Now that Leopold’s mom is staying with us, I have no excuse not to go to the Bearer Center. Even though I dread to go back, I am received by some interest changes: thanks to Leopold’s close experience with death, the Matrons have decided to forgive him for yelling at Mother Addison and regard him once more as Estermond’s hero; this turned out to be a good thing for me because they are kinder to me; but it’s not just the Matrons who have changed, Alice is so thankful for what I did with the Andersons that she now treats me in a friendly manner, her change of heart is noticed by the rest of the Bearers, and so they decide I am no longer a pariah in the group. I go from being Aubrey the Eel to just being Aubrey, another Bearer from group 11. Eliza is also back, although she keeps to herself all of the time and barely talks to the rest of us. Fiona and I have tried to talk to her about her absence but she refuses to say anything.
I spend the days leading to our getaway wondering where Leopold is taking me. He refuses to give me any clues and tells me I do not have to pack anything because he has arranged everything himself.The day finally arrives, I feel excited and nervous at the same time. We leave at dawn, I get in his car without the slightest idea of where we are going. Leopold kisses the palm of my hand before starting the car.“Are you ready?” he asks with a sly smile.I shrug, I do not know what to expect. He drives and drives, and we leave the city behind us and drive through the Equality Forest. I used to come here to camp with my friends. Is he taking me camping? Leopold doesn’t seem like the kind of man that likes to camp and I am definitely not the kind of girl that li
The dress Mabel chose for me is breathtaking. I have never seen a dress like this before. I was expecting for her to sabotage me in some way, choosing a cheap fabric, an unflattering design or giving the dressmaker the wrong size, but none of that happened, the dress is spectacular and it fits me perfectly. I think it is safe to say the my mother-in-law is finally starting to accept me. Mabel even offered me to help me do my hair and she did an amazing job making it into a waterfall braid that suits my features just right.“Keep in mind that this is a very important day, Leopold is going to be in front of his superiors and all the family has to rise to the occasion. Please, girl, do not make a fool of yourself during the event, do not embarrass my son,” Mabel reminds me as puts the final touches to my hairdo.
I go to the nearest restrooms and change my dress. Luckily, Alice and I are the same size. Alice’s dress is not as spectacular as the one I had, but it is cute and, the best part, the design is original. I toss Grace’s dress to the trash, furious at Mabel for what she did.I walk back to my group. Mabel’s face reddens with anger when she sees me coming.“What happened to you, girl? Where is your dress?” She asks angrily. “Alice’s son spilled grape juice on it and it got ruined, she gave me a spare she had as an apology,” I lie not able to hide a joyful grin.“Oh, what a shame, it was such a nice dress,” Grandma exclaims. “But this one is pretty too.”Mrs. Jordan smile
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)I pull Aubrey closer to me, I do not wish to let her go. I place my hands around her tiny waist. For some silly reason, seeing that boy, Zack Peterson, infuriated me. I am certain that he is in love with Aubrey, I can see it in his eyes along with something else I can not quite figure out just yet but it makes me not trust him. There is something about that boy I just do not like. I should not have left Jareth convince me to accept him in the 9th Unit, but I found no valid reason to reject him, his performance inside the Shark Youth Forces was remarkable, besides, he was brave enough to come forward and tell us about Aubrey’s innocence, which I find admirable. Probably I just do not like him because I am jealous, and it would be unprofessional of me to allow my feeling to make decisions for me. At least it seems like I have nothing to worry about, Aubrey is clearly not interested in the boy. She wants me, I do not
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)I tremble inconsolably as Grandma and Mrs. Jordan drag me as far as possible from where Eliza’s corpse is lying, Mabel is following us closely, she too looks upset about what we just witnessed. I can not believe Eliza committed suicide. I let the women take me without resistance, my mind is too troubled and it prevents me from thinking clearly. The women take me back to one of the tents and find a seat for me to rest. Mabel fans me vigorously as Mrs. Jordan wipes my tears away. Grandma is standing next to me, looking concerned.“That poor girl…” mutters Mrs. Jordan“What a terrible thing just happened,” Grandma exclaims.“Why would someone do that?” Mabel asks.
