Throughout that day, Czarina watched as her family welcomed one family after another. Out of all the visitors, there were only two persons who came alone. The first was Nyala Inyanga, an unmarried and childless black lady who Reine proudly sneered at the instant she stepped into the room, not caring that others were watching her. The other one was a white man with fiery red curls called Ferdinand Wrymwood.
The second he entered the room, everyone stopped talking. A shiver ran through Czarina as she gazed at the man. She eyed his flamboyant dressing and the wide, boastful smirk he was putting on. It wasn't even the way that he looked that was uncomfortable, it was the fact that he was holding onto a leash which was connected to a collar, a collar that was around the neck of someone who Czarina immediately guessed was a Yumboe because of her long white hair and silver eyes. And to top it off, she was moving on her hands and knees as he dragged her to walk behind him like a dog.
Czarina looked around the room and saw that all the Yumboes were looking away from the Yumboe, their faces slyly pinched in disgust. The Yumboes weren't the only ones who felt uncomfortable with his presence because her parents and the other adults were also looking away, whispering to themselves with a frown. Some of them were ordering their kids to look away, shaking their heads at Ferdinand.
"Wrymwood," Czarina heard Fatoumata hiss, the sound of her chair scraping the floor following after. She raised her gaze and watched as the lady marched to him with pounding footsteps, her hands clenched into fists. She pointed at the Yumboe. "What's the meaning of this? Had I allowed you to go into contract with this Yumboe so that you can just—?"
"Oh Fatou," he started, waving his hand, dismissing her words. He gazed at the Yumboe and hummed. "She's okay. Besides, I'm the one in a contract with it, not you."
Fatoumata wanted to jump at him but her husband rushed to her and held her back. "She's not an animal. Remove that leash at once! What is she?! A pet?! Remove that thing you insolent brat!"
Now this made Ferdinand mad as he gritted his teeth, his bold smirk slipping away. He tugged on the leash, forcefully pulling the Yumboe to her feet. The Yumboe's pale skin turned red as the leash began to choke her; she was balancing her weight on the tip of her toes. "Who's a brat?" He moved into her personal space. "I own it, not you. So you better watch your mouth and stay quiet. The contract's been signed, making her mine till her last breath." He scoffed and added, "even in death, her body still belongs to me."
"Why you—"
"Fatou," Adama whispered, holding his wife back.
Ferdinand snorted, easing his hold on the leash, allowing the Yumboe to go back on her knees. "Watch it woman. I detest when people don't know their places." Fatoumata was still heaving in anger when he smiled widely and looked at everyone. "Hi guys."
Czarina caught the sound of her father clicking his tongue. "You need to respect the presence of all our kids Ferdinand. You can't just walk into this room, dragging that woman like she's an animal. Be civil."
"Some of us care about our kids and don't want them to be exposed to things of this sort, so please take things easy," a woman said and Czarina stared at her. The strawberry blonde was clutching one of her twin toddlers to her chest, pressing the child's face into her bosom as she gently rubbed her wife's back. Czarina's eyebrows pinched together at the sight of her wife who was obviously shaking. Her wife was carrying the other twin in her arms and the little girl was frowning at her mother in confusion, asking her questions in gibberish.
Ferdinand glared at her. "And what are you trying to insinuate Prim? That I don't care about my children? How do you even know if I—"
"Shut up Wrymwood and sit down. Remove that leash and act like a responsible person," one of the men said, his voice mature and deep. Czarina recognized the voice as Mamadou's, the man that her father had been discussing with the instant that they had arrived.
Ferdinand opened his mouth to talk but then shut it, snorted and unhanded the leash. "You all irritate me."
"So do you," Roy said.
"Don't talk to me you fucking faggot."
"Ferdinand!" Mamadou yelled, jumping to his feet. "Stop saying such vulgar things."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the vulgar one here. At least I don't—"
"SHUT UP!" Fatoumata screamed, causing some of the younger children to start crying. Aidenn instantly jumped to his feet, taking a wailing Chevy out of the room.
"Casey please take the children out," Prim said to her wife and the brown-skinned woman rushed to her feet, took their son out of Prim's hands and dashed out of the room with the twins. Once her wife was out of the room, she deeply glared at Ferdinand.
"Right." Qlaus rubbed his palms together. "Take a seat." He motioned to an empty chair and Ferdinand strutted to it.
Fatoumata jerked her arms out of her husband's hands and went down on her knees beside the Yumboe. She began to fight with the collar around the Yumboe's neck. When it wouldn't budge, she growled and looked at her husband. "Help me." Adama nodded and knelt beside her. They struggled with the collar before it totally came off and she tossed it aside. "Someone please get me water. Now!" A few servants jumped before they ran out of the room.
