Page 29 of Gideon
“So why not just leave? Why go through with the weddings? Why put on this show?” she asked.
“Because Zion is a fuck-ton worse for women than it is for men, especially Temple men. We thought it would be the more moral and honorable thing to do, to go through with the weddings and give our wives a chance at getting away as well,” I admitted.
“Why not get married faster, then? I have heard through town that Malachi has turned down multiple offers at marriage arrangements,” she questioned, and rightfully so.
“That’s an easy one. Because Malachi is a stubborn ass who will need to be dragged kicking and screaming down that church aisle on his wedding day.” I laughed. She chuckled with me, and I felt that hope grow stronger. She wasn’t running away. This was actually going okay. Somehow, against all fucking odds.
“Interesting,” she muttered, looking back down at her hands.
“So, the plan is to get the fuck out of dodge once we are all married.”
“But how?” she questioned.
“The plan was to go quietly at night and leave. Sneak out and get as far away from here as possible. We’ve been working on it for quite some time. The whole thing is relatively flawless, thanks to Levi. Although some complications have arisen,” I replied, thinking back to Talia and the bombshell she had recently dropped on us all. I watched as a puzzled look crossed her face and then she burst out into laughter. Not giggles. Full on, double over with stomach pain level laughter.
“What in the hell is so funny?” I asked, utterly confused by her reaction.
“Complications have arisen,” she repeated, mimicking my voice the best she could — which was quite horrific, if I did say so myself.
“Why is that funny?” I asked. The situation was the furthest thing from funny that a thing could be. I could vividly remember Talia’s trembling form as she told us the horrors she had been through. It was traumatizing, and I wasn’t the one who had endured it.
“Because you’re ridiculous, that’s why!” she cackled, wiping away a tear that had snuck out of the corner of her eye.
“Why am I ridiculous? And what does that have to do with any of this?”
“Because of this!” she gestured around us.
“This? This conversation?” I asked, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.
“No,this!” she reiterated. “The boat!”
“What about the boat?” I asked, still not following along.
“You said that the plan is to sneak away quietly, unnoticed, and to get as far away from Zion as you could,” she laughed, taking deep breaths as she laughed.
“Yeah, and?” I pushed, still not understanding.
“How in the actual fuck are you going to lug this massive boat away with you as you sneak away in the night like a thief?” she burst out into a new series of giggles and cackles.
I opened my mouth to speak, and then immediately closed it.
Well, fuck. HowwasI going to get the Ataraxia out of here like that?
“Well, um,” I mumbled, scratching the back of my head with one hand. “I hadn’t quite thought that through, I guess,” I admitted lamely.
“No kidding, dumbass,” she sputtered.
“Well, fuck,” I cursed, finding myself feeling small and stupid for one of the few times in my life.
“Okay, I will stop laughing at your expense, but honestly… that was pretty dumb planning on your part,” she tittered.
“Yeah, yeah, so funny,” I deadpanned. “So anyway, that’s the plan in a nutshell. There is more to it, but that’s the truth of it. Do you have questions?” I asked, unsure of how to move on from this point of the conversation.
“So now that I know the plan, what about the other part?” she asked, taking that insecurity away and giving me the opening I needed to continue.
“The part about me being a Dominant?” I asked her for clarification.
“Yes, that part. What is a Dominant?”
