The pungent aroma of red roses filled the room, Zara’s first impression of her new dorm in Fina took her
breath away. Tastefully decorated, this was a huge step up from her dorm in Culloom, these
were designer furnishings! The dorm was dressed for two, one set of furnishings was accented with blue, and the other set with golds. Two
beds, two dressers, two vases of red roses, two closets… She was to expect the
arrival of a roommate but she wouldn’t have to share her bed this time!
Bursting
with joy, she hurried across the room to look out the window only to encounter more utter amazement. Not
only could she see beyond the rooftops and alleyways below, she could see
beyond the walls, she had an ocean view! "Wow…"
Zara took a deep breath of the magnificent vista before her, truly a gift from
Medel, she could see for miles and miles, she had a 180º view of the Atlan
Empire!
Filled
with gratitude and appreciation, she left the sheers open and wandered around
to inspect the room… The name ‘ZARA’ was inscribed on the top drawer of the
gold-vase dresser… She walked over to have a closer look. Above the dresser, a
trio of paintings hung on the walls, the same paintings of Hedena and King
Atalon which she grew up with in Culloom, but here there was a new one, here
there was a painting of Medena, the goddess of Plenty… It
was all very encouraging, filling her heart with assurance that her future was bright. "Hail Medel" She clasped her hands together and
thanked the gods once again for her luxurious placement and
all that went along with it.
Beneath
the portraits, on the dresser, beside the vase of roses was a golden bowl of
oranges. Feeling hungry, she picked one up, closed her eyes and lifted it to
her nose to inhale the sweet scent... But images of the bloody white fur on the other side of the wall in Culloom, returned out of nowhere! Spooked,
she placed the orange back in the bowl. Laying beside the bowl, was a business
card, it read Dion's Hair Salon in a fine gold font. Curious, she turned the
card over, it was a 10% off coupon for her first visit. Dion's Salon? Never had she been inclined to cut her hair, Dion’s
Salon was a goddess hangout. She pondered the idea of having her hair cut... Wondering... Did she have to?
Thoughts
meandered naturally from hair concerns to the wardrobe rumors, were
they true? Feeling hopeful, she crossed the room to look inside the gold
draped closet to behold a full closet of golden clothes! "Oh
my..." She stepped back for a
moment, then ran her fingers down the rack of garments, parted the collection and reached
for a clothing label. "Zara"
it read.... She checked a few more... They all read Zara... "Wow..." The rumor was true... there was a whole
new wardrobe of fine clothes awaiting her!
Thrilled,
she slid each item down the rack to inspect the amazing collection of beautiful golden themed suits and
perfectly pressed shirts that hung ready for her to wear. There was an
evening dress made from luxurious satin, coats, hats and shoes, all of them
tailored in golden yellows, oranges and peachy pinks. A
white temple robe with a golden sash hung at the end. She pulled it out and
held it up to her body, admiring its perfection and satin soft touch.
"Thank you
Hedena!" She whispered, overwhelmed once again by the generosity of the
gods. Up until now, the most exciting thing she had ever worn was at the
graduation. Now just a day later she was blessed with a full wardrobe of
fabulous new clothes, adulthood was everything she had been told it
would be and more; it was amazing. She felt truly blessed, King
Atalon was right, she owed her life and fortune to the great Medel. They
would definitely not regret investing in her. From this moment on,
she was determined to make them proud.
Curiosity
piqued, Zara looked inside the dresser, there were satin pyjamas and warm knit
sweaters, socks and undershirts, all made from beautiful golden shades. She
pulled out a set of pyjamas and wandered across the room to the washroom. On
her way, she noticed her roommate's blue-draped closet. Wondering
now, she made a detour to peek inside. Her future roommate also had a
collection of clothes to look forward to, almost exactly the same outfits, only
hers were tailored in shades of blue... And her Temple Robe
was black...
A little confused, Zara made her way into her new bathroom... A private bath? "Wow...." She soon forgot her questions and reached to touch her soft, golden towel... Caressed the smooth, shiny obsidian tap handles... The bathroom with it's glassy white tile and pebble tile floor was truly amazing.
Zara changed into her pyjamas and jumped onto her bed, it was so soft and bouncy she let out a scream of joy!
…Zara
waited patiently in the reception of Dion’s Salon, it was a strange
establishment. Ornate chairs seemed out of place against the rough hewn rock
walls, the beaded curtain obscured the view inside… She could see someone
approaching… They wore long platinum blonde hair… As the beads were parted, a dark figure entered, he was from a strange land... He wasn't one of them.... He was smiling at her.... She recognized him... She gasped in horror... It was the god of Death! He looked at her…
"Hello-o-o?"
"AAAA-GGG-HHH!" Zara bolted up so hard
she almost fell out of bed, woken from the very
vivid nightmare just in time, panicked for a moment, confused, disoriented
and blinded by the light now flooding in from the hall outside the dorm.
"Oh,
I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"
"No…"
Grounding, Zara straightened her pyjamas and got out of bed.
"My
name is Dena" she held out her hand as Zara came to.
"Hello,
my name is Zara" she replied, taking her hand warmly. "I'm in the
Megalith program."
Dena
studied her flushed face, her frizzy mousy hair, her undefinable eye color and
gold pyjamas, how perfectly she looked the part. She was sort of pretty, she
had fine features, she would make a good makeover subject. "Architecture?"
Zara
nodded smiling, proud of it.
"Thought
so. I'm in the Goddess program"
she replied.
Zara
had already guessed.
"Lucky
for you, Sugar Cheeks, because it means there's going to be a party here every
night!"
Full of life and laughter, lit up on MoonWine and Orange Bubbly the blonde bombshell who just burst into Zaras life with a bang was going to spice up her life, Zara knew that instantly, in spite of the rude awakening. Dena
was like a blossom, irresistible and full of life, she left a waft of vanilla
behind as she patted her cheek. Zara watched her run through the same routine
she had ran, inspecting her new wardrobe right away. She smiled, knowing. "What Institution did you graduate from?"
"I
graduated from the Ephra Institute." Dena opened the closet curtain and stepped
back in dismay. "Ugh. Blue. I hate blue,
I told Medena I didn't want the blue!"
"The
Ephra Institute?" Zara echoed, she had heard of it. "Is that in
Atlan?"
"It's
in Lochia" Dena replied as she closed the curtains and walked across the
room to Zara’s closet. She whipped open the curtains to look
inside. "Oh. My. God! Look at you!" She
pulled out an orange dress. "You get to
wear tangerine? That's,
like, SO unfair! You HAVE to swap clothes with me... Tangerine? Oh. My. God! Please?"
Zara
liked the tangerine too… She hesitated…Wondering about the rules... Wasn’t she supposed to wear golds
because she was a Golden?
"Come
on, don't be a party pooper" Dena implored, "you're a blue-colors
person, anyway. Look at you. Your
hair's got way too much
red in it for you to look good in tangerine. You'll look horrid in those clothes!"
Zara
thought about her hair, about how much she loved her blue graduation gown...
Dena did have a point.
"OK"
she agreed.
"Oh.
My. God. Really?" Dena squealed, rushing over to give Zara a hug.
"You have NO IDEA how awesome it is to have a such
a cool roommate!"
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