“Queen Mother,” Eres drawled.

The queen shrugged off her bloody hunting gear, dropping them onto the table. The metal clanked at the impact. Despite the crimson stains, the leather gleamed with the finest polishing oils. Eres rolled her shoulders and tossed her bow to a servant, who caught it with practiced ease.

Eres yawned, “What can I do for you today?”

The veil Queen Mother always wore shimmered. She let out a tinkling laugh. “I presume you encountered a gracious hunt this fine day?”

The warrior queen’s eyes narrowed, but she thumped her chest twice dutifully and proclaimed, “Great thanks to Admin! The almighties’ blessings have been favorable to my kingdom recently.”

“Well, I am certainly pleased to hear that.” Queen Mother clasped her hands behind her back. She sighed, “Considering the amount of work I have put in to ensure those blessings.”

Eres paused in unclasping her gauntlets. She studied Queen Mother.

To put it plainly, the queen was unsure what to make of the woman. After the Revolutio of the Citadel, the number of times Queen Mother had shown up to the mountain kingdom could be counted on one hand. At the end of the civil war, when Eres and her family emerged victorious, winning back the Sacred Piece for the Symvoliou, Queen Mother had backed Eres’ claim as a legitimate queen to Admin. The other woman had done it out of her own volition, no questions asked. But because the Sacred Piece had not been given over willingly nor had it been confiscated and granted by Admin, Queen Mother’s support of Eres had been crucial. It was only after Queen Mother personally placed the Sacred Piece in Eres’ hands that the great beast, Varae, submitted to her. The Symvoliou’s worries of unorthodox successions were for nothing.

That was the first and last time the elegant woman showed up on her own account. She mostly kept to herself, only appearing here and there for affairs regarding the Temple and the Balance. In Eres’ mind, as ungrateful as it may sound, Queen Mother had always seemed weak-willed. Crowning Eres was not a vouch for the queen’s character or about doing the right thing, nor was it anything complicated like a show of power or establishing control…. It was simply the most logical course of action. The previous queen was dead. The Citadel needed a queen. The Symvoliou had already chosen their candidate. Hence, Eres was crowned.

Queen Mother was quiet, demure… and weak. Eres may have reverence for her, but she held no respect for the other woman. So powerful and yet she was just a servant of the Temple rather than the other way around.

Eres stared at Queen Mother. The lady was busy fixing her veil and Eres had no desire to interrupt her.

What did the woman mean when she said all the blessings were her hard work? Was Queen Mother choosing to favor a single kingdom… that wasn’t the Capital? Eres almost snorted out loud. Unlikely.

Before ascending to her current position, Queen Mother had been the ruler of the Capital. Not to mention, the current Rex had been Queen Mother’s pawn, the official heir. They had familial ties. The Capital’s current power and standing were the result of the combined effort of both women after the current Rex took the throne.

Truthfully, during Queen Mother’s rule, the Capital had long lost its original grandeur and was only thought to be slightly above Oceanport. It was lesser compared to Estate and the Citadel. As loathe as Eres was to think of her, Queen Mother had been subservient to the previous Eres, Mei Li. For all her flaws, Mei Li had led the Citadel to great heights. But the ambition that built her had also been her downfall. A fact that was hammered in when her precious protégé, the warrior-pup (a nickname Mei Li used to call Kira), struck the final killing blow.

Eres shook herself of the memories. Mei Li was dead and Kira was no more. The queen had shed her former name and only went by Eres now. It was a practice all queens of Milror took up.

Eres returned her gaze to Queen Mother who had been studying her.

The dainty woman held a hand to her mouth and let out a soft giggle. “No need to be so shocked. A simple thank you would have sufficed!”

Crossing her arms, Eres was blunt with her words. “Care to elaborate, Your Highness? The truth is, I have a hard time understanding why you would help us.”

“What a sharp tone you have.” Queen Mother tutted, “My, perhaps I am getting rusty with age. Is this how the Symovoliou teaches their heirs to speak to elders now?”

Her voice was light as a feather, but the insult had not been lost on Eres.

The queen’s brows furrowed, her instinct had always served her well and now it was tingling with unease. “You are different today, Queen Mother.”

The veiled woman shrugged carelessly. It was a move that was extremely uncharacteristic of her. “You are not the first to notice.” She laughed, “Perhaps it is a sign.”

“Of what?” asked Eres.

“Of the change to come.” Queen Mother smiled, the curve of the lips was just barely visible under the veil. She peered over at Eres. “Don’t you think it’s time for the scales to tip in some other queen’s favor?” She reached her hands out to Eres in a silent offering. “What do you say, Eres? Is that not what you have been desiring to hear? For the Citadel to be number one… with you at the head of it all?”

The queen glanced at the offered hands but did not reach out to take them. Rubbing her chin, Eres cautiously asked, “How do I know this change is in the Citadel’s favor?”

