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Please enjoy CHAPTER 3
Despite the rest of the herd moving straight ahead through the towering wooden doors, my escorts veer me left again, separating me from the traffic.
"We don't have much time, but we must prepare your beauty to standard… or try to, at least," one of the dorm mothers says in an airy voice, giving me the once over. I'm used to it. I'm not exactly as pretty as the rest of the cultivated swine, mainly because my genes weren't chosen specifically to taste.
But she's right. I can't go to Distribution in a hospital gown with greasy hair. If I were to be presented this way, my dorm mothers would be just as screwed as me.
At the end of the hall, we turn right, entering a darkened room lit ever so slightly by rope lanterns—tripped by our entrance. One of the mothers points to the center, motioning me to stand upon a surface of wet brick with two bronze fountains on either side. I remove my clothes and bandages and hold out my arms. From the second the dorm mothers draw the fountainheads out of their shells, it takes only two minutes to accomplish the task. One fountain head sprays perfumed and soapy water, while the other follows behind it to rinse off the grime. I would think that with this level of technology vampires would have also discovered how to heat the water, but apparently not. One of the women takes a single, long glance at my anklet. Before she can even take the first step, I slide backward.
"You're not taking it from me," I assure. If they want it, they will have to chop off my foot to get it, but I know the game. They aren't allowed to rough me up because I am, for now anyway, a precious investment.
Her eyes meet mine from beneath her eyebrows, shadowy orbs measuring my stature, my competence. She looks about ready to challenge me, but then chuckles and shrugs. The other one just stares, unamused by my display, but she doesn't try anything, either.
I'm given a small towel before they corral me into the next area. My mouth drops at the entrance. It's a dome-shaped room full of reflective glass with a single rope lantern darting infinitely around the circular wall. For a moment I stand in awe as I study myself from all different angles and places. I haven't seen a mirror like this since my home back in France. They were never allowed in the school or dorms.
"Ah, yes. The covetous mirror. Enjoy ravishing yourself." The candid dorm mother snickers. I don't reply, mainly because the energy that would be expended wouldn't be worth it. Besides, the mirror is far more interesting.
The other dorm mother tinkers with a mirror panel that has a crisp letter "E" carved into the top. It slides open, and a single, long, ruby-red dress is revealed. Ruby is Lord Edward Cullen's indicative color in the Stratocracy of Volterra. I lose interest as fast as I gained it, returning my attention to myself in one of the crystal panels, carefully analyzing everything about me. I see new things, like lightly colored birthmarks and blemishes that I never knew I had. Things that don't necessarily displease me, but cause me to question how much I actually know about my body. Like finally putting a face to your own name.
A tug on my arm pulls me from the panel, and the mothers remove my towel. They proceed to dress me, primp me, and curl my hair with hot rounded coils. They place lavender scents upon my chest and arms. And while I should be in awe of myself like everyone else probably was during their dressing, I can't help but find it all very... useless. A waste of time. My mind wanders to my inevitable fate, and I find only enough motivation to prevent myself from crumpling to the floor.
There's no point to any of this.
"No," I say, when they bring out the bottles of red, black, and flesh make-up. They pause and tilt their heads, probably more shocked that a human tried to give them an order.
"You both must know what I did to land me in that infirmary. I'm sure you've heard your fair share of rumors, too, so what's the point in all of this?"
They glance at each other, still shocked I assume, before the more assertive one speaks.
"That is none of our concern. Making you presentable is our job whether you will be torn to pieces or not."
I hold in a tight breath, trying to not say any of the things that I'm thinking. The brushes make contact with my face, scouring the crevices when the other vampire, the candid one, offers a strange reply.
"If you know that you are going to die, why not go out with all you've got left within you?"
"...What?" I wrinkle my eyebrows. Unsure if I heard her correctly.
"If you will die no matter what, you might as well die doing something fun. You know? If all you have left is your pride, leave this world with your pride."
The other dorm mother narrows her eyes at her companion with scorn, but she pays her no mind.
"Pride, huh?" I say, mainly to myself, and the conversation stops there.
When they finish, it becomes difficult to look at my reflection. The person that I see in the mirror does not seem right. It doesn't feel like me. What's more is that as my time slowly seeps away, I grow even more regretful and angry. Anxious and scared. Even if Cullen keeps up his streak of not sentencing any humans to death—for whatever reason—still, my life is only as great as what it can do to fuel the vampire race. That means Saya's Houses, where I will be forced to bear child after child, each one damned to live out their lives pining for vampire attention and hosting an endless bloodlust, until they finally end up back where they all started… where I will most definitely end.
I clench my teeth and lower my head as we make our exit back. I was unable to escape this prison that I have been confined to for ten years, and now, what faces me are only the most insufferable paths. Paths that converge to serve the very things I hate in the most horrible ways I can imagine.
What can I do?
