The Truly Divine

Chapter 5: Start of Hope

"Your escort is here Miss Eliza," speaks the House Program. As I walk down my staircase I see a tall man dressed in a blue button up and black slacks facing the wall. The sound of my heels on the marble floor bring his attention as he turns around and smiles brilliantly.

"You look stunning Miss. My name is Arthur Benson, pleased to be in your acquaintance Eliza Harold," He gingerly kisses the top of my hand and helps me into the lift. As the sun beams through the glass I admire his glorious beauty.

He's almost too gorgeous to be looked at honestly; his jet black hair smoothed back revealing his sculpted face and flawless features. He feels my eyes on him and turns to smile, showing off his blindingly bright smile. How is someone born looking like this?

We make our way to the black elegant vehicle, ready to take us to this luncheon. The ride is filled with idle chatter as we zoom through the city, strange that a place can seem so calm and "homey" yet big city busy at the same time. Not before long we pull up to the huge infrastructure titled, Golden Grove City Hall, and step out amongst the groups of other girls and escorts heading inside. The ceiling is peaked and plated glass, allowing the sun to pour in, opening the room in a welcoming manner.

"Eliza! Eliza! Hi!" Several of the girls squeal as I slowly approach the long table decorated with flowers and plates of neatly cut sandwiches and desserts.

"Hello ladies, how are you today?" I sit between two girls, one whose name I've forgotten and the other whose family is also on the Truly Divine; Everly Fallbrook.

"This girl is my cousin, Annaliese Fallbrook, she's just moved here with me a few weeks ago," Everly gestures to the girl.

"Call me Anna," she smiles quickly before discreetly pulling at the end of her dress.

The luncheon commences with idle chatter before a certain subject catches my attention.

"The guards have been all over the place! I hear that soldiers are still looking for that fugitive that broke in," one of the girls sitting down the table says.

"Oh, I heard about that! Someone even told me that the King thinks the perpetrator is working with more than one person," another girls states, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaning forward on the table.

My hands begin to feel clammy when Everly turns to me, "What have you heard Eliza? Weren't they in your house asking about it on the 36th Annual Renewed Society Parade?"

"Uhm, yeah they did come ask the house about it because they think they saw the fugitive around our housing complex...but they never found anything."

"I'm honestly surprised that there is not a bigger search for this person," Arthur says while sitting across from me.

"That's because he's not sticking around here; they are trying to draw him out of his dirt town..." chips in the girl with the ridiculous habit of flipping her hair everywhere.

"What do you mean?" asks Annaliese slightly sitting up in her chair.

"Did you not hear?!" This girl will have neck problems when she's older, I think humorously until she says, and "They started executing more Balmer citizens in a hope to draw out the traitor. First they are starting with old males and as time goes on I bet they'll start executing the little girls."

The room grows eerily quiet at the quick change of atmosphere in the room, surprisingly the first to break the silence is Annaliese.

"That's absolutely horrid. Children? Women?" she covers her mouth and slightly shakes her head, fidgeting with the tresses of her dress.