Lush Trilogy

by S. L. Baum

“Hope made that possible for us.”

  “Do not say that woman’s name,” Aspen hissed, slamming her hands down on the table. She pushed herself up to a standing position.

  “Temper, temper.”

  “She doesn’t exist, anymore,” Aspen whispered.

  I knew I needed to get up from where I was crouched on the floor. It would not be a good thing for Aspen to turn around and see me, sitting in the hallway outside her door. I used the wall to support my wobbly legs as I stood up and began to slowly inch back toward my room, keeping myself out of sight.

  “Don’t let Bluebell stir up forgotten memories for your husband.”

  “She’s not. She won’t, I’m taking steps. The past has been erased. Jackson consumes whatever he is told to, without question. And after this many years, could the memory of her really come back to him?”

  “I highly doubt it. There is nothing to remind him of her any more, except Bluebell, of course.”

  “I’m grooming her into something that she never was. Jackson would never make the connection between the two of them. I’m ending this chat, Father. Jackson is due home any moment, and I must get to bed. We have a big day ahead of us, tomorrow.”

  “The Gala must go off without a hitch. See that it does, dear daughter,” he ordered.

  “It will,” Aspen dryly replied.

  I heard the beep, which indicated the end of the video chat session, and without knowing for sure, I was pretty sure that Aspen was the one who terminated the connection. I stepped backward as quietly as I could and slipped back into my bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief. Once the door was closed behind me, I collapsed onto my bed.

  The room started to spin. I closed my eyes and brought my hands up to my face to cover them, blocking out the light. My head started to swirl, and then it began to pound. I ached with pain. I rolled over onto my side, curling myself into a ball. My knee knocked into something hard.

  My personal tablet was still on the bed where I’d left it. I opened my eyes and stared at the blank screen. My mind tried to process the information in the story that I’d been reading; Lost on the Way to the Beach. The story wasn’t really a story though… it was simply real life. It was about me, about my childhood, about my life. My father had taken a second wife, and I had another mother. She’d been a real mother, someone who had loved me, and she hadn’t wanted to give me up. My mother was trying to get us to a boat, days before I was to attend Training Tech. But my father had stopped her before we could sail away. He had me taken away from her. “Back to my home,” he’d said to the man who’d grabbed me. But what had happened to her? Where was my real mother? Where was Hope?

  I sat up, opened the top drawer in my bedside table, and pulled out the container of Pain Relief I kept there for emergencies. After I opened the container, I took a bottle of enhanced water from the cooler drawer below. I took three of the pills from the container and washed them down with the bottled water. As I twisted the cap back on the bottle, I noticed its label. It was a different color than the ones Aspen usually kept stocked in my room, red instead of orange.

  My head started to feel heavy. The pounding had immediately subsided, but that pain was replaced with another as my eyes began to feel heavy and ache. A yawn escaped my mouth. It was hard to focus on any one thing in my room. I just wanted to lie down. I let myself fall back on the bed and held the bottle up close to my eyes, squinting as I forced myself to focus on the words written in black ink across the red label: Sleep.

  Just perfect, I thought.

  The bottle slipped from my hand as I curled myself up against my pillows.

  Sleep took over.

  “Get up, Bluebell.”

  I rolled over on my back and blinked up at the woman who was standing over my bed looking down at me. My mind was still half in sleep mode and it took me a moment to register that the woman was Aspen, with a newly blonde head. Although, her hair still seemed darker at the roots to me, not quite the single color she had professed to my father she was going to change it to. “Your hair,” I mumbled.

  She smoothed her hands over her tresses. “It turned out well. Don’t you agree?”

  I pushed myself up so I could sit on the edge of my bed. My legs dangled over the side. “Um, sure.” I knew she didn’t want an opinion, just a confirmation of her own assessment.

  “It seems like you’ve had a good, solid night’s sleep. I’m so glad I put some Sleep water in here yesterday. You looked like you needed some uninterrupted rest. If it were up to me, you would not stay up late reading on that tablet of yours. You are getting dark circles, and it is not a good look. No. Not at all.”

