Hell reserved a special place for selfish rots who abandoned their parents.

Lydia believed that to be an absolute truth because the more she entertained the thought of running, the worse things became.

She stepped around the orange slime. A quick scan of the opulent ballroom and everyone within carrying on without a care in the world told her something she'd have to contend with...no one else could see the gunk but her.

These eyes were faulty, she thought. With all they cost....

But considering how broke her family was and how she came about them...it was very appropriate.

She clenched the silver paper-thin five-by-seven-inch electronic tablet in her hands and continued walking. If tonight didn't work out, she would have to live with these faulty eyes. She prayed they wouldn't stop working all together. Being blind again—no bigger fear held her captive. That was why she'd come.

Money could solve it all.

This wasn't her first time at a party so extravagant, but it was her first time...since the repairs. Her heart thumped with each step.

"Where is he?"

The man she was looking for—the one she came all this way to meet—was nowhere in sight.

Holding her five-by-seven-inch data diskette close, she joined a long line of nobles gathered by the affluent table and tried to figure out how to pay for a meal; she couldn't waste much.

The data-tablet held the last of their money—namely her school tuition. With it she could probably pay for someone to repair the eyes again, but then what?

She could barely afford food at this gathering. She had to pay, though.

Wealthy guests didn't come to a party expecting a free meal and a dance. They came to flaunt their status, showering the host with riches.

Lydia tried to look enticed by the assortment of replicated confectionery, but her tuition balance drew her gaze. The numbers looked even—close to what she remembered before the surgeries. Still, she ran her fingertips along the data diskette surface in order to read.

The food was another problem. She reached out for one treat only to find it was farther than she'd anticipated. And then the orange slime...it fell from the ceiling, tearing a small shriek from her.

"Something specific you had in mind?" someone asked.

Lydia spun around.

Two big green eyes stared her down. Lydia's spirits sank; it wasn't who she'd been searching for.

"Lydia, how are you?"

The words made her freeze. That nasally voice she'd know anywhere. "M...Master Joshua?" she whispered.

Arms extended, Joshua smiled. "Surprise. Bet you didn't expect all these muscles."

There weren't all that many, and the muscles weren't what shocked her—it was Joshua's face.

She couldn't look away from the bulging green eyes that clashed with Joshua's pale, pasty skin. Joshua's aquiline nose made him look distinguished, but the dimple in his chin was a bit much.

The man was flawless, too flawless. Fake.

Lydia pondered how many cosmetic surgeries all of these changes took, and at Joshua's young age. The operations were top-notch, too. Anyone who met Joshua now would never know. Lydia knew, though.

No, Joshua hadn't been the prettiest pie in the replicator, but Lydia had liked him just fine the way he used to be. So much time waiting to see him again, and now this.... Surgeries. Lydia had had enough of surgeries.

Fortunately, Joshua's big ears hadn't changed much and Lydia smiled at the sight of them; big and protruding, and the last cute thing about him. Lydia regretted coming.

Joshua, noticing the scrutiny, touched his right ear. "Is something wrong?"

Lydia decided to focus on those ears—she had to—she couldn't stand the rest of it. "No. No, of course, not."

When Joshua swallowed, making the Adam's apple in his skinny neck bob, Lydia felt at ease; Joshua was still the same.

"I can order something if this isn't enough for you," Joshua offered.

"No, Master Joshua. I'm not very picky." Lydia focused on the food behind the energy dust field.

"Master? Don't be so formal." Joshua chuckled. "I don't need any of that title imp-shit. I miss you calling me Joshy."

Lydia nodded and inched forward in line, keeping the data-diskette close to her body to conceal its balance. Tradition dictated she'd have to leave an offering of some kind.

Fear of being discovered with an empty diskette—or a low-yielding one—drove her to bring her tuition. Paranoia made her leave a month's worth in her private account, but the bulk she had for show.

"Here, let me get you something—"

"Really, it's fine," Lydia insisted.

As the host, should Joshua buy something and Lydia accept, it would indicate her acceptance of Joshua as a suitor. This was why Lydia came. With her family's financial situation, she was insane to hesitate.

Joshua waved to a buxom woman organizing the food.

She nearly dropped the tray in her rush to comply. "Yes, Master Joshua?"

