Betrothed Episode One (6 page)

“
I mean there is every chance that they know who you are, and
they don’t want to bring the contract into effect.”

“…
So you don’t think I should go to the Identity
Office and see who I’m betrothed to?”

He
considered my question, his brow crumpling. He shook his head.
“They’ve had plenty of time. Whoever it is, they would know they’re
betrothed. If they haven’t found you by now—”

“
They aren’t looking,” I finished his sentence. A gust of wind
tugged at my hair, sending it tumbling and whipping over my
shoulder as a blue hover ship swung close by our platform. I stared
at the exhaust as it lit us up in a blue glow.

“
Hey,” he ducked his head close to mine and shot me a
distracting smile, “it’ll all be okay. I promise.”

I
eventually looked over at him. “Are you sure you can promise
that?”

He
patted his chest and chuckled, his broad fingers barely rumpling
the well-fitted fabric of his uniform. “Heck yes. You know who
you’re talking to here, right? I’m the Foundation Forces’ best
soldier.”

“
Are you also their most arrogant soldier?” I managed a
crinkled-lipped smile.

He
tipped his head back and chuckled. “Damn straight I am. I’m
arrogant enough to promise that this,” he gestured with the
contract, “will all be sorted.”

“
I thought you recommended that I just ignore it?”

“
I’ll still look into it for you.”

I shot
him a thankful smile. “Really?”

“
For you, anything. Now what do you say we go inside and you
buy me a drink?”

“
I didn’t inherit anything. Unless you want water, I suggest
you pay.”

He
chuckled. “What would you do without me?” He shifted his head
towards the bar and walked ahead.

What
would I do without Mark? Oh, I don’t know, probably nothing. I was
useless without him. He was my one rock in this whole confusing
universe, and without him I’d drown.

I didn’t
get long with Mark – he was called away. Unlike me, he had an
important job.

Mark had
promised to sort out my betrothal contract, which left me at a
loose end.

I had
nowhere to be, so with the little savings I had, I decided to
travel around Central System.

I didn’t
go far, just to some of the other central planets.

I
usually liked traveling, but at the moment my mind was too
distracted to take in the sights. Still, it was nice to keep
moving.

I kept
nervously checking to see if Mark had left me any
messages.

Nothing.

Slowly
the days ticked by.

There was really only one thing to distract myself
with.
It
appeared
to be the same thing the rest of the universe was distracting
itself with.

The
upcoming Illuminate wedding.

The more I heard about Hart, the more I hated him. He seemed
to embody everything that had once been wrong with Earth. Class
inequality. The view that by virtue of somebody’s birth, they were
better than someone else.

I’d
always despised the idea of royalty. Nobody deserves to be treated
like a god among men.

And yet
it seemed that nobody else in this universe shared that particular
view.

Everyone
I met was thrilled about the upcoming wedding, and they all gushed
the virtues of the Illuminate family.

I still
didn’t know anything about them, and frankly, I didn’t
care.

I didn’t want to know how they justified themselves, whatever
ridiculous story they spun to the rest of the universe to validate
their existence.

They
were leeches, just like royalty throughout the ages, I was
confident of that.

Back on
Earth, back before my virus, I’d hated sitting still. I’d always
kept myself busy, learning a new language, perfecting some new
skill, or just cleaning up.

None of
those skills were useful anymore: there was only one universal
standard language, and there wasn’t a great deal to
clean.

Whenever I stopped for too long, my mind started imploding in
on itself.

That’s
what it was doing now.

Waiting
for Mark was truly hell.

Honestly, it was giving me a headache. An odd one. This
pressure was building behind my left eye.

Once
upon a time I got migraines, and I was sure this was just another
one coming on.

So I
dismissed it.

A mistake I would later regret.

On the
fourth day of mooching around, I found myself in a bar.

It was
mostly filled with flight crew and government workers.

I kept
to myself.

I needed somewhere dry to sit and wait as rain pounded down
outside.

And I waited.

I pushed
my way to a corner and rested my back up against a wall.

And I
waited.

I
watched the people around me for a while.

There
was some kind of Foundation Forces captain in the corner talking to
an important looking government official. They kept shooting the
holo TV above the bar excited looks.

In fact,
now I bothered to look, there were an awful lot of people in this
bar. As I glanced up, more pushed their way in.

They all
shot the holo TV expectant looks.

What was
going on?

With a
cheer, the holo TV turned itself on – a ball of vibrant light
slowly filtering out until it formed perfect 3D images.

It was a
broadcast of Illuminate Hart.

I
suddenly realized what was happening here. Today was the day Hart’s
betrothed would be announced.

I rolled my eyes, thankful I was far off on my own in a
corner. Everyone else was thronging towards the TV.

Though I
wanted to ignore the news, I couldn’t. The audio was being
broadcast throughout the bar, and it was damn loud.

I
crumpled further over my simple drink and shot the golden liquid an
angry look.

“
The results are in, and the betrothed has been announced,”
the news presenter said.

The
results are in? Sounded like she was reeling off the winning ticket
in a lottery.

