In the city of Vir girls are property, bred and raised to be the perfect wives. To serve and obey and honor the men that rule their city.
Elaia has always been content with her place in society. She is a perfect daughter, and with any luck she'll b...
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------- CASTINE -------
It's been sixteen days since my freedom was stolen from me. Sixteen days since I was separated from my brother. Sixteen days of pure misery. During the day, I play along. I wear their stupid, white uniform dresses, eat their disgusting oatmeal, attend their dumb obedience classes for girls. At night, I cry for Valas. This is the first time in my life that we've been separated. I miss him so much it physically hurts.
It's hard to pretend to be something I'm not. To act like I can't read and to give respect to these arrogant, entitled assholes who have the nerve to call themselves good people. They don't deserve my respect. I curtsey to them and call them 'Mr.' and smile. They seem genuinely pleased with my behavior but the joke's on them. On the inside, I am seething with anger and hate. I want to watch them burn. All of them.
Every time I see Sebastian I have to fight with everything inside of me not to spit at him or cuss him out, or tackle him to the ground and beat the shit out of him. I want to do all of these things. But I can't. I have to get back to Valas. I need to get myself out of the facility.
My stupid bracelet buzzes, reminding me that I have five more minutes of quiet time before my next class and relief floods through me. Every girl is supposed to be calm and quiet and gentle. I am none of these things, so they make me sit in complete silence for an entire fucking hour every day. If I so much as sigh too loudly I get shocked.
I'm supposed to reflect on my own actions and attitude during quiet time but, really, I just envision destroying the facility for an entire hour. Lighting it on fire, trapping Sebastian inside, freeing all the other girls. The thought brings me peace, even if I know it will probably never happen.
When the hour is finally up, I let out a soft sigh before standing and leaving the quiet room. As I walk to my next class I survey the halls, searching for anything that could be an escape route- a door that leads out to the gardens or a gap in the iron fence wide enough for me to squeeze through. I search these halls every day. So far, I've found nothing. The men that run the city are thorough. I'll give them that.
I stop in front of the door to the classroom, wondering how long I would have before someone came looking for me. Would I have enough time to escape? I want to try, but if Sebastian found me I'd probably never have the opportunity to sneak away again. I have to wait until he trusts that their brainwashing is sticking before I make a run for it. I'm only going to get one chance to escape, and I have to make sure it's the right one.
So, I slip inside the classroom and our instructor, Professor Harrison nods to me as I curtsey to me. He's a short, fat man with thinning brown hair and spectacles perched atop his bulbous nose. "Good morning, Castine," he greets dryly.
