Boulder
We hadn’t had a marital ceremony in our area in three years. There had been one big ceremony on the East Coast last year that had attracted thousands of men when Laura and her twin had selected their mates.
The excitement that a woman from the Motherland had come to The Northlands to marry one of us made headlines, and the whole country was buzzing with rumors. Some news sites speculated that women had finally seen the light and soon more brides would follow.
Other more radical theories speculated that women would soon submit to men again and that every Northman would be allowed to have as many as four wives per man.
I worried about what was going to happen when Christina realized that men would be killing each other to prove themselves to her and that she would be forced to marry one of the five winners.
Following my orders from Khan, I stayed with her for two full days and was only replaced by guards when I needed to shower or use the bathroom.
During the night, I pushed the sofa in front of the door and slept on it.
During the day, Christina and I read, walked in circles, and talked a lot. I was as curious about her part of the world as she was about mine.
The things she had heard about us had me shaking my head, and on the last night before the games we had a long talk that started off fine but ended in a big mess.
“Someone seriously thinks we’re fucking cannibals?”
“Yes, and murderers and rapists,” she said.
“Wow, but I guess it makes sense that people as distorted as you would think that. After all, you’re enslaving people and prohibiting free thought.
“Not free thought, only free speech.”
“But free speech is important, don’t you think?” I argued.
“Not if it’s hurtful. Our rules are meant to protect people’s feelings. It’s best if everyone is kind and caring.”
I laughed hard at that statement and asked: “So you would rather have people be kind to you than honest?”
She creased her brow. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“That’s stupid. Sometimes you’ve just got to call out people’s bullshit.”
“You can set your personal boundaries without being unpleasant,” she argued.
“Nah, I’m the opposite. My friends can call me an ass and I wouldn’t be offended by it. It’s how we interact. I call them names and they call me names, it’s almost a sign of affection.”
“Impossible! How can offending someone be a sign of affection?” she asked.
“I don’t know, I never gave it much thought. It’s just how things are done around here. I mean we call Magni asshat all the time, and mostly because we’re jealous of him.”
“Why are you jealous?”
“That’s not important; my point is, we call him asshat and he calls us something nasty back.”
“Are you saying that no man can insult another man?” she asked.
“Of course they can.” I smiled. “And if you ask me, some men are whiners that get too easily offended. Trust me, there are plenty of ways to piss off a man.”
She tilted her head and looked intrigued. “Like what? Help me understand how men feel insulted.”
I shrugged and scratched my arm, before brushing my hair out of my eyes. “Most of all it depends on the situation and the tone. If we’re friends we can get away with most anything, but if someone is getting on my nerves I can tell him things like: you’re such a pussy, grow a pair of balls, suck my dick, stupid faggot, are you gonna cry like a little girl? Or I can tell him you’re so fucking irrational I suspect you have a vagina.”
“Wow,” Christina raised her eyebrows, “I see the common denominator here. So basically, to insult a man you have to accuse him of being feminine?”
I thought about it and leaned back against the cabinet behind me. “Hmm, I suppose that’s true.”
“Because women are weak and less than men?” she asked and started pacing the floor in front of me.
“Of course, everyone knows that,” I answered honestly.
“Then why am I here? Why did you ask the Motherlands for help if you’re all so superior to us?”
“We didn’t ask for you. We asked for a male archeologist because we don’t have enough.”
Her pacing intensified and she was now using her hands to underline her words. “Not only have women brought back more than two hundred species that went extinct when men almost killed off the entire planet, but we have found ways to clean up massive areas of land, we’ve regrown sixty-seven percent of the corals and cleaned up substantial parts of the ocean, utilizing all the plastic waste to create energy. We have invented ways for obese people to donate fat to underweight people and eradicated cancer and other awful diseases, not to mention that we have kept peace on earth for close to four hundred years.”
I looked at her, waiting for her to make her point.
“Yet you’re saying that you would be offended to be compared to a woman?” she asked.
“Of course I would. Women are too soft and emotional. You don’t think rationally and you’re suffocating people with your radical kindness shit. Men need to swear and fight, it’s in our nature.”
“I strongly disagree,” she said and placed both hands on her hips. “On our side of the border millions of men live wonderful lives without being violent or foulmouthed. They appreciate the feminine values and live in peace and harmony.” Her curly hair was breaking free from her braid and framing her pretty face with those fascinating mismatched eyes.
