Henceforth, it is decreed, when a female reaches the age of adulthood, she shall travel away from her birth-district, and be presented before a male chosen by the Capitol, and overall best fitted for said female, in a binding ceremony…
The towering trees of my district loom overhead as all of the of-age females board the Capitol's gleaming silver train. I had already said goodbye to all of my relatives, younger female friends, and male friends. It would be a long time before I set foot on the soft, mossy ground of District 7 again. I was now eighteen years old—the age in which the Capitol matched me up with a man. Unfortunately, that man was not living in my district.
I hear the quiet hiss of the automatic door closing, and the Peacekeepers lead all of us into a dining car. We remain silent, only picking at the delectable Capitol food.
"How long do you think it will take to get to all of the districts?" my long-time friend, Laurel Redpath, asks after awhile.
"I'm not sure," I answer just as softly. Suddenly, the door to the dining car slides open, and a Peacekeeper walks in.
"We have arrived in District 8," he says in a robotic voice. "Valeria Fairbain, Persei Galloway, and Orchid Jardine, please come with me," I see three shaky looking girls stand up and look at each other. I recognize Valeria. She and I picked berries together for our families, and we walked to the market together every other Sunday. They follow the Peacekeeper out the door, and it hisses shut behind them.
"Well, to one district it only took around forty minutes," Laurel states, curling her legs up under her dress. I can only nod in response. We reach District 12 by nightfall, and neither Laurel nor I have been called to get off the train. A Peacekeeper enters the car shortly after dinner was served, and shows us to separate rooms that we would be sleeping in for the night. Laurel was around four doors down from me, I lay in the bed provided by the Capitol, and think about what my future husband would be like. Would he be rich? Handsome? Abusive? Thoughts of this nature swam through my head as I desperately grasped the concept of sleep. When I finally fell into a fretful slumber, it was nearly two in the morning. It felt like only seconds after I closed my eyes when someone banged on my door rudely, announcing that it was time to get up, and that we would be arriving in District 1 soon enough. After dressing and braiding my long, dark cherry colored hair over my shoulder, I followed the remaining girls back into the dining car.
"Are you alright?" I hear Laurel whisper.
"Fine," I reply curtly. The Peacekeeper from yesterday comes into the car right after I finish my meager breakfast of fruit, as I could not stomach anything else.
"Otillie Elphinstone, Sagitarria Erwin,Terra Keene, Briar Ogilby, Eunia Rankine, and Delphi Rollo, please come with me," the six girls rise from their chairs and follow the man dressed in white. There are only nine girls left on the train, including Laurel and I. The train shoots off again, and sooner than expected, we stop. All of the girls are quiet except for two girls in the corner of the car who look related. I twirl a spoon around between my fingers while Laurel finishes redoing my brain for the third time. We both look out the window at District 2: the stonemason district. All of the buildings are made of rock, and there is a forest on the edge of the other side of the city. I can see small village houses on the outskirts of the city, but anyone with eyes can see the District 2 is mostly skyscrapers with ominous trees in the distance.
"Blythe Roxen," my head whips around as I hear my name being called in the robotic voice. I wait to stand, but no other names are called. Laurel wraps me in a tight hug before I stand up. "Please come with me," the Peacekeeper commands. I follow him on quivering legs, and I pull at the skirt of my dark green dress. We reach the doors of the train, and they slide open with a familiar hiss. Metal stairs are lowered from the floating transport; the Peacekeeper walks out first. The sun blinds me slightly when I walk out to see a car waiting for me. A different Peacekeeper opens the back door for me, and hurries around to the driver's side. I ease myself into the backseat, clutching my hands together tightly, making my knuckles turn white.
"We have arrived Miss Roxen," this Peacekeeper politely says. I nod slightly, and look out the window. An enormous stone cottage towered over me. It looked to be around three stories. I look around to find that we are quite far from the city, only about a mile from the forest that looked so inviting. "Mister Hadley should arrive in a few moments with the key. Would you like me to stay and wait for him with you?" the strange Peacekeeper kindly offered.
