The Fourth Ceremony: The Sacrifice Trilogy

by K. M. Ashling

  Course after course of food came towards Alessa. She took no more than a small spoonful of what she wanted, knowing that she wouldn't be able to eat much more but enjoying the divine foods. Once the feast was finally over, she spent over an hour bidding farewell to guests at the side of the Minister and dreaming of her stretchy pants. Even the Minister's address about the impending Sacrifice Ceremony and his insistence on calling her "dear Sacrifice" didn't dampen her spirits.

  When Alessa could finally leave, she bid her parents goodnight and walked with Khi to her room. Once inside, Khi turned and eyed her suspiciously.

  "What happened?" Khi asked pointedly. Alessa sighed, there was no point in lying to him.

  "Well, Camden and I sort of made up."

  "Oh," he paused for a moment, "good." He looked at her for a long minute. "I mean that, it's good, you haven't been this happy in a long time. Whatever it takes is fine by me."

  Alessa smiled at him and grabbed him for a hug.

  "And now, I have got to go to bed, I am so incredibly exhausted. Eating takes a lot of energy," she exclaimed. Khi laughed at her as he settled himself on the couch. Alessa went into her closet to change into pajamas and hit Khi lightly on the leg as she walked by him, already halfway to sleep, on the way to her bed. Alessa sunk into the softness of the bed. Full, happy, and sleepy, she drifted off peacefully.

  Camden

  Camden had never enjoyed spending time with someone as much as he enjoyed the weeks with Alessa. He had worried desperately that she was permanently disconnecting from him when she had pulled back, but was glad that he was able to convince her otherwise. He tried to tell himself that he was only glad for it because it put the mission back on track, but it was becoming harder and harder to pretend that he was only flirting with her in order to convince her to agree to the plan.

  They spent time together almost every day. He left Khi’s shifts uninterrupted, but took any day shifts from Alec that he could. Alec didn’t seem to mind. His mind was wrapped up in becoming the next lead guard once Alessa was gone, a fact that grated on Camden’s nerves every time he saw Alec. The air was getting cooler and winter was approaching. Camden and Alessa didn’t visit the Ocean again, but they spent many afternoons in her pool room. Camden tried to push her to swim more often without being obvious that it was for more than just fun.

  “So what’s the longest you have ever swam?”Camden asked Alessa one day as they played and floated in the pool.

  “I went almost two miles in the Ocean once. My dad and I wanted to see how far we could get. In the pool, I’ve done 3000 meters several times,”Alessa responded, clearly proud of herself.

  “And how fast can you go for that long?”Camden tried to make it sound like a challenge.

  “As fast as I want to go,”she took the bait.

  “Can you do it without stopping?”Camden was getting more serious. He knew that Mars encouraged her to learn to swim, but this was great news.

  “Why are you asking me so many questions? Are you trying to enter me in a race or something?”Alessa quipped. Camden stopped, he didn’t want to go there yet, they had only reconciled for a few weeks.

  “The race of your life, baby,”he answered and he dove under the water to initiate a competition.

  Alessa quickly caught up with him and they raced along the pool. Once they reached the wall on the other side, they pushed off of it and continued their race, neither interested in being the first to stop swimming. Camden was swimming as hard as he could and Alessa was staying just in front of him. She was incredible. She had a rhythm and grace about her swimming that he could have watched all day. After turning at the wall three times, Camden began to tire. Alessa seemed to still be going strong and he was falling farther and farther behind. At the fourth wall turn, Camden stopped. Alessa continued to swim. Camden lifted himself out of the water and sat with his feet dangling in the pool as he watched her go. She was fast. She could do it. His heart raced faster, and not from exertion.

  He sat hypnotized as he watched her bounce off of the far wall and swim back towards him. She stayed under the water for what seemed like a full minute at a time and he was certain she looked like she had just started swimming. She wasn’t tired at all. She slowed as she approached him and stopped about three feet away. He watched her standing there and smiling at him for a moment, her chest rising and falling quickly from the effort of her swim. Camden could see that she was more exhilarated than tired.