I lift my head as we enter the doors from before, the hallway now cleared of supply units and dorm mothers. We find them all in the sanctuary. Five long lines of supply units face away from us, each undeniably anxious, and each stationed in front of a colored banner—Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald, Gold, and Sapphire. Right now, the Sapphire banner is lit from the staged lanterns on the ceiling, meaning that Amun's supply units—who are all dressed in sapphire blue—are the first to be judged. Two vampire guards from the connecting hallway, dead center, motion for the next unit to proceed from the front of the sapphire line.
Meanwhile, my dorm mothers direct me to the end of the Ruby banner's group which is undoubtedly the shortest, but filled with the most beautiful. My eyes trace over them as I recognize only one of the ten or so girls. Glera is one of them, a strange and timid one who shared my bunk at the dorm. She, like the others in the ruby line, radiates with a raw and unique beauty; dark and mysterious, making at least one thing true. Edward Cullen is definitely a collector of rare humans.
By the way it's proceeding, I will be the very last supply unit through the Distribution. The sudden urge to run overcomes me as I fumble over how long I will have to wait; how long I will have to distract myself from what's ahead until it actually comes. What I wouldn't do to be the first in line, if only to rip the bandage off.
The Gold banner alights—Zafrina's indicative color. All of her supply units, nearly all of the male slaves in the school, save for a few, are dressed in bright gold. After Zafrina's, it will be Stefan with Emerald green, followed by James with Amethyst purple, and finally, Edward Cullen with Ruby red.
Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glint of familiar dark brown hair. Near the middle of the longest line of supply units… is Jessica.
"Jess!" I call out to her, gathering strange looks from the other units, and evil glares from their dorm mothers. My own dig their sharp nails into my skin in disapproval, but I ignore it. Jessica turns my way and I wave. She reciprocates and offers a weak smile—definitely a result of her spent nerves. Behind her is Angela, Jessica's jerk-off friend, who scowls at me.
Jessica opens her mouth to speak but her own dorm mothers reprimand her before she is able. I simply watch as she turns back to face the front, reluctantly so, and I am forced to do the same. James's banner is eventually illuminated and as each moment passes, Jessica inches closer and closer to the front, farther and farther out of reach. This moment carries the feeling that it will forever be branded into my memory. Watching the personification of meekness get swallowed by the monstrous darkness of the judgment hall.
Soon, she's gone, and before I know it, my own line moves forward. Heat flashes consume me. Tunnel vision ensnares me. The blood in my veins flush straight to my head, making my body dangerously close to collapsing to the floor.
Breathe. Don't faint. Pretend it's fine. Pretend it's fine.
More moments pass. I move forward again.
And again.
And again.
The fourth unit in Cullen's line makes her way down the hallway toward the Distribution Room.
Un, deux, trois, quatre...
I try counting in French to quell my nerves as I edge ever closer.
Quarante-trois, quarante-quatre, quarante-cinq…
Eventually, all familiar faces have gone, leaving it to me and two others. Both of the girls ahead of me are visibly shaking and, every now and then, whimpering out of stifled exhales. I can't say that I blame them, but at least they don't already know what's going to happen. At least Cullen's perfect streak of keeping his humans won't be broken with them.
Finally, I step up to the front. My dorm mothers grip each of my arms fiercely—I guess worried that I'll try to run or something equally stupid. And before long, I see them. The two guards that have been walking back and forth to signal next in line for the entire evening.
"Move it," one growls at me and it takes every inhibition I have ever entertained to not spit in his face. I do move it, but my building fear collapses.
To hell with all of this. I'm done.
Under the force of the dorm mothers, I walk unsteadily toward, and eventually past, the soldiers. Slowly and stealthily we travel down the long, dark corridor. Never before have I felt that a hallway was longer than a four-mile run. Our surroundings change from eerie silence to muffled chatter as we near the double doors—I can imagine Volterra's military leaders on the other side, lightly laughing over the humans they condemned to the fallen and warbling about the ones they are eager to exploit. My jaw tightens and all around me is red; all I am is vengeance.
I focus on the beautifully carved door handles to further ease my raging nerves when we stop outside of the doors. Beyond this five-inch barrier awaits the five rulers of the Stratocracy of Volterra. One, in particular, is Lord Edward Cullen, of whom I haven't seen in… years. He's the one who not only stripped me from a premature death, but also stripped me of my freedom. The one solely responsible for my decaying quality of life, and yet so oddly tolerant of my rebellion—leaving me without the slightest clue how to rightly feel.
But right now, all I want is for him to see how sickened I am by him and his kind; to feel this very real pain of being nothing more than an object used at someone else's disposal. A unique sense of pride wells up inside of me and I decide. He's taken everything else, I won't let him take my pride.
Today, I control my fate.
No sooner do I obtain my resolve than do the doors open to welcome me to the dreaded Distribution Ceremony.
EEEEP! She sees him next chapter! I'm so excited for where this is going!