PATRIARCHY

fourteen

chapter 14

the twentieth of june, 2155

When we meet, his hand closes around my wrist. It is gentle, yet it firmly keeps me at his side as we walk towards the exit. I glance over my shoulder to see the girl who stood behind me in line--the one who sneered at me for not hearing the host call my name--already at the point. Her time decreases, and I turn my head back, but not without noticing the vacant chair in the back row. Xander has already left.

I guess I couldn't have expected him to stay.

"Thank you for choosing me, Amelia." Alden declines from his rigid position to look at me, his pink lips curling. I smile back, noting how cold and sweaty his palm feels against my skin. Maybe he was more nervous than he let on. The thought warms my cheeks.

My chin lifts, watching the people offer me smiles and nods of approval. Alden's hand moves from my hand to my lower back, pulling closer to him, my hip pressing against his thigh. I look at his smile. He looks proud.

I glance over my shoulder. Father has the same look on his face. A wash of relief streams through my limbs, loosening them up. That's it. My claiming ceremony is over, and I got through it with a score of ninety-three, a proud Father, and Alden.

The exit is tall, wide and completely open, leading out to the parking lot. But before we reach it, Alden halts, turning towards the right wall. Oh--I forgot about this part.

We both enter a white, glossy room through a door nearly seamlessly blended into the black wall. A black parlor chair is placed at the center of the room, with a matching stool beside it. On it, sits a rather young, red-haired man with a device in his right hand. It has the shape of a wristband, but it's thicker and made of steel.

"Sit," he says. His thin fingers--wrapped in a black latex glove--press a few buttons on the device, and it makes a strange wheezing sound as Alden moves me to the chair. A cold, wet sheet is rubbed on my wrist, and the chords attached to the device tightens for a split second. That must be the ink transferring. It reminds me of a handcuff when he opens it, the sound giving me chills. I bet it'll feel like one too.

My eyes shift between my blank wrist and Alden, feeling my heartbeat in my ears. Will it hurt? How long does it last for? 

Alden offers a soft touch to my cheek, but it does nothing to soothe me. The tendons in my wrist protrude as I curl my fingers into a fist, watching the steel band nearing me. I shiver once it's clasped on, as tight as the hairband placed further up my arm. The man turns away from me, to the tablet on his other side.

"Amelia Sayle, Alden Myles?" He asks to be sure, and Alden answers him with a yes. I sit there quietly, my skin prickling at different places all over my body. Another wheezing sound--this one louder--emits from the steel band, and I glare at it, my nostrils flaring.

Next thing I know, my wrist is bare and the only thing left are the black letters.

A.M.

The sight of them hurts my eyes, and I blink rapidly. From now on, I am claimed. My head cools, and my heart squeezes into my throat. Did I make the right choice?

I lift my hand, slowly flattening out my palm, and it doesn't hurt at all. If anything, I feel less there than I did before. My fingers touch the letters lightly, and it has a coarser texture than the surrounding skin. That'll go away, I think. Mother's wrist is completely smooth.