Qlaus stepped closer to Fatoumata and held her shoulder. "I'll tell them to take her to a room to get her cleaned up. Will that be okay with you?"
As she was palming the Yumboe's face, eying the many bruises on her face, she grunted tightly. It took Qlaus and Adama to drag her away from the Yumboe, tears brimming her eyes.
"Take her to your rooms, clean her up, feed her and give her some space to rest," Qlaus said.
"Yes Sir." A few of them shuffled to the Yumboe and helped to her feet. They gently took her out of the room.
When the doors were shut behind them, Mamadou turned to Ferdinand. "Let this be the last time you'll ever—I mean ever—do such a thing again."
Ferdinand rolled his eyes. "What are you? My—"
"Listen to him Ferdinand," Nyala said in a quiet voice. Ferdinand faced her and she dropped her gaze.
Ferdinand simply rambled under his breath, his eyes narrowed. He huffed and looked away, his long, straight hair whipping about.
"Right." Qlaus held his hands together. "Shall we start?"
"Please," Reine said.
"Great." He looked at his watch. "The only people who aren't here are Ömer and his family, and Felid and his daughter. Ömer said that his flight had been delayed. Felid had been out of Mairborough for the past week due to some international cooking competition. So... he should be back in the next two days."
"So we're all here then." Reine pushed her cup aside and folded her arms. "Let's start."
All the children stayed quiet as the adults discussed, delegating responsibilities amongst themselves. As they talked, Qlaus was taking down notes, nodding and adding to what they were saying. Eventually, they came to an agreement, leaving Reine with a scowl.
"Wow, great. The decisions have been made." Qlaus held up the notepad in his hand and cleared his throat. "I'll just read everything out. From what we've all agreed with, everything concerning the festivity of the festival will be handled by Nyala, Prim, Fatoumata, Felid and Mamadou. Mamadou and Felid will be providing the refreshments, Prim will handle the decorations, and Fatoumata will handle everything that has to do with fun games like rides and the likes. She'll also decide on the locations of each race." He looked at all of them. "Is that okay?" They nodded and he continued. "For the race, I will be providing the contestants with both their cars and their outfits. While the race itself will be handled by Roy, Ferdinand, Ömer, Kioko and Fatoumata. Roy will provide equipments like microphones, computers and the likes. He's also going to handle the health insurance for the racers.
"Ferdinand is going to handle everything that has to do with the roads and their level of safety. Ömer called already to say that he'll handle the prize money for the winners and participants. Kioko's going to provide helpers and racing personnels like the commentators and the rest. Fatoumata is still in charge of the locations, meaning that this year she'll be the one who will create the clues for the racers, deciding on the routes they'll take. This means that she'll be working hand in hand with Ferdinand on this particular one. Now, the race itself will be judged by Roy, Ömer, Kioko and Prim." He dropped his hand. "I think that's all—"
"Hold on, hold on," Reine said, raising a hand. Everyone looked at her and she cleared her throat. "What about you Qlaus?"
A soft frown appeared on his face. "What do mean?"
"I mean that you're not one of the judges."
"I was among the judges the last time that we celebrated the festival."
"And that was four years ago." She sighed and folded her arms. "And what about Prim? She judged last time." She gave the woman a sidelong glance. "It's not like she provides much."
"Reine," Qlaus hissed. "Don't say that."
"What? It's the truth." She fully stared at Prim and looked at her from head to toe. "She's the one who earns the least among all of us."
"Is that necessary?" Qlaus asked, his eyes wide. "I can't believe you just said that."
"But am I wrong?" she asked her husband.
"No you're not," Prim said, crossing her arms. "I earn the least. But something you said is wrong." She leaned forward and smirked, her deep red lips raising up. "Unlike you, I earn my money. Unlike you, the spouses of the aristocrats work for the money that they earn and don't have to ask money from their significant other when they need to purchase the simplest things.
"I mean, Khushi has a fashion line, Kioko and Kirui had been in the business together for a long time and now Kioko has taken over. Aidenn has been a chef for as long as I can remember, Ömer's wife has her own drilling company, Adama owns several farmlands and Casey works full-time as a therapist. So using "us" when referring to aristocrats is wrong. Use "you guys" or "all of you" when referring to us, the real aristocrats who work for their money and don't have to ask for it."
The adults and some children looked at her with their individual shocked expressions.
Ferdinand whistled. "Feisty."
Qlaus coughed into his fist as Reine's face began to twitch, turning red. "And... well..." He looked around. "That's it for today. For the meantime my servants will take you all to your rooms. Enjoy the rest of your day. Good day." He straightened out his shirt and moved out of the room.
