United, page 18
part #4 of Protectorate Series
“I would say just about everything they can, except oats. It’s kind of a sore spot for most.”
“I suppose,” he said with a shrug of his own. “It does store well though and lasts a significant amount of time. Not to mention so easy to prepare, and great feed for livestock.”
“It’s a lot of corn, you’ll find,” I said with a sleepy yawn. “They like to grind it into cornmeal as well to use it in a lot of ways and there is a paddock up on the mountain where there are some sheep and cattle. Corn is great for them I guess. They do make a type of porridge with it too. I think it’s called grits. You get used to it,” I added quickly.
Charles was still scanning his list with excitement. I didn’t think I had ever seen someone anticipate a chore list quite like it. But then I knew, like me, he had grown up in the Outskirts and been chosen himself. He knew what manual labor was from those first memories at least. Surprisingly, he seemed really excited to do some of it himself for the first time.
“How about we let Ella get to her own chores so she can head to bed too, dear,” Virginia said softly to her husband in an exhausted tone.
“Oh, yes, of course,” Charles said with a slight chuckle in his voice.
It wasn’t until halfway through the first group of breakfast that I was able to finally get away. There had been little for me to do from the moment I walked into the industrial kitchen which had only made the few hours of chores seem like an eternity.
It didn’t matter the day I was set to help with the food processor, it was always with the same group of women. Each person was assigned to a meals unit, farming unit, and cleaning rotation unit of common areas. I had made a few friends in my other two units but this particular group of all women never seemed to give me a second glance.
I didn’t mind it too much any other day, and today, in particular, I would have been grateful for the solitude. I was in no mood to be sociable. In fact, I was realizing in my overly exhausted state, I was less in control of myself. A sudden banging of a large pot sent me on high alert and it was all I could do to keep my vision clear and the beast tucked away.
But it always seems that the one day you plan on something is the exact day that things don’t go that way. Instead of the usual indifference to my presence as I worked beside the ladies, I was keenly aware that many of them were focused on me with pointed whispers.
I wanted to reach my hearing out, it was a mental muscle that I had flexed enough in the past. Today, I didn’t trust myself. So instead of making life easier and using my freak abilities, I was left to wonder and do my best to catch little snippets like a regular old human being.
As I walked down the corridors on autopilot to my room after finally giving up my duties to the oncoming shift of servers, I considered the small bits I had heard. I was sure there was the mention of Venus Verticordia. After my round of the settlements only a few months past, though that seemed like a lifetime now, I became pretty accustomed to the name. Still, I was certain that this particular group, who I never once considered would like me, were the last on my list of Verticordia fan club.
I would have excused the small snippet as perhaps a mock at the naïvety of others to consider me worth such a title, except on several occasions I had caught two or three of them not eyeing me with disdain or disbelief at such a title around my neck, but pure curiosity at the possibility.
In truth, I hadn’t spent much time at headquarters, let alone with my meal rotation unit, and maybe the Venus opinion had even spread to some of my hardest critics in that time frame. I decided it would be worth the embarrassment of the name if it meant meal rotations involved a little less hostility.
When I got back to our room, Theo, who had been a part of the morning watering rotation, appeared to have dozed off while waiting for me. I smiled at the image. He was seated upright in our narrow bed, barely big enough for one, with his back against the hard-packed wall and arms crossed in front of him.
His head had slumped forward so that little of his face could be seen below his golden hair. I could make out a soft snore as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. I wasn’t used to sharing the room just yet with a spouse, and hadn’t been very quiet as I entered. Still, he slept on.
I guessed his time with the Guardians had trained him well enough to get sleep when and wherever he could despite any noises around him. Still, now knowing he was asleep, I slipped out of my boots so as to keep even the soft pad of shoes against dirt floor from waking him. I would have liked to just crawl into bed next to him, not caring that it would be a rather awkward sleep for the both of us, but I was desperate for a shower. I knew without one I was unlikely to get any good sleep. Unlike Theo who could have probably slept in a mud pit with a parade marching by, not needing a lot of sleep usually meant it was kind of a fickle thing for me.
I made my way over to the small dresser and pulled out some fresh clothes as quietly as I could. The need to move stealthily only awakened the beast more. I guess I should have been concerned about that, but honestly, I knew with Theo near I had nothing to worry about. I was sure even the beast wouldn’t harm him.
Theo only jostled once in his snoring when my bag of toiletries clinked together as I pulled them from under the bed. Quickly pulling the extra blanket at the end of our bed over his sleeping frame, I exited the room before I could make any more noise that might wake him.
Twenty minutes later I was showered and ready to finally get some sleep of my own. In all honesty, I think my eyes were only half open as I made my way back to my room barefooted and scrubbing as much moisture out of my hair as I could. I guessed that was why I didn’t notice DJ coming straight at me until we collided.
“No,” he yelled as the tablet he had been holding in his hand smashed between us tumbled to the floor.
