Page 16 of The Seducer
“Yes, I met the ruler and his brother, and both seemed a lot more ruthless and volatile than Finn.”
Hans shook his head with a small frown. “How can they live like that? They must be miserable people.”
“Try not to judge what you don’t understand, my friend. The Nmen probably feel the same way about us.”
“My apologies, I was being unkind and unfair; forgive me.” Hans bowed his head.
Lifting my hand to place on his shoulder, I spoke in a soft voice: “There’s nothing to forgive, but if I can give you a piece of advice, it would be to channel your confusion into curiosity.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just that you and I have this unique opportunity to study a man from the North, and rather than being upset by his crudeness, I suggest we explore what else he has to offer. In particular, we should search for anything we might have in common with him.”
Hans took a sip of his tea. “I can’t imagine we have much in common.”
“Are you’re regretting that you took this assignment?”
He shook his head. “No, I just think I was a bit naïve, that’s all.”
“Naïve how?”
“I had this idea that if I showed Finn kindness and friendship he would be grateful and he would want to change. I mean during the briefing they kept reminding us that Nmen aren’t cruel from birth and that there’s no indication that they are less intelligent than us. We can’t blame them for growing up without mothers and families or for not knowing manners or self-reflection.” Hans sighed. “I liked the idea that I could make a difference in Finn’s life and thought he would be happy to find a source of everything he had missed out on.”
“I see.” I took a sip of my tea too. “In that case, yes, that probably was naïve.”
For a moment we stood next to each other in silence.
“I’m certain his motive to be here isn’t to gain more manners, and you can be sure that the Nmen don’t want to be like us,” I said.
Hans knitted his eyebrows closely together. “But why wouldn’t they?”
“They consider themselves to be the last free men and they don’t know anything else than the Northlands.”
“What is that supposed to mean? Free men?” Hans set down his cup. “I’m a man and I’m free.”
“Didn’t you hear Finn mention that women oppress men?” I furrowed my brows. “It’s interesting how we see ourselves as peacekeepers while the Nmen see us as tyrants.”
“Tyrants is a strong word,” Hans said and took a sip of his tea. “But Finn does have a point that women rule the world.”
“Would you rather have it like in the old days?”
Hans held his palm up like a peace sign. “No, no, I’m not complaining.” But he didn’t look at me when he spoke and I got an uneasy feeling from him.
I set down my cup and changed the subject. “We’ll have to figure out who sleeps where.”
Hans looked around my living room and pointed to the stairs. “Do you have more bedrooms than the one Finn sleeps in?”
“I’m afraid not. One of us will have to sleep in the bed next to Finn and the other one on the couch.”
“Can I take the couch?” Hans asked.
I exhaled deeply. “I had hoped you would take the bed.”
His eyes darted around the room again as if he was looking for an excuse. “It’s just that this project of yours is about imitating what happened between you and Finn. Wouldn’t it be strange if I got in the middle of that?”
“Not at all. As long as Finn experiences the loss of control, I really don’t think it matters who he sleeps next to.”
Hans rubbed his forehead. “But I’m not as tough as you are and if he asks me to untie him, I probably will.”
