by Sara V. Zook
The dress was making it all too real. Two weeks Emry had said. Two weeks. This dress was made for a queen. I stared hard at the girl in the mirror trying to find that queen. It was as if I were playing dress up with someone else’s clothes, someone else’s life.
“Henry,” I said. “Can you pinch me?”
He lowered his eyebrows. “What?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. “Never mind.” Looking up, Trishelle was giving me an annoyed look from the door. I ignored her and returned to the mirror. This is how your life turned out. You just happened to fall in love with Emry Logan, prince of Evadere. There was no way you could have foreseen this all unfolding. “Do you think the dress is too much?” I asked aloud.
Trishelle wrinkled her nose and hurried back over to me. “Are you having doubts about the dress?”
“Not the dress, just the model.” I lowered my head.
Trishelle and Henry exchanged glances.
“Anna,” Trishelle said. “You look absolutely stunning.”
“Stunning,” Henry repeated.
“The group of people beyond that door have worked hard on making that dress incredible and made just to fit your body. They’ve been dying to see their completed work, you wearing the dress,” Trishelle explained.
Stunning, I said over and over again in my mind.
Stepping down from the small platform I had been on, I took Henry’s arm again as Trishelle held the door open.
“Here she is,” Trishelle announced, stepping out ahead of me.
I took a deep breath. Even more contributors than this were going to see me in this dress in two weeks including Emry. I might as well take this opportunity to get my feet wet first.
Walking out into the main area of the tent, I kept my head down at first, slowly letting it rise so that my eyes could see the faces of the contributors surrounding me.
One of the women clasped her hands together and smiled. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. Great job, everybody. Great job.”
Others around her marveled at the sight of me. Someone started to clap, and everyone else chimed in and clapped, too.
I looked over at Trishelle who seemed thoroughly pleased. She made a circle in the air with her finger indicating for me to turn around so they could see the back. More clapping ensued. I couldn’t help but smile myself. Maybe the glamour covered up the focus that I was a human. Maybe I would be able to get through my wedding and the king and queen ceremony without feeling so paranoid that everyone attending despised me.
I returned to the back room and took off the dress. Henry and Trishelle grabbed the beautiful material immediately and left me alone to get dressed. I stood staring in the mirror again at my face wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I saw Henry come up behind me. I turned around.
“Henry, do you think you could help me find something to wear other than what I have on now?” I asked.
His eyes grew large as he nodded his head. “Of course. What did you have in mind?”
I shrugged. “Something more … from this world. Whatever’s in style.”
After a few minutes, he returned carrying a light red dress with a sparkly belt.
“Thank you,” I told him.
I put the fabric on. It hung just slightly off of one shoulder and came down to just below my knees. I put my shoulders back and raised my head up. No more human clothes here. I had to fit in, become one of them.
I could feel their eyes on me as I left the back room and walked to the door that led outside. This time I knew it was because they were seeing me wear their clothes.
“Goodbye,” someone shouted.
I turned around and waved.
Once outside, I looked up at the gloomy sky. Rain clouds were moving in.
“Very nice.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Trishelle.
“I very much approve,” she said, coming around front to admire what I was wearing.
“Henry picked it out.”
“Good choice.” She pressed her lips together and then put her hands on her hips. “I won’t be returning with you to the castle,” she explained. “I have some matters to attend to. Will you be okay on your own? The carriage won’t get lost or anything.”
I looked over at the empty carriage. Even though Trishelle made me uncomfortable on the ride over here, I was even more intimated by going anywhere by myself. I didn’t know how these carriages even operated. What if it broke down?
Trishelle held open the vehicle door and ushered me in. “You’ll be fine. I’ll see you in a few days to go over some ideas for the wedding banquet dress.”
“Banquet dress?” I asked, taking a seat in the carriage.
She nodded. “And Jo’s dress is being completed along with what the future king is going to be wearing. I have tons of things to do.”
She patted her hand on the side of the carriage. It began to move. I hung my head out the window. She was really staying here. Trishelle waved one last time.
I leaned my head back against the seat and swallowed the lump that had formed the moment I knew I had to return to the castle on my own.
This will only take a short while and you’ll be there. Relax. Breathe.
I turned my attention to the beautiful scenery around me that was disappearing and turning into grays and browns as the land of the fashion contributors ended and the middle of nowhere began. Dust began to kick up from underneath the carriage’s wheels almost creating a fog around me.
My nails dug into the soft cushion I was sitting on as I gripped it even tighter.
The mountains came into view, their jagged tops like broken teeth. My thoughts drifted back to the gruesome Scave camp, to Karn and his beard wrapped around his wrist, the overall horrendous stench that had polluted my nose and made me physically ill. My stomach was twisting right now.
I scanned the distance. I couldn’t see the castle yet. The road was too dry and the dust too thick as a result.
I had to change my direction of thinking. Carlin popped in to my mind and the guy that had been hanging out at her place. I closed my eyes and smiled.
Then suddenly something went terribly wrong.
