The Consequences

Opening/ Aftermath

Chapter One �" The Consequences

 

 

     "Aelans," I repeat in a panicked tone, "are the most dangerous of all, because you never know who they are..." I creep down into the stance of a predator and whisper urgently at him, "because they are born human." I stare at him, crazed, until we both burst out in laughter, falling onto our backs.

     "That woman is nuts." Jace chokes out through his laughter. "She needs to be put in a hospital or something, then she wouldn't have to be supervised at all times."

     "Yeah, then we wouldn't have to kill ourselves trying not to laugh." I roll onto my side and look at him, still smiling up at the sky. I lose myself in his eyes before I notice that I'm staring. I keep talking, trying to ease my speeding heart.

     "That class is way too serious, why do we even need a class on creatures that lived hundreds of years ago?"

     "It's part of our history, Rhea, "he says in a pompous tone, "and our history makes us who we are today." He tilts his chin up to get a more presidential stance.  I punch him in the arm, laughing, "oh, forget it." I stand up and brush myself off, "you're just stalling because you can't bear to lose against a girl again."

     "Is that so?" He stands up and puts his face close to mine. His keeps getting closer and closer until our noses are almost touching when he shoves me and takes off running. I stumble and take off after him.

     It's only moments before I catch up to him. I don't believe any course of history could affect us. Running and shoving, laughing and yelling, this is who we are. Jace and I, me and Jace, happy together, and no aspect of history could change it.

    

   *                         *                         *

 

     I'm choking, crying, forced to watch as a mother screams. She fights the cloaked men as a small child hides behind a curtain. The smoke is thickening and the fire becomes enraged when a young, frail girl slips the child into her arms and wraps her. I want to run forward, help, escape this burning room but my legs won't move. The moment I move forward the scene jumps back to before I moved and continues playing.  Before I can steady myself, a large cracking noise makes my stomach clench. I look up slowly and see the scene in slow motion. I see the woman's neck crane back, eyes fixated on something, just before the back of an axe bursts into her skull, shattering her head into a million pieces. The sharp piece of her face containing her eye falls to the ground in front of me, still staring watchfully over the corner of the room. The feeling returns in my legs as an eerie breeze causes the tapered curtains to sway. A strange feeling willed me outside, my bare feet crunching along the broken glass.  The streets were filled with chaos and flames. A shriek behind me runs up my spine. A cloaked man carries a baby out of the house, murmuring in deep tones. I couldn't bear to look any longer when a red coat catches my eye. On the other side of the street, a young girl walks calmly, covering a child. I wanted to run to her, scream at her, tell her about the baby. Tears came streaming down my face as the baby's shrills from behind me subsided. My heart jumps when a cloaked man walks through me carrying a bag. A bag with an infant's feet sticking out, unmoving, dead.

     I wake up, drenched in sweat trying to breathe in the smog filled air. After a few breaths of fresh air I realize the fire was just a dream. The air in my room feels cold against my damp skin. I release my hands from my bed post, not realizing I had been clenching it. I lay back onto my pillow trying to relax, tired from the constant dreams that exhaust me throughout the night. I stare up at the ceiling, wondering what it would be like to exist without the night being plagued by intensive dreams. A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts and puts me back in reality. Before I can answer the door, Ferne is already rushing in, basket of torture in her hand. Cate, my mother, rushes in after her, talking furiously at Ferne's back.

     "I'm not so sure that you should be the one helping her get ready. The rules don't work like they used to. They have been updated, and I have been doing the research to..."

     "Relax Cate, everyone knows how the procedure goes," she says, pulling an abundance of bottles from her basket, "If you have any objections when I am finished you can make changes. Now, scoot." Ferne closes the door behind Cate and smiles.

     "Ready, Rhea?" Ferne is always so concerned of how I feel about everything. She always thinks of me first, that's the difference between her and Cate. I always tell Jace how lucky he is to have a mother like Ferne, but he always shrugs it off silently. Sometimes, on bad days, I pretend Ferne is my real mother, but the truth of the matter is that my mother is dead and Cate is the closest thing I could get so I have to respect that. I look up at Ferne and try to find my most confident and convincing voice. "Ready."

