The Geneva Project - Truth (24 page)

“
One more thing,” she said coming towards me and laying her hands on the crown of my head.  “There, that’s much better,” she beamed.

“
Thanks,” I smiled back at her knowing she’d used her favorite new trick for smoothing my hair and we headed for the hallway.

I paused to take one more look back at the empty space that was my sweet sleeping little marmouse and I gave an involuntary shiver.  I couldn’t shake the feeling of impending dread. 

When we breathlessly reached the courtyard we joined the rest of our year.  Journey raised his eyebrows when he caught sight of us and Remi gave me a goofy smile, but I chose to ignore them.  I actually even allowed a tiny bit of the Gala excitement flowing through the orphans to catch hold of me.  This was always our favorite day of the year at the Troian Center.  We got to skip lessons and work to dress up and go to Lux.  Minus the singing, it was actually something I looked forward to.  Although I gave up the hopefulness that some of the other orphans still held that this was an opportunity to get adopted, I still enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds of Lux.  It was decorated so elegantly, with thousands upon thousands of candles lighting up the pristine city, lighting our path to the heart of the celebration.  The sun-kissed citizens pulled out all their best jewels and most elaborate linens for the New Year Gala, celebrating the rebirth of their flourishing city into another year.  My favorite part was the fireworks that lit up the inky night sky after we finished singing, signaling the start of the New Year.  It seemed to be  the beginning of the night for the citizens, but it’s when we headed home, back to the Troian Center, back to being orphans for another year; another year of Flood work, another year of wondering where we truly belong.  I guess it’s kind of a bittersweet day, but for that short little bit of time, I get to feel like we’re more than just orphans, like we belong, like we’re part of something and I cherish each and every moment.  I relish the sights, sounds, and smells of Lux, because even though I have no recollection of my family or my past, I feel most at home during our short yearly visits inside the exquisite gates of Lux.  

My excitement is short-lived though, because as we line up and start to walk out of the courtyard, Jemma lines herself up next to me, giving me a sly little smile and wink that makes my stomach turn.  I’ve shared winks with Nova and Sparrow before, but they signaled trust, friendship, or a secret, but I didn’t want to share anything with Jemma, especially a secret, because she was bound to save it for the precise time that it could hurt me the most.  There was nothing I could do but stand alongside her and watch as the other years filed out of the courtyard ahead of us.  I stood anxiously watching them pass. We would go last.  We always went last.  The oldest orphans would perform first, going in order of oldest to youngest until it came to us.  We would close the show, ending with one of Jemma’s solos.  With her last perfectly timed note the fireworks would begin and applause would erupt.  It did give me a small bit of satisfaction to know that Jemma didn’t have the solo this year.  I couldn’t wait to see her applaud Sparrow and Remi with the rest of us.  As I enjoyed this little victory I turned to look at Jemma, wanting to return a smile and wink of my own, but out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Nova, marching tall and beautifully dressed right past us with the rest of his year.  

“
No!”
was all I managed to think to him as he passed.

“
Later Tippy.  We’ll do it later,”
was what he telepathed back to me, obviously picking up on my disappointment that he was joining us at the Gala rather than staying behind to try to retrieve the book of secrets.  I hated all of these delays.  They just added to my agitation and that uncomfortable feeling that something was building, just out of reach, but dangerous nonetheless. I started to chew my nails as I watched Nova walk further away, but then he called back to me,
“And you look beautiful by the way,”
making me blush. 
What did Sparrow do to my hair? 
I thought to myself.  I guess I should have glanced in the mirror on our way out because I was getting some strange looks and now Nova was calling me beautiful
. 
Maybe he’s still recovering, or maybe I melted his brain when I was healing him, I worried. 

“
Mmm, John 18 looks great doesn’t he?” Jemma said next to me, snapping me back to reality.

“
What?” was all I could manage, blood boiling as I stared at her questioning dark eyes. 

Why was it that she couldn’t let me have anything that made me happy?  And why was she even talking to me.  This was the most we’d ever conversed.  I tried to gage where she was coming from and for a moment I thought I saw her stern wall of unapproachably soften.

“
I heard he got pretty messed up by Khan trying to pull some prank on Greeley, but he looks fine, don’t you think?”

“
I guess,” I mumbled still staring straight ahead.

“
Perhaps things aren’t always what they seem,” she replied looking straight ahead again with her wall back in place, battle ready once more as we marched on.

Our progress halted outside the giant white gates of Lux where we were inspected before we were permitted to enter.  We waited while Greeley, who was seated comfortably in a plush covered carriage pulled by two jittery horses, passed us.  While we were made to walk the vast distance of sun-cracked earth that separated us from Lux, Greeley always rode contently in her elaborate horse-drawn carriage.  Of course Khan and Ria were afforded such luxury as well, which is probably what attributed to the nervous snorts from the horses.  As I watched Khan pass by me I shuddered at the flashback of him mauling Nova.  It was hard to believe the big tarcat, who was now lounging lazily behind Greeley with one massive paw flopping carelessly outside the cart, was the same one who almost killed my friend.  And even Ria, who often seemed playful and sweet, with her slender body now curled up at Greely’s feet, was in on the action.  I realized we were foolish to underestimate them. 

As we waited for the guards of Lux to give us the customary once-over, I found myself gazing at the massive gates that separated us from the citizens of Lux.  It was almost bizarre the way these two solid doors were what separated us from the other; locals from citizens, luxury from lower class.  I never noticed this before, but all of a sudden it seemed silly to me.  These were just doors, highly structured ones at that, but still doors just the same.  I guess it was what lay behind the doors that we coveted; the freedom and thrilling beauty of the sparkling city.  It may have been just another seaside city before the Flood, but to us it was a land of secrets and mystery.  Every time I had a chance to be inside the gates I would feel the excitement and allure catch hold of my heart.  It had such a pull on me that it seemed like a place I was destined to be.  As we finally started marching forward again, I kept hold of this thought;
Lux is my destiny
.  Tonight I would find out the truth, no matter what. 

