Repatriate Protocol Box Set

by Kelli Kimble

“My advantages didn’t save me from being a slave in the fields for six months,” I said.

  “But, your advantages brought you here to me,” he said. He leaned closer. “I have to admit, I had nothing but governing expectations for our relationship before we met. But, I find myself quite taken with you.” He touched my cheek and ran his thumb over my lower lip. Then, he brushed his lips over mine, a whisper of a kiss.

  I jerked away. “You say that like you had meeting me planned for a long time,” I said.

  “That’s because I did,” he said. He smiled. “Barrow and I’ve been planning a potential union since before I became president.”

  “But, I got here by accident. When Elliot killed Orion.”

  “Orion. He was unfortunate. I envy Elliot for having killed him. I would’ve liked to have done that myself.”

  “This is serious,” I said. I pushed away from him, to the far corner of the blanket. “I’m not just a pawn. I’m a human being.”

  “Of course, you are. And I am being serious.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, bunching the blanket up on the slick floor. “Look. I’ve been planning this alliance between our groups for some time. I wanted the bond to be strong. Barrow was supposed to bring you here to introduce you after you’d been forgotten in the fields. Neither one of us planned for the queen to put you in for another choosing. We certainly didn’t plan for Elliot to bring you here. But happily, he did.”

  “Does Elliot know about this?”

  “No. This is between Barrow and me. Why would Elliot know?”

  I tipped my head. “Because Barrow is Elliot’s father,” I said.

  Leo stood. “You enjoy the picnic,” he said. “I have a few things to see to.”

  “Wait. Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to find out what Elliot knows.”

  I scrambled from the blanket. “I’ll come with you.”

  “It doesn’t concern you,” he said, moving to the door.

  I grabbed onto his shirtsleeve. “The hell it doesn’t,” I said. “If you want to partner with me, then I have to be a partner. An equal partner. I’m coming, too.”

  “Fine,” he said, jerking the door open. “But, I don’t want to hear about it when you aren’t happy with what he says.”

  I trailed after him as he stalked through the halls. I didn’t know where he was going, and I did my best to keep up. Finally, he stopped at an apartment door and banged his fist on it.

  After a moment, Elliot swung the door open. He knitted his eyebrows together and opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Leo pushed the door open and forced his way in. Elliot stepped to the side and allowed him to pass. “Hello,” Elliot said to me.

  I didn’t answer. I entered the room, too, and closed the door behind me.

  “What’s going on?” Elliot said.

  “When were you going to tell me that Barrow is your father?” demanded Leo.

  Elliot’s eyes darted between us. “I didn’t know it was relevant,” he said.

  “You didn’t know that he and I have been planning an alliance?”

  “How could you be doing that?” asked Elliot.

  “Don’t play stupid. We’ve been making plans for years,” said Leo.

  “You’ve met my dad? How? Where?”

  “Yes. Every year, he stays here for a period. Over time, we’ve built a relationship. Your father is an advisor to the queen, right?”

  “Right,” Elliot said. “But, I don’t understand. He’s been coming here? You mean, on behalf of the queen?”

  “That’s what he claims. Are you aware of his plans?”

  Elliot ruffled his hair between his fingers. “My father and I don’t talk much, so no. I wasn’t actually aware of his plans, considering I didn’t know he knew where the mountain was.”

  “How have you not noticed that your father disappears for weeks at a time?”

  “Look, Leo. My dad is a difficult man. He could be . . . forceful with his family. He expected us to do what he said. And I most often did.”

  “Tell him what happened when you didn’t obey him,” I said.

  “He would kick me out of the village. That’s how I met Ray.”

  Leo sat down at the table and sighed. “It’s important that I can trust you, Elliot.”

  Elliot turned away and muttered something under his breath.

  “What?” said Leo, his voice just a little too loud. “What did you say?”

  Elliot approached the table and put his palms down against the surface. The backs of his hands tensed as he collected himself. “I said, that’s rich coming from you after how you’ve treated me.”