Upon recognizing the woman, Lydia stepped back. "Mrs....Mrs. Laurence?"

Mrs. Laurence's cheeks reddened as she brushed off her apron with a bow.

"Lydia, dear, how are you?" Joshua cleared his throat and she corrected herself. "Mistress Lydia, pardon me."

As was the custom in their underground home, whoever had the higher house, or the more power, was given the title of Master and Mistress before their names. Seeing Joshua's mother serving food like some lowly servant while calling her son "Master" was unexpected.

The man's own mother—a noblewoman....

Slime crept over Joshua's well shined boots. Lydia watched on. She stepped back to avoid it touching her but it was everywhere.

Joshua made a production of his order. Lydia wanted to run but there was no way to leave now. She was desperate for this suit, but Joshua having his mother serving food at his coming of age party was beyond the pale.

"Oh, there's Osbourne. You should meet him. He's my bodyguard, and he's an Elemental, a real one. Osbourne!" Joshua called out.

"Bodyguard?" Lydia stood on her tiptoes. Her five-foot-four-inch frame didn't afford her much of a view, but she knew an Elemental when she saw one; and that sleeveless uniform left no doubt—that hadn't changed. The man was huge, at least a foot taller than Lydia, and quite muscle-bound. Muscular types rarely had any brain-power to match their brawn, so maybe he was good at his job.

An E bodyguard? By the Colony, what has happened to you, Joshua?

"We have fresh food at this party. Two—honestly—two real apples!" Joshua explained. "And it is tradition to bring a large amount of money for gambling and gifts."

He said it as if he was hinting at something, but Lydia suspected that wasn't it at all. It was Joshua's way; giving common information as if he'd stumbled across the discovery himself and just had to share.

Joshua continued, "In the Colony's heyday, rogue E's often broke in and robbed people, you know?"

One blink was all Lydia gave him for that gem.

"But no worries," Joshua assured her, "I've hired a real rough-neck. So these fake noblemen won't have to choose between their dwindling monetary credits or their lives."

Lydia thought she was imagining it, but sure enough, when the Elemental came closer, she could confirm the man did indeed have short green hair—she had to make sure.

"His hair...."

"An ugly color, isn't it?" Joshua chuckled. "But it makes it so he can't hide or pass for one of us Yules, though."

Yules, humans without any power, guarded by a real Elemental, one with discolored hair like the slaves of old—that was the last straw.

All inkling of excitement Lydia'd felt about meeting Joshua again faded with this revelation. Tradition be damned, she wasn't going to remain another minute in Joshua's company. Lydia scrambled for a way to excuse herself.

She couldn't figure out why an E—Elemental, humans with the ability to bend matter—would be working for a nobleman; the very same people who once enslaved and abused them. Especially since the wealthy still kept information on how to subdue and exploit an E's abilities. So why in the Colony was an E working for a noble?

"Isn't he something? I'd sponsor him for fights if he'd only let me. Pompous E's, always thinking they're better than us because they can harness fire and such. But not Osbourne here; he's about as servile as a pet imp. Let me show you."

The muscle-bound man finally came to a stop before them. He was nice to look at though. His piercing blue eyes stood out in contrast to his tan skin color. Lydia guessed he might have been biracial, or at least with an eclectic mix.

"Yes, Master Joshua?" the man said.

Before Joshua could reply, a chime sounded and a computerized voice said, "Warning, unauthorized Elemental for transport."

The Elemental bodyguard's gasp sounded forced. Lydia looked down at the man's hands. They glowed red. Curiosity drove Lydia to stare; rarely did E's show their power in the common area and never in the sections inhabited by nobles.

Lydia's heart pounded. Murmurs from the crowd became hurried chatter.

"System," Joshua barked, looking up.

"Command?" the computer answered.

"Block that transport!"

"Blocking in ten, nine, eight...."

"No," Joshua growled. "Don't count down! Block it now."

"Unauthorized Elemental: A. R. Ruckus arriving in three... two...."

"Arriving?" Lydia scanned the crowd. Her eyes landed on Joshua but she found no answers there.

Joshua turned white as paper. "What is happening? Osbourne, you assured me this wouldn't happen!"

