------- E L A I A ------
Mother beams at my reflection in the mirror.
"You look absolutely lovely, Elaia," she says, brushing one of my blond ringlets off of my shoulder. "I'm certain he'll be quite pleased to see you."
"I hope so," I reply, gingerly fingering the diamond pendant that dangles at my throat. Mother let me borrow it and I'm afraid that I'll lose it at the celebration tonight.
We don't have very many celebrations, outside of our normal holidays. I'm not entirely sure what this party is for but from what Father said, I know that it has something to do with what happened to the town Valas lived in.
Father calls for Mother, and she tells me we'll be leaving in a few moments before she seems to float out of my room in a whirlwind of grace and elegance. I hope I can be as lovely as my mother one day. I stare at myself in the mirror for a long time, wondering if Kres will like this gown as much as I do.
The skirts are flowing and endless, dyed a pale shade of blue to match my eyes. When I'm standing still the dress is mostly blue, but when I move the right way, the gauzy fabric seems to come alive, glittering with white and purple and blue and silver. It's the most beautiful gown I've ever worn and I never want to take it off.
When the chauffer brings Father's pristine black car around to the front of the manner, we all pile inside. Father and Mother sit next to each other on one end, my brothers all sit on the other and I am left to myself on the backseat of the stretched vehicle.
I stare out the window, half watching our city zip past, half listening as my brothers converse about school. Actual school, where you learn to read and write. I don't know much about my brothers' schooling, but I do know it is nothing like the education I received.
I wonder what it would be like to be able to read the words I see on the jumbo screens as they pass by. Or to be able to write a letter to my best friend, Trinia. I wonder, but I'll never know. Girls aren't allowed to learn to read or write. We're not allowed to attend school.
The Annistors' estate is an overwhelming sight, glittering and enormous with sprawling gardens. It's not a place that I get to visit very often, but if I'm lucky, someday, I'll get to live here.
Inside, everything is decorated with swaths of burgundy and grey fabric draped across the walls. Banners of gold have been hung from the ceiling, all meeting in the center of the room, where an enormous chandelier dripping with gold and crystal tops the room like an elegant crown. Hundreds of round tables sit, evenly spaced apart, all dressed in linens of gold with place settings and abstract red sculptures in the center of every one. At the back of the room there is a raised platform carved out of Alabaster, with a long rectangular table sitting atop it.
This is where the Annistor family will sit. This is where my family and a few others will sit, also. A purposeful show that there is a hierarchy in our city and my father is one of the few that stand at the top. This is a public display of our status and importance in Vir.
Patriotic music plays overhead as all the men greet each other, their wives obediently at their sides.
When I meet Kreston's gaze from across the room, my heart practically leaps to my throat. It's been nearly a month since the last time we saw each other, and I've missed him. We don't make any move to close the expansive gap between us at first. We only stare at each other for a long moment.
The suit he's wearing is the fanciest I've ever seen, with black and grey filigree, red striping and white ruffles, shiny gold buttons done all the way up to his throat and long pointed tails in the back. His red hair is slicked back, his green eyes never leaving mine. Finally, he approaches.
"Good evening, Elaia," he greets, nodding to me as I curtsey to him.
"Hello, Kres," I reply with a smile.
"You look lovely this evening," he tells me, offering me his arm.
"Thank you. You look nice too. I like your suit," I reply, resting my hand in the crook of his arm.
"My father made me wear it," Kres replies with a sigh. "It's a fine suit, I suppose, it's just," he trails off, searching for the right thing to say.
"You think it's awful, don't you?" I ask as he leads me out to the balcony where there aren't as many people.
A smirk paints itself across Kres' lips and he glances sidelong at me as we walk. "It's absolutely godawful," he admits with a laugh, shaking his head. I laugh too.
"How have you been?" Kres asks me, smiling down at me. That gentle, loving smile that makes my heart stop.
"I've been fine," I tell him, resting my arms on the balcony rails. In truth, I haven't been fine. Ever since I met Valas last Saturday, doubt has clouded my mind. But it would be improper for me to burden Kres with my insecurities. The quaver in my voice betrays me, though, because Kres lifts one of his eyebrows at me in question.
"You don't sound fine, Elaia," he starts, tucking one of my blond ringlets behind my ear. "You know you can tell me anything."
I let out a breathy sigh. "Alright. Well, last week I met a young man at the camp," I begin, explaining our conversation to him. "And I don't know... a lot of doubt has clouded my mind since," I finish, finally meeting his gaze. I'm expecting to find disapproval or exasperation, but I only find love and understanding in his eyes.
