Impeccable (Zayn Malik AU)

Prologue

                I M P E C C A B L E

The young girl reached out to her reflection in the glass mirror, her soft fingertips barely making contact with the surface before they were yanked back furiously. Her unkempt hair flew around her as she turned to see her mother glaring at her.

"Don't touch the mirror, Odette. Your dirty fingers will smudge the glass. Just look at your pretty face in the mirror, don't touch." The pretty young mother said, slapping the girl's hand. In all her memories of her tiny seven years, Odette realized the mother had never slapped her face. It was always her arm, leg, or hand. Never her face.

It was too valuable, the girl realized. Her mother couldn't afford to possibly leave a mark on her face. It could ultimately determine if she married into a rich family, or became a prostitute.

Odette dared not to roll her eyes and only nodded, placing her hand in her lap like her mother always told her a proper lady should.

"Shoulders back, don't slouch." The mother scolded as she pulled a strand of dark hair back tightly to tuck in the intricate hair-do, a burning sensation beginning at the girl's scalp. The small girl quietly obeyed, resting her shoulders on the dark wood of the chair. She winced as bobby pins pressed against her head, she always hated the tiny pieces of metal. Her mother didn't seem to care though, Odette was surprised that she could see at all with the heavy black liner caked around her eyes.

The Royal Christmas Ball was tonight, and it was important that she looked her best. Odette wasn't at the courting age of sixteen, but her mother insisted that maybe if she caught a boy's eye, the family would keep an eye out for her for when she was eligible to be married. Personally, Odette didn't want to be married. She felt she was fine with just being alone, so long as she had her family and friends. Of course, her mother had different plans for her. It was tradition to be courted at sixteen, married not long after, and have a child by the time you were in your twenties.

This had been the norm since frantic politicians and humanitarians had declared a huge gap in the male to female ratio of the world. There were simply not enough girls to go around, and men became frantic to find someone, anyone to call theirs. Some men died without ever achieving the dream of having a family, and many rich billionaires became polygamous, marrying and seducing many women with money and wealth, so that if something bad happened to one, they just moved on to the next one. Women were precious, worth more than diamonds.

Odette's mother finished up her fancy topknot, her hair a swirling vortex of painful clips and pins, sealed in place with hairspray and as tough as rock. As Odette's mother smiled at her, the girl noticed a marking on the inside of her wrist. A small black bird, inked on the fragile veins of her left wrist, flew happily. Odette stared at the mark for several moments, the mother giving a small chuckle before pushing up the sleeve of her dress, exposing the tiny bird more. There was only one, no other ink was present on her vanilla skin.

"It's a Mark, Odette." Her mother explained, holding her arm out for her small daughter to see. "A sparrow, for joy, creativity, protection, many things. It's your father's family Mark, a symbol for our family to be proud of." Odette nodded, captivated by the tattoo.

"Every wife has one, when you are married, you will get your husband's Mark." the mother cooed, rubbing her daughter's shoulders.

"What about the sparrow? Can I ever get that one?" Young Odette asked, eyes sparkling. The mother kissed her forehead before beginning to put away the various beauty products that rested on a nearby counter.

"If your husband allows you to, you may get your father's Mark as well." Odette's mother paused before whispering in the child's ear. "You are very much like a sparrow my little one, so much power and strength in a tiny body. You don't need to call out the loudest in order to be heard."