"They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME," Emily sang as she walked with Elijah.
Her feet echoed underneath the hardwood flooring while subtle baroque rhythms reverberated in the museum. Portraits of previous PRIMEs aligned the wall while statues stood center stage, bathed in natural sunlight. The scent of fresh citrus, perfume, paint, and Elijah's cigarette smoke lingered in the air. Emily's hands grazed over a portrait of the ENGINE staring down at a previous PRIME standing on top of a mountain.
"They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME. But I'm no PRIME," Emily sang as she glared at the depiction of the ENGINE.
Elijah exhaled a cloud of smoke and then flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Kid, you're the most pessimistic person I've ever met."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Well, what do you expect, sourpuss... I'm a street rat orphan."
Elijah shrugged and chuckled. "Not any longer, and I say you never really were."
Emily stopped walking as she raised an eyebrow at Elijah. "This mask changes nothing, and that is why if I can't escape the ENGINE, I will make sure it doesn't get what it wants."
"Well, at least you're just not assuming you're fodder."
"Rachel and I decided to team up during the pilgrimage. Strength in numbers in all that stuff."
"No surprise there."
Emily rubbed her hair and laughed. "Is it really that obvious?"
"As obvious as my cigarette addiction."
"Blah...that Shiyu woman is unfortunately tagging along. She won't leave me alone," Emily whispered as she saw Shiyu following her from a distance.
Elijah nodded as he lit another cigarette. "So is this the part where you try to recruit me to your merry party?"
Emily crossed her arms. "Kinda yeah."
"I'll think about it."
Emily's eyes widened as her heart sank. "Oh yeah...um that's fine."
Elijah chuckled. "I am just kidding, kid...lighten up. I was tagging along anyway."
Emily rolled her eyes as she sighed. "I will lighten up when I can find a way to get this stupid mask off my face. Like, how the fuck am I supposed to wash my face with this shit?"
"Good point, imagine getting an infection underneath that thing?"
"Gross...just like your smoking habit."
Elijah chuckled and exhaled a smoke at her.
Emily waved the smoke out of her face. "You think you're funny? Oh, that reminds me, we need to pick up our clothes from that merchant."
Elijah nodded. "Where is Rachel, by the way?"
Emily shrugged as she stopped at a marble statue of the seventh PRIME—a grizzled, muscular man in a leather jacket and camo jeans. Resistance tattoos covered his arms while he wielded a heavy Gatling gun. Her eyes lingered on the golden plaque.
"Cameron Wallace, born in the small town of Avalanche, became the seventh PRIME in the year 700. He was an Ether miner and resistance fighter in his mortal life. We celebrate Cameron PRIME," Elijah read as he smoked.
"He looks cool," Emily said as she glanced up at the statue of Cameron PRIME. "He got the whole fuck the system vibe about him...except he became the system."
Elijah chuckled. "Damn...guess he really did. Ain't that some shit?"
"Or maybe the system became better?" Shiyu retorted as she crept up on them. "We can't get rid of the system any more than we can breathe in space."
"Or maybe we figure out how to do that?" Emily replied.
Shiyu laughed. "You would defy the sun, Emily."
"I'll defy the damn universe," Emily snarled as she crossed her arms.
"And that's perhaps why the ENGINE made you chosen."
"You talk about the ENGINE like it's some all-knowing being and not some extremely powerful eyeball chilling in the sky. We just need to punch it really hard and then bam, no more chosen bullshit!"
Elijah laughed. "Vivid imagination there, kid, but I would be more concerned about surviving the pilgrimage than trying to punch a god."
Emily rolled her eyes as Elijah and Shiyu snickered. Her eyes drifted towards other statues as they strolled towards the exit. The faces of previous PRIMEs burned into her memory as she glanced up at their faces, forever memorialized for the world to see. She rubbed her white mask, then sighed as melancholy crept up her spine like a slithering snake.
The warm afternoon air illuminated Emily's freckles as they exited the museum. Trees swayed gingerly in the wind as Leonore citizens gossiped and shopped at merchant stalls. Flower petals and confetti splotched the cobblestone streets while the scent of holiday spirit lingered in the air. Baroque music echoed down Main Street while people huddled around the chosen, hoping to bask in their magnificence.
"Which way to that merchant. I want to check if our clothes are done?" Elijah asked as he glanced around.
Emily gestured for Shiyu and Elijah to follow her as she headed down Main Street. She groaned as she spotted Sarah at the merchant stall.
"We meet again, Emily of Leonore. Funny how you fly around me like a moth to a flame," Sarah joked as she noticed Emily heading towards the merchant stall.
"More like you're a mosquito and I'm a bug zapper," Emily replied as she rolled her eyes.
"Now that was not very nice, Emily of Leonore, and here I was about to compliment you on your live cello performance."
