Ascension (42 page)

“
Now now, child,
take it easy. You
’
ve been in and out of consciousness for a few days. This is
your first meal for a while, and I wouldn
’
t want you to lose
it.
”

I went over what
she said in my head with distress. A few days? I opened my mouth to
ask exactly how many, but she shoved a spoonful of soup in it
before I could say anything. I swallowed it quickly and then
spoke.
“
Where is the man I came here
with?
”

“
Oh, you mean
that handsome fellow who carried you here in his arms? He refused
to leave your side until I shooed him out so that I could conduct a
proper physical examination. He is addressing some matter with the
council. I haven
’
t seen him much since he left, but he has come in to check
on you frequently. Actually, he is due to come by around this
time.
”

“
I need to speak
to him,
”
I told her. I
didn
’
t know how
much of our plan he was carrying out alone, if he was at all, and
if he was finding success or not. Thinking back to what happened in
Cethin, I didn
’
t think the odds were in his favor. As Prince of Ahrenia,
he may as well of sentenced everyone to their fate down here
himself, and I
’
m sure they weren
’
t taking it well. Suddenly, the
blanket felt suffocating, and I squirmed out of it, refusing more
soup. But shaking my head made it swim, and I had to lay it back
down to keep it from pounding.

“
What did I tell
you, child?
”
Ma tsked her tongue in
chastisement.
“
Just relax. He will be
here soon. And besides, you need to get some real clothes on before
he sees you, anyhow.
”
She raised her
eyebrow suggestively and I flushed, remembering my current state of
undress.

“
Okay,”
I
relented. I finished eating the soup, and she had me digest it for
a while before standing me up and helping me put on a loose gown.
Meanwhile, Ma chatted away about menial things, sometimes talking
about chores she had to get done, sometimes gossiping about
“
my handsome man
”
, and
other times reflecting on the general state of the colony. From
what I could gather, they were suffering from a famine, and their
stores of tubers and roots were depleted.
“
The only ones we can seem to dig up are thin and bitter. We
are running out of food, and we can
’
t seem to find a way around it.
Even our goats are drying up,
”
she
expressed, concern pressing her lips together. I listened intently,
looking for things I could use when I spoke to the council, hoping
to get them on our side. Suddenly, a thought struck
me.

“
Ma, do you know
of a girl named Jean?
”

The old
woman
’
s
cheerful face suddenly grew solemn. The deep groves near her eyes
sunk as her eyes fell downcast. That was a good enough answer as
any.

“
Jean, she was a
good girl. I helped her mama deliver her, you know. She was such an
awkward little child, her legs too long for the rest of her body.
But she grew into it. Boy, she did grow into it. She was a source
of beauty in this place. But more than her looks was her voice.
Clear as a bell. I remember she used to sing me a birthday song
every year in her sweet, bright voice. Always brought tears to my
eyes, it did. Such a good girl,
”
she said
morosely.

“
But then those
guards came. True,we
’
ve but grown used to having guards around, but normally
they would just mind their own business, only stirring up trouble
every now and then. It was nothin too bad. This group, though, this
group was barbaric. They seemed to live off of punishment, to feed
from our suffering. One day, they noticed Jean. She had
successfully stayed out of their sight for nearly a month, but
eventually they saw her. She was singing for a small festival we
were having. We tried to keep things light by celebrating the small
things, such as the birth of a new goat. I
’m sure I don’
t have to explain
what happened next. Them boys, for they surely
weren
’
t acting
like men, kept her in their barracks for nearly a week before she
managed to escape. When I saw her again, she was battered and
bruised, nearly torn apart. She could hardly speak, let alone sing.
I had never seen anything like it.
”
Ma
paused, and a large tear rolled down her cheek. We sat in silence
that moment, sharing our unspoken grief. I remembered the song Jean
sang for me the first night I was in the servant
’
s quarters. Her voice was clear
and strong, but out of practice. I wondered how it must have
sounded before life took its toll on her.

“
I
don’
t want to know how much longer this
would have gone on were it not for the new captain,
”
Ma continued.
“
He came
in about two months after the arrival of that terrible troop, and
he straightened those boys out. When one of them tried to bring
Jean in, he saw her beauty and instantly arranged for her to be
sent to the surface so that she could serve the kingdom. I remember
the cries of grief that came from the den of her family that night.
Their wails shook the walls of this entire place. But they knew
that it was probably for the best, that Jean was safer on the
surface than she ever would be down here. Beauty is as much a
blessing as a curse, you see.
”

I
didn
’
t need her
to tell me. I
’
ve lived my entire life at the crossroads between prejudice
based on my home and attention drawn by my
appearance.

Ma sighed and sat down, and I
regretted opening an old wound. I hoped that my next news would be
taken better.

