Chapter V - The House of Artrillious Cranks

Chapter V- The House of Artrillious Cranks

Another hour passes in the car and, though the awkwardness is gone, the silence remains. I decide to take a nap. However, as soon as my eyelids are shut over my eyes, I’m running once again. I don’t appear to be in the Lower-Flat-Lands, though. I think I’m on the incline of the mountain. My bare feet ache as I run down the rocky hill. The dark-haired boy is nowhere to be found. I begin to hear harsh male voices from behind, yelling my name. I continue running until I hit a wall and fall to the floor, loosing sense of my surroundings.

“Olivia!” a much kinder voice shouts from behind. The wielder of the voice grabs my arm and pulls me off the ground. Everything is foggy. The person in front of me is shouting. He’s trying to tell me something. I can’t understand his words but they sound urgent. He grabs my shoulders trying to shake my senses awake. 

“Olivia! You have to go!” I manage to make out a few words from the shouting voice. Then I finally see his face, a face I know. It’s Callum! He leans down and cups his hands motioning for me to put my foot in them so he can lift me up. I have no idea where he would lift me to, but, I follow his lead. He thrusts me into the air, however, as soon as I drop to the ground I awaken.

“Liv, are you okay?” I look over to find Callum sitting right next to me.

“Yeah, I just had a weird dream.” I say rubbing my, now pounding, head.

“Sounded frightening.” I stare at him perplexedly. He continues. “You made a lot of noise is what I’m saying.”

“What kind of noise?” I ask hoping that I hadn’t been snoring.

“Well, you started out breathing heavily and tossing and turning. Then, you stopped and let out a yelp. Then. . .” He pauses.

“Then what?” I ask a bit anxiously. Callum smiles.

“Then, you shouted my name.” I can feel a rock hit the bottom of my stomach when he says this. I would have taken the snoring any day. “I was suprised when it didn’t wake up the other two.” He continues. I look over at Aralyn who has, once again, fallen asleep.

“We are now approaching Wendra.” Says the driver. The windows open again. Wendra looks a lot like Elatus. Except there are more buildings because, unlike Elatus, the entire city is built on the Upper-Flat-Lands. 

“How much longer until we reach the Cranks family residence?” Asks, a half awake, Uncle Berke.

“Approximately ten minutes, passenger Berke Nortington.” Replies the driver. 

The quickest ten minutes I have ever experienced, pass. We pull into the driveway of a strange looking house. It is composed of three vertically-lined rectangles, each one taller than the next, and topped with structures that look just like flames. On the bottom of the middle tower, there is a large wooden door, that stands out on the large, metal building. 

As we all begin to climb out of the car, my muscles free themselves from the restrains of my sitting position over the past few hours. We collect our cases and head towards the house.

“Ah, Berke. How are you my old friend?” An older man greets us at the door.

Uncle Berke replies. “Just wonderful old Trill. And how might you be?” Callum clears his throat, implying that Uncle Berke should introduce us to his friend. “Ah, yes.” He continues. “Callum, this is Artrillious Cranks. One of my oldest and dearest friends.”

Artillious shakes Callum’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you Callum.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Berke has told me many great things about you.” Says Callum.

“Not too many things I hope.” Artillious replies with a smile. It appears that he has a very kind face. Though, it is hard to tell because most of it is covered by a thick beard. He continues. “And these must be your nieces.”

“Yes. This is Aralyn, and this is Olivia.” Says Uncle Berke, motioning towards us.

We shake hands with Artrillious and proceed to move inside. The interior of the house looks entirely different from the outside. There are giant red and grey tiles checkered all over the foyer, and a giant wooden staircase leading up to the second floor of the house.

“I apologize, but, the sleeping arrangements are a bit tight at the moment.” Says Artrillious. “Olivia and Aralyn, the two of you will have to share a room. Just go up the stairs, take a right, go down the first corridor you see, then you will find another staircase just like this one, go up those stairs and your room is the third on the right. Callum, your room is right across the hall from the girls. Berke, yours is up the first case of stairs and to the left.” He said this so fast that I could hardly understand a word he said.