Something was being forced down over my head. I opened my eyes to blackness. I reached toward my head to try to get it off but someone grabbed hold of both my wrists and yanked them behind my back.
Panic seared through me. The Scaves! The Scaves have me!
Something was being wrapped around my wrists, the skin on them being ripped open.
I tried to stand up but was pushed back down. I sucked in a shallow breath. It was hot with whatever it was on my head. The fear was paralyzing.
The side of my arm stung. Had I just been stuck by a needle?
“Let me go!” I screamed out, the tone muffled from what was on my head.
I tried to stand again. My legs felt like jelly. I slumped into the carriage chair, my breathing erratic.
This wasn’t happening. Oh, please, no.
I was going to die.
TWELVE
My eyes opened just a bit. They felt so very heavy. After several failed attempts, I kept them shut. My entire body ached.
“Look, man, she’s moving.”
Where was I? I tried to open my eyes again. They just wouldn’t budge.
My lips parted. I wanted to say something, but the same thing happened. My body wasn’t working right.
“What should we do?”
“Nothing. She’s still really out of it.”
Who was talking? What had they said again?
Concentrate. Concentrate. I’m just so very tired. I succumbed to sleep.
***
I focused on my breathing, in and out, in and out. I was awake again, wasn’t I?
My tongue rolled around uncontrollably in my mouth. I was so thirsty.
Water. I repeated the word in my head trying to speak the word. I didn’t hear myself say it.
Again, I tried to open my eyes. A sliver of white light po
ured into the darkness.
I opened my mouth to talk. A mumble came out. It sounded like a moan of desperation.
“Look.”
“How much did you give her?”
“Enough.”
“Too much? Don’t kill her.”
“Relax, man. She’s not going to die.”
“You’ll be in big trouble if she does.”
Something was very, very wrong with me. The heaviness fell over my eyelids again. I might not wake up again. My eyes fell shut, and the darkness came again.
***
“Come on, wake up.”
There was a tingling sensation in my fingertips. My throat felt raw and swollen. I couldn’t swallow. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. It was so dry. The hunger pangs in my stomach throbbed.
“Wake up.”
I heard a smacking sound. Someone was slapping me on my face. I barely felt it.
“Open your eyes.”
My eyes. The lids still felt heavy. Why wasn’t my brain and body working together? I struggled with the lids. They fluttered as if spasming.
“Wow.”
Who kept talking?
I finally got them open, but my eyes felt like they had a film over them. I blinked a couple of times trying to rid them of the blur.
“Okay. Good. Can you see me?”
I opened my mouth. Where was all my saliva?
A face formed before me. Blue eyes on a beautiful face.
“Emry?” I whispered, then coughed. Oh, my. It hurt so bad to cough.
“She has to be thirsty.”
My eyelids fluttered again and then felt something being placed to my mouth. My lips were cracked and oozing. Like my fingertips, they felt tingly. There was pain but not as much as my throat. That was the worst. The water was being poured into my mouth. It slid down my throat with instant relief. I raised my arms and grasped the cup and drank until it was all gone.
“More,” I mumbled.
The cup was taken away and brought back. After that was gone, the thirst still persisted.
“Now listen, Anna. I’m going to ask you some questions. If you behave and answer, you’ll get more water. Got it?”
I squinted my eyes. There were more people around, but this film on my eyes wouldn’t go away. Drowsiness came over me again. My eyes closed.
“No,” a voice said sharply. “Open your eyes.”
I stared at the face again. “Emry, why are you doing this?” I paused to inhale. I was thinking about how to breathe properly again. “Emry, what’s going on?” I reached out for his hand. He ripped it away. I tried to think about why he was acting like this, but then my thoughts returned to breathing, the sore throat, the hunger and thirst. “I’m so … tired.”
“You’re not going to sleep just yet.”
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Anna, where are you from?”
I heard the question, but all my thoughts were a jumbled mess. Besides, Emry knows where I’m from.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Just shut up.”
“You can barely understand her as it is.”
“Anna.”
“Hmmm?” I looked up at Emry. His face twisted together and then returned to a faded version of himself.
“Where are you from? Work on concentrating.”
“Water,” I mumbled.
“Yes, water, after you’ve answered. It’s like a game. You answer, I give you water.”
Think I commanded myself. I tried to calm my breathing and let it go on autopilot. After a few moments, the answer came to me.
“Seneca,” I replied.
“See, I told you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Anna, are you a human?”
Something oozed from my lips. The tingling sensation from my fingers zipped up both arms. I panicked. My heart began racing. I could hear it thumping. Why wouldn’t it slow down? I can’t control it. Why can’t I control it? What’s happening to me? I’m losing control.
“Anna.”
I stared up at Emry again. I opened my mouth. “Water.”
“She did answer one question already.”
I felt a cup being placed to my lips. The cold liquid rushed in. A few gulps and it was empty.
“Are you human?”
My heart was still beating wildly, but I had to drink more. I had to push the thoughts about my heart away and think about his question.
“Yes.”
More water was given.