Czarina eyed her brother as he began to chuckle into his fist. She looked at her mother and bit her bottom lip. Reine's face was as red as a tomato. Czarina cupped a hand over her mouth and looked away when she began to chuckle.
Mum's been owned. She looked at Prim and her wife as they muttered to each other with smiles on their faces and sighed. Goals.
━━━━━━━
In the course of the next few days, many people had began to sign up for the race. Also, people had began to return to Mairborough, ready for the Auster Festivals. The preparations for the festival had also commenced. Finally, the day for the tryouts arrived, and Czarina found her nerves skyrocketing through the roof.
Czarina was sweating bullets as she stepped into the building where racers will be addressed before they began the race. On her way in, she caught her brother's eyes in the moving crowd. He was on the other side of the crowd and was glaring at her. She immediately shifted her eyes. But when she remembered why she was joining the games that year, she raised her head and continued forward, steeling her emotions.
I'm doing it for me and no one else.
Czarina walked into the hall and found her designated seat. The instant that she sat down, the people beside her began to do things to get her attention by commenting on her dress or purposely dropping things. In the end, all they did was irk her, making her frown in irritation at their attitude, rolling her eyes and huffing.
Some minutes passed before her father and the other aristocrats were walking into the room. Everyone started clapping for them as they stepped onto the stage. This time around, they were complete in number, Ömer and Felid present. They were all handed microphones. When the claps died down, Fatoumata was the first to speak.
"Happy Auster Festivals racers," she said with a smile.
"Happy Auster Festivals to you too!" the audience replied, clapping afterwards.
"Wow, I can't believe that four years has passed. Some of you had been sixteen the last time, some fifteen. Times surely does fly. It's such a huge honour to finally participate this year isn't it?" They whistled and clapped, cheering her on. When their cheers slowly stopped, she cleared her throat and signalled for Qlaus to speak.
As her father read out the rules and guidelines of the game, addressing the features of the tryouts and the main game, Czarina shifted her gaze to the tall windows that lined the walls. Light peeped in through the windows, highlighting the different colours of everyone's hair, making their hair seem like their individual haloes. From where she sat, she could spot the entrance to the racing stadium that was not too faraway. So many people were moving into it, chattering loudly. A few of them gazed at the tall windows and waved at them through the windows. She recognized some of them as Yumboes, their pearly-white hair and sharp silver eyes making their skin glow. Seeing them reminded her of Lulana. She sighed in sadness, her face becoming dull.
She looked back at her father when he uttered his final word. She blinked slowly and started clapping in a broken manner with the others.
Qlaus looked at the rest of the aristocrats. "Do you guys have anything else to say?"
Roy raised his left hand and everyone's eyes followed his hand. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. "With the way you guys are gaping at my prosthetic arm, I hope you aren't dreaming of getting one." Some people laughed at his words, while some shook their heads with refuting words. "Hmm. Well, that aside... I... would like to tell you all that this is a game for fun and not for anything else. Everyone is a winner. Don't be put off if you don't be the first or anything. Your winning goal is when you try harder and become better." He grinned. "Am I rambling mushy stuffs?"
"No Sir!" people said as they chuckled.
"Oh, great." He looked at the others and they shook their head. He looked at Qlaus. "Is it time?"
"Um..." Qlaus looked at his watch and nodded. "Yep, it's time. Just follow the side door and you'll find yourselves in the garage."
People shot up, rushing sporadically to the door. Czarina waited when most of them had left before she stood and walked to the door. The second that she stepped into the garage, her face that had been looking dull brightened up at once. She smiled and rushed through the garage in excitement.
Number thirty-four! Where is it?!
When she finally found her own car, her hands flew to her mouth in shock. But she immediately dropped it when some people stared at her with interest. She coughed and cleared her throat, making her face to become blank. Czarina walked to the car, passing her fingers accross its body. It was a sleek black car that had fiery designs around it. Despite her face being blank, Czarina was bubbling inside with joy. She couldn't contain it anymore and she didn't want to look weird in front of the other racers, so she used the key she had been given to unlock the car.
When she got in, she shrieked quietly in joy, pressing her face into the steering wheel. When she raised her head, her face heated up as her eyes caught the eyes of the other racers—they were walking past her car and giving her questioning looks. Czarina glowered at them. It made them avert their gazes and they hurried past her car. She rolled her eyes before she let herself enjoy the beauty that was the interior of the car. When she was done and satisfied, she found her helmet on the passenger's seat and put it on. Starting the car, Czarina's heart leaped for joy as her car roared to life. She gripped the wheels tightly and sighed.
Leaning her head back, she whispered, "I'm doing this for me and nobody else. This is who I am."
Author's Note: another update!!! <3<3 Please remember to vote. :)))