United, page 19
part #4 of Protectorate Series
Finally, he cleared his throat again and took a slight step back. I could see he had let a few tears slip past and I was glad I wasn’t the only one.
“I hope you don’t mind, I have a little surprise for you,” Charles said with a lopsided smile.
It was at that moment that I realized that Jessica had left the room after helping me button the back of the form-fitting dress. Turning to follow the direction of Charles gaze, I saw that when she re-entered she wasn’t alone.
My heart caught in my throat for just a moment. Standing in the doorway was Edger. He was wearing a dark navy blue suit with a coral tie. His hair was cropped short and clean, and his face glowed with joy.
I gave a childish squeak before running to him into a big bear hug. It was something I had done countless times as a child. Laughing, Edger only stumbled back a step as he wrapped me up with his one arm.
“Careful, I’m a cripple you know,” he said with a laugh.
“I can’t believe you’re here!”
“What? Was I not invited?”
“Of course you were,” I said, giving him a shove. “I just didn’t know if you could come, but you're here.”
“Your mother insisted that I be given transportation to the event and wear this snazzy new suit,” he said, tugging on the jacket. “My wife is here too, and our three children. They are both of ours,” he added quickly. “I changed that first thing.”
I understood what he meant. As a child in the outskirts, a woman who could bare children had been, in essence, communal. On the one hand, it had been a necessity to ensure all families had the means to offer up chosen children and receive food, on the other, it was the worst form of slavery if you asked me.
“Oh, I can’t wait to meet them all,” I said, clapping like a little girl.
I turned back to Charles. Jessica was keeping him busy by pinning a coral flower to his jacket lapel. I knew it couldn’t have been easy for him or Virginia to invite the family that I belonged to, loved, before them.
“Thank you,” I said with sincerity to Charles.
“I thought it only fitting since your, you know, birth father was no longer with us. I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind if Edger and I both walked you down the aisle. It’s important that I am there just for show, but I know having Edger would make you happy.”
“You both walking me down the aisle is what will make me happy,” I retorted.
We were ushered out of the room not long after we were all present and dressed perfectly. I had only a few moments to talk with Edger but they had to be some of the happiest I had had in such a long time.
“We have to leave you here,” Charles instructed me as we exited the tent that stood on the edge of the calm lake. “We’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”
I was only confused for just a second till I saw the small raft for one bobbing softly on the water. I had first thought my slip on shoes were just because Virginia knew I hated heels, but now I realized it was because I was going to be appearing at the wedding as if floating across the sea in a large, shimmering shell.
Everything had been planned down to the minute detail—and really I had never expected less—to show me as the Goddess Venus herself arriving on land. It was a heavy weight that sat in my stomach. I didn’t think any mortal was ready to take on such a responsibility, let alone myself. But then I guess technically like the Venus of old, I wasn’t entirely human.
I swallowed down my nerves and fears and decided to just live in this moment and enjoy it.
“DJ told me to tell you that he is driving the raft remotely and that you don’t have anything to worry about. Plus it’s super calm waters,” Jessica told me, seeing my hesitation.
“DJ’s driving? Don’t have anything to worry about? Ha!” I scoffed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sit next to him at the control center and assure him that if even a drop of water gets on that dress or smudges my artwork on your face, I will smother him in his sleep,” she said with complete truthfulness.
“Now that does make me feel better,” I said before stepping onto the small raft.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THE TRIP ACROSS the lake was a short one, thankfully. It may have been calm and DJ was driving slow, but it was still hard to keep my balance on such a small object. Virginia had planned the ceremony on a small stretch of the lake that curved around so that as I came around the corner it almost seemed as if I appeared out of nature.
I couldn’t help but catch my breath at the sight before me when I came into view. It was all I could do to not let the tears fall from my eyes. I had to keep telling myself it was all for the cameras, but still, the effect was not lost on me.
There had to be over five hundred people sitting in the two rows of chairs with a long walkway between them. They were all standing and turned to face me with large smiles on their faces. I knew most of them. Everyone was dressed in either cream colored outfits to show they were Firsts from the Community, although I was pretty sure not all of them were, or they were wearing the usual light grey uniform of a Freedom Fighter. The rest were just dressed in new, fashionable clothing in shades of pink, coral, mint, and blue. Leave it to Virginia to make sure even the guests were matching her theme.
The place was just an open field next to the lake, one I had seen before when Virginia was determining the best spot. It was unrecognizable now. Everything was bursting with floral arrangements and greenery accents trailed between the rows of chairs.
My eyes drifted up to Theo who was standing at the other end of the walkway. Virginia had commissioned a small gazebo to be built just slightly higher than everyone else. He mouthed a silent “wow” when our eyes met and I blushed profusely.
Even if I had wanted to keep my eyes on him, which was becoming impossible without blushing over how handsome he looked alone, I had to look down momentarily as the shell came to a stop on the land.
