Claimed

by Clarissa Cartharn

  “How does your family feel about it?” Tara asked, watching her closely.

  “Does it matter?”

  Tara pulled in a deep breath. “The Governor’s maybe your father, Ellie. But to the rest of us, he is still Governor Callum. So, his opinion does kind of matter in a way.”

  Ellie fiddled with her napkin, playing absently with its folds. She should have guessed that anyone who wasn’t related to the Callums would find it threatening to defy her father. It was widely known that the Callum women had always kept their distance from the impoverished locals of Sector 8. She, herself had never ventured into the poor districts until five months ago. Had it not been for Jared, she would never have known of their plight. She, like every other affluent citizen of Sector 8, had been living with the misbelief that all was well. And if there indeed was a person suffering, then it was due to their own poor life choices. It wasn’t any surprising wonder that those of Central distrusted people like her. They were never given any reason or opportunity to see them as anything else but rich, selfish jerks.

  “These people need our help, Tara. If you’re afraid of what my father may think of you, then there is nothing more to talk about. I understand how you feel. But I thought you would be interested since you have lived amongst them and know better than any of us of the burdens they bear each day,” Ellie said, gazing inside her now empty coffee cup. She had heard of tasseomancy and she wished she could have someone read her future too. Would she be happy with Edmund? Would she continue to regret ever having met Jared? Would her people accept her as more than the Governor’s wife? In a coffee cup, nothing remained other than the trace of deliciously fragrant coffee and cream at the rim of its mouth. And like her empty coffee cup, she was left in a quandary as to what her future would be like.

  Tara sat in silence, deliberating. “When do we start?” she said finally.

  Ellie looked up at her, her eyes widened with surprise. “You’re helping me?”

  Tara smiled. “How can I not? I can’t imagine you going out there all alone. You’d be completely lost.”

  Tara strolled into the kitchen and found Jared there, ravaging the pantry.

  “Hey,” she announced.

  He looked up at her and then straightened up. “You’re back.”

  She sat onto a bar stool, watching him retrieve a can of dog food.

  “How was she?” he asked as he pulled open the lid of the can.

  “She’s okay. I think she may still be upset about what happened between the two of you.”

  He played with the can, rocking it gently without spilling its content. “Is that why she asked to see you?” he asked slowly.

  “No. She never brought you up at all. But I can tell from her eyes she isn’t herself, Jared. It hurts me to see her like that.”

  He tightened his lips and then emptied the can into Wolf’s bowl. Wolf eagerly awaited by his side until Jared signaled his permission to eat.

  “There is nothing we can do about that,” he muttered. He tossed the can into the trash. “So, why then did she call for you?”

  “She wants to help the poor in Sector 8.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  “Why?” she remarked sardonically. “Don’t you think that it is awfully kind of her for stepping up and doing something for the people of Sector 8? No one from her class has ever bothered showing any genuine benevolence at all. She’s got a good heart, she has, that girl.”

  He tensed, his temples beating with that frustrating rhythm again. “Convince her to stay out of there.”

  “I tried. She won’t listen. She is even willing to defy her family.”

  “Tara, she’s not safe there. With the current protests and uprisings, I’m afraid her life could be in danger. Those people will not hesitate on venting their frustrations out on her.”

  Tara shifted uncomfortably.

  Jared raised his brows. “What is it, Tara? You’re hiding something.”

  She swallowed. “She visited the school and met with Julian Henley. She asked to volunteer.”

  He jaw tightened, anxiety knotting in the pit of his stomach. “And?”

  “He hasn’t welcomed her so far. But you know as well as I do, that’s gonna change the moment he finds some use in her for his cause.”

  His fist clenched. Why did the woman have to cause him so much pain and trouble? Why did she have to have any common sense? Couldn’t she simply have been like every other dumb wealthy bimbo he’d met so far? At least, he wouldn’t have to continually worry about her then.

  “You need to change her mind, Tara,” he said tersely.

  “And I told you she won’t. That is why I’ve decided to help her. She would be safer with me than she would be on her own.”

  “But…,” he argued.

  “You’ve got to trust me on this, Jared,” she interrupted him. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her too.”

  He stood there in silence, watching Wolf lick his bowl clean. “Thanks,” he whispered after a little while.

  She reached out for his hand and squeezed it. “It’s the least I can do for you. You do know I love you, little brother, right?”

  He squeezed her hand back. “You and Ellie both had better be safe.”

  “We will,” she smiled.

  *****

  Tara fidgeted nervously with the straps of her bag. She had never been back at Central since she had left it. She had often wanted to return to visit her friends but James had requested for them not to. She had been bitterly upset about it but she understood the reasons. In their rebellion against the government, they needed to keep a tight lid on Jared’s disguise. They had to prove that they were not associated with the poor in Central. They needed to pretend that they had discarded and obliterated that part of their lives forever.

  She looked over at Ellie as she licked her drying lips. By helping Ellie, she was placing her entire family at risk. But Jared loved Ellie and if she didn’t step up to help her, there was no way he would let her roam about the village without keeping his eyes on her.