Dropping her arms. Queen Mother scoffed, “Is the surge of Dust not already a show of my goodwill?”

The Dust had been Queen Mother’s doing? Eres gasped, but she quickly crossed her arms, stifling her shock. “Let us be blunt with one another. What are you offering?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Queen Mother smirked. The expression looked completely wrong on a woman known for her mellow gentleness. “I’m offering you the most precious thing in all the land.”

Eres took a small step forward. How peculiar. It seemed Queen Mother was finally shedding her soft facade. It was different… but different wasn’t always bad.

Sharp smiles glinted. “Power.”

—

Ria was numb to the world. Her pick chipped away at the cave wall. Sparks flew each time the metal hit the rocks. Her whole body ached.

It had been days since she had received the soul-crushing letter. She clenched her grip around the stupid pick.

The lunch bell rang, but Ria continued to drive the tool into the large wall. The girl had been sad, and then furious, and then sad, and then frustrated, and then… just numb. Emotions were exhausting.

The bell rang once more. The other miners shuffled past the crazy girl, eyeing her weirdly but too tired to really care. If she wanted to work overtime, it was her choice. It only took a few minutes before the entire mine was cleared of people. That was, all except for one.

Ria let out a grunt. A large chunk of rock tumbled down. Brushing off the beads of sweat from her forehead, Ria sighed. She hefted the tool over her shoulder and studied the wall. How would it take for her to dig through the wall and reach the light on the other side, she wondered. The dark chunk of rock rolled to a stop by her feet. Leaning down, she picked it up and tossed it into her basket. Clunk! Blending in with the others, it was lost in the pile.

Lifting her pick once more, Ria focused back on the work. The burning of her muscles was preferable to thinking too hard about anything else. The past couple of nights, she had passed out as soon as she hit the bunks, her body too exhausted to even conjure nightmares. She would wake up, drag herself out to the mines, work until the thoughts plaguing her mind disappeared, and repeat the process. Again and again.

A pair of footsteps approached.

Ria grunted as her pick got stuck in the wall. “You’re early.” The girl yanked the tool out with a low growl. Without pause, she dug it back into the side of the mountain imagining it was Eres’ face.

The footsteps paused. Ria’s brows furrowed. Those were too light to be Blaze’s… the girl lowered the pick, suddenly on high alert.

A soft voice murmured, “Well, I can’t say I was expecting anyone to be in here.”

That… was not the voice of a cocky mob boss. But it was familiar.

Dropping the pick, Ria turned. She gaped. “What… what are you doing here?”

Laila, the crazy bus lady, now clean and dressed in a dark cloak crossed her arms. “I could ask you the same thing. How did you end up here of all places?” She hummed thoughtfully. “I thought I led Carmae straight to you.”

“Well, I’m a- Wait a second,” Ria paused, realization dawning on her. “You know me? Like, actual me?”

The light in Laila’s eyes dimmed. “Why would I know a miner?”

“Don’t pull that shit,” Ria growled. Her long strides quickly landed her in front of the formerly crazy woman. “You said you led Carmae to me.” The girl paused, her face turning incredulous. “That’s what you meant by the chess club! You knew I would find the Sacred Piece there!”

The crazy lady stared at her, face the picture of perfect innocence.

Although, between the two, this time it was Ria who looked like the insane one. The other woman’s hair was combed nicely and pinned back in an intricate braid. Unlike at the bus stop, she stood tall with her back straight and proud. In comparison, Ria’s hair was greasy and all over the place. Her work clothes had so many holes, it was surprising that it was still one piece. Still, Ria pushed forward. All this started because of her. Ria had to know.

“Laila, who are you really?” demanded Ria.

Laila shook her head. “I don’t-”

“Please,” Ria begged. She didn’t mean for it to happen, but the words burst from her in an unending stream. “The day after I met you, all this stuff started happening. I started getting these weird thoughts and doing things I’d never done before.”

“And now?” Ria let out a crazed laugh. “Everyone at school hates me, I’ve lost all my friends. People think I’m crazy for talking about a non-existent chess club that I’ve seen!” She panted, “I was transported into a world of insane, power-hungry people, kidnapped, made a slave, and I,” Ria licked her cracked lips, forcing herself to continue, “I’m stuck in a horrible place with no way of knowing when or if I can go back.”

“Little girl, I think you’re taking me for someone else,” started the woman, only to be ignored.

“And the people I’ve come to care for are in danger,” the girl’s voice wavered, cracking at the end. “And every time I try to fix it, everything goes wrong and becomes worse.”

Laila watched her impassively. Ria swallowed. Her voice was hoarse from unuse. “Is this the power you promised me?”

