Page 12 of The Fighter
I opened it and pulled out an old article with two pictures in it. In one of them Dina was smiling with her new husband. In the other they were surrounded by seven people.
“Wow, it’s so weird to see pictures of Magni and Khan this young.” The two boys stood on the outskirts of the picture, Magni looking away and Khan looking up. Marcus stood between the bride and groom with his arm around their shoulders while Erika stood next to Dina holding her hand.
“Who are those three men?”
“I asked my dad about it and he said that this man was called Mr. Zobel. From what I understand he was Marcus’s best friend and instrumental in the revolution that helped Marcus take power in the Northlands.” Mila paused and rubbed her collarbone. “That’s why it’s a paradox that Mr. Zobel was later executed for treason.”
“How long ago?”
“At least ten years. It was about that time when my dad disappeared into Alaska, remember?” A ghost of pain flashed over Mila’s face and I reached out to touch her hand.
“Of course, I remember.”
“What happened?” Jonah asked and Mila looked down with a sad shake of her head.
“Oh, it’s a long story, but my dad was frustrated with the world and for weeks he disappeared into Alaska where no one could find him. I grieved and cried a lot during that time.”
“And I tried my best to cheer her up. Remember when I directed that song competition in your honor?”
Mila angled her head. “That’s right. You sang horribly to make me sound like an angel and I won. Huh, you know what I just realized?”
I waited for her to tell me.
“You became the class clown during that time. Always coming up with a funny face or a joke to make me smile. Maybe Magni’s absence is part of why you became so funny.”
Jonah sat down on the corner of Mila’s desk. “Do you remember any of her jokes? I love humor.”
Tapping her lip, Mila thought about it. “There were so many but one that had us all crack up was when Kya asked the class, ‘What is math?’ and Raven raised her hand with a serious face and said, “Mental abuse to humans.”
Jonah raised his chin. “Ah, I see, a clever acronym.”
I groaned. “I hated math then and I still do today.”
“Yes, and then there was the time William fell asleep during class and Archer shouted, ‘William, are you sleeping in my class?’ Raven answered loud and clear, ‘Well, now he’s not, but if you could just be a little quieter maybe he could get a good nap.’”
Jonah smiled at me. “I’ll bet you weren’t too popular with your teachers if you were cracking jokes like that.”
Waving a dismissive hand, I shrugged. “It was harmless. But back to the picture. If that’s Mr. Zobel, then who are those two other men?”
Mila bit her lower lip. “Magni didn’t know.”
Jonah leaned in to see them. “They could’ve been friends of the groom. They are standing right next to him.”
I studied Dina’s husband for a moment. “Do we know his name?”
“Yes, the article mentions it halfway down.” Mila used her finger to search while reading out in a mumble, “After three impressive victories, Henry Hudson fought and won the final match, making him one of the five champions to stand in front of Dina Aurelius, daughter of our strong ruler, Marcus Aurelius.”
I studied the picture again. “Hmm, it’s weird…”
“What is?” Mila went to sit on a couch and right away her three dogs followed. The small one jumped into her lap, while the two bigger ones lay down by her feet.
“I don’t know, it’s just weird to me that the husband is actually handsome. I imagined him as some kind of ogre. I mean why else would Dina refuse to have sex with him?”
“How do you know that she refused to have sex with her husband?” Jonah sat down on the floor next to Holger, who decided to use Jonah’s leg as a pillow.
“I’m speculating here. A young girl gets married and five days later she falls from an attic window. The logical conclusion would be that she was trying to escape someone, and it’s not a far stretch of a theory to assume that she was trying to escape her husband, who probably wanted to have sex with her.”
Mila looked thoughtful. “I don’t know, Raven. I’m getting married and I would expect my husband to want to have sex with me. It can’t have been a surprise to Dina.”
