Foundling Dos

Sunny sat in the bed pushed against mine in the 'suite' on the third floor. She was flipping hair bands across the room, trying land them on the ledge of the window. Sunny and I lived in Fallon Hall with two other girls, Jaz and Sarah. A large, three floor, brick building. It had been a hospital in the 19th century. There were rumors that it was haunted by bloodletting barbarians. When we were younger, this theory held water and we sat up at night, sweating undercover, being decidedly un-British and letting our emotions get the best of us. Then year six history came along and we learned that by the time Fallon was built, bloodletting was declared quackery. Everyone pretended they had never believed and life moved on. There were still tell-tale remnants of Fallons former life… Squeaky polished tile floors, wash basins in every room. There were halls with nothing but small and separate rooms, curtain tracks made semicircles around the ceilings of them. Then suddenly there would be an open sitting area that had been made into haphazard sleeping quarters for the unlucky. These 'suites' had no doors and sleeping quarters were at a first come, first serve basis. You had to be a diligent, early riser to get the coveted individual dorms. Sunny and I, we were in the 'suite' on the third floor. Despite the ragtag, cobbled together family that occupied it, it was a grand building. A gorgeous, curving staircase led up to the first floor from the ground floor with it's large and inviting common room. It was hard to imagine near death patients being wheeled in. Women about to burst with life being rushed into the 2nd floor maternity ward. The very likely prospect of risking their life to bring another into the world running through their heads. I was struck by the prosaic goings on in this place that once tethered life and death together on a string. Now it just housed foundlings grappling with the Earth shaking idea of rejection from the most lawless of boys. For nefarious was a compliment in this crowd of cast-offs.

Night fell on London and we were all in our rooms, lights out. I was still awake as usual. Sunny could sleep with a freight train roaring over our heads, and I, the opposite, could be awoken by a petal falling from a flower two kilometers away. I had the envy of an insomniac. Most of my nights consisted of prayer, rumination on all things pointless, trying to avoid rumination of the not-so-pointless, giving up, and staring at Sunny, Jaz, and Sarah in rapt jealousy. I thought of Grim, sound asleep, and peaceful. Sneaking out was not an easy operation, and therefor not often attempted… even by the sneakiest by which I mean, the company I kept. And besides it was one o'clock in the morning, and in five hours Sunny and I would have to wake early to head into town (from Lambeth a $30 cab ride) and buy her dress that will cost our weekend (The $45.00 each, four people donating their allowance) and make for a very grumpy Grim. I resigned myself to the positive, and nestled into the warm cocoon of the dark room.

I woke with an alarm blaring in my head, my feet almost numb from having made their way out of the covers in a fitful sleep. Sarah was up, and had gotten to the shower before me. Sunny, of course, slept through the alarm. I pushed her awake. And went on a search for one of the rogue hair bands by the window.

"Its dress day!" Sunny said. Hands outstretched, "I feel a bit nauseous about the whole bit honestly,"

"You are not alone," I smiled.

"The ball, not the shopping,"

"Oh, yes. Well it should be beautiful." And I stayed silent. Despite her faults, I understood why Sunny would go along with being paraded about by Judge Simon. Survival was a crude human instinct that will be the last of all of our anthropological virtues to die. It is the nature of the beast. Most especially when that beast had been as abounded, and contused as our lot.

Before long we were all dressed and in a black cab headed for central London. Buildings that spanned the timeline of our country loomed overhead. We passed Lambeth Castle, once home to the archbishop of Canterbury and now taken over by the Mr. Simon himself. For years unfathomable it had been a holy place of residence, and now it was mired it the most unholiest of lives. I tried to imagine Sunny occupying the castle, Judge Simon's two children trailing her out the front door as they headed for the Rhyne. The Rhyne is the main Judicial building. It stands near to Parliament, the grand old building with its golden spires sits stoically next to a building made entirely of screens. The screens alternate between advertisements and holographical projections of Candidates, and Judges, and Ex Cathedra's. England was made up of five provinces at the present moment, though through money and brute power they are subject to change. Judges run provinces, Two Ex Cathedras, usually a husband and wife, oversee them and 'control power distribution'. We live in Civitas provence. It's been held in a steady stronghold my entire life by first Judge Simon Sr. and now by the Judge Simon you have come to know. The provinces and the areas they encompass are as follows…

Five Provinces

1. Civitas- London, Surrey and Kent

2. Externus- W. Sussex, E. Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxforshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk Essex, and Hertforshire.

3. Solum-From Gloucestershire, around the Externus border down to the Southernmost tip of England. Also, Isle of Wighte.

4. Viscus-From Hereford and Worcester to Cheshire to Lincolnshire.

5. Caelum-From Merceyside, along the Viscus border, up to Northumberland.

The Simons own various textile, and precious gem distribution companies internationally. They also own the store we are about to enter, InterMerch. Intermerch has been been an architectural innovation when it came out. They had kept the outer facade of the Tower of London, but nearly ripped all of it's guts out, replacing it with hi-tech candy. It had been the death place of two of Henry the VIII's wives, and numerous others. The crown jewels are still housed in the top of the East turret, and Beefeaters still glamorously guard the tower. Now we were buying a dress, and the various accouterment here.