Ascension (31 page)

“
Oh, shut yer
trap. We both know how you worked your way to the top, love. I just
want you to show me a little of that
…
persuasion as well.
”
He pulled me
around so that my back was to his chest. I felt his breath against
my neck, and I shuddered as he brushed my hair off to the side,
exclaiming,
“
I knew it! I knew you looked
familiar. We
’
ve
only had one looker down here in a long time. You think you could
come back here without me remembering you?
”

I pushed myself
away from him, hiding my trembling hands behind my back.
“I
’
m warning you, stay
back. I
’
m
protected by the King himself. He ordered me to come down here and
have you do your duty to serve the kingdom.
”

The General made
his way towards me, his intent clear. I tried to step back, but I
was already against the wall. I knew that if I were to run, he
would easily catch me. All he would have to do is call the guards
to help him, and I would be his.
“
You
know, for some reason I don
’
t believe
that.
”

“
How about I
confirm it for you, General?
”
I nearly
collapsed in relief when I heard Erik
’
s voice. He was standing in the
doorway, a few bruises on his cheek but not much worse for
wear.

“
Your highness,
what are you doing down here? I mean, er, welcome, sir,
”
The General stumbled over his words and bowed
his head, looking like a guilty child caught stealing
sweets.

“
I can vouch for
her. She is part of the palace court, and demands your
respect.
”

“
So
you
’
re the one
who is getting special treatment,
”
the
general muttered, jealously eying the Prince.

“
I
’
m
sorry?”
Prince Erik regarded the General with a
challenge in his eye, and they looked at one another like two
tomcats sizing each other up before a fight. After a few brief,
tense moments, the General turned away and went back to his desk,
sitting down and taking another swig of his drink.
“
Nothing, you
’
re highness
”
, he said as he swallowed the drink down,
“
I simply said I have a lot to get done, so if
you must make your rounds through my colony, go ahead and please
get out of my way. I look forward to being under your command,
sir.
”

Erik gave me a
quick quirk of the eyebrows. His being in command
wasn
’
t part of
the plan, but he had enough sense enough to go along with
it.
“
Thank you General, and good work.
Come, Fara,
”
he said.

“
You might call
her Fara, but she will never be anything more than 923. Try as you
might, you won
’
t ever be able to wash all the dirt off her,
”
the General called after Erik as he was
leaving.

I saw Erik
’
s eyes flash with anger, but I
caught his gaze. It
’
s not worth it, I pleaded. He clenched his fists and left
the room, and I quickly followed.

When we got far
enough from the guard
’
s quarters, I reached for his hand.
“It
’
s okay, it
’
s fine. I
’
m used to it. I
’
ve grown up here,
remember?
”
He still seemed angry, his
back to me, looking towards the office. I knew he needed to keep
his head on straight if we were to convince my father that he was
on our side, and that we needed his help with the rebellion.
“
Erik, look at me.
”
He
turned his head, but his attention was still focused on the
door.
“
Are you okay? Are the soldiers
following you? What happened?
”

That seemed to do
the trick, because he finally pulled his eyes away and looked at
me, reporting
“
No. Most of them never
caught up with me, and I took care of the few that did.
”
I reached up and touched his swollen cheek,
feeling him flinch under my touch.
“It
’
s fine,
”
he mumbled, and placing his hand over mine, closed his eyes
and pressed into my hand.
“It
’
s fine now,
”
he repeated, and I had a feeling he wasn
’
t talking about his
injuries.

“
Erik, are you
ready?
”

“
If you
are,
”
he replied. He went to take my
hand, but I retracted.

“
I think it would
be better if I went in first, alone. I don
’
t know how they are going to
react to me, and I surely don
’
t know how they will react to
you. It
’
s
better to minimize our risks.
”
I pulled
my hand out from under his and made my way down the caverns,
knowing that Erik was keeping pace just a few steps behind me,
hidden in the shadows.

I slowed down when I heard the sound
of people talking, having reached the main cavern where we would
have group meals, meetings, festivals. It was the only space large
enough to fit all of us at one time.

Peering around the edge, my heart
leapt when I saw my father sitting at the head of the table. The
first thing I noticed was that his hair had greyed, and his eyes
were more tired than I had ever seen them. I felt a pang of guilt,
knowing that I was most likely the cause.

I watched as my
mother approached him and put her hand on his arm, which was
resting on the table. She looked just as tired as he, and I could
feel her grief from here. I felt my courage wane, wondering if I
was doing the right thing. Do they really need this? I thought,
knowing that a rebellion would bring countless amounts of bloodshed
and grief should things turn badly. I felt that, after leaving
their lives so suddenly, I had no right to reenter in the same
sudden manner. Who was I to suddenly reappear and ask everyone to
make the ultimate sacrifice for people that they
don
’
t even know
exist? All these doubts, these thoughts of anguish, swirled through
my head, and I didn
’
t notice at first that the chatter was dying down. But when
the harsh sound of fervent whispering reached my ears, I snapped to
attention and saw that my parents were staring straight at me.
Actually, everyone was staring straight at me. I
didn
’
t know
what to do, so I just stood there, my skin literally burning under
their gaze.

