Secrets Intertwined

Chapter 14: Part 1

A couple of weeks later and the chatter between Jackson, Logan, and Tamani about Azure had finally died down. Instead, their thoughts were occupied with the upcoming Ball that was to be held tomorrow.

As tradition went, two out of the three Leaders were obligated to go to the ball. The other one could either chose to go or to stay at the community. It was a rule that had been put in place a couple of decades ago when a community was attacked during the ball. Without their Leaders, they were helpless. By the time the ball had concluded, there were thirty-four communities instead of thirty-five.

The Bane Community, being one of the medium-sized yet poor communities, didn't have the money to pay for co-Leaders to protect their home when their Leaders were away. Leaders were chosen by trial every six years whereas co-Leaders where glorified guards paid to take up temporary duties when the Leaders were absent. Seeing as her Community didn't have the funds to pay for such luxuries, Logan had chosen to stay put.

Tamani had been packing all morning, the usually quiet Community House filled with shouts as Logan and he argued over who had stolen the others clothes; Jackson shouting from downstairs about how late it was getting.

Ever the organized one, Jackson had packed the night before, his trunk all packed and waiting by the door. However, after a surprise that morning, he had been forced, although far from against his will, to repack.

Aislyn had bought lots of fabric and two shirts at the market the week before. Every night she stayed up until her eyes stung making Jackson and Tamani their outfits. Even though she wasn't on speaking terms with either of them, she had heard numerous discussions on what they were going to wear. Neither of them had anything fancy enough for the occasion and neither of them had the money to buy anything. So she made them their outfits.

Most Leaders used the Council Ball as an excuse to show off the wealth and power of their Community. The women went in extravagant dresses, the men in fancy suits of all colours. From the stories her mother used to tell her, Aislyn knew that most of the time, people just ended up looking ridiculous.

So for that reason, she chose black. Black in a sea of colours would stand out. The trousers and shirts were plain black, but Aislyn couldn't bear to miss out on a chance to embellish something. So she did, albeit she did a much worse job than Galen would have done. She bought some black silk and cut out material in the shapes of roses which she stitched onto the ankle and collar. From afar, those details were invisible, but as soon as they caught the light they shimmered and added an elegance to the whole look. The jackets reached down to their knees, if her measurements were correct, and were also fully black from the outside. The inner lining was also made from the black silk. She purposely left the sleeves on the longer side so they'd be forced to roll them up, exposing a little flash of that shiny silk again.

The previous night, she had snuck out and left the outfits in a little package outside the Community gates with a note. Imitating Galen's rough handwriting, she wrote that it was a gift from him, thanking them for their hospitality. She had watched that morning the little delivery girl dropping it off and the relief coming of Jackson and Tamani was tangible.

Largely, Aislyn had stuck to her plan about distancing herself from the boys, although it hadn't exactly worked in the beginning as she had hoped. She had tried to keep to herself as much as possible, rarely conversing with anyone and staying alone in her room.

Tamani, still annoyed, had avoided her as much as she had been avoiding him and the rare occasion they happened to cross paths had been awkward and uncomfortable.

Logan, in the beginning, went to seek her out a few more times to ask about some training however after being shot downtime and time again, Aislyn could almost feel the resentment he had begun to harbour towards her.