Ascension (26 page)

I sat around for
a while, swinging my feet back and forth from my perch at the edge
of the bed, running my mind over what I would say to the Prince
when I see him. All that succeeded in doing was making me nervous,
so I got up and began pacing around the room, trying not to get
antsy with anticipation. I couldn
’
t help but feel excited about
the prospect of seeing him again, especially without Lena
around.

What was I
thinking? I chastised myself, don
’
t let yourself give in to his
charm. It
’
s all
an act for him. Just look at how he behaves around Lena-so
charming, but you know just how he feels about her. For all you
know, it could be the same for you.

All this circling around in my mind
was driving me crazy. I needed to get out of this room.

I popped my head
out into the hallway, checking primarily for Mathelda. Nobody else
would really notice that I was here. With so many servants around,
it was hard for the guards to keep tabs on us all. As I meandered
around, stopping by the washroom and bathhouse, I decided to stop
by Lydia
’
s room
to pick up some things I might need.

The first thing I noticed when I
walked in was the seed I had brought from Cethin and planted my
first night here. It had grown nice and large, its leaves spread
out to absorb the little light spilling out on the windowsill. I
walked closer to it, gently feeling its leaves in between my
fingers, and I noticed the small, white bud was blooming from the
tip of the stem.

“
I
’
ve been watering it for
you.
”

I jumped in my skin, turning to find
Lydia standing at the entrance of the room.

“
Hi,”
she said in
a quiet voice.

“
Um, hi,”
I
replied, and we stood there looking at each other, myself not
knowing what else to say when she suddenly ran up to me and gave me
a tight hug, running through a stream of
questions.

“
Where were you?
I haven
’
t seen
you in days! Mathelda keeps asking me if I knew where you went, but
I didn
’
t, and I
told her so, but even if I did, I wouldn
’
t tell her, unless it
wasn
’
t a
secret, but even then I probably wouldn
’
t because she
doesn
’
t need to
know everything and I would hate for you to get in trouble.
”
She paused to take a breath, and wailed,
“
Oh, but you are probably going to get in
trouble anyways. I
’
m
sorry.”

I practically had
to pry myself loose from her grip so that I could get a good
breath.
“
I wasn
’
t gone that long Lydia!
”
I told her, laughing.
“
But I missed you too!
”

“
Well, so many
girls go in and out of this place, I wasn
’
t sure if you were gone for
good. But I guess I should
’
ve known, because you
didn
’
t say
goodbye or anything.
”
She smiled sweetly,
and I couldn
’
t
help but marvel about how someone could be so kind in our
circumstances. Almost everyone else I met has grown harder, a
little meaner, a little more selfish. Especially the ones that were
born in Ahrenia and were enslaved for punishment. Although they had
it just as bad as the rest of us, at least Nethers were used to
being pushed around, being told what to do.

“
Lydia, can I ask
you a question?
”

“
Okay,”
she
replied, sobering at the tone of my voice.

“
Where are you
from? A colony, right?
”
She nodded her
head slightly, her casting her gaze down.
“
Which colony are you from?
”

Her eyes watered up and I watched a
tear roll down her cheek. She swept her hair to the side, and
showed me the telltale sign of enslavement. The number 2391 was
tattooed on the back of her neck, numbers that have up till this
point remained hidden beneath her long, thick curtain of hair. She
took a few deep breaths, and I let her sit in silence until she was
ready to begin.

“
I
’
m from the colonies, but not one
that you
’
ve
heard of. You probably never will.
”

“
What do you
mean?
”

“
My colony was
destroyed.
”

“
Destroyed?
How?
”

“
The
King,
”
she had to stop, her eyes
wandering around before they focused on a spot on the
ground,
“
he King ordered that everyone be
killed. It was horrible, Fara. Some of the villagers decided that
they didn
’
t
want to work for the guards anymore. It seemed like every time new
guards came in, they were meaner and crueler, giving out harsh
punishments whenever they felt like it, always changing the rules
and expecting us to know what they wanted us to
do.

“
One day, a woman
was beat unconscious, to the brink of death. She was pregnant. When
everyone else found out about it, well, it was the last straw. They
decided to fight back against the guards, using whatever weapons we
had lying around. But we were no match. The guards just kept
pouring in. We didn
’
t know at the time, but our colony was one of the closest
to Stonewall, making it easy for the King to send in
reinforcements.

“
The guards were
ruthless. They took everyone, man, woman, child-no exceptions. And
the smiles on their faces while they did it...Fara, they are
monsters. I watched them take the women,
”
she let out a quiet sob, whispering
“
they raped my ma, right in front of me. Then they made her
watch as they did the same to me. After they were done, they killed
her. Sent a knife right into her heart. The only reason they saved
me was because the captain said he wanted someone to help him pass
the time on his way back, and he was sure he could get a reward for
bringing me to the King to work as a slave after he had his time
with me.