Without so much as thinking, my incredibly fast reflexes reached down and caught it just before it reached the dirt. In the swift movement, my wet, red mop of hair had flipped forward, shrouding me in a curly jungle.
“Nice catch,” he complimented as I came back up with the tablet in my hands.
I took a second to dig my way out of the tangled mass I had been too lazy to brush. Once my vision was again cleared, I noticed that DJ had already gone back to whatever was on his tablet. It wasn’t unlike DJ to walk around so engrossed in his work that he didn’t pay much attention to others around him. Usually the rest of us were just smart enough to get out of his way.
“Trying to get into the server?” I asked.
He still stood in front of me, too engrossed in his work to continue on to wherever he was going. I knew little about computers and hacking into anything, but I figured the long scrambles of intangible numbers couldn’t be anything else.
“Yeah,” he said without looking away. “Just give me a sec.”
I never understood how he could hold a tablet in one hand and type in a mad frenzy with the other. It always took me forever to type something out and that was with two hands. He paused for just a second and we both collectively held our breath until a large red warning passed his screen and the tablet crashed. DJ cursed under his breath, held the button to restart the tablet, and then shoved it under his arm while it began to reboot.
“Just had to go pee real quick. I kind of figured this attempt was a dud but I wanted to see it through,” he said, meeting my curious eyes while his tablet restarted.
I could tell that worry and anxiety had marred his face, but still, he gave me one of his boyish smiles.
“Don’t let me keep you waiting,” I said, stepping more to the side to let him pass in a dramatic, teasing fashion.
“Where’s Theo?” he asked, looking down at me and studying my features.
It didn’t matter that he was a few years my junior; like Theo he was over six feet tall and over towered my small frame.
“Asleep. I think he passed out after his morning chores,” I told him, unable to hide the smile that curled at my lips at the image of Theo’s soft snores.
“I hope you’re headed that way too, kitten. Not to be mean but you look like sh— “
“Thanks,” I interrupted.
I knew I looked like hot crap on a stick, and that DJ meant it in a brotherly way, but still, I couldn’t help but try and twist my long curls to one side.
“Don’t worry about your hair, worry about those horrific dark circles under your eyes,” he said with a chuckle at my action.
“You don’t look too great yourself, you know?”
“Yeah, but no one will care if I look like the living dead. If you want I can message Jessica for you ‘cause right now this is downright terrifying,” he said, motioning to my whole face.
I gave him a good hard slug in the arm.
“Nothing a little beauty rest can’t fix,” I said with a sarcastic roll of my eyes.
“Let’s hope so. You only have a week till the big day, and honestly, if you slept the whole time I still don’t know if it would be enough.”
I thought about socking him again or maybe smacking that triumphant smirk of superior wit off his face, but his words had caught my attention.
“What do you mean a week?”
“Did you miss the message? Ursula just sent out the announcement to everyone. Your big, live-broadcasted wedding is a week from today. People are scurrying around right and left already to make it the biggest, best event they can muster considering the circumstances.”
“Why?” I said with disgust at the idea of a huge extravagant event even in the best of times but certainly now.
DJ shrugged his shoulders.
“Guess Ursula is hoping that when I hack in and broadcast it, it will show dear old Dad that we are all still doing fine and dandy here despite his efforts.”
He was doing his best to speak in an easy, teasing tone like he usually did, but I could clearly hear the bit of bitterness at his father. I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t know how I would feel if my own father was behind half the things that Reynolds had done in just the last few days, let alone over the course of his life.
“But a week? Is that enough time for you to, you know,” I said, motioning to the tablet still tucked under his arm slowly coming back to life.
“Guess it has to be,” he said with a shrug. “But as I said, I can burn the candle at both ends to get it done, I don’t have to go in front of the camera. That’s your job, Kitten.”
“Lucky me,” I said with a huff.
DJ was already only half listening now that his tablet had fired up again.
“So, hurry up and start sleeping,” he said, waving me off. “I’m not doing all this work so the Communities can watch zombie bride.”
I rolled my eyes but stepped more to the side so that we could finally cross paths.
“Tell Theo to come to find me when he wakes up, too. I could use a second pair of hands,” he said, walking past me as an afterthought.
“Don’t you need him looking all prince charming-like?” I said, turning and walking backward back to my room.
“No one cares about the guy at a wedding. It’s all about the bride,” he called back, though I could see as I retreated backward that his focus was again completely on cracking the firewalls.
I thought about telling him that I knew several First Generation single ladies in the Northwest Community alone that wouldn’t have agreed with that statement, but decided better of it. I was pretty sure with the growing distance and the increase of speed of his fingers, he wouldn’t have heard me anyway.
I turned to actually see where I was headed back to my own room with the echo of his “Night, Kitten,” floating behind me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
TO SAY THAT Ursula pulled out all the stops for this event was the understatement of a lifetime. Naturally, she had no desire to waste her own time planning the wedding, and instead—much to Virginia’s ecstatic joy—designated that responsibility to her.
