[One day earlier]
Sephora gave a sympathetic smile to the grocer after paying for a few cooking apples. But the poor woman didn't return the smile, instead she turned to her next customer, her tired grey eyes brimming with anxiety. Hardly a surprise really, everyone was afraid today. Today was the day of The Choosing. It was an event held every year on the day before the evening of Samhain; the night when the veil between the Mortal world and Igritann was at its thinnest. Whoever was deemed as The Chosen, would have the whole day of Samhain to do whatever they wished. Most of the time, it consisted of having one massive party, when everyone could get devastatingly drunk and have as much sex, food and drink as they could possibly feeling their stomach. For some people, they considered being The Chosen as the best way to go out. But once it reached midnight, The Chosen would be taken deep into the Leath Forest, where the veil between the two worlds waited. The chosen would be thrown into the veil as a sacrifice to the Ardanam people. It was a tradition that went back to the time of The Great Purge, when one of the Ardanam Lords brought down the veil and laid siege to the humans, in an effort to rule over them. But it was not possible for the two worlds to co-exist. The Atmosphere of the Ardanam people was different, heightened, almost radioactive in a way. It poured into the Mortal lands, and killed thousands of humans - but also changed some of them. The atmosphere of Igritann, was said to be able to ignite your soul. It's common knowledge that the soul is a force of pure energy and power; it gives your body life and also makes you who you are, but it also has the possibility of giving you something else. Once a human soul was ignited by the atmosphere, two things could happen. The first, which happened most frequently because their souls were weak, was that you die; because your soul burns out at the extreme surge of energy. Or, you could be reborn and become a Nuanam. A Nuanam, was the term used for a newly ignited soul, a soul that was previously human, but was now just a lower species of Ardanam. You were gifted with the same supernatural speed, strength and endurance that an Ardanam had; only you don't have a soulborn power, nor did you have the gift of immortality. Nuanam were looked down upon and considered inferior, and we're mainly given the lower ranking job in the Ardanam society. It was uncommon for even an Ardanam to possess a Soulborn power, which was a power that complimented and mirrored your soul and personality. It could be anything from mind-reading, to invisibility, flight, darkness, shapeshifting. The possibilities were endless. Unsurprisingly some people possessed the same Soulborn powers, as they had similar personalities; and not only that, but depending on how strong an individual you were - your Soulborn power would reflect that. Those Ardanam who were gifted with a Soulborn power, most frequently were given the most high ranking and rewarding positions. For instance, it was an Igritann law that an Ardanam Lord or an Alpha must possess and prove himself by using his Soulborn power in a tournament before he can earn his title. On top of all that, as an Ardanam, one of the most important times in your life - aside from discovering your Soulborn power - was to find your mate. Your soulmate and life-long partner, who would ultimately make you and your power stronger. It was so important in fact, that it was strange to find an Ardanam Lord or warrior without one, as strength and power was an important factor in their survival. Some warriors even trained their mates, so that they would both be empowered on the battlefield as they fought side by side. This was why the casualties of the humans were so great that they had begged and pleaded for an end to the fighting. Eventually settling on the treaty that Mortal lands must send a sacrifice every year and this would make them not to invade their land ever again. That treaty was made over 500 years ago. But it hadn't failed the Mortal lands yet, and so the tradition went on, regardless if the Ardanam Lordship had changed in that time. Sephora was lucky no one in her family had been chosen. she didn't know what she'd do if her little brother was selected as The Chosen. Zach was only 5 years old. Not to mention, herself being so lucky having survived this long to the age of 19. She had already experienced the trauma of being forced to watch some of her friends being The Chosen, from a young age. She had very few friends left. She kicked the loose stones under her feet as she walked up the gravel path to her house. It was a quaint little house from the outside; what used to be cream painted walls, was now more like a muddy beige after all the years it had stood here. The oak door had aged well, just as oak should, and was a gorgeous dark brown, with an adorable bronze knocker in the centre. Sephora easily pushed the old door open and closed it behind her, hanging up her shoulder bag on the coat-hooks to her left. "I got them!" She announced. Her call made its way into the kitchen, where another voice warmly replied, "Great timing! I've just put the base in the oven!" they yelled. Sephora smiled