“
So they bound my
hands and walked me through my home, blood spattered across the
walls, the bodies of friends and family strewn across the floor. At
first, I searched desperately for life in their eyes, but after
seeing none, I kept my head down, unable to witness any
more.

“
When we got back
to the castle, the captain kept me in his room, coming in twice a
day to have his way. It was horrible, degrading. I hated myself.
Eventually, though, he had to go back to work, so I was handed over
to Mathelda. I know you don
’
t think so, but compared to
everything else I
’
ve gone through, Mathelda
’
s the best thing that has
happened to me. She lets me have more control over things, and
I
’
ve become
good at what I do. It was what I was born to do.
It
’
s what
you
’
re supposed
to do, too. That
’
s why we were born pretty.
”

I
couldn
’
t decide
what upset me more; the misfortune that Lydia has had to live
through, or the acceptance of her new fate as the only alternative.
I didn
’
t know
what to say.
“I
’
m sorry”
seemed flat and weak, so instead I just pulled
her into an embrace, Lydia
’
s occasional sniff into my
shoulder breaking the companionable silence.

“
Lydia, you know
you don
’
t have
to settle for this. We can do so much more.
”

“
What do you
mean? Mathelda said that this was our duty. Nethers
don
’
t have the
brains to keep up with the Ahrenians, so we have to rely on our
beauty and talents to keep us afloat. My parents said the same
thing, always telling me I couldn
’
t afford to work or do the
things everyone else did.
”

I completely understood what that
was like, feeling like you had nothing to offer. And now, because I
knew different, I kept pushing Lydia to open her mind to something
more.

“
I happen to have
met quite a few Ahrenians that aren
’
t nearly as smart as half of the
Nethers I know. Would they know how to grow vegetables without the
light of the sun, or how to find the richest minerals in the depths
of the earth? How to avoid the noxious gas and where to find the
pockets of clean air scattered throughout the mines? Just because
we have different lives and abilities doesn
’
t mean we can
’
t live
together.
”

Lydia pulled
herself away from me, as if the idea repulsed her. She just sat
there quietly, shaking her head from side to side.
“
Stop it. There
’
s no use in thinking that you
can change things,
”
she said in a voice
that was quite and cold. I was so used to her cheerful attitude
that I couldn
’
t
help be taken aback by this new stiff, resolute
character.

“
But we can
change things! Listen to me, Lydia,
”
I
dove in with little hesitation,
“
not only
can we change things, but we will. I will. I
’
m already working with some
other girls trying to get our colonies together to fight back, to
make sure that things like this never happen
again.
”

Lydia
’
s expression grew darker, the
opposite of what I was expecting, and her voice rose to a yell as
she exclaimed,
“
What
don’
t you understand? You have no chance!
You will just get everyone killed! The guards are relentless, the
King even more so. You aren
’
t fighting for the good of the
people, you are fighting for yourself!
”
Her voice just as quickly sunk to a whisper.
“
You just want to feel important. What
you
’
re doing is
selfish.
”

“
But we have the
Prince on our side!
”
I retorted back,
anger loosening my tongue. At this point, I would tell her anything
to get her to see the folly in her reasoning.

Lydia stood from
the bed and turned away.
“I
’
m done talking about this.
I
’
m late for breakfast. Goodbye,
Fara.”
And with that, she left me sitting on the
bed, watching her walk away down the corridor, back to the only
life she knows.

Chapter
25

After my encounter with Lydia, there
was no way I could just sit around until Jean showed up. I had too
much restless energy inside to simply wait for things to happen, so
I went back to my old room. Not finding Jean anywhere, I decided to
search for the Prince. Things were escalating too quickly for me to
just let them go. We needed to work on our plan, especially now
that Jean and some other girls were going to help out.

Being extra careful to avoid any
eyes, especially those working for Mathelda. I made my way to the
garden, the first place I could think of to find the Prince. If I
was lucky, Jean might have already found him and told him to meet
me there.

I cautiously
walked through the garden, checking around to make sure nobody was
following me. I saw a few courtiers strolling around, but luckily I
didn
’
t
recognized any of them. One pair was so invested in each other that
I doubt they would have noticed me even if I had walked right up to
them and introduced myself. As I made my way through the hedges, I
saw two guards come around a corner. I cursed inwardly, recognizing
them as two of Mathelda
’
s favorites, whom she often
posts in our quarters. They would definitely remember
me.

I frantically
searched for a place to hide, realizing that I had basically
trapped myself in the maze of hedges. I didn
’
t think I would be able to
retrace my steps backwards without getting lost, and the only other
exit was in the direction they were coming from. Knowing that if I
tried to run, I would probably end up at a dead end, I decided that
the safest option would be to sink deeper into the bushes and hope
that they don
’
t
pay too much attention to what
’
s around them.