The Six

May 19, 2328, 7:38 pm

Aleah was so excited to see Elliot again that night after such a wonderful morning with him in the garden. Yes, she was scared of the girls and their jealously, but she was going to try her best to not let that get to her.

All day, she and her maids had been working hard to finish her dress, which she had been working on for weeks now. Ever since she knew that she had been Selected, Aleah had been designing her dress for the first Report. It had to be perfect, especially since this is the first time she would be talking to the country as one of its daughters.

After their walk in the garden, Aleah had gone straight to her room since the fabric was finally in for the dress. She wanted to go with a color not many could pull off and would stand out against the usual reds, purples, and blues. She went with a beautiful copper color, like a currency that used to exist back when Illéa was the United States of America. It was called the penny, and even if it was the currency that was worth the least, it was still important: a metaphor she saw in herself and the girls like her.

The design was simple yet elegant, a gown that went down to the floor, thin straps, and a neckline where the fabric draped naturally, making it look like there would be cleavage but not enough to be scandalous. The color of the dress was beautiful with her coffee-colored skin and natural hair. Like every dress, it was finished with her signature: a sky blue ribbon sewn in like a tag with her initials written on it and her symbol: A.R.C ⁂. The three stars stood for who she was doing this for, her mother, her sister, and her dad.

But sadly she would never get to wear it on the Report.

Aleah had finished the dress four hours before she needed to be in the ballroom for the broadcast. She had her maids run it to the cleaners so it could be absolutely perfect for tonight before they started to work on her hair and makeup. She took a shower before getting ready, softly singing to herself as she washed her hair, defining her natural curls as much as she could.

She wanted to stand out tonight, even if that wasn't hard for her to do.

Her maids helped her with her makeup like they always did, keeping it simple and natural with pops of copper everywhere, including her lipstick which Aleah loved. While she was doing her hair, her maids went to go get the dress, knowing how excited she was to change into it and pair it with some light jewelry.

Once the dress bag arrived, she unzipped it but was horrified to see nothing left but the end half of her blue ribbon. Aleah was stunned, shocked and hardly able to stand as she put her head in her hands, trying not to cry.

Who would do this? Who would be so jealous and upset with her that they would steal her dress?

She felt sick to her stomach and dizzy, hardly able to stand when her maids insisted that she go and see the prince, explain to him what had happened so that they could give her more time to find her dress before the show. But Aleah shook her head, asking for a piece of paper and a pen. With shaking hands, she wrote him a letter:

Dearest Elliot,

I am incredibly sorry, but I cannot attend the Report tonight as I am not feeling the greatest. I would push myself to go, but I wouldn't want to risk you or any of the other Selected getting sick from me. I hope you understand.

~ A. R. C ⁂

Elliot was a nervous wreck trying to get ready for the report. Although it wouldn't be entirely focused on him, there would still be cameras watching him at all times, ready to capture his reactions for each selected. The thought sent a shiver up his spine but he quickly shook out his arms, forcing the feeling away.