I got close to her and pointed my finger. “No, Christina, you’re wrong. What you have aren’t men. They’re a gender-neutral group of pussies who’re afraid of standing up to the women, and they’re just waiting for the right man to come along and spark their flame. Trust me, men will take back power, it’s just a matter of time.”
She looked shaken by my sneering and her voice was a bit high-pitched. “Is that what you want, Boulder? To have men back in power when you know how close we came to absolute annihilation?”
“We’ve done much to clean up our lands too,” I said to avoid answering her direct question. “You’re not the only ones who made strides to restore the earth.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah,” I said and squared my shoulders.
“Interesting – because as I see it, while we’ve been restoring extinct animals, you’ve been hunting and killing bears, wolves, and other animals that live here?”
“We have.” I nodded.
She narrowed her eyes. “And how is that helping them, exactly?”
I threw my hands up in the air and huffed out air. The woman was impossible and didn’t understand anything about our lifestyle. “We’re done!” I said and walked away.
“Yes, I can see how it would be difficult for you to defend killing,” she called after me.
That made me whip my head in her direction, giving her a hard stare and lowering my voice. “I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you. Do I need to defend that too?”
That shut her up.
Christina
My hours with Alexander Boulder were insanely interesting because he gave me answers to things I had always been curious about. He taught me about the way Nmen live, their training as boys, and their strict hierarchies.
“So you arrived here when you were three?” I asked and looked over at his big shape in the supporter. We had something similar at home, and they were very comfortable to sit and lie in with the way the supporter formed around you.
Boulder stretched lazily and turned his head to look at me. “We all arrive when we’re three, except of course for the few who are born here. The rest of us are born in Momsiland but fortunate enough to be shipped here and trained as real men.”
I ignored that last ignorant comment and fired more questions at him while I sank to the floor and crossed my legs in front of me. “And then what? Who raised you? Do you go to school and what happens after school is over?”
“We grow up in schools with other boys and we live there until we’re eighteen.”
“What? In the same place?”
“No, we go through different schools depending on age and skill set.”
“What do you mean, skill set?”
He smiled. “I’ve never talked about this, since we all do it and understand it. I’m not sure I’m good at explaining it, but from the time we’re three to ten we live in one school. After that we move on to the next one, where we stay until we’re fifteen.”
“Okay.”
“At fifteen we take the test.”
“What test?”
“It’s designed to assess our strengths and weaknesses. It’s a week long and every day the focus is on something different. Like one day it’s physical to show our speed, strength, and agility. The next day it’s academics, and we’re tested in everything we’ve learned in school. The third day is strategy, so we play war games and chess.”
He looked up. “Or maybe strategy was day four and teamwork was day three – I can’t remember – but anyway, you get the point, right?”
“Yeah, you get a lot of tests.”
“Uh-huh, and depending on how well you do on the tests you’ll be transferred to what is the right place for you. I excelled in two areas and had to choose one of them, so in the end I went to the business academy because I had a knack for finances.”
“What was the other area you excelled in?”
“Physical strength and agility. That’s why I’m a good fighter.”
“I see. But then what happens when you’re eighteen?”
“We go out to get jobs and build our future. I was lucky that a man named Henry hired me right out of the academy. He was a grumpy old asshole, but he taught me everything about running successful companies and in his own way he cared for me.”
“By being grumpy?”
“No, by letting me work hard and earn what I have today. I busted my ass for the company, and it paid off and made me a rich man. Of course, it helped that he left everything to me when he passed away five years ago.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked.
“It’s common for a man to leave his belongings to his favorite. Some spread it out, but Henry chose me and it surprised me as much as everyone else.”
“Are you’re saying that the Northlands still run on a monetary system and you have poor and rich people.”
“Yes.”
I thought that terribly old-fashioned and primitive but didn’t tell him that.
“What about you?” he asked. “You have a mother, right?”
“I do. We all do, but to be honest my mother is…” I hesitated, unsure how to describe Louise. “Flighty.”
“Flighty?”
“Yes. She’s a traveler, always on the move with some new intriguing idea to explore. It’s a wonder she stayed for twelve years in the parenting unit to raise me. I don’t think she’s stayed in one place for more than a year since then. Right now she’s down somewhere south restoring chorales, and last year she mentored youth on the east coast, and before that…” I sighed. “The list is so long.”
