An Ancestors Mark (#Wattys2016)

Lesson Number One

Obsidian on ivory. The mark had returned to its original state against her skin. The mention or sight of it being the sole reminder of her commencement, and as her eldest sister traced the coils upon her, she remembered.

     "Vivian, please stop that. You were sent here to assist me for the ceremony, and this is of little to no assistance." Victoria stood in front of the chambers casement, the reflection of her and her sister a mere gleam in her eyes.

    She let her fingers trace the mark one last before parting, grabbing the set of silver pins opposite of her. "You know I can't help it Tori. Our family hasn't had a Slayer within the last three generation, let alone a female Slayer." She pulled a large section of her siblings hair back and up, pinning it up.

     "I know. . .just don't make this some sort of ordeal. I have enough trouble being a Slayer as is. I don't need you or Victor making things worse." She could already feel the headache of it all as she spoke, though perhaps that sudden pain was evoked by the massive amount of pins Vivian had already plunged into her hair as a means of keeping the caramel locks off of the knotwork.

     "I suppose I can ask him to keep himself together," Her sister chuckled in the slightest, pinning the final locks in their place. "But we both know that will not go as well as we'd like. Never mind that situation though, you and I can deal with all of that another time. Right now I'd like you to have your concerns be on the ceremony, which you look absolutely lovely for."

     Victoria felt her cheeks grow rose at her sister's compliment, though as she glanced at her reflection she thought that for once her sister might as well be correct. She looked nice, even with her ghost like complexion. Her hair had been placed into a bun, her curls as unnoticeable as her gentle cheek bones, her sharp chin becoming far more obvious at the lack of hair surrounding it. The wine fabric of her gown descending from her shoulders, leaving just enough space to show her brand.

She looked almost beautiful.

    She grinned in the slightest at her reflection, the concern of her brother leaving her as quickly as it had come. She welcomed the thought of the ceremony. "Thank you Vivian. Is alright if I ask you something before you go?"

     "Go ahead, I'm here for your assistance am I not?" Vivian grinned at her in delighted, leaning against the stone wall.

     "Were you frightened?"

Her face twisted with confusion, her brows knitting together as her smile faded. "Frightened of what? The ceremony, the marks, or the classes?"

Tori nodded her head. "Well. . .all of those. Though, the marking bit has been completed for sometime now. But the rest of it." The thought had been on her mind for months now, the mark, the dress, and the December snow made it all a bit more surreal. She had attempted to worry herself on other pointless things as a means of distracting herself, though it had never gone as well as she would have liked.

     "In the beginning, though you did through the worst of it last evening." Vivian moved to stand beside her sister, the both of them focusing more on their reflections than on the scene of winter that shimmered beyond the window pane. "And I am going to tell you what I told Victor last night. Once you get to the ceremony at nightfall, plaster a grin on to your face and pretend to care. Though as soon as classes start, that facade has to fall. You have to prove them that you are the strongest. Understood?"

She gulped in the slightest, her eyes now fixed on the scene of winter. "Understood. . ."