Inherently Innocent

We Know The Mistakes We've Committed

The car stopped by the door. Juniper hurried to get inside. It wasn't a long trip. It was a baptism of fire to feel the engine purr under her feet, sitting beside her uncle in his clean suit.

"First day. How do you feel?"

"Anxious," She grinned, looking out of the window. It was disconcerting to see things move by so fast.

"Good. You need that feeling." Cove pressed his knees against each other and lowered the window to let the hot summer air in. "When I had my first day, I was just two years older than you. You were about six years away. Now, look at you, eighteen years later. You know, your mother,"

"Was fifteen when she took over the settlement. And my grandmother was fourteen when she reached Earth. Yes. I know," Juniper tapped the door of the car.

Cove faced forward again and smiled.

Years. Lives. Lived and taken. Juniper saw her reflection in the window, and her eyes did not reflect the sunlight. The days were expiring, counting down until the end.

Hold on against the misguided, embrace the rays of the sun. Fight back against the invaders, swim by the waves on the sand. A silly chant Golshan and her had created several years ago. She kept it on loop in the back of her mind.

"I'll get down here," Cove notified the driver, gently placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I have to talk to the generals about the fire. Take Juniper to the Central." He turned to his niece, "For today, just talk with the guys behind the Program, get adjusted. They've been overworking these days, and you might like some of their ideas. just don't pressure yourself too much."

Cove smiled so genuinely that Juniper became over aware of how fake her own was.

"Will you be ok, June?" Cove frowned and placed a hand on the girl's cheek. She instinctively moved away.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"You've been kidnapped by weeds for months. I understand if this is hard. Don't worry too much about it, alright?" He pressed his cheek against Juniper's and left the car.

She took a deep and audible breath and unclenched her teeth.

The car started again, headed northwest towards Program Imaginaria. She would enter once more as a figure of authority, not a fake one this time.

Her eyes wandered to a mirror placed in front of the frontal window of the glass, between the front seats. The angle made it possible to see the driver's face, and the woman met Juniper's eyes.

"Ylva?"

The car sped up. Ylva raised a finger to her lips.

Peony's mother. Oh, if she found out about her daughter's scraped knees the car would crash.

First, Juno was happy to see her. Then she wanted to ask so many questions, but it was clear there were microphones in the vehicle. She had given Ylva no thoughts those past months, even vaguely thinking that maybe she might have been captured.

A horde of people dressed in torn guard uniforms ran down a street diagonal to the one they rode down. Juniper figured she could ask about that.

"What happened?"

Ylva took a deep breath and pulled a handle at the side of her seat. The car's purr changed rhythm.

"Marull had to lower the age of guard eligibility and hurry the training. Classes were suspended in favour of the practice. There was a girl who went west exploring despite her shift being north, and she found a group of ishine settling down in the middle of the forest at the top of the western hill. So he did what any reasonable man would do."