Boulder scratched his nose. “How often do you see her?”
“It’s been three years – no, actually four, I think.” I shrugged. “It’s fine. My mom is a wonderful person and I love her. She’s sweet, and hugs and kisses me constantly when we’re together, but she’s just a restless spirit who wants to make the most of her life.”
“But if you were only twelve when she left who took care of you?”
“Oh, we all grow up in parenting units so there were always other parents I could go to. There were twelve adults and twenty-two children in my unit when I left, but a parenting unit is an organic thing where people move in and out as the children grow up. Although, Ketti joined when she was twenty and was still living there at seventy-five.”
“How many kids did this Ketti have?” Boulder asked and cleared his throat.
“Ketti had seven; she was a peacekeeper, so she only got to keep the girls.”
“A peace keeper?”
“Yes, the women who carry and raise the boys that come here. Your mother was a peacekeeper. It’s considered a great sacrifice and they are honored among us.”
“Wow – my mom was a peacekeeper.” Boulder tasted the word. “I like that.”
“Yeah, well, anyway, Ketti stayed in the parenting unit even after her own children moved out and she took care of me and other children as well. It’s good for kids to be surrounded by adults of all ages.”
“Okay.” Boulder lifted his shoulders in a shrug signaling that he wouldn’t know.
“And in a parenting unit there’s always someone who has time for you.”
“That’s nice. So do you see any of the other parents?”
I drew in a deep breath. “No. I want to, but the thing is that the parenting unit I grew up in is located in a small area of old South Africa. There’s a pocket of land still habitable but the quality of life is low, and I couldn’t study to be an archeologist there, so I moved a long time ago.”
“Have you been back?”
“Once.” I looked away.
“And?”
“And I told you: people move in and out of the parenting units, and most of the adults I knew were gone.”
“Was Ketti gone?”
“Ketti was there.” A lovely memory of her embracing me filled my heart and I laughed. “She tried to convince me to stay and have children of my own.”
“And?”
I waved my hands. “I was twenty-four and nowhere near ready, and if I’m ever to have children I would want to have them somewhere else. You know, closer to where my work and my friends are.”
Boulder nodded.
We had many more interesting conversations, and he was surprisingly well informed about the world. But unfortunately, his perception of the Motherlands was all wrong. He confused our kindness with oppressiveness and he classified our men’s gentleness as being submissive to women.
There were moments when I almost raised my voice at him. Like when he insisted that women were supposed to be protected because we were fragile and inferior to men. Although I suspected he wouldn’t report me for improper use of language, I was determined not to lower myself to his level and use strong words that were hurtful and forbidden, but a few inappropriate phrases passed through my mind when we discussed their way of living versus ours.
Since I arrived, there had been several times when I’d felt frightened. Especially on the first day, when Boulder first locked me in and shortly after stormed in with Khan and Magni. One giant of their size was intimidating enough, but to have three of them intensely staring at me at the same time had made me almost pee my pants.
Magni was the tallest of the three and the one that scared me the most. Unlike Khan and Boulder he kept his long hair tied in a hairband; probably to show off the tattoo running up his neck. I thought it was hideous and made him look like a prehistoric Viking. And it was strange to me that Magni and Khan were brothers, since Magni was dark blonde with blue eyes and Khan was his opposite. Khan’s hair color was pitch black, his eyes were a deep brown, and his skin was either tanned or naturally brown. I wondered if the title “brother” was an honorary title because, except for the fact that they were both tall and strong, they didn’t share any similarities in looks.
But it wasn’t just Magni that had scared me. When nighttime came, Boulder had barricaded the door by pushing the sofa in front of it, practically trapping me inside with him. My heart had been pounding like a woodpecker in my chest, fearful that he would take advantage of the situation and thinking of ways I could defend myself if he did. To be honest, I hardly slept at all that first night, but to my relief, he kept his distance and never touched me.
I kept asking to meet Laura, the woman Khan had mentioned that Magni was protecting. For some reason, she was never available and I quickly suspected that the men were making up excuses. It annoyed me since I had questions for her and would love to hear how she had experienced the ceremony where she chose Magni as her protector.