Mine and Aralyn’s room is massive. The bed is almost twice the size of my own and the ceiling stretches higher than any I’ve ever seen. All of the walls have blush pink satin tassels hanging from them. Except for one, which is covered with orange paint and diamond shaped windows that look out into a courtyard filled with tiles of various shades of blue. The floor is made out of a soft fuchsia carpet, while a prodigious, silver chandelier drops down from the white ceiling.

“It’s a bit drab, don’t you think?” laughs Aralyn as she begins to put her clothes in the closet.

“Yeah, it’s like the inner-workings of Dahlia’s brain threw up all over this place.” I joke back. However, the room goes silent when I realize that I actually miss the squeaky, girlish voice of my younger sister.

“What happened in here?” Says Callum as he enters our room looking quite shocked. 

“What, Callum? Your room doesn’t look like this?” Teases Aralyn.

“No. My room is covered in black and purple suede and only has one, small window.” Callum shutters. “Anyways, Artrillious told me to tell you that dinner is in half an hour.” He exits.

Aralyn and I proceed to dress for dinner. She puts on a floor-length silver dress covered in elegant sparkles, while I wear a shimmery, purple knee-length dress with a heart-shaped neckline. After topping off our looks with classy hairstyles and makeup, we slowly make our way down the flights of stairs and await the meeting our possible future husbands.

Chapter IV - The Apple and the Argument

I stand there in shock of Callum’s words. So many possible answers jumble around in my mind. I thought that the mass confusion of yesterday could not be topped, but, here it is. My best and only friend in the world offering his hand in marriage. My breakfast seems to be following the same command as my brain because I can feel it hitting the walls of my stomach. I finally gain awareness of my surroundings again.

“What?” I mummer.

“Marry me.” Callum repeats.

“Why?” I shout breaking free from his hold.

“Why not?” He retorts.

“Why not?” I mimic his question now yelling again. “Because we’re cousins.” I continue.

“Not by blood.” He argues.

“So? We’ve known each other our whole lives. You’re my best friend!”

“Exactly! Wouldn’t you rather marry a friend than a stranger?” 

“Yes- no- I don’t know.” I pause and take a seat on my bed.  “What makes you think my parents would choose you over all of the other men who might offer their hands?” He stares at me. 

“So, what are you saying? That I’m not good enough for you?” He asks frustratedly.

“No. Callum, that’s not what I meant-” 

Callum interrupts “-Then what did you mean?” Aralyn bursts in the room before I can say anything else. 

“What is going on in here?” She asks in a panicked tone. Callum replies.

“Nothing. I was just going to pick some apples. Lyn, would you like some?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” She replies looking a little distorted at the situation. Callum turns and leaves the room. 

“Livy, what was that about? I heard yelling.”

“It was nothing.” I say continuing to pack my bags.

“Olivia, that definitely wasn’t nothing. I’ve never seen Callum like that before.”

“Callum’s fine. Like I said, it was nothing.”

Aralyn sighs. “Fine. Have it your way.” She turns and goes back to her own packing. I finish preparing then pick up my bags and bring them out to Uncle Berke’s vehicle. Aralyn is already out there with Callum, who is carrying a bag of apples. They were obviously talking about me because, as soon as I step outside they stop their conversation and begin talking about the weather. The back drawer of the car is already open and I place my black cases next to Lyn’s red ones. Thankfully, my Uncle comes outside before there is even a chance for awkward silence. We then proceeded to climb into the car. I am not surprised when my parents don’t come outside to say goodbye. Why would they? I’m sure they’re hoping to marry me off as far away as possible so they never have to see me again. I was surprised, however, when Dahlia didn’t come to see us off. Once we were all in the car, the automated voice of the driver comes over the speakers of the vehicle.

