Cravings

A promise to end it all

Ordelade was born a day before the Eve Of The Witch's Eye, she was a month premature and birthed under strange conditions seeing as she was unexpected, but she was born healthy and without a single fault. Mauve named her Ordelade, "The Red Sun", because the one time phenomenon of the Red Sun took to the afternoon sky just before she parted from her body. It was so beautiful and majestic that Ordelade did not cry when her eyes first opened to the world like other children, she just looked up at the phenomenal Red Sun with wonder and her eyes seemed to will it away as it slowly disappeared behind a blanket of clouds as if too shy to bear the intensity of her stare. It was a magical moment, the moment Mauve knew that Ordelade was a special child; the light of her life. Ordelade's existence had not breathed much life into the damned town, but it had made Mauve's existence worthwhile after years of feeling invisible and with no value.

When Mauve looked into Ordelade's eyes for the very first time, she knew that the gods favoured her child.

Mauve watched her daughter absorb herself in her siblings blithy spirits, their carefree joy was maddening and it made her even more miserable. Ordelade had requested some space, hence Mauve had to stop herself from bringing her breakfast in bed this morning, but when she heard her sobbing, it became too evident that her misery needed a mother's loving touch to be nullified. Mauve stood from her chair and abandoned the pearl necklace she was assembling.

She brisked to the window and first noticed that the azure summer sky had taken a deeper shade of purple than an hour ago, signaling to the melancholic, mentally anguished masses of Forssien Crane that the Eve Of The Witch's Eye was only mere hours away.

When she placed a hand on her bare shoulder, Ordelade cringed lightly at the contact, but soon eased into her touch as she lovingly stroked her back.

"Have some faith, my bonsu, remember that not all are sacrificed to that heartless monster, I know it in my heart that my daughter will not be one of the Sixteen Bloods." Mauve spoke softly though with frail hope of her words soothing her. In the morning she had tried to convince her to be more optimistic, but reminding her that she and her three aunts had survived did nothing to bring Ordelade out of the clutches of pessimism and misery.

Ordelade did not spare her mother a single glance, her puffy eyes were fixed on her little sister, her beautiful little sister who was still oblivious of life's cruelty. She watched her, her gay spirit shined through as she built the volcano for her science experiment with her older brother.

Opal did not know that she might not have a sister by the end of tomorrow.

"One day Opal will also turn eighteen and find herself standing before the High Priest, I love her so much, she is so innocent, it is not fair, she does not deserve this. I can't imagine her feeling like this, she is too good for that. Why, mother? Why is life so unfair? Why is it a death sentence to grow up and see eighteen years? Why must it be a death sentence to be a girl? What did we ever do to deserve this?"

Ordelade sank into her mother's warm embrace and began openly weeping, letting her tears to fall freely. The possibility of her imminent death allowed her no respite, but it's hold on her neck was not as compressing as the thought of her little sister, her sweet Opal one day having to go through all this.

There was not a single being in existence she resented, loathed, abhored with a burning passion like King Evigan. So many sisters, cousins, aunts and daughters had fallen because of that bloodthirsty, despicable animal.