The Eyes of the Dark

One.

I didn't sleep at all last night. No matter how hard I tried. I couldn't fall asleep, so I gave up. I have been sitting at my small wooden desk finishing my sketch all morning. My dad built me this desk when he got tired of seeing me draw on the floor. As I rub my fingers over the smooth wood surface, I am hit with a wave of sadness because this will be the last time I will ever be sitting at this desk. I finished school last week and after the placing today, everything will change. I will leave Rivermouth and never return home just like my two brothers did before me. I was 14 when my first brother, Kane, left me and 15 when my second brother, Finn, left. My parents will be alone. After today they will live the rest of their life in this small house and never see me again. I can't even imagine myself years from now in their place. I don't want to. I wish I could stay here forever. Live out my days taking care of my parents. Instead of giving my life to the Royals. Who decided they could control us? I almost wish I would be placed as a Dreg. I'd be normal.

I shut my notebook and place it in the drawer of my desk, where is will collect dust for the rest of my life. I get up and slip on my plain grey dress. Every Elite girl in Rivermouth wears this dress, so we all look the same. Personally, I hate it. It's boring and I feel unimportant when I wear it. I stare into the mirror at my reflection and push my loose hair behind my ears. Sometimes when I look at myself in the mirror, I see a ghost. My hair blends in so much with my complexion; white and pale. I take a deep breath and comb my hair down. Today will be fine. Not great, but fine.

When I get downstairs, my mom is cooking breakfast and my father is pouring me a glass of juice. This is the last time I will eat breakfast with them. My parents don't say a word when I sit down. Mom hands me a plate of food and dad sets the glass of juice in front of me. I should feel sad. It's normal to feel sad. I knew this day was coming and now it's here. I slowly eat my breakfast as my parents take their seats at the table. The silence is killing me. I wish they would say something. They know this is harder for me than it is for them, right? Finally, my dad sets down his fork and looks up at me.

"Octavia, we want you to know that it doesn't matter what you get. We will be happy for you either way." I nod quickly. Red for fire, blue for water, yellow for light. My mom was a blue and my father was a red. My oldest brother, Kane, is a red and Finn is a blue. No doubt I will be one of those two and not a yellow. However, there are ones who are placed and end up not being an Elite. They don't enjoy the luxury of being gifted with powers. Instead they are a Dreg. Absolutely normal and human. All Dregs are sent to Westfall where they live separately from us. Sometimes I try to imagine what it would be like being one of them. There is also Black which means you have all three powers and a fourth. It is a forbidden power and everyone who has ever been one is dead. No one ever talks about the power that a Blacks hold. My parents never talk about their experiences when they were in training. I wonder if they ever encountered a black or what they were forced to do in training. That's what happens when you get married. You must go through a procedure to remove your powers so you can focus on raising children. Every parent goes to live in Rivermouth where the kids go to school for 18 years. I am grateful that I won't have to go back to school, but I am scared for what is to come. I'm scared my life won't be meaningful. I want it to be. I don't want to spend the rest of my life training and learning. I just wish there was more.

"I know you aren't very keen on this life, Octavia, but this is the path you must take. Just like your brothers," my mom says. I bite my lip and stare at my food.

"You're mother's right. Everyone goes through this," dad says backing my mom up.

"Except Dregs," I murmur. I hear my dad take a deep breath.

"Octavia we are Elite and it's time you start remembering that. We live a better privileged life." I meet my moms' eyes.

"We get to learn about how special we are," my dad adds.