  Leo stood so fast, his chair fell backward onto the floor. “Don’t forget who took you in, who’s giving you an education.” He jabbed a finger at Elliot. “You think I’m doing that without risk? The people here are afraid of you. They don’t want you here. I’m giving you this opportunity. Not Fiona. Not Ray. Not you. Me.” He jerked his thumb at himself.

  “Don’t do me any favors,” said Elliot.

  “This isn’t a joke!”

  “Okay, you want the truth? You can’t trust me. But that’s because I know I can’t trust you.”

  I stepped between them. “Maybe we should take a moment to settle down,” I said.

  “I apologized,” said Leo. “I was wrong to let Ray be that way. I was upset, and I let it cloud my judgment. Okay?”

  “It isn’t okay. You think you’re so civilized. And that’s how you treated me.”

  “Elliot. I know Fiona would like you to stay. I want her to be comfortable and happy. But, I can’t let you stay here like this. So, please. Consider her for a moment, would you?”

  Elliot glanced at me. “I want Fiona to be happy, too. But, I won’t blindly follow you. I can’t. My allegiance is to her.”

  “Right now, she isn’t in charge. I am,” said Leo.

  I suppressed my urge to tell him to shove it.

  “This is when you decide whether you stay or go,” said Leo. “What’s it going to be?”

  “Wait, Leo,” I said. “Don’t you believe in me?”

  Leo’s face softened. “I don’t have a reason not to,” he said.

  “That isn’t an answer,” said Elliot. “You expect something of me, and you can’t even give it to Fiona. You proposed to her. Is that the kind of partner you’ll be?”

  Leo turned to me, his expression serious now. “I believe in you, Fiona.”

  “Good,” I said. “If you feel that way about me, then you’ll let Elliot stay, because I trust him.”

  His eyes shifted between us. For a moment, I thought he was going to say no. But then, he relented.

  “All right. He can stay. For now. But if I find out he has some crazy idea cooked up with his father, the punishment will be worse than being kicked out of the colony.”

  “Fair enough,” I said. “Elliot, do you agree?”

  Elliot nodded once. “I don’t think I really have a choice. But, I agree.”

  “Good,” said Leo. “We’ll leave you in peace.”

  I gave Elliot a sympathetic look and followed Leo into the hall.

  “Would you like to finish our picnic?” he asked.

  I winced. “I think I’ve lost my appetite,” I said.

  He bowed his head. “You’re upset with me.”

  “Yes. No.” I shrugged. “I get where you’re coming from. Personal feelings just mix it up a bit.”

  “I didn’t want to upset you. But you must understand, I couldn’t have him in here, making plans to take over. I’ve got to protect my people.”

  “Would it be so horrible if someone else took over?”

  “All I’ve ever wanted is to be president.”

  We walked in silence. He led the way, and I soon realized he meant to deposit me back in my own apartment.

  “Would you like to come in?” I asked when we arrived at my door.

  “I can’t help but notice that you’re talking about us as if you�
�ve accepted my proposal today.”

  “Maybe you should come in.”

  “Why? Are you going to say yes?” He smiled a crooked smile. “I’ve been waiting patiently.”

  I didn’t answer. I went in and turned on the lights. After a beat or two, he followed me, and I heard the door click shut softly.

  “So?” he said.

  “So,” I repeated. “In the village, people only marry for love. It’s not a business arrangement.”

  “And you don’t want to marry for a business arrangement?”

  “Not really, no.”

  “What about as the queen?”

  I shook my head. “The queen doesn’t marry.”

  “But, you aren’t the queen. Yet. So, you could marry.”

  “I really couldn’t say. It’s never been done before.”

  He moved to stand in front of me. I couldn’t look up at him. I didn’t want to have to tell him that I needed to hear that he wanted to marry me because he loved me. I wanted him to figure it out for himself.

  “I want you to be happy,” he said. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I want to be happy with you. Couldn’t we be happy together?”

  Butterflies danced down my spine, and my mouth dried out. “Maybe,” I said.

