Sage in the Sea

Perfect Prospect

They lined us up on the stage as though we were prized horses, not human beings. A sticker was attached to our chests, with the numbers ranging from one to seventy-five. All of us the same age, all or us taken at the age of eleven. A man in his finest suit stood at the edge of the stage, a paper in his hands. One small paragraph about each of us. One paragraph that summarized everything that we had gone through for the past ten years.

Like we were a thing and not humans.

We were property of the state now. Taken from our families against our wills to become the wife of the young members of the royal court. Seventy-five girls ripped from their parents arms. Seventy-five girls who would never see their families again. Seventy-five girls taken just so that the royal blood lived on.

I stood with my hands clasped in front of me, just as we had been drilled to do so. The long sleeves of my tight red dress covered the bruises and scars on my arms from the torture of learning how to become a proper lady, from learning how to not embarrass myself in front of the man I would spend the rest of my life with.

Those men wouldn't know how we were treated. We were sworn to secrecy. To tell of the training practices used would be breaking the law and even we were not above the law. There was always someone who would be able to take our place. Someone who was more than willing to take our place.

It was all lies. No one would ever be willing to take our place. None of us were there by choice. We were selected as being the most perfect members of society. Each year when a baby was born, they were put into a system. A system that tracked their growth, both physically and mentally, and when they turned eleven, they were either deemed acceptable or passed over. If they were chosen, guards stormed their homes and took them without explanation. No one knew if they were going to be chosen. No one knew when the guards would come. One moment you were home, safe and happy. The next you were being forced into a carriage and to a facility that you would spend the next ten years at.

I took a deep breath, my eyes scanning the crowd of people before us as I blocked out what the man in the suit was saying about the first girl. There were highly ranked guards, nobles, and senators. There were judges and family members to the king. Cousins and nephews to the king and members of the royal court.

And the prince himself.

He was sitting in the front, a pamphlet on his lap. His dark hair was neatly combed, his green eyes trained on the man in the suit and the first girl. He wore the black coat of the king's court, his shoulders and chest decorated with medals and emblems. Simple black dress pants and black shoes. The image of the perfect son and future king.

His father leaned over and whispered something in his ear. The prince smiled tightly before he looked away from the girl and down at the pamphlet. The girl went to a senator's son. I tore my eyes away from the prince to watch as two guards escorted the girl down the steps and into a backroom. She would be escorted into a carriage and taken directly to the buyer's home. There could be no chances taken. We were all flight risks, despite our training.

I kept my eyes straight ahead as the girls in line before me were sold off. All of the paragraphs were the same. Some girls just excelled more than others did, therefore they had more to give. They were considered to be the better deal and could only be afforded by the higher ranking officials.

"Number twenty-four, please step forward," the man said. All eyes turned to me. I swallowed hard and stepped forward as the man stood next to me. He looked down at his paper and began to read my short resume.

Adelaide Colfield excelled in manners, obedience, and etiquette. She was second in her class, only failing in the area of sewing. She was well-spoken and well-tempered. A girl who would be the perfect wife for any man who desired her. She respected authority and listened well to commands, only failing to do so early in her training. She was one of the few capable of reading and writing fluently.