On the second morning, Boulder agreed to take me to see the area that I was here to excavate. We left before sunrise in order to avoid people. And just as on the day he brought me from the border, he flew himself. I was pretty sure the ten-minute ride in his hybrid as he called the drone would have taken much longer in one of the safety regulated drones that I was used to from back home.
When we reached the destination, it was everything I had dreamed it would be. Like a child in an amusement park I wanted to get my tools and get started right away, but Boulder insisted on a short visit, and so we returned to the manor after only an hour in the early morning sun.
“Tomorrow, you can be outside all day,” he assured me, and he was right.
On the third day, the games started and I was told they were happening simultaneously in cities around the Northlands. It frustrated me that it was necessary and that I couldn’t just be appointed a bodyguard without all this unnecessary nonsense.
Khan excitedly told me he was happy to get the chance to host a tournament and that it had been years since the last one was held in this area. “It’s good for the men’s morale,” he told me.
“I don’t understand why anyone would go through this much trouble to become a bodyguard,” I responded. “Wouldn’t it be better if the men collectively decided to quit the fighting and just let me do my job? The sooner I can get to it, the sooner we can all have answers and I can return back home.”
“In theory that sounds good, but in real life things work differently here,” Khan stated and left it at that.
The first fight I witnessed made me almost sick. It was like witnessing something from the medieval days when two men stepped shirt-less into an arena and fought like their lives depended on it.
I stood on the balcony of the Gray Mansion. With Boulder on my right side, Khan in front of me, and Magni on my left side, I was caged in and had to peek around Khan to see anything. The lovely park had an amphitheater, much like the Romans used to have, and it was cleverly designed so that the mansion created a backdrop for the audience and the large balcony we stood on had an excellent view of the performance.
I counted twelve hundred seats and all were occupied, with more men walking around the park or trying to get in.
Khan, Magni, and Boulder were commenting as two savage-looking males entered the arena and the audience cheered.
It all went incredibly fast when one of the men attacked the other and the fight broke out. Shocked by the violence, I gave a loud scream, but the roars from the pumped males overshadowed my cry.
Horrified, I looked up at Boulder. His eyes were fixed on the game and shone with excitement. Magni shouted a loud “Hell yeah” and Khan was laughing.
“You’ve got to stop this,” I pleaded and pulled at Khan to make him turn and face me.
“What did you say?” He laughed.
“Someone is going to get hurt, you’ve got to stop this,” I pleaded again.
He dismissively waved a hand at me. “It’s amazing. Look how alive they are. Look at the audience. I’ve missed this rush of excitement; I think we all have.” With an elbow to his brother’s ribs, Khan grinned. “We should have these games more often.”
Magni nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the fight.
I couldn’t look when one of the men forced the other to the ground and choked him with a knee to his throat.
Even from this distance I could tell the man on the ground was dying. His eyes bulged out, his face was redder than a ripe cherry, and he couldn’t breathe. When he clapped the ground and the attacker pulled back, loud “boos” erupted from the audience.
“Why are they making that noise?” I asked.
Boulder looked down at me. “Because he surrendered.”
“He didn’t have a choice. That man was killing him,” I argued.
“There’s always a choice,” Magni stated dryly.
“I don’t understand.”
“He could have chosen not to surrender.”
“And died for it?” I asked incredulously, receiving nothing more than a shrug from the men.
“Boulder,” I exclaimed and placed a hand on his arm.
He looked down at my hand and back to my eyes. “What?”
“I don’t want you to fight!”
That made all three men turn their full attention on me.
“Why not?” Boulder said, his face hardening.
“You could get hurt, and I don’t want anyone to bleed because of me or worse, get killed. How could I live with myself if you died?”
The men exchanged glances and then Boulder pulled me back inside the manor, where it was easier to talk.
“Look, you don’t understand. It’s really not just about you.”
“It’s not?”
“No, we’ve been trained to fight all our lives and this is our chance to move up in rank. We fight for prestige, for power, and for honor.”
“Then why do I have to be dragged into it?”
“I told you: the highest honor is to protect a woman, and that means you’ve provided us with a grand prize.”
“But this makes no sense. I’m only going to be here for a few months and protecting me would be a boring job. I’m going to be at the digging site from sunrise to sunset. Don’t these people have jobs to go to?”
“Yes, of course.”
