Ascension (17 page)

"Did you visit
another colony,
”
I blurted, my
cautiousness thrown to the wind as my curiosity got the best of
me.

"What?" Croxley's
eyes widened. He obviously wasn
’
t expecting this sort of
question. "There aren't any..." I cut him off with a hand in the
air. "Don't lie to me, I know that Cethin isn't the only place
where people are forced to live underground."

Croxley's expression of false
ignorance was replaced with one of accusation. "How do you know
this," he asked, his posture suddenly erect, no longer resting into
the seat.

"Answer me first. Did you go to
another colony? Did you go underground?" I wasn't about to let him
bully me into dismissing the questions I so desperately needed
answered.

"No. I'm not allowed to take anyone
to the tunnels except for guards or banished criminals. Not even
the Prince. Now, tell me how you found out about the
others."

I looked at him, gauging whether or
not I could trust this man. I had before, but after what he had
done during my evaluation, followed by his sudden disappearance, I
wasn't completely sure. His eyes bore into me during my silence
until finally I admitted, "In the slave rooms, some of the other
girls share stories about their homes. We all miss them, Croxley,
and in sharing our past, we are able to bring them back to life a
little bit."

Croxley shook his head, as if he
didn't want to hear it. "Fara, you have to be careful. If someone
were to hear you talking about Cethin, not to mention other
colonies, you could get into serious trouble."

Suddenly, I was enraged. "Who are
you to care about what kind of trouble I get myself into?" I stood
up, my hands in fists, my voice raised. "You are the one who left
me here, basically turning me over into the hands of that horrible
woman. Look where that got me!" My anger left just as quickly as it
came, replaced with the sting of betrayal. "I thought that you were
my friend. But you were just playing with me, using me to get what
you wanted," I acused, my voice barely above a whisper.

Croxley grabbed my fists, pulling me
down into him. "Why do you think that Erik and I came for you
tonight? Because I didn't care for you? Fara, you must realize,
during your evaluation I had to pretend like I didn't know you,
like I didn't care about what happened to you. Otherwise, we both
would have been punished." He spoke gently, his tone soothing. "I
tried to save you from this," he gestured to the room, which I
understood as a reference to the situation with the merchant
earlier tonight, "by putting you with the horses. But your beauty
must have caught someone's eye, and I'm afraid that you got
yourself into a mess that was practically inevitable for someone
like you to end up in."

I couldn't look into his eyes,
rather, I cast my gaze downward and furiously tried to keep my
tears from spilling over. The entirety of the situation was
frustrating. No, I corrected myself, it's the surface which is
frustrating. All these stupid rules, these condescending laws and
legislations. I've had enough of it. And I knew that my mission
wasn't just about me. It was about all the other colonies who had
to live in the dark, all the girls who are forced to be man's
slave, all the children forced to grow up without being able to see
the sky, the clouds, to feel the warmth of the sun upon their
face.

Croxley lightly cupped my face in
his hands, which were calloused and travel-worn. I looked into his
eyes, and in that instance I knew what he said was true.

"Croxley, I need to tell you
something." He kept his eyes trained on me and nodded. Preparing
myself, I released a deep sigh and began.

"The reason I volunteered for
evaluation wasn't because I was sick of Cethin. I wasn't cast out,
I didn't abandon my people, and I didn't leave everyone behind to
see the surface. Sure, I've always wanted to see what it looked
like. Every child always dreams of seeing trees and the sky and the
water and," in my nervousness, I was rambling, but I forced myself
to get to the point. "the point is, I volunteered for evaluation so
that I could bring my people to the surface."

Croxley's hands fell away from my
face, but in earnest, I grabbed them and held them tight, not
wanting him to leave before he heard it all.

"I didn't really have a plan. To be
honest, I still don't really have a plan. I thought that I could
convince the King to let my village come to the surface, to let us
live like we used to, but now I see that it would be impossible to
reason with him. But then the girls started telling me about their
homes, that there were other colonies, and I realized that, if we
all managed to team together, we could convince the King to give us
our freedom. 'Strength in numbers', or something like that." I took
a pause, preparing myself for the reaction I knew would come after
the next step of the plan.

"This is were you
come in. I was hoping that you could teach me how to get back, so I
can tell the elders what I've found. While I work with them, you
could send messages to the other colonies, telling them all to
rally together. Maybe I can come along to help convince them. If we
all work together, we should be able to achieve-
“
Croxley cut me off, his tone low but
severe.

"Fara, you don't have any idea what
you're asking for. Everything you just mentioned is treasonous to
begin with, not to mention the shear impossibility of it all. You
can't begin to comprehend how difficult it would be for me to even
deliver a message to a colony without the guards knowing, let alone
escort people in and out under their noses. It's never going to
work."

Suddenly, the door flung open,
startling Croxley into a fighting stance in front of me, sending me
behind his back.

"Relax, it's just me," the Prince
said, closing the door behind him. "The coast is all clear. I don't
think that man will be asking for your service again any time soon,
Fara." He lounged on the couch across from us, propping himself up
on one elbow, his eyes bouncing between Croxley and I, quizzically
trying to make sense of our position. Croxley stood out of his
crouch and released his protective grip on me. We just stood there
awkwardly, avoiding each other's eye contact, when finally Prince
Erik broke the tension.

"By the way, I heard you two talking
through the door. I'm on board."

Croxley and I gawked at each other,
our mouths gaping open. Croxley was the first to move, bringing his
palm to his face, shaking his head. "My friend, you don't seem to
understand. This wouldn't be just another adventure to keep you
from getting bored. Those were different. There was no risk. This,
though, this could cost us not only our lives, but also the lives
of thousands of families."

