Chapter VI :

Sister

Faye assumed that people must have, at one point, lived in the old, abandoned shack that she and Thorn had come upon, but if that was so it was many, many years ago. It had become one with the forest now.

To get inside, Thorn had needed to chop through layers of thick vines and branches. This, it seemed, was where he was headed all along. Faye could only wonder why. It was a decaying, foul-smelling home for rats, beetles, and perhaps a bird or two.

Its roof had caved in, and a large tree had lifted up the wooden floor with its roots, which had now spread throughout the tiny cabin. Any furniture had long since rotted away.

The remaining floorboards creaked as they stepped inside. Faye yelped quietly as a mouse ran underneath one of her geta. “I’m not sure why I’m bothering to ask,” she said once she had recovered, “But why are we here?”

As she expected, Thorn didn’t give her an answer. But when he knelt down and started sniffing the air closer to the floor, she knew she would get one anyway.

He began lifting up floorboards by hand. The wood was soft with mold, and fell apart easily. Beneath them, his goal was revealed.

It was a vertical tunnel in the earth, a hole wide enough for a large man to fit through. Thorn gazed down into it for a moment, and then turned his blue eyes to Faye. “This could be your last chance to leave, Lady Faye.”

Faye looked at the hole, looked at Thorn, looked back at the hole, and then looked back at Thorn. Going down in there would not be a pleasant trip, she could be sure. But backing out now wasn’t really an option. Not when she had come this far. “W…” she swallowed, “What’s down there?”

Thorn’s eyes again went down into the hole. “Those who didn’t belong anywhere else.”

Faye furrowed her brow, but didn’t ask him what he meant. “I…”

“I’m going down.” Faye blinked.

“Hey, wait -!”

But Thorn was already gone.

She stood there dumbly for a while, staring blankly at where Thorn had just been. Then she edged over to the hole. She peered into it, but could see nothing.

She took a deep breath, looked around at the insides of the cabin one last time, and jumped in.

- -

Even though she had been expecting the fall, Faye had to try hard not to scream. She quickly wished for her feet to touch solid ground again, but continued to fall through the utter darkness.

Suddenly, the tunnel opened up around her.

She could resist screaming no longer, for below her was what appeared to be an underground ocean. She hit the water with such momentum she plummeted to its depths.

Time froze.

It was dark. Dark and cold and silent. She couldn’t breathe. She was sinking. How could she be sinking when time had stopped? The world was a blur. So was her mind. She was vaguely aware that she was losing consciousness. This would be stupid way to die, she thought.

Then time sped up again.

Something grabbed the back of her shirt and she was moving upward again. Her head broke the surface. She could breathe again.

She took great mouthfuls of air and looked upon her savior, who was also taking in as much air as possible. The great wolf shook his head of red-orange fur and dived below her again. Faye gave out a breathless attempt at a scream as he came up below her, and began swimming to the shore with her on his back.

He collapsed on the water’s edge, still gasping for air, suddenly human again. Faye rolled off him as fast as possible, breathing heavily as well, and swung her head away from him.

“I’m so sorry! I – I can’t swim v - very well, and I was – shocked! I didn’t expect this -” She motioned wildly to the great body of water, “to be here! You should have -”

“Told you, yes. Please, be quiet, Lady Faye.” Faye clamped her mouth shut, annoyed, both with Thorn and herself. How many times had he saved her now? She had only known him for, what? Four, five days? And he’d already saved her life at least three times. It made her feel even more pathetic then she already did.

But right now, Thorn did not seem like a hero. He seemed exhausted. His arm was draped over his face, and Faye could see, when she dared to look at him, just how young, just how mortal, he really was.

She was quiet for a while, letting Thorn catch his breath. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could see the water fairly clearly. The ground beneath her was solid rock. Thorn’s breathing evened out, but they remained silent for a while longer. Then, Faye spoke. “Where are your clothes?”

“In the water.”

“Can you get them?”

“Yes.”

“Please do.”

With this he got to his feet (Faye quickly looked away), and dived back in the water. Faye noted to herself that he was a surprisingly good swimmer. When he got back and was fully dressed, Faye took a shot at another question. “Where are we?”

“Underground.” Before she could press him to elaborate, he sat up and clambered to his feet. He looked around. Faye realized that his ability to see in the dark, like his sense of smell, must be as good as a wolf’s. “Come.”

It was easy to follow his bright hair in the dark, and Faye was grateful for that, for if it wasn’t, she could have quickly lost sight of him in the shadows. He was running his hand against the stone wall. He stopped, and she almost ran into him. “Here. The exit.”

She could see it now, a dark patch in the wall that wasn’t really a wall at all, but an archway. Thorn grabbed her hand again, and Faye could feel herself blushing in the darkness. “We can easily get separated through here.”

Faye nodded. She didn’t know what to expect outside of here, and had had her fill of surprises for one day. She didn’t want to get separated from Thorn now.

After a few steps into the tunnel, Faye noticed that it seemed to be getting darker, if that was possible. And colder too. And the fact that her clothes were soaked through wasn’t helping either.

