Die Trying

Play by the Rules.

There are rumors going around that some of us are escaping to the woods. We can not run without the chance of death or the punishment of what might come. What is the punishment, no one knows and those who do are too shaken up for the rest of their lives to say? What lays beyond our world at the boundaries, who is to say? We are not allowed to leave. What happens when we do? Let's just say it is better to die. My name is Malean Caeph and this is my world.

From the time you are born to the time you die if you are a girl, you are owned by your father. Only you can't call him that you must call him Master, Sir, or what I call my father, Mr. Caeph. Once you are five, you must learn how to clean, cook, and obey. At ten you are put to work. At age thirteen you are taught a talent like to sing, dance, draw something that makes you different. At sixteen you are put on stage to show your talent to a group of bidders and your Master sells you to the highest one. The bidder will have a son that helped him pick you and you will be forced to spend time with him. Then once you are twenty, the son owns you and nine times out of ten he will marry you.

I am fifteen and will be going to the stage in two weeks. My friend Caline (My brother Jakub's girlfriend) will be going with me to help me in case I need it. I know the age is sixteen but my birthday is the day after the selection so Mr.Caeph called in a favor from a friend of his. My Master told me to take Caline and go see if there was anything we wanted for the selection. What he meant by that is look through the closet of dresses, shoes, and jewelry he bought me for this very occasion to see if there was something that I liked. I was so nervous and honestly, at this point in time, no girls know what guys liked. I was one of the lucky ones who had three older brothers.

They all, when no other person is around, let me call them by name. I am the youngest of the family and I think that they feel like they needed to protect me. They taught me a little self-defense and where to kick a man if they tried to harm me in any way. I remember when I was little and I knew that I wasn't allowed but I ran to their room in the middle of the night because I had a bad dream. They let me stay with them for the rest of the night, then snuck me back to my room in the early morning so I wouldn't get in trouble. They told me never completely give in to a man's power because I could do amazing things, I could change the way people see girls and I have the power that no man could ever be able to harness.

I walked to their room and knocked on the door. As soon as it opened I was pulled into the room.

"We have so much more to teach you," Jakub said.

"You need to fight us each, one at a time, and we need to know if what we taught you is enough," said my second-born brother Mic.

"What is wrong with you two?. The color is draining from her face." John is my oldest brother. "You're going to do fine. Got it?"

"Yep."

We fought each other till I put at least fifty bruises on them.

"We couldn't bruise you because you have to go to the selection.," John said.

"So what are you singing?" Asked Mic.

"You know that she isn't allowed to tell anyone," Jakub said.

"I don't care I will tell you. I am singing a song."

"No really," he responded with voice covered in sarcasm.

"I should get to bed."

" Night Malean," they all said as I walked out the door, hoping for happiness with the person who gets me.