The Deep (17 page)

“Good, then I’m going upstairs too.” Walt
turns to me. “And then I’ll drop by yours.”

“Thanks.” I quickly swivel around before
William can see me blush. In my old world, we wouldn’t have bumbled
around like this – in all likelihood, I would have been engaged to
Walt, and my parents wouldn’t have had anything to say about it.
And yet, it makes me feel warm inside that someone seems to care
about what the two of us are up to.

“You coming?” I ask quietly when we’re in the
corridor, each pushing open the doors to our rooms.

“Let me grab the food,” Walt mumbles. Within
a few seconds he’s back, holding a paper bag in one hand.

“You staying?” I ask, even more quietly, as
he follows me and slowly closes the door behind him.

“You want me to?”

I nod.

His face crinkles up in a happy but nervous
grin. “I’m happy Padma decided to stay in Dartmoor,” he says with a
wink.

A shiver runs down my spine. “If only she’ll
want to come back with us.”

“Of course she will.” Walt pulls me into a
comforting embrace. “I can’t imagine she’ll be so eager to stay
once we tell her it means she can never leave. It would mean she
has to say goodbye to Tresco forever, and I don’t think she’s ready
for that just yet.”

“Yes.” I sit down on the bed and hungrily dig
into the cakes Walt has brought along. “That’s true. It will all
work out, I guess.”

When I take off my cardigan and lie down,
Walt takes out my precious find from the cathedral. He puts the
cross on the table next to my bed and stares at it thoughtfully.
“Beautiful artifact,” he says. “I can see why they send all those
pilgrims over there to get treasures from Exeter.”

I rub my hand over his back. “I don’t know –
possessions were never that important to me. We didn’t have much in
the manor house, but we were never lacking.”

Walt stretches out next to me and looks at me
from up close. “You didn’t lack anything at all?”

“Well.” I close my eyes. “We lacked love, I
guess. Parental love. And of course I didn’t have a boyfriend
before I met you.”

“So you have some catching-up to do?” he
whispers playfully.

I open my eyes and gasp in mock-offense.
“Don’t make me sound like a pathetic, lonely girl! Are you saying
you were the town’s hotshot, girls drooling all over you?”

“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I must have missed all
the drooling because I was so busy building my secret ship.”

“Good,” I laugh. “Or I wouldn’t have been
here, together with you.”

And then, we stop talking, because I kiss him
on the mouth and he hungrily kisses me back. All the dark thoughts
I’ve had about Exeter, Dartmoor, and the strict laws in this new
land fade into the background. I’m here, together with a boy who
means the world to me, and that’s all I want to focus on right
now.

The next morning, I wake up with the sound of
a bird singing outside on the window sill, twittering
enthusiastically to greet the rising sun. That is how the men
working for our wake-up service in Newexter always woke up – the
crowing rooster made sure they did. I’ve never understood how those
animals manage to wake up at sunrise. Maybe the books from the old
world contain that information.

I do regret not spending more time at the
library, but I’m sure the president won’t mind giving us a few
books as a present so the people on Tresco can read them too.

With a sigh, I turn around and look at Walt,
who is still asleep. His blond hair is tousled and his mouth hangs
slightly open. He is so sweet. I can’t stop a silly smile from
spreading across my face as I watch him. This adventure would never
have been the same without him.

A modest knock on the door interrupts my
reverie. “Who’s there?” I ask, my voice still groggy from
sleep.

“William,” comes the answer. “Tony used that
strange device on my nightstand to tell me that breakfast is at
nine. We’re leaving at ten.”

“All right.” I yawn, my gaze drifting to the
black thing on my table that Tony called a ‘phone’. Ours didn’t
make a sound, so it’s a good thing Walt’s dad woke us up.

“Is Walt with you?” I hear him ask.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m here,” Walt mutters
unexpectedly. “Are you guys going to keep up that shouting match
through the door much longer?” He opens his eyes and smiles at me.
I blush when he plants a kiss on my cheek.

“Good. See you in a bit, then,” William
replies a bit awkwardly.

After his footsteps recede down the corridor,
we both can’t help chuckling.

