When the World Ends

5; Daye

     After the crowd falls silent, I clear my throat and begin to speak.

     "I would appreciate if you could form a single file line down the hall. Siblings may stand side by side to help move things along." I uncross my arms, unfolding the parchment I had been holding at my side and give it a quick glance over. "So, the way this will work is you will tell me your family name. If you have family to go back to, I would like you to do that. Once you get back to them, you can decide whether you stay home, or travel the world. If you don't have family to return to, I would like you to line up along the opposite wall. I have several work programs outside the Empire that I would like to offer you so you're not simply cast back into the dirt. If I release you, I want you to make something of yourself. Don't take this freedom as a chance to become lazy bastards. We don't need any more degeneracy in this world."

     I wave the guards away and, once they're gone, I push the door to my room open, stepping inside long enough to pull out a massive rack of clothing in varying sizes. I call for Astrid and in an instant she appears before me. "Go into the back room over there and bring out the solid oak box in the closet floor."

     Moments later, she appears with the rather large box. "Where would you like it, Elector?"

     I disregard the fact that she once again called me Elector and go around her, bringing a stool from the room to set in front of her. "Set it there. You're going to help hand out the funds."

     I turn back to the crowd. "So, shall we begin?" The entirety of the crown nods. "Right then, each person will get a set of clothes, and a roll of sertas. You may step into the foyer of my room to change, one at a time of course. Siblings of the same gender may go at the same time, and you can leave your slave outfits on the floor, or you may wait to change until you get home. I recommend changing here because, even though a guard will escort each of you home to ensure you make it home alive, angry civilians will be on the street, and they won't hesitate to hurt you. They will see your slave markers and take their anger meant for me out on you. As for the clothes you leave behind, they are going to fuel the HQ incinerator."

     "What about these?" A fair skinned boy held up his arm, pointing to the golden cuff. 

     "Ah, yes. I knew I was forgetting something," I pull a key ring from my pocket, sorting through the keys. I look between Astrid, who is waiting quietly, and the crowd, now regretting sending all the guards away. I only have so many hands. "Here, Commander." I stuff the parchment I opened earlier into her hands. "I will let you call the names and then you can also give them the coins. I will remove the cuffs and toss them into the crate on the bottom of the clothing rack."

     She straightens out the paper, smoothing it on the edge of the wooden box. "So first, I would just like to say that I'm honored to be your Commander. But I'm not one for speeches, so let's begin with you two."

A young man and woman step forward, each of them holding the hand of the toddler between them. The tike reminds me of one more thing I forgot. 

    "One last thing," I say. "I know what you do at night, trapped behind these walls, so if any of the women in the crowd are with child, I would appreciate if you'd tell me. I have extra resources for you."

     One by one, names are called and new belongings are dealt. Once we are finished, I turn to Astrid and say, "If you'd like to come with me, I'm going to go speak to the young lady who I sent away during the ceremony. I'm sure she's irritated by now, being forced to wait on me for so long. If not, you can peruse the halls and campus and meet me at the prison at sundown."

     She nods, closing the wooden box on the stool. "If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you. We're going to be spending an awful lot of time together so we might as well get to know each other."

     "Fine by me, considering that I just invited you." I say. "Let me put these items away and we'll be on our way. Hold onto the box; it'll be coming with us."

     I hold the door open for Astrid to follow me in, and then begin to put things away. I give the rope by the door one good tug, and in a few moments, there is knocking at the door. I crack it open, muttering a few words to the person outside and then close the door once again. 

     "Daye, how did you know what each of the slaves wanted to wear? You never spend time around them, I'm assuming."

     "Very simple." I bend over, pulling the mass of slaves clothes into my arms. I straighten and nod in the direction of a charcoal grey mesh bag draped over the back of a chair near the desk. "I gave them orders to sew their ideal outfit weeks ago. I told them it was just to pass the time because they had been so busy lately, that they had all day from sun up, to sun down, to create their clothes. Even the men here at Ravenwood take the slaves classes so both sexes can cook, clean, sew, press laundry and the like."

     Astrid nods, taking the bag and holding it open wide. "I guess that makes sense... but, if I may ask, why you are uprooting one of our cities most constant things? We've had slaves since time began, it seems, and we've all been it debt to someone at one time or another. Why not just let things continue?"

     "Commander, people are not property. Whether it be in the womb, or in the grave. All life holds value, and those who leave this world leave behind their legacy. Would you want the story that you tell to your off spring be 'I spend my life doing someone else's dirty work while they sat around and fattened themselves on the food I caught, killed and cooked for them, in the clothes I made, in the house my ancestors built'?"

     "No, I suppose not. It would be sad if all my life amounted to was being someone else's servant. Oh- " Her voice trailed off.

     "Precisely. We are all born for a reason and we all are due our dignity. And as you can see, some did choose to stay behind, and a decent amount at that. I didn't force them to leave and I didn't force them to stay. Their life is clearly not in my hands anymore. I have renounced that duty."

     "May I suggest, Elector, that some might not see it that way?"

     "How so?" 

     "Some may see it as a way of renouncing duties so that your tenure as Elector is more simple than those before you. Your father, even as the despicable man he was, had a lot on his plate."

     I straighten, dumping the next armload of clothes into the bag. "I truly never thought of it that way, but I suppose there is some merit to what you said. I'll have to clear it up tomorrow when we meet the tribe families. Although, I don't quite see how giving more responsibility to the individual, including myself, makes my job any easier."      

     I pull the tabs on the bag, drawing it to a close and then heave it over my shoulder. "I would appreciate if you accompanied me to the office, that I may see the families off who requested to leave their alliances. I have no doubt you're a pro at handling business but..."

    Astrid raises a brow, crossing her arms, "But what? Do you think I will do poorly because I'm a woman?"

     I roll my eyes, making for the door. "Ms. Aldone, you broke records at your school in every area. Do you really stoop so low as to assume that I think less of you because you're a woman? Do you think I underestimate you at all? I personally chose you as Commander from a file of twenty candidates. I know what you're capable of, but if you want to play the victim, you may look for employment elsewhere. I'm sure the carving on your arm will make for you worth high marks if you get into the wrong hands."

     She swallows, and then offers a slight bow. "My apologies, Elector. You are right."

     "Grab the crate of cuffs, please." Once we're out the door, we make our way down the winding halls, to the academy office. It's a long day ahead of us, I already know.