By Cursed Pearl
Chapter One
Rating: Young Adult
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Three. Sephy
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'Hurry, Sweetheart, we're going to be late,' I pulled her along the pavement,
hurriedly. It was almost five to nine.
'Can we go and see Nana after school?' Rose stumbled a little behind me, trying to keep up. I slowed down a little, not wanting her to fall.
'We'll see, I'll phone her when I go back home,' I responded, crossing the road, 'Please hurry up, Rose. We don't have time.'
'Why don't you call me Callie?' she jumped over a brick, 'Everybody else does.'
I didn't respond and continued to pull her in the direction of the school. I saw a poster out the corner of my eye and stopped, turning to look at it. Rose bumped into me, not expecting me to stop so suddenly. I frowned a little as I read over the poster.
The Midges
Playing at Tycoon
7pm Saturday 21st March
Tickets in Advance: £10
At the door: £12
The background of the advertisement was a picture of them. Jaxon on his guitar, Sonny on his left side. Not quite directly behind them Rhino could clearly be seen. They all looked so different, so mature. Jaxon hadn't changed much other than the more grown-up features of his face. Sonny now had a moustache and longer, closer-to-brown-than-blonde hair. The biggest change could be seen in Rhino. No longer the thin, short-haired teenager from eight years ago. His build was more muscular, though not as much so as Sonny, and his longer, dark brown hair fell just below his shoulders.
A Nought girl was on Jaxon's right side: their lead singer. A bitter feeling suddenly washed over me, followed quickly by a fuming rage. I gripped Rose's hand tighter and hurried down the alley towards the school, 'Hurry, Rose.'
'You're hurting!' she pulled back, trying to free her hand from my grasp. I loosened my grip but continued to hold on and pull her towards the school.
We walked out into the clearing, just as the bell could be heard, signalling the start of the school day. I looked down at my daughter and could almost swear I saw a look of apprehension on her face as she stared at the school. She quickly smiled when she noticed me looking at her. I just frowned and knelt down in front of her. I reached up and caressed her face; 'I need to speak to you later, all right?'
'Okay, Mummy,' she nodded. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She smiled at me then turned and ran through the school gates towards the doors of the school. I watched after her, anxiety making my stomach turn.
~~
I walked slowly back in the direction Rose and I had just taken. I stopped in
front of the poster again, my throat tightening as I thought of how things
could have turned out. If only I had stayed quiet. If only I hadn't get
involved. If only Jude McGregor had hanged.
I shuddered as I thought of him and continued on my way down the street. He terrified me. More than anything else in the world, I feared Jude. He hated me rightfully; his seeking for revenge against me was understandable. I was the reason his brother had hanged, after all. But if it weren't for him, there wouldn't have been a reason for him to hang. If it weren't for Jude my father wouldn't have been able to have an excuse to kill him. He forced him to kidnap me. He arranged for him to join the Liberation Militia.
But in the end, I was the reason he hanged.
I am the reason all Meggie had in the World was Rose and me. I am the reason Rose didn't have a family. I am the reason I spend everyday waiting, wishing for my own death. And I'm the reason Jude's after my daughter.
I know he is. Everyday I fear that I'm going to find her missing. And I know it'll be him that has taken her. He won't kill me as revenge. He wants me to suffer.
All because of me. All because of him. All because of us.
My daughter will never be safe. Not while Jude McGregor lives.
~~
'Sephy!' Mother hurried down the stairs, a bright smile on her face when she saw Rose and I standing there. She kissed me cheek quickly and hugged Rose. 'This can't be my eight year old, granddaughter, can it?' she feigned surprise, a wide smile on her face.
Rose giggled, 'I saw you last week, Nana.'
'And I'm certain you have grown in that short time, Callie Rose,' she smiled down at her. 'Thomas is in the garden, I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you again.' Rose's eyes lit up before she rushed off towards the garden. Mother and I both watched after her.
'Is there any precise reason for you visit, Persephone?' Mother turned to me.
I looked at her and smiled, shaking my head, 'No. Rose wanted to see you again.' She indicated to the living room and we made our way into the huge room. It'd been almost two months since I'd been here. Mother tends to visit us these at ours these days. She asked Sarah to get us some tea, to which the servant immediately complied.
'Have you heard of your father's campaign promise?' Mother finally spoke.
I turned to look at her, a frown on my face, 'Promise?'
'The introduction of the apartheid,' my mother said in response, 'the complete separation between Noughts and Crosses.'
I frown. I had heard about it. But I saw it merely as a rumour. A false one at that. 'He can't do that, can he?'
'He's already passed the Immortality and Mixed Marriages Act,' Mother said in response, 'after ensure there is no intimate relationships between the two, what more is there for him to do than pass a law that would completely divide them all together?'
I could only stare at her in horror at the revelation. How could this man be the father I'd been so close to as a child? I thought of him then. Rose's father. I didn't push away the memories this time. I thought of Rose. What of her? She was neither Nought nor Cross. How would this apartheid affect her? How could father do this? Was this his act of revenge against me for the humiliation I caused him?
'You're a Cross, Sephy,' Mother continued, 'What would you do if the apartheid came about?'
I frowned as I thought of it. Where Rose and I lived was amongst the Noughts. It was our home. Although we didn't have many friends, we were accepted as part of that community. The Crosses here loathe me. I helped Jude get away even though they knew he'd done it. I'd had a baby with a Nought. Rose would never be accepted here. Would she continue to be accepted at home? She'd already told me that the children at school hadn't been treating her equal; they'd tried to hurt her.
I'd just turned fourteen when the society we live in finally struck at me. Had it already begun to strike at my daughter? Had it already started to hurt her?
I couldn't answer my mother's question. Would the apartheid cause any more damage to my life than society already has? If it didn't to mine, what about Rose's?
