Tempting the Fates

The Near Future

The view from my bedroom window always took my breath away. Mountains jutted from the dusty earth in every direction, a seemingly endless landscape of gray. The sky above was always dark blue, perpetually frozen at that moment when dusk becomes night. Trees laid barren and twisted, never sprouting a single leaf. The only thing that bloomed with life were the flowers that covered the small grounds around the palace. It wasn't very colorful, but that had never mattered to me. There was a beauty in darkness, and that darkness was home now.

"Are you ready, miss?" a small voice called from the door.

I glanced down at the gown I wore. The beautiful garment hung off me like expensive gossamer, and I'd nearly cried when I'd looked at my reflection in the mirror. 

I wanted my dad with me more than anything. He'd been there for everything important in my life, and it felt wrong that he wouldn't be there. It was the most important day of my life, or so I'd been told by the world.

I looked back at the handmaid and nodded. She held out a small bouquet, and my hands shook as I walked over and took it from her.

"Is he already there?" I asked, my voice sounding more confident than I felt.

She nodded. "Yes, miss."

I followed her out into the hallway and she slipped behind me to shut the door. I heard it close with a gentle click, and another wave of anxiety crashed into my chest.

The young woman reappeared before me and led me down the hallway. I followed obediently, still unsure of the layout of the palace. I soon realized that I'd picked the wrong shoes for the gown. Every few steps I stumbled over the hem. I grabbed the skirt and lifted it up, and the handmaiden glanced over her shoulder at me.

As I made eye-contact with her, it occurred to me that I didn't know anything about her. I didn't even know her name. Guilt piled onto the growing mountain of emotions inside me.

It had been so long since I'd had a friend. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a legitimate connection with another person who was not my father. 

I surveyed her physical appearance, hoping to gain some insight through observation. She was an inch or two shorter than I was, with olive skin and dark hair that was braided tightly against her head in a crown. She appeared to be a few years older than I was, but I couldn't be certain. Appearance was very deceiving in the kingdom. I was never quite sure of who was human and who wasn't.

Having exhausted what I could from looking at her, I decided to force down the churning of my stomach and distract myself with conversation.

"What, um... what's your name?" I stumbled over the words, cringing at how fragile I sounded. Not doing a great job at the whole 'all-powerful' thing.

She turned and lifted her dark eyebrows at the question, as if she were surprised by my line of questioning. She bent her chin down in a low-key bow. "I am Thalia, miss."

"I'm Callie." I responded without hesitation. I tripped on the hem again and pulled the skirt up higher with my free hand.

"Yes, miss." She dismissed my comment, bowing her head again. "It's a pleasure to serve you."

Of course, she knew my name.

Thalia was good at what she did, and something as simple as my name would have been the first thing she'd learned. In fact, she seemed to know quite a bit more about me than just my name. By the end of the first day she already knew what food and drink I preferred, what my favorite color to wear was, and how I liked my bed made (no top sheet, and only two pillows). And that was all without even speaking to me.