Ascension (6 page)

“
That pretentious
duke, he thought he could make me look like a fool. Well, me and my
lass showed him. While he was off on another one of his fancy
dinners-I swear, that man ate more than the pigs served at the
feast-I grabbed one of the servant girls and we had ourselves a
jolly time in his bed, if you know what I mean. What she lacked in
brains she made up for with beauty and a willingness to experiment.
We didn
’
t waste
any time, either. Her blasted gown had so many buttons, so in a
feat of strength fueled by the passion of the moment, I managed to
cleanly rip the back of her gown open. What can I say, duty
calls!
”
He looked at my horrified
expression and winked.
“
Ha! Maybe I
should have myself a girl before a wrestling match! I would
undoubtedly win, the power of love flowing through my veins and
giving me strength.
”
He flexed his
muscles and boxed with an imaginary enemy, throwing his hands up in
apparent victory after a few jabs, celebrating with the invisible
crowd.
“
Anyways, once we got that dress
off of her, I grabbed,
“

“
That
’
s
enough!
”
I protested.
“
Fine! What do you want me to talk about?
”

“
Aha! She speaks!
Go on,
”
he prompted.

“
I doubt
there
’
s little
you want to ask me. Ahrenians already think that they know
everything there is to know. They also seem to think that we
don
’
t know how
to do anything other than dig. So I don
’
t see why you want to talk to
me, unless you
’
re interested in learning how to mine. If you Ahrenians
would just open your minds a little, you would realize that
you
’
re not as
smart as you think you are.
”

“
Is that right?
Well then, why don
’
t you enlighten me on how advanced you ground-dwellers
are.
”

I considered
picking up one of the many stones on the ground and chucking it at
his head, but instead I answered,
“
We do
plenty. All those gems on the dresses of your lovers, or on the
coats you wear to all your parties. Where do you think the gems
came from?
”
I huffed.

“
So you can pick
up a heavy hammer and smash rocks. Big deal. We have slaves that
could do that for us.
”

“
But do they know
exactly where in the rock the best ore will come from? Or how to
extract it without bringing down the entire cavern? Do they know
how to tunnel so far underground that an entire community of people
can survive without seeing the sun? Do they know where to dig a
latrine so the water washed the waste away downstream without
polluting everyone
’
s drinking water? Do they know which roots are safe to eat
and which ones kill with even the slightest touch of the lips? Your
slaves don
’
t
know anything. We don
’
t just survive down here. We are able to make a
living.
”
The echoes of my rant echoed
through the tunnels, and I fumed in the silence, opening and
closing my hands into fists. Never had I encountered anyone who
could make me so angry so quickly.

“
Alright,
I
’
ll admit it.
I
’
m slightly
impressed,
”
He said, putting his hands up
in surrender. We took some steps in the momentary silence, myself
thinking that I had finally shut him up, but then he opened his
darned mouth again.
“
So how do you do all
that?
”

My newfound
confidence from my small victory deflated.
“
I don’
t really know. I was never
allowed to go out and work because people like you were always
there to cause trouble.
”
Determined to
impress him, I added,
“
But I do know how
to read and write. I only get to read the scrolls that you bring
the guards, which aren
’
t very interesting by the way, but it helps me pass the
time. I also know a lot of stories about the surface, but I
don
’
t know how
many are true.
”

The messenger
looked over his shoulder at me again, with an expression I
hadn
’
t seen
before. This smile was less menacing and more sincere.
“
The name
’
s Croxley. If you want, I can
answer some questions about the surface before we reach it. That
is, if you still know how to use your tongue.
”
He turned back around, taking us around another
corner.

Astonished, I
didn
’
t know
whether or not he was pulling my leg or being sincere. But by the
way he allowed me to think in silence, I figured his offer was
genuine. I thought about the stories my mother used to tell me, but
had trouble thinking of which question I wanted to ask first.
Finally, I gave up trying to pick just one and replied,
“
Tell me everything about the surface. What does
it look like? Is the sun so bright that it burns your eyes? How
many colors are there? I hear that there are about thirty species
of animals. Also, what do you,
“

“
Whoa!
”
He cut me off, and even though his back was
turned to me, I could hear his smile in his voice.
“Um,
let
’
s see. No, the sun
doesn
’
t burn
your eyes, just don
’
t look directly at it for too long. There are lots of
colors depending on what you are looking at. And on the surface,
there is a lot to look at. There isn
’
t just one surface. There are
deserts that are just sand, with the occasional bush, and these
tall, spiny things called cacti. Then there are mountains. The
highest ones get this white, powdery, cold stuff called snow that
falls from the sky. Most mountains are forested, which means they
have a lot of trees and bushes and flowers. Ahrenia has a few
mountains, and is mostly forested. Only a few areas get snow in the
winter, but we get rain all year.
”
He
tapped his thumb against his lips, thinking about what else to
say.