Pursing her lips, Laila studied Ria silently. The girl’s heart clenched. Would the woman continue the charade? Call Ria crazy and leave? Laila sighed. Finally, she admitted softly. “I thought you wanted to be a nobody? Is that not the perfect description of your current-”

“Can you get me out of here?” the girl interrupted, totally changing the topic. If this was her one chance, Ria was going to do whatever it took to get out of this prison.

Laila looked startled at the request but laughed good-heartedly. After thinking it over, she said, “Possibly.” Then paused, “But why would I help you?”

“Because you owe me,” Ria took a step forward. “I don’t know what your status is in this world, but it’s obviously not just some commoner. Help me, and we can be even.”

Laila’s mind flashed through images of lonely hospital rooms, a young voice, and a girl that reminded her of herself. The uniformed girl standing at the side of the road with a sick, frail woman.

The woman frowned, “But I have already tried helping you. Wasn’t it your choice to give up Carmae?”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Ria froze. “How do you know that?”

Laila looked away.

Seeing the other hesitate, Ria pushed, “All I need is to get out of here. I never wanted the power, but now I see what you mean! I can’t be their queen but I can be powerful and help her- them! I need to! I… need the power to fix this.”

Laila frowned, “I offered you power once and you declined me, I will not offer it again.”

Ria swallowed down her resentment and acquiesced, “Fine. At least help me get out of here.”

The other woman paused. “Are you sure that is what you wish?”

The girl nodded, vehemently. “Yes.”

“Why?” Laila’s eyes glittered dangerously. The woman was amused by this conversation.

Ria clenched her fists. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she was sick of staring at rock walls every day. Maybe it was because she no longer had anything to lose. And still, maybe it was the random thoughts of Daisy and Finn, the memory of dying children and tough people in a broken kingdom. “Because I want to.”

Laila tilted her head eerily. “What if I told you that you are fated to return to your world soon?”

“What?” uttered Ria, unable to believe the words the other said. She couldn’t suppress the hope that rose in her heart.

The woman sighed, “Your bond to Carmae is strong, but even they are unable to keep you here forever.”

The girl’s brows furrowed. “Why do you talk like it's…” she struggled to find the right word, “sentient?”

“The Sacred Piece are not normal objects,” Laila had a faraway look in its eyes. “Some would even say they have their own desires and feelings.” She shook her head. “Carmae has always been rebellious.”

The woman’s eyes sharpened. “Despite its best efforts, your time is running out.”

Ria jolted, heart racing at the news. If that was true… She clenched her fists even tighter. “Then the sooner I get out, the better. I have someone I need to save before I leave.”

The other woman clasped her hands together. Her nails were intricately painted as opposed to their previously gnarly, nail-bitten state. Ria didn’t think she still had the strength to feel anxious, but the suffocating feeling was lodged in her throat and pounding heart. The space between Laila’s brows furrowed, but she seemed to come to a decision.

“You helped me so I shall repay that debt. But after this,” Laila’s eyes narrowed, “we are even.”

Ria nodded, “Deal.”

Laila’s arms extended out. “Where would you like to go? I hope you have no luggage?”

“I…do have this sack, but… don’t we need a plan or something?” Ria stared at the woman weirdly. It wasn’t like they could just teleport out of here. The girl backed up wearily. Okay, maybe Laila was still crazy in this world too-

ZAP!

A dark portal opened in front of them, looking like a nasty rip in a pair of jeans. That is, if the jean was reality itself and the rip, infinite darkness.

POP! Ria’s sack plopped into existence beside her.

Laila raised an eyebrow as if to say, Anything else?

The girl tried to say something but found that her words were failing her. The girl’s throat was dry. She froze, muscles twitching slightly. HOLY SH-

Ria swallowed. Focus now, freak out later.

She turned her attention to the pitch-black portal. Why was she even surprised? Compared to mysterious chess clubs, transporting to a mirror world and being randomly crowned as a queen by a self-writing parchment (that apparently had feelings), portals weren’t that far-fetched.

“I need to get to the Dust mines.” Ria had been worried about the supervisors, but if this portal worked the same way they did in every other universe and sci-fi movie, they should be fine. Right?

Laila nodded.

Ria hoped the woman was telepathic and answering her question.

With Laila taking the lead, the two stepped through the hole of darkness.

POP!

The portal folded in on itself, disappearing behind them.

A lone pick was left on the floor.

From behind a rock pillar, Laila’s small cloaked assistant tilted their head. They picked up the fallen tool and walked deeper into the mines.

—

Finn grunted. He stretched out his arms as he painfully lowered himself onto the cot. His hips ached from the constant bending and lifting. The boy may have been a pirate, but even the Sea Raiders weren’t this harsh in their labor demands! He sighed at his paler-than-usual hands. The lack of sun and being out on the ocean has sucked his tan off.

He had been so proud of his lean muscles from climbing the riggings. Now, those same muscles were scarred and bulky.

The boy sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

ZAP!

