by Kim Cormack
She heard Zach tease from the pool next to her, “You look like you’re imitating a rhino in the water at the zoo.”
Kayn realized she was still submerged except for her eyes. She almost giggled underwater because she was lurking under the surface making messed-up jokes in her mind. This was why nobody ever asked her what she was thinking about. She sucked in a mouthful of water and spat it at Zach, in the next pool. The servants appeared to be mortified at her immature behaviour. She had done it without thinking about it. There had been lots of people in this water and she became instantly grossed out. Kayn sunk back under the surface as he shot a mouthful back, opting out of retaliation for obvious reasons. She took her face out of the water and said, “What do you think that was about?”
Zach teased, “Maybe he was trying to decide whether or not he should have you executed for calling him an anal-retentive douche.”
Kayn replied, “He wasn’t royalty or anything. He’s Trinity. I saw his symbol.”
Zach splashed her and scolded, “You are still supposed to behave yourself Miss Brighton.”
The servants that had attended to her bath led her out of the bathtub and gestured for her to follow them while still dripping wet into a small sauna like chamber. They motioned for her to walk inside. So, against her better judgement, she did. The door was closed behind her and she was standing in the dark. Well, she didn’t like this…not one bit. The room began to hum and it became uncomfortably warm as a strong wind blew over her entire body. The sound stopped and there was a loud click. A girl opened the door and Kayn realized she was completely dry including her hair. That was kind of cool. It would have been far cooler if they’d explained what they were doing first. She was dressed in an exquisite gold shimmering gown. It was the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen. It was a bit big on her though. They led her to another small room the size of a shower stall. A lady asked her to step inside. The last stall had been okay. She didn’t hesitate and just entered. She stood there for a second in the dark with another humming sound. She winced as she was blinded by a couple flashes of light. They opened the door and she stepped out.
She looked at the lady who guided her from each room and questioned, “What was that room for?”
The tiny built delicate yet stern looking woman replied, “You can see for yourself.”
She led Kayn to a large full length mirror. Some things were obviously the same here. Kayn was shocked as she stood in front of it. They had old school bathed her and then pimped her out alien style in five minutes. Her dress had been altered and she had makeup on. She was strikingly beautiful. She was stunned by the transformation. She’d never felt more gorgeous. Her eye shadow was all bright oranges, teals and yellow. Her green eyes looked amazing. Her naturally curly blonde hair was all free flowing perfect ringlets. Her skin was golden tanned and flawless. Her lips were glossy and tinted. She felt like a woman. She looked like a goddess from ancient Greek mythology. Kayn stared at her reflection in absolute awe and said, “Wow… I didn’t know I could look like this.”
The lady warmed up a bit as she whispered, “You are just as pretty as your mother.”
This caught her attention, she turned to look at the woman and whispered, “You knew her?”
The lady’s eyes softened as she replied, “I knew her well. She was a good friend of mine. She stayed with us here for almost twelve years. The king was very much in love with her when she disappeared. She left without saying goodbye to anyone. When you see her tell her Cassis misses her terribly.”
Her clan had all pretended they didn’t know where she was. If Freja was hiding from the third tier that oversaw everything, that would explain the clans silence on her whereabouts. Was the King her father?
Cassis heard her thoughts and answered, “I don’t think so. She came to stay with him in lieu of being entombed for creating you. She was his prize. I’m not certain his feelings were ever returned by Freja. The King is a volatile man and not a forgiving one. I am a bit concerned for your safety this evening. Do not leave the safety of your clan for any reason.”
Kayn’s mother had been held here for twelve years. So far, it really didn’t seem like a bad place to be. Poor thing was probably dressed up like a princess and paraded around by a king. She smiled at Cassis and gave her a hug as she said, “I’ve never met Freja and the clan acts like they have no idea where she is. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I just survived the Testing. I’m tougher than I look.”
The lady that had been close with her mother warmly teased, “I bet you are.”
Silas walked through the flowing velvet looking curtains beside her. He caught his breath. It took him a moment to say something. He whispered, “You look so much like her.”