My eyes flitted to DJ and Jessica just to the left of Theo at a little station he had set up to control all the electronic details that Virginia had insisted on. Having reached the shore, however, most of my concentration was on making sure I didn’t fall face first as I stepped off the raft. I was thankful that both Charles and Edger were there to help me.
After getting off, Charles handed me a small bouquet of coral, pink, and white flowers. Music started and we made out way slowly up the aisle. I probably should have been paying attention to the people on either side of me, but at that moment was lost on Theo.
He looked so dashing in his dark navy military suit. He had finally gotten around to cutting his hair—I guessed sometime last night after I was forbidden to see him—and it was again dark, having lost all his sun-bleached blond waves. I was happy to see that he had chosen to keep the soft dusting of golden stubble, though.
His chocolate eyes were swimming with the image of me just as I was for him and his mouth was pulled into that soft smile that he saved just for me.
Before I knew it we were at the front of the audience. I had thought it would be a torturous event to have all these eyes and cameras swinging around us, but at the moment I cared for nothing beyond his soft smile.
Theo fixed his tie before stepping down to join me waiting for him. It was an automatic movement that he did so often and probably didn’t even notice.
I hugged Edger and gave Charles a kiss on the cheek before both went to join their families, both on the right side of the aisle. Theo reached out to take my hand and I slipped mine into his, sending sparks up and down me.
He turned it upward and kissed my palm softly, never letting his eyes stray from mine, before tucking it securely in his arm to guide me the last of the way to our place.
We had never practiced the actual ceremony part, but I figured it wasn’t really needed. Standing in the gazebo breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers woven into the woodwork all around us and looking up into my husband’s dashing face, I have to admit that I got a little discombobulated.
Ursula had insisted that she officiate the wedding. I’m sure it was so that she too got some screen time now and showed her place as an authoritative figure in the new change.
I only stumbled once, when it was my turn to say my vows and I was so lost in Theo that I hadn’t heard the words I was supposed to say. It got a little chuckle from the audience but Ursula had been less than thrilled to repeat herself. Luckily she was a good actor and I don’t think anyone noticed the irritation unless you knew her well enough to spot it.
Finally, Theo slipped his delicate little ring--that I had reluctantly given over the night before-- back onto my finger. I had made him promise not to let Virginia get a hold of it. She had already mentioned that it was just a bit of wire and far too simple, but I loved it because it was simple and because Theo had made it for me.
“See, just as you left it,” he whispered to me.
“I never doubted you,” I whispered back.
We sealed our love with a kiss in front of cheering friends and family.
After the ceremony, we were all moved into a large white tent at the center of the clearing. It looked very much similar to the ones that Virginia had used at her own house. I didn’t even want to know how she had gotten her hands on it or all the things inside of it. There was a large dance floor, several tables for dinner, and one long buffet of food.
I could see in a lot of ways she was keeping it much like a First Generation party back in the Community. I wondered if it was to show that we were just as prosperous outside or that taking up with us wouldn’t mean losing all of the finer things. But there were subtle, distinct differences. Instead of a staff of waiters, everyone served themselves. There was no hired entertainer, instead, DJ did his best to man the music and play as an entertainer. It was pretty humorous at times as he wasn’t usually the one in front of the microphone. The biggest difference was instead of a subdued party of the finest ladies and gents on their best behavior, this was what I always pictured a real party would be like.
Children ran in between legs, people laughed, and some even made fools of themselves on the dance floor. At one point Roxy convinced DJ to leave his little setup and dance with her. I didn’t think I had ever seen someone flail so awkwardly in all my life. Both Theo and I were clutching our sides from laughing at him.
All around us the cameras continued to swirl to take it all in, but you barely even noticed they were there. I was able to really get to know Edger's wife and their three children, as well as spend some time with Virginia and share with her how grateful I was for all of her hard work.
I had nearly forgotten the war, the entire reason for the event, and anything else that was weighing on us before tonight. Instead, everything just seemed so perfect and so right. Finally, as the partying was winding down, Theo was to stand in front of the crowd and camera and give a little speech. I had read it over a few days earlier. It was basically the announcement that his father had strayed from the morals and practices that our nation was first founded on. That Theo was now happy to relieve his father of the duty of leader as President and allow his father to spend the remainder of his life resting.
He gave the image that soon we would return home, ready to begin our journey as leaders and usher in a new age. That his father wasn’t the master who had just recently mowed down thousands of lives and who was looking at a future in jail at the very least, but instead a man sick with years of hard work who needed to take a step back and allow his heir to continue on for him.
It was all for the convincing of the Protectorate citizens who would be watching this video tomorrow. Still, the crowd cheered and encouraged at the right time as they should have.
We were all ready for this war to be over, despite the fact that it had just started. If that meant some cheering for a deranged man who we all would have rather seen behind bars, it was worth it.
