The Book of Maiden

Chapter Four

The lights automatically come on, waking up Tess, whose barely asleep as is. It's not comfortable sleeping in a bunk bed, your back hurting from the roughness of the mattress and hearing the rats in the air vents, scurrying around.

They're living better than I am, Tess kept saying to herself over and over all night long.

Tess sits up, brushing her hair with her fingers as best she could, and gets up. Since she was accepted as a wife, she was given the necessities for the bathroom and extra clothing, even shoes. But they're not shoes she normally wears.

They're flats with cloth fabric, and the dresses are all the same. The only different one is the nighttime wear, which is a loose-fitted gown, that's silk to the touch. She walks over to the toilet and squats down, watching her roommate move around on the bed. Once she's done, she brushes her teeth and touches up her hair.

Has she adjusted well in this situation? No. What choice do I have, is all Tess can tell herself.

She believes that if she goes along with what they want or say, she'll make it out of here, soon.

It's possible at least. She has to have hope something will happen, and she'll be able to see her twin sister, Gwen again.

Only issue is, she's lost track of time here. She has no clue how long she's been her nor what time of day it is. There are no windows, no clocks, and nobody to tell her anything. She's trapped in a void of nothingness, loosing every passing day without feeling any hope.

Her roommate sitting up, finally pulls her out of her thoughts, and she finishes up at the sink. She goes over to her dresser, and throws on a white dress, putting on her shoes. Her roommate finally gets dressed and they each wait on the guards to lead them to their designated classroom.

So far, Tess has only been to one classroom. If you can call it that. The first day she got here, they came back after her doctor's visit and told her to follow them. They showed her the classrooms and ordered her to be ready today, to begin the lessons. She wasn't given much time to peak through locked doors or ask a young girl what's going on.

Most of them would just tell me to obey and shut up, she thought.

She touches her cheek from the slap she received by her no-name doctor, and then moves her hand when the door finally opens up. The guard orders them both to follow and hurry up.

She begins walking behind him, keeping her head down, since that's what the young girls are doing around here, and watches their feet. Once he stops, he orders them both to head in a room, where there are seats lined up in rows of four. There are already several girls sitting down their books on their laps and heads down.

Tess and Adara sit down in empty seats, away from each other and keep their heads down as well. The teacher finally comes in and everyone sits up, looking straight ahead. Each girl bows their bodies and Tess does the same, trying to blend in.

"Welcome. I am glad you all could join me today. Keep in mind, this Will be the last class you attend today before the demonstration tonight. Please make sure you have read the book and since we're short on time, we will no longer have the assigned tests to officially label you all, as wives," he explains.

This man looks familiar to Tess. She looks around, above a student's head, and then examines him and realizes that he was on the poster on the wall. She looks away, trying to not look suspicious.

"My name is Father Elam. I am the leader and Father of this establishment, helping dedicate and preach the love, Christ the Lord. Please, state your name and age at once," he orders.

Each young girl does what he says, one by one. Adara states her name and her age, which was 19. Then, the next row of young girls does the same. Tess is currently on the end of the third row and listens closely at each particular girl. Then, her turn.