like all revolutionaries, clorinda grew up in a castle.
the castle of the emperor zoah viii, of the empire of atlantis, on artcurus
like all empires, the empire of atlantis was riven with strife and insurrection.
clorinda was the daughter of mindel, the number ten wife of zoah vii.
the emperor was old, and very much under the sway of his long time number one and two wives, and paid little attention to the lower ranking wives and their children.
the lower ranking wives and their children had little to occupy their time, except scheming against each other, worrying that the castle might be stormed by rebels or invaders, and worrying that the emperor might decide on a purge of his offspring.
in this atmosphere, clorinda grew up, as so many had before her, in castles and empires throughout the universes.
clorinda’s best friend was a boy named carlo,
the second son of the seventh wife.
he was a nasty little boy, small but strong for his age, and not well liked and somewhat feared by the other children. clorinda did not really like him much herself, but he was useful to her and protected her from the constant annoying attentions of the other boys.
the other girls were all jealous of clorinda’s unearthly beauty.
a constant topic of conversation among the wives, some of the children, and their servants, was the marrying off of the growing girls to various small kings, princes, and even some wealthy entrepreneurs of the empire.
but with the increasing chaos within the empire, these marriages were becoming less numerous.
with the increased danger that the castle would be overrun by rebels, some of the girls longed to be sent off in marriage, no matter where. others were terrified by the prospect of leaving the castle, which was portrayed to them as the last refuge against the coming apoalypse.
clorinda was considered the most likely girl to be used thus as a pawn in the endless game, but she kept her own oounsel, and expressed neither hope nor fear at the prospect.
carlo and clorinda became friendly with george, one of the younger imperial chauffeurs. this fellow did not know his place, and treated the two royal offspring with an easy familiarity which they reciprocated.
carlo was fascinated by the mighty roaring limousines that george and the other chauffeurs commanded.
clorinda, though she had been careful never to reveal it to anyone, not even carlo or her mother, hated life in the castle and secretly resolved to escape it any way she could.
she saw george as a means of escape.
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