Page 6 of The Pacifist
“Mila.” I had only just exited, when Jonah called my name. “There you are. I was looking for you.”
Despite being twenty-five, Jonah looked young compared to the men here because he didn’t have a beard.
“I was saying hi to my dad.”
Jonah took the last step on the staircase and stopped. “How is he? Is he excited about the announcement tonight?”
“You know my dad isn’t the best when it comes to change, and that he’s no fan of democracy.”
Jonah gave a single nod. “I’m sure that he’ll see the benefit of it soon though. Do you want me to talk to him?” He moved toward my parents’ suite, but I intercepted him, linked our arms, and led him down the hallway toward my room.
“My dad seemed tired. Maybe he’ll feel better later.”
Jonah was tall for a Motlander and looked down at me with a gentle smile. “All right. If he’s too weak I can come back another time.”
I answered him with a smile and changed the subject.
“Did you have a good meeting with Khan and Pearl?” Pearl had been a member of the Motlander Council before she married my uncle, Lord Khan, who was also the ruler of the Northlands. It was clear that she’d taken a keen interest in Jonah, who was the first male to serve on the Motlander Council in four hundred years.
“I did. They invited me to visit them any time so I think I might be back in a few weeks, when they’re making the final decisions on the public transportation that we’ve been working on.”
“Really? Wow, that’s exciting."
“Yeah, it’s a big deal. The Northlands will be the first place to have the new transportation system, but if it’s successful we could be expanding it to the rest of the world.”
His enthusiasm was infectious. “I bet Pearl’s and Khan’s real agenda for asking you to come back here is because they want help with their campaign.”
“Could be.” Jonah bumped my side a little. “Let’s just pretend it is. I’ve been a fan of Pearl since I was a teenager, so the idea that she values my input and needs my help is an ego-boost.”
We reached my door and the sound of my small dog scratching from the inside made me sigh. “Loki, stop it!” The small dog was barking and as soon as I opened the door, he jumped up my legs to get my attention.
Holger and Happy, my other two dogs, were bigger and calmer. “I’m excited to see you too,” Jonah told Happy, who was making sounds of joy and licking his hands.
“I need to take them out for a walk. Wanna come?” The minute I picked up their leashes, my dogs ran to the door and as always, Happy was jumping up and down like a mountain goat.
“It’s funny. I swear dogs smile too.” Jonah pointed at Happy. “Look at him.”
“That’s why I named him Happy.”
Jonah followed us out and closed the door after us. “How about letting the dogs run full speed while we race on the hoverbikes in the park? That would be fun.”
“Honestly, Jonah. You and your racing. You’re worse than Mason.”
Jonah almost tripped over Loki who kept close to our feet. “It’s in my blood, I can’t help it. One day you should come to the theme park my family owns and we can race on old dirt bikes. I’ll bet you’d love it.”
Angling my head, I smiled. “It’s funny how different you are from other Motlander men.”
Jonah frowned. “I’m really not, Mila. It’s just that you’ve been in the Northlands for twelve years. Your view on us Motlander men has been skewed by the prejudice against us that is so widespread here. I mean according to your father, all Motlander men wear makeup, beads in their hair, and we dress like women. None of us are supposed to have an inkling of muscle, sex-drive, or quality sperm.”
Jonah was spot on. That was the impression we all had of Motlander men, so I nodded.
He protested, “It’s not like that. Not anymore, at least.”
“I’m not saying thatyou’relike that, but from what I remember…”
“Mila, you were ten years old when you left the Motherlands. How about you come back with me and see what things are really like?”
I shook my head. “I can’t leave my dad and he wouldn’t allow me to go anyway.”