"Funny thing, sir..." Osbourne began as he flashed Joshua a wry grin. "You should know you can't domesticate imps—Elementals even less so."

Most travel in the Colony started at a wall, via site to site portals, but it could happen even on the floor. E's liked to come from above as it gave them a clear path every time. Lydia looked up. As was common whenever a travel portal opened in the Colony, the concrete took on a softer texture until it liquefied. Two people fell from it and landed with such a strong thud that the sound reverberated. Three more followed, then one more and the room fell silent.

Elementals....

Fists glowing blue now, Osbourne stepped back and raised his hands. "Who says tradition is a waste?" he mused. "But wealth is surely wasted on the wealthy."

For a moment, Lydia couldn't hear past the pounding in her ears. The way the E's spread out reminded her of an evacuation drill from grade school. She struggled to keep up with the rapid movements though she feared her depth perception would be her undoing. Some people stumbled in their efforts to avoid the Elementals. This was no evacuation, though—their stone-cold expressions spoke of violent intent.

Despite the spectrum of power, Yules at the bottom, with Elementals at the top, a normal Colony dweller had nothing to fear from E's. Laws were skewed in the Yule's favor, but in theory, an Elemental with a grudge could do a great deal of bodily harm with the energy he collected and harnessed.

Nobles weren't supposed to run. Even at Delaney's last stand, the single event that caused the five-year Elemental versus Yule war, only true nobles were said to have stood their ground. Lydia stood her ground.

Someone screamed and so-called noblemen nearly trampled each other in their hurry to get as far away from the E's as possible. One touch could drain someone of their energy, even their life-force. Being sapped of her youth and left to die of natural causes at nineteen didn't appeal to Lydia, but she didn't join in the panic; there was nowhere to run. Faulty eyes were the least of her worries now.

Three boulder-sized balls of red fire blasted into the wall, ceiling and floor, and everyone got cooperative pretty fast. Nobility be damned, half the room seemed ready to wet themselves.

Twenty minutes later, Lydia shuffled in another line, but this one served a less savory function. Monetary diskette still in hand, Lydia tried to keep it behind her as she moved. She would have hidden it in the back of her skirt but the idea of alerting someone to it was far too frightening. It should have been the last thing on her mind, but she could think of nothing else. If she made it out of this alive, she'd be dead without it.

Osbourne was the one to look out for. Lydia gathered that much from what she understood of the strange language the Elementals used. It was slang, mixed with pretty old terms. Lydia's mother, having starred in the theater for years, studied a language similar as a way of making her acting sound more authentic. Her hopes and dreams for a continuation of her legacy drove her to teach her only child.

Lydia never thought she'd use the ugly-sounding words, but here she was.

The wealthy people in line handed over their jewels; bright colored scarfs, and trinkets. Cheap, easy-to-find gems like diamonds were surprisingly common and accompanied by a flush of embarrassment at their discovery. Of course, the Elementals refused those. The two fruits were more valuable, so the E's claimed them, and took one more thing from each and every person they met—a diskette.

Lydia only had the one. She held it in such a tight grip her fingers ached. She stood at the end of the line, body pulsing and sweating. Mist, she cursed.

Osbourne did a strange thing as he took the sack and collected the diskettes: he hovered his palm over each noble's face. When he reached Lydia, however, he paused. To Lydia's surprise, Joshua stepped between them, shielding her.

"Don't worry, Lydia. I won't let him hurt you," Joshua promised.

A sliver of hope and assurance peaked through the waves of dread. Joshua's bold gesture was beyond unexpected. Not much about Joshua had changed after all. She'd misjudged him.

"See here, Osbourne...." Joshua began.

The sense of safety dwindled as Lydia tried to ignore the fact that Joshua sounded like the worst actor in the history of the Colony. Maybe Joshua was posturing and blowing smoke, but he was at least making an effort. Rarely did anyone risk their neck on Lydia's behalf.

"How dare you do this? After all I've done for you! You...you cad!" Joshua shrieked.

Cad? Lydia stifled a groan, reminding herself that Joshua was trying. Everyone else had given up and handed their things over. Lydia half expected them to step out of their draws and offer the pair up.

All eyes watched on in fear, but Lydia was calm, nestled safely behind Joshua's bony body.