     First, is the dye. The vat of red smells ungodly and has a bone stirring resemblance to blood. I sit on the floor and watch in the mirror as my hair tumbles into the red dye. Ferne's hands are working slow and precise, making sure none of the dye gets onto my skin.

     Ferne finishes with the dye and leaves my hair in the vat to soak in as much color as possible. She moves around me with a critical eye, but stays silent. I start to feel nervous, anxious at the thought of presenting myself to them. Ferne feels my anxiety and smiles down at me. She picks up a paintbrush and two tubs of substance.

     "You pick the color, dear," she says, kneeling at the side of my face, "gold or silver."

     "Gold." I close my eyes and wait to be painted. The brush sweeps along my temple and around my eye to my cheekbone. I imagine what I will look like and pray I won’t be chosen.

     Ferne goes to kneel on my other side when it hits me. "Don't do both sides." Ferne stops and looks at me, confused. "Both sides implies perfection, I don't want to be perceived as perfect." Ferne smiles at me and moves away. "You will look perfect either way."

     After an hour of soaking in the vat, my nails have been painted gold to match the glitter and the markings on my face. Instead of glitter on both sides, my left eye has three gold dots around the corner of my eye. My hair has dried into bright red waves that encompass my face and cling to my back. Ferne looks at me and a tear rolls down her face, but she quickly composes herself and wipes it away like dirt. She darts out of the room for a moment and comes back in holding a silk looking dress. She slips the golden dress over my head and it rests slightly off my shoulders. Ferne tells me to take small breaths as she laces up the corset back. She ties a bow at the bottom and leaves the room again. I sigh, eager to see how I look. Ferne comes in with a twisted, painful look on her face. There is no sign of a smile as she helps me put my arms into the dark cloak. The cloak drapes to my ankles but the sleeves don't reach my wrists.

     Cate walks into the room, carrying a full length mirror; a flash of worry comes across her face. I look between Cate and Ferne as they exchange looks. Ferne nods at me, allowing me to look at my reflection that I have been avoiding. I step in front of the mirror and feel a rush of fear paralyze my spine. I stare at myself and slowly lift the hood over my head as a flash of the hooded men in my dream startle my heart. I let go of my hood and stare at my reflection for a few moments, accepting what I have to do. I nod at Ferne and place the black contacts in my eyes. I become sunken and less human, but somehow more divine. "I'm ready." Ferne looks at me with pain in her eyes.

     “Just play their game, and come home."

 

     The walk to the town square is a torturous one. The tar is hot, and all those who are eligible are required to walk barefoot to begin building their tolerance to pain.

     For some unknown reason, I expected there to be hundreds of eligible people, but instead there were only maybe ten of us. All of us stepped up to the altar in sync, all of us terrified together. Each of us, instructed to stand on a different symbol on the altar. I chose the dragon, the most powerful, maybe, too powerful to be chosen. We all stand facing the elders for judgment with our backs to our people. The head of the hooded figured stands and addresses the crowd.

    "Welcome. It is an honor to have your children as the next possible elders of our people. They have been prepared well by their schooling and of course, the teachings from parents. Without further instruction, we would like to begin." He takes off his hood and instructs us to do the same. As soon as my fingers let go of my hood I realize what Ferne has done. All other eligible girls have golden hair with red lips and nails. Ferne made me something of her own, something different to make me stand out. A wave of whispering begins in the audience but subsides the moment the elder raises his hand. "This month, is the month of the lizard." I feel my stomach churn. "The participants will be given a lizard, only the participants know if it is dead or alive. At the end of the round, the lizard must be dead for the participant to move on." The sweat begins to crawl down my body. I am begging the spirits to give me a dead lizard. "If the participant's lizard is alive at the end of the round, they face punishment. A participant is not allowed to forfeit until the final round, otherwise..." A silence of understanding overcomes the crowd.

