Chapter One: Cave of Darkness

Introductory chapter to Part 1 of The No Secret.

   

    "You're going to look beautiful for the Ceremony, my darling," the cheerful optimistic voice of her mother rang in her sensitive ears. Her mother, Everilda, zipped up the back of it and stepped back to admire the beautiful gown she was suppose to wear to the Ceremony of Mating.

    "Can I look now?" Pandora asked impatiently, her eyes still closed. 

    Occasionally she would open her eyes to slits to see how it was coming along, but would never admit that. 

    "Oh yes," she answered back. The way she said it made Pandora think that she forgot her eyes were even closed.

    She opened her eyes and looked at herself through the long mirror. Her blonde hair that she adored was proportioned evenly on her shoulders. Ringlets fell beside her pale face, making it look slimmer and healthier.

    Her eyes wandered from her features, to the short, flawless amethyst dress that hugged her thighs beautifully. The impeccable designs of light purple dragons and green emeralds adorned the dress magnificently. 

    "Well?" Her mother's eyebrows were raised slightly, watching her face very carefully.

    Unwanted moisture filled her eyes, making her clench her jaw in protest. She grew up thinking that crying was a form of weakness, but did so anyways. "I'm in love with it, its better than I could of possibly imagined, Everilda." 

    In a world so free and large, there were a lot of mothers. Calling them by that name would cause confusion among her peers. With that being said, her mother expected her to call her by her given name.

    "The beauty of the piece isn't the dress, its the person wearing it." 

    The feeling of idyllic consumed Pandora. Her mother was known to say such nice things, but she never knew what to say back. 

    Instead, she turned back around to the mirror and starred down at her dress again, the smile never vanishing from her face. 

    

    "You excited for the Ceremony?" Haylan asked as they were walking silently in the dark night of the forest, searching for their meal.

    Pandora peered over at him to see that his head was hung low, and his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his pants. "A little. I mean, I have no way to get out of it. Every 18 year old must attend the Ceremony." 

    "You could of chose to be an outsider. Reject the law and live independently." He suggested.

    "Could you imagine how miserable my life would be? Shunned by the community and my family. They would be ashamed of me. I wouldn't serve my purpose in this world," Pandora replied and gripped the knife tighter in her hand for comfort.

    "I wouldn't shun you." 

    That comment made Pandora's heart swell. "Yeah, but you're my best friend, and thats part of your job. To love me unconditionally." She nudged Haylan gently with her elbow.

    "Love," he grunted. 

    Pandora bit down on her lip and looked into the woods, trying to spot something that she could bring home.

    "Who knows, maybe we'll be mated together. Theres always that option. Don't cut your losses with me this soon." She smiled without turning to look at him. 

    "Imagine the coincidence of that."

     "Everilda went through with the Ceremony, and look how happy she turned out." Her mother was always cheerful around the house, and she did everything to support her children. She was still madly in love with the mate she got paired with after all these years. You could see it in their eyes when they looked at each other.

    "But the look at the way my mom turned out," Haylan sighed and kicked the rock in front of him furiously. 

    The painful memory of the death of his father made her cringe. When he was buried under the Tree of Souls, Haylan found that place to be more of a nightmare than a peaceful memory.

    "The law doesn't always produce fairness. He died in the expense of his world." Pandora gave some reassurance to him, but it was never enough.

    "Just because he sacrificed himself for the health of his world, doesn't mean that it makes it any less painful." 

    "But it should."

    "And it doesn't," his pertinacious attitude was starting to make Pandora angry.

    They walked in silence for a couple more minutes, gravel and soil crunched under their feet, soil seeping through their toes and a couple gusts of wind erasing any trail of sweat on their faces. 

    "Your father was a good man," Pandora thought describing the man was ineffable. Nothing could compare to the generosity of the situation he was put in. 

    Haylan stayed silent, his eyes scanning the woods like a predator catching its prey.

    "Will you stay with me tonight?" Haylan looked over at her. 

    Pandora mimicked his actions, and looked directly into his scintillating brown orbs she often got lost in. "Like we used to do when we were kids?" 

    "We still are kids until the Ceremony. I just want a couple more nights with you. You know, until I loose you to someone else." The sparkle in his eyes faltered into a twinge of sadness, which Pandora hated seeing.

    "I don't think I could be this close to someone. We could hide up in the cave until dawn, but then I'd have to get back home. My family would be disappointed that I didn't come home with breakfast."

    "Alright. The cave is just up the hill." 

    "I remember," Pandora gave a small smile as they walked in silence the whole way to the cave. They both knew that they were thinking about the future, and what was in store for them.

    "Do you have any ideas to the names of your children you'll soon be having?" Pandora asked Haylan lightly. She was laying on his lap as his fingers ran through her long blonde hair, getting rid of all the knots.

    "If it was a girl, probably Calleste. And if it was a boy, Keaton." He closed his eyes and rested his head on the cold stoned wall of the dark, cavernous cave. 

    "Mm, those are beautiful names. Keaton was your fathers name."

    "I thought I'd try honoring him somehow. Even if the name hurts still," he kept running his fingers through her hair gently, sending the occasional shiver down Pandora's spine.

    "He'll be as handsome as you," her smile seemed to light up the whole cave, even if Haylan couldn't see it, he felt it.

    "What about you?"

    "Amaya and Kobi."

    "Night rain and popularity," the meaning of both of the names flew out of Haylan's mouth perfectly. She was amazed at how he could interpret any name and give its original meaning.

    "Night ran and popularity," she repeated lightly and soon drifted off to sleep with the soothing feel of his hands running up and down her arm.

Author's Note

Ugh, while writing this I felt so sad that their friendship would end because of the Ceremony of Mating. D:

Thank you for reading! Your thoughts?

Reviews

[DontBlink158]

Love it so far, and i already feel horrible for the two... i sucks when we have to let someone we love go. Cant wait to read more!

[Larry Dyson]

nice progression for a story laying down the history and customs.. adverb fighting an adjective.."The feeling of idyllic consumed Pandora"idyllic is an adverb...adverb of adverb..either idyllic feeling consumed her...or feeling of being idyll.just sayin

[rae52]

i really like this it is amazing

[Becky C Strukamp]

Excellent chapter.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very strong chapter. I like the pace of this story. Allowing each situation to be strong and have a purpose. I like the questioning and the characters in this story. A excellent chapter.
Coyote