The Rose of Anthacena

Chapter 1

 Rose glanced up as her older sister, Tanya, and her friends entered the room. She quietly returned their greetings, but then went back to her book. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott's classic story of four sisters during the first American Civil War. She loved it, even though almost everybody else laughed at her for reading such an old book.

"Read books that aren't 700 years old," they would tease her. Most of the time, she could ignore them. But then there were those times when she would lose her temper, and she would lash out at them with words and her sharp nails. She ended up grounded. They ended bleeding.

Rose looked out at the falling snow and sighed. Spring in Ireland was so unpredictable. She supposed that 500 years earlier, in 2014, it had snowed in winter and rained in spring, but that was most definitely not the way it was now. Rose was broken out of her reverie when Kaylee, Tanya's best friend, asked her, "When is your turn coming, Rose?"

Blushing, Rose answered. "Um, I wasn't listening to your conversation. So i don't know when my turn is coming." Kaylee laughed.

"We were discussing Tanya's wedding. When will it be your turn? After all, you are 18.' Rose shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess it'll be when the right one comes along. Sorry I can't help you out more." Tanya just laughed, and they all resumed talking. As they did, Rose turned her face towards the window to hide the tears in her eyes. She was acutely aware that she would probably turn out to be what, in Little Women, at least, was referred to as an "old maid." She knew that most girls her age were engaged, and would be married in a year or two.

Rose sighed as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. She contemplated her looks. Very ordinary, she thought sadly. So unlike everybody else. No wonder I'm not engaged yet. I can't hold a candle to all the other girls in Anthacena. They are so beautiful, and I'm just so...plain. Black hair really isn't that pretty, especially when it's as curly as mine is and you've got violet eyes to boot. My face is heart shaped, which, according to the books, should make any man fall head over heels in love with me. Ha. What a joke. Rose laughed bitterly.

"What's so funny?" Tanya asked with a smirk on her face. Rose blushed again.

"Nothing," she muttered as she got up to leave the room.

"Bye!" called Tanya's friends as she left, laughing when she slammed the door. Rose stomped up to her room as more tears threatened to spill over. She dashed them away angrily.

'Why does Tanya have to be so cruel?" she asked herself. "It's not like there was ever any chance of me taking away her suitors." She sighed. "I'm a fool to be crying over such a thing at my age!"

Rose looked around her room, which was neat and tidy. Unlike Tanya's, her room had few of the gadgets and electronic devices preferred by most of their generation. Sure, it had a 120-inch plasma TV, and, of course, all the best security systems money could buy, and she had her own, personal, paper-thin computer and the latest (three weeks) iPad from that crazy company, Apple, but the truth of it was, she rarely used them.

She preferred to spend her time lying on her bed or or curled up in her purple, squishy chair, reading a good old-fashioned book. Like Little Women. But right now, she didn't feel like doing anything. Not after what Kaylee had brought to mind.

"When is your turn coming, Rose? When is your turn coming, Rose?" She could hear Kaylee's mocking voice echo inside her head until she thought she would scream.

Rose looked out her sliding glass doors that led to a balcony. The snow had stopped falling, and the sun had quickly melted what little there was. Her face brightened as she remembered her blue and purple hoverboard, out in the garage. Laughing, she sprang to her feet and ran down the stairs.

She could hear chatter and laughter from the living room through the open door, but when she passed, they quieted to whispers and giggles. As soon as she was out of sight, she heard a loud burst of laughter, full of malice. She gritted her teeth and kept going

When she got to the garage, she pulled open the door and went it. Rose went to her hoverboard and picked it up. Walking outside, she stood there for a moment, breathing in the fresh, cool, April air. She switched on her board, stepped onto it, and slowly moved down the driveway, picking up speed as she went along.

Rose skimmed down the street, her black hair flying out behind her. Between the board running and the wind rushing in her ears, she couldn't really hear anything Even though she was having fun, she went only a little bit further before turning around herself, thinking she should really get home.