The Fourth Ceremony: The Sacrifice Trilogy

The Fourth Ceremony

The Sacrifice Trilogy

K.M. Ashling

In loving memory of Rachel. Thank you for every criticism, demand for more, and excited review. Thank you for being my critic. Thank you for being my cheerleader. Thank you most of all for being my friend. There are no words to describe how painfully you are missed. Heart over eyes, dear friend.

Until ther
e’
s a cure.

The Fourth Ceremony

Chapter 1-

Alessa

“
Sac-ri-fice! Sac-ri-fice
!
”

              The crowd was chanting from below. She could feel their energy. It was palpable in the unseasonably warm March afternoon. She stood on her balcony with her face painted into a polite smile while the crowd cheered for her with abandon. She was their sacrifice, their savior. They would worship her right up until the day she died. And although she always knew what she was, what purpose she served to these people, it did
n’
t make their thrill for her impending death any easier to stomach. She was to die, and every person in the Empire would celebrate. The familiar ache started in her chest as she turned away from the celebration going on below her balcony.

            
 “
Alessa
,”
she heard her mothe
r’
s voice
,“
come back inside, we need to speak
.
” 

Alessa collected her thoughts and turned slowly from the crowd to walk purposefully back into her bedroom. The rich white carpet was soft beneath her feet. Alessa pulled the balcon
y’
s double doors closed behind her, the action only slightly deterring the celebration of the crowd outside. Aless
a’
s mother frowned at her bare feet. She had always encouraged Alessa to appear in public fully dressed and in at least business casual attire, but Alessa was a casual sort of girl. Alessa was the complete opposite of her uptight mother, who always appeared with perfectly smooth hair in tailored suits and dresses. Alessa and her mother had a strained relationship, at best, and Alessa supposed that this was a formal visit.

            
 “
Yes, Mother, to what do I owe the pleasure
?”
Alessa perceived the slightest rise in her mothe
r’
s eyebrow, but Aless
a’
s voice was perfectly practiced, perfectly polite, and her mother could make no mention of her sarcasm.  This was Aless
a’
s weapon. If she did
n’
t blatantly offend her mother, then her mother allowed her to make her snide remarks. After all, if Alessa had plausible deniability, there was no way her mother would run the risk of being wrong. No, Aless
a’
s mother certainly could not stand to be wrong.

            
 “
I wanted to wish you a happy birthday and ask you what your wish for this year might be
.”
Her mothe
r’
s tone was reserved and proper. It thoroughly frustrated Alessa.

            
 “
I do
n’
t know, Mother
.”
Alessa said, barely containing her annoyance
,“
I will let Father know before the sun sets
.
”

              Every year on her birthday she was allowed any wish. Not as if it were any different than every other day, she was always awarded anything she desired, but this wish was a more formal one, a birthday present. In the past, her big birthday wish had been something she planned carefully all year. At one time, it was a way to get the most exciting thing she could imagine. As she grew older, she began to test the wishes, to see if the Government could pull off the things she requested. She almost smiled as she remembered her ninth birthday when she had asked to go to the moon. Even her mother had smiled when she requested it and her father could
n’
t contain his laughter. Of course, the Government could not allow that, but they did build an exceedingly impressive simulation that had looked and felt true to every description she had ever heard. She even demanded that a real astronaut who had been to the moon come and test it. To this day she enjoyed escaping to her Moon Simulation Room. She felt detached from the world when she was there, like she could really be on the moon. And if she was there, she was not here, preparing for the next Ceremony.

            
 “
I do
n’
t know why you wo
n’
t talk to me
.”
Her mother snapped, pulling her out of her reverie
.“
I have showered you with gifts through the years just like everyone else, but you act as if I give you nothing
.
”

              Alessa was startled. Her mother rarely showed emotion, she was so carefully controlled. But Alessa wanted to see her mother show emotion, show passion, regardless of the consequences. She wanted to push this rare moment of unchecked feeling.

            
 “
You give me plenty of
things
, Mother, but you rarely give me attention, affection, or any other type of emotion. Yo
u’
re an emotional mute
.
”

              Alessa saw her mother begin to curb her fervor as she drew herself up.

            
 “
I am not doing this right now, the crowds are just outside. Who knows who would see us arguing
?
”

            
 “
No Mother, you are
n’
t doing this now because you are
n’
t going to do it ever. You are going to avoid this conversation until
I’
m dead and then it wo
n’
t matter anymore. Well do
n’
t you worry, you only have a year to go
.
”

              Alessa regretted it as soon as it left her lips. Her mother took a step backwards as if Alessa had actually struck her. Alessa felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She did not want to hurt her mother, but sometimes venom was the only tool Alessa could use to force her mother to act like she cared.  For an instant, Alessa could see the emotions crossing her face. Anger, hurt, sadness, self-doubt. And then, just as quickly as they had cycled across her mothe
r’
s beautiful features, they were gone. Alessa could almost see her mother set each part of her body back into place. First her spine, straightening and anchoring to the floor through firmly planted feet. Then her face, with a touch more effort. She set her mouth into an indifferent pucker and drained the insulted look from her eyes. Alessa almost cried out. She was trying to light a fire in her mother, but her mother had the ability to smother even the most effective of sparks.

