Daughter of Albion

Chapter 4

"My father told me that was the night my mother was first plunged into deep sadness and confusion. She was sad to watch Freddy leave with all the other Soldiers ten hours later when the sun was just barely rising over the ash-covered horizon. Confused about the empty hold he'd left in her chest. Freddy had waved, just a little then turned and disappeared. She'd run towards the window and watched the tanks leave down the winding trail. By the time she was back in her room she was in tears, she would never see him again and tonight another would come and she'd have to watch him leave as well. Every night," the man ran his fingers through his hair and smiled just slightly.

"Freddy never had a son. Nor did any of the other boys that she said goodbye to each morning. Some nights she'd spend hours talking to them, they'd tell her about their lives, in their schools and their training. Some would tell her about their education, tracing on her wall what the planet looked like, where they were heading. One, so exuberant about his future told her details of the plans to attack the Chinese who held small city of Stanley, which was still, according to him, part of Albion. One was plainly more interested in knowing how bombs were made and asked a million questions. Some just wanted to know about her life, asked her questions about her education and her health. Some just wanted someone to hold. Some wanted a shoulder to cry on. She never told anyone about the boys who cried. She had cried with them. There were pilots, foot soldiers, marines, specialized forces, she met them all. And she fell for them all, every night.'

'The thing to understand about the physical relationship between two Perfects is that they were raised with mutual respect. Boys and girls were raised the same way, creating life was a religious experience, a duty to their nation. There was only extreme tenderness, the boys were taught to make sure the girls were always feeling safe and secure, the girls taught to always make sure the boys also felt safe and to give them something to dream about, months from now when they'd be fighting Foreigners on foreign soil, so far from home. My mother was only happy when she made them smile, they were happy when they saw her eyes sparkling as they told their stories, when they thought of her, belly full of Perfect baby. They left her, thinking only of protecting her and their potential child. From an external eye like today's, it seems horrific, to them, it was the highest form of showing tenderness and love. Everything was shared between them.'

'When my mother woke two weeks after her arrival she discovered her sheets were stained with blood. For a week she was kept in her room, allowed to come down to eat and work, but not allowed to leave while the soldiers were in the establishment. When her period finished she was allowed out again. At the same time, Beth found out she was pregnant and was whisked away to a Nursery immediately. Being left alone might have scared some girls, made them think they were Defective, but it just made my mother sad.'

'A month later when her period returned she stayed in her room, worked harder in the workshop and thought of the boys she'd met and lost. She found solace in new friends, talking with the older girls who'd already had babies.'

'One morning she laid in bed, watching her window as the soldiers drove off. The soldier who had left was Archie, he had been very excitable, intense in his desire to know about her, passionate about his friend James and an expert at making wild faces. He'd spent half the night jumping on her bed, telling her wild stories about he and James getting into trouble at school and of his dreams to be a Master.'

'She thought of his wild laughter as she rolled over in bed and let her heavy eyelids droop. It was late morning by the time she awoke again and made it downstairs to the eating room, the curtains were pulled back and a pale sun lit up the grey room. All of the other girls had already eaten and moved off to their workshops on the top floor. You see, they didn't have strict timetables in the establishments, as long as they stayed healthy, they could do as they pleased. And what pleased them, was to help their country make weapons.'