Osbourne sounded disinterested. "All we want's the money. Hand it over and nobody'll get hurt."

Joshua turned to face Lydia, and Lydia in turn clenched her fists, waiting for any signal of what they might do.

"Give him the diskette, Lydia."

Lydia's once calmly beating heart came to a grinding halt. "What?"

"These people are dangerous," Joshua said. "They'll hurt us—hurt you. Hand it over."

The words, though clear and plain, failed to compute. The expression on Joshua's face, however, suggested the fool was actually serious.

This man, the richest one here, who held three diskettes of his own, no doubt with more than enough to save his scrawny neck, expected Lydia to give her tuition away to his ill-begotten bodyguards.

Joshua reached behind Lydia and snatched the diskette from her. Before he could turn it over to Osbourne, Lydia caught hold.

She almost brought it to her chest to cradle it, but the big lug of an E grabbed it. Osbourne's grip was strong and sure. Lydia used two hands to take hold. Footing steady, she refused to let go; it was all she had, all her family had.

She held on.

Everyone quieted. Nobody murmured about being afraid. No one hushed others. All was silent.

Lydia became acutely aware that she was being watched. Noblemen and bandits alike stopped to observe them. Several of the E's laughed but Osbourne's gaze held no humor. In fact, Lydia almost mistook the man's expression for one of sympathy.

"Let go, kid," Osbourne said.

But Lydia couldn't. Her left hand let go but her right wasn't listening.

Osbourne towered over her and could easily have yanked it away, but didn't; he only stared Lydia down.

"Would you look at that...?" One of the Elementals muttered, "Woman's got some guts."

Osbourne barked at the joker in their strange tongue, "Keep looking for the target before these idiots figure out what's up."

What's up...? Lydia wondered. What else should be up but a robbery?

"E!" a woman's voice called from behind them.

Under her arm, Mrs. Laurence hefted a cannon so big Lydia worried about her grip. The woman had a gun. She was old enough to have survived conflicts with E's in her day and her hard expression left no confusion; she knew how to use it.

"My maker be damned. Now we're talking!" The slimmer of the female Elementals laughed. "She's gonna give us a fight!"

That Elemental must have been A.R. Ruckus since she was the first to fall from the ceiling after the System's warning.

"Come get us, lady!" she cheered.

"Ruck!" Osbourne growled, but it was to no avail.

A.R. Ruckus planted her feet, ready to catch whatever blast of energy the weapon might fire off.

Osbourne let out an exasperated sigh and focused on Lydia again. The diskette. His eyes darted from it to Lydia then back again.

"Please," Lydia muttered, pulling the diskette to her with little success. "You've got every other one. Why would this one matter so much?" She would have asked in that strange language but her mother skipped the lesson on 'how to beg.'

Osbourne's grip didn't loosen.

The air tasted stale, but Lydia suspected that might be her breakfast threatening to pay an unwelcome visit. Mrs. Laurence at her back with a weapon, the E before her with physical brawn, and Lydia felt sick with herself. How was she supposed to stand against either of them?

"If you know what's good for you, you'll drop this. Now," Osbourne warned.

Lydia tightened her grip instead, her knuckles burning.

The man looked her in the eye. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that nobles don't fight for money like mongrel imps?"

"Sure," Lydia muttered. "She also said no noble is ever harmed in their own home. Please—"

"No!" Joshua let out a scream, drawing all attention away from Lydia's pathetic begging. "No! No, you stupid imp-cow. You rot. You're ruining everything. Put that damn thing down. Damn you to the pit, you idiot. You stupid idiot!"

Ruckus came to Mrs. Laurence's defense. No longer boastful or loud, she said, "Sir, that is really not necessary."

Lydia blinked. Huh?

"She's ruining everything. You always ruin everything." Joshua snatched the gun from Mrs. Laurence's hands.

Though Joshua was well into his twenties, he stomped around like an infant.

Realization dawned for Lydia and the on-looking crowd. She came to a grim and unforgiving conclusion. "This isn't real?"

Osbourne still gripped the diskette. "Act your status, ma'am," he whispered. "Let the diskette go."

Their eyes met. The woe in that gaze couldn't compare to the humiliation pulsing through Lydia.

"Let go," Osbourne said again.

And Lydia did.