Unable to move an
inch, I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle. I scanned the
crowd, purposefully avoiding my parent
’
s eyes, and I saw familiar, if
not friendly faces, some painted with looks of confusion, others
contorted in anger and suspicion. While my eyes wandered around the
room, I was caught unaware when a hand was placed on my shoulder. I
looked up and saw that it was my father. For a few moments, he held
me at an arm
’
s
distance, and then, with a sigh of relief loud enough to shake the
whole room, he pulled me in to a tight squeeze, and I felt my
mother join in, until we became a single crying unit. My mother
kept kissing the top of my head, and my father repeatedly pulled
his head back to look at me, as if he were looking for some trick,
some slight that would prove this was a dream, that I
wasn
’
t really
here.

I was beginning
to think that I was going to suffocate under their embrace, when my
father finally released me and said,
“
Welcome home, Faradene.
”

Acting the part,
my mother quickly followed up with,
“
Where were you? Don
’
t you know we
’
ve been worried sick? I
can
’
t believe
you would just up and leave like that! Have I taught you no sense
of responsibility? I-
“

“
Miriam,
”
my father interrupted, rescuing me from the
stream of reprimands my mother was about to release on me.
“
Faradene, what your mother says is true. You
had no right to leave in the manner that you did.
”
I began to interrupt, but he held up his
hand.
“True,”
he said,
“
you did tell Conor, who was smart enough to
tell us just where on earth you had gone, but regardless, what you
did was reckless and selfish. For months your mother and I wondered
if we would ever see you again. We,
”
he
sighed,
“
began to lose hope. That is a
terrible conclusion for parents to come to. Do you understand,
Faradene?
”

“
Yes, Father. But
you have to understand as well,
”
I looked
from my mother to my father,
“
you both
have to understand, I did what I had to do. After being cooped up
in our den for eighteen years, I needed to do my part. And, Father,
you won
’
t
believe what I found out.
”
I looked
around, aware that we were still in the main cavern. Although most
had returned back to their meal and conversation, I was still
nervous about revealing too much.
“
Can we
go back to the den? I need to talk to you in private.
”
My parents conceded, and as we walked towards
the den, I looked over my shoulder, hoping that Erik would be able
to follow us without causing too much trouble.

Ξ

“
I
’
m not sure if you know this, but
we aren
’
t
alone,
”
I said once we had returned back
to our den, my father
’
s cloak over the doorway in the same way it was the night I
left. I faced them, their backs to the entryway.

“
What do you
mean, we aren
’
t
alone,
”
my mother
asked.

“
Cethin is just
one of nine underground colonies. That means that there are eight
other groups of people forced to live underground and suffer the
same way we do.
”

I watched as the implications of
this sunk in, my parents looking at each other with wide
eyes.

“
How do you know
this? Faradene, where did you get this information? What were you
even doing all this time?
”

I took a deep
breath and tried to summarize the past months into a few short
sentences.
“
I was on the surface. I went
with the messenger-his name is Croxley-and I became a servant in
the castle. Most of the other girls that work in the castle come
from colonies too, and I have a group of them that want to help
fight for their freedom. Heath and Vil and Mr. Harris all want to
help too, and they are going to go to the other colonies to try and
gather forces. Pa, we are going to start the
revolution.
”

It took my father
a few minutes to respond, but when he did, it
wasn
’
t the
response I had been expecting.

“
No, we
aren
’
t Faradene. We can
’
t. Even with the other colonies,
there isn
’
t any
hope for us. When you were gone, the other councilmen and I tried
planning and strategizing, but no matter how hard we worked, how
much we argued over what was the best route to take, we always came
to the same conclusion. Once we get our freedom, what then? We
would have no place to go. Live in the cities? We would be cast out
like the garbage they think we are. We would be putting ourselves
at risk for nothing.
”

“
That
isn
’
t true!
Father, I
’
ve
lived in the cities. True, most of the people believe the
prejudice, and yes, we will have to break the stereotypes and
create a new reputation for ourselves. But once they actually get
to know us and realize that we are very much the same, they, for
the most part, seem to accept us. I
’
d even venture to say that some
of them like us.
”
As I spoke, I saw the
cloak ripple as Prince Erik snuck in, my parents backs to the
entrance. I turned my eyes back towards my father.
“
We already have support among a few of them,
Father. Whose to say we wont find more?
”

My father shook
his head solemnly, pitying me for my false hope. He walked towards
me and cupped my shoulders in his large, calloused hands.
“
My sweet Faradene, I cant deny that
you
’
ve matured
since leaving. You
’
ve truly turned into a beautiful young woman. I
don
’
t know
everything that you
’
ve seen, but in spite of it all, you are still very
na
ï
ve. I
’
m sure you
’
ve found some friends on the
surface, but a few commoners and slaves will not be enough to help
our people win their freedom.
”