right arm.
But compared to the other Nmen he looked less like a barbarian, and I was instantly intrigued by his gorgeous sapphire-colored eyes.
“Archer, meet Kya, and Kya, meet Archer,” Boulder said with an awkward wave of his hands. Clearly, he wasn’t very skilled in the art of introductions, but with Christina taking care of Raven up at their house, this would have to do.
“May peace surround you,” I said politely and reached out my hands to him. Archer flashed his white teeth in a large smile revealing that one of his canines was slightly crooked.
“Thank you and the same to you,” he said.
With the bright daylight his black pupils were small, and that only made the astonishing patterns of white specks in his irises more visible. I’d never seen blue eyes with a color as rich as his; the way the rim was darker and offered a beautiful contrast to the iris made his eyes look like something that was slightly photo enhanced.
“I understand that you’re a teacher too?” I said and lowered my hands when we had been touching far beyond the normal ten seconds a formal greeting required.
“Yes.”
“Great, I’m curious to learn more about your ways and get your input on the curriculum.”
“Likewise,” he replied and looked back at Boulder. “Is it okay if we do a walk and talk in the area?”
Boulder squared his shoulders. “How stupid do you think I am? You’re not taking Kya into the woods.”
I stiffened.
“But I prefer to walk instead of sitting still,” Archer argued, his thick lashes framing those intense eyes that I was completely fascinated with.
“I said no,” Boulder repeated.
To me the situation was bizarre. I was an adult and not used to anyone telling me what to do. I’d never worried about my safety in the Motherlands and I didn’t feel threatened by Archer in any way. “Are you suggesting he’s a danger to me?” I challenged Boulder.
Boulder shrugged. “Only your protector can be alone with you, and until Magni gets here tomorrow, I’m making sure Archer doesn’t get any funny ideas.”
I had already been told that Magni would be my protector and I had no problem with that, but I considered myself an excellent judge of character and Archer didn’t strike me as dangerous.
“I find that insulting to Archer,” I objected. “I don’t believe he would harm me.” Looking from Boulder to Archer, I asked: “Would you?”
“No, of course not,” he said with sincerity in his eyes.
“Then let’s do that walk and talk you suggested.”
Archer and Boulder exchanged a long glance.
“You can walk around the house and that’s it.” Boulder dictated in a nonnegotiable way.
“Do you mind me asking how you became a teacher?” I asked Archer as we started walking.
“The short version is that I love kids.”
“And the long version,” I asked with a sideways smile.
Placing his hands behind his back he kept looking straight ahead as he spoke: “It’s complicated and I’m not even sure I can explain it myself, except that when I grew up I didn’t have the best mentors, and then one person came along with a passion for teaching that lit a fire in me and my friends. Maybe it was seeing how big a difference he made in our lives that made me want to do the same for the next generation.”
“That’s nice.”
“How about you?”
“Well, with me it’s very simple. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a teacher. My favorite game as a child was playing school, and I get a buzz every time a student overcomes their struggles.”
“Yes, that’s always rewarding.” Archer’s hand slid to his pockets. “So how long have you been teaching?”
“Since I was twenty-two, so that would be four years.”
“Oh, okay, I started teaching when I was twenty and I’ll be twenty-nine in three months.”
I laughed. “That sounded like something one of my students would say. You know, I once had a boy tell me he was going to be fourteen soon. Turned out it was ten months away.”
“So at least that’s one thing our students have in common, they want to grow up as fast as possible.” The edges around his blue eyes softened in a genuine smile.
“Tell me, what do people do for a pastime here in the Northlands?”
“Ehhm, I don’t know.” He shrugged. “We get drunk in bars and watch a lot of sports, I suppose. Rugby, football, ice hockey, and fighting are the big four.”
I wrinkled my nose. “When you say fighting, do you refer to martial arts?”
“Kinda, but our fighters use a variety of techniques from old-school boxing, martial arts, and dirty street fighting. It’s more interesting when you don’t have too many regulations.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve heard about this mugby and football.”
“It’s rugby, not mugby, and the reason you haven’t heard about them is probably because the sports were always for males only. And maybe because they were banned shortly before the Toxic War started. Too many head injuries and paralyzed players.”
I stopped walking and stared at him. “And yet you’ve taken up such brutal sports?”
Archer laughed. “Brutal sports are the best ones.”
“I don’t think I would like that,” I said with a polite smile and started moving again. “Where’s the fun in seeing someone getting hurt?”
“Each to his own,” Archer said. “What are the biggest sports in the Motherlands?
I thought about it. “I think that would be dancing, swimming, tennis, and maybe running – although badminton is also very popular.”
“So no contact sports at all?”
“Sure, we also have soccer for the people who like to be a little rough.”
“Excellent, we can have the kids play soccer then.”
