Ascension (45 page)

Ξ

“
Wow. Would you
look at that. Oh my, and that too. All of this is just too much!
It
’
s so
amazing!
”

I rolled my eyes
and looked towards the canopy, trying to hold my tongue from saying
anything mean. We
’
ve been traveling through the jungle for a few days now,
and while at first it was amusing to see everyone
’
s response to the surface,
it
’
s gotten to
the point that I just wanted to shout
“Yes! It
’
s a flower! And that over there
is also a flower! We are surrounded by flowers! And animals, and
trees, and dirt, and a whole bunch of other things. Now get over
it!
”
But instead I just bit my tongue and
counted the steps until we reached Cethin. We were making much
slower progress than when Erik and I were traveling alone, which
was to be expected, but all the stops along the way to smell a
flower here and there, to taste the water of this stream and
compare it to the other stream, have taken up a lot of our
time.

But I
shouldn
’
t
complain. For the most part, everyone has reacted very well to the
surface. We
’
ve
only had a few individuals who suffered from what could only be
called panic attacks. I could relate. The surface could be large
and overwhelming, and after living in the tight, underground
caverns, even the cramped foliage of the jungle could be too open
of a world to handle.

“
I just made a
head count and we still have everyone.
”
Erik jogged up behind me.
“
Well,
almost everyone. Jovan had a few leeches on his back and legs that
looked like they had sucked him dry. Don
’
t worry, he seemed more
interested in what I pulled off of him than about the blood loss.
So I
’
d say the
head count totals at forty and a half.
”

I frowned at
Erik
’
s attempt
to make a joke. He winced and said,
“Sorry, bad joke.
How
’
s everything going
up here?
”

“
How is
everything? I
’
d
say everything is amazing,
”
I said with
fake enthusiasm.

“
Really, Fara,
you shouldn
’
t
be one to judge. I
’
m sure you drove Croxley insane with all your
‘
amazement’
at the
surface. You should know how it feels to be in their
place.
”

I sighed and
admitted,
“
I know. I
’
m sorry. It
’
s just, every step we take closer to Cethin, the more
nervous I get.
”

“
I
’
m not going to say
‘don
’
t
worry
’
, because
that would be useless. But don
’
t let your nerves take over. You
literally have an army standing behind you.
”

“
Which I may be
leading straight towards danger,
”
I
replied, my gaze directed dowward, focusing on kicking a pebble
through the red dirt until it got stuck under a raised, gnarled
root.

“
That may be so.
But regardless, you are leading us towards something. It may be
better, it may be worse. However, we
’
d all be fools not to follow
you. And I think, well, I hope, at least, that I
’
m not a fool.
”
Erik
’
s feet entered my
field of vision, and I watched as his fell in step with
mine.

“
Speaking of
fools, I hope Croxley is okay.
”

“
Me too. Knowing
him, he
’
s
probably stirred up things at the castle, gotten himself in a heap
of trouble, and then somehow managed to get himself out of
it.
”

“
Do you think
he
’
ll make it
to Cethin?
”

“
I hope so. By
now, everyone should be there waiting for us. Heath and Mr. Harris,
if they had any luck, would have arrived a few days ago. I doubt
that their group is taking as long to move as
ours.
”

I nodded assent,
and was about to open my mouth to comment but was interrupted by a
loud
“
Wow! That spider is so big!
It
’
s
amazing!
”

I looked at Erik
in exasperation. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, grinning. I
leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around me, my head curled
into his chest. At few moments later, we heard a shout.
“
Wait, what
’
s it doing?
OW!
”

I felt Erik
exhale and we pulled apart, looking at each other with a mixture of
concern and exhaustion in our eyes.
“I
’
ve got it,
”
Erik said with a sigh.

Ξ

“
This is
it.
”
Croxley and Jean stopped their
mounts. They had reached the entrance to Cethin. Croxley dismounted
Sir Thunder and held out a hand to help Jean down, but rubbed it
awkwardly through his hair when she didn
’
t take it.

“
This is Cethin?
It looks so
…
obvious.
”
Jean walked around the cave
’
s mouth, circling it as if it
were a strange animal.

“
You mean there
isn
’
t a giant
waterfall blocking the entrance?
”

Jean turned back
to look at Croxley with an ornery grin.
“I
’
m just saying, compared to
Grundale, it
’
s a tad
dull.”

“
You
’
ll see though. While Grundale is
protected by the water and the gas, Cethin is a series of mazes
that can easily drive a man mad.
”
Croxley
took Sam
’
s
reins from Jean and led Sir Thunder and Sam into the cave. He tied
them to the post and bundled his gear into his pack. He shouldered
it and began to make his way deeper. When he didn
’
t see Jean follow him, he turned
around.

