"Aliana, our Master owns you. All of you. He can take what is his when he wants. It is your duty as his pet to please him." I looked at Silver. Terror evident in my eyes. "Try not to panic, Aliana. This will be your first time. It will hurt...
I looked in the mirror. My mother stood behind me with a sad smile on her face. I wasn't sure why we were required to dress this way, but it's been this way since the Selection started so there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. The required dress was white in color. It hit just above the knee, something considered scandalous under normal circumstances as we were not supposed to expose our ankles. I was slim and the dress made me look more like a child who had gotten into her mother's dresses. I could probably make a matching dress with the extra fabric that currently comprised the one. The dress was sleeveless and looked more like an over-sized slip that one might wear under a dress than an actual dress.
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We were required to wear white cotton panties underneath. No corset or chemise was allowed. The thinness of the material allowed our breasts to be seen. It was embarrassing, but there wasn't much I could do, and I could only take solace in the fact that I would not be alone. To resolve the whole ankle debacle, we were provided with soft suede cream colored boots that came to just above the ankle and had a small two-inch heel. I was a little taller than average height, so the heel only added to this.
Finally, we wore a crown of flowers. The flowers were fake, cut from silk and colored gold. My mother helped me entwine some of Liam's Lavender into the crown. I put a few more sprigs into my bottle of oil and I took the ribbon and tied it to the bottle. My mother took the remainder promising to put them in my room at the farm for when I come home.
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Together my parents walked with me to the Great Hall where the Selection will take place. We joined other families we knew, but no one spoke. It was late October, and there was a bit of chill in the evening air. My mother gave me a shawl for the walk over. I was thankful because it covered my breasts. Once inside, I would need to take it off, but it felt good to have it wrapped around me while we were on the streets. Many of the locals had gathered in the streets to watch the procession. Some liked to gawk at the women with their revealing outfits.
The Eligible men were in better shape with a billowy white shirt tucked into black breeches that hit just below the knee. They wore black shoes that buckled in the middle. I strained to find Liam, but I couldn't see him. Women were directed to one end of the hall and men to the other. I was given my number. Lucky number 36. I looked at the stage and saw that number one, a pale looking girl with pale blond, almost white hair, a long face and pale blue eyes was already on the stage. Her most striking features were of course her hair color and eyes. Her eyes dominated her face. Her eyebrows were so fair that they almost didn't appear on her face and she had a light pink mouth that also blended in. She was certainly exotic looking and would likely be one of the first to go.