“What a fun game this is.”
My head rolled forward. Exhaustion was consuming me. I struggled to keep my eyes open again and then allowed them to go shut.
***
A sharp pain radiated throughout the side of my head. I opened my eyes. I was laying down, my cheek pressed against the floor. Sunlight was on my face, blinding me even more. I attempted to move. Every part of my body hurt. The hunger pangs and severe thirst returned.
Two black boots stepped in front of my face. The person squatted next to me, bending down even further to look at my face. They smiled. It was Emry again.
My eyes moved around the room, but the sun was so bright. I saw two others. Their faces mashed together and then returned. I gasped, and a shrill squeal escaped from my dry throat. They were Scaves, the bones of their face protruding, their beards extending down to their waists. They, too, smiled revealing their jagged teeth.
“I’m sick of this. I’m sick of her.”
“She’s already hurting I’m sure.”
“Who cares. She’s going to die anyway.”
Emry said I was going to die. I tried to process it, but my eyes were glued to the Scaves. Why wasn’t Emry doing anything, and why weren’t the Scaves trying to harm him?
The confusion and the lack of energy made my stomach churn. I felt like throwing up, but my stomach felt so empty as if it had shriveled up and was now just a tiny ball of pain.
“I’m sick,” I mumbled.
“Yes, you are sick. You’re very sick in fact. We don’t think you’re going to make it.”
No one was trying to help me. Maybe I couldn’t be helped. I was too far gone to be saved.
“Why do you want to be queen?”
I could hear my lungs pumping air throughout my body. The sensation was horrifying and sent panic searing through my veins. I took a few breaths in. My body didn’t know how to exhale. I felt my breath get stuck. I was suffocating because my brain couldn’t remember how to let the oxygen out. It felt like a particle of dust was sticking in my throat. I choked, then coughed, the breathing being released with the cough.
“I don’t,” I replied.
“Then why do it?”
My eyelids fluttered. My left hand trembled.
I hesitated and focused. “For love.”
I waited for the voice to continue with questions. There was only silence.
“Water,” I pleaded.
A cup was thrown down at me, the cold liquid spilling onto the floor beside me, the edges of the small pool reaching my lips. I tried to stick my tongue out to lap up some of the drops. My eyes shifted to where the Scaves had been. They were gone.
Blackness came.
***
When I opened my eyes this time, the fogginess had left me. I was lying sideways on a cement floor. Every joint and muscle in my body throbbed. I tried to move, but it hurt too much and I was weak. The fatigue was similar to one I had experienced after Atavia had used her powers on me. I had been close to death then. Surely I was also close to death now.
It was dark and cold, my entire body shivered from the waves of chills that washed over me. I was in a large, open area with just the cement floor beneath me and metal beams exposed above holding up a rusting, metal roof. I was all alone.
What had been happening to me? How long had I been here?
My thoughts were more coherent now. I no longer had to think about my heart beating or taking a breath. I could focus on the m
isery I was in, yet grateful for this cold air surrounding me, numbing the pain.
Nothing but a pattern of joy followed by physical torment played out in my life since I had met Emry. Lauren Anderson had thrown me like a puppet down those basement stairs, and somehow my life had been spared from dying down there. Atavia had used her powers on me, and again, I was nursed back to health.
Was there any hope of my making it out of this one alive?
It had been quite the journey of a quiet preacher’s daughter to falling in love with a prisoner at Seneca County Prison, one who just happened to have strange powers, was not only from another world but was also the prince of that world, too. The naïve, boring person I used to be had emerged into this pitiful woman lying helpless on this cold, hard floor. However pitiful I was now, at this moment, couldn’t erase the fact that I now knew there were other people who survived in other worlds outside of Earth, and that they experienced the same kind of discriminations there as humans did. Differences separated people, made their hearts hardened, their opinions hostile. Someone considered weak was looked down upon, exposed for who they are and cast away.
I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t form any tears.
I was supposed to marry Emry Logan, become queen, and even though nervous and lacking confidence of acquiring such a title, I did think I could be effective at bringing peace between the contributors and Scaves. Somewhere, somehow there had to be a middle ground. Emry had powers. I didn’t. We were in love and bound to each other forever. If we could live simultaneously, why couldn’t others? The contributors may hate me, but they accepted, if not tolerated me at the very least. Life was short and fragile. We shouldn’t be so careless to cast it away.
Surely I wasn’t going to make it out of this one this time. My luck had probably run out, but I wasn’t going to lay here and spend my last moments wallowing. No, I was grateful for the experiences I had had. No other human, besides Cami and Cassie, had been given such an opportunity to know that Earth wasn’t the only planet out there with life, that another world can hold its own beauty. I had discovered its secrets and had found someone that loved me for me, for the human I was, powerless, weak and ordinary.
I didn’t feel like my life had been wasted after all. At least I had been able to help Jo live a life at the castle, have food on her plate every day and a soft place to rest her head at night. Cassie had been returned with her family on Earth. I hope she’s happy with her life now and adjusting well.