Marrying
Hart, however, didn’t sound like a lottery. It sounded like
torture.

“
For the first time ever,” the news presenter got a manic grin
on their face, “a newfound one will be welcomed into the Illuminate
family.”

I
stiffened, my gaze swiveling to lock onto the TV.

A
newfound one?

“
A woman from old Earth, Hart’s betrothed only woke up three
years ago.”

A knot
of hot-white nerves formed in my stomach.

“
She was cryogenically frozen over 400 years ago on the first
of January 2020 after succumbing to a deadly virus, which at the
time had no cure.”

I
couldn’t breathe.

I
couldn’t breathe.

Everyone
in the bar crowded around the TV, so there was no one to see me
breakdown in the corner.

I crumpled a sweaty hand over my chest, trying to suck in a
tortured breath, but failing.

Sweat
slicked my brow and my heart skipped every second beat.

“
Come on, tell us her name,” someone in the crowd
said.

I
couldn’t breathe!

“
The wedding will be held in one year, during the alignment.
It will be the biggest event the universe has seen since the last
Illuminate wedding.”

“
God, they drag these things out,” someone
commented.

“
Have respect,” the Foundation captain snapped.

“
I’m sure you all want to know who this lucky earthling is,”
the news presenter was clearly stringing this out.

The
crowd in the bar were still packed around the TV.

No one
even glanced my way.

No one
saw as I shook and trembled.

“
Her name is Anna Carter,” the presenter finally
revealed.

I knew
that.

I knew
my own story.

Before I could fall off my seat and tumble to the floor, the
footage panned out to reveal an enormous building. It looked like
some kind of palace, and had massive lengths of purple fabric
draped over the sides.

The camera
zoomed
in to
show
two people standing on a huge balcony that could
have fitted a small house on the smoothed white metal.

Illuminate Hart and ... a woman.

She was
standing there holding hands with Hart. He had a smile on his face.
A genuine smile. It even reached his eyes.

“
Anna Carter will join the Illuminate family, and in doing so,
history,” the presenter continued to waffle.

....

What was
going on here?

“
The next few weeks will be a whirlwind for the young
Earthling. She will be introduced to the Illuminate family and its
traditions before the formal engagement in three months’ time. The
wedding will occur in exactly one year, during the final
alignment.”

I didn’t
understand. What was being said, what was happening.

I didn’t
understand.

“
Anna’s first interview will be televised this evening. She
does, however, have a few words for our captive
audience.”

The
camera zoomed into the woman standing next to Hart. It lingered on
a shot of the two of them staring into each other’s eyes and
smiling.

Hart
looked like a different man.

And me,
I was a different woman.

Because
the lady standing next to Hart wasn’t me, even though she had my
name and my exact story.

“
I don’t understand.” I crumpled a hand over my mouth and
stared at the holographic TV.

T-there
had to be some kind of mistake. That woman wasn’t Anna Carter – I
was.

There
couldn’t be two of us. Two Anna Carters who’d died on January 1
2020 from an untreatable virus, only to be woken up 400 years
later.

What
would the odds of that be?

I
crumpled my arms around my middle, my sweaty fingers digging into
the fabric of my plain tunic.

And I
stared – stared with a wide dead gaze at the telecast.

I’d
fought to claw back my sanity after waking up 400 years in the
future. I’d fought – every day – to understand this place and to
leave all memories of my past behind.

Now my
world was tumbling around me and there was no one to turn
to.

No ...
no, there was Mark.

I
stumbled away from my table, knocking my drink to the
floor.

I
staggered out of the bar before anyone could stop me.

A hard
sharp sensation was building behind my left eye.

I
ignored it and ran.

...

I didn’t
have to find Mark; he found me.

I ran
into his chest.

Just as
I was darting away from the bar, my cheeks awash with tears, I
slammed into him.

At first
I thought it was some random security officer, but when I pushed
away to see Mark, I unashamedly fell forward and hugged him. “Oh my
god, what the hell just happened?”

With a
firm hand on my shoulder, he pushed me back.

I saw
him glance behind me.

“
What's going on here?” Someone asked in a curt tone as they
marched up to us.

“
Sorry, sir.” Mark snapped a salute.

I turned
to see the Captain from the bar.

He was
wearing the same trim uniform Mark was, except his was embellished
with three bars of alternating gold and white trimming around his
cuffs and collar.

He shot
me a suspicious look. “Why did you run out of that bar?”

I opened
my mouth to answer in whatever choked tone I could
manage.

I didn't
have to.

Mark
pushed in front of me. “Sorry, sir. She's a newfound one. Just woke
up recently. She's still quite confused. I've been helping her out
at the institute.”

The
Captain's suspicious gaze softened. “Oh, I see. What's she doing
off on her own if she just woke up?”

“
Our mistake, sir – we thought she was better integrated than
she is. I'll take her somewhere safe.”

“
Very well.” The Captain nodded and offered me a compressed
smile. “I know this future might be confusing now, but with people
here to help you, you'll be fine.”

I didn't
say a word.

What was
Mark doing?