"Is that wrong? Am I being ridiculous? Am I being rebellious?" I ask urgently. A bit of fear wells up inside of me, but at the same time I'm relieved that I was able to tell someone else about my worries.
Kres frowns. "You're not being ridiculous, Elaia," he says seriously, turning to look up at the stars. "I often have doubts myself," he admits.
"Really?" I ask, a little shocked. "About what?"
He lets out a breath, not taking his eyes off the stars. We're both silent for a long time and I'm suddenly afraid that I've upset him. Just when I'm about to apologize, Kres speaks.
"Sometimes I wonder if all of this is wrong. Sometimes I think it would all be better if we didn't live inside this damn cage," he spits, his voice barely a whisper. At first I'm confused by what he means, and then I realize that he must be talking about the city.
Nobody is allowed to leave Vir unless they've been granted access by the city council. My friend Trinia says it's to keep all of us girls from getting out.
"When I think about these things, "Kres continues, resting his hand over mine, "I always think I'm being ridiculous, or rebellious, also." Finally, he turns to meet my gaze again.
"My father always tells me that everyone is kept inside city limits because there are extremely dangerous things beyond these walls, and only those who are properly equipped to handle such things can be trusted outside the fence," he continues, resting his elbow on the rail. He cups his cheek in his hand, staring out at the vast gardens, all painted in dark shadows from the evening.
"But if that's true, then why have we never heard of such things? And why would they send anybody out there at all?" I can't help but ask.
"That's exactly my problem with the story. I don't believe my father is telling the whole truth," Kres replies, lacing his fingers with mine.
"If he's lying why don't you confront him?" I ask next.
Kres violently shakes his head. "No. No, I can't do that," he replies, suddenly sounding dispirited. "He'd be furious, and furthermore, it won't change a thing. He'll still make pathetic excuses and lies instead of telling the truth. He's still in charge of our city, and in a few years time I'll be the one in charge," he says sadly. And then there's another impossibly long moment of silence because I don't know what to say, and Kres seems to be lost in his thoughts.
"I'm glad I can be myself around you." The words slip out before I can really stop them. I'm not sure why I say it, but I do know that it is the truth. When I'm speaking with my father, or my brothers, or the director of the camp, it's different. They tell me I don't understand and that it's nothing to concern myself with. When I'm around them, I keep quiet and listen respectfully.
But Kres never dismisses me. If I don't understand something, he explains it to me. He doesn't get angry at me for speaking out of turn, or asking too many questions. He lets me say what I want to say, regardless of the rules. I think that's one of the reasons I fell in love with him.
My words seem to pull Kres from his thoughts and he turns his attention back towards me, smiling again.
"I'm glad that I can be myself around you, also. You're the only person who understands me," he tells me, taking both my hands in his. I can feel the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. Then he takes a step closer, so our bodies are almost touching.
I glance around nervously, worried that someone will see us and report us, but most of the people have gone inside which probably means the celebration is officially about to begin.
"You are the only person I want to spend my future with," he tells me, and so much excitement wells up inside of me that I almost can't contain it. "Which is the reason I brought you out here this evening," Kres continues gently.
My heart is pounding hard against my rib cage.
"Elaia Ellicourt," he begins, my name tenderly rolling off his tongue. "My dear, sweet Elaia. Will you promise to be mine?" I don't even have to think about what it.
"Yes!" I practically cry, tears welling in my eyes. "Of course I will!" I've waited almost two years for this moment. "Absolutely yes!" Girls aren't supposed to get too loud, but right now I'm far too excited to care.
Kres laughs, cupping my cheek in his hand. The smile on his lips is so genuine, so sweet. It makes my heart swell with love. He pulls a thin gold ring from his pocket, sliding it onto my left ring finger. He brings my hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to my palm. "I love you, Elaia. I love you more than the stars," Kres whispers, pulling me against him.
I wrap my arms around him, taking in his sweet scent of pine. "I love you too, Kres," I reply, laughing and crying at the same time. This is the happiest moment of my life. Just then, the same patriotic music from earlier begins to play again, only louder this time.
Kres finally pulls away, offering me his hand. "Sounds like the celebration is about to start," he says as I place my hand in his. His thumb gently brushes over the shiny new ring on my finger. I am his. Well, I will be after our ceremony. But I am promised to him, and he is promised to me. And I'm so happy I think I might explode.