The recordings would all be cut that night to a smaller clipping to be broadcasted. Today it had been live streamed to all the headquarters where the remainder of our people lived in hiding. But that amount of time just wouldn’t be possible for the Protectorate. DJ had finally found his way through all of the firewalls and was sure he could get a short clipping to broadcast simultaneously all over before it was cut out.
So as the party wound down and guests began to return to their separate living quarters, the real work for DJ began. There wasn’t much we could do to help, aside from giving moral support, but still, we did that.
DJ was instructed to give the video for approval to Ursula that night and once approved it would be broadcast in the morning just before the Second Generations left for their respective duties. One thing we could count on was that ninety percent of the Protectorate all ran on the same very tight schedule.
By two in the morning, I was still in my white dress, legs tucked under me, dozing in and out on DJ’s couch. Theo was sitting next to me, having removed his jacket and tie, leaning in as they cut and spliced, giving DJ different ideas to try here and there. Across from me, Roxy had joined us but had been the first to succumb to sleep. She had looked so beautiful in her rose pink dress and I was sure that all her efforts hadn’t been wasted on DJ.
“Alright, I think that should do it,” I heard DJ say and I perked up from my spot.
“Let’s see it then,” I said with a soft sigh.
I had already liked the first viewing, more specifically the fifteen-second clip of DJ dancing, but sadly that had landed on the cutting room floor.
He played the clip. It lasted about fifteen minutes, ending with Theo’s speech thanking everyone for being a part of our day and the need for unity now more than ever. They had superimposed an image of the new Freedom Fighter flag waving behind him to make it more majestic.
I had to admit I liked it a lot more than the Protectorate flag. This one had the traditional red, white, and blue thick strips as before, but now in the center was a ring of golden stars. Each star represented one of the settlements or communities to show that we are all united as one.
“Looks good to me,” Theo said when it was over.
He stood up and stretched. His shirt, long since untucked, raised high enough to give me a little peek of his narrow waist and I blushed.
“Finally time to start the honeymoon,” he said, reaching a hand down to me.
I took it and struggled to stand in the tangle of my dress layers.
“Are we going somewhere?” I asked skeptically.
“Yeah, next door,” Theo said, wrapping one of his arms softly around my waist. “And we will get to enjoy it until,” he looked down at his tablet, “till tomorrow at three o’clock when we have to meet with Ursula after the broadcast and discuss its results.”
“Gosh, so much time I don’t know what to do with myself,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Please don’t say it out loud,” DJ said, swiveling in his chair and eyeing both of us.
I rolled my eyes again at DJ.
“Want me to wake Roxy up?” I said as we began to leave.
“Naw, she can just sleep here for the night.”
Both Theo and I raised our eyebrows at the comment.
“Does this happen a lot?” Theo asked in a parental tone.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” DJ responded, drawing out his words like a petulant child. “It’s the first time and I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Theo gave a humph in response.
“I’m sure they will be fine,” I said softly, resting my hand on Theo’s chest.
He smiled down at me and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.
“Ew, gross. No one wants to see their parents do that. Go away,” DJ said, waving us off.
We gave one more dramatic kiss and an admonition not to forget to brush his teeth like a good little boy for good measure before saying goodnight and returning back to our own room next door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“SIX OF THE seven Communities have reached out to me since the broadcast this morning,” Theo reported.
It wasn’t exactly how we planned to spend the last few hours of our honeymoon, but neither one of us had complained about it either. As soon as the broadcast had finished, High Chairmen and Guardian Generals had contacted him via the secure network link listed at the end of the video.
DJ had assured us that it was untraceable in the forty-eight hours we would leave it up. Its sole purpose was to give Communities the opportunity to unite with us and stand with Theo against his father.
No surprise, we didn’t get a call from Reynolds himself saying he was stepping aside. Nor did General Duke from the academy in the Central Community call to pledge his allegiance to us. I was a little surprised when Bridget Wong of the South Community contacted us. I would have rather liked to keep her as my enemy.
“They understand that my father has lost touch with reality and may not turn over the Protectorate as he should. They have pledged to help us if it comes to a battle.”
Ursula nodded her head with a slight smile of satisfaction as she was adding figures to her tablet. It would be more forces we would need.
“But I do have some bad news,” Theo continued. “Bridget Wong, High Chairwoman of the inner South Community reported that she was inside Central when the broadcast aired. Before she left, she got intel on what my father plans to do to retaliate. She overheard that he plans to release all Defectives into the outskirts surrounding the Central Community and surround the inside of the city with all of his newly-trained soldiers. Those were her words. I am guessing these newly-trained soldiers will be injected with the Super Soldier serum and set to patrol the entire community borders.”
“From what you saw of the laboratories,” Ursula said, turning to Jake, “how many Defectives would you say he could potentially release?”
“We saw several hundred on that floor alone. We have no reason to assume they were the only ones either,” Jake replied.
