Lush Trilogy

by S. L. Baum

  Aspen stepped over to stand at my side. “I’ll be right here with her. I can escort her out.”

  My grandfather’s head snapped toward her. “That won’t be needed.” He frowned at her suggestion.

  Aspen scowled, unable to hide her disappointment.

  The announcer rubbed his hands together and walked away from Aspen with quick steps, distancing himself from my mother. “Excellent. Excellent. And here we go,” he said as he pushed aside the heavy curtain that separated us from the stage.

  “You are lucky your father is such a loyal man,” Aspen said, as we watched the men stroll onto the stage. “I think my father would have been much happier had I been a man, or if I’d never been.” She looked off into a corner of the room as she spoke. “Jackson never seemed to care what kind of child we ended up with. He was excited the entire time leading up to your birth.”

  “He is a good father,” I said, but I wondered if he truly was. Why would he take me from my mother and then agree to have her erased from his memory?

  As if to make sure I was referring to my father and not hers, Aspen said, “Jackson is good.” I watched as she blinked her eyes a few times, before focusing on the area of the curtain all the men had just walked through. “We should wait there. I’m sure you will be called, momentarily.”

  We stood at the edge of the opening in the curtain, listening to each member of The Council being introduced. After my grandfather had taken his bow, the announcer extended his arms wide. “These are the men that keep Concord a safe and most peaceful place to live. Life before The Council was no life at all,” he boomed.

  “How safe are we in Concord?” I asked Aspen.

  “Keep your parents and your grandfather happy, Bluebell. As your influence grows, in time, Citizens will learn to keep you happy as well,” she answered.

  “But that is just keeping people happy. I asked if we were safe.”

  “It is the same thing. When everyone is happy, everyone is safe, and vice versa. Don’t disappoint,” she said and pushed me forward. “You are on.”

  “Welcome, Bluebell, the Lush Ambassador for Concord.” The announcer clapped his hands, glanced back at my grandfather, and then stepped off to the side.

  I waved my arms as I walked to the center of the stage where a clear glass podium was waiting. It was directly in the middle of the two couches that Petals and Petunia were impatiently waiting upon. The Councilmen were lined up behind them, and the sets of brothers were still perched on the stools, set off to either side of the stage. I waited for the applause to die down before I began to read from the tablet that had been placed there for me.

  “Citizens of Concord, please give another round of applause for the diligent, hardworking, and trustworthy members of The Council.” I stepped back from the podium and clapped, along with the rest of the attendees. “We have all weathered a weak attempt at intimidation. I was in Three when the tragedy struck! But we are strong and dutiful Citizens, and we know that even if further attempts to sabotage Concord may occur, we will stand together, and we will crush the wayward Citizens that were Banished. Because, above all, Concord Reigns!

  “Concord Reigns!”

  “I am proud to call two of these men standing behind me Father and Grandfather. I am lucky, in fact, to come from such strong, dedicated family members. The rewards for loyal Citizens are abundant. Just look at my friends.” I gestured to the couches beside me. “Petunia and Petals, my identical friends, with loyal and respected parents, have been granted an incredible gift from Concord. They will be well taken care of, they will live a charmed life, they are guaranteed to have many, many years filled with happy moments that we will all be able to share with them.”

  I pointed behind me, to the timer that was still counting down the minutes that remained, until voting was closed. “There is, wait,” I paused. “Exactly one minute left. You have sixty seconds, Citizens of Concord, to cast your vote. Who do you think my friends should live the rest of their lives with, have children with, and be devoted to… which set of brothers will it be?” I asked. “If you have already voted, you may change it now.”

  A screen lit up behind the heads of Leaf and Blade, and another behind Hunter and Reed. The words Popular Vote appeared at the top and an ever-changing two-digit number next to a percentage sign was positioned at the bottom of the screen. The brothers all looked at the screens, as did The Pets. All six faces were hopeful, but what was behind that hope was outside of my grasp. It was impossible to know what each of them wanted the outcome to be, although I suspected that The Pets were hoping for different things.

  As soon as the tablet before me indicated, I started to count down. The crowd soon followed. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. The time has come!” I looked at my friends and, for the first time, I saw fear flash across each of their faces. I tried to give both Petunia and Petals a reassuring smile, as the numbers on the screens behind me settled into place. They were no longer changing percentages; they had finally revealed the outcome. “With sixty-eight percent of the Citizens in favor of them, the popular vote goes to… Leaf and Blade.” Another screen came to life, this one directly behind and above my head, hanging from the ceiling. “The Council has agreed unanimously, and their vote is one hundred percent in favor of Leaf and Blade.”

  As the crowd erupted in shouts and applause, I looked over at Petunia and saw that her face was awash with relief. I glanced at Petals and found her eyes brimming with tears. She smiled at me, but I could tell the tears had not come from a place of joy. I smiled back at her. “It will be okay,” I mouthed.

  She nodded her head and straightened her shoulders. “I know,” she mouthed back.

  I turned my gaze to the winning set of brothers. “It seems that there is no need for Petunia and Petals to vote, no tie breaker is needed. Leaf and Blade, please join Petunia and Petals, your new mates.”