“
Ma, I can
promise you that Jean is one of the strongest people I
know.
”
She looked at me with confusion on
her face.

“
How do you know
about Jean?
”

“
She is my best
friend. She helped me survive my first days on the surface after I
came from my colony.
”

“
But I
’
ve not seen you here
…”
she pondered quietly.

“
That
’
s
because I
’
m not
from Grundale, I
’
m from Cethin. Ma, there are more places like this
throughout Ahrenia.
”

“
Well would you
look at that,
”
she said quietly, and I
was glad she was already sitting down. By the look of revelation on
her face, what I told her surely would have knocked her
down.
“
I always liked to think that, even
though we suffer here, there aren
’
t that many of us. The universe
couldn
’
t be so
cruel as to make more than our small group suffer so that others
may prosper. But to hear that there are more colonies who have to
deal with this curse
…
child, that just
saddens my heart.
”

Chapter
34

Prince Erik came
by a little after that. The air was warm and moist, very different
from the cool air of Cethin. Ma told me that it was because
Grundale wasn
’
t
very deep down, it was just deep in the mountain. Either way, it
had me sweating through the gown, causing the light fabric to stick
transparently to my skin. I may as well not be wearing anything, I
thought, when I saw Erik noticeably blush upon entering the room.
Ma winked at me as she left the room to give us some privacy, and I
rolled my eyes.

“
How are you
feeling?
”
He asked, and I pulled my
covers up a bit to cover myself.

“
I
’
m feeling better, thanks. Well,
that
’
s not
entirely true. Before, I was asleep, so I didn
’
t realize how much my head was
pounding. Are you sure you didn
’
t hit my head against anything
when you were carrying me around, trying to be my knight in shining
armor,
”
I complained
good-naturedly.
“
So fill me in on what
happened after my, uh, incident,
”
I asked
embarrassedly. I silently pledged to myself that one of these days,
I was going to rescue him and make things even between us. I was
sick of playing the damsel in distress.

“
It was pretty
uneventful. I found the general and gave him the letter, and he
didn
’
t
challenge it. I think at this point he would have taken any excuse
to get out of this place. He looked pretty miserable. They were out
of here in a few hours. Then I found someone to tie up the horses.
Misten and Elana are in the stables with the goats and the sheep,
and I
’
ve made
sure to check on them every now and then. You
should
’
ve seen
the reaction of the people when they first saw Elana and Misten.
You
’
d have
thought I brought a dragon into their home! They were terrified and
mystified by them at the same time!
”

“
What
’
s a dragon?”
I interrupted.

Erik looked at me
with disbelief.
“It
’
s um
…
well
…
that doesn
’
t matter. After that, I asked around until I found the
chief, and he got things together for the council meeting. I have
to say, he took a lot more convincing than the
general.
”

“
Even with your
good looks and charm,
”
I teased. He
sighed and lay his head in my lap.

“
I often think
that sometimes my looks do me more harm than good. If I were
hideous, he probably would have listened instead of taking a swing
at my face. Or maybe that was because I told him I was the Prince.
Either way, it took a while to get him to listen to
me.
”

I combed my
fingers through his hair absentmindedly, wondering how different my
life would have been if I had been born normal. Would I be the same
person? Would I have been challenged to fight for my people if I
didn
’
t have
anything that made me stand out? I would like to think
so.

“
How are things
going with the council?
”
I asked him
after a while.

“
They are moving
slow. Slower than in Cethin, that
’
s for sure. These people seem to
have given up, to
‘
accept the role
bestowed upon them
’
in their words.
”

“
That makes it
sound like it
’
s
an honor,
”
I told him. He nodded in
agreement. I thought back to what Ma had said, about suffering for
the good of everyone else. It seemed as though she thought that if
they anguished enough, then other people would be saved. This
completely contrasted the fiery spirit of Jean, who sought justice
and equality for everyone. If anything, that contrast alone gave me
hope that if they learned the truth, they would be able to fight
with the same spirit.

“
I can
’
t wait to get out of this bed so
that I can help you,
”
I told him. Not
being able to move around drove me insane, especially considering
how pressing our time frame was.
“
Time is
of the essence, and I can
’
t afford to be laying in bed
while the King might be mobilizing troops against us
already.
”

He put his hands
on my shoulders as if to hold me in bed, and I scowled at
him.
“Don
’
t
worry. Even if I tried, I don
’
t think I could make it a few
steps without getting sick or falling down. I
’
m not going to try anything
dangerous.
”

“
That
’
s
a first,
”
he said with a smirk, and to be
honest, I didn
’
t blame him for not believing me.

We talked some more about how his
appeal was going, and he told me that they had initially refused to
hear him, being the Prince and all, but Ma was able to talk them
into it.

“
She
’
s a character, she is,
”
he had said, and I laughed in
agreement.