     A box comes up out of the floor in front of each participant. I slowly open the box to find weapons: a knife, a bow and arrow, a hammer and a gun. I look over at the girl next to me, her legs are shaking but her face stays serious. A moment later a smaller box ascends and stops next to the weapons box. Everyone is frozen in fear; no one dares to reach for it first. That kind of bravery is heroic, honorable. Minutes pass before I can handle the suspense anymore. Slowly, betraying my conscience, my hand reaches toward the small box. I can see my fingers twitching away from the box, not wanting to know.

     The top of the lid slides easily to the side. When I look down everything seems to collapse around me as a little scaly head peeks up at me. I hear the ticking of our minutes running down and cry inside. I slide the lid closed and take a few deep breaths. A few more. The clock is running me into my fate, twenty five seconds, twenty four. This is it, this is my destiny. My fingers clench the top of the lid and slide it open. The little unsuspecting creature climbs onto the tip of the box. Ten, nine, eight. He jumps off the box and onto the ground. An instinct unknown to me takes over. My arm has reached into the box and grasped the knife. Five. Four. Three. The knife has already impaled the lizard before I can grasp what I have done. Two. One. I've killed an innocent creature, I've done something illegal for everyone to witness. Breathe Rhea, breathe.

     "Immaculate!" the elder chants as the crowd claps sullenly. "All of our participants have passed with flying colors onto the next round. Congratulations to all, the honor is ours." The door below the elder's balcony opens, inviting us in in the most uninviting way. "Next, as you all know, is the knowledge aspect of the test. In order to be an elder, one must have extensive knowledge of things learned and not yet known." Basically, no amount of school can prepare you for this test, and no amount of bravery can give you the knowledge.

     "We will begin with the honorary dragon, may she be as quick with her answers as she was with the knife." A twisted smile comes across his face as I put on my hood and walk propelled by fear into the dark room. The crowd watches as I disappear, wondering if I will come out alive.

     Inside the dark room, a lantern sits on the only piece of furniture in the room; a small table, with a piece of paper and pen waiting for me. I sign my name in the golden ink and replace the pen into its jar.

     "Rhea," a voice says from above.

     "Yes."

     "We've been waiting for you. A treacherous eighteen years watching you from afar." I've heard stories of the interviews, and the things they say to get you to break. Just as Ferne told me to do, I will play their game.

     "Just as I have been waiting to be here."

     "Why have you come?"

     "To be chosen." The steady tone of my voice contradicts the uneven rhythm of my heart. I breathe shallow and slow, just as Ferne told me.

     "Why do our people even need elders like us?"

     "To protect us." I feel my fingers start to twitch and my body begin to shake.

     "Protect you from what, Rhea?"

     "Ourselves." I freeze. That's the wrong answer, not the answer I practiced. The elder's voice slips directly into my ear, "why?" My breaths become scattered and sharp.  "Because, the most dangerous of creatures could be one of us," I change to a whisper, "Anyone could be born human, but be a full blooded...Aelan." A shiver creeps up my spine and causes my whole body to shake. A hand touches my shoulder and asks the question I've been prepared for my whole life.

     "And what should we do about Aelans?" The small flame burning on the desk goes out. I can feel my heart racing. My breathing has become uneven and sharp, but I answer as rehearsed without hesitation.

     "Kill them." Then silence, darkness, nothing.

  

     A light blinds me and becomes all I can see while a booming voice echos in my head. "These four participants have made it to the final round.” An array of scattered applause fills my ears while my mind races. Six of them didn't make it, six of them are gone. My heart begins to race, as the sun burns through me.

     “For three of the contestants, it is their first time being selected for their achievements.” Another round of tired applause makes its way around us.

     “This means they have the option to withdraw from the event. The others will not be able to withdraw without severe consequences.” I breathe slowly and close my eyes, trying to remember that I can withdraw. I will withdraw.

