Eleutheria

1. First taste of freedom

I, Cupita Coronam, sixteen.

Sweet sixteen.

with sixteen years lived behind the polished mahogany doors of my living chambers, never once breathing air that hadn't been thoroughly purified and scented before reaching my lungs, the prospect of finally being allowed to see the world was quite thrilling.

my stomach flipped and turned with anticipation as I sat in my fluffy bed, grinning wildly and looking on the faces of the girls who had woken me with a tray of fresh pastries and creamy milk every single morning ever since I could remember, and I squealed with joy. I fully intended on ending this day knowing more faces than I did this morning, and that was not going to be too much of a challenge, as I had only ever spoken to these five women, my ladies in waiting, and my father, Rehiim Coronam, my entire life. today was the day I was allowed to leave my chambers and meet my prospective suitor, begin my social life and start living as a real woman of the world... a woman of the Rejicio.

in the Rejicio, there are two main cites, the Sanctum, my home, and the Vastum. The Sanctum's  rich, beautiful lands of legend is populated by us Deos. us Deos are the height of evolution, blessed by the gods with lives of luxury and privilege. The Vastum was home to the breed of beings called 'Humilis' which were said to have been created by the gods to serve us. the books in my library said the average humili was completely incapable of independent thought, and they were merely husks waiting to be given purpose by the command of a deo, though as far as I could tell, my humili maids didn't seem too dissimilar to myself. The maids had all the same features as I, in fact I was unsure of any real difference other than the fact that their skin was rougher, more worn, and their eyes were tired and knowing.

Father said I should treat all beings with respect, because everything the Gods made was sacred in some way, including the humili race, so I was always as kind to them as I could, and though my untrained eye was quite unused to being around people in general, I could tell they were quite happy here. They were my only real friends, and even though they were meant to be my slaves, I had been raised by them, and I couldn't help but feel that they loved me as more than just their lady too. 

I jumped up, taking the eldest maid, Ama, by surprise. 'BEHOLD ME, MY DEARS! I AM, OF THIS MORNING, A FREE WOMAN!' I shouted, dancing maniacally around my bedroom, setting Beju, Cami, dela and Elle into fits of giggles. Ama stood stonily by the foot of my bed and set the food tray down on the table. 'Cupita, M 'lady, you ought not to get so worked up... your father shall be here any moment and you should be as respectable as possible, lest he reschedule your release for fear of over-exciting you.' she warned, crossing her arms. 'oh, Ama. Relax. can't you even attempt a smile, on this joyous day? I am finally FREE!' I giggled, leaping over to her and wrapping my arms around her. 'grumpy old hag' I muttered into her shoulder. I was rather short compared to my maids, and apparently they had been at least a foot taller than I am now when they were my age. pfft. 

'lets get you dressed, dear, you're going to be leaving your chambers for the very first time today, so Elle has prepared a lovely ensemble for you.' Ama said, her voice lighter, and she gave me a quick squeeze before going to my vanity and collecting my jewellery and makeup.

I put on the loose white dress and intricate sandals that Elle had set out, and stroked the soft fabric as Beju styled my long brown hair. Cami gently brushed my makeup on, and then handed me my golden mirror, sighing wistfully. 'I cant believe my sweet Cupita is finally a grown lady... meeting suitors and the like, it surely can't have been sixteen years since I first held your adorable, tiny form in my arms...' she said, her eyes misting over. 'well, beju, I like to think i'm still rather adorable.' I giggled, looking at my smiling reflection. I didn't really have much to compare myself to, but I had been told on many occasion by my maids and my father that I was an exceptional beauty, not that they would have dared tell me otherwise. I had brown hair, green-brown eyes, (I had been informed the term was 'hazel') and very pale white skin, due to never having had unfiltered sunlight touch me. Dela chortled, 'PAH! 'tis true, but you are also still tiny, so all-in-all not much has changed.'

I pouted, and beju hit Dela lightly over the head with the hairbrush. 'you dare speak so boldly to a Deo? remember what you are, Dela.' she scolded, half jokingly. 'you ladies know I would never punish you for talking your minds to me' I insisted. I was always having to tell them to be less uptight around me, but I suppose their humili nature always led them to keep a respectful distance from me. they all nodded, before resuming what they were doing.

ugh, just when I had lightened the mood, too.

once ready, I continued a painting I had started a week before, a painting of what I imagined my future husband would look like.

the morning I had started the piece, I had bumped into Cami in my bathroom, sitting on the floor, slowly reading a myserious book. Ama was trained to read and write, and so had been held responsible for my education, and she'd tried to teach the other four basic literacy, though they had only managed to grasp very basic understanding of words, as they were not allowed to have as much education as me. I demanded to know what it was she was reading, and blushing, she stammered, 'the... the humili girls in the sanctum... they... I was... out for groceries when I saw a crowd gathering around a book stall, so I... I.. investigated... and this book fell onto the ground, M 'am, I thought I might take it back to show you, but upon further investigation I don't thinks it's appropriate for your pure, innocent mind...' I snatched the book from her shaking hands, patted her hair and examined the book closer. a romance? what? after assuring Cami that all was forgiven and retiring back into my room, I read the whole thing in the following hour.

the book was filled with descriptions that made my heart flutter, my stomach churn, and my palms sweat. there was one character in particular, a hero, with flowing locks that rippled in the sweet breeze as he rode gallantly off to rescue his maiden. he made my blood feel like it was on fire, which made me uneasy yet was also oddly addictive. I tried to make him real, and so I painted him, and swore one day I would find my true love, too. 

suddenly my door was opened, and my father, accompanied by his entourage of luxuriously-dressed humili filled the room in a mess of laughter and colour. That was my father, after all, you didn't become the most powerful Deo in the whole Rejicio by being quiet and anti-social.

'O my beloved Cupita, my shining sun amongst moons!' my father announced, making a few of his servants snort, and bringing a grin to my face. How I adored my father. kind, and the most ridiculously outrageous man I had ever heard of. I then stopped, glancing nervously at his company. wow, I had never seen a man that wasn't my father before, and even though these were just humili, their presence was making my face hot. my father noticed, and strode over to embrace me in a bone-crushing hug, laughing merrily.

'aww, my dear child, these are what men humili look like! feast your eyes! and prepare, for I have arranged for you to meet your potential husband! he's the most sought out bachelor, and the whole of the sanctum is raving over the arrival of the newest, most desirable woman in the rejicio, which is you! so I thought, hey! the most handsome man, besides myself obviously, and the most precious girl the Gods hath ever graced our lands with, I daresay, would be the perfect match!'

he spoke a lot, as usual, so It took a while for me to digest each thing he said. oh... wait... WAIT! MARRIAGE? HANDSOME? oh Gods... i paled, and my maids all rushed to hold me up. i regained composure, and i started to smile, then laugh excitedly. 'Father, i honestly love you so so much!' and i linked my arms in his, before he twirled me around and then led me by the hand to the great mahogany doors that had locked me away for so long. i took a deep breath, glancing at my maids, who were tearing up and mumbling about how fast i'd grown up. i smiled reassuringly and stood forwards, confronting this huge barrier that stood before me.

I slammed my hand against the smooth wood and pushed, my soul singing and eyes watering as the seam of pure, warm light spilt into my habitat, making my lamps and candles seem like mere fireflies.

i gasped.