“
Well? Are you
coming?
”

Jean hesitated,
looking into the depth of the cave. She paced back and forth across
the entrance before taking a deep breath and crossing into the
cavern.
“Yeah, I
’
m coming.
”
Croxley gave her a
curious glance, and she shrugged.
“
What?
Come on, let
’
s go,”
she responded as she went ahead.

“
Jean. Jean,
wait.
”
Croxley had to jog to reach her,
and only managed to grab her arm before she tried to speed up. She
tugged her arm from his grip but he held it
tight.

“
What?
”
She spun around, angry.

“
What
’
s
wrong?
”

“
Nothing!
”

“
Jean, I
’
m not stupid. I can tell
something is bothering you. And I don
’
t want you to have to suffer it
alone. Plus, this will be a long trip if you give me the silent
treatment. Trust me, I know.
”

Jean kept her
head turned down, her eyes pointed towards the ground but
unfocused. Croxley slid his grip from her arm to her hand and held
it, squeezing gently. She looked up at him and he saw a tear drip
off her cheek.
“Jean,”
he said, softer,
and leaned in to wipe it off. She flinched away and he paused, then
continued to reach until his hand was resting on her cheek. He
thumbed the tear off but kept his hand there. Closing her eyes, she
leaned into it.

“
I
’m
just
…scared,”
she exhaled, keeping her
eyes closed.

“
Scared of
what?
”

“
I
’
m scared of letting people too
close. I
’
ve
kept a wall up for so long that I
’
m not sure how to let it down.
Or if I even want to let it down. Let people in and they hurt you.
That
’
s what
I
’
ve come to
find.
”
She opened her eyes and leaned
back, pulling away from Croxley
’
s
hand.

“
I
’
m also scared of seeing my
family again, if they are still alive, that is. I
’
m scared of what they will think
of me, what they will say to me, if they will still love
me,
”
her voice broke on the word
“love”
and another tear trailed down her face,
which she made no effort to wipe away.
“
On top of it all, apparently now I
’
m afraid of dark tunnels,
because they remind me of that prison. What those men did to us
down there, I thought I had shut it all out from my mind. But it
seems I
’
m not
as good at that as I used to be.
”

“
Maybe it
’
s a good thing your walls are
coming down. Otherwise nobody would be able to reach you.
”
He pulled her into his arms, and she leaned her
head against his chest. He felt her shaking, her silent tears
soaking his shirt.

When they finally
slowed, she pulled herself away, placing her hands over the tear
stains. She looked up at him, and despite her red eyes and runny
nose, Croxley thought she looked beautiful. I better keep that to
myself, he thought as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. But Jean
surprised him by turning her face so that her lips met his. The
kiss was gentle and sad, but also healing. They broke apart,
Croxley releasing Jean
’
s hand, and together they walked side by side down to
Cethin.

Ξ

“
Hurry up, hurry
up!
”
I was packing up camp, throwing
everything into sacks as quickly as possible. We were almost to
Cethin, and I could hardly wait.

“
Fara, calm down. It
’
s going to take some time for
everyone to get going.
”
Erik was helping
a few of those from Grundale roll up their bags, and it was all
taking far too long.
“
You need to
remember, these people have never traveled before. They are tired
and stressed, and if you push them too hard you may lose their
loyalty.
”

These past few
days, Erik has really surprised me. At the castle, I never had a
chance to see him interact with anyone other than Croxley, Lena,
and the occasional servant. But here, with these people,
I
’
ve gotten to
see a whole new side to him. He knows how to lead people, but in
more ways than just telling them what to do. He knows what they
need, and how to give it to them. He knows how to be patient, how
to tolerate their mistakes, and he knows how to make each
individual feel important. For the first time, I saw him as more
than a Prince, I saw him as a King. There was no doubt in my mind
that, under his rule, Ahrenia would be changed for the
better.

“
I know, I know.
Im sorry.
”
I approached one of the groups
and helped them pack their things. They mostly chattered amongst
themselves, talking about family they left at home, the magic
they
’
ve seen on
the surface, and all the other things that you talk about with
people you
’
ve
known your whole life. I enjoyed listening.

“
Miss Fara, how
much farther do we have to go,
”
asked
Wilson, an older gentleman whom I was helping roll
blankets.

“
We are almost
there. I would say we are going to reach the entrance to Cethin
around mid-day. Once we get there, it
’
s a long trip through the
tunnels. All in all, we should be in the meting hall by the end of
the evening.
”

“
Ah. I see.
I
’
ll admit,
I
’
m very
excited to meet other Nethers.
”

I smiled at
him.
“
I am too,
”
I agreed. But if I was honest with myself, I was much more
nervous than I was excited. But I remembered what Erik had told me,
about keeping a brave face, and I made sure to hide my
fear.