“Welcome passengers Berke Nortington, Callum Cortallo, Aralyn Netherly, and Olivia Netherly. Sit tight and enjoy our journey to Wendra. The car is made up of one square, room with seats lined on every wall. Except for the corners which have little side tables on each of them. On the ceiling are silver drawers that drop down at the press of a button, each one containing all sorts of refreshments. Circular lights dot the ceiling and walls, lighting up every accent and detail of the black room.

“Alright then. I’m going to take a nap. You girls can help yourselves to any refreshments from the ceiling drawers. Callum, make sure driver keeps us on course.” Says Uncle Berke, leaning back into his seat and pulling his hat over his face. The ride continues on with a great deal of awkwardness. Aralyn falls asleep, leaving Callum and I as the only ones awake. Every once and a while I’ll catch him staring at me with eyes of frustration and disappointment. The silence is broken for a brief moment when Uncle Berke lets out a loud snort. Then the automated voice comes over the speakers again. 

“We are now riding through the Upper-Flat-Lands of Elatus.” Says the driver.

“Driver, can you open the windows?” Callum asks.

“Of course, passenger Callum Cortallo.” It replies.

A panel begins to move upward from each side of the walls. Both Aralyn and Uncle Berke begin to open their eyes as natural light begins to flood in the cabin. I move closer to the window to look outside. I don’t see any trees. Just large, metal buildings. They all look like giant boxes with huge blackened windows. Lining every street there are paths made of stone leading up to every building. Everything varies in color. Some buildings are bright, lime green and some are a deep shade of purple. I look around the room for Aralyn, expecting her to be just as exited as I am, however, I am surprised to find her sitting in her seat in a very serious state. Seeing the city must bring back some of the emotion from these past couple of years. I decide to leave her be. I have been through the city once before, when we visited the Wall of the Passed to mourn my aunt. But, I was so little I don’t remember much other than when I first met Callum.

The excitement passes, we all return to our seats, the windows close, and the cabin is once again filled with silence. Aralyn still appears to be deep in thought, Callum is now avoiding eye contact with me by staring at a nearby lamp, and Uncle Berke has returned to his, rather loud, state of sleep. I look over at the bag of apples next to Callum. In attempt to break the awkwardness I politely ask him to hand me one. Though, it obviously doesn’t help because Callum picks up an apple, examines it and replies.

“Hmm. I don’t know. Aralyn, what do you think? Do you think this apple is worthy of Olivia? What would your parents think if Olivia ate this very apple?” Aralyn snorts in attempt to hide a laugh at Callum’s question. I sit, staring at him in amusement of his words.

“Well, I don’t know about Aralyn, but, I think the apple is acting like a child.” I retort.

“The apple wasn’t asking you it was asking Aralyn.” Callum snaps back.

“I don’t think the apple realized what it was saying!” I say raising my voice again.

“The apple knew perfectly well what it was saying!” Callum replies, also raising his voice. I begin to retort, but am interrupted when Aralyn lets out a loud burst of laughter which, surprisingly, doesn’t wake Uncle Berke. Callum and I stare at Aralyn, a little startled and offended. To me, our argument was completely serious, unreasonable, but serious. Aralyn stands up, walks over to Callum and takes the apple from his hand.

“Come on you guys, this is ridiculous.” She says, still laughing, then tosses the apple to me. However, I miss the catch and the apple gets stuck in the light fixture behind me. This does wake Uncle Berke. He sits up and cautiously looks around, a little disoriented and entirely confused.

“What going on?” he asks, continues to look around but stops when his eyes meet the wall behind me. “Olivia, why is there an apple in the light fixture?” 

“I’m an apple bomb, remember?” I laugh. Aralyn returns to her seat looking a little embarrassed at her throw. Uncle Berke still looks quite distorted. I look over at Callum apologetically. He smiles and nods, communicating that our argument was, indeed, ridiculous.