“I suppose we could.” I smiled and tilted my head. “Archer, this may be a silly question, but if you could go to the Motherlands for a day, what would you do?”
The corners of his mouth lifted in a boyish grin. “That’s easy! I would kiss a pretty woman.”
Heat spread in my body from the way he looked at me with what I could only describe as hunger. For someone who had no experience with men behaving in a sexually aggressive way, I was unsure how to react. I had met plenty of men in my life, but none of them had flirted with me. Not even the Nmen that I had met. Boulder, Khan, and Magni hadn’t shown any sign of attraction to me.
Act cool! I told myself and searched for a funny response, but the one that my brain delivered made my toes curl. “Why limit yourself to one?” Shoot! Even I could hear how velvety my voice sounded as if I was flirting back with him; and from the way his eyes expanded and his smile grew, Archer hadn’t missed it.
“If I only had one day, I think one woman would be enough as long as I could kiss her a whole lot,” he joked and pointed to my hand. “Sorry to change the subject, but I’m curious about your skin color. It’s just that I’ve never seen a woman like you.”
“What? A dark-skinned woman?”
“Yes. I’ve met Christina and Pearl but they both have white skin. Yours is like milk chocolate. Is that normal in the Motherlands?”
“There is no normal in the Motherlands,” I said, happy that we had moved to a safer topic than kissing. “You have to understand that after the Toxic War, we were down to only one point five billion people left in the world and a ratio of one man for every twenty-six women. It was impossible to continue with the traditional partnerships between men and women, and the new norm became insemination from a sperm bank.” I paused and looked at him with a serious expression. “We don’t have countries and borders like they did in the old days, and we would never discriminate over something as insignificant as race. That’s why the sperm donors are anonymous and all babies born are considered precious. Most are mixed race, like me.”
“What about your mom – you do know your mom, right?”
“Yes, I know her,” I said with a small smile. “But she doesn’t look African-American like me, so I guess it was my father who delivered those genes, and him I have to thank for my big booty.” I laughed when his eyes traveled down to that area of my body and quickly shot back up to my eyes.
As if to underline that he hadn’t been checking out my behind, Archer changed the subject. “Tell me what it’s like growing up in the Motherlands.”
“Well, the ratio between men and women has improved a lot. We now have one man per fourteen women, so it’s more common to see men joining family units – which is a good thing, because growing up with other children and adults gives a sense of belonging to a family, you know?”
“Wow.” Archer whistled low. “One man in a unit with fourteen women, that would be like having my own harem.”
I laughed. “I suppose, but probably not as exciting as you would think since there aren’t many naturephiles left.”
“What the hell is a naturephile?” he asked.
“People who enjoy sex with humans.”
Archer stopped abruptly and literally gaped at me, so I hurried to explain. “I think you would agree that sex-bots are a wonderful invention; much more hygienic and uncomplicated.”
“Are you saying that people in the Motherlands don’t have sex?”
“Oh, no, of course not. Sex is considered a stress reliever and highly prioritized because of the balance it brings into your life. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have sex,” I assured him. “We just don’t have it with other people.”
“Why the hell not?” Archer looked almost angry now. Clearly, he didn’t understand so I hurried to point out the obvious. “Can you imagine the amounts of bacteria you would get into your mouth by exchanging saliva with someone in a kiss?” I scrunched up my face. “And don’t even get me started on the other places naturephiles are willing to put their mouths.”
“You’re all prudes,” he said in an incredulous tone and crossed his arms. “Men and women are born to have sex with each other. It’s the natural order of things, and I promise you one thing, Kya Janae, I would be more than delighted to exchange saliva with you.”
There it was again, the heat spreading in my body, making my neck and cheeks flame. I should be disgusted, but instead the idea that this man wanted me enough to do something that strange excited me.
“What’s your favorite thing to do?” I asked to get us back on track.
Archer started walking again. “I love everything related to nature. Skiing, hiking, swimming, sailing, running, or something as simple as spending a summer night out in the open.”
“You sleep outside?”
“Sometimes.” He began telling me about camping as a child, and soon he had me laughing with funny anecdotes.
After strolling more than twenty laps around the school we finally took a seat on a bench and continued talking until the sun was low on the horizon.
“I can’t believe how many hours we’ve talked,” I said. “And we haven’t even begun to discuss the curriculum.”
“We can do that tomorrow. Today I’m just thrilled to get to know a real woman. I only wish…” Archer’s blue eyes shone brightly and then he shook his head.
“What?”
“You asked me what I love about nature, and one of my favorite times is when the fireflies come out. I wish I could show you that.”
I lit up. “I’ve always wanted to see real fireflies.”
Archer shot a discreet look in the direction of Boulder, who was still working on the building.
“Where are the fireflies?” I asked. “Is it far?”