Animals love the
forests, and trust me, there are far more than thirty species.
You
’
ve got
deer, rabbits, these nasty things called skunks, and tons of birds,
which fly around the trees. There are also a lot of bugs, most of
which are devil spawn, but some are tolerable, like the butterfly.
And then you
’
ve
got the ocean, which is an endless span of salt water. I
can
’
t really
tell you much about that because I actually haven
’
t been there. But apparently
there are these enormous animals that swim around, and they battle
sea monsters that take down fishing ships.
”
He stopped and looked back, and I made no attempt to hide
my amazed expression. He smirked and asked,
“
Am I going to fast?
”

I
couldn
’
t stop
smiling. So much that I had learned about the surface was true, and
those was only the basics. There was more than I could ever imagine
to this new land, and it was both exciting and overwhelming. My
heart lifted a little, and I prepared another round of
questions.

“
Can you explain
flying? Is it like running? And how does water get salty? What do
you-
“

Croxley started
laughing at my rapid fire of questions, and it struck me just how
nice of a laugh he had when it wasn't directed towards making me
feel insignificant.
“
Look
who
’
s talking
now! I knew I could get it out of you. Before you ask any more
questions, let me ask you something. What am I supposed to call
you?
”

“
923”
, I answered
automatically.

“
I
’
m not going to bother to try and
remember those numbers. You must have something else for me to
use.
”

“
I
don’
t. My number was given to me by the
King, and it is has been my only name for my entire
life.
”

He peered at me,
and I couldn
’
t
tell if he believed me.
“
Fine. Then
I
’
ll give you a
name,
”
he announced.
“Let
’
s
see
…
I had myself a girl named Beatrice
one time, she was impressively flexible
…“

“
No. That is
never going to happen.
”
I tried to come
up with a way around being named Beatrice without giving away the
fact that my parents had illegally given me a name.
“
I guess you can call me Faradene. I read the
name in one of the reports and thought it was
nice.
”

“
Oh yuck. That
’
s worse than Beatrice. Here,
i
’
ll give you a
nickname. Instead, I
’
ll call you
…
Fara. She was a
beautiful, hardheaded woman who fought valiantly against invaders
during a magnificent battle a few centuries ago. You seem to be
just as obstinate as she. Plus, Fara sounds like fair. Yup. I like
it. Fara it is.
”

Despite myself, I
actually liked Fara. A new name for a new beginning. But deep down,
I knew I would forever in my heart be Faradene. I
won
’
t forget
who I am and what I
’
m meant to do.
“
Fara is better
than Beatrice,
”
I decided.
“
Now, about the ocean
…”

Chapter
7

“
I promise you,
that
’
s the best
way to explain it. Clouds are like floating clumps of wool in the
sky. Some are thin wisps, others are thick enough for you to sleep
on. If you look long enough, they can change shape to look like
animals, castles, whatever you imagine.
”

“
How can
something so big float in the sky?
”
I had
been asking questions for the last few hours. Well, really, I had
no idea how much time had passed, but since I started asking
questions, I lost track of how many turns we had taken, how long we
had walked down each tunnel. My feet seemed to have picked up a
rhythm, my steps carrying me forward as if with a mind of their
own. While my body moved on it
’
s own accord, I was able to
focus my mind on forming a picture of the world
above.

I was grateful to
Croxley for being so forthcoming, but I still
didn
’
t trust
him. I
’
m sure
that his interest in me came from pure boredom rather than
kindness. Nonetheless, that didn
’
t stop me from monopolizing on
the wealth of knowledge he had about something that was so distant
to me.

Just as I was about to ask another
question, he held up his hand. It suddenly occurred to me that the
cave had gotten significantly brighter. The light from the lantern
was barely discernible from the light in the tunnel. I hoped this
meant that our journey was coming to an end.

As if reading my
thoughts, Croxley announced,
“
We are just
about there. I
’
ve got the mule and the horse tied up in the next
room.
”

The last tunnel
seemed endless in my anticipation. In my excitement I started
walking so quickly that I ended up in front of Croxley.
“
Where do you think you
’
re going,”
he called out. I
turned around to look at him, and he smiled. The corner of his eyes
crinkled, and something in his expression made my stomach turn in a
way that wasn
’
t
entirely unpleasant.

But before I could really think
about it, the feeling was replaced once again by repulsion. Keeping
in character, Croxley slapped my rear as he passed from behind me,
whistling a tuneless song as he finished the curve and left me in
the tunnel. With a groan, I walked into the cavern, ready to give
him a piece of my mind, but my reprimand was cut short when two
large beasts came into sight.

Croxley was
placing a blanket on the back of the larger beast while it drank
out of the water trough in front of the post it was tied to. I
assumed this one was the horse. It was magnificent, majestic. A
deep, chestnut brown, its coat had a splatter of white spots on its
rear. Along it
’
s neck was a thick mane, much more impressive than those of
our goats, and on its rear a tail that was braided much like my own
hair. Around its hooves were thick, white cuffs that gradually
blended into the deep brown of its long, elegant
legs.