him. Of all the people I have been privileged to know in this world, you, my sweet, are the best of them all. I've watched you grow from a new born babe into the strong, beautiful woman standing before me. If anyone can handle Master Devereaux, it's you Anna Desiraye Greco. Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever.”
I squeeze Millie's hand to silently tell her 'thank you' for her encouraging words as Eliza walks back into the room with my fur coat.
For the wedding celebration, Empress Catherine decided to lower the temperature inside the dome and produce an artificial snow. In the down-world, it was just approaching winter. It was one of the few times Cirrus tried to mimic the weather of those less fortunate. We would not have to endure the harshness of it for more than a day though. Unfortunately, those below us would have to struggle through the cold temperatures for a few months.
Ever since the last great war, temperatures had steadily become extreme on the surface. Summers were excruciatingly hot, and winters were unbearably cold. I was told it had something to do with the ozone layer protecting the surface. Apparently, after being exposed to so much radiation from the bombings during the war, it had been thinned out to a point where keeping the temperature regulated on the surface was almost impossible. As far as I knew, our scientists were still trying to figure out a way to repair the damage that had been done, but no solution seemed to be a permanent one.
Eliza drapes my fur coat over my shoulders. It's not fur from an actual animal. That was outlawed years ago. Now we had the ability to produce fur which looked and felt like the real thing without the barbaric mutilation of animals just for their pelts. The furs of this particular coat were a blending of warm color tones: auburn, grey, and beige.
Millie helped me pull my long hair over the back collar of the coat. She decided I should keep my hair simple for this ball. It was split down the natural part on top of my head and completely straight which meant it hung down just past my waist.
“I can't believe you get to ride in the royal carriage,” Eliza says excitedly, showing far more enthusiasm than me about the event.
“I would rather not have to,” I say, dreading the ride to the palace through town.
I was told everyone in Cirrus who wasn't invited to the palace would be watching me make my way to the castle. Being gawked at by strangers wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to.
“Empress Catherine simply wants to show you off,” Millie tells me, straightening the collar of my coat until it's flush against my neck. “The people of Cirrus love you, my sweet, and that woman knows it. If it appears that you accept the royal family as your own, I believe she hopes to earn favor amongst the populous. Just think of it as a little act of goodwill between you and your future mother-in-law. Now, put on that lovely smile of yours and get ready to wave to the people you intend to help one day.”
“I hope to help us all, Millie,” I whisper.
Millie winks at me and turns to head towards the door.
Once we're outside, a footman helps me into the crystal carriage. It reminds me a lot of a fairytale one in an old fashioned story about a girl named Cinderella that Millie used to read to me when I was a child. Two holographic white horses with light blue plumes on their heads are controlled by a holographic driver to perpetuate the illusion that the carriage is being drawn through town by old fashioned means. It's all illusion and fantasy, but I suppose people need to imagine the unreal sometimes.
It seems as though everyone in Cirrus is gathered along the side of the street between my home and the palace that evening. They wave to me and cheer me on as I pass them by. Some even yell that they love me. It's all exceedingly strange. I've done nothing to warrant such devotion, yet I seem to have become a beacon of hope for those in Cirrus. It makes me
I squeeze Millie's hand to silently tell her 'thank you' for her encouraging words as Eliza walks back into the room with my fur coat.
For the wedding celebration, Empress Catherine decided to lower the temperature inside the dome and produce an artificial snow. In the down-world, it was just approaching winter. It was one of the few times Cirrus tried to mimic the weather of those less fortunate. We would not have to endure the harshness of it for more than a day though. Unfortunately, those below us would have to struggle through the cold temperatures for a few months.
Ever since the last great war, temperatures had steadily become extreme on the surface. Summers were excruciatingly hot, and winters were unbearably cold. I was told it had something to do with the ozone layer protecting the surface. Apparently, after being exposed to so much radiation from the bombings during the war, it had been thinned out to a point where keeping the temperature regulated on the surface was almost impossible. As far as I knew, our scientists were still trying to figure out a way to repair the damage that had been done, but no solution seemed to be a permanent one.
Eliza drapes my fur coat over my shoulders. It's not fur from an actual animal. That was outlawed years ago. Now we had the ability to produce fur which looked and felt like the real thing without the barbaric mutilation of animals just for their pelts. The furs of this particular coat were a blending of warm color tones: auburn, grey, and beige.
Millie helped me pull my long hair over the back collar of the coat. She decided I should keep my hair simple for this ball. It was split down the natural part on top of my head and completely straight which meant it hung down just past my waist.
“I can't believe you get to ride in the royal carriage,” Eliza says excitedly, showing far more enthusiasm than me about the event.
“I would rather not have to,” I say, dreading the ride to the palace through town.
I was told everyone in Cirrus who wasn't invited to the palace would be watching me make my way to the castle. Being gawked at by strangers wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to.
“Empress Catherine simply wants to show you off,” Millie tells me, straightening the collar of my coat until it's flush against my neck. “The people of Cirrus love you, my sweet, and that woman knows it. If it appears that you accept the royal family as your own, I believe she hopes to earn favor amongst the populous. Just think of it as a little act of goodwill between you and your future mother-in-law. Now, put on that lovely smile of yours and get ready to wave to the people you intend to help one day.”
“I hope to help us all, Millie,” I whisper.
Millie winks at me and turns to head towards the door.
Once we're outside, a footman helps me into the crystal carriage. It reminds me a lot of a fairytale one in an old fashioned story about a girl named Cinderella that Millie used to read to me when I was a child. Two holographic white horses with light blue plumes on their heads are controlled by a holographic driver to perpetuate the illusion that the carriage is being drawn through town by old fashioned means. It's all illusion and fantasy, but I suppose people need to imagine the unreal sometimes.
It seems as though everyone in Cirrus is gathered along the side of the street between my home and the palace that evening. They wave to me and cheer me on as I pass them by. Some even yell that they love me. It's all exceedingly strange. I've done nothing to warrant such devotion, yet I seem to have become a beacon of hope for those in Cirrus. It makes me
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