I rubbed my face. “Then how are they supposed to protect me? Do they know it’s just a temporary job? I’ve seen the guards at this mansion – why can’t one of them protect me?”
Boulder looked back to the loud roars.
“This is Khan’s plan; you’ll have to ask him.”
I never got the chance because I was distracted when a woman walked in.
She was young and stopped when she saw me, her eyes expanding in surprise.
“May peace surround you,” I greeted her, encouraging her to come closer.
“Magni,” Boulder called and opened the balcony door.
“What?” The large male looked back over his shoulder and was about to turn his attention back to the games when he did a double take. “Oh!” he exclaimed at the sight of the woman and hurried toward her. “Laura, I thought I asked you to stay in your room.”
Her eyes darted between Magni and me. “Who is she?” she asked, telling me that I’d been right. They were trying to keep us apart.
“My name is Christina,” I said and got in front of Magni to take her hand. “I asked to meet you several times.”
“You did?” she asked with a look of confusion.
“Yes, Khan mentioned you, and I’ve been eager to meet you and ask you some questions.”
“Now isn’t the best time,” Magni interjected and whisked Laura away with an arm around her, leading her out of the room.
She was looking back and almost running to keep up with him, her long ginger-colored hair falling down her back in soft waves. My eyes narrowed when I turned around to confront Boulder and Khan, who were now inside as well. “What is going on? Why isn’t she allowed to speak to me?”
“I don’t know what gave you that idea,” Khan said innocently while Boulder looked away. “Please forgive my brother for being a bit overprotective of her, but with all the men in the area he prefers that she stays in her room.”
“Fine, then I’ll go and talk with her in her room.” I started walking in the direction they had disappeared.
“Wonderful, but could you wait just a few minutes?” Khan called when I had almost reached the doorway. “I was just about to present you to the crowd.” He gestured to the balcony.
I stopped, unsure what to do. Boulder was quick to guide me with a hand on the small of my back, and a minute later I stood between the two large men on the balcony.
Khan fished out a small device from his pocket and handed it to Boulder.
“Are you ready?” he asked me but didn’t wait for my reply before he nodded to Boulder, who tapped the round thing and cleared his throat. The sound of his deep voice resounded loud and clear all over the park and arena, making the masses look up to the balcony.
“Men of the Northlands, hear this message from your ruler, Khan Aurelius.”
Boulder stood with his back straight and a look of importance. “Men of the Northlands,” he repeated and complete silence fell upon the park.
Nervous energy surged through my body as I witnessed Boulder hand the small device back to Khan, who calmly placed it on his leather shirt.
“What a blessed day to be meeting and fighting,” Khan started and cheers broke out.
“It is my great honor to introduce you all to Christina Sanders, who has joined us from the Motherlands.”
My legs started shaking when Khan pushed me forward. We were on the second floor with all their faces looking up at me some of them smiling, others looking more like hunters watching their prey. It frightened me, and deep down I knew what I saw in their faces was connected to something sexual.
Taking a step back, I was stopped by a wall of a chest behind me when Boulder made sure I stayed visible to the men while Khan spoke.
“Tomorrow night, when the five winners have been selected, Christina will make her choice of champion. The ultimate winner shall be honored with the title of Protector and receive a bonus of one million dollars.”
The crowd erupted in wild cheering and Boulder released his hold on me. I immediately hurried back inside to get away from the unwanted attention.
“One million dollars?” I asked accusingly when Boulder followed me inside. Khan was still waving from the balcony to his people.
I brushed my hair back, feeling my hands shake. “Why would you pay someone one million dollars to be my bodyguard?”
“The man you pick wins honor, status, and financial freedom.”
“So that’s why they risk their lives?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “I’ll be fighting in half an hour and I would be honored if you’ll cheer me on.”
“No, Boulder, don’t – what if you get hurt?”
He drew his brows closely together. “Why do you think I was picked to protect you in the first place? I’m a good fighter.” His gray eyes locked with mine. “You asked me to fight for you.”
“Yes,” I said, finding it hard to breathe with his intense gazing into my eyes. He looked fierce with his long hair pulled back and his broad shoulders visible in a tank top that revealed he had several tattoos on his shoulders.
“Christina, you asked me to protect you.”
“Yes, but…”
“Then stay with Khan and watch; I must prepare for my fight.” With those words, Boulder left us.