This year my New Year's Resolution is to finish writing and to publish my newest literary child! It remains currently untitled, but you will not want to miss this one!
PROLOGUE
I could see Mom’s lips moving,
but it was impossible to focus on what she was saying. Her voice was direct and
almost melodic, it was the same voice that read to me before I fell asleep as a
child.
Starting today I was not a child
anymore. If I could prove myself, I would no longer be forced to spend long
hours with Trena in the Knowledge Hall, consuming massive amounts of history
and information. I would be assigned a Guide, and I would study a map of the
Outside. Today, I would begin the most important journey of my life; I would
begin my official training to become a guardian of The City and the citizens
who reside here. To be a Protector of the Pure Ones-
“Mea!”
I jumped dramatically as the
sound of my name shocked me out of my trance.
“Could you at least feign
interest in the Battle of Blood Valley?” Implored Trena.
“I am interested, Mom.” I yawned unconvincingly, and stretched in my
hard wooden chair.
Trena
stiffened at the mention of the word ‘mom’.
Her full pink lips drew into a thin line and her thick, dark eyebrows
scrunched together in irritation. It had always made her uncomfortable when I
acknowledged her as my mother.
The City is all about choices.
My Father chose to be a single parent, and my mother, Trena, claims to have
been humbled and honored when he came to her to make the Conception Agreement. Father
was convinced that he was the only person who could raise the perfect
Protectors to keep peace in The City for years to come. According to the
Agreement, he and Trena would have sexual intercourse 3 times. The first time
everything went as planned, and Trena provided him with my perfect oldest
brother, Jax. The following birth, she delivered twin boys. It was a rare
unexpected surprise; Father had his three Protectors, but since the Agreement had
been signed, they had sexual intercourse once more, and Trena gave birth to me.
I was the disappointment.
Trena said that she never had any
desire to be a mother; her dream was to become Master of the Knowledge Hall.
How could she achieve that with children to take care of?
But Father was displeased that I
was a girl. Girls could not be
Protectors. He had made that law himself.
“I apologize, Tutor. I didn’t
mean to make you uncomfortable.” I stated honestly.
Trena had
been responsible for taking care of us until we were four years old; some days,
Father came to play with us, but we lived with and were taught by her. She
warned us never to call her mom, especially not in front of Father.
He took my brothers to live with
him at the appointed time, but he left me with Mom until I was seven. After
leaving her tender care, the only contact we were to have with her was during
our mandatory Education Hours in the morning, then the boys would leave for the
rest of the day to the Junior Training Facility, and I would not see them again
until meal time. I was not allowed to enter the Junior Training Facility under
any circumstances, so Father assigned me extended Education Hours with my
tutor, like most of the girls my age. The other girls loved it and often studied
together, but I found it difficult to identify with them; I had always wanted
more, while they were content with being invisible bookworms. Trena had come to
mean everything to me because I spent most of my time with her. On day, shortly
after I had gone to live with him and my brothers, Father came personally to test me on the recent
knowledge I learned. His presence made me nervous. The exam went well, I passed
flawlessly and I ran over to Trena to celebrate, I remember calling out to her
loudly saying, “Mom,” instead of Tutor. The look on Father’s face transformed
in to outrage. The slap he delivered to my cheek sent me crashing to the floor;
I spat out my lose tooth. I touched the spot where he had struck me,
instinctively, feeling the sting, but I didn’t cry in front of Trena. I did not
want her to see me cry.
“Never mind that. Plagner is
sending a Knowledge Bearer to test you on this information tomorrow and you
will not be ready if you do not try harder.” She insisted. “Now, pay
attention.”
Trena closed the book in front of
us and pulled an even larger book from one of the many stacks surrounding us on
the desk. She began to spit out more facts about a battle in which thousands of
people were killed in the name of preserving peace.
It didn’t seem to make a
difference to her that today was my 19th birthday.
Why would it?
For a girl, this was just like
any other day. Maybe I would get a special dessert tonight with my evening
meal. Maybe Mom had a special surprise art lesson planned for later; she knows
how much I love to paint.
But it I were a boy, today I
would be preparing for a demonstration of my physical abilities and a test of
the skills I acquired in training. They Board of Select would decide if I would
be given a Guide, or if I would be dismissed from any further training, free to
live life as I choose. If I were to be given a Guide, I would then begin to
prepare for my journey on the Outside. In order to complete their training,
every Junior Protector had to leave the City with a Guide from the Outside, and
return with a Shiner.
The sooner they came back, the
more impressive it was to the Board, and to Father. Jax returned in only three
days, a record unheard of since Father’s. Poniah, the eldest of the twins,
returned in a week; but Ponesh took three weeks before he finally returned with
a Shiner.
Ponesh was the only one who knew
how important today would turn out to be for me, for the both of us.
“Mea!” Barked
Trena, desperate for my attention.
I jumped
again, startled. “You scared me Tutor.” I complained, “There is no reason to
shout.” I took a deep breath and closed the book before me.
“I think
that I know everything I need to know about the Battle of Blood Valley, Tutor,
and it happens to be my birthday.” I smiled up at Mom sweetly, and batted my
thick eyelashes.
“Yes, I
know. What do you want?” She probed staring at me suspiciously.
“I was
wondering if I could take the rest of the day off to finish a book that I just
can’t seem to tear myself out of. You understand, don’t you?”
Trena
smiled slightly. I assumed she was picturing me curled up in some tree reading
the ancient collection of short stories she had given me as a little girl.
“I
understand.” She nodded. “A young woman has every right to celebrate a special
day. Do not let your father find out.”
I flashed
her a grateful grin and dashed towards the door before she could rethink such a
“careless decision”.
To Trena any moment not spent
acquiring knowledge was a moment wasted.
To me, it was a chance to prepare
for my destiny.
 |
| Rough sketch of one of the main characters, Mea. |