Chapter III - Callum

Chapter III - Callum

Only moments after my eyes begin to return to their state of rest, I am awaken by a loud ringing sound. I turn onto my stomach in discomfort, covering my ears with a pillow. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this sound. In fact, I hear it every morning in the first through fourth days of the week. It usually sounds it’s voice to wake me for school, however, this time it is ringing because I now must get up, get ready for breakfast, and prepare myself for the journey that lies ahead. I, once again, drop my feet to the floor and rise up out of my resting place. After dressing myself in a silver sequined shirt, a silky green skirt, and a white knit cardigan I walk over to the mirror and pull my blonde waves of hair into a tight ponytail. I then proceed to make my way towards the breakfast room. 

“Hey there, Apple Bomb!” says the loud, booming voice of my uncle when I enter the room.

Apple Bomb is the nickname he’s called me by for as long as I can remember. Apparently when I was little I ate a lot of apples. One day, my uncle told me “Olivia, you eat so many apples you might just explode one of these days.” To which I replied.

“Like an apple bomb!” I’ve had the nickname ever since. 

“Uncle Berke!” I say excitedly then walk over to his spot at the table to greet him with a hug.

“Hey, Liv, Can I get one of those?” says another familiar male voice. I turn around and am surprised to find my cousin, Callum, also sitting at the table. Well, he’s not really my cousin. My uncle used to be married. But, she got sick and passed away. In Cultridia, when a family member dies, you hang their picture on the Wall of the Passed in the very center of the city. It is probably one of the clearest distant memories I have. Usually, the entire family goes to mourn the loss. However, when we went, I saw a lone, brown-haired, blue-eyed boy the same age as I was at the time. Even though I was only five, I knew it was strange to see him standing by himself in this place of grieving. So, I walked over to him.

“Hi” I greeted him.

“Hello” He replied, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Why are you here by yourself? Don’t you have any family?” I questioned.

“No. My mother and Father were the only family I had. But, they’re gone now too.” He explained in between sniffles. “That’s them, right there” He pointed to a picture of a tall man and woman. When he began to cry again I wrapped my tiny arms around him.

“There, there. It’ll be all right.” I said in attempt to comfort the boy. The voice of my uncle ,who had also been crying, sounded from behind.

“What’s this?” said the voice

“It’s just awful Uncle Berke. This boy doesn’t have any family.” I said still holding onto the boy and beginning to cry myself.

“No family at all?” The boy shook his head in reply of the question. “Well, we’ll just have to change that.” After this, my uncle took him in and raised him as his own and he became one of my closest, and only friends.

“Callum! What are you doing here?” I let out in an embarrassing girlish voice, moving over to hug him.

“Well, Berke invited me to come along on your journey, and since I got ahead and finished my schooling early, I thought, why not?” He says after escaping my embrace. 

“Olivia, you must sit down and eat your breakfast now or the whole day will be off schedule.” Snaps my mother. My parents have never liked me being friends with Callum. Unmarried girls and boys being friends is yet another thing that goes against the flow of the social rules in Cultridia. Of course, my uncle doesn’t mind. Where he and Callum are from, the laws of social normality are not as heavily applied to such relationships. 

After a definite eye-roll aimed towards my mother, I proceed to sit in the empty chair next to Dahlia. Then I glance over at Callum to find a smug grin on his face displayed in an attempt not to laugh at my parent’s strictness. I smirk in agreement of the fact that my parents can be quite ridiculous when it comes to social rules. As are most parents from Elatus. 

When Aralyn and I finish eating, we head off to our rooms to gather our things while Uncle Berke discusses our travel route with my parents. When I enter my room, there are two black, shiny cases sitting on my bed that my mother must have put out. I open my closet and begin to fill them with clothes, when I hear a knock at the door.

“Come in.” I say, looking over my shoulder to find Callum sneaking in.

“Hey, I told your parents I was going to pick apples in the garden to take on the trip.” He says once inside.

“And they believed you?” I laugh.

“They did, but, Berke knows me all too well.”