  “My tablet?” I asked and looked over at the bag that was resting against the desk in my room. It was designed to hold more than one tablet… wasn’t it? I smoothed my hands out to the side of me, across the bed, and glanced down as I touched something hard. “Oh, my tablet.”

  Aspen laughed. “Yes, both your personal one and the Ambassador one. The lending library registers that you’ve downloaded quite a few stories to read. Between those stories and all the material that Cimarron gives you, I was afraid you’d stay up all night reading. Sleep was a perfect solution. Tired eyes are not pleasant to look at. Stories,” she scoffed. “I never understood the allure of them. They are a waste of time!”

  Stories. I wouldn’t want to exist with out them. I didn’t voice my opinion though, it was pointless to argue with her. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the last thing I’d read, but gave up with a shake of my head as a dull throb arrived.

  Aspen gave me a look.

  “Headache,” I said, rubbing my temples. “I had one last night too, well, I think I did.”

  “Take some Pain Relief. It works wonders.” Aspen reached down to retrieve the bottle of Sleep water that was lying on the floor. “But don’t drink anymore of this,” she said, throwing the bottle in the wastebasket by my door. She took two pills from an open bottle on my bedside table, grabbed two small bottles of water out of the cooler drawer, and handed them all to me. “Vitamin water now, then an Energy one later. We have a long and exciting day ahead of us, and you need to be fully awake. The Lush Ambassador’s Gala… it’s quite exciting! Although I still don’t agree with The Council’s decision to have you share this special event with that friend of yours. Head of Armory… as if that is anywhere near as important,” she turned around to walk out of my room.

  I swallowed the pills. “Thank you, Aspen.”

  She paused at the doorway and then turned back to look at me. A small frown was on her face. “I thought we settled this. It’s Mother.”

  “Of course.” I nodded. “Mother.” The word sounded strange on my tongue… bitter.

  “Mother and daughter. I think we will both be turning heads tonight when we show up wearing such amazing gowns. I would like you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Cimarron is on her way over to assist and guide you today. We will start with a healthy, but very light, breakfast. I don’t want you looking bloated, that wouldn’t do at all.”

  I barely caught her last sentence; it was spoken quietly while exiting my room.

  By the time I stood up from the bed, my head felt better. It always surprised me how fast medicines could work, but I was usually hesitant to use them. When I was at Training Tech, I’d test myself, trying to see how long I could bear something before I turned to Medical for relief. I’d drink extra water if my head hurt, I’d take the time to stretch out my muscles if they ached, and I had taught myself to breathe in a deep, steady pattern if I felt anxious… it was calming. There were many things I could fix, all by myself.

  Most of my friends were quick to seek out instantaneous relief, and would take pills or liquid medicines on a daily basis. I stared at the bottle of pills, it was one of the many Drugs that were distributed by Medical. There was something for everything. This one for Pain. This one to be Happy. This one to eliminate all Allergens. This one to Calm. This one to Shed Fat. I’d always been so determined to not b
ecome dependent on substances to “fix” things in my life. But looking at the evidence, it was apparent I had taken some Pain Relief washed down with Sleep water. It was uncharacteristic of me.

  I had a flash of something that wasn’t quite a memory, just a feeling. I was upset before I drank that Sleep water.

  Wasn’t I?

  “Bluebell, hurry, dear,” Aspen called out. I heard the click of her shoes as she walked down the stairs.

  Was I?

  “I will be down in a few minutes,” I answered.

  It didn’t really matter. It wasn’t something I had time to think about. I needed to get moving.

  I stood up and shook my head again. It seemed in need of clearing, but no matter what I did, my mind refused to clear. The pain was gone, but my mind felt fuzzy, foggy, and clouded.

  I looked down when I realized I wasn’t wearing nightclothes, and then started to unbutton the shirt that I’d worn the day before. My clothes weren’t nearly as wrinkled as they should be. I must have stayed in the same position all night long. That would explain my stiff joints and achy muscles. After pulling the shirt off, I stretched my hands high over my head and yawned as I walked into my closet. I knew that I wanted something completely comfortable to wear; these would be my last moments of comfort before I was primped, styled, and made-up for the evening.

