Dark. Dark and cold is the night. The gentle crashing of the waves below is the loudest thing as I stare out into the night. As I stare, I cannot find where the water and the sky separate, they mesh together in a dark blue blurb. A breeze lifts off the crash of the waves below, sending a fragrance of salt into the air and pushes my hair across my face. My mouth widens with a yawn and I lean against the bars of the balcony.
I wish I could have slept more. Perhaps it was the initial fear and horror of the entire day that caused my body to crash so quickly, but it didn't last long. I wish they had the circle of numbers that Joe told me tells time, maybe then I could know how long I have been awake, or how long it was until the next day starts. It's a bit painful to think about the next day when the first day feels like it never ended. I feel just as tired and scared as I did the moment I stepped off that train.
A wave of wind whips suddenly, causing me to grab the bars of the metal rack. My hair whips around my face until it settles just as quickly as it came. I look down at the nasty crashes if the waves, the peaks of white the only brightness against the inky blue of the ocean.
I will say, this has been the best thing so far. The ocean. I like the color of it during the day, it's blue and calm. When I stare out, it's like I can get sucked into it, never to be found, just lost in a blanket of blue and black. Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad, I would simply float alone, never to be mocked again.
The kind blue eyes of Joe flash in my head, the wrinkles at the corner signal he is smiling, and I feel like I can hear his laughter echo and bounce around my head like an empty room. The thought brings a smile to my face. Oh but I have to tell Joe about the ocean. How else would know? My eyes flick to the shelves off in the corner of the room, a beautiful leather journal tucked between different book. That's right, I ought to have written, it helped me the last time. I walk over to the shelf and begin pulling at the book before stopping shortly. Perhaps I should wait until tonight to write. After all, the day hasn't even happened yet. I push it back into the shelve, and walk back over to the window, stepping out into the pavilion.
Looking up, the black sky seems to be lightening behind the tall walls of the castle, making it a grayish hue.
"West." I whisper as I turn to look out across the water. "This is facing the west." I heart jumps slightly at the thought of having the scary time of day right outside my window every night, but the breeze off the water easily calms me back. "It can't be too bad, it's far off from the woods."
*knock knock*
I look at the door to the bedroom and take a deep breath as I turn back to the ocean. See you later. I close the doors, shut the curtains, and walk over to my door. On the other side, Charles, Sicily, and Cora stand wearing their typical expressions. They quickly walk in and begin setting up the area. Sicily hums a tune as she plugs up the hot rods of metal, Charles doubles his steps as if he is dancing to her tune as he begins laying out pieces of my outfit for the day, and Cora stands in the corner of a room, setting out various things, most of which will probably hurt my eyes or face. I walk over to Charles staring at the dress at he places it into a cloth manikin.
"How long does it take you to make these?" I ask as he touches a piece of the dress before turning and digging into his bag.
"Oh it really just depends." He says through slightly closed teeth as he holds a needle between his lips. "If the person wants something crazy it can take several weeks or months, which is typically the case." He rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing a thin piece of leather with a black orb tightly around his wrist. "This dress, considering it is very simply, didn't take me too much time." He leans down gracefully and effectively sewing something into place, his eyes intent and serious, but still soft and kind. "Even after having to redo some of the first week dresses, I have been able to move faster than with most." He gives me a slight smile as he ties it off and cuts the thread loose.
"I'm sorry." I say as I stare at the dress. "That you had to redo them."
"Never apologize for having a preference." He says as he begins putting the thread and needle back. A loose blond-gray curl falls against his forehead and he pushes it back, my eyes stare at the bracelet. "I happen to like this style more than the glamorous type anyways." He laughs to himself as he glances at the dress. "It's quite comical considering the glamor is what made me famous amongst so many people in the capitol."
"Hey, I'm doing your makeup first. Hurry." Cora rounds the corner and I don't have to see Charles to know that he must be glaring at her. "Please." She says quickly and I follow her as she rounds back around, whispering barely audible complaints to Charles. When I set in the chair, I watch as she takes off a few rings, one being her wedding band, another being a gold one with an emblem of the capitol, a bird resting on a branch above water, with the sun behind it. Four elements blended together to form perfect unity. The last is a slim silver ring with a gray orb similar to Charles' black one.
"What is that?" I ask and Cora glances to see where my gaze it pointed too. She holds up the ring and I nod. "Yes that"
"It's a pearl, my mom told you about them." She says as she sets it and and begins cleansing my face with something. Out of all the painful things she puts on me, this is by far the nicest part of the experience.
