Chapter 7 The Offer

Ella, Janice Kind, and a muscle-bound man with Ram horns sat in the dining room after everyone left.

Alana-Hope slipped into the room without her date. "I wasn't seen."

The Ram man glared at her. "Alana-Hope, honey, you need to play nice with the board when you are around them. Just because you didn't see me, doesn't mean I can't see you."

She patted him on his arm. "Oh, I'm glad you're worried, but Yolanda thinks I'm sour because I broke up with a Mark Board Member. I didn't know how terrible they were until I dated him. We met on Earth when I was a teenager, and the board controls the off-planet media."

Janice handed The Ram Man a plate full of food, and he devoured every morsel within minutes, and she gave him another full plate.

Ella nudged Quincy, and then she pointed at the faux marble stairs as Zeda descended.

Zeda pulled her hair out of her face, exposing her Elf ears and her long neck. She owned her body and wrapped her shawl over a matching dress.

"Wow." Quincy's eyes followed her walk, but his eyes were inside his head and not bouncing after her like rubber balls.

Alana-Hope grinned, and she sat near the Ram Man.

Quincy could tell why a prince desired her. She was a dove among plastic swans. "It is disappointing she is forced to alter herself for others."

He wanted to ask her out, but she was destined to be one of the prince's numerous courtesans. Quincy imagined leaning Zeda against the wall and pressing his mouth to hers. His hands trembled and walked over to the buffet table, and he stuffed his loneliness with the last of the cheese puffs.

He doubted he could talk to her. Quincy wasn't instantly in love, but he was attracted.

Zeda tossed a stack of articles by Josh and Lisa Mort on the buffet table.

Alana-Hope left her chair to look at the paper. "Another, Lisa article."

*

Our communities accomplish greatness if we recognize we are born for a purposeful life, and half our population cannot fulfill that purpose because of the Mark.

Our badges are a painful reminder of how backward we are, and most citizens don't understand how Mark Badges work, or even how the Mark Board came to power five hundred years ago.

We were much like Earth and received their broadcasts, and it helped shape our society.

The underground blogs claim a dictator started the harsh rules on beauty, but it was a slow decay of internet video media run by a broken mathematical algorithm that favored specific looks.

The videos were ridiculous, with stupid titles such as, Is My Face Symmetrical, or Are My Lips Large Enough for my Face? And we remember the classic, Women Should Wear Identical Lipstick Shades.

The younger female population begged the then prime minister to form the Mark Board to tell them they fit into these strict and odd standards. They lost their style.

The board formed the Authority Squad and forced them to arrest bloggers and influencers who promoted fun cosmetic shades.

Mark Badges came into effect a year later, but they were gross stickers, and the ugly bits of plastic morphed into the badges.

These badges were needed to be removed by a doctor or nurse with special training. Tracking beacons go on if the patches are removed incorrectly and leave gruesome scars.

Women saw their arms off to remove them and to escape our planet, so their music can be heard, and their art viewed.

*

Zeda finished reading the article and sat next to her mother. "Josh and his sister will end up killed if they are caught by the Mark Authority Squad."

Quincy glanced in Zeda's direction.

"You're staring at her as if you've never glanced at a woman before. You never look at me that way, not that I want you." Ella poked his arm and gagged.

"You are off-limits. Romance with you feels incestuous." He tussled her hair.

Ella nodded in agreement.

They walked to Zeda and her mother.

Janice's hair was pulled back, exposing her Elf ears. She waved at Quincy. "Life was simpler when our ancestors lived in the enchanted forest. We traded our lovely stone cottages and mushroom hats for decaying mansions."

Quincy grinned at Janice Kind. "But they battled trolls and goblins. Could you imagine me holding a giant ax? I'd fall over."

The Ram man stood up, and he shook Quincy's hand. "Enough small talk. Professor Quincy, the Mark Board members are not upset with you. They viewed your articles as harmless. Their words, not mine. They will view you as a threat if you draft another story too soon. We need you alive. The only reason Yolanda asked you here is to keep you in line."

Janice gripped Zeda's Marked arm. "There is good news too. I'm excited to hear Chaz is choosing you to marry."

"Janice, you refer to him as Prince Garbage Head, son of slime," Alana-Hope said.

"No, Zeda's father calls him that. I've adored Chaz since he was a little bean. He is helping the cause."

Zeda rolled her eyes.

Alana-Hope grimaced. "She doesn't seem to be attracted to him. He is helping with the cause, but that doesn't mean she should marry him."

Janice hugged her daughter. "You didn't reject him?"

"Of course, I rejected him. Mom, he wants to pick me as his mistress, lover, or favorite. I'm too ugly and unworthy to marry. Ella is a better choice for him, but he is a walking, talking idiot."

"Chaz is not a bigot," Janice said.

"No, she said, he is an idiot, not a bigot," Alana-Hope said.

Ella's feet thumped. "His father will remove Chaz's title if he marries her. He can't help the Mark women without the title."

The Ram man leaned closer to Zeda. "Girl, you won't be breathing if you have the third Mark. The board will torture, or kill you if one Mark isn't removed."

"I don't need a prince to validate my looks, or society to tell me I'm beautiful, but I don't want to die or end up in a Mark House," Zeda said.

The Ram man turned to Janice. "I can arrange a fake engagement. Zeda will refuse a fake marriage. The board will not think she is part of the Ugly Rebels or dating Chaz if we create a well-crafted public love story."

Ella knew Zeda would hide in her room if she told her she had the perfect guy to help her escape. She smiled at Zeda and poked Quincy's arm five times before he opened his mouth.

His lips trembled. "I could date you."

The Ram man stared at Quincy. "He is not an actor. Look at him, he is shaking."

Ella tapped Quincy on his shoulder and spun him around. "He is more believable than a romance cover hunk or out-of-work soap actor. Quincy isn't dating anyone and has a steady job. His article also wasn't mean-spirited, and he hasn't angered Yolanda like Chaz."

Janice rushed to Quincy. "How much will you charge?"

He pushed his glasses onto his nose and turned to Zeda. "I wouldn't charge. We can go to free school events. I have gift certificates I need to use within the next five months, but we can take turns paying if you want." Quincy glanced at Zeda and sat next to her. He wanted to date her, and this would help him in the door, but he didn't want her to think he was a manipulative creep.

Zeda's head bobbed as she stared at every inch of Quincy's lanky body. "I barely know him. He can't fake an attraction to me."

Alana-Hope tapped Quincy's shoulder. "He is a good guy, not fake-nice, but good."

The Ram man walked over to the table and took the last piece of cornbread. "I hope Chaz will back off. His attraction to Zeda is deadly to our cause and her life."

Janice hugged Quincy. "Your fake destination wedding will be off the planet. Those with the Mark can't travel off-world otherwise."

Ella leaned against the table and ate a chunk of cheese. "Janice, talk to the dorm advisor and place Quincy back on the list for married housing when they announce the engagement." Ella opened her purse and texted a few people. "Janice, I'll tell our coworkers that I set him on a blind date."

Janice glanced at the stairway. "I'll host your engagement party on Christmas Eve."

Ella turned to Zeda. "Remember, we need to meet up with Chaz tomorrow. I'm having him tailed, and I think he needs our help. Someone is trying to kill him."

"Zeda, I'll meet up with you sometime on your first date for your romance article. This is what the school paper and blogs have become, but if you need this to work, we need to be seen all together," Alana-Hope said.