Chosen Read online

  “Name,” the old man said, completely unperturbed by her not seeing him. His voice rumbled as though he’d said that word a thousand times a day.

  “Vivilyn Minette, daughter of Magnar and Suzetta,” she said. Nerves finally began to give way to excitement. This is it. This is the beginning, she thought as she moved her hands behind her back to keep from fidgeting.

  “Business?”

  “It’s my birthday.” She broke into a bright smile. “Today I am seventeen.”

  “Third door to your left. Next!”

  As she made her way to the door the man had directed her to, Vivilyn risked a glance back. She was glad she hadn’t dawdled on her way there because the line behind her was at least thirty people deep. When she approached the third door to her left, she could hear scurrying around inside, punctuated sporadically by feminine laughter. It caused her to falter momentarily. Eric’s laughter wasn’t feminine.

  As soon as she arrived at the door, two women Vivilyn didn’t recognize greeted her.

  “Welcome, welcome,” they said, ushering her into the room.

  “Who’re you?” Vivilyn asked. “Where’s Eric?”

  “Oh,” the taller one said before smiling. “He was summoned to Ettravil to take stills of Princess Elissa, her husband, and the new baby! So exciting, right?” The woman rubbed her hands together excitedly. “We’re his temporary replacements!”

  A child ran up behind Vivilyn and handed the taller, brightly dressed woman a piece of paper before running back out.

  “Ah,” she said as she read it, then she looked up to Vivilyn. “Happy birthday!”

  “It’s your birthday?” the woman further inside asked. This one barely reached the other woman’s shoulder and had a distinctively large nose. “That’s just in time! Today is the last day before all stills for available candidates are sent for the Enchanted Trials!”

  “I’ll bet you’re so excited. Princess Elissa’s Trials were so much fun, and her husband is so handsome. I voted for him each week the people got to select. Now they have little Henry and I feel as though it was my help that brought that little family together. I just love the Enchanted Trials.” Tall gestured to a small stool. “Sit here, dear.”

  Vivilyn sat and Tall began to tweak Vivilyn’s shoulders and head until the tilt of her head and the turn of her shoulders suited them.

  “Nell and I have a bet going on already,” Tall said, gesturing to the shorter woman with one hand while positioning Vivilyn’s face with another. “I think it has been too long since someone from the lesser towns around Ettravil was selected. People are getting discouraged about whether it is truly a fair drawing. The Princess only had those of Rank from big cities in her Trials.”

  “I agree that I think some people will be chosen below Rank, but there’s no way they’ll take someone so close to Ettravil. Tia, slightly to the left, then the light will glisten in her eyes more.” Tia slightly shifted Vivilyn’s head to the left.

  “I wish hair didn’t have to be pulled back tight like that for the identification still,” Tia said as she lightly touched Vivilyn’s braids. “I bet your hair has a perfect wave to it. Plus, it could help cover those ears.” Vivilyn felt her cheeks warm with a blush. Despite being aware she had her father’s giant ears, she’d prefer it to not be pointed out.

  “Now look at my fingers, smile, and don’t blink.” Nell lifted her hand above the still machine as Tia backed away. Vivilyn knew by the warmth still growing in her face that she was still blushing, but she smiled anyway. For a moment she thought about the horrible still Duncan had, and that made her laugh slightly to herself. “Hold still, child, or your still will be blurry!”

  As though triggered by the mentioning of a blurry still, the world itself started blurring, then shifting, and suddenly what she saw was different than what was in front of her. In her mind, she saw smoke billow away from snow-covered buildings. The stone walls bustled with people running. Screams from men and women filled her ears. Fire leapt until it caught on a large building covered in banners marked with various coats of arms from throughout the kingdom. The largest but quickest to burn was that of her own province’s coat, the phoenix forming in front of dragon flames, the royal banner of Ettravil. The full moon rose hauntingly behind the scene.

  “Get them out,” someone yelled. “The prince and the girls! Get them out!”

  The building collapsed. Dust and smoke filled the air. It looked almost as though the actual stone was burning, not just the flammable material in and around it.

  As quickly as the vision began, it ended.