“No,” Archer answered softly. “There’s a lake ten minutes from here where I think we could find them, but Boulder would kill me if we went without permission and you already heard him: I’m not your protector. So you’ll have to ask Magni to take you tomorrow night.” Disappointment was all over his face.
“No,” I said resolutely. “It was your idea and I want to see my first fireflies with you.”
“You do?” He lit up.
“Boulder,” I called out, steeling myself to win this round.
“What?” The large man looked over with a tool in his hand; I had no idea what it was.
“Archer is going to show me fireflies,” I said, using my no-nonsense schoolteacher voice.
“Sure, just stay close so I can see you.”
“We’re going to the lake but you’re welcome to join us,” I pointed out.
“Don’t have time,” he said and brushed away sweat from his forehead.
“That’s okay, we’ll be back in half an hour.”
Boulder laughed and shook his head. “Nice try, Archer, but you know the laws.”
“Hey, it’s me that wants to go,” I said in defense of my new friend.
Boulder shrugged. “I don’t care, you’re not going.”
Indignation flamed in my stomach. I was no child and didn’t like to be limited by their nonsensical rules. “What are you so afraid of?” I challenged Boulder.
“That he oversteps your boundaries, of course.” Boulder sighed.
“And what if I overstep his?” I asked with an arched brow. “I’m an adult and I don’t appreciate being treated like a child.”
“You’re a woman and it’s my duty to protect you until Magni takes over.”
“That’s very kind of you,” I said in a polite tone. “But right now, I’m taking full responsibility for myself and I’ll go to the lake to watch fireflies with my new friend.”
Frustrated, Boulder came closer. “All right,” he said and pointed a finger at Archer. “But you better not do something stupid, okay?”
“I wouldn’t,” Archer promised.
“I’m only doing this because I originally suggested you for the role as her protector.” Boulder pinned Archer with his eyes. “This remains our secret, okay? If Magni finds out he’s going to shit a sheep.”
Shit a sheep? My eyebrows rose at the expression that I’d never heard before, and after Boulder made Archer give his solemn promise twice that he wouldn’t hurt me, and we were on our way, I asked him about it.
“How does someone shit a sheep?”
Archer tilted his head. “Huh! That’s a good question, I never thought about it, but I suppose one would hope the sheep was digested properly or it would be painful.”
We had been walking in the woods for about five minutes, talking about my favorite foods in the Motherlands, when I suddenly remembered Christina telling me there were bears in the area. That thought made me stop. “Ehhm, Archer, are you sure we should do this? What about the bears?”
“Don’t worry, this island only has black bears, and they are skittish and don’t eat humans.”
“But they could still attack us, right?”
“Come on,” he said, waiting for me to start walking again. “They’ll hear us from a mile away and won’t come close. I promise you that the bears like us even less than we like them.”
“And you know the way back to the school, right?” I looked back trying to remember where we had turned.
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“Okay.” We walked on but my eyes darted around looking for signs to remember in case we got lost, but everything looked more or less the same. When I heard a sound, I clamped my hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Did you hear that?”
Archer stopped to listen but the sound was gone. “You know,” he said with a frown, “if you don’t want to do this, we can turn back now.”
“No, I just…” I paused and cleared my throat, giving him an uncertain smile, unwilling to let go of his strong shoulder. “…I just never went hiking in the woods at night and I’m more of a city girl to begin with.”
“Nothing is going to happen. I do this all the time and I swear to protect you if we’re attacked.”
“Thank you,” I said and because I’m naturally inclined to touch people, I grabbed his wrist as we moved on.
Archer didn’t seem to mind and comforted me with the words: “It’s only a few more minutes, and if you want I can tell you a joke to make it less scary.”
“Yes, tell me a joke.”
“Okay,” Archer gave me a sideways glance. “An old man walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender notices the guy's head is the size of a cue ball.
“‘I’ve got to ask, sir,’ says the bartender. ‘What happened?’
“The old guy sighs and tells him, ‘I’m a sailor and once, when my ship hit an iceberg and sank, I was rescued by a mermaid. She promised to grant me three wishes. For my first wish, I asked to return home. My second wish was to have all the money I would ever need. Finally, my third wish was to have sex with the mermaid.’ The old man sighed. ‘Only it turns out that mermaids can't have sex, so I asked her if I could just have a little head instead.’” Archer grinned and looked expectantly toward me.
“Why would he wish for a little head?” I asked with confusion.
Archer gave me an incredulous look. “It’s a sexual reference, Kya.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that expression before. What kind of sex are we talking about?” I asked, studying his head to imagine what exactly the sailor had wanted.
“Ehhm, the oral kind.”
“Ohh, right.” I nodded but in truth I was still confused about his terminology, and we walked a little in silence.
“Look,” Archer said and broke my thoughts.
At first I didn’t see them, but when we got a little closer they were everywhere. Fireflies playing tag in the air above us and around us, lightning up like little fairies too fast to catch.