  “Why’d you stop?”Alessa laughed as she asked.

  “I can’t keep up, Sweetheart, you’re amazing.”Camden noticed her flush from the compliment. He dropped himself into the water and approached her. As naturally as breathing, he wrapped his arms around her waist and she snaked her arms around his neck. No, he definitely could not pretend that it was all about the mission anymore. It was more than the mission, and the mission now meant more than ever.

  The Season of Celebration proved to be every bit as busy as Alessa professed. She was wound up in appearances and preparation meetings on a regular basis. He stole all the time with her that he could, but he felt like he blinked and the Winter Solstice was upon them.

  “You know the celebration thing isn’t really my scene,”Camden said to Alessa the day before the event.

  “Yes, I know, don’t worry, Khi is going with me,”Alessa rolled her eyes at him.

  “And I will be forever jealous,”he said playfully as he possessively wrapped his arms around her. They were sitting in her room on the plush couch enjoying the sunset through the glass on the balcony doors.“What exactly is up with you two anyway?”Camden tried to sound nonchalant.

  “Are you really jealous, Cam?”Alessa had mirth in her eyes.

  “Nah, never,”he replied and proved his case with a kiss.

  “Khi and I are as close as brother and sister, and no different. He’s always been like family to me. I’ve never seen him any other way.”Alessa stared off outside as she spoke.

  “And how does he see you?”Camden prodded.

  “The same, I’m sure. He’s never acted otherwise,”she answered simply.

  “I don’t know, Alessa, I’m not sure how anyone can spend that much time with you and not be sucked in,”Camden replied honestly. He had wondered about Khi’s feelings for months.

  “You make it sound like I’m some sort of cosmic vacuum,”Alessa tried to look indignant, but ruined it by laughing.

  “You’re the worst kind of space hole,”Camden joked back and pulled Alessa in for a kiss.

  “Hey man, I need you to work at the Solstice Dinner tonight,”Khi said to Camden.

  “Oh, come on, I hate participating in events, can’t Alec do it?”Camden despised all things Government run and loathed the thought of participating in that.

  “He has plans with his family and you’re available. Sorry, man,”Khi replied,“you don’t have to be in the middle of it, I’ll take care of inside, you just have to stand at the door.”

  “Fine, as long as I don’t have to go in I guess I can stand it.”Camden rolled his eyes.

  “You’re such a trooper,”Khi answered sarcastically and set off down the hall.

  Camden set off to the Guard break room where his formal Guard uniform was stored and changed. He guessed standing at the door for the event wouldn’t be too bad. He could probably sneak off if it got too boring. After all, he really didn’t care about the security of the Government’s event. All he cared about was Alessa’s safety and he knew that Khilyn would be by her side for the entire evening.

  Two hours later, Camden stood by the door as the guests of the Sacrifice entered the event hall. He stood solemnly, playing up the Guard role so as to not have to interact with anyone. These people made his stomach turn. They gathered to celebrate and came out in droves because it was the final Solstice before the Sacrifice. The tickets to the event were worth a small fortune, enough for a family to survive on for many months. If these people really wanted the Empire to be prosperous, they could make it h
appen on their own without killing someone.

  Camden had to think of something else. He was liable to make a stand with someone if he kept thinking like that. He searched the room for Alessa. He found her towards the front, standing next to a tall cocktail table and talking to Khilyn. She looked radiant in her dark blue flowing dress that flared out until it barely brushed the floor. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders and her eyes sparked as she laughed as something Khilyn had said. She turned to face her parents as they approached her. Camden watched Khilyn watch Alessa. His eyes followed everything she did and he touched her wherever possible. Every time she looked at him, his eyes widened and brightened. Khilyn laughed at everything she said and stood closer to her than was necessary. Camden didn’t know if Alessa knew it or not, he suspected that she didn’t, but Khilyn was certainly in love with her.

