Zayn's POV
The morning was completely quiet as I walked through town with the two wild turkeys I had just shot. I was going to sell them to the town butcher for pretty good money, considering he was buying them illegally from me.
As I made my way past the houses, it was deadly silent. The silence set a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach that seeped through my bones. Something wasn't right, or it was just me being paranoid walking through town with wild turkeys I shot in the forest.
I turned the bend of one of the houses and saw officials in a large group walking towards a house. I hid behind the house I had just turned the bend of and watched them.
The door to the falling apart home was snapped off its hinges as the officials rushed the house. Minutes later, a blood curdling scream sounded from the home. I dropped the birds to the floor and stood from where I was crouching down.
More screams echoed through the small town and soon a lanky curly haired boy was dragged through the front door. One of the officials dropped him to the floor and began hitting him with his baton. The curly haired boy begged for them to stop, but he only got kicked to the face in return.
Something in me snapped seeing that. From where I was, I ended up laying my body over the tall boy less than a minute later. I got hit with the batons and yelled at to move, but the poor bleeding boy under me just clung to my leather jacket for protection.
"Move boy!" They yelled at me. I looked up at them and shook my head.
"Stop hurting him! He didn't do anything!" I yelled back at them. Someone from behind me grabbed the back of my jacket and pulled me off the curly boy. They didn't hit him again, instead all of their attention was on me. I suddenly became aware of the fact there were twelve officials standing around me. They all had the same hard look on their faces as they looked at me.
"He tried to run when we got here to take him to the Square. Orders are, he's supposed to be getting married today. It's a crime to run from us." One of them told me. I was let go of and slowly kneeled down next to the crying boy on the ground. My eyes didn't leave the men in front of me as I kneeled down.
"I don't want to go." The boy whimpered to me. He was my age, obviously, but to whom he was marrying it was probably going to be another male. That's just me guessing by the way he's reacting to this. I looked down and felt the need to hold him even though I don't even know him. His big green eyes looked at me like I was his last hope. His hand found its way to mine and gripped it like I had the power to stop this from happening to him.
"I'm so sorry." I whispered to him, giving his hand a tentative squeeze. He looked down at my hand that was in his and his thumb ran over the dove I had tattooed on me.
"I'll remember you." He whispered, then not even a second later he was brought to his feet and drug away from me. I sat in the dirt watching as the tall boy limped along with the officials down the dirt covered road.
My eyes looked down to the tattoo on my hand and I swear I could still feel his smooth thumb running over the skin. His deep voice telling me he would remember me echoed through my mind. I did nothing for him to remember me for though.
A gust of freezing cold wind hit my body and a small snow flake landed on my hand. The snow flake reminded me of the date and reminded me of what today was.
I was sprinting down the streets straight to the bakery not a minute sooner. When I got there, I saw the door to the bakery had been broken down and I heard crying come from inside the house. I was too late to save him...
"Mr.Tomlinson?" I asked quietly, stepping over the broken door. The bakery at this hour normally smells of baked goods and is warm, but today the warmth was taken out of the building.
I walked into the house connected to the bakery and found Louis' mum and dad sitting there, holding each other. His mum was crying while the baker held her. They both looked up at me and shook their heads.
"You're too late, Zayn. They took him." Mr.Tomlinson said in a sad voice, but I heard behind it the anger of his only son being taken and forced to be married. I walked closer and sat on a chair then thought of the green eyed boy crossed my mind. In my heart, I knew that was who Louis was going to be married to. There was no one else it could have been other than that lanky boy that seemed like he couldn't hurt a fly.
"He's a nice guy. I just met him." I told them both. His mother jumped out of her husband's arms and came kneeling in front of me.
"What is he like? Will he be good to my Louis? My baby boy!" She cried, grabbing my hand. I gave her a weak smile and nodded towards her.
"He has curly hair and green eyes. By the looks of him, he's allot taller than Lou but he probably weighs no more than 80 pounds. He seems like he'll be lovely for Louis. We didn't talk much, but he didn't want to go either." My words seemed to relax her as she nodded and looked at her husband with a sad smile.
"Louis will like his curly hair." She offered to her husband, almost like she was trying to make him feel better about this. Mr.Tomlinson only shook his head and left the room cussing out the government under his breath.
"Are you hungry, Dear? We have some baked goods left over from yesterday that you can take home with you." Mrs.Tomlinson offered me. I nodded and we both stood up to go get the food. I know the girls will love having some sweets at home for once.
The sad woman gave me the pastries in a bag along with a few loaves of bread. I tried to give her money, but she just said I did enough by saying something about Louis' husband.