We saunter inside, where the guests have all casually begun to find their assigned seats. I find Trinia in the crowd, who smiles and waves to me. I smile back, holding up my left hand and pointing to the ring with my right. A small squeal escapes her lips and she quickly covers her mouth, glancing around to see if anyone noticed.
Kres takes my hand again, leading me up the steps to our table. His father, Lord Annistor sits at the head of the table, his wife to his left. Normally I would sit beside my mother somewhere in the middle of the table, across from my father and brothers. But tonight things are different. My place at the table this evening is next to Kres.
They knew he would ask me tonight. This concerns me at first, and then I remember that Kreston would have had to ask my father's permission before he could ask me. Of course they knew what he was planning. Once everyone has taken their seats Lord Annistor stands, addressing the entire crowd. He is dressed in a flashy black suit that's lined with gold and heavily decorated. A deep red cape flows from his shoulders down to the floor.
"Citizens of Vir," he begins in his deep, commanding voice. "There is a natural order to all life. This order will always remain," he continues, his eyes meeting mine for a brief moment. A shiver crawls down my spine.
"Those who purposefully go against this natural order are wicked, depraved souls. They have been borne of the very depths of hell and their evils know no boundaries," he says, brushing his fingers down his short, vibrant red beard.
Kres rolls his eyes at his father and I have to stifle a giggle.
"As many of you know, over one hundred traitors have recently been brought back to the city where they will be held accountable for their crimes," he pauses a moment as the crowd cheers.
"These people have chosen lies and individualism over truth and unity. They are unwilling to see reason. Incapable of appreciating the natural order of life." Lord Annistor's words take me back to the conversation at breakfast last Saturday. They're freaks that choose to ignore the natural order of all life. That had been what Greyson had called the people at the camps. Some of my excitement dissipates as doubt fills my mind again.
"Not all of the people that were rescued need to be punished. Some just need to be re-educated. They are the children of these rebels, who have been raised away from the city and forced to become something they're not," he drags on. "But their parents?They have committed treason on the highest level and are to be executed for their crimes."
As he says these things guilt wells up inside of me. What would Valas say to that? He'd be outraged. He'd say nobody made them anything they didn't want to be. He'd be infuriated that his people were going to be executed.
I force the thought away because it's too painful. Too real. I always knew there were groups of people dedicated to bringing outsiders back to the city. But I didn't know anyone from outside the city until I met Valas, and after spending just two hours with him, I'm already beginning to question everything.
I find myself glancing down at the new ring on my finger as I absently listen to Lord Annistor's words.
In a few months, Kres and I will be married. And once we are, I won't volunteer at the camps anymore. I won't get to see any of my friends there. I won't be allowed to. A pang of sadness rises in my chest at the thought of never getting to see them again.
I catch my father's concerned gaze out of the corner of my eye and I return my attention to the lord of our city.
Ever since I spoke out my father has treated me differently. He's been watching me more, and I'm worried he's going to do something irrational. Something like send me back in for re-education. If that happened, would Kres still want me? Would he take back his ring and forget about our last two years together? Would he abandon me?
As if Kres knows exactly what I'm thinking, he takes my hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. No. He wouldn't abandon me. He'd never do that. Not my Kres.
"Today, we celebrate this great victory for our city. Today, we recognize that there is a proper order to everything, and we thank our ancestors for laying the foundations in their time, so that we might live in a better world today," he finally finishes, raising his glass of champagne high in the air.
We all take our glasses with him, ready for the toast that will undoubtedly come.
Normally toasts are fun and commemorative of good things. But this one feels wrong. Maybe those people did break the rules by leaving the city, but I think they were just trying to forge a better life for their children. And now they're going to be executed because of it.
We shouldn't be celebrating their capture and punishment. This is wrong.
I don't want to toast to this. I don't want to be a part of it. Glancing to Kres, I can tell that he doesn't want to be a part of this either. But, refusing to participate in such a patriotic act in Lord Annistor's own estate would be considered treason.
So, we nod to each other. A silent agreement that we're both doing this for show and nothing more. Then, we raise our glasses of creamy champagne as Lord Annistor speaks.
"May we always seek to uphold the natural order of all things," he finally finishes.
Kres and I clink our glasses together and then I tilt my head back and pour the entire glass down my throat.
------- Author's Note -------
Hello there, dear readers! I'm terribly sorry that this week's update is a day late but I truly hope you enjoyed it! What do you think of Elaia and Kreston together?
I would love to hear your thoughts! And please, if you enjoyed it please consider voting. Thank you!
Stay inspired,
M I R A N D A