Once again, she resembled somebody else as she had for her entire life. She just wanted someone to say the words… Kayn, you look beautiful. She didn’t want to hear that she looked like Chloe or the woman who’d been her egg donor. She just wanted to be Kayn. Hadn’t she earned the right to be an autonomous person?
Silas smiled at her and added, “You’re beautiful Kayn. You resemble her but you don’t look exactly like her. You have the same hair and the same green eyes but your attitude and feisty personality is all your own. I’m just used to seeing you in a ponytail and shorts. You’ve always been my favourite of the twins and you’ve always been beautiful to me.”
Everyone could read her thoughts here. Also, she apparently had a stalker.
Silas chuckled, “I prefer to think of myself as a friendly observer. I was asked to keep an eye on you.” He motioned for her to follow him and stated, “The ladies are becoming rather impatient. They’ve been waiting for you. We have to stop by the treasury on the way.”
Kayn followed him through the long dimly lit passageways until they reached a stone wall. He walked right through it. She hesitated for a second before shutting her eyes for impact and following. Her eyes were still closed as she came through on the other side. She had gone through one of these walls before but it was still one of those things her mind couldn’t quite grasp. The instinct to not walk into the wall was far greater than the trust that she would come through unscathed on the other side. Perhaps, she’d walked into too many walls as a child? She froze as she took in the awe-inspiring room before her. A golden room full of jewels. The security wore gold loin cloths and held swords adorned with gems. If she touched anything, they’d probably frisk her. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing they were gorgeous. If she was just a little bit more experienced, she’d probably be trying to get caught stealing from these two. She had the sense she was being stared at. Silas was grinning. She seriously had to start remembering that her thoughts were always being listened to.
Silas pointed around the room and announced, “Choose anything you want to borrow for the evening but make it quick. They’re waiting for us.”
Kayn had never really worn jewellery. She had been given the odd ring or necklace for Christmas but they’d never left her jewellery box after she’d received them. When you are a little bit clumsy, you tend to leave expensive things at home. She wandered up to the wall of exquisitely set necklace and earring sets. She had no idea which one to choose. She was always overwhelmed when someone gave her a ton of choices.
Silas started to laugh, when she looked at him, he teased, “Would you like some help?”
She replied, “Yes, this is all a wee bit out of my element.”
Silas pointed at a few different ones. The guards climbed up, took them down and they were placed in see through cases in front of her. Kayn had gotten a pretty good look at one of the guard’s bits and pieces as he climbed above her and her eyes widened. Her cheeks reddened and she looked away. Silas grinned at her again but didn’t tease her.
He took the first one out of the see-through case and said, “Do you mind?” He reached around her and did up the clasp around her neck.
Silas passed her the earrings and she placed them in her ears. Medium sized yell
ow stones surrounding one large green stone and diamonds. She would hazard a guess that they were Emeralds and Topaz.
Taking a good look at her Silas preened, “Those are absolutely stunning. Do you want to try on something else? Do you need to take look in the mirror?”
This all felt so ridiculous. She had just survived the equivalent of her own personal hell and she was standing here picking out jewellery. Kayn replied, “That’s not necessary. I’m sure it looks great. I’ll wear what I have on. This is all way out of my comfort zone. I’m not a girl that is overly impressed with shiny things. I mean I know they’re beautiful but I’d be just as happy with a flower in my hair.”
“Where have you been all my life?” He teased as he took her hand and playfully towed her back through the wall.
As she strolled beside him arm in arm down the long corridor, Kayn spared, “I thought you already knew?”
Silas chuckled, “You have to keep up. There’s no time for messing around. You’re going to be late. Trust me… You of all people, do not want to make a grand entrance.”
She trotted along beside him quite grateful that she was barefoot. Had someone forgotten to give her shoes? She glanced down at Silas and he also had bare feet. Interesting, these people didn’t wear shoes. Lexy must be downright traumatized. She followed him towards another archway and passed through it into a large room where her friends had all congregated while waiting for her to arrive.
Zach’s jaw dropped open and he mouthed, “Wow.”