The trusted guards of Lux deemed we were worthy enough to enter their protected city and gave us a long and ceremonious bow, which signaled the trumpeters to announce our arrival and the official beginning of the New Year Gala.  As we passed under the shining arch that adorned the gated city I could feel my heartbeat quicken.  With the sun setting, the gleaming white city emitted a beautiful golden glow.  All the lavishly dressed citizens stopped what they were doing to line the streets and cheer for us, celebrating our arrival.  Perhaps they were really only excited that the festivities had officially begun, rather than the fact that the local orphans were arriving, but I choose to believe in the latter instead because it was my favorite part of the whole night.  For that moment I felt special, important, loved.  Each year it got better, too, because I got closer and closer to the front since the older years had moved on. 

This year was just as wonderful as always.  Upon entering the city I was hit with a sensory overload.  I didn’t know whether to look at the beautiful people layered in expensive jewels and fabrics, or to stare at the breathtaking beauty of the setting red sun, casting vibrant hues frolicking across the sea right back to me.  I could see the pollen and dust caught in beams of pinks and oranges dancing slowly in the air, as if drunk off the beauty of the sunlight. The air was heavy with the intoxicating smells of sweets and spices.  I could smell the mulled cider and brown sugar coated nuts roasting, and I swear if I closed my eyes I could almost taste the cinnamon date cakes.  My ears were ringing from the applause and joyful shouts in our direction, until they were drown out by the fast tempo of horns and percussion that swept us up as we got closer to the center of the chaos. 

Yes, the sights, smells and sounds of Lux were dizzying, and even more wonderful than I was able to remember. They were like a dear friend you didn’t realized you were missing until they came back home. 

As I followed the others down the steep and winding streets, I kept reminding myself to watch my step because it was hard to keep my eyes from wandering to the thousands of pale paper lanterns glowing overhead.  They lined the streets, stretching up to the cliff-side homes and all the way out to sea.  Above my head they bobbed light and airy, in the soft warm breeze, but in the distance they looked smaller, and almost like they were floating unassisted by their invisible cords, just like my shiny little orbs in the forest; and I couldn’t help but smile.  Then there were the starch-white homes, which were not to be outdone by the lanterns.  They each boasted magnificent displays of candles burning brightly on their windowsills, vestibules and walls.  Every little crevice of a ledge was filed with piles of white candles in varying sizes, set ablaze in melted, waxy arrangements.  Tonight, Lux was a fireball of light.

As we reached the stage, I came back to reality a bit more.  I always started to get nervous once we all cram behind the stage curtains, cloaked from the excitement of the crowd beyond.  They smelled musty to me, probably from being packed away all year long.  Sparrow was instantly next to me the minute Jemma left my side.  We gave each other a worried look and then went to find Journey and Remi.  I found myself letting that old foreboding feeling creep back up to settle in its familiar place in my chest. 

“
What was that all about?” Remi asked, looking as engaged as I’d seen him in a while.

“
Yeah why were you walking with Jemma?” Journey asked with his eyebrows raised.

“
I wasn’t walking with her, you dummy, she was walking with me!” I hissed in return.

“
Oh, there’s a difference?” Journey half-heartedly challenged.

I rolled my eyes at him but dropped it, instead turning to face Sparrow.

“
Are you ready for your solo?”

“
Yes,” she nodded nervously.

“
And you?” I asked, turning to Remi.

“
Yeah,” he shrugged.

“
Okay, well then we need to get a plan together for after the performance.  We have to get the book of secrets tonight!”

“
What?!  Tonight?  Why tonight?” Sparrow whispered while the boys just exchanged questioning glances with each other.

“
Yes, it has to be tonight.  Don’t you guys see?  Tonight is our best option.  There’s so much going on that no one will suspect us if we do it tonight.  It’s not a regular night where we’d look like we were obviously up to no good if we’re out of bed late at night.  Maybe we can try to sneak back to the Center early?  Maybe we can…”

“
That seems like an awful lot of maybes, 65,” interrupted Remi.

I was about to protest, when I felt Nova behind me.  He broke away from his year to join our little powwow in the back corner of the stage, where he comfortably slung his arm over my shoulders and I relaxed under the warmth of it. 

“
She’s right.  Tonight’s the night.  It’s our best chance.”

I smiled triumphantly back at Remi, but my gloating was short-lived.

“
But, Tippy, we have to be smart about this,” he said looking down at me before looking back to the group.  “We can’t try to sneak out of here early. 
That
would be too obvious.  We’ll just leave the feast early,” Nova added. “Agreed?”

We all looked around at each other, knowing this was it.  We were deciding to put forth a motion that couldn’t be stopped once started.  I could tell the seriousness of it was weighing heavy on each of us, and that was the way it should be.  After seeing what happened to Nova I think we all realized this wasn’t child’s play any longer.  His idea of leaving the dining hall tonight was definitely our best option.  After the Gala we always returned to a wonderful feast in the dining hall at the Troian Center.  This was often the highlight of the night for us orphans, but I was so preoccupied with everything else that it was far from my mind this year.  I looked at the others and they all were looking at me for some reason, so I decided to step forward.

“
Agreed,” I seconded, reaching for Nova’s hand. 

The others all nodded in agreement and joined hands with Nova and me, filling me with nervousness and calmness all at once.