  “Is everything alright?” Nell asked as Vivilyn froze. “You just got a weird stiffness to your face.” Vivilyn opened her mouth a few times, attempting to loosen up her smile. Had it been her parents or her brother standing there, they would have immediately known what happened. She’d learned to freeze her facial expression in hopes of hiding that she had visions.

  “I’m sorry,” Vivilyn said. “I was thinking about my brother’s identification still and panicked slightly. His looked like he smelled a pile of rotten food.”

  As Vivilyn smiled normally, Nell began her count down again. After the machine clicked, with quick, deft motions Nell removed the cartridge of Vivilyn’s still. Nell looked up to Tia and smirked. Tia nodded.

  “I hear they look at the newest entries first,” Nell said as she gazed at a new cartridge on the table to her left. She slapped the top of the still machine. “Perhaps we could take a… a tester still to be sure my clumsy smack didn’t damage it?”

  “Vivilyn,” Tia said looking over at the girl, “that knot looks painful on the back of your head.” Tia reached up and, in a few motions, began to pull Vivilyn’s hair down. “Let me help make sure you don’t get a headache.”

  “That’s alright,” Vivilyn said with a smile. “I’ll undo it on my way home. Is the still machine so fragile that a light tap would damage it? They should make them hardier or something.” Tia laughed and failed to hide it by coughing.

  “Those eligible for the choosing can send in whatever still they like,” Nell said looking at the door. “Most people only have access to their identification still, but if we hurry, we can get another one of you in a more flattering still. I know they say the stills don’t matter for the choosing because it’s random. What could it hurt for the showing of stills after the choosing, just in case?”

  “Why would you do that for me?” Vivilyn asked as Tia returned to taking the braids out of her hair.

  “Because sometimes that’s the way the wind blows,” Nell said. She looked at the stills machine, avoiding Vivilyn’s gaze.

  “Because there is change blowing in,” Tia said immediately after.

  “What?” Vivilyn said. Her pulse began to beat quicker. Change. Change was coming. She knew it. These women knew it. Vivilyn shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

  “Do we need a reason? Perhaps we are just nice,” Nell said. The two women looked at each other quickly before they spoke.

  “Nevermind,” they said simultaneously. Tia finished unraveling Vivilyn’s hair and fluffed it around Vivilyn’s face. Vivilyn slid a bit in her seat, unsure how to react.

  The women took her silence as consent.

  “Just as I thought,” Tia said. “Perfect waves. No amount of money can buy these.” After Tia combed through Vivilyn’s hair with her fingers a few times and mostly covered Vivilyn’s ears, she smiled. Then Tia repositioned Vivilyn into a similar position she’d been in for the original still.

  “There,” Tia said. “Now those ears aren’t taking up the whole frame and the darkness of your hair helps your eyes appear even darker. Not common in the houses of Rank. It’ll seem exotic.” Vivilyn felt her cheeks grow warm once again.

  “Now, once more look at my fingers. Smile. Don’t blink.”

  Vivilyn held the smile for what felt like an eternity. By the time Nell snapped her fingers, Vivilyn felt as though her smile was stuck to her face.

  “We’ll
send these off for you, don’t you worry,” Tia said. Her laughter filled the room as she opened the door to let Vivilyn out. “Who knows, perhaps in a week’s time, we will hear your name being read as one of the Chosen.”

  Although Vivilyn doubted it, she grinned at the women and thanked them. Then headed back out into the bright sunlight.

  She took in deep breaths of pastry-scented air. In her bag, she could practically feel the weight of the coppers. More likely, she felt the heaviness of her lunch. She could imagine Maia standing over some cookies she just took out of the oven.

  A pastry would be wonderful, she thought as she moved a few steps towards the bakery. A visit with one of her best friends would hopefully add some normalcy after the strange experience of getting her identification still taken.

  As Vivilyn looked around, she saw many unfamiliar faces. The influx has begun. Most of the strangers were in line for the Administrations Office, announcing they were in town, registering for some of the new stalls and temporary housing for families, be it room in the inns or actual houses if they could afford them.

