LYSSA

chapter 1

It's been an entire year since I turned 18, thought Rumeris, a few days before her 19th birthday

Just one year to get grabbed before-

"Meriiiiii" Aureli snapped her fingers in front of Rumeris's face. "Are you listening to me?"

"Of course I was"

"Whats was I talking about?"

Rumeris sighed at her best friend, and took an educated guess; "Gabriel."

Aureli eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. Gabriel was all she ever spoke about lately. They'd been together nearly a month now, and were really getting along.

"As I was saying, Gabe asked me to invite you for dinner"

Rumeris shook her head, "Absolutely no. I refuse to sit across from another guy while your steady tries to convince him to grab me"

Ever since last month when Gabriel persuaded Aureli to follow him onto the train car, sealing their status as steadies, they'd been trying to find a guy to grab Rumeris.

It's not that Rumeris didn't want to be grabbed- every girl waited until she was 18, till she could take her hair out of the tight and conservative braid the minors wore, and pin it into a mature elegant knot to symbolize that she was old enough to be grabbed. But Rumeris didn't much enjoy the company of any of the boys in Southsec, the lower class sector of Lyssa where she lived. And she wasn't too close to any of the elitist boys from Highpar, because they weren't that close by, and the high schools had been gender-divided.

Regardless, if noone grabbed her before her 19th birthday, Rumeris would be allowed to grab anyone who caught her interest,and she had just one year to find a steady.

Aureli motioned to a boy standing on the platform near them, waiting for the transit to take them back to Southsec.

"Look it's Linus" Aureli whispered, wiggling her eyebrows. "His hair is cut!"

Rumeris rolled her eyes. Boys in Lyssa dont cut their hair until they were 18, and when they hit the required grabbing age, they crop it as a sign of availability and masculinity.

"Linus is disgusting" snorted Rumeris."He pisses in the street. I wouldnt grab him if he was the only man in Lyssa left by the time i turned 20"

Aureli laughed and agreed with her friend, opening her mouth to point out another boy with cropped hair, but was cut off by the sound of the transit announcement

"Please stand clear of the rail. The transit will arrive shortly" The female robotic voice called over the platform.

Seconds later, the sleek train slid silently out of the tube and into the station.

"Welcome aboard" said the voice. And 30 seconds later, "Please stand clear of the automatic doors"

Aureli and Rumeris boarded the transit, and found seats. They prepared themselves for the long ride from the school district to the lower residential neighborhood.

******

When Rumeris entered her family's one story home, her mother, Athena had the radio on. The reporter was reminding the citizens of Lyssa that his royal highness, the prince, had his birthday coming up, on which he would become engaged. Unlike the common folk in the kingdom, the royal family usually married nobles from other regions, and were not bound by Lyssian marriage laws.

Everyone in Lyssa, other than direct children of the king, had a clear set of government ordained rules regarding finding permanent mates.

At the age of 18, children changed their hair to signify their status as an adult. Adult girls were available to be grabbed by adult boys until they turned 20. If a girl is not grabbed or steady by then, she is partnered by the government. In light of more gender equality, an amendment was added allowing girls to grab men if they were still single by 19.

"Im home Mom" shouted Rumeris as she kicked the door shut

"Hi, Meri. How was your day?" Athena asked as she scanned Rumeriss wrist, looking for the ribbon that would show she was grabbed.

"No ribbon mom" Rumeris huffed. "Im going to get set up by the government. to some old ex-convict who drinks too much"

"Dont be silly, you have plenty of time" her mom reassured her, as she went to put her school things down in her room.

Since Meris dad passed away only days after she unbraided her hair, her and her mom had become really close. Her little sister Phoenix had matured over night, turning into little miss proper.

Athena called the girls to dinner, and Phoenix began her usual rant about the royal family, expressing her desire to become one of the princesses companions. Rumeris rolled her eyes and reminded her sister that no one from Southsec ever made it into the graces of the princess. As soon as Phoenix started whining, Rumeris decided that maybe she would rather be at Aurelie's place. She told her mom where she was going, and Athena had no objections, knowing Aurelie and Gabriel had an agenda to set up her daughter. Rumeris grabbed her bag and left, leaving a pouty Phoenix -stuck in the complex as the curfew demanded for under 18 year olds.

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hey guys, if any of you read before, i made some name changes! thanks fo reading, i know its been forever! but i got married, and moved and now I'm hopefully back in the game. see you in Lyssa