"I thought they were only that whitish color." I say and she lets out a laugh, I think.
"Of course you would," She shakes her head and begins with the soapy stuff. I close my eyes, having made the mistake of it burning them before. "The white ones are not that rare. Silver or gray, like mine is a little more rare, but still typical, black like my father's are the rarest."
"The bracelet." I say and she hums a yes as she rubs the soap into my nose rather roughly. "So that black orb is a pearl too." She hums again. "Why do you each have pearls."
"Keep your voice down." She mutters as she begins using something wet to rinse the soap off. "If they heard you, they would launch into their entire love story." I hear a slight sigh and gag, a can't help but smile a little. "In short, on a date, dad found a clam and told her 'if this has a pearl, then it is destiny that we will end up together,'. It had not one, but two. He turned them into earrings and of course, they eventually ended up together. On their wedding day, mom had sent him the black pearl, and after I was born, they got the gray one." I open my eyes to see her staring at it, a rather gentle expression on her face. "They believe it to be our family sign." She laughs slightly at the thought. "Dad has been trying to find another black pearl for my husband, so they can match." After a few seconds, her face when back to her normal stone expression and she glares at me. "Now be quiet, I have to do your makeup."
Soon, my makeup is done, and this time, I never felt pain or had to take anything off. Am I getting use to this, or did she adjust her skills. I turn to look at her, and turns and throws a glare my way. Getting used to it, definitely just getting used to it. I walk into the bathroom where Sicily is waiting, still humming her tune. I sit in the normal chair and stay quiet as she begins to work. Her voice rises and falls in such smoothness, it reminds me of the way the yellow substance smeared on the warm bread from yesterday's breakfast.
"Where did you learn that song?" I ask and she goes quiet. Her hands no longer move as she holds the rod in my hair. It doesn't take long for the heat to begin to burn my skin slightly. I look at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes look far away, and sad. "Sicily?" I ask and the burning intensifies. "Ow ow ow!" I lean forward and my calls of pain must snap her back.
"Oh I'm sorry!" She says as she pulls the iron away and quickly runs out of the room, only to rush back in with a small canister of something. She takes out a green substance, smearing a little on the spot and the burn begins to fade. "What did you say dear?" She says as she massages it into my skin and begins to go back to work after it seems to dry.
"The song you sing, where did you learn it?" I ask again and this time, she keeps a smile on her face, but her eyes don't shine.
"An old friend taught it to me." She says as she curls a strand. Her eyes look far away again, but not so sad as before. "Well not so much as taught, rather she got it stuck in my head. Every time we were doing something, she would hum it. No matter her mood, she would hum, and I could usually tell how she was feeling based off the tone she used." She says as she begins twisting another strand of hair around the iron. "Sometimes it would sound melancholy, which meant she was sad, sometimes it was long and drawn out, which meant she was thinking about something very intently. Most of the time, it was quick and upbeat, because he was seemingly always happy." Sicily' eyes have a glint to them, like she is back to that time.
"Who is she?" I ask and Sicily peers at m. She blinks a few times, the glint fading away with each flutter of her eyes.
"What did you say dear?" She asks and her body shifts slightly, like she is uncomfortable.
"Who is she?" I ask again and she sets the hot iron down, slowly tucking a piece of hair into place and taking a pin off her shirt, sliding it into my hair to fix it in place.
"Well, she is-" a loud band rings from the hall and the thumping footsteps of Bronson toddle into the bathroom.
"I hate to cut this short, but Sebastian needs you in his office." His eyes stare at me and I look up at Sicily as she touches my shoulder.
"She is not fully dressed yet." She says pointing at her hair and my pajamas.
"No time, he wants her immediately." Bronson says and peers at my clothes before clearing his throat. "She can get in the dress but she needs to hurry." With that he turns and walks back out the door. As soon as it shuts, in a flash of arms and hands, my hair is pulled back into a quick pony tail and I quickly get the dress and shoes put on.
As soon as my door opens to the hallway, Bronson and McQueen take me and begin leading me down the hall. I glance back to see Charles, Sicily, and even Cora standing at the door, but it is only a glimpse before we round the corner and they are gone. We walk down the normal hall, and as we come upon another familiar corridor, we turn the opposite way. We only walk a little ways before being met with a dark staircase. We clamor down and turn left, walking a little bit more only to be met with another set of stairs.
