My eyes crack open a the next day. Sunlight pours into the room, turning it golden. Eydis is still asleep, her hair thrown every which way across her pillow, her mouth open.

After the cake was eaten under candlelight, we went back to normal. As if nothing went wrong to begin with. That is a good thing, because I couldn't be without her company for any longer.

My toes curl up as I stretch. I debate about moving from my bed but decide it won't hurt to lay under the covers for a little longer.

It is the only free day we have before the event with Ezra. If I am going to find something to wear, today is the day.

I don't want to go alone. I trust Eydis' sense of fashion more than I will ever trust mine. But the way she slightly snores; I don't want to disturb her. She has been so tired lately, often missing her alarm.

Eydis turns and peeks at me through her long eyelashes. She smiles a sleepy smile. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

I blush. "Morning."

She adjusts the covers and rubs the sleep from her eyes.

How is she so beautiful?

"Want to help me pick out a dress?"

She smiles widely. All signs of sleep vanish in a flash. She looks awake, alive. "Always game with shopping but what is the special occasion?"

"I got invited to attend a gala with Ezra and his family."

Her smile suddenly drops. "He asked you?"

I nod. Her sudden mood shift is concerning. I know she doesn't like him, but I don't understand why. Ezra seems nice.

"Well, I guess I don't have anything else going on today. Sure."

I smile at the thought of spending time together. I wasted so much time being mad at her. I do not want to waste any more. It warms my soul and gives me enough strength to leave bed. I want to spend every free day with her. When we are together the sun shines a little brighter, the birds chirp a little louder. Everything in the world seem better, brighter, fuller.

"Good. I'm trusting you to point me in the right direction for fashion."

"I can do at least that. You need all the help you can get. I suppose they wore bags in Hell."

She isn't too far off. Fashion here and fashion in Hell are vastly different.

She is the first to get up from bed. "Well, let's get going. I'm guessing this will take all day." There is a lack of enthusiasm in her voice. For a second, I debate about recalling the invite but I stay silent.

_______________________

As we walk down the dorm stairs, Eydis stuff her hands into her pocket. "Oh, while you were in the bathroom, I checked the mail again, still nothing."

My heart breaks a little more. Nearly two months have passed and there is still no letter from Kol. I thought I would have at least one from him. What happened to his promise about writing? Did he forget about me already? Happy I am gone. He is surely freer without me. Thoughts cause my throat to tighten.

"Maybe the mail is delayed," Eydis adds as she places her hand my shoulder.

"Maybe," I chock out, hoping she doesn't catch the pain in my voice. I sniffle any emotion and stand a little straighter. What is done is done, there is no use in fretting about it.

"You can write him if you want. I can take you to the mail room to send it out. If you're not hearing from him, maybe he should hear from you."

I should. I should have not waited this long, but I have been busy. It is hard to think about anything other than skating when it was the sole reason I am here.

"I would like that."

We step outside and I lock eyes with Ari who walks down the sidewalk with a group of people I do not recognize. I wave at Ari who returns the wave.

"She's gone," he calls out as he walks closer towards us. "Constance is not coming back."

I raise my eyebrows. That was quick. Just yesterday she was told the news.

"Hopefully the rink will be more friendly without her." He sighs then looks towards the girl dorms as if making sure she isn't lingering.

Constance wasn't nice. She wasn't nice to many. It was hard to like her. But I knew how much skating meant to her; she didn't want to leave early.

"Good. Constance was a Slag," Eydis pipes in.

Slag is another one of those Motherwealth swears that I still didn't know the meaning too. Eydis told me once, but I am a little too embarrassed to ask again.

"She was a bit much," Ari says with a frown. "You should be happy she's gone."

But the thing is, I don't think I am. I don't want anything ill of her. Even if she is difficult, she deserves to be here, just like I do.

"Well anyhow, I have to go, one day off and we have to live it up! See you around Telvi and Eydis," Ari says, running off with his friends.

"Well look at that, your biggest hater is gone," Eydis says as we walk towards the gate. She glances at me before continuing. "What? You don't like that?"

