Ascension (29 page)

“
Heath, we
don
’
t have a
month.
”
I told him about the soldiers
being sent to all of the colonies, and how we had to beat them
there, otherwise there wouldn
’
t be any hope for us to
succeed.
“
There
’
s no way we would be able to
rally the Nethers with so many soldiers amongst them all. And if we
wait till after the soldiers leave, the Nethers will have no
strength left to fight, all their supplies will be gone, their
moral too low. Heath, we need to leave now, to beat the guards. In
order to do that, we need to go fast.
”

“
We can figure
out diplomacy on the way there,
”
added
Erik,
“
and once we establish alliances
with the leaders of the larger colonies, we can rely on them to
send emissaries to the other colonies rather than having us do it
ourselves. So that means that Heath and Mr. Harris, you need to go
to this colony here
”
, he circled the
large colony to the far northeast,
“
while
Fara and I will go here,
”
he said,
circling one in the west.

“We can
’
t go there,
”
I interrupted, remembering my promise to Jean.
“
We have to go to Grundale. I promised
Jean.
”

I could see it in
the tight line of his mouth that this was completely backwards and
out of order, and may even put the plan in jeopardy, but I
wouldn
’
t back
down. After everything Jean has done for me, I had no other choice.
I gripped my hand tight around the doll in my pocket and stood
firm. Erik looked at me for a few moments, finally surrendering
with a solemn nod.

“
Alright. After
Cethin, we can go there. But we need to try and reach as many as we
can. Val,
”
he said, turning towards
her,
“
I apologize having to ask this of
you, but we require a few more supplies for our journey. I
understand you
’
re possessions are little, but should we be successful, I
will make sure you are rewarded.
”

She waved his
promise away with a flick of the hand, not out of ingratitude but
out of sincerity. This woman didn
’
t need any reward for doing what
she thought was right. She reminded me so much of my own mother. I
could only imagine a place and time when we could all be together
and they could meet each other.

While Erik and Heath put together
the final arrangements, Val and I put together the supplies.
Although we were moving as rapidly as possible, she was still able
to work in some motherly advice.

“
You and the
Prince make a strong team. But Fara, don
’
t let your heart get in the way
of your duty. You have to be cautious with who, and what, you give
your heart to. Just make sure it
’
s the right
thing.
”

Ξ

We waited until
nightfall to leave the city, using the cover of darkness to our
advantage. Luckily, only two groups of guards came by the Harris
home, making it obvious that they doubted the Harris family was of
any importance to the Prince. While they were inspecting the house,
Erik, Heath, and I managed to hide in the cellar, out of sight.
However, Mr. Harris went out to check on the rest of the
neighborhood, and came back reporting that Heath
’
s home was completely destroyed.
Heath said little for the rest of the night, directing all of his
attention towards his work. I marveled at how strong he was,
knowing that he must feel deeply aggrieved at losing both his home
and the stables, and yet he was still able to push himself to do
what he believed needed to be done.

After we had everything ready, Mr.
Harris, Heath, Erik, and I, pulling along Misten and Elana, went to
the edge of the city, finding the wall heavily guarded. Rounds of
guards were patrolling the exits, and we watched in the shadows as
they marched back and forth. Standing in an alleyway across from
the exit, we were all wearing cloaks, the hoods drawn over our
heads, thankfully not attracting any attention.

“
How in the
bloody hell are we going to get out of here,
”
Mr. Harris muttered, looking to Erik and I for ideas. Erik
shrugged, while I looked around for a clue. I felt Misten nuzzle my
shoulder, and I rubbed her cheek absentmindedly, when an idea
suddenly came to me.

“
Here, hold my
cloak,
”
I said, handing it to Heath while
I walked over to Misten.
“
Now Heath,
I
’
m going to
hang under Misten
’
s belly, and you are going to drape my cloak across her
back to hide me.
”
I soothed Misten,
hoping that what I was about to do wouldn
’
t spook her. Slowly, I
maneuvered myself so that I was hanging from the saddle straps,
grabbing onto Misten
’
s stomach. Everyone was looking at me like I was a fool,
but I knew this would work.
“Okay, Heath,”
I grunted, working to keep myself up. He threw the cloak
over Misten and I asked,
“
Can you see
me?
”
I waited a few moments until the
cloak was pulled off Misten.

“
No, lass, ye
were completely hidden,
”
Heath said, and
Mr. Harris snuffed, trying to appear unimpressed.

“
Good,
”
I replied, easing myself off of Misten, who
waited till I was completely off before shaking and stomping her
feet a bit, obviously uncomfortable with the whole
situation.
“
Heath and Mr. Harris, you two
aren
’
t nearly
as conspicuous as Erik and I, so you should be able to pass through
the gate without much issue. Erik and I will ride on the
underbellies of our horses and, hopefully, the guards
won
’
t check
them.
”
I looked at Erik to see if he was
on board, only to find that he was already taking off his cloak and
positioning himself under Elana.