  The brothers hopped off of their stools and Blade rushed to Petunia’s side. He hugged her and then lifted her up, much to the crowds delight. Leaf joined Petals, with a truly happy smile on his face. He took her hand and then swung their arms up into the air. Petals forced a smile, plastering it onto her face.

  “I have some exciting news for Hunter and Reed. Since travel between Concords is still suspended for nonessentials, you have been granted temporary residency in One. Concord will find work and housing for you both,” I announced.

  Hunter’s face brightened at the news, as did Petals’.

  “The new couples will now lead us in a dance.” I gestured to the dance floor, where two spotlights appeared. Blade took Petunia’s hand, Leaf put his hand at the small of Petals’ back, and the brothers led the sisters to the dance floor.

  A moment later, my father appeared at my side. “May I have this dance?” he asked and held out his arm.

  I smiled up at him. “I’d be delighted.” I took his arm and we left the stage.

  As we danced to the music, my father just stared at me. It was like he was seeing me for the first time. “I know who you are now,” he whispered.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled by the statement. “Of course you know who I am. I’m your daughter.”

  “Yes, you are.” He looked over to the side of us, to where Aspen was dancing with her father. “Do you know about her?” he asked.

  “Do I know about Aspen? You are confusing me,” I said, not willing to reveal what I knew, what I hoped he was talking about.

  “She said that she would come back for us. Once she found help, and after I moved into a position of rank, she said that she would find a way to bring us all together again.” He paused for a moment to stare at my face. “You look just like her, you know? Especially wearing that lovely feathered headpiece. She wore it once. She snuck into a masquerade ball, wearing a grand feathered mask and that exact piece pinned to her long dark hair, and we danced just like this, here in this room.”

  “Who, father? Who are you talking about?”

&nb
sp; He brought my left arm up and brushed his thumb across my Lush Brand. Then he stared into my eyes. “Your mother. Hope. She has the same Brand as you. She was my perfect match, and I remember her. I remember it all now, Bluebell. Do you remember?”

  Chapter Seven

  It Began Twelve Years Ago

  When I was just a baby, my father knew that Aspen didn’t love him and he didn’t love her. In fact, sometime before I was conceived, she’d told him that love and affection were characteristics of the weak. They were not things she had ever bargained for when she entered into a Marriage Contract with him. My father had been a completely unattached man, with no family to ever offer a counter opinion, or require a portion of his time or energy. She said he was someone with a pleasant disposition, and it pleased her that he was physically attractive. But most importantly, he was someone that seemed pliable to her, so she pursued him.

  In the beginning, when they first met, my father had been awestruck by Aspen’s family connections; she was a 1.15 and her father sat at the head of The Council. She lavished him with attention, seduced him with the extra privileges that came from being attached to the head Councilman’s daughter, and convinced him that their pairing would be the most beneficial and best decision he could ever make. While emotional feelings for one’s mate were never emphasized in Concord Marriage, my father said he had hope. His parents had always seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, from what he could remember of them, and he wished the same for himself and Aspen. But he entered into a Marriage Contract with a woman who, while quite pleasant when things were going her way, would never warm up to him that way.

  When Hope came into their lives, my father said he was reluctant to take a Second Wife, because he still wanted to believe that he could have something special with Aspen. But Aspen and her father wanted there to be a child, a child that the Citizens of Concord would be told had been born by Aspen. My father had discovered her true Brand weeks before they were married. But he had promised to keep her secret, he told her that it didn’t matter to him, and he insisted that with or without a child their pairing would be a strong one.

  Hope was brought to One because Aspen’s father wanted the family line to continue, Aspen wanted a child to cement her lie into truth – to convince others that she was indeed fertile and had given birth to a child of her own – and my father went along with the plan, eager to please his new family.

  My father told himself that he would procreate with this new woman, simply to keep his wife happy. He resisted his feelings for Hope; he told himself that they were merely a byproduct of the physical act they had agreed to perform. But soon after Hope became pregnant with me, and with Aspen growing ever distant, he admitted to himself that he was in love with the woman that was carrying his child. If Aspen had shown him any affection, if she had allowed herself to care deeply for him – even if it wasn’t love at first – things might have been different. But Aspen wanted a puppet husband, not a lover, not a partner, and my father wanted so much more.

  Soon after I was born, my father found out that Aspen had feelings for another man. He discovered that she’d been secretly meeting with someone named Branson. She had Incorporated with Branson, and had a deep physical attraction to him, but on her Citizen Branding day, after she faked her illness and covered up her true Brand, she discovered that Branson was also Infertile. She decided then that they could never be matched, because it wouldn’t be beneficial to her or her father to join forces with an Infertile. But she continued to see him in secret, refusing to give him up. The discovery of Branson gave my father hope that maybe they could each end up with the person they truly wanted to be with.