and followed the stream of sunshine bleeding down the hallway, from the kitchen. She breezed through the door, to be greeted by the beaming face of her mother, her blue eyes glowing in the sun Ray's. Sephora tried to surpress her laugh as she took in the scene before her. The smile suddenly melted off her mother's face and became somber. Sephora tried to squash the guilt tugging in her gut, at the sight of it. Wishing they hadn't accidently fallen onto the subject of The Choosing. Sephora sighed, "Today will be fine. We've lasted this long." But Sephora's mother didn't turn from the sink, her head dipping lower as she simply nodded and continued to wash the apples. Again that guilt rose up to meet Sephora. She didn't know the right words to comfort her mother. if anything there weren't any, it was out of her control. But there were other ways to comfort her. Sephora silently left her mother in the kitchen and made her way upstairs, heading for her parent's bedroom in search of her father. She had a strange relationship with her father, as in she knew he loved her, because that's what parents were expected to do, but with him it felt more like an obligation. Not that Sephora ever had time to care or really be bothered by it, her father spent so much time working that it was a surprise that they didn't regard each other as strangers. Her father was a member of the Elders, not because they were old and wise, but simply because they were in charge of running the Mortal lands and keeping the peace. Needless to say, running an entire country can take up a lot of your time. But to say that her father didn't love Sephora's mother, would be a severe misjudgment. They acted as though they were still a young couple, completely infatuated with one another, and completely at each other's mercy. Sephora loved it, if only because she was grateful that her mother wouldn't ever be unhappy as long as her husband was at her side. At worst, Sephora could only be envious that she didn't have someone who would love her in the same way. She found her father in his office, or is man-cave - as Sephora preferred to call it. He never seemed to emerge, and he did indeed look like a caveman on some days, when he indeed decided to show his face. At the mention of her mother, Sephora's father looked up, an understanding flashed across his face. Sephora gave a grim smile. If there was anything her and her father had in common, it was their love for her mother. He got up without another word, Sephora opening the door wider for him to pass, he quickly made his way downstairs. She tried not to hear the sound of her mother crying, as her father murmured words of comfort to her. And tried not to think about what was going to happen in only a few hours…Sephora pulled back her auburn hair, clipping it back with a black clasp in a half-down half-up fashion, and smoothing down her grey winter dress. Although it wasn't yet winter, on the run up to Samhain the autumn humidity suddenly drops at a rapid pace. Nights become cold, and mornings are frosty - Sephora hates the cold. "Sephora?" Zach's little voice echoed down the staircase, down to where she stood waiting by the door. Sephora turned and grinned, to see her little brother clambering down the stairs with a smile that looked like he didn't have a care in the world. She wished she could share her brother's optimism about the world. It wasn't as though he was ignorant of the events that were occurring around him; he just chose not to let it get him down - you would never see him upset about anything, he could always find the good in things. Sephora loved him all the more for it. At the last of the steps, her brother hesitated and Sephora kn
Sephora grimaced for the fifth time after looking at herself in the mirror, whilst reaching blindly across the table for a hair pin, to hold back another section of thick auburn hair. She had not slept well. Despite the warmth of the thick duvet and the plushness of the pillows and soft mattress, Sephora couldn't get to sleep. The duvet was so high that it reached her chin and began to make her sweat, despite the cold autumn air. The mattress was too soft, so much so that she felt as though she were sinking and couldn't settle her limbs enough to relax; the pillows were no better, her head felt like she were drowning as the feather down pillows smothered her. And the room being so light and airy, and the curtains consisting of nothing but some thin netting; the sun had indeed come pouring in through the windows - waking Sephora up at the crack of dawn. Now, even as the clocks tolled for 1 pm, Sephora still had dark rings under her hazel eyes, making her cheekbones
So this is what hell felt like. All around Sephora there was screaming and wailing, unsure of where it was coming from; it took Sephora a few seconds to realise that it was all coming from herself. Her heartbeat was pounding like a drum in her ears, going faster than she thought was humanly possible. It was so loud, it was as though someone had ripped it from her rib-cage and shoved it inside her head. She tried reaching out, to hold onto something - anything, but there was nothing. There was no ground below her, no sky above her, no life-line to cling onto, that could help her. She was free-falling through the earth, and she wouldn't stop until she reached the molten burning core. Sephora screamed again, only this time no sound came out, she'd gone hoarse minutes ago. She felt like she was burning up, whilst being slowly cleaved apart from the inside. She couldn't see anything but red, black and orange, and she wouldn't have been surprised i
