The woman was the Matriarch, a woman who was the wife of a prominent member of the Mad King's government. She was known to be the main driver of the movement to support women to have more children.
However, her stance had always irked me.
When she spoke of women having forgotten their traditional roles and the natural order of the family, she always sounded out of touch with reality. She encouraged women to be homemakers, yet she offered no solutions for them to live a stable and safe life.
But again, she always seemed to be parroting her inane husband's rhetoric.
"It would be difficult for anyone who pays attention not to recognise you," I said, trying to be nonchalant. I finished washing my hands and wiped them using the provided paper towels before tossing them into the can.
"You are acting a little presumptuous for someone who does not have control over your life. You are an ant on a hot frying pan. You can be crushed with a thumb." The Matriarch said, approaching on her high heels.
I looked up at her defiantly. "Do you wish to crush me?"
The Matriarch looked surprised before laughing with genuine mirth. She looked completely different from the woman who had entered the restroom with cold eyes and a stiff face. She looked like a normal aunt.
After a moment, she calmed down, but her face remained gentle.
"On the contrary, I want to help you understand. I suppose he sent you here to attempt to get an answer from you on how he can manipulate and further his cause to build his perfect world. I was suspicious as soon as I saw a young woman looking around the chapter with scepticism." The Matriarch said.
I was confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"The depth of his focus, determination and manipulation cannot be fathomed. So far, he has been using the intellectual types to assess any weaknesses in his plans, but he will use anything and anyone to reach his goals." She replied.
I felt insulted at being part of the 'anything and anyone'.
"Do not pout," The Matriarch smiled kindly. "The reason you are here is because he considers you a freethinker and perhaps, a little mad. Most people he hired thought in a very stiff way, so he must think you are capable of helping him."
It was just as I had theorised with the Kingmaker. I was just there to test his plans using my apparently irrational mind. It was also a little bit of a relief to find out that I was not the only pawn in the game.
It meant there was a chance I would get out alive.
"So, what do you want to help me understand?" I asked, choosing to ignore my role as a mad ant.
The Matriarch became more serious. "That it is an illusion; a lie designed to ensnare and entrap women."
I got even more confused. "Marriage and children?"
"Marriage and children are all good and fine for women like Marta. Bless her heart. She is one of the few who mean it when they say it is the perfect life they pictured. It is the exact reason she has misled a lot of women into a life of misery." The Matriarch's eyes shone with some anger.
The realisation hit me.
While I was not convinced that I should have children or get married, I was able to see Marta's side. She was the perfect tool to lead young women. If a sceptic like me could be moved, anyone on the fence would immediately follow that path.
Moreover, if someone were to come to me and ask questions on the subject, I would offer my opinion, but I would also draw from Marta's experience to show both sides of the coin. After all, she showed it as a different but beautiful experience.
I was still glad to understand it, but I could see what the matriarch meant.
"It is like a virus," I exclaimed in a low voice.
The Matriarch seemed to assess me again. "You are more than meets the eye, Catherine. I can see how you ended up here."
I do not know if it was a compliment, but her words depressed me immediately. I was here, locked in a bathroom with a strange politician's wife because I was kidnapped by a man who wanted to reshape the world.
"I can see why Eunice introduced me to her right after letting me see the novices. It creates the illusion that you can come from the place of being an insecure girl to a happy wife and mother with a perfect life." I sighed in marvel.
I did appreciate a good manipulation technique.
"Marta's and other similar women's role is to become agents of a traditional life. I am no one to speak ill of a traditional life, but they are using these ladies to force women to give up on their most basic needs." The Matriarch seemed pained.
"I thought you supported women having more babies, earlier in life, staying home and so on?" I said in a snarky tone.
The Matriarch sighed. "At first, I thought it was a good thing. I mean, the population has been decreasing, and I felt like a traditional family is the best way to sustain the world. I believed that if more women were willing to be wives and mothers, the conditions would improve for all women."
I nodded in understanding.
It did seem logical that with some countries having a low population, the best way to increase stability would be to make conditions favourable for women to give birth and care for their children. Overall, it should improve life for all women.
But I already knew that was not what happened.
"There was a discussion about it, from what I heard from my husband. They considered providing more affordable health services to women at the very least. However, the idea was quickly shut down by the King."
"He said it would cost too much money, and there was no guarantee that it would cause any increase in birth rates. It only took a while before they made a complete plan to make it difficult for women to reject that life."
She paused with a sigh.