After a few more turns and stairs, we come to a large door, five guards stand by it. Both Bronson and McQueen pull out a slab of glass that illumines blue and hand it to the middle guard. He looks at both, before handing it back and nodding to the four guards. Each go to a strange curve in the door, their backs block what they do, but soon the door grinds and slides open, revealing a long bright hallway. We walk forward and turn right into another hallway. At the end, a large glass panel stands with a guard at the front of it. Once at the door, Bronson and McQueen hand the blue glass things to the man, who looks at them then, sets each one into a slot at the door. An end of the things sticks out slightly and he opens a panel that is behind his back. When he turns back to us, he has a smooth black rectangle in his hand. The shininess reminds me of the pearl around Charles' bracelet.
"Hand." He says and Bronson holds out his hand. He presses the rectangle onto the tip of Bronson's thumb. A burning sound comes from it and when the man pulls the device away, blood pulls onto his thumb.
"Are you okay?" I ask teaching forward, which he quickly stops by holding up his hand.
"Yes, it is just a security measure." He says as he presses his finger into the piece of glass that is sticking out from the panel. McQueen, who also got his finger burned, does the same. When they pull away, the glass tablets sink into the panel and a large blue light illuminates the outside of the door. The door alarmist sighs as glass doors slide into the wall, allowing us to enter into the room.
I follow them in and I step foot into a large room with various bright screens that show images and videos of people. Not just any people, but the girls and boys of the season. Claire and Reena have the two largest screens in the middle, and it looks like they are sitting in a chair from the interview the night before. In front of the screens are lined of tables and various people looking up at the screens and talking to one another before typing away on a slightly smaller screen in front of them.
"This. Way." McQueen calls and I follow as we weave in and out of the tables, heading to a door tucked in a dark corner of the room. As we get close to the door and farther from the chatter of the people watching videos, I begin to pick up various voices from our destination. Sebastian is one, and the other, I think, is one of the boys from last night, though I'm not sure which one. Bronson opens the door, and the bright lights of the office almost blind me.
"I'm just saying it's completely unfair that he got out of-" the shorter blond guy looks upset as he speaks to Sebastian. What was his name again. Jason? His eyes cut towards us and when he sees my face, he grows quiet and steps away from Sebastian's side of a round white table, then sitting in a chair.
"Alright, now we are all here." Sebastian says as he turns to a screen and begins fiddling with it as I look around the room. I slowly walk forward and take the last empty seat as I look at each of the faces. Collin, Jason, Theodore, and-... Where is Mason? Before I have the chance to ask, a large man, appears at the center of the table, almost like a ghost. "Can you hear us sir?" Sebastian says and the man cough loudly as he leans forward.
"Yes I can hear you!" He shouts and it sends a ringing in my ear. "Are they all there?"
"Yes sir." Sebastian says and I shake my head as the older gentleman clears his throat.
"Alright." He seems to spin slightly in a chair as he begins to speak. "As you can tell, Mason Bridges is not in this meeting. That is because he is no longer in the running for this competition."
"Did something happen to him?" I ask and he clears his throat as Sebastian takes a sip of something from a very white cup, it kinda smells like a sweeter version on my tea.
"Yes he had... a medical situation." Sebastian says and a loud laugh echos from behind me. I turn to look at Jason. His eyes glint with something similar to anger, but much harsher.
"That is a blatant lie." He says as he leans forward. "He paid his way out, didn't he?"
"Now I never said-" Sebastian sets his cup down and Jason springs up slamming his hands into the table.
"I know for a fact he did!" He shouts and Sebastian leans back, almost seeming a bit startled. "I overheard him last night when we left dinner, something along the lines of 'Why settle for a pig when you have plenty of funds to purchase a horse'." His hands ball into fists as he glares at the fuzzy image of the man in the center of the table.
"Ahem." Sebastian clears his throat and gives a small smile. "As I said, he has a medical-"
"You're right Mr. Taylor, he paid his way out of it." The man says and Sebastian lets out a sigh as he looks to me. My stomach turns slightly, knowing the reason why, but not wanting it to be confirmed. "Can you blame him? He is from the wealthiest family and he was paired up with... it." I deep burn in my chest erupts and I hang my head as I listen.
"Oh I don't blame him, but how is that fair for the rest of us that also got dealt the same hand?" Jason hisses as he poops back down in his chair. I glance up to see him staring at me, his angry eyes seem to soften a bit. "Still, he shouldn't be allowed to take a cowards way out."
