by S. L. Baum
Holly and Lily were laughing hysterically, Willow had a huge smile on her face, Rosebud watched the boys in awe, and I stared at Thorn. He caught my eyes and then glanced at the floor. I looked down and saw the black gem pin, which had moments before been securely fastened to Weaver’s tie. It was slowly being busted into several small pieces. If there was a recording device inside of it, it had become worthless after the boys finished demonstrating their fast dance moves.
When the song ended, Lily grabbed onto Fisher’s shoulders. “That was amazing. You have some ferocious dance moves, my man.”
Fisher put a hand to his chest. “I need some water; that was exhausting.”
“There’s a refreshment counter over there,” Lily pointed.
Fisher nodded his head and waved her forward.
As they walked away from the group, Thorn grabbed my hand. “I need some air.”
“We’ll be right back,” I told Willow, who was the closest to me. “Thorn needs air.”
“Alright. We’ll wait here,” she told me.
We quickly made our way out of the soundproof room and headed toward one of the back exits. “How long do you think he’ll be content in there?” I asked Thorn.
He gave a small laugh as he opened the door. “As long as Holly keeps batting those long eye lashes at him.”
“What? Holly? She just wanted to dance,” I insisted.
“I don’t think you were looking at the same girl I was. Holly was looking pretty interested in Weaver. He’s a big important Medical guy. He’d be a great catch.”
“You know what? You’re right. Maybe I should go back in there and claim him for myself,” I teased, and turned around to face the door we’d just come through.
“Don’t you dare.” Thorn hooked a finger in the back of my strapless dress and I felt a small yank.
I spun back around and fluttered my eyes at him. “What? I can bat my eyes too.”
Thorn pressed his forehead to mine. “I don’t want you to look at anyone else that way.”
“Why not?”
“Because I care too much for you. Because if you are going to flutter those gorgeous eyes at anyone at all… I want it to be at me,” he whispered.
I kissed him then. I pressed my lips to his, closed my eyes, and breathed in the scent of him. My shoulders relaxed and as my arms snaked around his hips, I felt his arms circle my body and instantly knew that his touch was the one thing that felt right about my life. Being with Thorn made me feel calm, and my heart was at peace for those few, precious moments. But I pulled back, opened my eyes, and ended the kiss. We needed to talk to Gill and then I needed to get back into the Gala. I had duties to perform – duties for Concord. The idea of which had ceased to feel noble, it just felt like a lie.
“As much as I would love to linger here, with you, we need to find Gill.”
Thorn smiled; it was a soft, slightly playful smile. “As long as I know you’d rather stay here, like this, with me, I’m quite satisfied.”
I tugged his hand, and walked toward the rows of parked vehicles. Several small groups of chauffeurs were standing together, talking and laughing. “Can I help you, Miss?” one called out to me. “You’re that Lush girl, aren’t you?”
Thorn’s fingers tightened on mine. “Yes. She is the Lush Ambassador.”
All five men in the group stared at us as we approached. Curiosity about my Brand was something I’d finally become used to. I held my left arm up, with my Lush Brand exposed, showing the men the five interlaced circled that formed the flower like Brand. “That’s me,” I said with a smile. “I was wondering if any of you know were Gilbert is parked. I left something in the back of the vehicle. Guess I’m nervous for the big announcement tonight, I’m always forgetful when I’m nervous.”
A short man with a shock of red hair snapped his fingers. “That’s right,” he said as he took a step toward me. “You were at TT with those girls. My wife keeps telling me that she remembers them. Even though she’s been out for ten years, she’s always talking about seeing them when they were so little and wishing that she could have twins of her own. Now that those twins are all over our screens, that’s all she talks about. No kids for us yet, but we keep trying.” He shook his head, showing his disappointment.
“That’s right, they are my friends,” I confirmed. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and your wife.”
“Do you mind if I touch your Brand?” The man next to me asked, as he pushed his long, dark hair back behind his ears. He closed his almond shaped eyes before I had a chance to answer and shook his head. “That was inappropriate. Forget I asked,” he said, glancing back at me before turning his eyes to the ground. I could almost read the apology on his face. “The official vehicles are parked on the left. Over there,” he pointed. “You’ll find Gilbert somewhere over there.”
“Thank you,” I said and brushed his arm with my left hand.
“Sandy. I’m Sandy,” he offered.
“Thank you, Sandy,” I smiled and then Thorn and I turned to walk over to where he said Gill should be. “Goodbye,” I said to the entire group.
The man with the red hair snapped his body into a tall straight line. “Concur with Concord.”
“Concur with Concord,” Thorn and I chorused.
“Concur with Concord,” the entire group of chauffeurs repeated.
Those words, said in unison as they were, called the attention of the other groups of men that were standing around outside. “Concur with Concord,” immediately boomed from all around us.
“Concord Reigns,” I mumbled under my breath as Thorn and I walked away.