  Her hand unconsciously grasped for her phone.

  “Have you got your phone?” Jared had asked her for the umpteenth time.

  “I have.”

  “And if anything goes wrong, you call me,” he had reminded her sternly.

  “I will,” she had replied, walking towards the doors. James had promised to drop her by the Callums and if she didn’t move any more quickly, she would be late on meeting Ellie. She despised tardiness and she was damned if she would be one of those who were in the annoying habit of turning up late; even if it meant that she wasn’t all too keen on the mission she was set out to accomplish.

  He caught her elbow before she made it to the door.

  “You call me,” he had repeated.

  “I heard you,” she had growled back. He was only trying to assure himself that they would be fine. But sometimes Jared’s protectiveness was stifling, she had huffed with annoyance.

  She clasped the phone tightly in her hand. She was glad for once that he was over-protective.

  *****

  Tara rapped lightly on the door. Tessa had been her neighbor for almost ten years. Their children had grown and played together. And whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on, it was always Tessa she had run to. If there was anyone she could trust in Central, it had to be Tessa.

  The blonde, trim late thirties woman swung the door open harshly, ready to hail her abuses at annoying kids who often played ding dong ditch at her door.

  “You better watch-” she froze in mid-sentence, staring at Tara. “Tara?” A wide smile broke her stern face and she leant over quickly to hug her. “Tara! Oh my god, you look different.”

  Tara laughed, eagerly hugging her friend back.

  “Damn, woman!” Tessa stepped back. “Let me look at you. Oh, the hair, the dress. You look absolutely gorgeous!”

  Tara laughed again. “I doubt that’s gonna happen. Spruced up a bit and that is all.”

/>   “Gah, you calling that sprucing, do you?” she dismissed lightly. “I missed you.”

  “Me too. The kids miss Bernie and Bryce. We all miss Central actually. Especially, Ma.”

  “Yeah, I can guess. But I’m so happy for you, Tara. Making it into upper Sector 8.”

  Tara smiled and turned a little towards to glance at Ellie who was waiting for her by the car.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t come by any sooner, Tessa. I’ve been having some… um… problems.”

  “Problems, shmoblems,” she waved her hands at Tara, dismissing her apology. “Don’t we all have them? I’m always here, right? When you’re ready to come check on me, I know you will.” She grew briefly quiet as if she was finding it hard to string a set of words. “How is Jared?”

  “He is fine,” said Tara, not entirely sure of what she was implying.

  “I saw that man in his fine car come to your house that night,” Tessa said concernedly. “And the next thing I knew, Jared was wrenching in pain. I saw you and that old man carry him into his car. He could barely walk. I was so worried seeing him like that. In fact, I’ve never seen Jared ill. But that night, he was drenched with sweat and almost unconscious from his pain as he was being dragged out to the car,” she shivered.

  “What happened to Jared?” Ellie interrupted.

  Tara spun around in shock. When had Ellie had walked up to them?

  “Ellie!” she spurted out dazedly.

  “What happened to Jared?” Ellie asked again, slightly more sternly than she had previously.

  “Nothing happened,” Tara blurted quickly. “He had gotten ill and James had arrived to take him to the hospital.” She licked her lips, wondering how she was to explain this to Ellie without alarming her. She looked up at an equally startled Tessa. She realized Tessa was finally beginning to recognize the beautiful stylish woman standing beside her. “Tessa, could we come in? There are some things we need to talk about.”

  Ellie frowned at Tara. “Is that all there was to it, Tara? Jared was ill?”

  “Yes…,” she replied hesitantly and then glanced at Tessa. “No.” She closed her eyes and reorganized her thoughts. “Please Ellie, let us sit down and then I’ll explain. Tessa?”

  *****

  The hall came alive with classical music. Ellie leant daintily against a pillar, watching the formally attired orchestra fill the air with somber melody. She faintly recognized it as Bach’s Air on a G String. Mesmerized by the fluid movements of the row of violinists, her mind drifted into a dreamy state. She imagined being lifted gracefully into the arms of Jared as he would swirl with her across the marble floors of Sector Hall. And as it drew to an end, she could almost feel his eyes bearing upon her as he would sweep her low, gradually leaning down slowly into her as he would kiss her.

  She nipped at her lower lip gently, her body stiffening at the mere memory of his lips against hers. They had been firm as they caressed the corners of her mouth and she shamelessly had parted them even more as he had surged in, delving into it with his tongue. She tremored at the memory, quivering with an unbearable burning ache at her inner core.

  A pair of hands grasped her waist from behind her and she froze.

  “Why are you hiding?” Edmund breathed against her ear.

  Her face reddened as if Edmund had caught her cheating on him in her thoughts.

  He caressed his cheeks against her face, turning to place a kiss at her neck. But she stepped aside as naively as she could and smiled. “You should be with your guests.”

  “You’re right,” he nodded, his mouth drawn tightly in deep thought. His hands still had her captured in the circle of his arms. “But they’re beginning to notice your absence. And I was beginning to feel lonely without you.”