They all wore stunning gowns. Melody looked like an angel in a delicate white lace dress. Astrid was in a blue form fitting strapless satin dress. Haley had her natural blonde hair piled up into a bun but it still had pink tips. She looked like a ballerina with soft tendrils of loose hair framing her face. Zach also looked incredible but none of them had been done up to the degree that she had. What was going on? Maybe, she’d just down played her looks for so long that any effort made a shocking difference. Kayn stood before her clan in her form fitting glistening gold gown that had a slit on one side that traveled all the way up to the curve of her hip. She felt like a lion. Kayn felt like she had power over the uncomfortable situation she was about to walk into. Zach grabbed one of her hands and Melody grabbed the other one. Astrid and Haley joined the line on the other side of Zach.
Zach leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Triad is already in there.”
Melody whispered in the other one, “Just don’t make eye contact. Avoid eye contact completely. If you act like you don’t even see him, then you win.”
Had anybody won?
“Zach, you look like the luckiest man alive,” Silas stated as he anxiously surveyed the room.
Everything became quiet and the muffled sounds of chatter subsided. Their clan was announced and the doors opened revealing a dimly lit coliseum style banquet room with dining on each level. Oh good, because there’s nothing I love more than eating in front of people. They entered the hall to the music of a trumpet. That was incredibly weird. She was trying to stop herself from smiling but when the trumpeter began to play a well-known pop song she was forced to press her lips together to stop herself from laughing. Her emotions were all over the place. Both clans were sitting at the same long table. She scanned the room and saw where the open seating was. She met Frost’s eyes from across the room and knew the other end of the table would obviously be Triad’s. She made sure to look away before she accidentally made eye contact with him. Instead she stared directly at Frost as she walked towards the open seating at the table without taking her eyes off him.
Melody squeezed her hand and preened, “Good girl, just pretend he’s not even there.”
All eyes were on her, in an uncomfortable way. She tried to make sure she didn’t even glance at the King. There was that feeling of foreboding again. Curiosity got the best of her and out of the corner of her eye she snuck a peek at the long table where the royalty was seated. The royal family sat with a bunch of people that resembled famous actors and musicians from earth. That’s weird? Kayn sat between Frost and Lexy. She felt like everyone was staring at her. Silas had attempted to make her feel better but she knew she must look enough like Freja to render everyone speechless. Kayn accepted a goblet of wine as it came around on a tray. What appeared to be silken ropes dropped down from the ceiling and at least twenty women came in a procession through the door. All of them dressed in white. They wrapped the ribbons around their wrists and began to dance. They wrapped and entwined themselves up higher and tighter until they were suspended in the air performing. It was incredible. Kayn had seen acts like this but never with this kind of precision and fluidity. She was entranced by what they were doing. It was as though they were dancing in the air.
Frost leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You look absolutely breathtaking. Don’t spill wine on your dress love.”
She glanced up at him under a veil of eyelashes and replied, “Thank you and I’ll do my best.” Kayn smiled, instantly feeling much better. Leave it to Frost to lighten her mood with a well-timed sarcastic comment. She felt his eyes on her and noticed he was staring at her completely exposed hip at the top of her dress.
Kayn seductively crossed her legs and whispered, “Is something wrong?”
Frost teased, “You’re not wearing any underwear.”
She replied, “I hadn’t thought about it but I guess I’m not. With the whole no shoes thing, I just assumed everyone wasn’t wearing any.”
Frost took a drink from his goblet and as he lowered it he chuckled, “Now, there’s a thought.”
“Am I really the only one who isn’t wearing any underwear?” She whispered.
Lexy leaned over and whispered, “None of us are, just ignore him. He’s messing with you.”
Kayn smacked Frost’s knee under the table and he laughed.
He looked at Lexy and complained, “Party pooper.”
They had no cutlery? So, they had machines that you walk into to save time getting ready and that make alterations but no cutlery? She looked around the table and noticed everyone else pulling apart the meat with their fingers. They had buns and fruit and some sort of meat that she didn’t recognize.
Frost put some on her plate and said, “If you don’t eat anything, it’s an insult. Just eat it; you don’t want to know what it is.”
