The wind has never felt so great against her skin. She runs; loving the way that freedom feels on her fingertips. She runs like there’s no tomorrow, (and with what she just did, there’s no telling if there is but) she lives in that moment. She runs forward and into the promise of a new life.
-
Cold, empty walls. It’s been her home for as long as she could remember. Large paintings and portraits of art beyond her interest and understanding; pages upon pages of timeless books with writings she couldn’t comprehend; vast hallways leading to rooms and rooms within the castle that she’s barely even allowed in.
Eden, they call it.
It’s not like there was anything out of the ordinary with her way of living. It’s all she’s ever known, after all. Wake up, line up for group assessment at dawn, practice the routine, head to the study room for lecture, clean up at noon, spare a few more hours of practice, spend the rest of the day reading in the library, perform the routine for the headmistress precisely an hour and a third before sundown, proceed to the dining hall for supper, line up for evening assessment, reflect and pray for the evening, and head straight to bed.
Over and over. Again and again. Like clockwork. Rinse and repeat
-
Her socks are soiled, her mind is running miles per minute, but she trudges on. One thing led to another, and she didn’t see it coming. One minute she’s in the main room, the next she’s walking down the spiral staircase, past the large double doors, into the courtyard, and there she was; out where they were forbidden. She walks around the forest with no particular direction. She reaches somewhere near a clearing, sees a white gate. She opens it and walks through, and all of a sudden, all she sees is the light.
-
She doesn’t know how she got there, but she’s in an establishment with bright, blinking neon pink lights; hands tying the laces on the shoes she exchanged with the ones she supposedly held onto. She takes a step forward, moving about automatically; as if possessed. Somehow, she knows what to do and how to do it.
The next thing she knows, is that she’s got wheeled shoes on; gliding across the floor mindlessly, hand-in-hand and sharing a laugh with the gorgeous blonde girl.
Again, time flashes quickly. She sees more scenes of herself, walking about carelessly, in clothes way too comfortable compared to the regular standard in Eden. She sees a smile, bright and warm. Familiar, almost, if it wasn’t for the odd, shining purple glint beneath her iris.
-
They were free, for the most part. That’s what she always believed in. there wasn’t really any concrete restrictions. Just a few rules. Don’t question, don’t go outside beyond midnight (and certain unguarded hours of the day), don’t eat the roses. (The third one never made sense to her, since there shouldn’t be a reason to serve it if they didn’t want them eating those in the first place, right?)
When she woke up that morning, finding obvious stains at the soles of her socks, she knew she was in trouble.
It could be a good thing. Says a voice in the back of her head. We need a change, anyway. Don’t you think?
A one-on-one confrontation filled with sharp, stern words from the headmistress after dawn assessments was not a good thing. She agrees with the second thought, however. She entertains it long enough for something new to grow.
-
It’s stupid she thinks, as she stares out the balcony from the main room. She stares out the large floor-to-ceiling windows, apple in hand.
bite, bite, bite
Do it, Yves, says the voice in her head. So she does.
-
One step. Two steps. A glance to the right. One step. Another step. Quiet.
Ears open and attentive for any hints of her detecting anything out of place. Silence. One more step.
She moves carefully, every movement calculated. She leads the other two forward, on to the path she went down before. (It was easy, bringing the bright-eyed girl into her scheme. Chuu has always had her eyes on her anyway. And while it took quite a bit of convincing, she managed to get Gowon to tag along, too.
She doesn't think about the one who refused to reject Eden.)
In a heartbeat, they're out in the courtyard. (She misses the way a certain blonde looks back and up towards the balcony.)
The wind has never felt so great against her skin. She runs; loving the way that freedom feels on her fingertips. She runs like there’s no tomorrow, (but with what she just did, what they just did, she feels empowered) and she lives in that moment. She runs forward into the promise of a new life.