The Boy

She was Talentless and lucky she hadn’t been culled by the Talented who terrorized the halls of the school, but she wasn’t sure this newest assignment was much better. Still, she was alive, so she took a deep breath and stepped into the vault. Elder Haschen stood at the lock, and would wait while she cleaned. She’d been given one instruction - not to touch the boy.

The boy was a slender teenager, pale, shivering on a cot in the corner. He straightened up when she stepped into the room and flashed her a nervous smile, a twitch of wide lips, eyebrows arcing gracefully. He had large, long-fingered hands folded neatly in his lap. She could count his ribs and trace the line of his collarbone.

“Hello,” he said cautiously.

Elder Haschen hadn’t said anything about not talking to him. “Hello.” All of the students at the school, talented or not, spoke English as well as German. He sounded American, like a television show.

“What’s your name?”

“Lena,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, Lena. Did you need something?”

“I’m here to clean. Your room.” ‘Room’ was a loose term for a vault lined with ancient moldering books, occult relics, and antique weapons.

“Oh.” He looked nervous. “Am I not keeping it clean enough?”

“The Elders didn’t say,” Lena said.

“Oh. All right.” He wilted for a moment, then straightened up. “Would you like to hear a poem?”

Lena nodded warily. “That would be nice. What kind of poem?”

“Any kind you like.”

She darted a glance at the shelves, but didn’t see a single volume of poetry. Was he going to make it up?

“Poe,” she said. “I like Poe.”

He smiled and began to recite,

“It was many and many years ago
In a kingdom by the sea...”

(300 words)