It was very clear from the get-go that the purpose of such an extravagant event in the midst of a war was for one purpose only. We were to prove to all the people both inside and outside the walls that Theo and I were the natural and rightful leaders of this nation.
No amount of symbolism was lost for the spiritual and no group was to be left out. We needed to show that all of us, no matter our station, had come together and unified as one. I would have liked to hope that all First Generations who would watch our wedding via hacked Protectorate network would have immediately turned their loyalties to Theo, and Reynolds would peacefully give up.
The first part of that scenario might be possible, but I was sure the second was akin to phrases like “over my dead body”. But our focus wasn’t necessarily to convince Reynolds to walk out his front doors with his hands raised, but rather to convince the Guardians to follow Theo instead of his father.
There was a good chance that if we proved it enough that Theo was now in charge, Reynolds would actually meet some opposition when it came to his Super Soldier-making factory. With more of the nation on our side and fewer Super Soldiers to combat, our chances of actually getting inside the capital and forcing a surrender could actually be possible.
Little of this was of greatest concern to Virginia. Her sole goal was to throw a wedding and include not-so-subtle hints that Theo and I were the new representatives of the nation. That was all she needed. In fact, in many ways, Virginia had been preparing her whole life to play this role.
The morning of the event came. I was happy to see it a glorious, sunny day with only the slightest of white fluffy clouds passing us by. The event was to be held outdoors. I had assumed it was for security reasons or something, but now that I was out there waiting for the ceremony to begin, I realized it was for an altogether different reason.
Virginia must have combed over these lush mountains until she had found the perfect spot. I had only glanced at the area the actual ceremony was to be held in before she rushed me off in a frenzy. She wanted me to be surprised when I saw it, I guess.
Instead, Charles and I were driven in a transport around a clear blue lake where a small tent was waiting for me with Jessica inside. Charles didn’t have much to do but sit in a chair and look bored while I got ready, or I should say, while Jessica got me ready.
Even the white tent room that no one would see but us had been decorated beautifully. As I sat in my silk white robe, my eyes traveled around the small tent. The floor had been covered with a blue and cream rug, while all four corners of the small room had vases overflowing with coral and blue flowers and mint-colored foliage.
I was glad that I at least didn’t have to be done up over the top. I was sure—had we held this ceremony inside the Communities like we were supposed to—it would have been much different. This time, however, Virginia was able to take in the consideration of my comfort and I couldn’t help but love her more for it.
My long red hair was simply curled in lush ringlets flowing down my back. Instead of a long white veil to cover it up, Jessica had added some braided headbands to keep my hair back that were decorated with glittering pearls in whites and pinks and creams. My make-up was kept at a minimum, only giving natural highlights and a touch of shimmer on my cheeks.
Finally, the time had come to put on the dress. I hadn’t even seen it, and I was a bit nervous that this was the one thing that Virginia wouldn’t be able to help but lose control on. The only thing I had to gauge her taste in a bride’s gown was the options she had given me the first time around.
“You look stunning,” Charles said as I came out from behind the small partition.
I couldn’t help but beam up at him. It was completely perfect. Well, at least I thought it was. I had a moment to wonder what Theo would think. Despite the fact that we were already married, and this was just a formality, we had chosen to spend the night before our wedding apart. Really, Virginia had hinted so much that we should, that we finally agreed to it just to make her happy. Now I didn’t regret letting her have her way one bit.
The dress was made in two layers. The underneath was just a simple white strapless dress. It wasn’t large and poofy like I had feared, but fit fairly close on top and just barely flowed away starting at my waist for ease of movement. Over the top of it was a long-sleeved lace piece. It just barely sat on my shoulders, allowing the small edges of the lace pattern to creep up and around my shoulders, in effect making a crown. The lace was tight over my arms and ended with points that ringed around my middle fingers to keep it in place. Just like the lower layer, it was slightly more fitting on top and pooled around me on the bottom. It was delicate and simple with a shell pattern with flowers twisting around them in the design. Because it was all white, it wasn’t a loud pattern and made something so simple just the right amount of elegant.
Charles stood and made his way over to me, taking my shoulders between his two hands. He was wearing a traditional cream suit only this time with the large red, white, and blue flag band on his arm. I didn’t know how Virginia had managed to acquire a cream suit, but she had. It was supposed to be a tip to the fact that not only was this union and our new nation accepted by Second Generations and lowers but by the Creams as well.
His green eyes were much darker than usual and I could see tears edging at their sides. I couldn’t help but feel my own tears well up. I didn’t know exactly why this felt like such an emotional moment but it did.
“I’m so happy,” he said, stopping for a second to clear his throat, “I’m so happy that I can be here for this. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I know we always joke about how these things matter to your mother, but..”
His voice trailed off. I took a small step forward and embraced him. Something I wasn’t sure we had ever done before. We stood there for just a second in silence as we embraced. I would have liked to tell him I loved him, tell him that even though my childhood had seemed lonely and uncertain at the time, I was so grateful to have been supported and loved by him and Virginia. The words were hard to form.