We have spent the whole day glued to the TV. I am sure many people all over Estermond are doing the exact same. Mother Addison’s murdered is an unprecedented event in this nation. Never before have the Eels had so much power. Roberta Jordan came over to watch the news with us, no one feels like being alone right now, there is too much uncertainty and a sense of danger in the air. I go downstairs to make us some tea to calm our nerves when all of a sudden the doorbell rings. When I open the door I find two men with brown overalls with the initials M.E. embroidered on the left front pocket.“Good afternoon. We are sorry to bother you, ma’am, we are workers from the Ministry of Energy. We received some reports about voltage fluctuations around the area and we have come in to check your energy supply,” one of the men, the shortest one, explains to me as he takes a step forward.
I rush to see what is going on. Both women are looking open-mouthed at the TV screen. I turn to see what they are seeing: Leopold and Jareth are on the screen, along with the rest of the 9th Unit. I do not even pay attention to what the reporter is saying, I only care about how Leopold is doing, he looks so strong and determined it is hard to imagine that he was so close to death only a few weeks ago. I sigh relieved to see he is okay, but my relief doesn’t last long, the camera shows Zack among the Sharks and cold sweat starts to run down my back, he should not be there. I do not like this.“I am glad see they are alright,” Mrs. Jordan exclaims with a sigh of relief.“Of course they are alright. Our sons are heroes of Estermond! If anyone can put a stop to those wretc
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Locked in my room, I cry for hours, I try to be as quiet as I can so my mother-in-law won’t hear me. I do not want her to know how much her mean-spirited remarks hurt me. Besides, as much as it pains me, I have to admit that she only spoke the truth. Grace is Leopold’s original Bearer, I was only a poor substitute. Now it is time for her to take her rightful place beside him and for me to step aside.Mrs. Jordan and Mabel watch television for a couple more hours, the volume is so high I can clearly hear what happened with the Shark mission: the live transmission was interrupted to take Grace to a safe location. Just the idea of Leopold and Grace being together while I lie on the bed makes my stomach churn. I wonder if he is happy to be reunited with her? I wish I knew what was going on, at first I thought Grace being there meant she ran
(A few months later) (Aubrey’s P.O.V.)I fix my eyes on the TV screen, I look at the news anchor for a brief moment trying to pay attention to what he is saying.“The secession movement has gained enough support in the Fourth District and now they have separated from Estermond. This is the third district to separate from our nation in the last two months. Unfortunately, without the Righteous Regime, there isn’t anything we can do about it as we witness the downfall of our nation…”I turn off the TV. I don’t care about the news, I am uninterested by Estermond’s destiny. Since the fall of the Righteous Regime a lot of changes have occurred in our nation and there is no one who can stop them. People are taking back what once was taken from them, the life that we once knew is over. We don’t have a unified powe
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)We get off the car in half a second and run towards the building. It is time to save Bastian. We go in and run up the staircase to the sixth floor. Sabrina is waiting for us in front of the apartment where she heard him cry. As soon as the four of us are together, Jareth kicks the door open.“Ministry of Bravery! Hands up!” Wilson yells at the top of his lungs as soon as he takes the first step inside. Sabrina and I go in behind both of them.We are immediately greeted by a burst of gunfire. Jareth drops to the floor in time to avoid the bullets, but Wilson is not fast enough and he is shot twice in the chest. Sabrina and I take cover behind a wall and start shooting back at the Eels. Ahead of us, we hear Jareth shooting at them too. I lean my head slightly to see what is going on, Jareth is crawling inside the apartm
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)The only thing I want is to drive as fast as I can to get to the place where the Eels have my son. But I am aware Jareth and I cannot do this alone, we need the support of our Sharks and for that we have to go meet everyone else.The meeting point where Major Anderson and Commander Wilson are waiting for us is located a few blocks from where the Eels supposedly have Bastian. Jareth drives at full speed to get there, we don’t want to waste any time. We arrive at the meeting point, the place is brimming with Sharks from numerous Units. Wilson is not the only commander present, there are other commanders ready to help. The only high ranking Shark who is absent is General Thompson who is with President Laurent at the Righteous Regimen headquarters, but nevertheless he is in constant communication with us thought the telephone. It moves me to see