"N-no thank you. I'm sure h-he'll be right along," I decline with a wobbly voice. The Peacekeeper nodded, got into the car, and drove the other way without a second glance. I look at my surroundings, and decide to explore. The door was most definitely locked, and I had no clue as to how to pick one. There was a small garden in front of the massive house. There seemed to be several herbs, and multiple flowers planted in there. I circled the house, examining the walls and roof. Everything seemed to be made of stone. I sincerely hoped that the floors in the house were wooden or at least covered in rugs. The cottage had a wrap-around porch made of painted stone. The entire house was painted a dark brown, and the porch a dark red. The yard behind the house was completely empty except for a small spring that ran from the front yard to the back. I made my way back to the front steps, and sat on a small, surprisingly wooden porch swing. The wood creaked, and I grasped my bare arms as a chilly breeze blew across the land. I cursed slightly as I remembered that all of my clothes and personal belongings were probably just inside the house, delivered by the Peacekeepers just a day ago. My eyelids drooped. I was quite tired from going to bed so late, and having to wake up so early. Soon enough, I fell asleep on the porch swing, locked out of my own house.
"Ma'am! Excuse me, ma'am!" I was jostled awake by a large hand shaking my shoulder, and a deep voice calling me to attention. My eyelids slid open to reveal a handsome blonde man with sparkling blue eyes. "Who are you, and why are you asleep on my porch?" the man asked in a slightly stern tone.
"M-mister Hadley?" I ask shakily.
"Yes, who are you? I don't want what you are selling," he said.
"I'm quite sorry, s-sir. I am not selling anything. My name is Blythe Roxen, and the Peacekeepers were supposed to contact you. I-I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but…" I trailed off as a look of realization came to his face.
"Oh, shit. Shit, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. Come on. Let's get you inside. You must be freezing," he pulled out a ring of keys from his jacket pocket. He opened the door quickly and motioned for me to go inside first. I stood up, still shaky at the encounter with my future husband. We enter the huge abode, and I look around while he sheds his jacket and throws it over the staircase railing. As expected, my two small suitcases are sitting right inside the door. "Is um… is this all you brought?" he asked.
"It's all I h-had," I stutter embarrassedly. I look down at my feet as I am scrutinized by this incredibly attractive man.
"I'm sorry. It was wrong for me to assume you were from around here," he says. Tears flood my eyes when I am reminded of my home that I left behind. I was standing in a house, my house, with a complete stranger that I am expected to marry, and I didn't have anyone with me. Not one girl got off the train with me, and my parents and siblings were back in District 7, probably worried sick about me. I wipe my eyes quickly.
"That's quite alright," I finally say something without stuttering.
"Do you want something to eat? Drink? I'm sure you want to change," he says. If he noticed my tears, he didn't say anything. I shake my head dejectedly. My appetite was far away. There was no way I could stomach anything and not have it come back up right away. "Oh, right. You're probably tired. Um… I'll show you your room," he told me awkwardly. He grabs my two light suitcases and heads up the stairs. I nod and follow him up the spiraling staircase. We stop at the second floor and make a left. He opens the first door on the right and leads me in. "Well, the bathroom is across the hall. I'll be in the kitchen…" he trails off, and starts to leave the room.
"Thank you," I tell him softly.
"It's no problem. I mean we are… well, we'll talk in the morning," he stops himself before he says 'married'. I nod, and he leaves the room. I promptly collapse on the bed in a fit of tears. I cry myself to sleep, thinking of how I do not even know the man's name.
A/N: Well, first story, first chapter, first, first, first. I'm not really sure how this is going to work, or if anyone will read this, but hey, worth a shot right? If you are reading this, first, virtual chocolate chip peanut butter cookies for you! Second, leave me a review and tell me what you thought. Completely boring? Worth adding a few more chapters? The most mind-blowing thing you have ever read, and you want me to sign your laptop?
-Miss Cap
x