“Is Padma bunking up with you again tonight?”
Walt inquires.

“No idea.” I smile. “Hopefully we’ll be in
Bodmin by tonight. Or who knows, maybe we’ll be on board the
Explorer
. I can imagine people want to go home. And besides,
I bet Tony has other things to do with his life than showing us
around all the time.”

“Yeah.” Walt’s face turns serious. “It’s high
time he and the mayor of Bodmin come up with some new rules and
regulations and inspire the people in Dartmoor. I still wonder what
they’ve done to Victor.”

Thoughts about the red-haired guy and the
farm with the secret doorway are still going through my mind when
we board the bus just after ten o’clock.

“How was Moretonhampstead?” Tony inquires as
he walks down the aisle to count his passengers, so we won’t forget
anyone.

Most people look elated and enthusiastic. As
long as you don’t look too closely, Dartmoor County is a friendly
place extending a warm welcome to strangers. As long as you do what
is expected of you, that is. But isn’t that true for every place in
the world? My own village sticks to certain rules we expect others
to follow. If clear rules are in place, people feel safe. Make the
rules too strict and they’ll feel trapped, though. That goes for
me, at least.

Once the bus is moving, Walt pulls out a
large book with blank pages from his bag. “Look, my dad gave me
this,” he says. “It’s a sketchbook. Here, it comes with some
pencils. They’re like charcoal crayons, only harder.”

“What are you going to draw?” I want to
know.

“I thought we could both make some drawings
of Exeter. So we can show the people back home what it looks
like.”

“Good idea.” I pull a face. “Only problem is,
I can’t really draw that well.”

Walt laughs. “Why don’t I draw while you give
me directions? Does that sound better?”

“Yes, I like the idea of being the brains of
our organization,” I tease him.

He draws me in and gently caresses my cheek.
“Aye aye, captain.”

From the corner of my eye, I see William
watching us. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to disapprove. In fact,
he looks kind of endeared.

By the time we reach the capital city of
Dartmoor, we’ve made a beautiful drawing of Exeter Cathedral
together, standing there in all its glory amidst the remains of a
destroyed city. We left the area around the building a bit smudgy
and abstract on purpose. We’d rather show our friends on Tresco the
beauty of the place – we can always tell them about the devastation
later on.

Tony parks the bus on the main square in
front of the palace. “This is where I said I’d meet President
Jacob,” he announces. “The seven people who stayed behind will come
here to join us for a goodbye meal. There will also be a small
memorial service in honor of Henry.” His voice slightly cracks on
the name of his dead friend.

We all get off quietly. I notice how our
people automatically lower their voices once we’re outside, just
like Tony did when we first stopped at the eastern gates of
Dartmoor County. Everybody knows that we shouldn’t stand out by
talking too loud.

When I spot Padma, Winda, and Jinn in front
of the palace, a wave of relief hits me. They’re still alive –
nothing has happened. They even look glowing and very content.

“Leia!” Padma calls out when she sees me,
running toward me and pulling me into a hug. “How was Dartmoor
East?”

“Fine,” I say. “We learned a lot. How are you
and Jack doing?”

Padma smiles. “Fine as well. But I’m coming
with you, don’t worry. He told me that Dartmoorers generally stay
within the fence, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to Tresco. I
might be back later.”

“What about the twins?”

“Jinn and Winda also want to go home. As do
the other four from Newexter. President Jacob told us we are
welcome to join the community later if we want. You know, so we’ll
belong to Dartmoor officially.”

I let out a sigh of relief. It’s a good thing
Padma is taking more time to think this through. What would I have
told her parents if she’d chosen to stay here? Padma’s mother in
particular was over the moon when her daughter returned to
Newexter. It would have broken her heart.

“Shall we go inside?” Tony proposes just
then. “It’s half past eleven. Everything’s ready.”

With an anxiously-beating heart, I follow
Tony. The first time, it was tripping because of sheer excitement,
but now it’s due to stress. No matter how beautiful this palace is,
I can’t forget what happened to Sam not ten steps away from the
main entrance.

