Ascension (41 page)

“
Fara, come
here,
”
Erik called me over and showed me
the map.

“
If
I
’
m right, we
are currently heading this way, towards Grundale. Not too long ago,
we passed by a small town, here,
”
he
indicated on the map, and I wondered how a whole town managed to go
unnoticed. Then again, the foliage is so thick, if I
didn
’
t have
Erik in front of me at all times, I would easily get lost. I hoped
that this would play in our favor upon our return to Cethin. If we
do manage to get a large group of colonists from Grundale to follow
us to Cethin, it would be better for the thick green curtain to
muffle the sounds of our parade. I refocused back to what Erik was
saying, which was that we were approaching the entrance to
Grundale. I felt a small jolt of excitement course through me when
I saw how close we were.

Erik rolled the map back up and we
closed the rest of the distance between the colony and ourselves.
Eventually, we made it to the base of a mountain, water cascading
down its face into a small pool.

“
This is
it,
”
Erik signaled, once again consulting
his map.

“
What is
what?
”
I asked. I was still entranced by
the wall of water roaring next to us, my eyes trailing up the
mountain, trying to find its source but to no
avail.

“
This waterfall
is the entrance to Grundale. Or, rather, it hides the entrance.
Just behind it is the cavern that runs deep into the ground and
eventually winds into the colony.
”

I stared at him
in disbelief.
“
How are we going to get
through it?
”

“
Easy. As far as
waterfalls go, this one isn
’
t too heavy. If we approach it
from the right angle, there shouldn
’
t be any
problems.
”

I watched what
was essentially a vertical flowing river pounding on the surface of
the pool at the bottom, sending droplets of water into the air.
Erik must have seen the doubt on my face because he shook my
shoulders, as if to shake me from my awe-induced stupor.
“Just trust me.”

I
don’
t think I have much of a choice at
this point, I thought to myself.

We changed back into more acceptable
clothing, which meant that I had to shed my trousers and dawn my
gown. I found myself missing the freedom the trousers had
brought.

“
Erik, were you
serious?
”

“
About
what,
”
he asked, still changing behind a
bush.

“
About marrying
me. If we make it through this alive, I mean.
”
I stated it simply, as if it were a business offer. He was
silent for a few moments, and I pulled at the threads of my sleeve,
waiting for an answer.

He came out of the bushes, dressed
in much more formal attire, and took my hands up in his.

“
Of course I was
serious. What made you ask?
”
His deep
green eyes were filled with concern as they searched into
mine.

“
Well, if we do
get married, that would make me queen, right? I was just thinking,
if I were queen, I would make it a law that women could wear
trousers.
”

He sighed in
relief and pulled me in to his chest, resting his cheek on the top
of my head.
“
Fara, you have my heart in
your hands. You need to be more careful with it!
”
He pulled back and brushed my hair behind my
ears, leaving his hand on my cheek. I enjoyed its warmth and
pressed myself into it.
“
When all this is
over, you can wear men
’
s trousers any time you like.
”
He
smiled, but then paused to consider what he had just said. He
opened his mouth to clarify, but I laughed and closed it with a
finger to his lips. This close to him, I could feel his heartbeat,
and mine seemed to beat in time.

“
Don
’
t worry about that right
now,
”
I said, looking up at him. Slowly,
almost lazily, he closed his eyes and kissed my lips. I kept my
eyes open, watching my hands wrap around his neck on their own
accord, my fingers getting tangled in his auburn hair, glowing in
the light of the sun. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in
his kiss, gentle and sweet with an undercurrent of nervous energy
pulsing through between us. Before it could take over, turning our
sweet moment into something more frantic and impassioned, we broke
apart. He smiled slyly, as if at some private joke, and I felt some
heat rise to my cheeks as I turned away and packed the rest of my
items in my bag and slung it onto Misten. When we finished packing,
Erik looked at me and motioned towards the waterfall. I swallowed,
my mouth dry with nerves, and watched as Erik and Elana disappeared
through the curtain of water. Closing my eyes, I followed behind,
Misten in tow.

Ξ

We made it
through slightly damp but unscathed nonetheless. Erik removed some
cloth that he had soaked in oil from one of the packs strapped to
Elana
’
s back
and lit it on fire, casting a glow around us as we moved further
into the cavern. Where as the tunnel running through Cethin was
primarily dirt, presumably manmade when we were first banished to
live underground, this tunnel seemed to have been carved by nature
itself. A river ran alongside us, lazily working away at the stone
of the mountain. The flame of the torch was caught by clear stones
in the walls, the light reflected and bent into different colors
that danced across the cavern as we made our procession. I marveled
at beauty of it all, wishing that Cethin had more to offer than
just dirty mines, which seemed to produce more lung-clogging dust
than actual coal.