“You realize you’re actually going to have to pick apples now, right?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you first.”

“What about?” I ask as I place a blouse in my case and look over to him. His countenance has gone from the loose and happy one he usually carries, to an expression of seriousness and deep thought. “Is something wrong?” I continue.

“Olivia, I know you, and I know how hard all of this must be for you.” He pauses. “Look, maybe we should sit-” He starts.

“-Just tell me, Callum.” I let out.

“I know you don’t want to get married.” He continues.

“Of, course I don’t want to get married. I’m only seventeen plus, I’d be marrying a stranger. What’s your point?” I stop then start again. “Oh, no. No, you don’t agree with all of this do you?”

“No. Olivia, you know I don’t-”

“-Then what is it?” I say raising my voice, and beginning to worry.

“Olivia, I- I don’t know how to say this.”

“Callum, please just spit it out!” 

“I’m trying but, you won’t stop talking!” He yells back.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never heard you talk like this before and with everything else that’s going on-” I stop as my eyes begin to water. Callum walks over and wraps his arms around me. I burry my face in his chest, tears now streaming from my eyes. 

“Liv, would it be easier if you married a friend instead of a stranger?” He asks nervously. I lift my head from his chest.

“What are you saying?” I reply. But, his next words bring on a shock I will never fully understand.

“Would you marry me?”

Chapter II - The Second Dream

Chapter II - The Second Dream

My heart beats rapidly in thought of my conclusion. I collect my thoughts, in hope that I might actually be able to survive the rest of this miserable day, then start back up the stairs. I haven’t eaten yet, however, my appetite has completely shattered after this morning’s conversation with my parents. I reach the top of the stairs and turn down the hall that leads to my bedroom when I hear a familiar voice from behind.

“What did Mother and Father want?” says the voice. I turn around to find Dahlia skipping up to me.

“Nothing.” I say turning back around, continuing down the hall. 

“Lyn wasn’t at breakfast either. Was she in the favoring room with you?” She asks, now practically running in attempt to keep up with my fast pace.

“Yes” I start to move faster and Dahlia starts to fall behind

“Wait- Liv- I can’t keep- up.” She stops, catching her breath.

“Ill talk to you later. I have things to do .” Of course, I don’t really have anything to do, I just wanted to escape any further conversation on the topic of my morning visit to the favoring room.

The rest of the day passes slowly. I skip lunch and take a walk down in the garden. Though by this point I actually am hungry, I’m not quite ready to face my parents. By the time dinner comes around I am so hungry there is no longer a point in avoiding a conversation that is bound to happen some time anyways. When I walk into the dinner room, my family is already eating.

“We didn’t expect you to show.” Says my father. When I sit down I notice the first course of our meal is one of my favorite dishes. A simple slice of triangular bread masked with a light-green creamy spinach sauce. Everyone always orders food from different businesses on the Upper-Flat-Lands. I don’t think anyone actually knows how to make it or even how it’s made, all I know is that every meal is ordered a week in advance and it shows up on our doorstep for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The evening rolls by faster than expected. After all traces of food have vanished from the table and Dahlia has gone to bed, we all go down to the favoring room. Mother and Father have already made travel arrangements for tomorrow. We will leave after breakfast and travel throughout the day. My mother’s brother, or as I know him, Uncle Berke, will come to retrieve my sister and I with his vehicle and driver.  After this we all silently head off to our bed chambers. It’s almost as if all of the pain and confusion of this day is completely wiped from my memory as I drop onto my soft bed. I close my eyes and the next thing I know, I’m in the forest again. However, this time I’m not running. I’m laying on the ground, covered in blankets. As soon as I sit up the noise of footsteps sounds from behind. I look around cautiously to find the same boy running towards me. However, this time, he is dressed in red. As he draws nearer my heart beats faster. A gasp creeps up from my lungs when I come to the realization that his clothes are not naturally red, but, stained red with blood. He’s injured. Badly. I run over to him to offer help. I catch him just as he begins to fall to the ground. I prop him up on a tree then Attempt to look at his wound. I begin to peel back the rags from the origin of the injury. Before I can even look at it, he grabs my hand, staring desperately into my eyes. He manages to release only two words from his aching body.