My feet falter when I step into the dinner
hall and my gaze lands on a sort of altar. There’s a life-like,
giant portrait of Henry put up on an easel, surrounded by candles
and flowers. Henry’s wife is next to the altar, her face pale and
tear-streaked. With her are more people from Dartmoor, comforting
her.

“Welcome back,” President Jacob says,
emerging from the crowd. “We would like to thank you for your visit
and offer you the opportunity to honor Henry, without whom your
island may have never been discovered.”

Oh, no. I don’t know if I can deal with
this.

Walt sidles up to me and puts his hand on my
shoulder. “Come on,” he says gently. “Let’s grab something to eat
first before we go up there to shake Henry’s wife’s hand. It’ll
give you time to prepare.”

I nod quietly. We walk over to the luscious
buffet that the president had his cooks prepare for us. Naturally,
it’s also for the people who have come to commemorate Henry, the
man who was murdered by my corrupt, cowardly leader. And his wife
doesn’t even know it. Nobody told her the truth, for fear of the
consequences.

My stomach twists when I take a bite of fruit
pie. I’m too nervous to eat. Walt takes my plate from me and puts
it back on the table. “You look like you’re about to hurl. You want
to go now?”

“Yes.” I swallow down the lump in my throat.
“Let’s get this over with.”

We join the line and move up slowly,
shuffling forward step by step to offer our condolences to Henry’s
wife. She looks so sad, and so gentle. I can sense she has never
had to pretend she’s nonviolent. She’s the real deal. I don’t know
if they had any kids together – if they did, they aren’t here.

When I face her at last, I can’t hold back
tears. “I’m Leia,” I say softly. “Henry has made our world so much
bigger, and we are thankful for that.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. “I’m Michelle, and
I am proud of what my husband did for you. May Jesus welcome him to
the hereafter with open arms.”

She seizes my hand and gently squeezes it. I
don’t know where I get the idea, but suddenly my other hand slips
into the pocket of my cardigan and I pull out the golden cross from
Exeter. “I would like to give you this,” I say. No one deserves
this treasure more than she does, after all we have taken away from
her, and this is all I can give to her. “Think of us and of Henry
whenever you look at it.”

Her eyes start to shine. “That – that’s
beautiful,” she stutters. “Where did you get that?”

A stern voice pipes up from behind me.
“That’s what I would like to know.”

When I turn around, I see Sonia, the
president’s sister, standing behind me with a light scowl on her
face.

Only then do I realize I have made a huge
mistake.

“You took this from our church?” Sonia asks,
completely taken aback. “Where else would you get a thing like
that?”

I blink anxiously and draw a deep breath to
answer her, but no words come out. I have no idea what to tell
her.

“Stealing will not go unpunished, I assure
you,” says President Jacob, who has joined his sister to see what
all the commotion is about. He looks pointedly at the crucifix.

“I didn’t steal anything from the church,” I
protest. “I found this.”

“Where?” Sonia sounds calm, but it’s obvious
she wants to know all the details.

My gaze volleys between Michelle and Sonia
before drifting to the floor. Then, I exhale loudly and look
President Jacob straight in the eye. “In Exeter,” I admit.

Everybody around us grows silent. I feel Walt
stiffen next to me.

“That’s impossible,” Jacob says decidedly.
“No one is allowed to go there.”

“We snuck past the guards in Dunsford.” Walt
backs me up. “We just wanted to see the place of our ancestors. And
the only building still standing is the cathedral, so that’s where
we went.”

The people around us edge away almost
imperceptibly.

“Exeter is a very dangerous city,” Michelle
says in a trembling voice. “Hardly anyone gets out of there
alive.”

“We really went there,” I maintain. “Walt,
show them our drawing.” By now, I don’t know what’s worse – being
accused of stealing or admitting to secretly visiting their shrine,
but I’d rather stick to the truth when it comes to these
unpredictable people.

With shaky hands, Walt opens his bag to take
out his sketchbook. When he holds up the drawing we did, Jacob’s
eyes grow wide. “Yes, that is the cathedral,” he acknowledges
slowly. “As seen from the side. And the only public picture of the
building we have is one showing the front.” He looks at us as
though we are ghosts. “You’re not feeling sick? No headaches,
vomiting, hair loss?”