ALLE
The day of the marking ceremony arrives whether I'm ready or not.
Sunlight forces it's way through the windows like a b***h, and I wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all. Probably because I didn't. The white dress hangs in my closet like a ghost waiting to possess me, and every time I look at it my stomach twists.
Twelve hours.
I have twelve hours until midnight.
Freda brings breakfast I can't even look at—toast, eggs, fruit that probably shouldn't grow on this part of the continent considering the season, but it f*****g does. She sets the tray down and hovers near the door like she's not sure if she should stay or go.
"How are you feeling?" she asks carefully, her fingers wringing each other with an action I recognize as nerves.
How cute.
She's nervous for me.
"Like I
