By the time I discovered everything about what I could do now that I’m like my Angel now, everyone was used to me. Nevaeh, who’s a doctor, not a nurse, was training me as a nurse.
Alonzo, her little brother, practically idolized me. He even said that he wanted to meet somebody just like Angel when he was older. In the Holy Land, he would have been whipped for saying that, like I was when I told my family my secret.
I’m still trying to convince Angel to train me to fight on the front lines. He’s so protective of me that he wouldn’t even consider it!
“I can’t bear to lose you.” he said when I asked him, “I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”
I was blissfully happy here, happier than I would have ever been on Holy Land. I was important and in love. Everything was perfect, but something’s going to change all that, and by something, I mean someone.
“JESSE!” I heard Beth wail, “FATHER! JESSE! FATHER!”
I ran towards Beth’s voice. I have gotten really close to Beth. I feel like her second dad, and I just hoped she was alright.
When I found her, she was sprawling on the ground like a rag doll. She had bruises all over herself, and there was a bump on her head. Her cane was eight feet away. I grabbed it and Beth and cradled her in my arms.
“Beth, what happened?” I asked, stroking her hair as I ran her to the hospital wing.
“I was taking a walk, minding my own business, when someone attacked me from behind!” Beth explained, “I think it was a Holy Man, but I doubt that they’re able to even find the entrance, let alone get in.”
When I got to the hospital, I lain her on one of the beds. She looked awful; her face was black and blue, and her lip was bleeding. Whoever did this will pay, badly, if I have anything to say about it.
“Did that person say anything to you?” I asked when we got to the hospital.
“He told me to give Father a message.”
“Okay, let’s get you some rest, and when Father comes, you can give him the message. How’s that?”
“Okay, Jesse.” Beth replied, “Jesse?”
“Yes, hon?”
“What does it mean to marry someone?” Beth asked, “I know that marriage, whatever that is, is the reason everyone’s fighting, but no one has ever bothered to explain it to me.”
I just sat there for a while, thinking about how to answer this question for Beth.
“Marriage is a promise.” I said, “A promise that you will love that person for the rest of your life. What the Holy Men think is that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, but we think that any two living beings who love each other should be able to get married if they wish, and that’s why we’re fighting.”
I heard the door hiss open. Angel and Nevaeh burst in, their faces dripping with concern.
“Beth!” Angel exclaimed like a worried parent, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Father. Of course I’m fine!”
“What happened?”
She repeated the same story she told me, leaving out the questions about marriage.
“What’s the message, bien-aimée?”
She took a deep breath.
“‘Give me back my son,’ he said, ‘or you will never hear the end of me.’”