The Bloodmaid's Tale

Chapter 13

June slept peacefully that night, knowing that soon she would leave this place along with Sarah and Luke. She woke up early the next day, only to feel like something was amiss. Cora had not come in to wake her, and there was no food left out for her. The evening air felt stale as she looked outside, the sky above gray and hazy, a sign of rain to come. 

June rubbed her face and combed her hair with her fingers as she dressed as usual. She figured Cora was off today and went downstairs just to check. The house was eerily creepy and June got the shivers as she heard no footsteps from upstairs, or any noise coming from the kitchen. She stood, the sound of absolute nothing making the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she walked quietly down the hallway near the staircase.

Suddenly Fredrick appeared beside her with a dark gaze. June heard a yelp escape but quickly recovered as she bent her head low in front of the Commander.

"Today is a sad day" he said to her softly "We must leave for a Ritual, Serena and the others have already left. I wanted to let you sleep since you seemed so worn out yesterday, but it seems you are refreshed. Come, we need to leave" he said taking her arm in his. June let him lead her down the stairs as she tried to collect her thoughts.

June's heart was beating fast; a Ritual was the most gruesome punishment anyone could endure. A traitor of the Order of Gilead was sent to a Ritual to be made an example for others not to go against the Order. It was a public execution, a display of raw power that the Order had over the humans. 

June's hands started shaking and Fredrick closed them tightly around his. "Do not fear" he said softly "It is a sad day, but no harm will come to you." June felt a sigh of relief come over, but she didn't want Fredrick to suspect that she had done something wrong. Yes, she had been with the Rebellion, had known the faces that occupied it, but she was more scared that Nico wasn't with them. She knew Fredrick would kill Nico if he ever found out about anything that had progressed from her time in the house. To watch him die made her throat tighten and her hands shake.

Fredrick led her into a limousine, the Guardians around the couple staring straight ahead, not even glancing in June's direction. 

The old football stadium where Luke had played football in high school was redone by the Order of Gilead for Rituals. Its metal stands now were made of marble and stone, a gaudy representation of how the Order could change everything the humans had built. People were already gathering in the middle of the forgotten field, which held no grass but only concrete. June was to be with the humans, the vampires above taking their stations. Rituals were a way of letting the natural aggressions of humans out on those the Order deemed appropriately.  

Fredrick led her forward and pointed to where Serena, Cora, Rita, and Nico sat. Serena was dressed in a deep gold, her hair high up as her cold eyes gazed down at the humans. Cora and Rita bowed their heads, probably having seen too many of these scenarios to really take interest. Nico was the only one that looked towards her, his blue eyes finding hers immediately. She felt her lungs give out a sigh of relief, happy that he was above the crowd and not part of it. Though both of them knew that what was about to happen was going to be bloody and awful to watch. And June was expected to participate....

"I'll be waiting up there with them when you are finished" Fredrick said "Make sure not to get your hands too dirty of blood."

June wanted to cry; she had heard about these things but had never been to one. Bloodmaids and human male slaves, which were only called Servants, gathered around the traitor and beat him to death with their bare hands or weapons that they found lying around. The traitor was usually a half breed or a vampire that went against the rules and either rebelled against the Order, or killed a human. Human deaths were rare, letting the others know they had committed a terrible crime to be sacrificed instead of being sent to the Farm.