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)I look at myself in the mirror of the dressing room where they are making us wait until it is time to go to the set. In my hands, I hold a sheet of paper on which I wrote down what I want to say in case I get too emotional and forget the message.Leopold is standing behind me looking at his phone insistently in case there is news about Bastian’s whereabouts.Someone knocks on the door and comes in. It is an assistant who is here to take me to the set. I get up my chair and walk behind the assistant. Leopold gives me a reassuring smile before we exit the dressing room. The assistant leads us to the set, which consists of a black desk, a chair, and a gray background. I already gave them Bastian’s photo, so they can show it while I talk to the camera. The assistant takes me
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)There is no point in staying at the Equality Square, the banner has no more information or clues that can help us find Bastian. We go back home, heartbroken and feeling dismayed. Sadness is has consumed my will to live, I find no comfort or solace. The Eels have not attempted to contact us, they have not asked for ransom or anything in return for Bastian. The banner we found in the Equality Square only indicated their desire to make the citizens of Estermond suffer, they do not seem to have any intention of negotiating to give our son back to us.Once we are home, we find that Roberta has made dinner for all of us. I sit at the table and stare at the food on my plate. I am unable to eat, sleep or do any normal human function, in my body there is only room for anguish.Mabel turns on the TV, the news of Bastian's kidnapping spread like wildfire through Estermond. Several people w
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Several hours go by and we have no news of Bastian, with every passing minute my heart breaks a little more. I do not know how much I will be able to endure this nightmarish situation. I never imagined experiencing pain like this was possible.In the news they are justifying the closure of the roads with maintenance work, President Laurent does not want the population to panic thinking that Estermond can not take care of their babies. He wants for Bastian’s kidnap to remain a secret.The night ends and a new day begins. We are all exhausted and dejected. At dawn Alice decides to go home, she wants to be here to support me, but she also worries for her little boy. She is afraid that what happened to us could happen to her child. Commander Wilson orders one of his men to accompany her and watch over their house, he is worried about his son too. Our experience is a cautionary
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)I feel like I am trapped inside a nightmare and I don’t know how to wake up from it. The house is full of Sharks that come and go gathering evidence. I am seated in an armchair in the living room while Alice holds my hand to give me strength. On my lap, I have Bastian’s blue baby blanket. My baby boy is not here, someone took him and forgot his blanket. Bastian must be cold, he must be scared, hungry... I burst into tears again. Alice surrounds me with her arms to comfort me. She says nothing because there is nothing to say. What can you say to a person in a situation like this? There are no words, no possible comfort.The 9th Unit along with other Units is questioning all our neighbors, hoping that someone has seen something unusual that can help us find Bastian's whereabouts. People I have never seen in my life are searching for Basti
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)We arrive at the building of the Ministry of Bravery. People get out of their vehicles wearing their best clothes, the place is brimming with Sharks and their families. Aubrey takes my arm and we head to the party. The event is going to be held at the Temple of Strength under a big white tent. A lot of Sharks salute me as we walk, I am enjoying greatly all the honor and respect that comes with being a major. I look at Aubrey out of the corner of my eye, even though she has barely slept since Bastian was born and she has spent all her energy taking care of our boy, she looks ravishing. I feel like the luckiest man when I am with her.We enter the tent, inside I see General Thompson chatting with other high rank officials, among them Major Anderson. I d
(A few months later) (Aubrey’s P.O.V.)My eye lids feel so heavy that I have to close my eyes for a moment to rest. I can still hear Grandma and Mabel as they talk to each other seated on the couch next to my bed. I would like to ask them to give me a few hours to sleep in peace but I am afraid to be perceived as rude.The whole family is so excited about the birth of our little Bastian that they did not even wait for us to leave the Bearer Center to come to meet him. Normally, the Matrons do not allow so many family members to be here at the same time, but this time they decided to let it pass because of Leopold’s rank.Leopold is showing little Bastian to Jareth and Roberta in the nursery, while the three of us stay in the room waiting for them to come back."Aubrey, are you paying attention? What do you think about the id