  “Happiness isn’t a business arrangement.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “You need to think about it more.”

  “No.” I said. I knew my answer; if only he’d ask the right question.

  His hands settled on my shoulders, and he pulled me to him. “Is this goodbye?”

  “No. But, I can’t say yes yet.”

  He dropped his hands and took a step back. “Okay.”

  I stepped toward him and raised my eyes to his. “You don’t have anything to say to me? To confess? To ask?”

  A confused look passed over his face. “You’ve already seen me at my worst. What more could I confess?”

  It was my turn to step back. Maybe he didn’t love me. I gave him a halfhearted smile. “Lunch tomorrow?”

  He nodded and went to the door. He paused and looked back at me. “I can’t help but feel like I’ve failed a test.”

  “You haven’t failed yet. You didn’t pass, either.”

  “Until tomorrow, then.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Chapter 14

  Weeks passed. Leo and I saw each other every day. He never pressed me to answer his proposal, which I appreciated. But, he also never pledged his undying love. I moved through the days in a haze, feeling exquisitely alive in a painful sort of way whenever he was around.

  Things finally came to a head when Barrow arrived.

  I went to Leo’s office for lunch, but his assistant didn’t show me in right away. She motioned to the chairs positioned along the wall and told me to have a seat. I sat where she’d indicated and tried not to be annoyed.

  The inner office door opened shortly after that, and Barrow came storming out. He was nearly past me before he noticed me.

  He stopped and pointed a finger at me. “You,” he accused.

  “Hello,” I said.

  He turned and stalked back to the inner office. “Fiona! That brat is who you’re replacing me with?”

  I couldn’t see Leo, but I heard him. “That brat was once your future queen. And she is almost certainly the future co-leader of our mutual society. So, I’ll thank you to show her some respect.”

  “I’d rather gouge out my own eyeballs!” shouted Barrow. “She’s nothing, even compared to her mother, and you know how I feel about her! You’re making a big mistake!”

  Leo’s voice lowered. “You may think she’s nothing, but I happen to love her. And love makes men do crazy things, as I think you know. So, you’ll either show her some respect or I’ll be forcing your respect down your throat, along with those gouged-out eyeballs.”

  Barrow slammed the door and stalked through the room again. “This isn’t over,” he said as he passed by me. He glared at me with his upper lip curled into a sneer. He slammed the second door.

  I looked at the assistant.

  She shrugged. “I guess you can go in now,” she said.

  I knocked and opened the door. Leo looked up as I came in. “Fiona.” His face crinkled into a smile. “You’re just what I needed.”

  “I have a question for you,” I said.

  “All right. Sit down.”

  I sat in the chair across from the desk and cleared my throat. “What exactly is your vision for the future? For the collective group, I mean.”

  He nodded. “Let me show you something.” He tapped at his tablet, and then pushed it across the desk to me. “This is a photo of something called a ‘city’ before the winter.”

  I looked at the photo. It showed strange, rectangular buildings, swathed over a horizon.

  “I want to build a city. My group has spent too long cowering in this mountain. And your group has spent too long scratching out an existence. We need to create this space where we can be one together, to advance past our situation. And I think we need you, and you need us, if we’re going to do that.”

  “But, these just look like buildings. How will that advance anything?”

  “It doesn’t really advance anything. It just provides the spirit, the catalyst. If we can work together to build something like this, we can do anything. It will be our inspiration.”

  I looked back at the picture. It would be nice to live outside again, and not in a drafty hut. “Did you mean what you said to Barrow?” I asked.

  “Mean what?”

  “I heard the last part of your exchange. After he left your office, and then went back.”

  “Oh. Well, it was just a threat, you know. I wouldn’t actually gouge out his eyeballs.”

  “Not that. I couldn’t care less about what happens to his eyeballs. I meant about how you feel. About me.”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to remind me what I said. I was upset, and I don’t recall.”

  I gulped but knew I had to repeat it. “You said you loved me.”

