Waiting for humanity

Chapter 3:

Twist and turns one might face, in a land where trust would be a disgrace. Trust one may lack, yet trust they may obtain. But when would one fake trust, only for their gain? 

  ~--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~  

I walked back to my room, to see her hunched over that pouch. "Hey! FSL-12, wasn't it?" I looked at her sharply as she scrambled down to her knees to bow. "I am so sorry you saw me cleaning. I shall leave promptly." She was trembling from head to toe. Something about her made it seem as if she had been terrified by something. Or someone. "Stay," you said, grabbing her by the arm. She raised her hand as if to slap me, before coming to her senses and lowering it. "Whatever you wish, master," she said, bowing slightly. "Sooooo," I trailed off. "What was it like on the way here? What were the other servants like?" I remembered one of my mother's stories about a poor man who attempted to rob a rich one by pretending to be his servant, before murdering him in his sleep. The only reason I remembered it so well is because of when I asked what poor and rich meant, only to have a blank expression as an answer. The girl looked at me warily, waited a moment. She then spoke. "Ah. It wasn't luxury. But it was still pretty nice. All the other servants were pretty scared of somethin' though. Can't quite remember what it was." You looked at her again. Her stringy red hair, her thin shoulders. She couldn't even manage to pick up a knife, let alone drive it into my chest. I then realized what Cari told me. She didn't have any servants in her room, so that means that they must've all been female... if this girl in front of you was telling you the truth. "Were they all girls," I asked, pretending to be interested in her account. "Oh nooo. There were boys there too," she said after pausing. "I should go now, I'm not of any use here." I watched her grab her small pouch and scurry away. There was something about that pouch that seemed... familiar. I stayed there in my room for some time, before deciding to call it a night and go to bed.

~--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~

The alarm in the holding grounds buzzed loudly. I leaped out of bed, as the other girls got out gently, being careful not to bruise themselves. The woman stormed in, barking orders at us full volume. She had been there supervising us for a week or so now. We assumed she was a special type of leader. After all, she was one of the few that weren't blinded. "Hurry up," she yelled, as we were showering. I put on my uniform, about to head out the door. "Wait a minute," she said, handing me a worn-out hairbrush. "Make yourself look presentable." I yanked the brush through my hair, before slinging my small pouch over my shoulder and running out to the contact's room. If I was correct, she would only keep me for half an hour at most, and by the time she was done, that spoilt brat would've already gone out for his first day of training. I knocked on the door. "FSL-666," I asked. She opened the door again and let me in. She eyed my small pouch on my shoulder suspiciously but said nothing of it. "Now, so far I've found out that the leaders each have their own rooms at first. Then they'd go and be assigned to someone and live together in a series of chambers. How do you suppose we attack from there on?" The old woman gave me a look. That one look seemed to tie my tongue. "The problem isn't the leaders themselves," she said, "It's the Blinding. If we somehow find a way to mess that part up, they'll be glad to join our rebellion. After all-" "But how," I asked, "How would they even decide to join us in the first place? Wouldn't they have been trained by the time of the blinding?" She glared at me, grabbed her cane and gave me a whack on the leg. "That'll teach you to be such a stuck-up child. You may think you're smart and all, with your heritage, but believe me, over here that's not going to fool anyone. Besides, you don't need leader origins to have intelligence. I'd like to have you know, they only teach them leadership things before the Blinding. You know, how to gain a following, how to make sure people don't revolt against you." "Well then, I said jokingly, "Guess that lesson failed." She ignored my comment. "It's only afterward they start feeding them lies." "O-okay. So we have to mess up the Blinding for all of them-" I began. "NO! It would be too dangerous. You should only do it for one or two leaders. Any more and we're screwed. Is there someone you can trust over there?" I shook my head. "Well, I guess you'll have to wait to fall in love with that douche!" I went on my way, towards Jean's room. I opened the door softly, tiptoeing in. I carefully shut the door, making sure not to be heard. I felt as if someone was staring at me. A cold wind blew on my shoulders, as I shuddered softly. "Hi there," someone said cheerfully. I looked around to see Jean there. What a creep. "If you want," I said sweetly, "I can come back later." I felt his gaze burning through my skin. I looked down, thinking of that obsenity mentioned by FSL-666. "Hey," said Jean, "It seems like something's bothering you. Could you tell me?" I stared at him, annoyed by his 'overflowing generosity'. "Remember what she told you," I thought to myself, "Be... obedient." I smiled that sickly sweet smile. "Oh, nothing really. I'm just feeling really overwhelmed... you know, servant duties." I tittered, my face hot with anger. 

  ~--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~ 

 I stared at the servant, tittering and twirling her hair. This was what mother warned me about, yet... something... something was off. I looked at her deeper, wondering why her mouth was churned a little in disgust, why her eyes were narrowed. "Are you sure you're not..." I searched for the right word. "Frustrated?" She looked at me, then at the ceiling, then me again. She slowly nodded. "Soooo, why did you lie about such things," I asked, curious. She did the same thing, looking at the ceiling then at me. She shook her head slowly and surely. "Ok then..." I trailed off. "Oh Jean," she asks, "What are the leader districts like?" I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Why on earth would she want to know something as dull as that," I thought. I slowly began describing the four major districts; Naples, Burgundy, Sanctimonia, and Tutella. She listened avidly, as I described the Burgundy District. The more and more I elaborated, the closer she leaned towards me, face lighting up. That face would always be stuck in my mind since... since it was the first time I felt she had trusted me.