  Camden was worried that would complicate things. If Khilyn professed his love for her, she might feel conflicted. She may refuse the mission out of guilt or confusion. Camden had to talk to Khilyn. He had to make him see that she couldn’t know. Camden pushed down his own guilt. He was going to do this for the sake of the mission, not for his own sake. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t jealousy that pushed him. It was just a desire for the mission to go on uncomplicated. He tried to convince himself that Alessa would never pick Khilyn if the decision came down to the two of them and she was forced to choose.

  “Hey, Khilyn, can we talk?”Camden had been avoiding this conversation for days, but it was time to lay out the cards and make sure they were on the same page. They stood in the briefing room after the morning brief was over and Alec had left to begin his shift.

  “Yeah, what’s going on?”Khilyn answered.

  “So, this is a little uncomfortable, but I need to make sure we are level on something,”Camden stammered on,“look, I know you care about Alessa. I mean, really care about her, like, more than a friend or a sister.”Khilyn started to protest, but Camden cut him off,“you just need to keep the endgame in mind. This is only going to work if she has her head on straight. If you love her like you say you do, you can’t confuse her.”Camden looked away as he allowed Khilyn to process what he had said.

  “Look, I get that you don’t want me stepping on your turf or anything,”Khilyn started,“but you have to know that I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize Alessa.”

  “It’s not my turf, you’ve been around way longer than I have. I just want her to be okay.”Camden replied.

  “We both want the same thing,”Khilyn let out a puff of air,“look, I’m not even sure that is the deal. I care about her, we’ve always treated each other like family, it’s just that…”He stopped and looked at Camden. They stared at each other for a long moment, neither speaking, sizing each other up.

  “It’s just that since you two have been, whatever you two have been, I’ve wondered what it would be like,”Khilyn spat out in a rush,“she’s a great girl, she deserves more than this. Just make it work. Don’t screw it up, make it work, and you won’t have anything to worry about from me.”He turned on his heel and began walking out of the room.

  “Hey, wait,”Camden didn’t want to leave it like this,“Khilyn, she’s never going to leave you behind. She cares about you more than you know. I watched you two during the Solstice Dinner, you guys are something else.”

  “In a different world, maybe so,”Khilyn said sadly,“but I can’t do for her what you can. I can’t stop this. I never was able to. She deserves what I can’t do. Besides, I never thought of her that way until you came around, so it’s really all just jealousy anyway.”Khilyn smiled unconvincingly.

  “It’s going to work, Khilyn. She can do it, she’s incredible.”

  “That she is,”Khilyn stated.

  “I’ll let it go, man, I’m sorry,”Camden felt embarrassed,“look, the New Year’s Ball falls on my day, I was thinking that I would take her. Unless you want to. I would totally understand.”

  “No, man, you’ve got a job to do. Plus, I know you care about her. It’s not like you’re just playing around with her. I’ve watched you with her too, you know.”Khilyn looked everywhere in the room but at Camden.“You take her. Work your little spell and get her where she needs to be. This is all on you from now on. You do what you need to do and I’ll back you up a hundred percent.”

  “It’s going to work, Khi. It’s going to.”Camden said vehemently and walked out of the room.

  It was the day of the New Year’s Ball and Camden had yet to tell Alessa that he was going to take her. He decided to surprise her with it. He hoped that she would be happy and not sad that Khilyn wasn’t going. He was going to make her enjoy the night. He was going to make her enjoy being alive. If he had his way, tonight was going to be the best night of Alessa’s life. He would do anything to make sure that she was happy, not just because he cared and she deserved it, but also because if she enjoyed being alive, she would be more likely to agree to the mission.

  Camden pulled out the tuxedo he had bought for the occasion. He rolled his eyes at it. He couldn’t believe the he was going to put so much effort into a Government function, but it couldn’t be avoided. He dressed himself in his apartment, not wanting to run into Alessa until he went to take her from her room to the event hall.