  “Oh. Well, yes, of course, I meant that. It’s rather obvious that I love you, isn’t it?”

  “No,” I said. “It isn’t.”

  “Come on, now. I’ve told you that I love you a hundred times,” he said, smiling.

  “You’ve never said that. Not once.”

  “Maybe not in words. But with my actions.”

  I studied the pattern on the rug below my chair.

  “It’s why you wouldn’t accept the proposal, isn’t it? You thought I didn’t have feelings for you.”

  I nodded. “I’ve been waiting.”

  He came around the desk and lifted me to stand in front of him. “Fiona,” he said, putting a hand on each cheek. “I will love you until the day I die. And I want nothing more than to spend my life building a new world with you at my side, as my wife. As my partner.”

  My knees started to shake. This was what I’d wanted to hear, what I’d needed to hear. But, something still didn’t feel right. Was my gut or my heart telling me that? I didn’t know. I shook it off and kissed him. “Yes, let’s do that,” I said.

  Leo let out a whoop and danced me around the office furniture. I followed along clumsily, caught in his arms. The doubt faded away, and I left it in the dark.

  ◆◆◆

  He announced our betrothal the next day. It happened to be a church day, and most of the colony was there. It was customary after the service for Leo to get up and have a town-hall type of meeting. Or at least, that’s how he explained it; I’d never attended one before, because I didn’t know they happened every week.

  Leo came to collect me an hour before the meeting was to start. “I know you haven’t been to one of these. So, I brought you something,” he said. He held out a box that was surprisingly light. I opened it and found a lovely new tunic and pants in a lavender shade. The fabric was softer than anything I’d ever felt before.

  “It will set of
f your eyes. You’ll wear it today, won’t you?”

  “Of course, thank you.” I went to the bathroom to get ready.

  When I came back, Willow was waiting with him. “Congratulations,” she said. She hugged me, but it felt stiff and awkward—and not just because I wasn’t accustomed to people touching me.

  “I asked Willow to come and help you with your hair. I thought you might like for it to look special today.”

  “Thank you,” I said. Willow twisted my hair up into a loose knot and wove a few strands of a golden ribbon through it.

  “You look beautiful as ever,” Leo said when she was done.

  I thanked her again, and she left. “Something seemed strange about Willow,” I said to Leo.

  He shrugged. “Maybe it’s because Barrow is here. He’s her father, though I don’t think they speak.”

  “What?” I said. “Barrow has a child here?”

  “Children,” corrected Leo. “He has six children here in the colony.”

  “Are you serious? He has children in the village, as well—more than just Elliot.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Leo. “He is a man who likes to have control.” His tablet beeped, and he checked it. “It’s time to get to the meeting. Are you ready?”

  With some effort, I put Barrow from my mind. Today was to be the day when the colony would begin to accept me. At least, that’s what I hoped. Naturally, many people had seen me around with Leo, but not many of them had ever actually seen me.

  “Yes, let’s go,” I said.

  We went to the meeting hall. Leo had timed it so that we’d follow the preacher into our seats, and the preacher would begin. He said he did it every week because people flocked to him and prevented the timely start of the meeting. As we walked up the aisle behind the preacher, I felt the eyes of nearly everyone there upon me. I heard more than one person ask who I was in a whisper. I kept my head high and focused on keeping a neutral expression on my face.

  Leo showed me my seat on the front bench, next to his mother. She smiled at me and patted my knee. “Good morning, Fiona. You look lovely today,” she whispered.

  “Thank you,” I said. There wasn’t time to say anything else. The moment Leo had set his rear on the bench, the preacher began to speak.

  I don’t know what he talked about. I couldn’t pay attention. In my head, I was worrying over Willow being Barrow’s daughter. I thought back to when I’d introduced Elliot to her, and she had seemed lovestruck; she’d explained it away by saying that Elliot looked like her father. Of course, he did. He was her brother. I felt an urgency to tell Elliot that he had six new siblings, but I couldn’t do that right then.