YASMINE
As the meeting got into full swing, Yasmine was beginning to feel like she had a sense of what she was doing.
Thankfully, the protesters eased their attitudes as soon as they realized that their thoughts were being taken seriously. Though it was hard to keep everyone from talking over each other when they disagreed, at least there was a sense that they were all on the same page now.
Some great ideas were surfacing too, but none so compelling as the idea of bringing a medical center to Pirn. She hoped that Ruler Kreed felt the same.
She suspected that he had been feeling some of the crowd’s anger when he suddenly looked strange earlier, which was why she’d jumped in to take the mic.
Sure enough, as soon as he got a small amount of distance from the crowd, he perked up and began taking notes, and even asking different people to clarify their ideas.
By the time the third protester had the floor, the three men in the fancy suits who had thought they were coming for a private audience with the Ruler had their heads together, conferring quietly.
A few minutes later, they got up in tandem and headed for the door.
“Get out of here,” one man called to them. “Even this psychic asshole can at least listen to us.”
“We’ll be in touch with your team to set up a real meeting when you have time,” the man in the nicest suit called out to Kreed on his way out.
“Don’t bother,” the Ruler yelled back to him, much to the delight of the townspeople, who cheered and heckled the suits until they were all out the door.
“I know I said I wouldn’t make any decisions today,” Kreed said sheepishly to the crowd. “But I just couldn’t let that stand. There is no need to be disrespectful. The good people of Pirn deserve to have their say.”
People started stomping their boots on the floor again, only this time, it was clear they were doing it to agree with him.
He grinned at Yasmine, and she felt warm and sweet all over, as if she were in a bath of honeyed tea.
Breathe. Find your center. Bring order to your thoughts.
We still have a lot of work to do.