Heath and Mr.
Harris headed towards the gate, and I was unable to see anything
other than the ground moving beneath me. Suddenly, we stopped, and
I heard murmurs around us. I saw a new pair of feet walk around
Misten, and I held my breath, trying to ignore the trembling in my
arms as I held on tight around Misten
’
s girth, which, luckily,
wasn
’
t too
large. Just when I thought I was going to fall off, my arms
screaming, Misten started walking again, and I watched the ground
change from cobblestone to dirt. Eventually, we stopped again, and
I just barely waited for the cloak to come off before releasing my
grip and falling to the ground.

“
Alright, we made
it,
”
Heath said, helping me up and
dusting me off. Erik put his arms our for Mr. Harris to help him
up, but Mr. Harris just scowled and folded his
arms.

“
Well, we must be
going. It won
’
t
be long before they realize we are no longer in the city.
Heath,
”
Erik said, putting his hand on
Heath
’
s
shoulder,
“
thank you for all your help.
You
’
ve done so
much for me all these years. I hope to see you again soon. And Mr.
Harris,
”
Erik went to put his hand on Mr.
Harris
’
shoulder as well, but he took a step back and frowned, so
instead Erik stuck out his hand, which Mr. Harris firmly
shook,
“
thank you as well for opening
your home up to Fara and I.
”

Mr. Harris looked
at me at the mention of my name and returned Erik
’
s gratitude with,
“
Yeah, well, just keep her
safe.
”

I ran up to hug
Mr. Harris, who stiffened but let me hug him for a few moments
before pushing me away, a gentle smile on his face, and then I did
the same to Heath. I didn
’
t trust myself to say anything,
so instead I just squeezed him tight, hoping to convey all that I
was feeling in that moment.

We pulled apart and I mounted
Misten, Erik mounted Elana, and with one final wave, we separated
into the forest.

Ξ

Now that we were
out in the forest, we traveled slowly, the darkness not allowing
for any faster mode of travel. The last time I was in the forest,
it was the start of autumn, and the trees were beginning to change
color. Now, near the end of winter, the forest looked bare,
menacing even. I shivered despite my cloak, seeing faces and
creatures in the dark. I
’
m sure most of it was the stress
of the day, of the week, of this entire journey, wearing on me. I
wanted nothing more than to go back home, sink into my
parents
’
arms,
and have them tell me that everything would be okay. But that would
mean throwing away everything that I
’
ve stood for, everything we have
all worked for, sacrificed, and lost. Perhaps it was selfish, like
Lydia said, but I wasn
’
t able to let that all go.

“I
’
ve never actually been to a
colony,
”
Erik eventually admitted
somewhat later, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“
Really?
”
This honestly surprised me. I would think that,
after having been on so many adventures with Croxley, he would have
found himself in a colony at one time or another.

“
I never really
wanted to go to one. Even if Croxley had to go deliver a message or
something, I would wait outside for him to come back. I felt that,
if I didn
’
t see
it, if I didn
’
t
know what was going on, it wasn
’
t really happening. Somehow, in
my mind, that justified it all.
”
He kept
his gaze forward and he rode in front of me on Elana, so I could
only see his back. Although I couldn
’
t read his expression, I could
hear the regret in his voice. This didn
’
t, however, keep me from getting
angry.

“
How does that
justify anything? You had to have at least some idea of the terrors
that were happening down there! All the stories
didn
’
t mean
anything to you?
”

“
You don
’
t understand. In Ahrenia, we
don
’
t hear
about the guards locking you in the mines without lanterns, we
don
’
t know
about the women and children starving as the guards eat all the
rations. They don
’
t let us know. From what we can tell, all Nethers, whether
from Cethin or Grundale, Weldar or Sprokil, Fyzen or Laurevell or
Montill, are criminals, outcasts, and misfits that offer nothing to
society other than what they can mine. They deserve whatever
punishments they get.
”

“
How can you say
that?
”
At the sound of my voice rising,
he stopped and turned around.

“
I can
’
t! At least, not anymore.
Because now I know the truth, I know the lies. I
…
I know you.
”
He tried to look me
in the eyes, but I avoided his gaze. I looked away, at the ground,
in the trees, anywhere but at him. But the darkness
didn
’
t offer
much respite, and eventually I ended up focusing on
Misten
’
s neck
as he continued his apology.

“
It was you,
Fara. You pulled me out of the parties, the drinking, the mistakes.
You made me want to take responsibility. For once in my life, I
actually began to act like a Prince, not just some spoiled palace
brat. I saw in you kindness, compassion, and hope. You had passion
and independence, a mind of your own, where as all the other girls
I had ever met simply agreed with every word I had to say. Once I
got to know you, I realized that I could no longer sit on the
sidelines. I couldn
’
t allow my father to wreak havoc on your people, innocent
of all crimes other than being born a Nether, any longer. I had to
do something. Because of you, Fara, I am actually doing
something.
”

At some point
during his confession, my gaze drifted up from
Misten
’
s neck
and into his deep green eyes, and I felt my heart budge. I watched
as he got off his horse and walked towards mine, holding his hand
out to help me down. I looked at it for a moment, my heart beating
loudly in my head, both from anger and from
…
something else. After a few beats, I gave him my hand and
he eased me off Misten, right into him. He kept my hands in his as
he pulled me closer, and I was sure he could feel my heart beat
against his chest. Embarrassed, I looked down, but he gently turned
my face back up to his.