World's Collide

Chapter 3: Duty.

Adina's POV

"Deep in thought?," Levi's, my best friend, voice brings me out of my thoughts. 

"Needed a clear head going into this, you know," I reply, still staring up at the mountains. 

"Hmm," he replied and takes a seat next to me. We sit here, in the field of daisies, for a moment of silence before he speaks again, "Well as pleasant as this is, it's time to get ready."

I cannot believe this day dawned upon me so quickly. Today was Duty Day. The day we are assigned our tasks for the Royal families. Levi and I are hoping we get drafted to the same Royal house. This day is something every nineteen has gone through and will go through. A day most eagerly awaited for by post high schoolers from the day they graduate from high school, so why was I so anxious and afraid. 

Maybe it was fear of failure or not being good enough for the task, but those are normal fears that even excited people feel, right? Why did it seem more gloomy to me then it did to others. 

I know I can do the task, whatever it might be. The year we spent in training after high school prepared us well. Something tells me it's because I am unsure if I will be happy in my new position. Why was happiness so important to me? Or rather why didn't my duty bring me this over-joyous feeling it seemed to give everyone else? Or am I just over-thinking?

"Adina?," Levi looked at me concerned, "We need to go."

I see that he is already standing up and offering me a hand to get up. I take his hand and we start walking back to our homes.

I look back at the daisy field and a wave of sadness overcomes me, " I won't be able to visit this place as often anymore will I," I ask, although I already know the answer.

Levi gives me a small sad smile and we continue home, hand in hand. As we walk, I look up at the side of his face. The sun shines through his hazel eyes, making it seem like it was the sun itself. The light reflected off his light brown hair, giving it a glint like none other. His muscular build casted a shadow big enough for me to walk in it's shade.

Levi. From Emerald House. Another piece in the puzzle that's my duty. He is my betrothed. I mean if it had to be someone, he is probably the best option. I just don't know if I'm ready for such a commitment. We are set to marry next week, after we get our tasks and settle into our new roles. We are getting married under the law of Survival Of Genes. 

Under the law, suitable marriages are planned and arranged at your birth or during your childhood, depending on when suitors become available. It is set in such way, that you marry someone within your abilities. So flyers marry flyers, shapeshifters marry shapeshifters etc. The law was laid by the first Selectives once they realised people fitted into a group based on the type of ability they had. They became afraid that genes would be lost if people of different abilities got married and had a family. In simpler terms, say a shapeshifter and a flyer had a child, then according to genetics, the child would be either shapeshifter or a flyer, leaving the ability that the child didn't have to be wasted. They were afraid that eventually there would be not enough flyers to protect the Royals, or not enough shifters to fight ground wars etc. 

For a while they thought that children could be hybrid, but any time a child was born with hybrid genes, they would die in the first five years of life. They ruled it as being too many abilities for one simple body to endure. Hence, the Survival Of Genes law.

So when I was born, I was paired with Levi, who was just 5 months old. We grew up together and did everything together and I can't imagine my life without him but we have never been more than just best friends and in a week's time he will be my husband. Am I ready for that? Will it bring me happiness?