  Aspen was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with another woman. I stared at her for a moment before recognition sparked in my eyes. It was Cimarron. Of course… Aspen had just said Cimarron was on her way over.

  “Are you alright, Bluebell?” she asked.

  “A little fuzzy, is all. I almost didn’t recognize you,” I admitted as I gave Cimarron an uneasy smile. “I think it’s nerves.”

  Cimarron gave me a reassuring smile. “You’ll do a wonderful job. I have complete faith in you. Shall we sit down to eat before we go over your little speech? It should flow comfortably. Our last practice was nearly perfect.”

  The speech? The speech! The speech that I’d worked so hard on, the words I was supposed to repeat in front of the entire Gala, would not come into my brain. My eyes widened in panic.

  “Bluebell?”

  “It’s totally and completely gone,” I breathed. “I can’t think of a single word to that speech, and we worked so hard on it!”

  Cimarron turned to Aspen. “Is she medicated? I’ve never seen her like this.”

  Aspen shook her head. “Of course not! I put some Sleep water in her room last night; she drank half a bottle. And she’s had a couple of Pain Relief pills. That is all!”

  Cimarron took my hand and rubbed my arm as she guided me into the dining room. “I’ve heard Sleep can do that sometimes. We’ll just have to jog that memory. Plus, the speech will be on a large clear tablet, just like the one we’ve been practicing with, and it will be positioned in front of you. It is supposed to be used strictly as a back up, but if you need it it’s there.”

  I nodded my head in understanding and hoped the words truly would come back to me.

  We each sat down in front of a plate with an oat muffin, a small bowl of sliced fruit, and a glass filled with multi-juice.

  “Maybe if she eats something it will help,” Aspen suggested. She was talking to Cimarron without looking directly at me.

  I tore off a piece of the muffin, placed it in my mouth, and chewed. “I feel better already,” I said. I didn’t like the way they were looking at me.

  “Eat first. Talk later.” Cimarron patted my hand.

  “Yes. At least swallow before you speak,” Aspen scolded.

  I nodded again. It seemed to be all I could do. The fuzzy feeling in my head was still there. It was very faint, but I didn’t like it. I wanted it to go away.

  Wake up, Bluebell, I told myself.

  Chapter Two

  Makes you Smaller

  “Do I really have to wear that thing?”

  Aspen, Cimarron, Raleigh, and I were standing in the middle of the sitting room, which had temporarily been converted to a staging area so Aspen and I could be primped, prodded, and picked at, to prepare us for the Gala that evening. The beauticians had just left. I’d heard the beeping of the front door as they’d exited, just moments before.

  Aspen looked at me. I could see her patience dissolve before my eyes. She had reached the end of what little she had. I’d questioned her one too many times when the skin glow treatment was being administered and then again while the hair and make-up team was at work. I still didn’t see the need for the blue shimmering gems that had been glued on to the skin near my eyes or the extra long, dark, lash extensions which had been applied.

  “It slenderizes and smoothes everything out,” she answered. “Just shimmy yourself into it. You’ll be a size smaller.”

  I looked at the bizarre garment she’d given me with distaste. It looked like something a ten year old would fit into and I was supposed to just shimmy myself into it. I stepped inside the opening at what I figured was the top, and yanked, pulled, jumped up and down, and maneuvered it up my body. When I had the garment in place, it spanned from just under my bust to just above my knees. I could hardly breathe.

  “Is this really necessary?” I huffed as best as I could, considering the constrictions placed on my rib cage.

  “Absolutely. You’ll be in front of every single member of Concord tonight. The whole Gala is to be broadcast. You must be flawless, this evening.”

  “I can’t even take a deep breath.”

  “Then take small ones.”

  I turned my head to the side. “I bet Lily’s mother isn’t making her wear anything so absurd.”

