Fleur
I looked out of the grey windows of the orphanage and sighed as I watched a lone random trickle down the inside of the pane. The Illéa capital report was due to be on in five minutes and I could say I was about as interested as I was every week. To tell the truth I'd far rather be doing almost anything else but every Friday, without fail they crammed us all round the small TV set that was turned on once a week purely for this purpose. I sat on the windowsill tracing a pattern in the condensation of the glass, I'd given up a long time ago on trying to actually see the set. Suddenly a blast of sound filled the room, effectively instantly silencing the chattering our national anthem. A few moments later the familiar sound of King Maxon cut through. It was as I expected, mostly political stuff that I didn't understand and didn't need to. A bit of this, a bit of that, same old, same old. I started kicking the wall impatiently. Suddenly the voice of the queen rang out, it was highly unusual for the queen to speak on the show and suddenly my interest was captured. I strained my neck so that I could just about see the screen over the throng of heads.
"Recently," Said the queen, "The king and I have received some rather… upsetting news. Unfortunately, due to some rather complex genetic mutations, we will never be able to bear a child." There was a collective gasp that rang throughout the room. The queen waited for the appropriate amount of time to let this information to sink in. "However, we have a rather good bit of news from this. Due to our unusual circumstances, the king and I have had to get rather creative in our thinking of how to produce an heir and we have come up with a rather ingenious idea. We are going to hold a selection, but this selection will be unlike any selection before. This selection shall be for the children of Illéa, the orphans of Illéa to be more specific." There was a huge gasp throughout the orphanage and my interest was officially peaked, I stood up on the window sill so I could see the screen properly. "We will be selecting one orphan from each province, aged between 3 and 15." There was a huge eruption of sound from exploded from the rooms, a few groans from older children but mostly cheers like myself, "Children will be eligible to enter from all registered orphanages." My grin faltered slightly as I began to let reality leak into my day dreams. There were at least five orphanages in my province with at least fifty orphans each, undoubtedly every single one of the jumping at the chance to sign up. I knew my chances were slim but there was still a tiny knot of hopefulness in the pit of my stomach. "Unlike some previous selections, this will be almost completely anonymous. We will only be requesting minimal information from each orphan, name, age and province and they will be drawn out at complete random. We will not be taking photographs of the entrants." I thanked my lucky stars for that one. I wasn't a particularly ugly child but a lifetime in an orphanage is unlikely to do you the best of good, I had big bags under my eyes my hair was long and ratty and I was thin and gangly. Thin because I lived in an orphanage, Gangly because I was twelve and just entering into adolescence making me more than unusually clumsy. "Children who are selected but not picked will receive an 'upper' status, and will be rehomed to loving families. Should they not wish for this to happen, alternative housing arrangements shall be made." This really sold it to me. Imagine! An upper! All orphans were lowers regardless of the status of the status of their dead parents, we were scum. "The results will be announced next week after all orphans have been given the chance to enter and we look forward to inviting thirty-five of you into our home. Additional information will be appearing on your screens in just a moments time. Thank you for listening and a wish you all the best of luck." Not even a moment had past when children began swarming the orphanage owner Miss Lynch, questioning her. I had questions too however my eyes stayed glued to the screen as the additional information was read out, eager to soak up as much extra material as I could. The draw would be completely random- that we already knew- Secondly, someone would be round to ask each orphan personally if they would wish to enter. That didn't surprise me. Miss Lynch is lovely, but from what I have heard from other orphans who were transferred here, she is unusual in that respect. Most of them want to keep as many orphans as they can, goodness knows why if they hate us so much. Actually, my friend Mia, who is older than me and seems to know a lot about this kind of stuff, says that they get payed per orphan. Finally, everything would be provided for the orphans, clothes and food and all that kind of stuff. As if they thought we had anything to bring. The rest of the information was listed below as a reminder.
I read the list over and over again trying to find some kind of fault, it all seemed too good to be true. Obviously, it wasn't but I could barely believe it even as a read I t for the third time. It was everything I'd ever wanted- In a list!
When the woman came around the next day to ask if I wanted to apply of course I said yes and I didn't uncross my fingers once in the next week.