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βA heart's a heavy burden.β
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ: #CD5C5C β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #C5E3BFγ
|| Still Into you || Paramore ||
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ: #CD5C5C β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #C5E3BFγ
|| Still Into you || Paramore ||
Cress awoke entangled in Heron's arms. The two girls were sleeping together, clothes nothing but a memory. "Morning," Heron murmured, running her fingers through Cress's short hair. Cress yawned sleepily, Heron's warm body pressed against her own. "Morning," Cress said, blushing as she realized that it was Heron's chest pushing against her back. "You made a bunch of cute sounds last night," Heron grinned and Cress blushed further. "Did it help?" Heron sat up then and Cress did too, clutching the blanket against her. "It did," Cress admitted, "I wasn't thinking about them the whole time." Them being the men who had violated her, Semyon Malachite and Itward Cherubim. Heron grinned, giving a victorious punch to the air. Cress rolled her eyes, her legs a bit sore as she slid off of the bed and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
Heron joined her, seeming to have no qualms with brushing her teeth at the same time as Cress sat on the toilet. Her body felt cold without Heron's warmth pressing against her. "Do you think Kora is alright?" Cress asked, looking down at her feet. The gold nail polish left over from the ball was chipped; Cress would have expected nothing less. The nail polish on her hands wasn't existent anymore considering how much she had picked at it and used her hands. "Which section are we doing today?" Heron asked after gurgling some mouth wash. Cress thought for a minute, the group had split up. It was Cress's responsibility to migrate between sections throughout the day and ensure that the knights were doing proper work.
"Let's start in I," Heron wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Cress rolled her eyes again, washing her hands. Heron went into the other room, no doubt picking out what panties she wanted Cress to wear. When Cress went into the other room though, she jumped in surprise and squeaked, hiding behind the bathroom door. Heron didn't care about being seen naked, but Cress did. She was also embarrassed about the port in her chest, the little tube that stuck out that was taped in a loop against her. "I got you Cress!" Heron said, grabbing a silk robe and tossing it in through the bathroom door. "Thanks," Cress mumbled, tying it around her waist. Thyella bowed and Cress felt flustered all over again.
"Please, no need to be so formal." Cress waved her hands and Thyella gestured to the clothes she had picked out. They were cute, although Cress would have never chosen pink for herself. "Oh, you didn't have to do that." Thyella shook her head though, insisting that it was her job. "I told you didn't I? You don't have to be a servant, you're free." Cress got dressed, a pink shirt and overalls, then sat at the table. "Corren wants you to try full liquids," Heron said as Cress stared down a bowl of breakfast pudding. "Okay, I'll do my best." She couldn't eat much, keeping it down was the real challenge though. Two bottles of water later, Cress hadn't thrown up and she was rather proud of herself. "Alright, let's start getting to work. We've gotta be in Section I before it gets late!"
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βYes Mistress.β
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ: #FFAEB9 β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #63D1F4γ
|| I'm on Top of the World|| Imagine Dragons ||
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ: #FFAEB9 β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #63D1F4γ
|| I'm on Top of the World|| Imagine Dragons ||
Shiro was not a puppy or a dog, but a little girl. She was walking with her parents, both in jump suits as they began the day of work in the sanitary tier. Their faces were not obscured in this dream, like they normally were. Now that Shiro knew what they looked like, she could make them out as clear as day. "This way Shiro, stay close to Mama." Her father said lovingly, letting go of his daughter's hand as he scanned his ID chip against the door that led into the service tunnels. "One day, you'll be doing this too." The Sanitary Tier workers were the cleaners, the ones that took on the dangerous jobs that no one wanted to do. "Where are we going?" Shiro asked as her mother led her into the service tunnel. It was dark, barely illuminated by fluorescent bubbles that flickered on and off overhead.
