Amber raises her hand.
It feels weird that I should have the majority vote, but it’s not lost on me that some didn’t raise a hand at all.
“It’s settled.” Meg turns to me. “Now what, fearless leader?”
“Now, we leave and accept assistance from the men. They won’t be nice, but they shouldn’t hurt you. Just remember, be brave. Look them in the eyes. No pleases. No thank yous. Forget your polite, refined manners.”
“Can you have them come in here to treat my wounds? I hurt all over,” Asha says.
“I’m sorry, but they’re going to see that as being weak. You must do your best to walk to them.”
“Come on, now!” Meg says, ushering the girls to their feet.
We leave the hull and walk across the beach. Meg approaches the men first, which I’m thankful for because she’s bossy as hell. One of Grixis’s men gestures for her to sit on a fur that’s laid out. Then, he takes out the funny-looking tool that was used to remove my shackles.
Nori approaches another, others follow.
I see Asha falling behind, and I rush to assist her, peppering her with encouraging words.
Unfortunately, the only guy left to help her is Ramsey.
He stares at her with hard eyes, and I know what he’s thinking. She’s weak. And he’d be right.
But I will not let Asha suffer any more than she has. She’s been kind to me when others were not.
“Remove her shackles,” I insist.
“Instead of helping as the other men do, he hands me the tool.”
I exhale a frustrated breath and sit down on the fur with Asha, trying to figure out how the damn thing works.
It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, with metal pieces so intricate and small, it’s a marvel they work together as they do. I watch the man on the fur next to mine and see his thumb working the side of the tool as he inserts the pointy end into the lock.
I do the same and find a wheel with sharp pointed edges. After I position the point, I roll the wheel and see that inside the lock, the metal is moving. I work for minutes, trying to figure out how to undo the lock as the other women are relieved of their cuffs, and just when I’m sure Ramsey is about to curse our names and call us weak, I hear a click.
I remove the first cuff, then get to work on the second. After I’m done, I look up at Ramsey as I hand him the tool. He’s frowning.
“Ointment,” I say firmly.
He grumbles. “Wasting resources on the weak is how we fail.”
“Or, it’s how you make them strong,” I say. “I think you’ll find that in the end, your kindness will end up making you very happy.” I give him a bold wink.
He snorts out a laugh, gesturing to Asha. “This weak thing is incapable of making anyone happy.”
Asha’s eyes grow round, but at least she doesn’t start crying. I look down the row of men with solemn faces and curious eyes. Thankfully, none are as hard as Ramsey, but I see a few condescending looks I don’t like.
Meg walks down the line with bandaged wrists, barking at them to be gentle, as to not cause more damage. Which is exactly what is needed with these men, as they value strength, which she exudes.
And that only makes me painfully aware of how inadequate I am as leader. Eventually, the rest will catch on, and I’ll be ousted.
Then, I’ll be a servant again.
I notice Grixis’s hard gaze locked on me, and I realize I have to be firm with Ramsey.
“You don’t get to decide who receives help and who doesn’t. Asha is just as strong as any one of us, and if you’d gone through what she had, you’d probably be dead!”
Ramsey is taken aback by my anger. He regards me silently for a long moment before finally kneeling on the fur and taking Asha’s wrist into his hand.