I shake my head. "It feels kind of wrong when she still has a few months left."

"Well, maybe she improved as much as she could. You know some people tap out at a certain level."

"Then where did she go so quickly?"

Eydis shrugs as we walk down the road. "Maybe on tour? That's normally what happens to the figure skaters. I think they send most to tour the Commonwealths and other cities in the Motherwealth. I remember they brought figure skaters to my village once. They used an old building and froze it up just so they could sport the talent."

"I don't remember any talent coming to Hell."

"Honestly, I think that's because Hell is forgettable. But after meeting you, I'll never forget about Hell."

My cheeks are turning red again. I swear, anything from her is enough for them to turn bright red.

"Wait!" Eydis yells, pulling me back, just in time to avoid being clipped by a speeding car.

My heart races as I watch it speed out of sight. That was close. That car came out of nowhere. If Eydis wasn't there to stop me...

Eydis' face turns red and her eyebrows knit together. She shouts towards the direction of the car, raising her fist. But for what reason? It's not like the car will stop. It is already far from us.

"Walter, Tevli. Sometimes I hate this place."

My hair stands on end. That was loud enough for someone to hear. My only hope is that no one did. Besides us, the street is empty, but my eyes flicker to a camera on the side of a building. I wonder if they heard that.

She shrugs as she looks at the camera too. "At least Solano people are more decent. No one would try to hit someone and speed off."

"Shhhh," I hush.

"Or what? What are they doing to do, Telvi? They need my math skills. It's not like they will kick me out."

"They took Constance."

"That's different. She tapped out on her skills."

I don't see it as different. Eydis could tap out on her skills at some point and if she is too loud and outspoken, they could take her away too.

"Look, I'm leaving at some point soon. Might as well speak my mind and have no regrets."

Eydis could be bold, but this feels too daring. Maybe her poor mood from the dorm is bleeding through, allowing her to be more brash. It is dangerous.

"Don't give me that look, Telvi." Eydis sighs as we walk into a small store.

"Hello, can I help you with anything?" a man asks from behind the counter.

Clothes, all bright colors, all sparkle under the store lighting. This store is less packed than others I've been to. Instead, clothes are tastefully hung on nearly empty racks allowing the viewer to truly see their beauty.

"We're looking for.... ah, found them," Eydis says as she walks towards a rack full of sparkly long dresses.

"Call me if you need a different size."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. Telvi is the Motherwealth's ideal size."

I shift my weight as I feel his eyes on me. It is nothing to be proud of. People are starving in Hell, not by intention. I am starving because Irena says I'll skate better. I'm small because I can't eat a list of things. All for the stupid weight chart Irena gave me. Each week another thing is cut from my diet. How much smaller can I get? She is clearly trying to find out.

Eydis pulls out a blue dress. It flutters around on the rack, making glittering small rainbows on the floor. "How about this?"

I bite my lip as I look at the dress. That looks too flashy and small. It has to be nearly the same length as my skating dress. Skating is one thing, but for a party? It's too much. It will draw too much attention.

Eydis twirls around, holding the dress up, a grin on her face. "You want to make a statement. You want to be bold. Make those Motherwealth people jealous. Show them that us Commonwealth people aren't poor uglys." She shoots a look towards the man behind the counter then hands me the dress.

The man quickly looks down at his hologram, trying to appear uninterested.

"Go." Eydis shoos me with her hands.

The dress feels heavy in my hands. "I don't know about this one."

"Oh please. It will look stunning on you and the blue is like the ice. It's perfect." She pushs me into a changing room before I have time to put it back on the rack.

There is no use in convincing her otherwise. So, with a sigh, I change into the dress as quick as I can, hoping this moment would end. As I zip it into place, I frown, looking at my reflection. It's skintight, much like a skating dress.

I feel exposed. I can hide behind my skating, but at the party, nothing is there to hide behind. If I wear this, I will be seen.

"Telvi, let's see it. I'm waiting here," Eydis complains.

I hold my head high as I walk out of the dressing room, hoping she would hate it just as much as I do. "You don't think it's too much?" I ask, pulling on the tulle around my shoulder.