The world was knocked from under Sephora's feet. The guards still holding her, grunted in protest at the sudden weight in their arms, as they tried to hold her upright. That familiar wave of numbness washed over Sephora, as she replayed the Lord's words in her head. Mate. As in soulmate? She panicked. But I can't be his mate, that would mean we're equal, that would mean living with him and being with him and getting to know him. I can't do that, I can't do it. Sephora didn't realise she had been shaking her head, until the Lord spoke again; "Denying it, doesn't change a thing. You are my mate, accept it and move on." Sephora's head snapped up to the Lord, and glared at him. He had a point, but he didn't realise how big of a deal this was. How could the Lord be her mate? And what would he do with her, would he force her to bear children, would she have to serve him. She didn't know the first thing about life as a Nuanam, and n
[Sephora] Her breathing had started to become ragged, by the time she'd sprinted out of the city and into the forest, heading for the veil. The rumbling in the earth had stopped and the cries in the city had been hushed, when Sephora realised that the Lord had probably decided to come after her. But he couldn't stop her now, she was already too far away for him to possibly catch up - she was almost at the veil. So much so that Sephora was sure that she could even smell its power radiating towards her, as she closed the distance between herself and home. Home. She could see her family again, she could show her father that she'd made it, she could see her brother's smiling face, she could cook side by side with her mother. Sephora hurtled through the trees. She could have sworn she heard the faint rumbling of hooves behind her, and quickly glancing behind her, confirmed that a troop of soldiers on horse-back were rapidly galloping to
Unfortunately for Sephora, after her little spat with the Lord, he'd later demand that she was to have dinner with him every evening, as punishment. Well, he didn't actually say that it was a punishment, but that's what it felt like to Sephora. She was still finding it hard to adjust to the fact that this was to be her life from now on, and that she would never see her family again. She knew this was selfish of her, seeing as she should be feeling lucky that she was still alive - but she wasn't happy. Although, she was getting better, and virtually knew her way around the entire palace, at this point. She still didn't feel like socializing with anyone, as she found it too taxing, and tried her best to avoid the Lord at all cost. He still didn't let her out of the palace, though she was allowed in more rooms now; his excuse was that he didn't trust her, which was understandable. But honestly, where was she going to go? She huffed a laugh, as she walked down to t
Sephora strode down to the Lord's office on a mission. She was tired of staying indoors, she wanted some fresh air. Even if it was only for a few minutes, she could not stand being indoors for another second. She had no idea how she would go about asking him though, if he claimed he didn't trust her, then how was she supposed to prove herself? Well not running to the veil as soon as she was let out, could work in her favor. She chuckled silently to herself. She'd even dressed for the outdoors. Knee-high brown leather boots were silent on the marble floors as she turned a corner and made her way up a flight of steps. Her thick auburn hair had been pulled into a french plait, as she didn't know how to do the fish-tail plait her mother wore so often. Her black skinny jeans might have been a bad idea in such warm weather, but they went so well with her tight khaki t-shirt, that she didn't mind.She reached the Lord's office door and taking his advice from the other night, she
Turns out dinner didn't turn out as bad as Sephora had thought it would. Ambrose had acted like nothing had happened and went back to his usual banter. Sephora was grateful, but couldn't help but feel as though he should share about his concerns about her suitability as his mate. After all, it did concern Sephora as well. But she decided to give him his space, she didn't want to ruin anything, and for him to return to being that stone-faced Lord that had greeted her a few weeks back. She would wait for him to tell her in his own time, what his findings were - if he did indeed find anything at all.Ambrose had at least yielded the rights to choosing dinner that night, and Sephora swore on her life, that she'd never tasted a better cottage pie than the one she devoured that evening. Ambrose had even allowed a little smile to come back, as he watched her demolish her plate of food. Sephora ate like she'd been starved for days, and didn't care one bit about the mess she'd made on the table