“Help- us” My eyes open. It’s not odd to have repeating dreams. But, this wasn’t a repitition. It was almost like a message, a vision of some sort. I keep turning the happenings of my dream over and over in my mind. How did the boy get hurt? What was he running from? What did he mean by “help us”? Who is “us”? So many questions swirl through my mind before I turn my attention to tomorrow’s events. This doesn’t help me very much though, because now there are so many different thoughts in my head my mind feels like a massive hurricane of confusion. I come to the conclusion that Aralyn is the only person who might, at this point, be able to calm the storm inside my thoughts. I bring myself out of bed, leading my feet through this large, sleeping house. I quietly open the door to Aralyn’s room. She is not asleep, but sitting on her bed staring at the blazing fire-case on the wall. She slowly turns her head towards me.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” She asks. I shake my head. “There’s just so much to think about.” she continues I walk over to the bed and sit next to her. 

“Lyn.” I say. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to-”

“-It’s okay. You were in shock and didn’t quite understand what was going on.”

“That doesn’t give me the right to talk like that to you.”

“No, I guess not. But, you’re my sister. We need each other now more than ever.” I nod.
“I’ve never heard of someone touring around the country to find a husband.”

“I have.” says Aralyn. “It usually only happens to girls who can’t find husbands within their home city, like me, or whose parents think of them as an inconvenience and marry them off as far away as possible.” My heart pounds at the sound of her words.

“Aralyn. You don’t think Mother and Father-” I start

“-No. Of course not. They may not be the most caring parents in the world but, they would never do such a thing. At least, I don’t think they would.” She stares at me, probably with the same thoughts I have at this point. I’m not even eighteen yet therefore they probably have not even tried to look for a husband for me, therefore they must be trying to get rid of me. She shakes her head.

“I doubt they would do that. They probably think that you will never be able to find a husband in Elatus either. No, that doesn’t sound right either. I’m sorry. Why don’t we change the subject?” She says. There is a long pause when I finally speak up.

“I had a strange dream just now.”

“What about?” Asks Aralyn.

“Well, it started with the dream I had last night. I was running in the forest.” I pause

“From what?” Aralyn asks in anticipation

“I don’t know. I just kept running. Until, I ran into this boy. He must have been about my age I suppose.”

“What did he look like?”

“He was shorter than any boys I’ve ever seen in Cultridia. In fact, he didn’t even look like anyone I’ve ever seen.”

“What do you mean?” Aralyn asks, sounding slightly confused.

“He had black hair, dark eyes, and his skin was similar to the color of almonds.” Aralyn’s face turned pale at my description.

“Did he say anything to you?”

“No. I woke up before he could.” Aralyn’s countenance was unreadable. It was almost as if it had been flushed of any sort of emotion or expression. “Lyn, is something wrong?” I continue.

“No, I’m fine. What happened in the dream you had tonight?” She responds, redirecting her thoughts back into the conversation.
“I was laying down, on the ground, in the same forest as before. I think it was in the Lower-Flat-Lands. I sat up and I saw the same boy, running towards me. But, this time he was injured and bleeding. When I tried to help him he said something to me.”

“What? Livy, what did he say?” She said with a panicked voice

“He said- ‘Help us’.” Aralyn looks shocked at the boy’s words. She almost looks as if she’s afraid of them.

“Aralyn, do you know something? Do you know who the boy is, or where he might come from? Do you know what he means by ‘us’?” 

“I- I can’t.” These words lead her into sobs even worse than the ones from this morning. I move closer and wrap my arms around her. 