  Apparently, Aspen’s father found out about Branson around the same time that my father did. Soon after, Branson drowned while he was on vacation at one of the Beach Cottages. Aspen was warned by her father to never let such an indiscretion happen again, and my father was warned to keep his feelings for Hope under control. Hope was warned that her position as Second Wife was not a solid one. Everyone involved quickly understood that Aspen’s father was the one who made the all the decisions. It was after Branson’s death that Aspen became a hard, unfeeling person. She decided that his death was a sign that the only kind of relationship that mattered was the one that helped her survive and thrive in Concord society.

  My father and Hope tried to squash their feelings for each other and, for a while, it worked. But as the years passed and Aspen tried to diminish Hope’s role as a Second Wife, referring to her only as the Child Caretaker, Hope turned to my father more and more for support. When I was nearing my fifth year, it became clear to Hope that she would no longer be wanted or needed in any capacity once I was sent to Training Tech, which was also about the same time that she began to fear for her continued existence.

  Both my father and Hope suspected that Aspen planned to have Hope removed from Concord One after I turned five. Hope refused to accept that she’d be forced to leave her only child and feared that Aspen’s plans were more devious than a simple transfer. Around the same time, my father and Hope began to overhear bits of conversations between Aspen and her father about different Citizens and their unfortunate accidents. Hope couldn’t believe what was happening in Concord, and she began to work on her escape plan.

  One night, when I was still four years old, after a tantrum I’d thrown during which I’d refused to leave my father’s side, Hope and I accompanied my father and Aspen on the way to an official dinner. She had ridden with me in the back, where I’d fallen asleep, and after my father and Aspen reached their destination, Gilbert was to escort the two of us back home. Hope knew Gilbert from Three; she’d always felt comfortable with him, and on that night she expressed her fears, and Gilbert shared his own.

  Hope said she wanted out of Concord, even if it meant surviving all by herself with only me at her side. Gilbert told her that he knew of a mysterious boat, one that began to appear once a month, not long before. The captain of the boat claimed he would help any Citizen who wanted to escape, but he refused to give any more information than that. The knowledge of the boat was kept secret, it was well guarded, and few were willing to risk the validity of it. But once Hope heard about it, she begged Gilbert to help her reach the captain. Gill did just that.

  But when Hope approached my father with the plan, he wasn’t completely convinced that it was a good idea. Later, when Aspen began to suspect that something was amiss and started dropping hints about my safety, my parents came up with a heartbreaking compromise.

  I would be as safe as any child of Concord could be, while I was enrolled at Training Tech. If I was there, Aspen couldn’t easily be rid of me, unless her father agreed… and, by all accounts, he was pleased with me as a grandchild. The problems in Concord went deeper than just those in the house where I lived. The corruption was profound and it affected so many more people than they wanted to admit. To get to the bottom of it, my father would need to become a trusted member of The Council. To do that, he would have to show his loyalty to Concord and, more importantly, to his father-in-law.

  The best way to prove he was loyal to Concord would be to catch his Second Wife as she tried to escape, return his daughter to the family, and then assist in ridding Concord of the evil woman who had tried to snatch his child away.

  My father did catch up to Hope as she was fleeing, as they planned. He ordered his child taken back home, as they planned. And then Hope hit him over the head, leaving him bruised and bleeding, as they planned. Then he kissed her goodbye, promised to keep their child safe, and went back to tell everyone that Hope had attacked him and escaped. He told Aspen that he didn’t want to remember anything about her and he started taking the memory drugs on his own. My father was intent on erasing any knowledge of where Hope went, and their plan to reunite sometime after I was out of Training Tech and once my father had the inside access he needed to turn Concord upside down.

  That was the condensed version…

  Chapter Eight


  What Happens Next

  I learned all about my father’s past the day after the Gala. My father told Aspen that he wanted to take me along with him to Raleigh’s so I could help him pick out a little something for her. He exclaimed that it was such a nice day and he wanted to walk in the fresh air. It was his excuse to get us both out of the house for a long period of time without raising suspicion. Aspen waved us off with a genuine smile on her face, once she heard his plan. She was so excited to get a new bauble that she didn’t seem to care that my father and I were spending some unplanned time alone together.

  The information poured out of him all the way to Raleigh’s little shop. I soaked it all in and tried to process it as quickly as I could. It was a lot for my brain to take in, in such a short period of time. I stared at him in disbelief during much of the story.

  “You decided to let her go without you.”

  “It was the safest way, Bluebell. She was the only one in immediate danger, and it would be easier for her to escape alone. If she had taken you with her, your grandfather would have hunted her down. All of Concord believes that you are his blood. If you had been abducted it would be very bad for his image.”

  I clenched my fists at my sides. “He. Is. Not. My. Grandfather.”

  “You’re right. He is not. But you still need to think of him that way, until we are able to expose the truth. Don’t treat Aspen as anything other than your mother, either,” my father warned.

  “I’ve known that Aspen isn’t my real mother for a while now, and I haven’t given myself away yet. I know I’m a tad hostile at times, but I think she expects that of me now. I’m still respectful to her father, as well. I know better than to upset the number one man in Concord.”

  “We’ve all learned that, Aspen as well. She lost someone, more than one someone, at the hands of her father.”