Cardinal

Chapter 1

In our society, fewer females are born, and with our gifts...we need to build a strong unit. Mom always explained to me that I was a gift and always symbolized new beginnings..which is how she named me Lilac. My fathers adored me. I was the light to their world, or so they used to say. And, Yes, that's correct. Plural. Fathers. Our society does not function in the monogamous way that humans do. Units are like a team. They work together for their Cardinal, which in most cases, are females. 

Going back to reality...Oh god, I really need to keep going if I'm going to get back on time to my job. I don't need to be late any more than I've already been. I take a sharp turn on an alley in my regular route when I come head to head with a fucking pole. 

"Ugh, fuck." I exclaimed as I fall, landing on my knee. That really fucking hurt. Walking in a straight line, running, I do not do those. I carefully examine my bruised knee, blowing on the already bleeding wound. 

"Can I help you miss?" I look up to see a weird-looking man with an upturned nose and receding hairline peering at me. Oof. No thanks. 

"Uh...I think I'm good. Thank you though..." Dusting myself off, I politely smile at him and shuffle down the alley leaving the creepy man standing there. Almost got killed in broad daylight. Whew. Narrowly escaped. 

I arrive at the coffee shop, 1 minute early. I do a little happy dance in my head knowing I got there on time. I love the smell of coffee, and most especially the rude decaffeinated customers. Just something about their rudeness makes me want to mess with them. Sometimes, I give them decaf and have them deal with their day without their caffeine. Just for fun. Guess I'm just a sadist like that. 

I say hi to my manager and coworker as I enter the shop. Brad, my manager, waves at me. "Hey, cutie! Glad you're here on time." I laugh sarcastically at him, putting my meager belongings in the breakroom.

I get my morning started by opening the cafe and making sure all the machines are turned on and all the money is counted from the till. 

The morning starts out calm and normal until the creepy guy from the alley comes into the store. 

"Welcome to Buddy Beans!" I turn my customer service face on and smile brightly at him. What the fuck is he doing here. Shit...I don't think this is good. 

He walks menacingly towards the counter, and towards me." Hi!," he exclaims, a little too excitedly. I'm looking for a Lilac Storm and I think you may be it. Can I talk to you for a few minutes when you're free? I think you may be interested in what I have to say." Panic. My heart starts to beat fast, and I start sweating. 

"I don't know anyone by that name. You must be confused..." I reply. Though, honestly, it didn't sound so convincing. 

He frowns at me, clearly recognizing my lie. "Look, kid. I've got really important people looking for you and you clearly are lying. I've got the gift of Candor so don't even bullshit me with this and don't even try to deny it. The magistrates are looking for you and even better, your links are coming." 

I audibly gulp at him, realizing the situation. Fuckery, fuck, fuck, fuck. This really can't be fucking happening right now. Links. Are. Coming. Magistrate. While my brain was trying to process this information, Mr. Creep taps his fingers impatiently at the counter. 

"Look kid, you've got about 2 hours till your links come in. I think it's best if you stay here..." Fuck it...I make a run for the door while yelling to Brad that I need to leave now. He looks at me with a face of confusion. 

As soon as I make it to the threshold of the building, I immediately trip on my shoelaces, landing on my face. Ah shit. Again, not a runner. Mr. Creep just stares at me like I'm the stupidest girl he's ever seen. 

"There really ain't nowhere to go here, kid. You can try to pack your things and run away like you've been doing for the past couple of years and still get caught by your links, or you can just stay here with me and wait for them. Either way, the end result is still the same." 

I feel nauseous. This really can't be happening. They can't find me. They'll kill them. They'll kill them. I can't do that to them. I attempt to run again, trying to fix this situation. This time, Mr. Creep catches my wrist, pulls me to him, and drags me to the side of the store. Guess this is where it ends. I could always just...Okay, negative thoughts. Back to scheming. I need to escape somehow, even when the links get here. Somehow, I'm still convincing myself that I would want to escape after seeing them. See, we cardinals don't choose our units. The goddess or the gods or whatever higher power grants us our gifts, picks the right people for us. Somehow, all links are genetically compatible with their cardinal in terms of their gifts. Since the age of 16, I've known who my links were. I saw the adoration in their eyes which reflected mine when I first laid my eyes on them.  I'm not looking forward to our reunion at all. They're not going to want me when they find out what I've done. Why I hate myself and my gift. Why we can't be together. 

"Lilac..." A deep, husky voice calls out. I look up and see menacing eyes staring at me paired with a hardened scowl. A reaction I didn't expect from him...especially him. I peer at each one of them, trying to decipher their expressions when they finally see me. All wore the same hardened scowl and menacing stares. I try hard to eliminate any emotions from my stare, trying not to express the longing and the desire I had for each one of them. I try to erase the hurt that their first reactions have brought on but I've already failed as my eyes begin to water and my chest, my heart really, begins to tighten being close to my links again. Do I risk their ruin, their demise, for this? It's feeling a whole lot of "fuck the world" right now. Seeing their faces now, I harden my resolve and decide that I need to find a good plan to escape and never see them again. Or risk losing them forever.