“Shh. It’s okay.” I whisper

“It’s an awful story, Livy. Please don’t make me retell it now.” She manages to say in between sobs. What could have happened to make her so upset? I wonder. I now regret even bringing up the dream. My sister has endured so much emotion for one day, or, even for one year. I’ve never seen her like this before. It hurts seeing her like this. It almost feels as if she’s a different person drowning in her pain and sorrows. I just wish I could make it all go away. 

About half an hour passes and Aralyn’s sobs break down into sounds of sleep. I gently lay her head down on the pillow and drape a blanket over her finally calm body. I silently step out of her room and back into my own. This night was insane. This entire day was insane. This country I live in, the country I have loved for seventeen years, is now becoming something bigger than my own life. Something I’m not sure if I even like anymore. I am beginning to be more aware of my surroundings and the people in them. I’m starting to realize that my home country of Cultridia just might not be as great as everyone makes it out to be. As I return to my bed, it’s softness that was so comforting to me only a few hours ago becomes the most awful discomfort. I now know how much I long to break the seal of my parent’s hold, and the hold of Cultridia, to live freely.

Chapter I - Olivia

Chapter I - Olivia 

The sky is grey, the trees are green. My feet kick through the pine needles on the forest floor. My throat runs dry as my lungs continue to push out air. I have no idea how long I have been running or the purpose of my doing so. I just keep going, going, going. Until. BAM! I run straight into something, bringing both figures to the ground. Well, not something, someone. A boy-or, a man- I really don’t know. He is short, though still taller than I, dark-haired and fairly good-looking aside from his ragged clothes and meatless figure. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, I jolt awake. It was just a dream, a strange one at that. I lie there in my soft bed and feathery blanket, far away from the dark forest and discomfort of my jog. Now rising from my bed, I walk over to the window to watch the sun make it’s daily climb in the sky. Our house resides on the upper part of the mountain in which our great country is built upon. Most residents of Cultridia live on the inclines of the mountain.  The only people who live in the Upper Flat-Lands, which surround the peak of the mountain, are business owners and shopkeepers. 

My gaze descends from the incline of the mountain down to the forests of the Lower Flat-Lands. I know there is no life there, other than for the ruthless animals, as I have been told my whole life. But, for the first time in my seventeen years, I wonder. What is it like down there? What is it like for the creatures who spend there lives there? 

I hear a knock at the door but before I can answer my younger sister, Dahlia, appears in the room. She’s only ten but she looks like she could be at least thirteen with her red-orange hair and electrifying blue eyes. She favors my older sister, Aralyn, in that way. 

“Liva, Mother and Father want to speak to you in the favoring room.” says Dahlia. My name is Olivia, however, Dahlia butchered that when she first started speaking. At three years old, she couldn’t seem to grasp the fact that some words do, in fact, have three syllables. 

“The favoring room? It’s morning, shouldn’t we be eating breakfast?” I reply

“Well, of course I’m going to eat breakfast, but Mother and Father want to speak to you in the favoring room. Now.”

“Why in the favoring room? Can’t we just discuss this over breakfast?”

“I don’t know. I’m only ten. No one tells me anything.” she says then trots off to the delicious breakfast that awaits her. Jealous of her soon-to-be-filled stomach, I turn to my closet and pull out a green knee-length dress with a metallic band that fits just above my waist, silver tights, and black heeled boots with diamond buttons. I don’t like dressing like this. I would much prefer wear simple trousers and blouse. But my parents force me to wear nice, elegant, shiny clothes like the rest of the girls in Cultridia. 

After dressing myself, I exit my room and head down stairs to the favoring room. The favoring room,why would they want to speak to me there? The only reason anyone goes to the favoring room is to discuss the idea and process of any sort of arrangement. Oh, no. They can’t. I have to be at least eighteen to be eligible for an arranged marriage. My mind ponders about all other forms of arrangement they could be making for me as I continue to make my way through our massive house. As I approach the favoring room, my thoughts flutter back to the idea of a marriage. I arrive at the large, important door of the, now terrifying, room. I’ve never been in here before, I’ve never had reason to. Until now. My hand slowly turns the handle and I peek through as the door opens.