  Aspen cut her eyes at me. “Raleigh, she is ready for her gown, now,” she called into the other room, choosing not to respond to my remark. Her hatred of Lily and I sharing the Gala seemed to be growing by the second.

  Raleigh stepped through the doorway with my pale blue gown draped over her arm. I loved the shimmer in the fabric. As I watched her lay the gown across the settee in the room, I forgot about my inability to breathe freely, and a contented smile washed over my face as I remembered the way the gown looked on me.

  “I bet that encroaching, undeserving family didn’t find a gown this lovely, either,” Aspen whispered under her breath.

  No matter how many times I tried to see things through her eyes, I didn’t understand why she was so against the head Councilman’s granddaughter and the head of Armory’s daughter having a shared Gala. The fact that Lily was my best friend, made it hard for me to see it as anything but the greatest idea ever. I was sure to have a fun and entertaining evening with my friend at my side.

  Raleigh stood by the settee and motioned for me. “Come over here, Bluebell. You’re going to step carefully into the gown, and then your mother and I will pull it up and into place. I do not want the fabric to rip, so watch where you step, and stay very still as I adjust and fasten it into place,” Raleigh warned.

  I walked over to where she stood, taking smaller than normal steps; it was all I was able to do with the smoothing garment’s constricting influence on my body. “How am I going to manage this?”

  Raleigh looked at me and shook her head in disbelief. “Just hold on to my shoulder and lift up one leg at a time.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  I rested one hand on her left shoulder as I gingerly stepped into the dress. I loved the way it pooled on the floor and then billowed around me as Raleigh and Aspen gently lifted it into place. The fabric was so light and shimmery, just as I remembered it. As soon as the dress was all the way up, Raleigh began to work on the closures. There were several of them, all carefully hidden in the side stitching. I stood perfectly still, with my arm raised, as she fitted them together.

  When Raleigh stepped back, I turned to the mirror. The strapless bodice, with its draping and texture reminiscent of flower petals, fit snugly to my chest, enhancing my curves. The satin ribbon, which sat just under the bust line, tied securely at the back as it had the first time I’d tr
ied it on. But the once loose and gloriously billowy skirt had been altered to be tighter around my waist and hips, and then flare to the floor from there. I twisted my body back and forth and watched the skirt twirl about my legs. At least it still twirls, I thought to myself.

  “Stop moving around so much,” Aspen scolded.

  My body stiffened at the command and I stilled. “Sorry. It’s just so pretty, and I love the way the fabric moves and shimmers as it catches the light.”

  I looked up to find Cimarron standing in the doorway, smiling at me. Aspen had graciously offered the use of our hair and make-up team, and I had never seen her look quite so stunning. “It is beautiful,” she agreed with me. “I just finished up with my pre-Gala report and sent it off to my superiors. And now, I must go home to change. I’ll meet you at the Gala.”

  “Thank you for your help with the speech today.”

  “You were worried for nothing. As soon as I pulled the text up on my tablet, you remembered it all. Just a small case of nerves,” Cimarron said with a smile.

  I had been so relieved when the memory of the speech returned. I sighed heavily, just thinking about the stress that had been lifted as the words suddenly reappeared in my brain. “I guess it was. See you soon?”

  “See you soon.”

  “Goodbye, Cimarron.” Aspen gave her a dismissive wave.

  Raleigh knelt down to tug at the hem of the gown and smooth out the fabric. She looked up at me and beamed with pride. “I do have an eye for fashion and fit.”

  Aspen looked at me with approval. “Yes. You do. It is a perfect choice. I need to run upstairs and put on my own perfect choice. I can’t let my daughter have all the attention.”

  “Do you need any assistance?” Raleigh asked.

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ll have Jackson help with the closures. He’s been upstairs for quite a while now. He’d better not be asleep. You can go home to prepare yourself, Raleigh. And Bluebell, you should go over the checklist I sent to your tablet,” Aspen rattled off directions in her normal authoritative manner. Everything about her, from the way she stood, to the way the walked, and especially the way she talked, let the people around her know that she was used to being obeyed.