Eventually, the
river left us, diving beneath the rocks and forking away in the
opposite direction, leaving my ears ringing from the sudden
silence. Erik and I tried to fill the silence by talking, but the
echoes of the cave distorted our words and make conversation
difficult, so we stopped. Besides the pitter-patter of our
footsteps and the clip-clop of the horse
’
s shoes, the only other sounds
were the drip-drops of water falling from pointed structures
hanging menacingly from the ceiling and landing on the tips of
similar points on the ground. I felt as though we were entering the
mouth of a giant, sharp teeth ensconced with thick, bumpy enamel
from years of eating lost travelers. I thought of all the guards
who had made their way down here, undoubtedly cursing their luck
the whole way. I also thought of all those who were taken to the
surface, either by force or by choice. I though about Jean. Rather,
I worried about Jean. I reached down into my shift and pulled out
the small doll she had given me, which I had promised to give to
her parents. I looked at its small purple dress, probably cut from
her family
’
s
cloak, and rubbed my thumb over the worn fabric. Parts of the doll
were soaked in blood. Brussel
’
s blood, I reminded myself. I
tightened my hand around it and put it back in my
shift.

After a while, my
eyes began to grow tired from the strain of trying to see in the
dark, so I rested them on the small bit of light outlining
Elana
’
s head as
she walked behind Erik. My feet were beginning to throb from
walking on the hard, uneven cave floor, and I
couldn
’
t help
but hope that every turn we rounded would be the last one. I felt
like Misten was pulling me along rather than the other way around,
and it was all I could do to not stumble and fall. I wondered why I
had suddenly gotten so tired, why my endurance of years of living
in the same style of caves was leaving me.

“
Erik,”
I finally
said, weakly.
“
How much farther?
I
’
m so
tired.
”

“
It
’
s the gas,
”
he said.
“
These caves must be
filled with gas that are causing us to lose our breath.
I
’
ve heard
about this from the guards, but I
’
ve not experienced it before.
Try breathing through your shirt, using it as a mask. But
don
’
t stop
moving. We are almost there, Fara.
”

I found a strip
of fabric in one of Misten
’
s bags and tied it over my nose,
but I couldn
’
t
stand the warm, thick air I was forced to breathe back. I almost
preferred the stale, sulfurous cave air.

After a few
minutes, I couldn
’
t stand it, and I tore the fabric away from my face. I had
only taken a few deep breaths in before I saw spots dance around
from the corner of my eyes, and my head started to feel light. I
opened my mouth to call for Erik, but before I managed to get a
word out, everything turned black.

Ξ

“
Where am
I?
”
I groggily murmured. The words came
out in a jumble. I cleared my throat and tried again.
“
Where am I?
”
I was
laying down in an unfamiliar room, the ceiling comprised of purple
stone with small holes riddling the surface.

I tried to lift my head to look
around, but it started to pound so hard that I had to close my eyes
and lay it back down before I vomited. I tightened my eyes against
the spinning, and felt tears leak out the sides. I was scared, but
I was also tired. Slowly, I calmed my breath and was able to relax
and fall back asleep.

The second time I
woke up was to the sound of someone shuffling around. Learning my
lesson from last time, I didn
’
t try to raise my head, although
the pain had slightly gone away. I called out again.
“
Hello? Is anyone there? Where am
I?
”

I heard the
shuffle quicken and felt someone grab my hand.
“Don
’
t worry, child,
you will be alright. You just took a fall and hit your head a
little too hard. Once we get you on the mend, you should be
fine.
”
An old, wizened face leaned into
view, and she smiled at me as she began to check my head, which I
now realized was wrapped in bandages.

“
I
don’
t remember falling,
”
I said. I thought back to the cave, how it was
so hard to breathe, and how everything went black. I must have
fainted, I thought.

“
That big nasty
bump on the side of your head tells a different story,
”
she joked. I reached up to feel my head, and was
shocked to feel a massive lump. No wonder my head felt heavy-it was
two times larger! I sucked in a sharp breath, and the woman took my
hand away and set it back down in my lap.
“
Hush, child. It
’
s alright. The worst has passed.
You just have to take it easy for a few days and you should be good
as new. The gases of the cave must have been too strong for you, a
surface-dweller. I always said that Ahrenians had weak
constitutions. All that life in luxury makes you weak.
”
Before I could correct her and tell her I
wasn
’
t from the
surface, she was moving me around.
“Now, let
’
s see if we can sit you up and
get some food in you.
”
She gently eased
me into a sitting position, and I once again fought the urge to
vomit. I pressed my eyes closed to stop things from spinning, and
when I felt like I had my stomach under control, I slowly opened
them.

Around me was a small room seemingly
made of the same porous stone that acted as the ceiling. In the
corner sat a fire, and on a small chair in front of the fire hung
my dress and my shift. I realized in horror that I had on only the
thinnest of undergarments. I pulled the blanket up over myself,
suddenly self conscious. The old woman laughed, and I could see now
that she was short and plump with dark skin. In this room, she
looked like she was the same purple as the walls. She went over to
the fire and scooped some soup from the cauldron sitting above
it.

“
You don
’
t have to be shy, child.
I
’
ve seen quite
a few naked bodies in my time. As healer, it
’
s part of my job.
That
’
s one of
the reasons everyone calls me Ma. I
’
ve done helped their mamas give
birth to them all.
”

“
But I thought I
only had a head injury. Where are the rest of my
clothes?
”

“
I had to make
sure you didn
’
t
hurt anything else on your body when you fell down,
”
she explained as she carried the soup over to
me. She scooped up a spoonful and blew on it, and then held it out
to me. I accepted it and was surprised by the pleasant taste. It
was familiar, with the earthy taste of the tubers found in in the
caves, but it was sweeter and had more of a spice to it. I wanted
more, but she was feeding it to me slowly.