Love your Enemy (Ruby Rose fanfic)

ELEVEN (Iselen POV)

A loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell.... that is a true statement. But what we forget is that God doesn't send us to hell... we send ourselves. The way we behave in this life will determine our future and we must remain on permanent alert because temptation is everywhere. Temptation always looks good, she's like a beautiful woman with hypnotic eyes trying to lure you, but you must stand firm on the path to the virtue...

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the concept of God but I don't get along with His fan club... and the staff working for Him is way worse. Most of those who have crossed my path throughout my life felt compelled to poke around in my private affairs and criticise my decisions disguising their comments as "well-meant advices." I admit that sometimes I've bumped into men of Church that were really humble, they didn't judge and were obsessed with helping people, but the majority of them have a very confused list of priorities: they're more worried about who sleeps in my bed than by the fact that I've spent my adult life fighting in horrible wars. I'm going to hell because I've been dreaming all night long with my neighbour's amazing, pink and plump lips instead of because I shot and killed people... I think it's weird but, well, they're the experts.

Pastor Todt fixes his eyes on my face while he keeps ranting about sin and several types of temptations that can appear before us, but I remain undaunted: perks of my military training. My back straight, knees together, keeping my eyes straight ahead... I can spend hours like this if necessary: half of my brain is listening to the resonant voice of the man in the pulpit just in case I have to talk to him later and answer to some questions, and the other half is thinking how to get rid of Williamson's threat, I need a carrot from the kitchen if I'm going to ride Petunia after lunch and I must ask Mr. McLeod how the last calves that were born this week are doing.

We've been looking for the document that will show we're the owners of the Royal Route without success, although the map room doesn't look like a battlefield anymore and order has been restored in some shelves. I should be anxious and worried but the truth is that I enjoy Ruby's company so much that the duchy problems have faded into the background, her optimism and cheerful nature are contagious and the castle looks less dark and gloomy, less solemn, since the moment she sets foot on my entrance hall. My employees adore her, my cook has baked a dozen of different cakes for her to try, my butler always insists on asking her to stay for dinner and Meredith packs some pastries every night and hands them to Ruby so she can have them for breakfast the next day.

My tenants behaved politely but with caution when I introduced her for the first time, now they directly ignore me while debating with the Countess about cattle breeding and I try to pay attention to their conversations the best I can. Mr. Baxter, who's usually very demanding, allows Ruby to get closer to the horses without the supervision of a stable boy... which I am not allowed to do. She came to the castle with her cousin Lennox yesterday and, despite he was wearing a ridiculous shirt with small dinosaurs printed, he managed to make my cook blush and dazzled two maids with his compliments. Everything goes well so far and I hope that this sort of truce will become the definitive end of this war.

My employees have told their friends and family members about the charming Countess, Mr. Banner and his wife have suggested that we could go to the pub to have a beer one evening and young people are curious about her now that Ruby is an ally to fight our common enemy. Williamson is a more interesting, dark and a sinister character to hate than a young and pretty girl who jokes with them. Several boys and girls from Dunira and Falkland spent the whole Saturday evening measuring miles between our two villages without fights or rude words even if there wasn't an adult supervising them. Everything is perfect, almost perfect... Except for the disgusted grimace on the face of pastor Todt and his most faithful followers every time they hear my neighbour's name. I don't understand it, really, everybody is aware of the serious situation and they think it's perfectly normal for us to work together on this, Ruby has told me that Dunira is behind us 100% but some residents of my village seem determined to hate our neighbours. What would they gain by getting on with this stupid war?