And soon she couldn’t see Thorn’s hair anymore. She couldn’t see anything. But she could still feel his hand closed on hers. She squeezed it, confirming that it was really there.

They walked for what seemed like ages in silence, the only sounds being their footsteps and the water dripping off their clothes and hair. Faye wanted to say something, wanted to break the silence, but found that she couldn’t.

Eventually she began to feel the stone beneath her feet curve upward slightly, and hoped it was a sign that they were getting to the end of the tunnel. She wondered how long they had been down here. At least an hour, maybe two.

Things started to get faintly brighter, and Faye looked around Thorn. In the distance she could see small cracks of light forcing their way between something. She and Thorn got closer and closer, and she began to get excited. Oh, how she longed for sunlight again…

They came to the end of the tunnel. The light was coming from in-between wooden planks. Apparently, someone had tried to block this exit off. Faye’s heart sank a little. How did Thorn plan to…?

Thorn let go of Faye’s hand, and braced himself against the wood.

“Thorn, don’t do that! If you open your wounds again, I’ll -”

But with three loud collisions, the wood splintered beneath Thorn’s weight. With a great crack the boards fell to the ground. Light flooded the cave, and Faye winced as her eyes burned.

There was a burst of surprised yelling, and Faye managed to open her eyes again. She realized that it was only bright compared to the absolute darkness of the cave. They weren’t outside at all, but in a basement of some sort.

Thumping footsteps came from above, and someone thundered down the stairs. It was a middle-aged man who appeared bewildered and at the same time, furious.

“Jean!” he called back up the stairs, “I thought I told you to board up this old exit!” He turned to Thorn and Faye. “Who are you? How did you get in through there?” His eyes widened a little as he took a closer look at Thorn. “Hey! I know you! You’re that infamous -”

“We apologize for disrupting your establishment, Sir,” Thorn interrupted with a deep bow, “But I’m afraid we must be on our way.”

“Ah. Oh. Of course.” The man stared at Thorn with wide eyes and allowed them to pass him and go up the stairs. A young boy almost ran into them on his way down. He gaped at them, but said nothing, and made no attempt to block their way.

The establishment was a shop apparently, filled with strange nick-knacks the likes of which Faye had never really seen before, but she didn’t pay them much attention. There were more yells coming from in the basement, and Faye heard a, “I tried, Mister, I tried!” from the boy, who she supposed was Jean.

Thorn ignored them, and headed for the door. The windows were dusty and the curtains were drawn, so Faye couldn’t see what was outside, but numerous figures moved past. Thorn reached for the doorknob, but Faye stepped in front of him, dripping water all over the wooden floor.

“Thorn, before we leave, please, answer my questions! There’s so much you haven’t told me and … ” She trailed off. She didn’t know why she was doing this. She was torn between her right to know whatever he was keeping from her and the thought that Thorn must have his reasons for not telling her anything. But, she thought, if she knew more, she could be more useful…

Thorn just looked down at her. Faye could see something that looked like pity in those eyes. There was a bang from downstairs, and finally, Thorn spoke. “This is not the place, Lady Faye. I’m sorry.”

For a while Faye didn’t budge. She wasn’t satisfied. But nothing she could do would get answers out of him, not now. She got out of the way.

Thorn opened the door.

The first thing that met Faye was the noise. It sounded like hundreds of people talking at once, and that was exactly what it was. They stepped out of the shop and into a market at least twice as large as the one in Mayflower.

But she couldn’t really compare it to the one in Mayflower at all, considering that they were still underground.

It was a huge tunnel lit only by the bright lights of the shops and stalls that lined the stone walls. Faye was reminded of what the evening festivals looked like in Mayflower, but it felt somewhat more… illicit. Like it was always a summer festival here. In a red-light district.

“Stay close to me, Lady Faye. You do not want to be separated from me here.”

Faye didn’t have to take his word for it. Nearby, women stood in front of a brightly lit shop, blowing kisses to men passing by, and lifting up the hems of their fancy kimonos, showing off long, slender legs. She could take a hint.

The women had seen Thorn, and one whistled. “Hey boy, ditch that little girl and get yourself a real woman!” she called. Faye glared at them, but Thorn didn’t notice, or ignored, their catcalls. He seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd.

Faye gazed at Thorn’s back with concern in her eyes. He looked worried. Maybe even… anxious. Who could he be looking for?

“BROTHER!”

Faye whipped her head up, but not as fast as Thorn, who had already drawn his sword. There was the ear-splitting clang of clashing metal, and sparks showered the surrounding area.

The entire crowd backed away from them all at once, and suddenly Faye, Thorn and the attacker, who was a sturdily built woman with long, dark hair, were inside a human circle.

The look that the woman was giving Thorn was laced with fury. She was holding out her sword defensively, which was in much better condition then Thorn’s.

The world seemed to have gone silent to Faye. Who was this woman? Another bounty hunter? But wait, what had she just called Thorn? Bro -?

“You have found me, sister.”