song - arrival - mood board
Azra woke up this morning and rolled over in her bed to shield her eyes from the early sun coming into her room. It was probably only 4:30 am, and she assumed she was the first person in the house to get up, except for her mom who was probably already out and about delivering baked goods to people in caste eight from their province. She did this every morning for as long as Azra could remember, sometimes Azra would tag along, but today she stayed home to get food made for her brothers and dad to take with them to work. She hoped she may also be able to tag along to the office and help her twin, Aahil, out with some of the accounting books. She loved to go. It gave her a purpose outside of cooking, cleaning, and helping her mom with whatever work needed to be done around the house. She been homeschooled her whole life, alongside her siblings. The difference was her mom taught her more life skills, instead of things like math and science. She still learned the basics like reading and writing. Of course, her mom made sure she knew a plethora of languages. Azra’s mom was a three before she met her father and grew up in a family of educators. She was highly educated. The smartest person Azra knew. Her twin on the other hand taught her everything she needed to know about math. Sometimes Azra even thought he had taught her so well that she could do problems faster than him! It didn’t matter though. Her father wouldn’t let her come work for the company. It wasn’t “ladylike” to be in an office of men all day longer. She loved the days he turned a blind eye.
Azra had one younger brother, Aus, who 16 now, she helped her mom with his lessons somedays. She also had her twin brother and her two older brothers, Aazim and Aaryan. Azra looked at the small clock on her dresser. She knew she would have at least 45 minutes before her brothers and dad would leave the home for work. She got up, changed into some workout clothes, and went for a quick run in the city area of her province. She loved going for runs because it was one of the only times, she was alone and free. She was good at running too. She could run three miles in just under 30 minutes. It was still brisk this morning and the air felt crisp on her cheeks. Causing them to look pink when she got home. She hurried into the shower. The water was mostly cold because her brothers had used all the hot water by now. She was used too this and didn’t mind it in all honesty. She glanced at the clock again as she passed through the dining room to the kitchen. 7 minute to spare. She knew she would have to be quick, but at this point she had the routine down to a science. Soon 5 lunches done and ready to go. Her mom was walking in just as the boys were leaving. She watched her father give her mom a kiss on the cheek, just before he gave Azra one on the forehead. Her mom and her both signed “see you later” and the boys were out the door.
My mother turned on the news, before picking up an overflowing laundry basket. Her eyes flicked at the tv when she passed it. The sound wasn’t on, like usual. But the subtitles were so she would stop walking to read them for a few seconds.
”putain de merde”holy shit Azra heard her shout from the other room, but just assumed one of her younger brothers had ripped another hole in their shirt, so she went back to cleaning up the dishes. ”viens ici mon amour” come here my loveShe then yelled with excitement in her voice this time. Azra dropped the towel in her hand straight into the water and went to the family room. As she turned the corner, Aus was peeking around to see what was going on also. What’s going on mom? She asked her and let out a sigh. She was pointing to the small tv in the corner and the subtitles scrolling across the bottom of the screen.
Our next young lady is from our lovely Queen’s home province, Waverly. Miss Azra Mayene, Four
Her eyes widened in shock. Me? que diable What the hellshe said aloud and covered her mouth. She didn’t know how to react, but her swearing caused Aus to laugh and her mom to shoot her a knowing look. She soon felt her mom’s arms wrap around her. She had tears welling up in her eyes and a large smile on her cherry red coated lips. “Your father will be so proud!” Her mother said to her after pulling away. “I need to call him immediately.” She added with a nod. Her mother was French and Latino, and her father was Arabic. She knew French beautifully but was still learning Arabic. She also knew other languages. Her mom liked that they used more then just English while at home to one another. They would all go from French to Spanish to ASL all during just family dinner conversations. All but her dad, He only knew Arabic, a few phrases in French, and ASL. They all knew ASL for Aahil. Aus tapped Azra’s shoulder. guess you’ll be getting out of this house after all he signed with smile to her. I’m sure they have some good desserts he also added with his hand motions. Aus and Aahil were who she was closet to. They both knew it was a dream of hers to see somewhere other than Waverly.