She ripped it apart easily, put a piece in her mouth and chewed. It had a strange texture. He was right, she probably didn’t want to know what it was.
Grey tossed a flat thing that looked like a thick rough edged tortilla across the table at her and urged, “Make sure you eat lots of this if you’re drinking tonight.”
He pointed at her empty wine glass. She took a giant bite of the bread and smiled because it tasted like bread. They brought around bowls of orange soup. Kayn glanced around, watching people pick up the whole bowl and drink from it. Others were dipping tortillas in it. They began to laugh and joke around as the wine took hold of the room. Kayn caught herself glancing at this King that had kept Freja here for twelve years. He was watching her eat. She smiled pleasantly at him and then looked away. She watched Grey wrap the meat inside the thick tortilla. He dipped it in the bowl and ate it. She did the same. The soup was quite spicy but delicious. She began to enjoy the meal and found that she’d ceased to care what kind of meat was in her tortilla. Some cakes and pastries were passed around the table. She selected a few, smiled at the boy serving them and politely said, “Thank you.” He smiled back but appeared to be confused.
Frost nudged her and explained, “They aren’t supposed to speak to us. Let me rephrase that they aren’t allowed to speak to us.”
Kayn picked up a pastry and stared at it critically as she replied, “That’s pretty stupid.”
Frost responded, “Yes. It is.”
Kayn sniffed the pastry and whispered, “What’s in this one?”
Frost took it from her hand and placed it on his plate. He found her a different one and whispered, “Open your mouth.”
She bit her lip and met his devious eyes with her own. She’d played this naughty little game with him before. She parted her lips and he slipped the creamy filled pastry between them. She began to slowly chew it and it was delicious. Frost seductively licked the cream from the treat he’d fed her off his finger. She watched him, knowing he was doing his best to entice her. He ate the one he’d taken off her plate and grimaced.
She grinned and whispered, “What was in that one?”
Frost swallowed it, winked, smiled back and stated, “Nothing good.” He stared at her for a second and motioned like she had something on her face. Her eyes widened and she unsuccessfully attempted to lick it off.
He chuckled and whispered, “Let me get that for you.” He took one of his fingers and touched her face. He showed her the cream on his finger and asked her if she wanted to lick it off.
Lexy piped in from the other side of her, “Lick that cream off your own finger Romeo.”
Before she had the time to see Frost’s reaction, music began and from the wall on the far side of the room something that resembled a rock climbing surface slid up from the inside of the floor. It kept going until it was flush with the ceiling. Then instead of smooth rocks on it, pointed spikes slid out. The whole set up was white and it appeared to be made of sculptured ice. Kayn leaned over and whispered in Frost’s ear, “What is that?”
He replied, “Our entertainment.”
Kayn noticed a nervous looking young man standing on a circular platform about ten feet from the sculpture. It rose into the air. What was he going to be forced to do? The platform stopped and hovered forty feet in the air. Six young people appeared and they walked slowly to the base of the structure. They began to climb to different positions. If they slipped they’d either fall to their death or become impaled on the frozen spikes. They extended themselves with athletic majesty from the structure and began a slow climbing dance routine. This was also beautiful. This went on for the remainder of the meal. It was hard to look away. The muscle tone that it would take to move lengthwise was nothing short of miraculous. How had they managed to keep it up for this long? She watched in awe as the climbing dancers began to lose hold of the rigid surface and drop to the ground. Kayn’s mouth dropped open. He was bleeding to death to the sound of a raucous applause. A giant pool of blood formed beneath him on the marble floor. A man in a red gown with intricate gold threading around his neck and waist appeared. He strolled over and clicked something resembling a flashlight on the wounded man. He solidified and turned gray. The man with the red and golden threaded gown kicked the fallen man’s form with his foot and he turned to dust. The man in the gown walked away. A woman in white swept up the dust with an enormous golden broom and walked the pile of what had once been a second tier under the elaborate archways and out the large double doors. As the doors swung closed behind her there was another applause. This was seriously messed-up. She understood that all of them were immortal and that death was nothing more than entertainment to this crowd. Kayn whispered, “What in the hell was that? Why are we applauding?”