For as long as Reyn could remember, her hair was blonde.

Because if it wasn't, she would be killed by the age of eighteen.

In a citizenship where there was only one ideal bloodline, having hair a different color than blond was a sin. If a child was born with hair that was any color other than blond, the child was given eighteen years to live. Then there was a public execution that resulted in the corrupted child's death. The eighteen years were given only to be fair, because the child cannot choose their hair color. But they only get eighteen years so they do not have enough time to taint the bloodline.

There is a Blond Scale, a test to determine if the person's hair is blond enough. Everyone must get Tested on the first day of every month. If a person's hair was turning a different color by the time they got Tested, they must begin dying their hair to make sure it stays its original color. But that's only for old people. If the person was young and their hair was changing, the Council decided what to do. Most of the time the person did not make it out alive.

There could be multiple shades of blond allowed, just not any shade that resembles a different color too closely. For example, Reyn's hair was, at the moment, honey blonde. Her mother's was bleach blonde, and her father's was dirty blond. Her grandmother's hair used to be caramel blonde before it began turning gray. And her grandfather's hair used to be dirty blond too before it also turned gray.

The citizenship of Surrne had a bloodline of just blonds for the last 800 years. Most everyone thought the belief of only blond hair was the only way to go. The world's best historical figures were blond, after all. But others, like Reyn and her family, believed that other hair colors could accomplish things as well. The world's second best historical figures were not blond, after all. They were just the people that weren't taught about in school anymore. The world didn't complain, so people who weren't happy didn't complain either. Maybe that's why blonds were so superior. They knew when to keep their mouths shut.

There hadn't been a public execution in years. Most people believed that the world had given up on tainting the bloodline. But Reyn's family never got too discouraged. There was still hope that there would be a genetic mishap somewhere.

So, when Reyn's family got the letter, they did not rejoice when they were right. They mourned for the families that would be burying their children in a week.

"Why are they executing four people this time?" Reyn asked as her family began sitting down for breakfast. "They can't all have the same birthday, can they?" She was curious about these kinds of things. She was only seventeen, but she'd already decided that when she was old enough to get a real job, it would be in working to stop the idea of one hair color.

Her father sat his coffee cup down and looked at her mother expectantly. She was cutting up an egg gently and carefully. That's how her mother was. Gentle and careful. Her mother's eyes lifted from the egg and stared back at her father. A silent conversation was going on and Reyn hated how she couldn't interpret it.

"Thanks a lot, Charles." She said, sitting her fork down nice and neatly. Exactly the opposite of what her eyes wanted her to do with the fork. Her mother was very good at concealing her emotions, but Reyn and the family knew better than to take her mother lightly. She was a force to be reckoned with sometimes.

Reyn was just like her mother, except in the fact that she could conceal her emotions. Reyn's emotions and feelings were everywhere all the time. She couldn't rein them in. It was okay though, because her mother said it meant she cared a lot about things that people didn't really care about. Reyn was ambitious and achieved almost everything she wanted because of the effort she put into getting it. She was independent and didn't rely on friends, because she didn't have any. She was burning a path so bright that people needed to stay out of her way to avoid getting burned. There were consequences to always being driven towards a goal. It came with the package deal of being friendless and being labeled as "the shy one". She wasn't shy, she was just too focused on her goals to be friendly. And it worked just fine because she'd been like that for seventeen years. She didn't need friends anyway.

Her mother, Kareline, cleared her throat. "Reyn," she began after taking a sip of orange juice. "I think they're executing all four on the same day so they can get it over with. They don't want to have to do four different public executions at different times. Their philosophy is getting rid of them as fast as they can. Sooner is better. They don't even want to give them eighteen years at all, but they have to appear fair to everyone else." She took a small bite of bread.

Reyn blinked. "So some of them that are getting executed won't even be eighteen?"

Kareline and Charrles nodded. There was nothing but the sound of forks colliding with plates for a moment.

"How is that fair?" Reyn yelled, while her grandparents and parents watched. "Everyone who taints the bloodline is supposed to get eighteen years. It's the law!" She closed her eyes, trying to imagine how scared those four kids were. It was supposed to be her—

"Yeah, well, whoever makes the law can break the law, my darling." Kareline whispered. "Don't forget, you're lucky you've made it this far." She shuddered, remembering times of when Reyn was little. "Don't do anything to get you exposed. We've kept you hidden for a while and we want to keep it that way, Reyn." She resumed eating her breakfast while keeping one eye on her daughter. Charrles quickly finished his meal.

Her father stood up and put his plate and drink in the sink. "Well, work'sa calling. I'll see you guys tonight. Reyn"—he looked pointedly at his daughter, who crossed her arms— "don't do anything stupid, alright?" He grabbed his bag that lived beside the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. "Love you, guys." He opened the door, and then turned back. "And Reyn, you need more dye. It's showing through." He walked out and the door closed with a quiet klunk. No one said anything for a moment.

"Reyn, darling, when you go to Gordon's, get some for me. But you already knew that." Her grandmother smiled and patted Reyn on the back. She and her grandfather walked outside to sit on the porch while Reyn and her mother were left to run the errands.

Kareline strolled over to the kitchen counter and got two seperate lists, one for Reyn and one for herself. Reyn always got the errands that involved less mobs of people, lest someone got suspicious of her hair. She had tried to argue with her parents about it, but much to her dismay, they never budged on their decision. She was just lucky she could go outside at all. Not everyone who had dyed hair got to go outside. Some still got caught even when they never left the house. Well, they're not supposed to be alive at all, much less go outside. Reyn should have felt grateful, but she didn't fully grasp the amount of luck she had.

"Mom," Reyn said, gathering her things. "I'm heading out. I'll be back soon." She walked to the door, list in hand. She opened the door, staring outside at the blue sky. Looking across the street, she saw small blond children playing tag in the yard. They probably didn't have any worries at all. Their hair was probably blond. She smiled bitterly and said goodbye to her grandparents sitting on the porch swing. Reyn clutched her bag tightly and began her trip into town.

Walking past multiple houses along the way, Reyn thought about who lived in them. Were there people her age? If she had done something differently in the past, could she have made friends with them? A soft smile tugged on her lips; that was nothing but a dream, a wish. A fantasy that wasn't meant to be in her world. She pulled her mind away from her dreams and continued towards town.

A/N: hey guys! I'm really excited to write this lol. How was the first chapter?