I started walking down the street quickly so I could get back to where I left my wild turkeys. I didn't even realize I had left them when I ran to go see if Louis was already gone. I might get to see him again, it really just depends on if he's going to be the worker in the family or if the other lad is. Just by judging the two boys together, I would definitely say Louis won't be a house wife.
When I got to the house I had left the turkeys beside, my stomach sank because they were gone. That was the only thing I could sell today for any type of money, but not only that, if an official saw that they were from the forest and no where else I could be punished for that. How they would trace them to me, I'm not sure, but I know this is definitely not going to be good.
Niall's POV
I heard screams echo through the small town, waking me up from my sleep. It didn't seem too late in the morning, the sun was bearly even up yet.
There was yelling echoing through the streets and crying. We all hear that much too often. It means someone is going to get married and doesn't really want to. At least three times a week I hear this, but this time it sounded different. There was an actual conversation in the yelling, not just the cries of the poor person that's trying to stop the inevitable.
I got my shoes on and a handed down jacket on to go outside to see what was happening. I could hear a silence through the streets other than a small cry, then I heard someone being drug away. When I turned the corner of a house I nearly stepped on two newly shot and gutted wild turkeys. I covered my mouth to keep from screaming and took a step back from the sight. I don't like to see things like that, it makes me feel bad for the suffering the birds went through.
I looked around the corner after calming down a bit and saw that same boy I had seen through my window sprinting down the street. I looked over his body as he ran and could only imagine how muscular he would be without that leather jacket on and his ripped jeans on. I shook my head and slowly backed away from watching the boy with black hair.
I looked down at the birds and decided that he probably left them behind. I didn't want him to get caught or in trouble for having them because I know he got them in the forest. We're not allowed outside food other than what's sold in the square so I know this isn't good to just leave laying here. Plus, he had to have used a rifle or bow to shoot these and weapons aren't allowed either.
The birds were tied together by a string so I picked that up and pulled the birds up with it. This was really not what I wanted to do this morning, but I can't just leave them here for that black haired boy to get in trouble.
I carried the birds back to my house and set them in the sink, feeling really guilty that I pretty much just stole them from someone who worked hard on getting them. So, instead of keeping them, I got a shovel and took them to my backyard and buried them.
As I laid the birds into their grave I made, I caught sight of where they had been shot. My stomach turned at the bullet wound on the neck of the birds. I imagine that's a pretty skilled shot to get and to get it twice is pretty impressive, but I don't like that these birds died. I don't like when anything dies. With shaky hands, the dirt was pushed over the bodies of the birds.
Just as the sun rose the bells of the Government Building, or The Tower as we call it, started ringing signifying two people were going to be married later on today. Those bells sounded more solemn than they did happy. They never sounded like the sound if a celebration. Maybe to the government and the fact they just saved a few hundred dollars by bonding two people in marriage, they sounded like a celebration. But to the rest of us, the screams and cries that woke us from our slumber only sounded like the fear of innocence being taken from two people that are bearly even adults.
By law, you have to consummate your marriage the day you get married. If not then somehow, I'm not quite sure, officials have the right to make sure you do it. Also by law, you have to conceive a child with in the first year of your marriage. These are all done for population reasons and economical reasons. None of these done out of love like I think they should be.
These all just add up to why this occasion that happens daily is mournful not joyful. There are 18 year olds getting raped and being forced to get pregnant so they won't be punished by the government. There's no freedom to this choice in life.
After feeling my heart break for the people that are going through what I have to go through soon, I went inside. The snow was coming down lightly, showing that is was in fact December.
"Niall, where have you been?" My father's voice boomed through our small house just as I walked through the door.
"I heard something outside, then found some birds and buried them." I told him quickly. His tired blue eyes looked at me and I saw how much fear he had running through them. My mum came from the bedroom and came to hold me tight.
"We thought they took you and we didn't get to say goodbye!" She cried into my chest. I held her and looked at my father showing him I was sorry for scaring them both. He let out a deep breath and nodded towards me.
"Let's eat. We have allot of fresh berries." He said sadly. My mum wiped her eyes then got my hand in hers, leading me to the kitchen.
All of us ate the berries and drank milk in silence until the whistle blew, signaling my father to get to work. He kissed my mum then pat my back before leaving.
I watched through the window as he walked out and stopped where the new burial site for the two birds were. I thought he would come back in and get mad that I pretty much got ride of food, but instead I saw him shake his head and smile before walking off to the loading docks.
"You're father has always loved what a gentle boy you are." My mum told me softly. I shrugged and went to get ready for another day of school and another day of being too to do so much I don't want to. But school is better than getting married so I'll be happy I still have that.
A/N: this is getting really exciting for me, is it going too slow for yall? Also, are you all understanding the world they live in? I want to create a new world, but I'm not sure if the message is getting across. Comment / Vote!
- Bri;)