Her stomach dropped as soon as Osbourne held the diskette up and said, "The last one. How'd we do?"

Ruckus shrugged. "Got 'em all, I guess."

"That's not what I..." Osbourne began but paused. When Ruckus shook her head, he swore under his breath. "Fine. Let's go."

"Wait," Lydia stepped forward but stopped herself. "Wait, this isn't real, right?"

Joshua made his way to them, a solid frown in place. "That stupid imp-cow ruined it. Everyone believed it. That was by far the best way to accept the offerings ever. Months to plan it—months! I knew I shouldn't have let the old hag come."

On and on he went. Lydia could only stare at him open mouthed.

Osbourne grabbed Ruckus's arm, holding the woman in check.

Lydia didn't catch all of the exchange but grasped enough.

"It's just the way he is," Osbourne said. "Trust me, mentioning that he should show his own mother some respect will only set him off more. Let it go. Just smile and nod."

"Right." Ruckus took a step back.

Lydia stared between Ruckus and Osbourne, struggling to find something to say. Joshua taking her into a half hug, not only made her cringe, but also brought her back to reality.

Offering? Her mother had told her about offerings, but never that it was the entire amount.

Joshua reached into the bag and picked out several diskettes. One made him laugh.

"Look at this—barely a day's worth of credits." He took another and another, "Oh, this one's nice; a good two years' worth, now we're talking." He closed the sack and tossed it to Ruckus. "Here you are, E. Your pay."

Lydia took some comfort that her own diskette hadn't been selected for ridicule; Osbourne still held it.

Ruckus hefted the sack and tried to refuse, but Osbourne cut her off.

"Thank you, Master Joshua," Osbourne said. "We appreciate it."

"But it's just credits," Ruckus complained.

Teeth gritted, Osbourne said, "It's fine."

Finally, Ruckus nodded, acknowledging the warning.

"And wow-wee, Lydia. You sure held onto that diskette of yours." Joshua looked between Osbourne and Lydia and back again. "I mean, I'm very certain Midge could have snapped your neck for far less."

His comments were met with a roar of laughter, no doubt from those who were happy to be spared Joshua's sensitive commentary on their diskette funds.

"Sir, I'm sure that's not it. Looks to me like she doesn't like getting robbed by anyone, and I've gotta respect that," Osbourne said, handing the diskette over. "If these are ours, then I'd like to apologize by returning it."

Lydia looked into the man's sympathetic blue eyes.

She wanted to snatch that diskette and run like the poor, maimed woman she was. Only, she couldn't. She knew how it'd look; a noblewoman so broke she'd wrestled an E—an E servant no less—for what little credits she had left.

One rumor would be all it'd take to bury her and her family. Status was everything, and now this E threatened to take even that.

Osbourne took a step forward, and Lydia cringed.

Joshua's satisfied expression said it all; he had a new joke to tell. That was fine, because it had taught Lydia a valuable lesson, too; stay away from Joshua. Marriage to him was no longer a consideration. All the more reason she couldn't take the diskette back without consequences. This would ruin any chance Lydia had of marrying high. Worse still, potential suitors might realize the estate was caustic and not even put in a bid, and a house without a lineage had no hope of survival. Taking that diskette back was far worse than losing it.

Lydia waved the Elemental off. "Please, it's yours. It was barely anything." Her voice was too shaky. She had to pull it together.

Joshua snatched the diskette up and whistled. "A year's worth? Not bad. Figured since your family hasn't answered any formal invitation this year, you were hard up. I suppose this means you were just being rude then."

Osbourne interrupted him. "Sir, I...I would rather keep that one. I've earned it."

Joshua's jovial mood faded. "No need to fight for credits like a mongrel—"

"Sir, that is now my diskette," Osbourne insisted.

Lydia didn't wait to see how the argument turned out. She was done being their plaything for ridicule.

She turned and made her way to the exit, careful to step around most of the slime. By now it was so plentiful that she couldn't avoid it. If she stayed a minute longer she might drag Joshua down and drown him in it and her family would lose their only child with her arrest.

Lydia had to get home. It was never a good idea to leave her mother alone for long.

No money, no suitor, faulty eyes, and going home to a festering family. "There's no way out now. Welcome to your special hell, Lydia. You're broke."