At the jet
Leaving her family was hard, but she was truly excited to get out and see new parts of the world. She was anxious to make her parents proud. She didn’t want to let them down. She was sad that now her mom would be doing twice the work now that she wasn’t going to be around to help also. It did help to know if she were to win her family would be cared for the rest of their lives. She knew she would also donate a good portion to help the higher numbered castes. She stopped thinking these things though. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself. She never really thought she would get chosen when she signed up that day with her mom. That day her mother kept telling her how important it was to sign up. Not only for the family, but for Azra herself. It could give her a love and purpose bigger than she would’ve ever thought possible. She leaned back in her seat on the jet. She let her eyes wander to look at all the other girls who were here too. She put on a smile, played with her braid that fell over her shoulder. Her hair was long, nearly to the top of her hips. They all wore the same white shirt and black pants. The only difference the shoes they were wearing. She went for a pair of white and pink bootie heels. She had only worn them one other time, so they looked nearly brand new.
She looked out the window. They were now in the clouds. She’s always wanted to see something new. She had tried to a few times sneaking out to provinces near them, but it wasn’t much far from home usually. It also scared my brother when she would do this. Sometimes Aahil would go with her and that made her feel safer in unknown places. She knows sometimes she could give my parents and brothers stress because of how adventurous she could be, but she never gave them a reason to not trust her. Their family name was well known because of the construction company, and she wouldn’t do anything to tarnish that.
The castle
She nearly had to pick her jaw off the floor when arriving at the castle. She did make note to look at the brick path as she walked up and smiled to herself knowing this was done by her eldest brother and dad. It made her feel like maybe they were here in a way with her. They had told her stories about the palace. Just its size alone was notable. She had pictured it all vividly in her mind and now it was like a fever dream being here. It was like she had stepped right into one of their stories. She was escorted into a room where makeovers were happening. Azra had worn make up before, but not this much. Though she loved the color of lipstick they chose for her, and they used eye liner to give her a “cat eye”. They gave her hair a trim but left it long and in its natural waves cascading down her back. Azra was hurried into a room for an interview. What would they be asking her? Will her answers make her seem incompetent? Will her paretns be seeing this? Will the royal family be watching? The man asking her questions, wore a silver suit with bright blue glasses. He looked to be early 30’s and had a crooked smile, in a good way. He made her feel comfortable. The uneasiness leaving her body by the second. She was sure of herself and spoke with confidence. She never showed she was scared. Stay as calm as a cucumber – her father’s favorite saying ran through her mind on repeat.
Finally, to the last stage, the clothing. She loved seeing all the dresses, jewelry, and shoes. She felt fabric between her fingers. Some was beaded, some sparkles, some itchy, and some silky and soft. All the girl’s dresses were marked by their names. She made note of some of these and the styles they could choose from. Unlike some, Azra didn’t shy away from color. She embraced it. The dress she chose, after trying on probably 20, was soft and buttery fabric. She knew it was expensive just from that alone. It hugged her curves in the right ways until it hit her hips and flared out. The bottom had ruffles that gave it some movement. She smiled at herself in the mirror and have a spin that ended in her almost falling over. Her maids giggled and she did also.
Some man said she had to hurry to stay on time for dinner and hurried down the hallway. Was she supposed to follow? She didn’t even have her shoes on yet. She grabbed them in her hand and turned sharply. Her hair flying on to her shoulder. When she got into the hallway, this man was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and leaned against the wall to put the heels on and bent down to buckle the little metal into place. She looked up again and huffed as she started walking God knows where. She mumbled to herself right as she looked up to another man walking her way. Much younger than the last and with dark hair. Do you know where the dining room is? Some *ss was practically running to take me there, but I didn’t have my shoes on. I am not going to walk in halls, in the palace , barefoot. Anyways, so I stopped to put them on and woosh, he’s gone! Sorry for telling you so much – oh and swearing…but I have a right to me mad? Right?”
@Littlefeets
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