"Stay close Shiro, it's easy to get lost." So Shiro stuck like glue, one hand holding onto her mother, the other the ragged doll that had been passed down her family for generations. They had little, but even so, they were happy. "Mama, will I have to wear that too?" Shiro asked, gesturing to the light blue jump suits everyone wore. "These are just work clothes," her mother smiled patiently, in that kind way that made Shiro feel warm, like the sun. They went out of the tunnel, up a flight of stairs to the Tower Tier. "This is where things get a little smelly," her mother said, pulling her work gloves out of the pocket of her uniform. "Shiro wants to help too!" Shiro pipped up, looking around and finding a pair of gloves on the ground.
Shiro pulled them on, tucking her doll into the waistband of her hand-me-down clothes. "Oh Shiro, where did you find those?" Shiro pointed to the ground and her mom chuckled, no doubt believing that someone had left them there the day before. In her too big gloves, Shiro got to work. She started scrubbing the glass windows, only to start coughing. "Shiro!" Her mom dropped her sponge, hugging her daughter close and patting her on the back. "Don't work, just rest, okay?" The sanitary illness was a very prevalent issue. While Shiro's parents didn't have it, they were both carriers of the gene, ensuring that whatever product they made in the future would have it too. "But Mama, Shiro wants to help." She whimpered and her mother shook her head. "Soon, okay? Just rest a little longer." Shiro didn't have that much time left, a few years at most. The life expectancy was the age of twenty and Shiro was already ten.
Due to her lungs, her body hadn't grown much. She was short for her age, but her mom had been a slow grower so she wasn't worried. Shiro sat on the ground as her mother worked, playing with her doll. Her mother suddenly tensed, grabbing Shiro by the arm and yanking her up, making her doll fall. "Mama!" Shiro coughed, reaching for the toy. "Don't move, don't speak, stay in front of me." Passing them were a group of obvious nobles, escorted by the knights. Shiro whimpered as a noble stepped on her doll and looked down. "What's this?" He lifted it up, the doll now had a foot print, courtesy of his shiny patent leather broods. "Give it back!" Shiro pulled against her mother, demanding her toy back. "Shiro!" Her mother grabbed her, pushing her head down, making the two of them bow. "We're very sorry, she's still just a child, don't take it to heart."
Shiro started coughing again, blood dripping from her nose. The noble narrowed his eyes, "How much would it take to buy this child off of you?" Her mother stiffened. "She's not for sale," she hugged Shiro close. "A spot in the Tower Tier? An apartment with a view?" Her mother was shaking and Shiro didn't know why. "She only has a handful of years left, you should let her live them out in a home where she doesn't need to worry about where her next meal will come from, or whether she's going to drown in her own blood." Shiro looked up at her mom, frozen in terror. "She needs her mother and father, she's not for sale." Her mother didn't sound so sure though. "I could get her the medicine she needs, the treatment for that terrible, incurable illness." Her mom's grip was no longer so tight. "Or I could just take her from you?"
She knelt to Shiro's level, brushing a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. Her mother looked like her, what Shiro would look like in twenty years. Blonde hair slightly matted, the smell of cleaning supplies, bright blue eyes that glistened in the light. These were the things that Shiro would forever remember. "Shiro, your mother and father love you very much." She hugged her, "but I need you to go with this man." She wiped the bit of blood leaking from Shiro's nose. "No!" Shiro threw her arms around her mother. "No! I want to stay with you and Papa!" Her mother was trembling, tears in her eyes. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." She kissed Shiro's forehead, giving her daughter one last word of advice. "Live."
She stood then, looking the man straight in the eyes. "Give her a good life," he smiled then, handing her something. It was a holo phone, something that wasn't widely available to Sanitary workers. "My men will call, come now child, let's go to your new home." A knight picked her up and Shiro screamed, thrashing. "Mama! No! Don't let them take me!" Her mother turned away, not letting her daughter see the tears that welled up in her crystal blue eyes.
Shiro awoke with a start, tears rolling down her cheeks. She coughed, doubling over as she tried to suck air into her lungs. It wasn't real, Shiro had never met her parents, so then, why did it hurt so badly?