  She wasn’t the only one drawn to the sweet scent of the bakery. As she approached, three children stood outside the door. Vivilyn could barely call what they wore clothing as they were so threadbare that they hung about the children’s thin frames. Her own stomach grumbled as she saw how skinny the children were. They were no more than skeletons.

  “Hello,” she said to them as she approached. The three jumped and turned towards her. Vivilyn knelt in front of them as the tallest of the three ushered the others behind him.

  “We wasn’t doing nothing, missus,” the young boy said, “jus’ lookin’ at them yums.” He gestured to the window of the bakery.

  “Do any of them catch your eyes?” She asked, moving over to the window. The littlest one moved out from behind the older two and pressed her face into the glass.

  “The sprinkled ones, missus,” she squealed. The older boy cleared his throat and the little girl froze immediately. She ducked her head down and backed up behind the boy again.

  “We’ll be going, missus,” he said, ushering the other two away from the window. As they left, Vivilyn noticed the eldest scolding the little one. They didn’t go far, just across the road next to the butcher’s shop.

  Vivilyn glanced in front of her at the different goodies in the window and then back at the children. The little girl still looked longingly at the bakery window.

  As she opened the door, bells jingled overhead. Maia looked up from behind the counter as she finished icing a tray of miniature cakes in a rainbow. Vivilyn braced herself for Maia’s usual barrage of questions.

  “Vivilyn,” Maia said with a smile, hopping up from the counter and racing around to hug her. “Happy Birthday! Are you on your way to or from the Administration Office? On a scale of Princess Elissa’s stills to Duncan’s still, how did it go? Was the deadline for sending stills last night or tonight? Have you seen all the people pouring into town? So many of them look like they’ve gone years without food. I hope they’ll find some paying jobs here.”

  “Thank you, Maia,” Vivilyn said as she looked at the different breads and pastries around the small showroom, taking a breath as she tried to process the run of questions Maia had asked her. The whole building was hot, but full of the smell of baked goods. “I just finished taking my still and it’s tonight. Yeah, I have seen them. Papa is looking to hire someone to help with harvest season. How he’ll decide on one is beyond me.” She looked over to the sprinkled sweets in the window. “How much for these?” She asked.

  Maia looked over to what Vivilyn pointed to and wiped at her cheeks, leaving a trail of purple icing. “You know your papa will take on the person who looks like he or she needs the most help. The sprinkled donuts? Two coppers per donut.” Maia must have seen Vivilyn’s sigh. “But for you, I’ll let you have one for free. You are my best friend and it is your birthday after all.”

  “Oh, Maia, thank you!” Vivilyn smiled widely. “I have four coppers, so with a free one, that’ll be three, please.”

  “Three? I thought you’d just want the free one.” Maia side-eyed Vivilyn as she moved to collect the donuts, “You rarely want sweets. Your still must have been rough.” She laughed heartily as she placed the donuts on wax-lined paper. “Three sprinkled donuts. That’ll be four coppers.”

  Vivilyn swapped the coppers for the donuts with a smile of thanks. As she began to walk out of the building, she heard Maia’s father come out of the backroom with the ovens.

  “Let’s go, Maia,” he said. The door closed firmly behind Vivilyn. The “open” sign flipped over to “closed.”

  That’s odd. They never close early.

  For a moment after she left, Vivilyn didn’t see the children. After a quick glance around, she spotted them sitting in the shadow of a well three shops down. Vivilyn began to walk over to them.

  The tallest one saw her first, but only by a second. His glare was overpowered by the little girl’s smile as soon as she saw what Vivilyn held.

  “I heard someone might enjoy a sweet or two,” she said. Vivilyn sat on the ground next to them. “And I’m not very hungry right now, I was hoping to find someone who might like these.” The little one vibrated with excitement. The older two squinted at Vivilyn with suspicion.

  Vivilyn then reached into her bag and pulled out the small lunch her parents packed.

  “But then there’s also all of this to eat as well. I don’t want any of this to go to waste. Do you know of anyone who might help me out?”

  The little girl held her dirt-covered hands to her face and looked up at the taller boy with wide eyes. The boy looked around as though anticipating someone to come after them.

  “We don’t accept no charity,” the boy said, but his voice wavered.

