"I don't believe you." I truly cannot comprehend what she's telling me. Not the only ungifted child in the world? She has to be lying-there's no other option.
"Look at everyone in this room-besides me of course-and tell me you don't feel a certain connection to them. Look into each of their eyes-they're all as unnatural as yours." I shake my head and purposely keep my gaze locked on hers. "Are you telling me that everyone in this room is ungifted? Why, because they have unnatural eyes? Do you truly expect me to believe you based on that argument alone?"
"Do you know what your eyes represent?"
"I didn't know they represented anything." I say, honestly.
"Emerald eyes represent Earth, silver eyes represent Air, ruby eyes represent Fire, and gold eyes represent Water." They're all connected to the Gods. I stifle a gasp of surprise. Emerald equals the Eastern God, also known as, The God of Earth. Silver equals the Western God, also known as, The God of Air. Ruby equals the Southern God, also known as, The God of Fire. And Finally, Gold. Gold represents the Northern God, also known as, The God of Water.
"Your point?" I ask, trying for a detached tone.
"Somehow, the Ungifteds are connected to the Gods. We don't know how or why, but the connection is there."
"If all this is true, how do you explain your eyes?" Tulsa's eyes are a dull brown, a completely human color.
"I never said I was an Ungifted, did I?"
"No, you did not, but here's the thing; I don't know what your cause is or why you want me to join, but I still don't believe you. There's no way Sahil would lie about the prophecy. Everyone in the palace believes it to be true, I think I would have noticed if they were all lying to me."
"I told you, she's never going to believe us."
"Arlo, please, not now." Tulsa scolds the young man next to me. So my kidnapper has a name and it is Arlo.
"Then when?" He asks.
"How about instead of talking back to me, you try to convince her you are ungifted."
"And how do you suppose I do that?" Arlo asks. My head swivels back and forth between Tulsa and Arlo.
"Well, how did find out that you weren't the only Ungifted?" The question makes Arlo shut down and his voice is emotionless, "You know how."
A stricken look passes Tulsa's face, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it."
He ignores her and looks at me, "Look, I don't know how to erase all the lies you've been told your whole life, but Tulsa's telling the truth. I am ungifted and my eighteenth birthday was last year." My jaw drops and my head shakes furiously.
"No." I stand up, "no." I can't seem to say anything else. There's no way Sahil would've killed me over a lie. I race out of the room and shouts follow me down the hallway.
I turn down a random tunnel and run right into someone. "I'm so sorry," I stutter. I look up to see that I've run into Winn.
"I knew I'd see you again." He smiles wide, "How did your meeting go?"
I grasp his shirt, "What is your Gift, please tell me."
Winn's eyes flick to the right and then to the left, "Um, I don't have a Gift." His face doesn't betray him, so he's either a good liar or he's telling the truth.
"How old are you?" I need to know. "I'm eighteen." I let go of his shirt and stumble backwards.
"Are you okay, Arie?"
"Why would they lie to me? Why would everyone lie to me?"
"Everyone didn't lie to you," Tulsa says from behind me.
I turn around and a few tears slip out and run down my face, "But you just said..."
"That Sahil has lied to you, others know of the lie, but most people do not, in the North at least."
"What if you're wrong? What if he simply believes in the Gods and the prophecy?" I ask feeling hope sprout in my stomach like a flower during spring.
Tulsa shakes her head no, my flower of hope dying before it can bloom. "The rulers have direct contact with the Gods, there's no doubt in my mind; the rulers know the truth. They know the prophecy is a lie."
"Then what is the point of it all?" I ask. "Why keep spreading the prophecy generation after generation? Why keep talking about it?"
Tulsa finally starts to look like a human being, "To be honest, we're not sure why."
"Why should I believe you?" Why should I take her word over the man I known all my life?
"Because for the first time in your life, you're not being lied to. And you know in your heart I'm not lying."
That doesn't really answer my question. "What's your Gift?" I ask, wondering if she can be honest at all.
"I'm a Veil."
I nod and spread a hand out, "Show me." Immediately Tulsa starts to dissolve and my eyes widen. I've never met a Veil before and seeing someone dissolve into invisibility is fascinating. It takes a few seconds for her body to completely disappear. She then starts to materialize and I step back in surprise.
"Believe me now?"
"I believe that you're a Veil." She huffs, clearly stressed that I don't instantly believe every word she utters. "If your gifted, why hang out, underground, with a bunch of Ungifteds?"
"Because Ungifteds have been treated horribly for decades. With this prophecy hanging over our heads, the Ungifted are the ones who suffer. People will either kill any Ungifted that is born or they'll treat them as slaves and kill them before they turn eighteen.
"It isn't right what people are doing, what the rulers are allowing people to do. So I've joined this cause because I want to help the Ungifteds."
"You keep mentioning this cause, what is it exactly?"
"Over the years we have gathered as many ungifted people as we can-no matter their age. Together we will take back what is ours. You know before the war, people weren't gifted. Anyway, we want to replace the rulers with Ungifteds. We want to show the world that the prophecy is a lie. To do that, we need you. You can get us close to Sahil, you-"
"-the Princess could've gotten you closer to him."