     “But,” the elder hisses, “due to recent events, two of our first time competitors will not be able to withdraw.” I stop breathing. No, he can’t be here. My eyes try to open, they want to see the truth, but I can’t bear it.

     “Due to the violation of our laws and the attempt to,” he pauses and shakes his head, “try to convince themselves and others that the dangers of Aelans aren’t real.” He spits out. “After obtaining feelings of pity and a sickening obsession for these monstrous creatures the elders and I have decided to make this tournament part of the punishment.” My whole body is shaking, and tears are welling up in my eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be his punishment. It was supposed to be mine.

     “Jace Marshall and Rhea Taren will not be allowed to withdraw,” The crowd has been silent. It’s like they are all ghosts, just watching, with no power to change this. “If they do, their punishment will be the most severe and unforgiving death.” I open my eyes and look directly to my right. He’s standing there, eyes to the ground with his hood casting a shadow over his face. A hot tear runs down my cheek as I think about the terror that awaits us.

     I can feel the elder’s eyes searing us as he continues speaking. “We wish all the contestants luck, and it is an honor for us to have you in this very special tournament.” Then darkness, sickness, fear.

 

     We are led one at a time into a circular room that has three tables full of weapons and a terrifyingly large box. My heart is punching through my ribcage, keeping me from breathing. I look from side to side, everything a blur. The walls and floor are made of concrete, with a ceiling that seems to stretch to the sky. Few dim lights hang down, flickering as though they were candles. The cold concrete on my feet sends a chill up my spine. Jace sees me shake and looks over at me.

     “It will be okay,” he says in a hushed tone. Before I can nod, or even begin to believe that we will be alright, the door to the box slides up. A small noise jumps out of my throat, as three Aelans slowly creep out of the box. Their eyes shift to the weapons as quickly as ours do. Suddenly the room is filled with stillness and emotions that suffocate our conscience.

     Even though our fear and morals stopped us from moving, the need to survive in order to save ourselves from punishment worse than death propels us to run for the weapons tables. Just like that, the Aelans take off running towards the weapons and the last challenge begins.

     I run as quickly as I can, using every muscle in my body to reach the table first. My eyes scan the table as a blood curdling scream resonates through the room. I grab the knife and turn around just in time to see Jace backing away from an impaled Aelan. To my surprise, the scream did not come from the Aelan, but from the other competitor. The young girl with blond hair, pulled back into a bun, is standing over the Aelan’s body, screaming bloody murder. Her screams begin to make me feel sick when an arrow slices through her head. Her body falls to the floor and rests in a contorted position. Her mouth hangs open, still screaming as her blood stains the floor.

     “Rhea!” Jace screams and I turn around, with my knife in hand, to see an Aelan directly in front of me. My heart races but the scene plays out as if in slow motion when she dashes forward and has a knife to my throat before I can move. I bring myself to look up, meeting her eyes as I try not to breathe while the other Aelan retracts my hood. I can’t help but stare at the markings that crawl over her face and at the pure color of her hair. As my hood comes down, she draws in a sharp breath. The other Aelan knocks the knife out of my hand, but she withdraws hers from my neck. Her mouth hangs slightly open as her eyes search me. She makes a whispering sound unknown to me and before I can blink she has taken my hand. Her eyes begin to shine while the Aelan at my side takes small steps away from as if I’m made of glass. My heart races, but I can’t come to speak to her. It all happens too fast. She wraps my hand around the knife, and then wraps her hand around mine. The likeness to human touch makes my breathing shallow as I realize what’s about to happen. Her vine laced skin, so gentle against mine. She looks into my eyes as I try to find words, but before I can it’s too late.

     “It is my honor, to die for you.” She says just before she plunges the knife into her chest.

Reviews

[Wolfwind]

You've got a great start at something really interesting! It was kinda choppy in places, but for the most part it carried the plot along. It certainly has left me wondering what will happen next!

Great Job!
Aaron

[ScarletRose]

Just the very first draft, so hopefully it can only get better :)

[Balkaran Sidhu]

Good work....

[ScarletRose]

Thanks