There had been a few murmurs of agreement when the Palmer boy stood up and said his piece, a couple of claps of approval; poor lad, he lost his folks, but he was shaping up to be a fine young man.
And it got a lot of them thinking, whispering and nudging themselves, sharing looks and listening intently to what was being said. What really started to grind their gears was how that little princess came in here and said that there way of living was bad. Like it had been their fault that they’d been encased in a barrier which screwed with the seasons and bred mutants and kept their crops on the verge of failure. Like they had neglected things simply by trying to survive. It didn’t sit right. It was an insult. It only highlighted the differences between Naturals and Outlanders, and one brave woman finally stood up. Gray-haired, firm, and used to running her own farm, she looked straight at Zariah with nothing short of contempt.
“I’m Alice, and I didn’t ask you to be Queen. Neither did my neighbors. Or their neighbors. Or theirs. You talk like we’ve done this to ourselves, like we’re children who need to be led, but you don’t know jack shit about life here. You came at the tail end. You know nothing about our will to survive, how we’ve had to… to… adapt to the problems that being inside the Barrier caused. We did that on our own, and we did it while facing famine, fucked up weather, mutant animals, LongNight monsters and disease.” The woman counts the hardships on her fingers, and by the time she’s reached the end of her list, those around her have also stood up to show their support for what she says.
“So what I’m hearing is a small group of people, much smaller than the number we got, have said because you got magic, you can make the rules. Well we know lots of people who have magic, what if we want someone else to make the rules, hmmmm? You got bullies at your beck ‘n call, and we got people who are just trying to figure out what life without the Barrier means. Protection is just an excuse. And the way you talk, young lady, shows your ignorance. Your order isn’t needed. Your ways aren’t ours. A Natural advisor ain’t gonna change that. Go back to Northaven, or wherever you came from.”
A loud round of applause follows Alice’s little speech, as more stand in support of their views. And they are looking at Zariah with very unhappy faces.
And it got a lot of them thinking, whispering and nudging themselves, sharing looks and listening intently to what was being said. What really started to grind their gears was how that little princess came in here and said that there way of living was bad. Like it had been their fault that they’d been encased in a barrier which screwed with the seasons and bred mutants and kept their crops on the verge of failure. Like they had neglected things simply by trying to survive. It didn’t sit right. It was an insult. It only highlighted the differences between Naturals and Outlanders, and one brave woman finally stood up. Gray-haired, firm, and used to running her own farm, she looked straight at Zariah with nothing short of contempt.
“I’m Alice, and I didn’t ask you to be Queen. Neither did my neighbors. Or their neighbors. Or theirs. You talk like we’ve done this to ourselves, like we’re children who need to be led, but you don’t know jack shit about life here. You came at the tail end. You know nothing about our will to survive, how we’ve had to… to… adapt to the problems that being inside the Barrier caused. We did that on our own, and we did it while facing famine, fucked up weather, mutant animals, LongNight monsters and disease.” The woman counts the hardships on her fingers, and by the time she’s reached the end of her list, those around her have also stood up to show their support for what she says.
“So what I’m hearing is a small group of people, much smaller than the number we got, have said because you got magic, you can make the rules. Well we know lots of people who have magic, what if we want someone else to make the rules, hmmmm? You got bullies at your beck ‘n call, and we got people who are just trying to figure out what life without the Barrier means. Protection is just an excuse. And the way you talk, young lady, shows your ignorance. Your order isn’t needed. Your ways aren’t ours. A Natural advisor ain’t gonna change that. Go back to Northaven, or wherever you came from.”
A loud round of applause follows Alice’s little speech, as more stand in support of their views. And they are looking at Zariah with very unhappy faces.