  At seven o’clock, he left his placed and walked to the Manor. He knew that Alessa would be expected Khi at eight, they had already discussed it. He arrived at the Manor and stood outside of her room while he waited for her stylists to finish getting her ready. He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous, likely because of his great disdain for Government events.

  Camden knocked quietly on the door a few minutes after the stylists shuffled out of the room. He was sure he would be mesmerized as the stylists exclaimed their excitement as they left. Alessa opened the door and her eyes widened in surprise.

  “Cam, what are you doing here?”She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

  Camden couldn’t speak. Alessa stood before him looking ethereal. Her hair was pulled back in a high knot. Long earing dangled from her ears and her iridescent pearl colored dress cut a straight line from collar bone to collar bone and hugged her closely all the way into a small train at the floor. He cursed inwardly at their use of the Sacrifice’s color in the dress, but she was otherwise a vision of perfection. He noticed her high heeled matching shoes peeking out at him from a cut in the dress that reached up to her thigh.

  “Hello, Cam, can you hear me?”Alessa waved her hand in front of his face. He pulled himself together.

  “You look incredible, Alessa,”he couldn’t stop himself from walking around her into the room. Before she could turn to face him, he noticed that the back of the dress scooped low to reveal her entire back. His heart pounded.“Wow”.

  “Well, I’m glad you appreciate my stylists’hard work,”Alessa smiled flirtatiously and lowered her eyelids to peer up at him through her lashes. He took the bait.

  “The stylists have very little to do with it, Sweetheart,”he stated plainly as he closed the distance between them and kissed her softly. He laid his hands on her bare lower back. He smiled to himself when he felt her shiver under his touch.

  “We better get going,”Alessa said after a moment,“we don’t want to be late.”

  “I couldn’t care less about the Ball, but yes, I suppose we should go,”Camden replied.

  Camden opened the bedroom door and held it for her, taking the opportunity to examine the back of her dress more closely as she walked by. Two tiny straps traveled the length of her back to hold up the fabric that gathered all the way at the bottom of her spine.

  “How do you keep your butt from showing?”Camden blurted out. He felt his face flush from accidentally speaking out loud. Alessa laughed.

  “Tape!”She said while laughing. Camden walked up to her and pulled on the fabric at her back. Sure enough, it stuck to her skin high enough to not reveal anything she wouldn’t want seen.

  “Hmm, too bad,”he shook his
head at her solemnly. Alessa laughed merrily and swatted at his hand. He grabbed her hand, laced his arm with hers, and escorted her to the Ball.

  Camden couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t having a wonderful time. Alessa was radiant and she spent the entire evening on his arm. He grasped every opportunity he could to touch her casually. He thrived on her small smiles and big laughs. They danced, ate, talked, and joked their way through the night. As midnight approached, Camden pulled Alessa aside.

  “Hey, how do you feel about missing midnight with everyone else?”Camden wanted to get Alessa alone, but didn’t want to ruin her evening.

  “I think that would be wonderful,”she replied, smiling sweetly up at him. Camden guided her out into the courtyard where the full moon was blazing in the sky.

  “We have three minutes until midnight,”Camden stated plainly as they sat on a bench facing the giant moon.

  “Yeah, three minutes until Leap Year,”Alessa said softly. Camden’s chest squeezed. He could hear the fear and doubt in her voice.

  “What if you didn’t have to?”He asked as he turned to face her.

  “What do you mean?”Alessa responded. Camden hesitated. He wasn’t going to tell her tonight. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t the time.

  “What if you weren’t the Sacrifice? What would you do?”

  “I don’t know, Cam, I’ve never let myself think about it. I can’t afford to think like that. For me, the world just stops turning on Leap Day.”A sadness settled over them. Camden didn’t know how to break the spell. He didn’t want to appear insensitive by changing the subject and he knew that he couldn’t tell her yet. Finally, he turned towards her. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight with tears he was sure she was stifling making them brighter than ever. He stared into her eyes for a long moment, then silently closed the distance until he was kissing her.