I will say nothing about this chapter- instead, I will inform all you people that are out there that I got my wisdom teeth removed Friday, and now I look like I gained twenty pounds because of my face.

Disclaimer: I don't claim anything in here that isn't mine, but I think only dæmons are the things I'm using in this chapter that Phillip Pullman invented.

Chapter Eight

The room was bare except for a couple of pieces of furniture, a bathroom, and a kitchen. At the door there were polished stone tiles, and I slipped my sandals off before examining the room more closely. The texture of the floor was so smooth I felt like I was walking on water, and as Konstantin hopped onto a soft bed with blankets of earthen tones, I sat down in a chair shaped like half of an egg with green cushions.

Konstantin dozed off, and I began examining the general schedule for the year. Apparently, I had arrived two days before the annual Choosing, but I could find no description of what the Choosing was. The calendar told me only that all residents of the tower were to dress in their best and go about their business for the day. I noticed that the day after the Choosing, there was an event called the Blocks, and there was absolutely nothing but the words "The Blocks" on the calendar.

I yawned, and Konstantin woke up. "Riva, why don't you open the curtains?" he asked me. For the first time, I noticed that the wedge shaped room had curtains along the outermost wall. Konstantin trotted over to them and disappeared behind them as I followed him. A quick tug at a cord opened the curtains and I gasped.

The view was spectacular. Rolling hills of the tall grass spotted with towers stretched as far as I could see, and the sun was setting, lighting up the grass like liquid gold. My window gave me a partial view of the men's tower, and I could see that it was just as busy as the women's tower. I could have stood their until nightfall, but my stomach growled, despite the fact that I had eaten about an hour and a half ago in a different world.

Ducking into the kitchen, I found it extremely plain but elegant, with cabinets full of food. There was a strange box in the corner of the room with a handle on the top and on the bottom squares. I pulled the top one and a door, which I had thought to be just a decorative square, opened, sending wisps of steam into the air. I stuck my hand inside and withdrew it instantly, for the box was freezing inside!

I closed the top door and opened the one on the bottom. It was cool too, but not nearly so cold as the top freezer. Both boxes were filled with food, and after I fiddled with the anbaric stove, I heated some food up and cut up an apple that I had found in the lower portion of the freezer.

After my meal, I explored the bathroom. There was a soft pair of cream colored baggy trousers and a loose fitting top of the same color. I showered and Konstantin frisked about as much as he could, cleaning his fur from the filth we had picked up two worlds ago. The hot shower water rained down upon us for quite some time, and then I reluctantly turned it off and got dressed in the clothes I had found.

Yawning, I noticed the sun had gone down, and closed the curtains before crawling into bed. It was a large bed, and it could probably fit two people with their dæmons at the least. As Konstantin snuggled up to me, I found myself wondering if Logan was okay. Sleep claimed me, and I settled into it happily.

A sharp rapping upon my door awoke me, and my eyes snapped open. For a moment I just laid there, disoriented, before getting out of bed and walking to the door. I opened it and found a old crone dressed in rags looking up at me. Her marmoset dæmon peered at Konstantin from its safe perch upon the crone's head.

"Yes?" I asked, annoyed at having been awakened so abruptly.

"It's Choosing Day. You've got fifteen minutes before you need to be up on the main floor in your best clothes." The crone eyed my messy hair disdainfully. "And do something about your hair before you get up there." With that, she left, and I closed the door.

"Why is this Choosing Day so important?" I asked Konstantin. "And why don't they tell us anything about it?"

"I dunno," he replied. "But we don't want to get in trouble for being their late."

I quickly changed and brushed my hair. For the first time, I really looked at myself in a mirror. My dark brown eyes peered back at me, and I realized that my light brown hair had grown rather long since my last haircut when I was thirteen. I quickly pinned the upper half of my hair in the center of the back of my head and let the rest hang loose. My not-quite-pale complexion was flawless without a pimple or freckle, but it still left something to be desired.

"We've got five minutes," Konstantin said, looking at a clock nearby. Hurriedly, I slipped my feet into the sandals the old man had given me, and we ran to the hoist. It traveled slowly, for apparently there was a hoist on every level, and they ran like a conveyor belt, but we finally made it to the main floor.