            
 “
I will notify your father of your intentions. Happy birthday, Daughter, may your year be rich and thank you for your Sacrifice
.”
The formal salutation bit worse than an outright insult might have. This was her mothe
r’
s way of fighting back. She was all business as she strode out of the room, leaving Alessa with the muffled roar of the crowd echoing in the empty room.

              Alessa felt drained. Between the argument with her mother and the emptiness of the celebration going on outside of her balcony, she felt so utterly alone. She would see her father soon, she reminded herself. He would make it better, he always did.

              Alessa took a deep breath to center herself as she turned back towards the crowd, opened the doors, and walked out onto the balcony.  She had very few duties and appearing before the crowd on her birthday was one of them. Appearances were her most important duty, other than the Sacrifice, of course. The people cheered even louder when she smiled and waved to them. When she was a little girl, this was her favorite part. She had always loved knowing that everyone was looking at her, that everyone was cheering her name, that everyone believed the world was a better place simply because she was in it.

            
 “
Sac-ri-fice! Sac-ri-fice
!”
The crowd continued to chant.

              Alessa remembered that at each of the birthdays before the Second Ceremony, her eighth birthday, she did not understand what the people meant when they chanted. All she knew back then was that she was adored by the masses just because she was who she was, because she was special. It was that night that her father had told her the full story. Her mother had sat by, crying quietly, while her father spoke.

            
 “
Lessie Baby, we have always told you that you are special, and you are, you are the very most special little girl in the whole Empire. For your whole life you are going to get anything you want. Anything you can dream up will be the duty of the Government to give you. But there is one very special thing you must give back to the Government many, many years from now
.”
Her father had explained her role in this society, and she had
n’
t been afraid. After all, the Fourth Ceremony was forever away and for all she knew, she would never actually get there.

              Alessa shook her head, reminding herself that she was in front of the crowd and could not afford to lose herself to her daydream. She was here, she was at her fifteenth birthday celebration, and in one yea
r’
s time it would be the Fourth Ceremony.

            
 “
Less
!”
Alessa turned and smiled at her bodyguard, Khi
.“
What did you do
?
”

              Alessa returned a mockingly chastised look to him. Khilyn was the only person other than her father with whom Alessa never pretended to be or feel something that was
n’
t real. He had been her guard since her tenth birthday, when he was old enough to begin training. He took full control of her protection only a year ago.

            
 “
She had it coming
.”
Alessa stated, matter-of-factly. She raised her eyebrow at Khi, he understood her problems with her mother, but he believed that Aless
a’
s mother detached from a place of hurt, not of indifference.

            
 “
And did it make you feel better
?”
He asked, knowing exactly how to get to the root of the issue.

            
 “
She barely even responded
.”
Alessa felt tears return to her eyes
.“
She was interested for all of two seconds and then she just retreated into herself again
.”
A single tear slipped from her eye, burning a streak on her cheek where it fell.

            
 “
Come in here and go sit by the closet
.”
Khi ordered, shooting a pointed glance over her shoulder at the crowd. He was always careful when she was
n’
t and picked up the slack whenever she dropped it. It made her heart swell.

              Khi waved to the crowd, who cheered. They loved him almost as much as Alessa. Then, he closed the ornate double doors and pulled the sheer curtain over them. He walked over to where Alessa sat, knees pulled up to her chest on the oversized couch by the closet. She looked up at him, her eyes red with pent up tears. He wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed into his embrace. She felt safe and comforted. She felt protected, which was, after all, his job. She rubbed her face into his chest and sniffed loudly.

            
 “
Tha
t’
s gross
.”
He scoffed mockingly and pushed her away. He was smiling at her, which made her smile back
.“
When are you going to quit sacrificing yourself in order to get a rise out of her
?
”

            
 “
Funny word choice
.”
She stated mildly.

            
 “
Aw, come on Less, you know what I mean
.
”

              She did know what he meant. He may stick up for her mother, but in the final analysis, Khi was on her side. Always. He consistently reminded her that regular bouts with her mother took a more meaningful toll on Alessa than anyone else.

            
 “
I just feel like
I’
m running out of time with her, that if I ca
n’
t get her to show me something soon,
I’
ll never see it. I know she loves me, I do, but i
t’
s like sh
e’
s too prim and proper to act like it. I just ca
n’
t understand
.”
It all came out in a rush, and she instantly knew what the problem was
.“
I believe she does love me. I know she does. I just want her to show it sometimes
.
”