  “Oh really? Well, then I should make it back before they miss me anymore.”

  He held her tightly, refusing to let her go. “Come to think of it, this is a good hiding place,” he drooled as he leaned forward.

  “Edmund, I… really,” she stammered confusedly. She didn’t know how to turn him down without offending him. Kissing Edmund seemed more like a betrayal to Jared rather than her fiancé.

  “Isn’t that just simply adorable, Henry?” Gail remarked, interrupting them. “So many years together and still hiding away to steal a smooch.”

  “How are you, Gail?” Ellie blushed as she reached out to lay a polite kiss on the older woman’s cheek.

  “Delighted, now I’ve seen you,” she beamed. “But why have I barely seen you at all tonight? I saw you speaking with the Johnsons but by the time I could make it round the room, you had disappeared.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ellie replied. “I’ve just been a little tired.”

  “And the Sector Dinner isn’t helping, is it?” she said sympathetically.

  “No, of course not,” Ellie denied politely. “I’m always thrilled to catch-up with the other Sector Executives. We don’t often get such a wonderful opportunity as this to do that.” She lifted her head to acknowledge the man beside Gail. “So how are things in Sector 5, Henry?”

  “Wonderful,” said Henry Linden, his circle of baldness on his head shimmered in the light of the chandelier above them. It was, though, his remaining silvery hair which amused and attracted her attention, and how it remarkably matched with his thick equally silvery moustache. “In fact, it has never been better… in comparison to what I have heard about Sector 8.”

  Edmund made a noise in throat, shifting uncomfortably at his feet. “That was just a minor ruckus caused by some insignificant trouble-makers, Henry. I can assure you we have them completely under control.”

  Henry Linden gave him a disapproving smirk. “Those little stirs would never have been given the opportunity to breathe in Sector 5. Governor Renshaw keeps a tight lid on everything that moves. He would have stamped it out long before in the early stages of their conspiracy. As for the rebels involved…,” he shook his head. “They would severely have had been reprimanded.” He glanced back at Ellie. “I heard of your little attempt at supporting the impoverished in Central. You do understand that those little baskets of food you take to feed them, encourages them to rise against the government and the corporations. You are not doing the society any good except stirring dissension among them; making them think that they’re lacking something.”

  “But they are lacking,” Ellie argued, her impatience for the man’s arrogance almost turning into rage. “Have you even been to these communities? There are starving children, sick elderlies, not forgetting the housing conditions are just as pathetic.”

  “Ms Callum, Sector 8 is much smaller in population in comparison to Sector 5. The problems are almost negligible. Every society has to be balanced with some downtrodden. A society without social issues is a Utopia. It is non-existent; a classic case of fiction. You can’t have a society eradicated of all its problems. There needs to be a balance.”

  Ellie huffed in disbelief with what he was saying. “So you think these people should be left at their miseries? With no help or assistance at all from us, the fortunate few who have every power and all the resources to elevate them to at least a dignified and respectable living status?”

  “They are exactly where they belong. We’ve never had an issue with it and neither did they for hundreds of years. We’ve been completely at peace with each other and fully accepting of how we interact. Why would anyone want to try and fix something that’s functioning perfectly well and in complete working order?”

  “Do you not at all hear the cries of children dying from the lack of food, starving because their parents are bringing pennies into the house despite their slaving in our factories, in our houses, in our farms from dusk to dawn? Do you not see the plight of the uneducated young who are desperate to learn just as much as our children? Why must we discriminate between classes? For god sakes, we’ve entered the thirty-first century, but we’re stuck in the rutting mindset of our heathen pioneers of the first!”

  “You forget, Ms
Callum that it is because of the errors of our ancestors that we have taken drastic calls to manage our society as how you describe it, displeasingly. Our two child policy management, lowering the economic dollar, the ban on firearms- these are what have saved the world today. It’s what has allowed the world to resurrect from the verges of extinction. And these fundamental laws of governance are what allow you to stand in this lavish hall and deliver your much fevered speech on the plight of the impoverished with such pomposity. Take your parents’ advice and stay away from the poor before you ruin the orderliness with your ignorance.”

  Ellie wasn’t ready to be beaten down by the obnoxious elite from Sector 5. She clenched her fists for another rebuttal but the little stirrings in the corner of the hall stole the man’s attention.

  “What is going on?” he remarked a little shakily.

  Edmund turned towards the racket pouring through the kitchen doors. “I’ll find out.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Ellie grunted angrily. She wanted to get away from the despicable older man. But to her annoyance he followed them towards the kitchen.

  The kitchen was in chaos with utensils and food scattered about it. The female staff cowered in the corner; some crying while the others counseled them. The chef was barking instructions at the men to clean up the mess evidencing that some sort of bedlam had occurred in the otherwise structured kitchen. Officers raced in and out of it, eager to regain some order.

  “What happened?!” Ellie grabbed a maid.

  “Oh, it was terrible, Miss,” the woman trembled. “They roared in, brandishing knives, axes and swords and stole all of it.”