Sage in the Sea

Possessions

Several hours later, we stopped on the side of the road to stretch our legs. I paced back and forth, my speech in my hand, saying the words softly under my breath. I did not want to promote the things written within the speech. How could I speak of the great things that the facility had given me when I did not condone any of the things that they do there? How could I tell the girls of the great things that I had received due to the facility when there was only one prince to marry? I could not promise that they would marry a good man, a man that would care for them and keep them safe for the rest of their lives.

I could not stand there and speak the same lies that I had been told during my time there. They were not naive little girls. They had already gone through hell in that facility. They knew when someone was speaking the truth and when one was not. Would they realize that I was only saying what I was forced to say? Perhaps some would. Some would not. I wanted to be able to speak freely with them without facing prosecution.

I could not, though. If I were to speak my mind, not only would I be punished, but perhaps Miss. Dolloway would for not being able to properly train me. Perhaps Piers would face his father's wrath for being unable to control me. Perhaps Fergus and the other guards would be punished for not keeping me in my place.

I did not want to cause harm to others for my actions. But, how many girls would I be hurting if I did not tell them the truth? How many girls in that room would believe that they were going to live the life that they were being promised? I could not allow them to find the truth out after it was too late to make a difference. I had the opportunity to send them a warning. I had the opportunity to show them what the Bycgan was truly like.

We were possessions. We were not different than a plate or a spoon. Our bodies and our minds could be bought, but they were controlled just as a possession is. The best dishes are only used on special occasions. It was possible that a girl was not allowed to mingle with others unless her presence was expected, such as a court gathering. Then she was merely there for show, forced to follow her man around all night.

It was disgusting.

It was angering.

I had less than two days to muster up my courage to shed some light upon the issue. I knew what I was risking, I knew who I was putting in jeopardy, but I was willing to do it.

"You look deep in thought over here," Lysander said, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up from the paper.

"I am just attempting to prepare myself for tomorrow," I replied as I refolded the paper and tucked it into the pocket of my overcoat.

"Everything will be fine," he told me as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. "It is all going to work out in the end. We just need to keep our heads down."

That was the issue. I was growing tired of keeping my head down. I had relied so long on men to make progress, but they had disappointed me thus far. The king succeeded in passing his immigrant law. How long until he implemented the new Bycgan law? Piers and Lysander were working on it, I knew, but they and their colleagues were not working quick enough. I had an opportunity to make a large difference in a short time. If the girls at the facility were to refuse to conform, they could easily overtake the workers at the facility.

They were not controlled by manpower. They were controlled by fear. Fear of punishment. Fear of death. If they realized what they faced outside of those walls, would they not want to do everything that they possibly could to resist it?

"Of course," I murmured to Lysander, giving him a small smile before I turned towards the carriages.

"Wait, Adelaide," he said, reaching out and touching my arm lightly. I turned back towards him. "You do realize how important this visit is, correct? How you behave at the facility may have an affect upon the king's new law. If you behave poorly, things may accelerate much faster than we are able to cope with."