“Wow, they’re beautiful,” I breathed in awe and stretched a finger in the air, hoping one would land on it and let me study it. “They’re like little Tinker Bells!”
“What’s that?”
“Tinker Bell – you know, the fairy that helped Peter Pan. It’s a classic children’s story.”
“They’re not fairies, they’re bugs,” Archer said matter-of-factly. “Fairies aren’t real.”
“I know that,” I exclaimed, a little offended that he thought me that naïve. “But you have to admit that it’s a bit magical with the way they dance in the air like small stars or torches of fire.”
He chuckled. “I’m happy you like it, and it’s a lot more relaxing to watch them with you than my usual crowd.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know why, but boys tend to want to catch them and I always have to stop them from hurting the little suckers.”
I gave a small gasp. “Why would anyone try to hurt something this precious?”
He shrugged. “Boys will be boys, I guess.”
I angled my head and bit my tongue. This was a wonderful moment and I didn’t want to spoil it by arguing that boys in the Motherlands were as considerate and thoughtful as girls. “Thank you for showing me. It’s much prettier than I could have imagined.” To underline my gratefulness, I took both his hands and looked into his eyes in a sign of respect and appreciation.
By now the dusk had fallen but Archer was close enough for me to see the gleam in his eyes.
“You’re very beautiful,” he whispered and the intimacy of standing close to him in a quiet forest made his words stand out like he had shouted them.
Something inside my stomach did a somersault and I remembered what he had said about kissing a pretty woman. The rush of this new situation made my breath a little shallow.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “I said you’re very beautiful.”
Raised to be polite, I reciprocated his compliment. “So are you, Archer. I love your eyes – the color is extraordinary.” When I tried pulling back my hands Archer held on to me.
“Would you be mad if I kissed you?” he asked.
I gave a small laugh, flattered by his interest in me. “Why would you kiss me? You’ve only just met me today.”
“I know, but I really like you and you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
A crazy and curious part of me whispered internally about all the times Christina had described kissing Boulder, and how she made it sound like something amazing.
Archer leaned in, but didn’t kiss me. “Can I?” he whispered.
Maybe the little fairies were spraying some magic dust on us or they’d brought their cousin, the dangerous Cupid, because at that moment I wanted nothing more than for this fascinating man to plant his lips on mine. I didn’t think about the fact that I didn’t know him very well or that he might not be able to stop once he got started. It was like I’d swallowed a bunch of fireflies that were now buzzing around in my belly causing my blood to pump faster and my brain to switch off.
“Yes,” I whispered almost inaudibly.
Archer made a hoarse sound in the back of his throat and that was the only warning I got before I hung dangling over the ground in the arms of a large and very strong man. His lips were demanding and he kissed me with such intensity that I couldn’t breathe at first.
It took me a while to get over the initial shock, but then I kissed him back.
When he lowered me enough for my tiptoes to reach the ground again, his hands moved up to cup my face as if afraid I would pull away from him. The sound he produced made me want to say something, but as soon as I spread my lips his tongue entered my mouth, making me sputter a protest. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized without letting me go. “I just wanted to try it. I won’t use my tongue again.”
I stood perfectly still while he nibbled at my upper lip. “I never imagined kissing would feel this good,” he muttered into my mouth.
“Me neither,” I admitted, because except for the tongue thing, his kiss had felt exciting and I wanted more.
My words set him off again and soon he was all over me. His hands roamed my back, my neck, my hair, and with his eyes closed he kissed me like this would be his last chance to ever kiss a woman.
Only when he tugged up my shirt did I set my boundary. “Stop,” I whispered and pulled back.
But again, Archer only tightened his grip on me, his hands making their way up.
“Archer, stop!” I repeated and this time I pushed at his torso. He finally let go and with him taking a step back we stood facing each other, out of breath from the kissing.
I was trying to process what had just happened and considered if I would’ve had the same reaction kissing someone else. I looked down at my shaking hands and felt my heart pump like I had run a marathon.
Arousal. The way my whole body was humming was clearly arousal.
With some confusion, I lifted my eyes to meet his, and while I watched Archer, the hunger in his eyes faded and made way for something accompanied by deep frown lines on his forehead.
“We should get back,” he said and brushed his dark shoulder-length hair back.
I nodded and blinked a few times, wondering if my eyes were blazing with emotions like his.
“If Boulder or Magni finds out…” he trailed off, but I understood.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell. We were just curious and now we know what it feels like to kiss in the light of fireflies.”
He gave me a skeptical glance. “You sure?”
“Uh-huh. We’re two consenting adults. What we do is our business and no one else’s.”
“But…” I had already started walking and Archer walked up beside me with a stern expression.
“But what?” I asked. “It was no big deal, and no one has to know.”
My words made him knit his brows even closer together and, putting his hands in his pockets, he said: “If you say so.”