"Your words hurt, Croxley. Do you
honestly think me so selfish?"

"No, I think you're naive. You
haven't been exposed to the real world. Honestly, you've never even
ventured into the slums of this city. You have no idea how to
handle poverty. The colonies are much worse. The guards have lost
all notions of manners, their actions brash and crude. The people
of the colonies are desperate for any chance for salvation,
practically throwing themselves at you for any word of the surface.
There are rats and filth everywhere, and that's once you actually
make it to the colony. The journey there is often long and filled
with trials not worth the destination." Croxley looked at me, his
eyes apologizing for his bleak description of my home. He doesn't
have anything to apologize for, I thought, it's all true. The
Prince, on the other hand, had more trouble believing
it.

"It cannot be
that bad. If your job is so terrible, why do you keep it,
”
the Prince asked, sitting up from his
position.

"In truth? Because it was the job of
my father, and his father before him. The King at that time had
chosen my grandfather's line to do this job, and we've had little
say since then. You don't seem to understand the absolute power the
King has over the lives of the commoners."

Prince Erik
stood, his voice growing intense as he walked closer to Croxley.
"You don't think I know the effects of his control? I've been
living with his tyranny my entire life! What kind of childhood do
you think I had? While you were off going on your little trips with
your father, or playing with the other boys, I was stuck in the
castle learning how to navigate the court, the history of the
kingdom, or being forced to entertain some snotty rich child from
another noble family. Ever since I was a child, my father has
defined my life for me, and now I am being told who to marry for
the so-called
‘
good of our
kingdom
’
. So I
apologize for being selfish, for wanting to escape all of this and
feel like I actually have control of my own life for a change."
Prince Erik ended with his face in Croxley's, both standing on the
edge of a fight. I hid inconspicuously in the corner, all too aware
that I had no part in the conversation happening before
me.

However, from my corner, I
empathized with the Prince. I understood how he felt, the child of
someone in power, always expected to put the community first,
having to grow up separated from your peers, sheltered. To think
that he, who walked with an air of confidence and a careless
demeanor, suffered from the same insecurities as I. I wanted to let
him know that I understood, but this was neither the time nor the
place. Instead, I stood in my comer with my arms crossed, waiting
for the tense air to dissolve. Croxley was the first to crack. His
fists relaxed and he sighed, turning around and walking back to the
couch, where he stood with his hands gripping its arm for support,
as if the conversation had drained him of the last of his
energy.

"I'm sorry, my
friend. We both have our burdens, and I would like to keep mine to
a minimum. I just can't find a way to do this without putting our
lives at risk.
”

"What's life without a little risk?"
The Prince paced around, thinking. "I'm sure I could come up with a
solution. I mean, I was taught by the brightest men of the
kingdom!" Croxley and I both looked at each other, sharing the same
thought. It looks like our Prince has recovered his
confidence.

"If I may," I looked at the Prince
for permission to speak, and he nodded, while Croxley let out an
exasperated groan, collapsing into the couch. Choosing to ignore
him, I proceeded. "I have a few ideas myself, and I know some of
the girls would love to help,"

"No, the less
people that know, the better. If we do end up doing this, and I
still highly recommend against it, then we need to make sure that
none of this information leaks." Before I could protest, Croxley
continued,
“
I know those girls better
than you do, Fara. You may think you can trust them, but most of
them will manipulate you just to get what they want. Be careful
around them. Don
’
t let a single soul outside of this room know what we've
been discussing." My thoughts flicked to the girls I had spent
hours with reminiscing about our homes. How am I supposed to keep
my plan to myself when I would see the despair in their eyes every
time I spoke to them? I sighed inwardly.

For now, I'll keep quiet. At least
Croxley seemed to be considering it. Perhaps later I can convince
him to let me bring others in.

Croxley kept his eyes trained on me,
as if he could hear my internal debate, so I nodded and assured
him, "Okay, I promise I won't tell any of the girls." Croxley
raised his eyebrows, not entirely believing me, but I didn't have
enough energy to argue. Suddenly, all the emotions of the day, all
the shocks and surprises, crashed down on me and I found myself
exhausted. I yawned and wobbled on my feet. Both Croxley and the
Prince rushed to my side to support me, and if I had not been so
tired, I would have been amused by their sudden chivalry. Instead,
I pushed them off and headed towards the door, when it occurred to
me that I didn't know where I was going. "How do I get back to my
room?" I asked, eager to get back to my cot.

Croxley put his helmet back on his
head and checked the hallways. After a few moments, he motioned for
me to follow. I kept my eyes trained on his back as we returned to
the servant corridors, turning around for one last glimpse of the
Prince as the door shut behind us.

Chapter
18

I woke up to the sound of birds
chirping, the sun shining through my eyelids. I rolled over and
stretched, enjoying the pull on my stiff muscles, when I suddenly
froze mid-stretch. "I'm late for work!" I jumped out of bed and
rushed to put my dress and shoes on, while memories of the night
before rushed through my mind. I saw my nice dress laying crumpled
in the corner, and chastised myself for not taking better care of
it. As if Mathelda won't already have enough to punish me
for.

I picked it up and dusted it off,
trying to banish it of any mud clumps before they could create
stains. Laying it neatly on mv bed. I dashed out of the room,
running straight into none other but Mathelda herself. I was able
to catch my balance before falling down, but she wasn't as lucky. I
offered my hand to help her up, but she angrily shooed it away and
clumsily stood back up, mud dripping from her backside.