Ascension (56 page)

After that, Erik
was on a quick road to recovery, and managed to get himself out of
bed by the end of the week. Once he did, he never got back in.
Everyone seemed to need a piece of him, which
shouldn
’
t have
been a surprise. After the fall of his father, he was, in effect,
the new King. Not only did he have to deal with the consequences of
the rebellion, but he also had to maintain all the current states
of affairs and other daily tasks of a King. As busy as he was, I
was caught up with my own business of having to find a way to help
all the Nethers adjust to life above ground. After our victory, I
sent some messengers from each colony back to their homes in order
to confirm our victory. Almost immediately, Nethers began pouring
in through the gates. I underestimated just how many people were in
each colony, and after just two colonies came through the gates and
into the castle, I realized that there was not only not enough room
for us in the castle, but in all of Stonewall.

With the help of the council leaders
from each of the colonies, we organized construction teams that
helped build temporary camps on the outside of Stonewall for all of
the Nethers until they decided where they wanted to go. I made sure
that the gates were always open so that both the Nethers and
Ahrenians could go in and out as they pleased.

As for the people of Stonewall, the
lower class accepted us almost immediately. It was the middle and
upper class who fought the hardest against our presence. However,
once we began trading that which we had brought with us, such as
wood and coal and precious gems, all of which the King used to have
a monopoly on, we were easily able to win them over.

As it turns out,
the gem that Lena had taken from the King
’
s room was not the only gem of
its kind. The greedy King that was responsible for sending us all
underground was actually successful in finding more of the same
gem, varying in size and shape, some even more impressive than the
original. He hid them away in order to continue the mining, as well
as out of fear that any potential rumors of the gem would summon
thieves to Ahrenia. Jean found the gems when she and Winnerva
explored the tunnels around where the secret throne room was
located.

Apparently, this
discovery set off a desire for exploration in Jean, and she and
Croxley ended up leaving one night to
“
go
adventuring
”
, as she had called it in the
letter she left behind to explain her and Croxley
’
s sudden
disappearance.

With all this
going on, Erik and I rarely had a chance to see each other. It
wasn
’
t until
one night, when I was speaking to some of the council from Montill,
when Darren came in and told me that I was needed in the garden. I
was a little hesitant to leave,having finally made it clear to the
leader why it wasn't okay to simply take food from any farm one
happens upon, but Darren insisted that it was urgent, so I left
what I was doing and made my way to the gardens. It was a new moon,
so the sky was lit only by the stars, which sparkled in their
reflection off the water in the small pool in which stood the
statue and its adorning morning glories, all folded up for the
night. I heard the crack of a twig and spun around, my nerves still
on high since the battle. In the moonless darkness, it took me a
few seconds to make sense of the figure approaching
me.

“
Beautiful night,
is it not,
”
Erik greeted, extending his
hand out to reach mine. I put it in his, and he pulled me close to
him, his body warm in the cool spring air. He started humming a
quiet tune, guiding me in a sow dance around the pool. We twirled
and stepped to our own music for what seemed like hours, but at the
same time mere seconds, completely lost in each other. When
Erik
’
s tune
came to an end, he stepped away from me and, keeping my hand in
his, kneeled down in front of me.

“
Fara, when I
first met you I was a completely different person. I was naive,
self-centered, arrogant, and I could care less about anyone but
myself, let alone a nation. But after I met you, you inspired me to
look past myself, to learn and feel and experience something other
than what I was used to. You taught me compassion, dedication, and
selflessness. Because of you, I feel I am ready to lead Ahrenia
towards something better. Do you think you could lead along with
me? I don
’
t
think I could do it without you by my side. Now, I know its no
table, but
…”
Erik pulled out a small
ring, two thin, delicate silver bands interwoven around a small
strand of diamonds. I looked back and forth from it to Erik,
anticipation welling inside me. I had barely let him finish
asking,
“
Fara, will you marry me?
”
before leaping into his arms and shouting
“Yes!”

If things were
easy, we would have been married the next day, but apparently, when
you are royalty, marriages are much more complicated, especially
when you are still technically engaged to someone who robbed your
country of their crowning jewel and fled during the midst of a
rebellion. We had to wait for permission from Ethera,
Lena
’
s home
country, to end the engagement in order to prevent an all-out war
before Erik and I could even begin preparing for our
wedding.

Nevertheless, I found myself in a
constant state of bliss. Not only did I have the promise of a
future in which my people were free, but I had a future that I
could share among the people I love.

Standing in front
of the tree that came with me from Cethin, now planted at the
entrance of the castle
’
s garden,
Erik
’
s hand interlaced
with mine, I couldn
’
t believe everything that I had been through.
“
Do you think it will last?
”
I asked Erik.

“
The tree, or
this,
”
he said, sweeping his arms in a
motion that referenced all that was changing.

“
Both,
”
I replied.

“
I think,
”
he said, brushing my hair out of my face and
kissing my forehead,
“
we have to take it
day by day and just hope for the best.
”

I nodded and looked beyond the tree
to the city of Stonewall before me, knowing that over the wall lay
a brand new future.

“
I think
it
’
s time we
tear down that wall.
”

Ξ