"Well, his family has donated a lot of money for this years event." The man says and shrugs, rubbing a thick mustache on his face. "I will agree that it may have been a mistake-"
"May?" Collin retorts as he leans his head against his palm. "Sir, with all due respect, you opened up a door that should never have been opened." His eyes water at the corners as he lets out a long yawn.
"Yes I am aware of that, thank you for the clarification though." The man snorts and shakes his head. "Anyway, none of you are going to be able to do what he did, so as far as the media and all other contestants know, he left due to medical issues."
"Yes because everyone will believe that." Jason scoffs as he leans into the back of his chair, stretching his body to look at the ceiling. "You honestly believe any of us are willing to fight one another to marry her?" He casts his gaze towards me and I sink into myself. "Slapping makeup and a pretty dress on someone is like wrapping up a piece of crap in pretty paper." That's the first time I've heard that one.
"Well of course I don't expect you guys to fight for her." He says and lets out a slight chuckle.
"So what are we doing here?" The atmosphere of the room changes with the new voice. Theodore, who has been silent this entire time stares at the man. His eyes seem blank, not angry, not upset, just blank. "What is the plan here if you never expected us to fight?"
"In all honesty, people are curious about her." He says and I feel the burning gazes of the people in the room. "She has always grabbed the public's attention, and now, the entire world is finally seeing her." His lips curl into a smile, a terrifying one. "If my theory is correct, a lot of people will watch her, therefore increasing income from this event." He runs his tongue against his lips and I feel a sense of horror deep in my body. "To put it plainly, I only have her head to make me more money, to pry a little into the mind of an unwanted child."
"What if your theory isn't correct?" He calls and the man's face shifts to concentration. "What if she doesn't pull the public's eyes like you are wanting. Would we still have to stay then?" Theodore asks and the man leans into his chair, thinking as he rubs at his chin.
Looking around at the others, they too have a look of contemplation. Collin has his eyes closed with twitching eyelids as if he is playing different scenarios in his head. Jason stares at his hands, his fingers moving ever so slightly as if he is counting. Sebastian stares at his cup as he traces his finger around the rim of it. Theodore, simply stares straight ahead at the man, his eyes never blinking.
"I haven't thought that far ahead." The man admits as he leans forward in his chair. It creaks loudly under his weight. "What do you propose."
"When does our first episode air?" Theodore asks as he intertwines his fingers together and resting his chin on top. I hear a few clicks and glance over to see Sebastian moving his fingers rapidly across a large glass device.
"3 weeks." He says as he looks at the man who is staring intently at Theodore.
"3 weeks." Theodore says and nods. "We will follow the rules and play the game for 3 weeks. The morning after our first episode airs, if the statistics are not as high as the most popular girl for this season, you will allow us all to leave and not have to go through with this." With this proposal, the room grows quiet. I watch the man on the screen, it's almost like the gears in his head are turning around and around.
"Well, it does give you each a week to get to know her a bit better." He mutters to himself as Jason and Collin lean forward. "I do think you may be aiming a bit high for her to have as many views as Claire." He states and Theodore shrugs.
"We are humans, we look forward to watching people suffer as inhuman as it may seem." His blue eyes show no hint of remorse in how he speaks. Only cool calculation, like he had been planning this from the very beginning. Perhaps he has been planning this since the beginning. "If you truly think it is unfair, then I can drop it down to the 3rd most popular girl." He folds his arms and narrows his eyes at the man. "My father has told me an awful lot about you Mr. Manthroupe; I know you aren't one to turn down a gamble." With this, his right upper lip twitched into a small smile. They stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity before Mr. Manthroupe let out a low chuckle.
"Alright Mr. Porter." He narrows his eyes, the wicked smile from before is slowly starting to form. "You have yourself a deal."
With that, two guards come to each of us, one holding the same little tablet that McQueen and Bronson had in one hand, and the other holding the buzzing thing that made them bleed in the other. The one holding the buzzing thing grabs my hand pressing it into my finger. A sharp pain causes my hand to yank, but he holds me form as the other presses the glass thing against the spot. Against the blue, a spot of purple forms as my blood dribbles onto the glass. They step away, and place another piece of glass on top, causing the blood to spread slightly. A laugh echoes around the room and I turn my gaze back to the large man on the screen.
"See you in three weeks." He says followed by a cackle and then silence as his disappears from the center of the room.
***