Inside the room, Thor, Jonah, Victor, and the European Prime Minister, Rafael Moreau, stood facing us. Between them was a table with glasses tipped over and water spilled. One chair lay broken against the wall, and two others were turned over. With the way Thor’s hair was tousled like he’d run his hands through it excessively, I knew he’d thrown the chairs.
“What took you so long?” he scoffed at the same time Rafael commanded:
“You can’t be in here.”
Thor swung his head to Rafael. “I invited them and they’re staying. You brought in Victor even though I told you not to.”
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Jonah said but it was easy to see that he was shocked by whatever had happened in here.
“What’s going on?” Freya moved to stand next to Thor.
“We’re leaving. The Europeans are impossible to negotiate with. He’s rejected every offer I’ve made.” Thor pushed his hands through his hair again.
“I would argue that you’re the one who is impossible. Not that I expected anything more from the son of Khan Aurelius.” The strong accent of the Prime Minister didn’t hide the disdain in his tone as he spoke my uncle’s name.
Thor reacted strongly. Raising his arm and pointing it across the table at Rafael, he narrowed his eyes and threatened, “This is your last warning. If you insult my father one more time, I’ll slit your fucking throat.”
Victor picked up one of the tilted chairs. “Thor, this isn’t helping. You can’t throw things around and make threats.”
Rafael didn’t sit when Victor offered him the chair. Instead the bald man, who had to be in his sixties, watched Thor with his head tilted and his fingertips pressed together. “Our children have better self-control than you. You’re embarrassing yourself with your empty threats.”
Freya stepped in front of Thor, whose facial color was already crimson. “I assure you, sir, that my brother is fully capable of killing you with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. Let’s not tempt him, shall we?”
“Your brother? Ah, so you are the fair Freya. Your father has bragged about your beauty and clever mind a number of times. He’s very proud of you.”
“It’s good to hear that my father holds me in as high regard as I do him. Now, help us understand why you’ve rejected the Northlands’ offer of valuable resources when they would benefit your country tremendously.”
“If you’re as bright as your father claims, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to understand that trading our sparsest resource in return for something you have in abundance isn’t a fair deal.”
“You mean Belle?”
“Yes. Our forefathers suffered and died underground so that we could multiply many times over and one day rebuild Europe as the glorious continent it once was. Our growth of population depends on our women. Every woman must have an average of two children to keep our numbers even. Many have three or four out of a sense of civic responsibility. Belle has yet to fulfill her duty, which is why we can’t let her leave. She’s an important and treasured part of our nation, as is every other citizen.”
Placing a hand on the small of Belle’s back, I nudged her to the side and away from the door. Aubri and Indiana had moved to the other side. We were trained not to have our back to a door.
“I’m happy you have a high opinion of Belle and I assure you that we do as well, but we’re here to find a solution,” Freya continued. “We are highly motivated so let me ask you, sir, what would it take for you to allow Belle to move to the Northlands?”
Rafael brushed off his bright blue sleeve and furrowed his wrinkled forehead. “I’ve already told your useless brother.”
Thor growled low, but Freya kept her focus on the older man, who added:
“We’ll take the trees and iron you’ve offered as payment for keeping our citizens a week longer than we allowed. In regard to granting you permission to take Belle and her unborn children, we want something that’s rare and precious in your country.”
“And what is that?” Freya asked with a stiff smile.
“A woman for a woman.”
“We’re not fucking slave traders, that’s sick,” Thor hissed.
Rafael ignored his outbursts and waited for Freya to respond.
I could tell she was shocked, but she kept her cool. “A woman?”
He raised a finger. “I see your clever mind turning, but no, we wouldn’t be satisfied with just any woman, so don’t go looking for an old grandmother to volunteer. We want a woman of equal or better quality than our Belle. She would have to be of childbearing age, beautiful, and talented.”
“I see.” Freya looked back at me with her eyebrows drawn close. I got her silent message that this might be beyond her charm and skills at negotiation.
In the meanwhile, the Prime Minister turned to Victor and spoke in French.
“What did he say?” I asked Belle.
Taking sides, Belle translated everything loud and clear for all of us to hear. “He said that he would take particular satisfaction in keeping Khan’s precious daughter, but he’s willing to accept Magni’s daughter as well. He asked Victor for his opinion on who is the better choice.”
“You’re not having any of our women,” I barked at the same time that Indiana stepped in front of Aubri and told both Rafael and Victor to fuck off.
Victor had backed up and stood leaning against a wall as if he wanted nothing to do with this whole drama. With a somber expression, he answered Rafael in English. “None of them would be much use to us, if you ask me. We’re better off asking for more natural resources.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Rafael said.
Victor sighed. “If you’re doing it to spite Khan and Magni, Freya is the better choice. She is the only daughter of Khan while Magni has two others. I’ve told you that Jonah is married to the oldest.”
“Hmm.” The Prime Minister got up and moved around the table to get closer to Freya.
Growling low, Thor clasped a hand on her elbow and threatened Rafael. “Touch her and you die.”
“I’m not touching your sister, Thor.” He smirked. “Not unless she wants me to. What’s fascinating to me is the way you Nmen are so protective of her virtue and virginity. You seem to think it’s your virginity to protect.”
Speaking directly to Freya, he said. “May I give you some advice? Stay with us and explore what life has to offer outside the strict social norms of your country. You could have as many lovers as you’d like. No one would judge you. You might even find that you enjoy the company of other women.” He shrugged. “Or you could go for a mix.”
“Thank you for the kind offer, sir, but if I stayed, my father would invade your country to find me and the same applies for Aubri. That’s not an option.”
“Ah, I’m sorry you feel that way. Here I thought you were motivated to find a solution. Wasn’t that what you said?” The mocking tone of the old man made me furious. He behaved like we were children to toy with.
Freya on the other hand didn’t appear disturbed or offended. Instead she chuckled like they were having a casual conversation and he had made a joke. “I appreciate your sense of humor, but I can’t take your demand that Aubri or I stay seriously. If you take some time to consider the situation, I’m sure you’ll see that we are actually doing you a huge favor by bringing Belle with us to the Northlands.”