There was a tall, willowy blonde speaking from a podium, her voice amplified so that everyone could hear it. "Thank you all for coming to this year's Choosing," she said, just beginning her speech. Konstantin and I stood along a wall since all the seats were taken, and I eyed the other women and girls in them curiously. "As usual, you will be asked to remain on this floor until fifteen of you are chosen that fit this year's qualifications. Refreshments will be given out at the tables on my left" -she waved in the general direction of the tables- "so that no one will be hungry or thirsty." The woman yawned, obviously not thrilled to be up at this hour. "When you are approached by a judge, he will ask you many questions and he may ask you for certain measurements. In order for the Choosing to go smoothly, please comply with whatever they ask of you." She started to step down from the podium, but the remembered something and returned to her former position. "For those of you new to the Choosing, I just want to let you all know that the judges are all men from our brother tower. Have a nice day."

The girls and women that had been sitting so attentively quickly developed into circles of friends or acquaintances whose talking filled the room. Konstantin nudged me towards the refreshment table, where I snagged some fruits for my breakfast as well as a small loaf of bread and a bottle of water. I ate my breakfast and examined the judges and girls around me. No one made an effort to speak to me, so I gave them the same treatment and found a chair near one of the expansive windows.

The day continued onwards, without any person approaching me. I ate lunch and returned to my chair. My stomach was growling for a dinner when a tall muscular man with dark brown hair cropped short and almost black eyes approached me. His dæmon was a shimmering black viper, and her tongue constantly flickered out of her mouth, testing the air. He could only be one of the judges.

"Excuse me, miss," he said, dark eyes examining me. "Have you been questioned yet?"

I shook my head. "No. Will this take long? I'm hungry."

The judge's eyes flashed. "You aren't going anywhere until I have finished with you."

"Whatever," I replied. "Take a seat. I'm sure your legs are sore from standing."

He flashed me a grin as he sat and then pulled out the list of questions. "Name?"

"Riva Mischa," I replied.

"Name of dæmon?"

"Konstantin."

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

"Hair color?"

"Can't you see that yourself?" I asked him.

"You're the one who's supposed to be answering the questions."

"Why don't you fill out the ones you can see for certain?"

He laughed. "You're very rude, Riva Mischa."

"So?"

"Height?"

"In what system of measurement?" I demanded, hoping that he wouldn't say New World.

"New World."

"Damn you!" I exclaimed. "I think it's five foot six."

"Weight?"

I looked up at him angrily. "Don't you have access to our registration forms?"

"Nope. Weight?"

"I think it's 130 pounds."

"Thank you for your time, Riva Mischa," the judge said, rising to his feet.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What's your name?"

"Joram Atrophi," the man said. "Now, I really must move on." Joram left, and Konstantin looked at me curiously.

"What was that all about?" he asked me.

"What was what?" I asked innocently.

"Why did you ask him for his name?" Konstantin demanded. "He's just a judge. Unless-"

"He wanted to know mine, so I felt that it was only right," I replied cattily.

Konstantin would have said more, but the willowy blonde took the podium again. "Attention!" she called, and everyone stopped their activities and sat down to listen. "The judges have questioned everyone here, and they have given me the names of the Chosen. When you hear your name called, please approach the judges that questioned you." Her dæmon- for some reason, I hadn't seen it earlier- was a nervous little robin. "Now, I shall announce the names of the Chosen. Vanessa Janot! Melinda Ivor! Kala Dalston! Eleanor Prescott! Bethany Arvad!" My thoughts drifted away from the Chosen being anounced when I heard my name. "Riva Mischa! Adena Gershom!"

I approached the judges and found Joram. He beamed at me before the blonde began to speak again. She dismissed those who weren't chosen, and then she approached us once the others were all gone. "Congratulations!" she gushed. "You are the luckiest fifteen out of all of the Tower's citizens!" She handed us all chain bracelets made out of gold. "Wear these as a sign of your superiority!" I looked at mine disdainfully. "You there!" she cried, pointing at me. "Why do you not put on your bracelet?"

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I don't feel particularly superior to all the others that live here," I said boldly.

"It's not a sign of superiority, really. You just wear it for the week and then your life goes back to normal," the blonde said, her voice trembling. "I have one too." She held out her wrist. "You'll make me unhappy if you don't wear yours," she promised, sniffing as if she was barely holding back her tears.

I had to laugh. "Alright. What harm can it do?"

Riva decided to stay at the tower because she didn't want to use the clarineto again so soon after she had just used it.

Tell me what you think of this chapter! I'm so proud of myself, posting another one. Oh, and tell me what you think of Riva being Chosen. I'll give you a teaser and let you know that it isn't good!