The Maidening Ceremony

Chapter Thirteen - Scene 1

Time was running out. The Maidening Ceremony kept getting closer and closer, and Millicent had done nothing to ensure a future for Arilya which did not consist of complete misery. She had one shot to convince the Council to pair Arilya and Finley, but knew it would not be easy.

The Elders gathered in their cove, each individual settled into place. Solemnly, William placed his gavel on the stone table. Looking as selfish and conceited as ever, Elizabeth sat at his right hand. Millicent tried not to roll her eyes at the obvious public make-up after the fight during the last Council.

"We need to discuss the pairs for the Maidening Ceremonies. Remember, it is important to pair the strongest merphen together to ensure the continuation of the species."

"Of course, William," said Elizabeth. "Did you have any pairs in mind already?"

Millicent could not hold her eye roll in, but luckily, no one noticed. Why would they? They never paid attention to her.

"I do, actually, thank you, Elizabeth. My first preferred pairing is Finley and Viola."

Millicent's heart sank. It was as she feared. Her plan had been to suggest Finley and Viola, hoping Elizabeth would vehemently disagree; but Elizabeth would never disagree with William while she sat at his right hand.

William continued, "Viola is smart, one of the smartest merphan this Community has produced in a long time. Finley is brave, his career trainer says he has never seen such a natural hunter, not since Samuel. They are a perfect match. Their offspring would be intelligent, calculating, and fearless. Exactly what we need for this Community."

There – an opening, a small ray of light. "William, have you considered the downfall of such a union?" Millicent asked.

"Excuse me?"

"With two such strong personality traits, I worry for the sake of this Council."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"We have done a laudable job managing the Community, but what you have just described is a natural-born leader. Someone who may not appreciate the direction this Council is taking the Community in." Millicent sat back and waited. Several of the Elders had concerned looks on their faces, but William looked amused.

"Who would you suggest pairing Finley or Viola with, then?"

"The other hunter-in-training, Japhet, is also brave, but does not show the same leadership qualities as Finley. Pair him with Viola and we will still receive intelligent, brave merphen, but perhaps not so calculating."

"Interesting choice. And for Finley?" He smiled an almost-sinister smile. Did he know where she was going? Her next words were risky. Millicent had never been great at manipulation and William was capitalizing on that inexperience. She decided no answer was the best bet – if she directed the group into pairing up everyone else, maybe Arilya would be the only one left for Finley.

"I am not sure about him. I know he is brave, but he is also a trickster, a prankster. I just do not know if it is a good idea to pair him with a strong female and risk those traits carrying on."

Elizabeth humphed. William nearly laughed, but kept his composure. "Thank you for your insight, Millicent. Shall we move on?"

Millicent could not tell if it was safe to remain quiet; she was unsure if her speech had worked. Elizabeth certainly saw Arilya as weak, but William was unpredictable. He seemed to take immense pleasure in doing exactly what the Council, and the Community, did not expect.

Each of the merphen in the class was discussed, just as during the career and ceremony training assignments. William and Elizabeth spoke the most, of course, but Joseph occasionally offered a poignant insight, and when Millicent thought it could help Arilya's cause, she spoke up as well. The remainder of the group kept fairly silent. Their silence became unnerving - Millicent wondered if it was possible her peers felt the same about the Council as she did – that their opinions were not really valued, so why bother speaking up? Glancing around the table, she noticed glazed-over eyes, slightly open mouths, and general all-over malaise. It made no difference to them who married who. Only William, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Millicent were actually paying attention.

"The red-tailed maid – what are we going to do about her? It is too bad we have extra males, or I would recommend not pairing her at all," Elizabeth said, getting to the end of the class list. "We certainly do not need her procreating and passing on such a hideous tail."

"Now Elizabeth, you are too hard on the maid. She has shown to be an invaluable teacher," Joseph said.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Ugh, a teacher. Anyone can be a teacher."

"But not necessarily an effective one," William countered. "The class she has been working with has shown advanced aptitude for plant life and sea creatures. Those areas of study will be enormously helpful as the class ages and moves into their career training."

"Exactly," Joseph said. "I think we underestimate her. She should be paired with one of the stronger males. Maybe one of them can counteract the tendency she has to be overly zealous. Japhet could be excellent. He has enthusiasm for nothing."

"Very astute, Joseph," William said before turning his attention to Millicent. "You are her mentor, what are your thoughts?"

It was do or die time. If she agreed with Joseph, she risked Williamagreeing, too. If she disagreed withJoseph, Elizabeth was sure to argue with him and fight against her. "I think she is a bright girl, much brighterthan we gave her credit for while assigning careers; she should be paired withsomeone strong, someone who could enhance that passion."    

"I thought you considered passion a bad thing for the Council," Elizabeth said.

"It depends on the direction that passion is heading. Her's would never be a threat to us."

"Unless paired with someone's who could be?"

"Well... no... I mean, I do not think we should worry about that."

"But you said earlier that is why we should not pair Finley and Viola. Do we not need to worry about it with them either?" Elizabeth grinned victoriously. A faint smile played around William's mouth.

"No, we do."

"For them, but not for Arilya paired with someone like Finley? I think her personality would be just as dangerous paired with his as Viola's would be."

"Arilya is not dangerous at all."

"But the argument you made was that Finley and Viola's traits together would be dangerous. Under that same argument, would not Arilya and Finley's be dangerous as well?"

William tapped his gavel. "Elizabeth is right, Millicent. Which makes me go back to my original pairing."

Millicent made one last desperate attempt. "We still have a little time, we can observe the class for a little longer and then decide. It is not as if they know before the ceremony."

William bowed hishead. "I see no problem with that." But the stern, cold look on his faceconvinced Millicent his mind could not be changed. Unless she did something very drastic, Finleywas destined for Viola, and Arilya for heartbreak.