Fiery Red, Episode 1
Overlooking the mist veiled forest, a cool morning breeze sends chills down her back. Her long, fiery hair dances in the breeze as her thoughts wander to previous days. Chin craddled in the palm of her hand, she recalls the day she received her first invitation to the hatchling ceremony. "Was it so long ago? I still remember my reaction to the smell and noise of the nesting grounds," she thinks.
The roaring crowd intimidates the young who gathered to earn the privilage of a bonding. They knew well that if a bond were to form, they would have a lifelong friend and companion. These youth also knew that they might not receive this privilage again in their life. Bondings were tricky because the hatchlings could not be forced to bond to a specific youth. "I can feel the excitement of the youth in the nesting grounds," I thought.
"It's contagious, I almost want to be down there with them," I said to my escort.
Looking with distain, the escort replies, "In that filth? Why would you subject yourself to such potential for failure?"
"Failure? Just receiving an invitation to the hatchling ceremony is amazing enough, but to participate would be even better!" I retorted excitedly.
Seeing his words were falling on deaf ears, the escort stopped trying to reason with me and let me absorb more of the arena. A smell of rotting and cleanliness invaded my senses. The nests of the hatchlings usually smelled of life and death, or so I was told. When people around me heard that I had been given my first invitation to a hatchling ceremony, I received many words of advice. Few of the people seemed to know what they were talking about, but as I sit here, smelling a stench that soothes and upsets me, I find my energy focuses on the center of the arena where the chosen youth stand in nervous anticipation for the ceremony to start.
"Now, my dear, is the time to enjoy the entertainment that is the selection process. Though the nominees have been trained and taught by those who have been through the bonding, many ignore what they were taught," the escort whispered into my ear as the eggs in the center began to quiver.
In a moment, the eggs were replaced by hatchlings, crying for want of attention and need. Aimless, they wander around the grounds, looking for the person they will bond to. Cheering begins on the far left of the arena as a blue stays close to a female youth of middling height and slim build. The pride on her face at being chosen almost outshines the sun.
The next chosen will always stand out in my mind. He was the most handsome youth I have ever seen, and at that moment, I wished violently that he would notice me among the thousands of onlookers. I even envied the red that protectively circled this young man.
"My memories always bring me back to that young man. He turned into my closest friend and confidant. His red has even adopted me and accepts me into their world," she thinks with a sigh.
Turning from the morning light and breeze, she steps back into her apartment, pulling the curtains closed behind her. Coals still burned in her fireplace from the previous night and a pot was placed about the coals, no doubt filled with breakfast. Reluctantly, she slipped off her robe and nightgown. She stood, for a moment, allowing the full force of the spring morning to cool her. As with the rest of her days in the palace, her day's clothes were laid out for her to choose from, and as she stood in her small clothes, she felt alive.
The roaring crowd intimidates the young who gathered to earn the privilage of a bonding. They knew well that if a bond were to form, they would have a lifelong friend and companion. These youth also knew that they might not receive this privilage again in their life. Bondings were tricky because the hatchlings could not be forced to bond to a specific youth. "I can feel the excitement of the youth in the nesting grounds," I thought.
"It's contagious, I almost want to be down there with them," I said to my escort.
Looking with distain, the escort replies, "In that filth? Why would you subject yourself to such potential for failure?"
"Failure? Just receiving an invitation to the hatchling ceremony is amazing enough, but to participate would be even better!" I retorted excitedly.
Seeing his words were falling on deaf ears, the escort stopped trying to reason with me and let me absorb more of the arena. A smell of rotting and cleanliness invaded my senses. The nests of the hatchlings usually smelled of life and death, or so I was told. When people around me heard that I had been given my first invitation to a hatchling ceremony, I received many words of advice. Few of the people seemed to know what they were talking about, but as I sit here, smelling a stench that soothes and upsets me, I find my energy focuses on the center of the arena where the chosen youth stand in nervous anticipation for the ceremony to start.
"Now, my dear, is the time to enjoy the entertainment that is the selection process. Though the nominees have been trained and taught by those who have been through the bonding, many ignore what they were taught," the escort whispered into my ear as the eggs in the center began to quiver.
In a moment, the eggs were replaced by hatchlings, crying for want of attention and need. Aimless, they wander around the grounds, looking for the person they will bond to. Cheering begins on the far left of the arena as a blue stays close to a female youth of middling height and slim build. The pride on her face at being chosen almost outshines the sun.
The next chosen will always stand out in my mind. He was the most handsome youth I have ever seen, and at that moment, I wished violently that he would notice me among the thousands of onlookers. I even envied the red that protectively circled this young man.
"My memories always bring me back to that young man. He turned into my closest friend and confidant. His red has even adopted me and accepts me into their world," she thinks with a sigh.
Turning from the morning light and breeze, she steps back into her apartment, pulling the curtains closed behind her. Coals still burned in her fireplace from the previous night and a pot was placed about the coals, no doubt filled with breakfast. Reluctantly, she slipped off her robe and nightgown. She stood, for a moment, allowing the full force of the spring morning to cool her. As with the rest of her days in the palace, her day's clothes were laid out for her to choose from, and as she stood in her small clothes, she felt alive.
posted by Amanda/Mandie at
7/21/2006 09:59:00 AM
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