The row of vehicles that were marked Official were exactly where Sandy had said they’d be. Gill must have noticed us after the spontaneous Concur with Concord boom, because he was walking toward us. I waved, he waved, but neither of us called out, preferring to keep our familiarity to ourselves.
“I hope you came up with a plausible reason to be exciting all the chauffeurs this evening,” Gill teased as soon as we were close enough to speak quietly.
“I need to retrieve something from the back of the vehicle,” I said matter-of-factly. “And, I wasn’t trying to cause such a commotion.”
“Her presence is enough to rally Concord pride,” Thorn added with a laugh. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Gilbert. I’m Thorn.”
Gill extended a hand. “I know who you are. Your father is quite proud of you. He’s a good man,” he said as he shook Thorn’s hand. “And I’m Gill. Gilbert is too formal. We should get you to the vehicle then, so you can retrieve your forgotten item.” He smiled at me.
After getting in the back, I took a lip-gloss out of my clutch and held it up. “I think I forgot this,” I said. “Gill, I hate that we don’t have time to talk in private. But with communications back up and the curfew about to be lifted, I hope we can soon.”
“We will,” Gill assured me. “We are planning something now. As soon as we are able, we’ll gather for a meeting. You’ll get to meet some of the other people that are unhappy with Concord, and see what we hope can be done.”
Thorn’s mouth pulled tight. “Something has to change.”
“Gill, that incident in Three, the morning we left, right after I gave the speech, that was a message from my mother. She is alive! She told me that someone knows she is trying to contact me, and that I should make my father remember. She said it is the only way.” I looked around the rows of vehicles as I spoke, nervous that I’d discover prying eyes and ears.
“And have you attempted to?” Gill asked.
I nodded my head. “I’ve been feeding him memory pills for days now. It seemed like they had no effect, but then this evening I’ve seen a glimmer of something.”
“Keep me posted.”
“I will.”
“You two had better go back in now. Chauffeurs are a curious bunch. They collect information.”
“Thank you for your help, Gilbert,” I said quite loudly as Thorn and I began to
walk away.
“You are most welcome, Miss Bluebell. Anytime I can be of assistance.” He waved and then turned to rejoin one of the groups.
When we passed by Sandy’s group he said, “You found what you were looking for?”
“I did,” I told him, holding up the lip-gloss. “A Lush girl has to look her best. This one is good for the glare of the lights on stage. I’ll be going on soon, don’t forget to watch.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” he assured me. “Which are you rooting for?”
“Whomever Concord decides is the best fit,” I answered.
When we were at the back door, ready to reenter the Gala. Thorn paused to say, “You are so good at being Lush Ambassador to Concord.” He used his best official sounding voice. “It’s like you become a different person.”
“I have to. Whenever I slip up and show my exasperation, I am sternly reminded of my role. Cimarron even threatened a Behavior Monitor. I can’t be anything but perfect right now, not until we know what’s going on. So I put on an Official smile and do my duty.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you, Blue.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to me, either. I’m being careful. The thought of having my mind erased and becoming a shell of a person… Well, that scares me. I wonder how much was taken from my father and I hope that those memories can actually come back to him. It would be awful to find out they’d been erased forever.”
As soon as we were back inside and wandering toward the back corner, where we’d left our friends, Aspen appeared at my side. “Where have you two been sneaking off to?”
I blinked and put on my innocent eyes, but I doubted I would be able to fool her. “We haven’t been sneaking anywhere. Father said that I’d be on stage soon, and while we were dancing I remembered the lip-gloss that Cimarron said would do well with the stage lights. When I looked in my bag for it, it wasn’t there. So I figured it must be in the vehicle. Thorn escorted me out there, for protection. And I found it. See.” I held up the gloss while I continued to ramble on aimlessly. “There were all these chauffeurs out there and I’m like a celebrity to them. It was sort of cool. We had this loud Concur with Concord moment, Mother. You should have been there.” I paused for a loud breath.
She tried to keep her face void of emotion, but I could still see the annoyance underneath. “I’m sure I’m glad I wasn’t. Where is Weaver? Why would you leave him? He is our guest.”
“He saw a girl from his Incorporation Class, and then was having so much fun dancing. And just between you and me, well, and Thorn, because he is right here, I think my friend Holly is sweet on Weaver. And Weaver didn’t seem to mind the attention. I thought they might like a moment alone.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“Holly? Which one is that? He is here for you!” Aspen insisted.
“Actually, he is here for you,” I reminded her. “Nice guy that he is. And Holly is the one that has a twin brother, Ash. So she has always been kind of special. People like that about her. I bet Weaver likes that about her too, amongst other things. Holly is very pretty… and outgoing.”
Aspen could no longer hide her annoyance with me. “I don’t have time for this pointless conversation, Bluebell. Your grandfather sent me to retrieve you. He and the stage manager, or the announcer, I can’t remember, would like to go over some things with you, before you go on. Say goodbye to your little friend.”
I turned to Thorn. “Goodbye, little friend.”
“See you later, Blue.”