"Yes, but you are ungifted. While we do accept help from Gifteds, Anahi would only go so far." I nod, Anahi loves her father, I'm not surprised she has limits to how far she'll betray him.
"People in the North also know for a fact that you're ungifted."
Realization sweeps through me, "You want me to take the Northern throne from Sahil."
"Yes, we want you to rule over the Northern Society." They want to put me in power? Do they realize I have severe social anxiety issues? I could never stand in front of so many people and speak to them. I wasn't made to be a ruler.
"This is all..." I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves, "...so overwhelming."
"I know, which is why we want you to think about it. Do you have any more questions for me?" My mind is spinning with everything I've learned in such a small amount of time.
"Not at the moment," I tell her. I can barely think through all I've been told; I don't think my mind can handle more information.
"Alright, Arlo will bring you to your room. There will be a new change of clothes for you on your bed." I run my hands self-consciously down the front of my dress-which is ruined, I may add. Mud cakes the whole left side of my dress, staining the white satin.
"Why Arlo?" I really don't want to spend more time with the guy who captured me. Though, I think if I can look Tulsa-who drugged me-in the eye, I can handle Arlo.
"He'll be your guard while you're here."
"So, I'm a prisoner here, just like at the palace?" Tulsa starts to speak, but I stop her, "What happens if I refuse to join your cause?"
"Then we let you go. We don't want to, but we can't force you to stay here indefinitely. Just stay here for a couple of days and think about it, please."
I have a lot to think through and nowhere to go so I say, "I'll stay for the night, but I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I can't promise anything."
"I'll take what I can get. Arlo?" I look up to see Arlo standing next to Tulsa, I didn't know he joined us.
"If you follow me, I'll bring you back to your room." His voice is still devoid of emotion. I wave a quick goodbye to Winn, who stands awkwardly by Tulsa's side, and he waves back. If nothing else, I think I made my first friend. Winn seems friendly and he doesn't seem to be annoyed my presence, unlike Arlo.
"Have I done something to bother you?" I ask him as he brings me to my room.
He barely glances down at me, "You know Anahi has told me a lot about you."
"Oh?" I ask, noticing he avoided my question.
"Yeah, you're the girl who's willing to sacrifice everything to save the world. You don't question authority, you always follow the rules, you're never rude or unkind in anyway, you don't even kill bugs."
"Your point?" I ask.
"You're too perfect. There's something off about you and I'm the only one willing to notice it."
"I'm far from perfect. You think it was easy accepting my fate? I was selfish for so long, but in the end, I had to what was right. And are you telling me that if the fate of humanity rested on your shoulders, you wouldn't do anything? That you wouldn't sacrifice yourself to save the whole world?" Trading my life for everyone else's was a simple decision. Yes, I hated that it was me who had to die, but I accepted it.
"Humanity can screw itself." My eyes widen at the harshness in his voice.
"You don't mean that." I say. I stop walking and tug at his arm, "Tell me you don't mean that."
Finally, he stops walking and looks down at me. His eyes are guarded, giving nothing away. His shoulders slump, "No, I don't." Alone with Arlo for the first time, I finally take a good look at him. He has a sharp jaw and blond hair, cut short. He looks to be well above six feet, dwarfing my small frame. If it weren't for his mouth set in a firm frown, he would look like a nice boy.
I let go of his arm and he stomps off, I follow behind silently for a while before asking, "What if I want to help, but don't want to rule?"
"I don't know. That's something you should ask Tulsa."
"Is she the leader of this cause or movement or whatever it is?"
"We like to think of it as a revolution and no, she's not."
"Who is?" I ask, curious.
"You won't find out unless you agree to join us." We make it to my room and Arlo opens my door for me. Before he can leave, I need to ask him something. He's the only one here, so he's the only person I can ask. "Before you go..." at the sound of my voice, he stops, the door halfway shut. "Were all those people really Ungifted? Are you?"
"Yes, almost everyone down here is Ungifted."
I look into his striking, red eyes, "I don't know who to trust."
His frown deepens, "I can't tell you who to trust. All I can say is that I'm telling you the truth and hope you believe me."
"You don't want me to be here though, do you?"
"I don't think we need you, but Tulsa does. You're the most popular Ungifted known and the only one from the North. I understand why you're important, but our whole plan rests on you and I think that's a mistake."
"What if I don't want to be here either?"
"Then leave and watch your kind be discriminated against and killed. In the end, you'll probably die with them." I'm glad he tells the truth, but I think he needs to learn to pretty the truth up a little more. Honesty is often harsh, but it doesn't always have to be. If said in the right way, the truth can be powerful and comforting.
"What happens tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow morning I'll come by and bring you back to meet with Tulsa. There you'll have to give her your decision."
"I though Tulsa said I would be given a couple days to think about my options?"
"We don't have time for you to think about your options." His voice is cold, "Make your decision fast because we honestly don't have time to waste." I nod and Arlo shuts my door completely. I sit on the bed, alone, in a strange room. Not only do I not know who to trust, I have no idea what to do.