Basic Guide:
Helen: Shoulder-length blonde hair, usually pulled back, dark green eyes. Best friends with Athena.
Athena: Curly light brown hair, grey eyes. Best friends with Helen.
Watcher- A "nanny" like figure that raises young children.
SG Dormitory- An example of a dormitory room. S for September, the birth month of the girls or boys inside. G for girls.
Chapter One: Athena
My hopes are only but a dream
if anyone did care
then i wouldn't be here... alone
-Athena's Diary
The sun was streaming through the windows. Casting her orange gaze across the room. I sat up. The other SG girls were still asleep. And i was jealous of their peaceful slumber. they never seemed to have nightmares the way i did. Could it be that none of them remembered their previous lives. Before the boarding house? Did none of them have a Watcher like mine? With hair as fine as spider silk and stories as big as the moon. Did none of them remember the pain of the Separating? Maybe they choose not to remember. After all, sometimes it's easier to forget.
Chapter Two: Helen
The open air auditorium was packed with people. Mostly kids, but of course there were the Watchers too. Every kid under ten was accompanied by his or her Watcher. The kids over ten and under sixteen were lined up in rows. There were a few adults, but not many.
The kids who were ten were waiting in another room. I still remember what it was like, five years ago, when I was waiting in that room. Waiting, to be Separated from the one person who was the only constant in my life. My Watcher. Waiting, along with everyone else in the auditorium, I could feel a pang of sympathy, and jealousy, for those ten year olds. They had never had to go through it before, they had always had their Watcher to help them. But, starting tomorrow, they would have to find their own way in the world. And, in a few minutes, they would experience the worst pain any of them would ever experience. Physical, emotional, mental pain all rolled into one. The physical pain of the separation of the bond that joined them to their watcher. The emotional pain of having the one person who ever really cared about you forced away from you, never to be seen again. The mental pain of fear, of "What's going to happen now?" The ten or so kids who were about to go through that, they had it worst.
The gongs started, and Eiphos, our leader, stepped up onto the stage in his ornate robes. "Today, this months tens are going to be accepted into the society of Troy, as full citizens. This is the most important day of their lives, when they will begin to experience the world on their own." I stopped listening to the speech. It was the same every month. I don't think anyone really listened, except for the kids who had never heard it before, and next months tens. They always listened. Soon, the door to the other room would open, and the screaming would begin. They never told you, ahead of time, how much the Separation would hurt. We all knew though. I watched, transfixed, as the first child and her Watcher came out. Eiphos passed the metal tool between their left hands, and the air shimmered as the magnetic bond was broken. The girl started screaming, clutching her hand, and running towards her Watcher. The woman turned away, and one of Eiphos' aids took the girl to another room. The Watcher left, entering another room where the new babies were waiting. When you were ten, after you got Separated, you had to walk through this room, where your Watcher was taking another child.
Each Separating was the same, the shimmering, the screaming, the confusion of your Watcher not coming to help you. But you had no Watcher anymore. You were on your own.
Chapter 3- Athena
My hopes are only but a dream
if anyone did care
then i wouldn't be here... alone
-Athena's Diary
The sun was streaming through the windows. Casting her orange gaze across the room. I sat up. The other SG girls were still asleep. And i was jealous of their peaceful slumber. they never seemed to have nightmares the way i did. Could it be that none of them remembered their previous lives. Before the boarding house? Did none of them have a Watcher like mine? With hair as fine as spider silk and stories as big as the moon. Did none of them remember the pain of the Separating? Maybe they choose not to remember. After all, sometimes it's easier to forget.
Chapter Two: Helen
The open air auditorium was packed with people. Mostly kids, but of course there were the Watchers too. Every kid under ten was accompanied by his or her Watcher. The kids over ten and under sixteen were lined up in rows. There were a few adults, but not many.
The kids who were ten were waiting in another room. I still remember what it was like, five years ago, when I was waiting in that room. Waiting, to be Separated from the one person who was the only constant in my life. My Watcher. Waiting, along with everyone else in the auditorium, I could feel a pang of sympathy, and jealousy, for those ten year olds. They had never had to go through it before, they had always had their Watcher to help them. But, starting tomorrow, they would have to find their own way in the world. And, in a few minutes, they would experience the worst pain any of them would ever experience. Physical, emotional, mental pain all rolled into one. The physical pain of the separation of the bond that joined them to their watcher. The emotional pain of having the one person who ever really cared about you forced away from you, never to be seen again. The mental pain of fear, of "What's going to happen now?" The ten or so kids who were about to go through that, they had it worst.
The gongs started, and Eiphos, our leader, stepped up onto the stage in his ornate robes. "Today, this months tens are going to be accepted into the society of Troy, as full citizens. This is the most important day of their lives, when they will begin to experience the world on their own." I stopped listening to the speech. It was the same every month. I don't think anyone really listened, except for the kids who had never heard it before, and next months tens. They always listened. Soon, the door to the other room would open, and the screaming would begin. They never told you, ahead of time, how much the Separation would hurt. We all knew though. I watched, transfixed, as the first child and her Watcher came out. Eiphos passed the metal tool between their left hands, and the air shimmered as the magnetic bond was broken. The girl started screaming, clutching her hand, and running towards her Watcher. The woman turned away, and one of Eiphos' aids took the girl to another room. The Watcher left, entering another room where the new babies were waiting. When you were ten, after you got Separated, you had to walk through this room, where your Watcher was taking another child.
Each Separating was the same, the shimmering, the screaming, the confusion of your Watcher not coming to help you. But you had no Watcher anymore. You were on your own.
Chapter 3- Athena