"Wait, really?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You made that cello weep, Emily of Leonore. I must say we would make an excellent duet," Sarah replied with a smile as she purchased a garment from the merchant.
"I must also admit that was indeed a marvelous performance, Emily of Leonore," A baritoned man standing around Emily's height chimed in.
Emily turned around, her eyes narrowed as she observed a boy around her age with a mulberry colored mask. His coffee-brown skin complexion radiated in the sun's glow, while his long, black dreadlocks hung loosely down his shoulders. She felt exposed beneath his gray-green eyes, which stared back at her with stoic precision. Her eyes drifted away from his gaze as she fixated on his urban street clothes.
"Even the ENGINE listened," he said as he glanced up at the ENGINE in the heavens.
Emily raised an eyebrow, then glanced up at the slumbering ENGINE. "Wait, what?"
The man nodded but did not respond. His eyes fixated on Emily's body language.
"Well, the ENGINE really knows how to pick its chosen," Sarah said with wide eyes as she looked at the man.
Shiyu nodded as she bit her lip. "Amos from the empire of Augustine. Looks like the pilgrimage just got more competitive."
Elijah chuckled, then shook his head. "They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy finds the PRIME."
"I see my reputation precedes me," Amos replied with a slight nod and smile.
"I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are," Emily replied, shrugging.
"That's fine, but you will."
Emily blinked slowly. "Is that a threat?"
"No, a promise."
Emily's eyes narrowed as she looked into his eyes, as he put his hands into his pants pocket and met her gaze.
"Peculiar," he muttered as his head tilted slightly as he observed Emily's white mask. "You don the white mask."
"What's your point?"
Amos chuckled. "Statistically, the white mask becomes PRIME more often than the other colors."
"Yay me."
Amos nodded. "I would love to see your attitude when you're the statistical outlier who doesn't become PRIME."
"I would love to see what your face looks like smacked against that wall over there," Emily replied.
Amos smirked, then looked up at the ENGINE before glancing back at Emily. "You're going to have to wait till the pilgrimage, he replied as he shrugged.
Emily sighed as Amos vanished into the sea of people. His words echoed in her mind as she rubbed the white mask stuck to the right side of her face. She then turned around and smiled at the merchant as her eyes glanced towards the brightstardress hanging behind her.
"Who was that guy?" Emily asked as the merchant finished handling Sarah's order.
"That was Amos, a famous albeit mysterious prodigy," Shiyu explained as she observed the garments for sale.
"He's going to be a problem...I can feel it," Emily replied.
"Sorry about the wait, glad you're back, chosen," The merchant said as she focused her attention on Emily and Elijah.
"How are the outfits coming along?" Elijah asked as he lit a cigarette.
The merchant clapped her hands. "They are done. I stayed up all night to finish your outfits."
Elijah nodded. "What's your name by chance?"
"Who me? My name is Ashley, here to seam both practical and elegant outfits for the soon-to-be PRIME hopefully."
"Sarah was one of your customers as well?"Emily asked.
"She is a regular, actually. I craft all her outfits. Leonore has the best seamstresses in the world after all."
Emily's eyes widened as she smiled while looking at the star-speckled dress. Her eyes drifted towards Ashley as she brought out a garment and placed it in front of Emily.
"For the future Prime," Ashley said.
Emily smiled and carefully removed the protective layer. Her eyes widened as she clutched a black hoodie sewn with durable but designer thread. Subtle speckles of stars were carefully sewn into the black thread. The hoodie pocket and hood were large with intricate designs stitched into the rim of the hood. Emily felt like she was wearing the night sky as she slipped the hoodie over her head. A warmth washed over Emily as the hoodie clung to her skin.
"I love it," Emily said as she hugged Ashley.
"Pleasure is all mine. You looked like someone who wouldn't like something Sarah would wear for the pilgrimage," Ashley replied and then handed Elijah his outfit.
"Perhaps I should request your services myself," Shiyu said.
Ashley looked Shiyu up and down and then nodded. "I think I can whip something up for a sage. Though it will be cutting it close since the day after tomorrow is reunion day."
"What's reunion day?"Emily asked
"It's when the ENGINE beckons all chosen to make their way over to where the previous PRIME lived before they ascended," Shiyu explained.
"Can we just say no?"
Shiyu shrugged. "Technically...but you won't meet your competition and would be at an extreme disadvantage"
"Don't care."
Elijah chuckled. "So you're just going to stay until Leonore and do what?"
Emily shrugged. "Probably sleep to be honest."
"You're going. I want to see who else we got to deal with," Elijah stoically replied.
"Same," Shiyu added with a nod.
Emily sighed. "Fine, whatever," she replied as she gazed up at the ENGINE.
"They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME."