Hi, everyone! Thanks to Amythcrystal, SciFiGirl13, ZiaA, Fanofthemoon88, Ri-kun and ShalynStone for being my first reviewers EVER! Also, I once read a Giver story where the Council of Elders were after Jonas and Fiona. The plot isn't taken from that story, but the antagonistic Committee of Elders was taken from there… :-(

----------------------

Marie awoke sometime around seven o'clock the next day, blearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she caught a glimpse of Will, tall and serene. Isabel's spouse was clearing up the contents of his briefcase as he prepared for the coming day. A jumble of fresh sheets and new black pens clattered over the front of the desk, but Will scooped his things up and organised them with the greatest of ease. The Instructor of the Tens looked up as she approached.

"Hi, Marie." He greeted her with a warm smile.

She smiled back. " 'Morning, Will."

Isabel's husband watched in growing amazement as, her pale eyes glowing, Marie appeared to brighten and drink her surroundings in. She was an alive, changed person – and in the Community, you could be as strong-willed and creative as her and not even know it.

"Listen, I have to go to work now," Will told Marie, who nodded. "Isabel should be going in about half an hour. If you need help, just ask her." He departed then, armed with his briefcase and a fresh black pen in hand.

As soon as the other had left, Marie hesitated. She watched as the red-and-blond-haired man disappeared into the distance, and a new revelation came to her. The world seemed suddenly paler, more washed out. It was as if she were losing her power to see colour, to change the world.

In truth, the thought frightened her and she was rather pleased when her stomach rumbled, loudly and imploringly. She was struck by the idea of food and padded over to Isabel's freezer-box, a small refrigerated periwinkle cooler installed above the counter. Eagerly, she dug through the contents. Marie sifted past some frozen yellow string beans and found a packet of fresh orange carrots, which she then proceeded to snap open. In the space of a few seconds, Marie was snacking hungrily.

--------------------

Isabel tried not to laugh.

The young Birthmother was frozen in mid-step on the stairwell, watching in flabbergasted shock as her childhood pale-eyed friend devoured a whole packet of orange carrots before proceeding to rob another of its contents. The thought was indeed a funny one, and Isabel had to stifle her hand against her mouth to avoid an outburst of giggling. Marie, however, hadn't noticed and was quite content as she finished the other packet, which she then threw into a portable garbage dispenser. She rubbed her hands together before rinsing them lightly under the cool faucet.

Isabel sought out the chance to make her mark. Slowly, ever so carefully, she descended down the stairwell, just until she was in front of the long-haired figure of her childhood friend. Isabel had an absence of wisdom big enough to giggle none-too-softly.

"Why - you!"

Owing to the laws of the Community, Marie didn't lunge for Isabel. She did, however, roll her eyes and sigh, mockingly. "Isa, Isa, Isa," she chastised reproachfully – and fakingly. "How annoying can you get?"

"Very annoying," the pale-haired woman replied with a dazzling, unGiver-ish grin.

The women grinned to each other as they began their day. Marie dispersed for "morning ablutions," while Isabel prepared breakfast.

--------------------

"So, what are you going to do?" Isabel asked as the two women left the house, tiny Jesse in her arms and worry in her eyes. Marie had tied her hair up and styled it behind her head, as to offer some temporary disguise. "You can't stay like that for long."

Marie smiled back. "I was thinking maybe I could hide in the shelter of the Birthmothers' building and maybe convince some of the others onto our side." She reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Don't do that," Isabel reprimanded lightly, "You need something to cover your face with, and that load of hair is perfect."

"Anyway, I was thinking of convincing Wilma; she's the eldest of us all," continued Marie as the plain one-storey building came into sight, completely ignoring her friend. "That's my idea." Out here, in bright daytime, her plan seemed…well, it seemed pathetic, though she didn't want to think like that.

"It's a start. Just make sure you're not discovered," Isabel said teasingly as the two of them split ways. She had to go give Trent to the Keeper of the Fives at the Childcare Center for the day before setting off for the Birthing Annex. Meanwhile, Marie would sneak into the building and try to persuade Wilma to join their side.

As she stared after the receding figure of her pale-haired friend, Marie noticed again that she looked more faded, more washed out. Quickly, she pivoted on her heel; a few rapid scans around the Birthmothers' building led her to realise that everything was like that. The discolouration extended from the Rehabilitation Center on the right to the cluster of dwellings on the left. It hadn't improved or worsened from the night before, thankfully.

She supposed it had something to do with the passage of time, the night at Isabel's house. Marie desperately hoped that she didn't lose her sense of colour. It was such a wonderful thing; someday, near in the future, she would reveal it to the world.

As she walked, Marie thought about Jonas and whoever her mother was. She wondered if Jonas had the same power she did; the power to see colour. The Giver had said Jonas had been Receiver of Memory, but he hadn't specified about anything, really.

Then Marie wondered about her mother: who she was, where she was now, and if she was all right or not. The thoughts scared Marie, since she, like everyone else in the Community had never gotten to know them. It was a sad, sickening thought.

Marie's thoughts landed on Jaime. She wondered if he was in trouble with the Council of Elders. She sincerely hoped not; it was her fault. If Jaime was in an unstable position, Marie would do anything to get him out. It was her fault, and she didn't want him to be released. She didn't know actually what it meant to be released, but she was sure it was bad.

"I'll make it so that everyone can know who their real parents are, and can enjoy colour as I do. I am going to save the world." Marie glanced up at the pale, washed-out blue sky. "And nothing can stop me now, for this is the true purpose in my life."

3