As Thorn walked away, Aspen gave me a warning look. I ignored the look and put on my charming face. “Isn’t this an exciting evening, Mother? I do hope you are having a lovely time with your friends.”
She began to walk and I followed.
“It is lovely to be able to be out in the evening again,” she admitted. “The curfew is so tedious.”
“We can completely agree on that. How is Father enjoying himself?”
“He is being his normal, charming self. His ease in working a room is one of his best qualities.”
“As is yours,” I told her, giving her arm a squeeze. “Fortune has definitely smiled upon me to be born into this family.”
“You are fortunate indeed,” Aspen smoothed, pleased with my flattery, and pleased with herself. “You know what would be even more lovely, if you could keep yourself this charming all the time.”
“I think I could manage it for the rest of the evening. How about that?” I asked as we maneuvered our way through the crowds of Citizens.
“It is a start,” she said dryly.
My father came up from behind and placed himself in the middle of us. We paused in our trek for a moment as he hooked both of his arms, so Aspen and I could each take an elbow. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m a lucky man to have such beautiful women on my arms.”
Aspen leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Jackson. We are lucky to have such a devoted Concord man in our lives.”
My father returned her kiss and then turned to me. I craned my neck to the side, putting my cheek closer to him, expecting a kiss of my own, but when none came I looked at him. He seemed frozen for a moment. “Father? Are you alright?”
He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. “I’m fine,” he said as he opened them again. “Your grandfather is waiting behind the stage. We should hurry.”
My father started walking. At first he only looked straight ahead, his face emotionless. But as we approached the door to take us backstage, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he kept darting his eyes my way. What was he looking for? What was he hoping to see?
My grandfather was waiting behind the door, with eight other men, each wearing an identical black suit. Black suit, black tie, black shoes, hair smoothed back in an identical fashion. My father was wearing the same uniform. The Council had gathered.
My grandfather opened his arms wide to receive me. “There she is… our Lush Ambassador. Perfectly pleasing, as always. You are enjoying yourself this evening, I assume.”
I took a few steps toward him, until he was able to get his arms around me for a brief, sterile hug. “Yes, Grandfather. The Concord Galas are always a cut above the rest.”
“That they are,” he agreed with my blind statement.
I hadn’t been allowed to attend any other Galas after Incorporation, other than the one held for Petunia and Petals. But that Gala had doubled as my introduction to the Citizens of Concord as the Lush Ambassador. And it had been sponsored by Concord, as was the one held for Lily and me. Concord Galas were the only kind of Gala I’d ever attended.
The announcer for the evening, who had been standing off to the side, walked over to us, after my grandfather waved a hand his way. “Good evening, Bluebell. It appears my job is quite simple this evening, with the bulk of it having been transferred to you. I will introduce The Council and then you. You will give your speech, after which, you will announce the results of Concord’s fun little contest with the twins. Just read from your tablet. The results will be sent to you at the exact second that the voting is closed.”
The announcer looked disappointed that his job had been cut short, but I was sure that he knew better than to show that disappointment in front of my grandfather. No one wanted to upset the head of The Council. Citizens feared being demoted or transferred, but what they didn’t know was that they should fear something even greater.
I wanted to know who made those decisions, the ones that would erase a Citizen’s former self, or worse yet, ended his or her entire existence. As head of the Council, my grandfather had to be at the heart of them. But were the other Councilmembers in on it too? Did my own father have a hand in it, sitting at a desk and signing off on the death of wayward, troublesome, or sick Citizens? It was too terrible to think about. I closed my eyes, shook my head, and put my hand up to my chest. There didn’t seem to be enough air in the room. I took a deep breath as I opened my eyes and tried to bring calm to my
face. Don’t let your emotions show, I warned myself.
The announcer put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes brightened with hope. “Are you feeling alright, Bluebell? I would be happy to do the announcing this evening. It would only be right, if you are incapacitated.”
“I’m alright,” I whispered.
“She’s fine,” my grandfather insisted.
“Just a moment of nerves. They often seem to come over me when I am about to speak in public. But I just need to take a deep breath and they go away,” I assured everyone. I looked around at all the faces backstage and noticed one was missing. “Is Cimarron not here?”
“She is not,” my grandfather supplied the answer. “She felt that her presence was still needed in Information and assured me of your ability to function without her.” He looked directly into my eyes, as if summing up Cimarron’s assessment of me. “She has been working tirelessly since you both returned to One, making sure the Citizens maintain their positive outlook, feel safe and secure, and understand what is expected of them. Cimarron is one of the most diligent workers I’ve seen. Very dedicated. Pity she is not male. She would have made an excellent Councilman, but we need loyal Citizens in every field.”
I smiled a vacant smile for him. He seemed to expect nothing more from me. “Pity.”
The announcer clapped his hands. “Attention, everyone. We will be going out on the stage, in just a moment. Councilmen in a single file line, with you entering last,” he addressed my grandfather. “And you,” he pointed to me. “You will make your graceful entrance after I have introduced the Councilmen. Listen carefully for your cue to walk out on stage.”
