Chapter 1: Coronation Day

“All are alike and alike are all. Without efficiency our world would collapse. Follow the rules, adhere to protocol, listen to your leaders or else you will fall.” - Chapter 1, Line 1, The Code Book of Proper Behavior, Efficacy and Protocol; Vol. 1 Ed. 12

Chapter 1: Coronation Day

 Lucas

Today is coronation. We will soon be under the rulership of a new monarch. Everyone is ecstatic. My father has been beaming all morning and my mother has been flitting around even more than usual. My brother and sister have been singing about the new Queen all week. Everyone has been anxiously awaiting this day for months. The Federation of Asosu has had the same ruler for almost 50 years. The Royal family has been in power since the end of the Great War, 200 years ago. The current Queen has decided to step down this year in an attempt to maintain the devotion of the populace. She has been the longest reigning monarch in the history of the Nation, ruling with an iron fist and enforcing the Code more than any predecessor. The excitement has bled into the local officiating bodies. All school and work activities have been cancelled for the weekend (the first and only time in the past five decades). The net and television are filled with images of the preparations, coronation gowns, and excited citizens. 

 Even with all of the crazed excitement surrounding, I am unable to muster any excitement at all. This new monarch will enforce stricter adherence to the Code. The Code is taught to be something respected and awed. It is the closest thing to God, and is indoctrinated from gestation. “All alike and alike are all. They teach us to not reject the status-quo. There is no inequality amongst the people.  There is no creativity without deviance. There is no original thought without desolation. 

“Lucas, do you need any help, dear?” my mother asks, drawing me from my thoughts. 

“No. Thank you, Mother. I’m fine.” I respond. I pull on my jacket and go toward the front room. “Do you need help with Lucy and Lanaster?” I ask.

“It would be wonderful if you could help me with their jackets.” 

Of course.”

My brother and sister are twins. But, they are the complete opposite of one another. Mother is leaned over an always fidgeting, Lanaster. Lucy, the calmer of the two, sits and observes the scene serenely. My father likes to say that she must’ve been born with the Code already ingrained. I don’t think that’s true. At least, I hope it isn’t. I like to think that she is rebelling by not experiencing “the 1st Troubles,” as most young children do. She has always been my favorite. 

“Hi, Lucy-Goosy,” I whisper as I sit down next to her. 

“Hi, Big Brother. You’re not supposed to call me that, you know,” she says.

“Call you what?” I say. She looks up at me and sticks her tongue out, then quickly looks over at mother.

 Confirming that she didn’t see her, she says, “Lucy-Goosy. You know that’s not allowed.” 

“Remember, I told you as long as Mother and Father don’t hear us, we can call each other whatever we want.”

“I do remember. I just wanted to make sure. Thank you Lucas-Poopcus.” She giggles, but looks over at our mother nervously. She hasn’t heard any of our conversation. Good.  

“Lanaster Allen Hirtzgover, you need to get down right now! You’ll hurt yourself if you stay on that chair,” mother yells. 

“I’m a big boy, Mama. I want to play on the chair! I’m free” he yells. 

Maybe, the kid isn’t so bad after all. 

“Mother, Lanaster. You are to call me, Mother. Do not say that word. It’s filthy and against the Protocol. Have you not retained anything from school, you naughty child?”

Having just begun school, the Code has not yet been force-fed to them. They have only started learning the very basics of that nonsense. It doesn’t seem to have had any effect yet. Mother is anxiously awaiting that day, while I’m glad they haven’t been brainwashed yet.

 I help Lucy put on her jacket. When my mother finishes getting Lanaster ready, she beckons to Lucy. Lucy and I exchange a look that ensures the sanctity of our secret mini rebellion and she walks away. 

My father, who has a penchant for arriving when he is no longer needed to help do anything domestic, should come in any minute now that everyone is dressed and ready to go. “Well, it seems about that time to head out. Let’s go, Margarette, children,” father says as he comes down the stairs. Right on time. Lucy, Lanaster and my mother scurry toward the door, but I stay behind. “Lucas, come. We cannot be late.” Father says. 

“One moment, Father. I forgot my bag upstairs.” I say. 

“Hurry, Son. Time is of the essence. You know the rules. We cannot be late. Tardiness is equivalent to ineffienc---”

 “I know father. I will be outside momentarily.” He nods and ushers my mother and siblings out the door. I quickly go up the stairs to retrieve my bag. It holds a bottle of water, notepad, pen, the legally required travel copy of the Code and a few more necessary items for this special day. I know what I have to do. Taking a deep breath, I renew my resolve, grab my bag, and put on a smile.

 Racheal

It is coronation day. I have been preparing for this day for months; the whole country has. Today we will welcome our new queen. Princess Talia is stunning. Her pictures line the walls of my sleeping quarters. I can only hope to be as orderly, beautiful, and demure as her Majesty one day. If only I could learn to manage my hair. Then, I might be princess material. I have been trying to tame my wild tight curls for over an hour, with little progress. Perhaps, Mother could help. 

I get up and enter my parents’ resting quarters. “Mother, can you help me pin back my…” There is a flash, the familiar sting across my face, and metallic taste of blood before I hit the floor.

“You disobedient child. What have I told you about entering my quarters without knocking first? What does Vol. 2, Chapter 5, Line XII-XV of the code state?” my mother yells.

“Obedience is necessary, especially for children. Obedience to the Code is first, then to the parent, then to the educational institution. Children have no mind of their own, there is nothing, they are impressionable, and they are not full-citizens. They shall follow the strictest guidelines of all,” I whisper. 

“Why are you capable of reciting it back to me but yet lack the capacity to do it?”

“I am sorry, Mother. I won’t do it again.”  

“Are you ready, dear?” my father asks my mother as he enters the scene. A pained expression flashes across his face when he sees my on the floor, but returns to normal in an instant when he speaks to my mother. He knows what just transpired and will save me again. “Dear, why don’t you continue getting ready? I will finish helping Racheal get ready.” he says. He has come through again. A tear trickles down my face. I love my father. 

“Thank you, I will finish getting prepared in the toiletry room,” my mother says, kissing Father on the cheek and patting my head. I cringe and a look of regret quickly passes across her face. “I’m sorry Rachael, but you must adhere to the rules. I cannot lose you too,” she says as she exits the room. 

“I understand, Mother. There is nothing to be sorry about,” I say, with a fake smile. 

She leaves and my father grabs me into a hug. “I am so sorry, Rachael. She loves you, she just doesn’t want you to end up like your broth---”  

“I know. Can you finish pinning my hair please?” I say. I hate talking about Andre, so I change the subject. He finishes pinning my hair and gets the wound spray to heal the bruise on my face. 

“There you are. Back to normal,” he says holding my face and smiling warmly. My father looks at me like I’m a broken animal. 

 “Thank you, Father. Don’t look at me so pitifully. I’m fine.” I say and smile back at him. This time it is a genuine smile. 

 “I love you, Rachael.”

“I love you too, Father.” 

“Are you ready to head out?”

“Yes, let’s go. We can’t be late. It’s coronation day.”