It’s one week and then you won’t see Linea for years maybe.”
For some reason the idea of not seeing Linea was worse than fighting with her, but my head hurt when I thought about the conundrum of my situation, so I changed the subject to something that weighed heavy on my heart. “Dad wants to make you his heir?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Yes, he told me.”
Freya pulled down her sleeves. “We both know that it would be a last resort for him. He thinks I’m too soft and the fact that I’m female has always been a problem for him.”
Stretching my legs, I reminded her, “That’s just because the Northlands is the last country for men to be free.”
Freya wrinkled her nose a little. “I’m so tired of hearing that. I agree that there was a time when women held too much power in the Motherlands, but they’ve made massive steps toward equality while the Northlands are still treating us women as second-class citizens.”
Feeling offended by her accusation against us Nmen, I grimaced. “What are you talking about? We fucking worship you women.”
“As fragile objects. That’s not what equality means.”
“But…”
Freya turned her body to me and cut me off. “Thor, I’m not having a discussion about whether or not we have equality in the Northlands. The fact that you were born years after me and still became Dad’s heir because of your gender speaks for itself. You might feel satisfied with ruling a country that prides itself on being the last country in the world where men can be free, but I was hoping your ambitions were larger than that.”
“Larger than ruling the country?” My tone was incredulous.
“No, larger than keeping it a country for all men to be free. The Northland should be a country for all people to be free.”
“Oh.”
Freya was clearly passionate about this topic because she began ranting. “We both know the Motherlands have good intentions, but they have too many limiting rules. The French are even worse as they confine their people within their borders and have a ban on love. I’m proud to be a Northlander. We allow people to have free will and to pursue their goals in life. But we would be lying if we didn’t admit that there’s still a ton of work to be done before women can enjoy the same freedom as men.”
Pulling at my lip, I thought about her words. “I guess you have a point.”
“Look, for as long as I can remember, I’ve known that you were going to rule the country one day and that my role was to help you in any way that I can. You and I were born into roles as public servants and just like Dad relies on Mom for advice and support, I’ll be here for you.”
With Freya sitting next to me, I reached my arm around her and pulled her closer. She leaned her head on my shoulder and for a moment we sat without speaking.
“You’re the best sister anyone could have, you know that, right?” I kissed the top of her hair.
“Yeah, I know,” she mumbled.
“I missed you when I was gone.”
“I missed you too. Don’t leave like that again.”
“I won’t.” After a pause, I added, “I wish I could tell you the same, but I know it will sound selfish. That thing about you staying here to work with the French is bullshit. Victor is in charge and he doesn’t appreciate you. He’s gonna steal the glory of that work of yours and Shelly’s.”
Freya sighed. “I told you. Victor has issues.”
“They’ll probably rename their country after him at some point. People here are so blinded by him. Then we wouldn’t go to France but fucking Victorland.”
I loved that I made Freya laugh, and soaked up the moment with the new morning announcing its arrival in the distance. “Look, the sun is starting to come up.”
Freya and I got off the bench and walked to the railing to admire the first glow of the sunrise.
“We should get some sleep,” she said. “Tomorrow will be another long day.”
“It’s already tomorrow and in five hours we’re supposed to discuss trade agreements.”
Freya backed away from the railing and headed toward the door that led down to the apartments. I followed next to her.
“You know that the French did it on purpose, right? They placed the most critical thing on the agenda the morning after they took us dancing and drinking. They’re counting on us to be slow-thinking and tired tomorrow.”
“That’s a stupid plan,