“Olivia, we’ve been waiting for you.” says my father. I nervously enter the room. Step by step moving towards an empty chair next to my mother.

My father continues. “Olivia, there is something very important we must discuss with you and your sister.” In all my nervousness I didn’t even notice Aralyn sitting to my left. Her red hair was fixed in a single braid down her back, and she wore a blue dress almost identical to mine. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on the coffee table in the midst of the chairs. She appears to be just as nervous as I am. 

“Your father and I have been thinking a lot- a lot about your future.” My mother starts. Future. The word echoes in my mind as it could really only mean one thing. The one thing I dread most. An arranged marriage. 

“Aralyn, you already know of our struggles to find a husband for you within Elatus.” Aralyn gives a slight nod. “Olivia, you will be eighteen within the next month and it seems as if it will be just a difficult to find you a husband.” This remark is not meant to be offensive, however, I take offense. 

“And what do you plan to do about that?” I reply in a sarcastic tone. My mother turns her head to my father with a large sigh. 

“We are sending you and your sister to take a tour around the country. You will be meeting boys of your age from all over. Upon your return, your mother and I will decide who you shall wed out of the young men who have offered their hand in marriage. ”My father’s words were like a grenade being thrown in my ear and sinking down to my stomach to explode.
“What?” I say “You’re just going to marry me off to some guy I don’t know? I don’t even get to choose? I’m not even eighteen yet!” I’m up out of my chair before I can even think about it. “How could you do this to us? Lyn and I have never even left Elatus before!”
“Calm down Olivia! This tour is what’s best for you and your sister and you know it.” says my mother

“No, I don’t know it because I don’t want a husband nor do I need one!”

“Olivia, it’s the social norm. If you do not get married by the time you’re nineteen you’ll be a social outcast just like your sister!” my father retorts. I look over at Aralyn to see if his words hurt her in some way. But, I really can’t tell. Her eyes are still fixed on the coffee table.

“I don’t care if I’m a social outcast! I would rather stay here and live my life alone with no friends than be married to some stranger.” I glance over at my sister again after realizing that she might take offense to my words as well. But, her gaze remains unaffected.

“Darling. You need friends. Everyone needs friends.” My mother continues in attempt at reassurance.

“No, mother, you need friends. And if you actually cared about any of your children at all you would have realized that I already don’t have any friends. Social outcast or social norm. It doesn’t matter.” My parents stare at me. Not in regret of the fact that they don’t care, but, in embarrassment of my accusation.
“Olivia, you listen to m-”

“-I’ll do it.” we all look over to Aralyn who has now broken her focus on the coffee table and is risen out of her chair. She continues. “We’ll do it. We will marry at your demands.” I stare at her in disbelief. She then takes my arm and pulls me out of the room. As we start up the stairs I jerk my arm away from her. She stops.

“What is wrong with you? What are you thinking? You’re actually going to let them do this to us? You actually want to marry some stranger?” My sister stares at me as tears start to fill her eyes.

“No, Livy, I don’t want to. But I have to. And so do you.” She says as a tear escapes from her eye.

“No, we don’t have to. We can live here and-”

“Don’t you understand?” She raises her voice “Being a social outcast is more than simply not having friends. People laugh at you, and gossip about you. Men walk through the streets openly making jokes about you. And in all of that-” She pauses “And in all of that, no one wants you.” Tears now flooding down her face, she continues up the stairs. As she moves out of sight I can hear her sobs in the distance. I take a seat on the steps. I have never realized the pain my sister goes through everyday. She always appears just as she always has. Happy, smart, and kind. I feel numb with regret of my harsh words, emotion of this heavy morning, and longing to be young again. I come to only one conclusion. that I must accept the thing I hate, the thing I dread. An arranged marriage.




Please share, follow and +1 to help word of my blog get out. Thank you =)