She smiles as she shakes her head. "Never. Oh Telvi, you look absolutely beautiful in it. Breath taking."

My cheeks turn hot as she eyes me from head to toe. Her compliments always make my head spin. I wonder if she knows how her words effected me.

"You have to buy it. This dress is for you."

"I don't know. It looks expensive."

She rolls her eyes. "Let's see how much money you got before you shoot this down. You probably have a nice chunk in your account. And if you fall short, I'll cover the rest." She takes my metal gold chain around my wrist then runs to the counter to see my account balance.

The man places my chain on his counter and numbers appear in front of us. The sum is larger than I could ever dream of. That alone is enough to cover all taxes on the house for over two years. It feels wrong to have that much.

"You have enough for this. And honestly, most of the dresses here. If you want to buy a few more, be my guest," the storekeeper says.

I shake my head. No needto be wasteful. "This one is good enough."

"Are you sure? I can cut you a deal. A lovely lady like yourself shouldn't just have one dress."

One dress is more than enough. I would rather send this money to my brother and other needy families. Having this much makes me feel dirty. I don't deserve it. "No. One will do."

The shopkeeper's mouth twists up. "Fine."

"Perfect. It's covered! You will get this one. You HAVE to." Eydis pushes me back into the changing room. "You're really going to stun the socks off those Motherwealth people. You really are."

Grateful to get the dress off, I change back into my normal clothes. They are comfier, worn in, and faded, brought all the way from Hell. They are not flashy. Just the way I like them. I will not get rid of them, no matter how much Eydis begged me too. They are a small bit of home, grounding me, reminding me where I come from.

I hand the dress to the storekeeper.

"Are you sure you don't want another dress with your funds?" he asks, pleading with me as if he needs it.

I shake my head. One dress for one party. It seemed simple enough. No more is needed. Now I am getting irritated that he keeps pushing. Couldn't he understand no when he heard it the first time?

"So be it." He sighs then puts my dress in a bag. "Have a nice day."

"You too," I respond as Eydis carts me out of the store.

She links arms with me as we walk down the sidewalk. She pulls me close. I can smell the shampoo of her hair. It is fresh and light, reminding me of Hell in summer. I don't want her to let me go but she does.

Eydis chuckles. "He seemed a little desperate to move merchandise."

His desperation reminded me of store owners in Hell. They always tried to move things, sell things, get some kind of money to keep the lights on.

"It's times like that when I realize that the Motherwealth is suffering just like the Commonwealths. They just aren't as loud about it."

It is hard to believe they are suffering when everyone seems to have fancy clothes, cars, and food. They aren't suffering like I know suffering. It is a poor comparison.

Eydis shrugs. "I heard that greed, poor investments, war... all of this had made times hard for them."

My eyes widen. "What war?" I ask. I have not heard any other mention of war. Who was crazy enough to fight the Motherwealth?

"Remember the neighboring county plane we saw? It's from them."

"But for what reason?"

"It's a war on intellectual property. Why do you think we're here, training? For kicks and giggles? No, we're here because they need us to come up with the best things. To beat their neighbors."

It never crossed my mind the true reason why we are all here. I am too caught up in the practices to think of anything else. The training program is to make the Motherwealth better. When the Motherwealth won, we all did. That is what they taught us at least. But news on a war is earth-shattering. I want to know more. I want to know how she knows.

"How do you know this?"

"I was once Ezra's best friend. He told me things that most people don't know."

My mouth falls open as my feet halt. Another earth-shattering fact I didn't know. She is just letting it all loose today. "What?"

She shrugs as if it is common knowledge. "I thought you would have found out by now. You two seem close. I thought he would have shared."

But the thing was, Ezra never shared. What happened between them? Why is she not friends with him any more.

"Anyhow, let's get some hot drinks. It's colder than I thought it would be." She pulls my hand as she led my down an alley. "Telvi, don't worry about it. I see that look in your face. Forget I even mentioned anything to you."

The thing is, I don't think I could forget. This will eat away at me until I know more.