  “Of course not,” Vivilyn said, shaking her head. “But this isn’t charity. You’d be helping me out.” She shrugged to the food she held in front of her. “You see, it’s my birthday and I hate to waste things. There’s no way I could eat another one of these. They’re just way too sweet.”

  “Well,” the boy said, looking skeptical, “if it would just go to waste and… and you’re sure it wouldn’t be charity, I don’t see why we can’t help you out.”

  Before he’d even finished giving the okay to eat, the little girl and the other boy both grabbed a donut each. They vanished into the children’s mouths quicker than Vivilyn could have imagined. The older one ate much slower. He seemed to savor the flavor rather than just inhale the food.

  It seemed like just seconds went by before all the food disappeared. The oldest boy still nibbled on his donut, and Vivilyn couldn’t help but smile at him. If she and Duncan were starving, she knew without a doubt Duncan would see she got more food than he did. She wondered if the two younger ones even noticed.

  “Eso!” A voice yelled from the distance. “Iza! Mo!” The boy stuffed the rest of the donut into his mouth and then quickly wiped any remnants of icing from the younger mouths.

  “Mama!” the little girl yelled and ran to a woman who looked even more emaciated than the children. She hugged the woman’s legs tightly and the woman smiled at the girl. Then the woman looked up and frowned at Vivilyn.

  “Children, come along,” she said, gesturing for the other two to come to her. “Papa may have found someone willing to take us on.” The two boys looked at Vivilyn.

  “Thank you,” they said and ran over to their mother.

  Vivilyn watched the family for a few moments after she stood up, the little girl holding on to her mama’s hand and the boys to either side. The taller boy looked back at Vivilyn twice, before a man with a crutch and a heavy limp met them in the road.

  Not wanting to spy on what was obviously a family moment, Vivilyn turned on the path and took the long way home. By the time she reached her family’s shop, the sun had made it to the peak of the sky.

  Duncan greeted her outside and smiled at her.

  “How did
it go?” he asked.

  “It was… odd.” Vivilyn responded as he pulled her into the building. The store was filled to the max with people.

  “Surprise!” they all shouted as she was pushed forward into the room. It felt as though everyone she’d ever known stood in front of her. Next to the counter Maia and her father smiled, holding the miniature rainbow cakes Maia had been working on at her shop. Ryso and his mother stood next to the apples. The eight members of the Tailors family stood under the baskets of tea ingredients.

  “What is this?” she asked, a hand to her chest.

  “It’s your surprise party!” Ryso said as he pushed his way to the front. “Did you really think we wouldn’t all want to celebrate your seventeenth birthday?” He picked her up and spun her slightly. When he set her down, he flipped his auburn hair back out of his dark eyes.

  “Someone needs a haircut,” Vivilyn said, as she wrinkled her nose. She pulled at a large chunk of hair that hung down a little below his ears.

  “Come over here,” Maia said as she ran over and dragged Vivilyn around bins to the counter. “These are one of Mama’s recipes from the journal I found last week. Papa let me try making them. Tell me what you think!” Maia picked up a red miniature cake and handed it to Vivilyn. The icing tasted like strawberries and the cake had a hint of mint in the chocolate. In the center, a gel-like substance melted in her mouth giving an extra taste of strawberry.

  “This is delicious,” Vivilyn said with her mouth full. She wiped a cool dribble of gel that fell to her chin. “Best thing I’ve ever tasted.” Upon hearing Vivilyn’s ringing endorsement, everyone else came over to try one themselves.

  Chatter and laughter filled the room. Hours slipped by as everyone conversed and played games.

  “Would you like to open your gift now?” Magnar asked as dusk approached. Vivilyn smiled and nodded. Magnar led Vivilyn behind the counter and gestured for her to wait. As he ran upstairs, Vivilyn peered around and failed to find Suzetta and Duncan. She couldn’t determine when they’d vanished.

  After a few minutes, Vivilyn heard shuffling sounds coming down the stairs. When she turned to look at the stairs, Vivilyn saw all three members of her family carefully making their way down, arms filled with glass jars. As they set them down on the counter, Vivilyn squealed, realizing they were jars of paint.