Soft footsteps approached, but the boy didn’t bother lifting his head.

“Old Luce, for the last time, as much as I’d love to, I don’t actually want to scratch your back,” Finn grumbled.

“Chill, I wasn’t going to ask you to,” a familiar voice chimed.

Finn turned around slowly. He blinked. “What in Niamh’s name are you doing here?”

Ria let out a weak smile, shrugging. The contents in her stomach churned uncomfortably, but she was glad to confirm that portals in Milror worked like they were supposed to. She mentally gave the universe a thumbs up.

The girl turned to glance at Laila beside her, but the woman was gone. It was as if she had never been there. Oh well.

Ria turned to face Finn. Laila had said she hadn’t long in this world.

“Finn, we’re going to do a jailbreak.”

Finn paused, “Hold up.” His brain was slowly starting to catch up with his eyes. “Are you going to explain that popping out of nowhere thing? Or the breaking into a castle thing? Your Highness? Ria? Ria!” His voice grew louder and shriller as he yelled after Ria.

But said girl was already halfway out of the sleeping quarters.

“Admin help me.” Finn groaned. Bones protesting, he forced himself to his feet to stumble after her. The boy muttered the whole way out but followed her lead without a second thought.

—

“Daphne.”

Louder. “Daphne!”

The girl looked up, slightly startled but covering it up with a frown. “Yes?”

Daphne’s stepmother, Mrs. Mele, the town’s famous retired TV star, placed her hands on her hips. “I’ve been calling ya for the past five minutes, young lady.”

Rubbing her face, Daphne sighed wearily. “I apologize Mother.”

Mrs. Mele raised an elegant eyebrow. “You sure you don’t get bullied in school, hon? Apologize and mother.” She shook her head. “You sound like some posh movie star.”

Seeing her daughter’s raised eyebrows, she huffed, “Trust me, I would know.”

Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Can I help you with something?”

Mrs. Mele actually rolled her eyes. “Well, you can start by telling me if ya want that party next week or not.” She started listing off all the things that needed to be done. “We gotta plan the catering, purchase all the supplies, and schedule a vacation for your father and me.”

“I suppose it would be good for my reputation to throw one,” Daphne considered.

“It has been three months since your last one. It’s not like you. And it’s not how I raised ya.” Mrs. Mele crossed her arms. “What did I teach ya? Get lazy and people will start disrespecting ya!”

“I know,” groaned Daphne. “I just got busy.”

“Hon, you’re never too busy to remind people how rich and powerful ya are!” Mrs. Mele pressed a kiss to a grumbling Daphne’s head. “I know you’re sophisticated and all, but listen to Mother on this one.” She smiled, “You wouldn’t want people to be forgetting about our amazing party-throwing abilities.”

The unsaid implication of what else they would also lose was clear to the younger.

Daphne nodded glumly, “Fine.”

Mrs. Mele squealed excitedly and sashayed out of the room.

Daphne’s beautiful, acrylic nails tapped the marble countertops. She had just returned. It usually took a few minutes to re-orient oneself. Her ears still rang. The girl rubbed the space between her forehead.

Capital spies had reported a major incident at the annual Banquet of the Citadel, but no one had insight into what exactly had transpired. With Four out of the game, the Tournament canceled and the Sacred Piece in her drawers upstairs, every uncontrollable variable was in Rex’s control. But she couldn’t shake off the unsettled feeling in her gut.

Exhaling, the girl combed through her hair. Mother was right. Although her social standing was at no risk at school, it wouldn’t hurt to entertain those foolish youngsters. She would receive loyalty in return for some fancy, small-portioned French food and social prestige. Plus, it would be a fun distraction watching them fight over one another for an invite.

Every single party that Daphne Mele threw was the social event of the month. People would lie, cheat and betray friends just to get a precious invitation.

Those that were personally reached out to were special, their status raised even higher than before and officially “in” on the popular group. It would be a good time to flatter their petty egos while reminding them who was truly in control. After all, for all that Eres claimed it was a celebration of the people, power and control were the real reasons why the Citadel had its annual banquet.

Taking a page out of Eres’ book, Daphne opened her contacts list on her phone and got to work. Of course, her party was going to be infinitely better than anything Eres could come up with.

—

Ria stared at the group of some twenty, assembled miners before her.

Dark, gaunt eyes stared up at her small rock platform where she stood. They stood silently before her, but their skinny forms and hollow faces shifted and glanced at one another.

Finn whispered, “These are all the Oceanport miners in our section.” He paused and corrected himself. “Well, the ones I could convince to come, anyways.”

Ria swallowed. Was this a good turnout? She had no idea.

The boy nudged her. “You should probably say something fast. Break’s ending in five.”

Nodding, Ria sucked in a shaky breath. “Hi, there. I’m-”

“Four,” said a gruff voice. They belonged to a dark, curly-haired miner in the front. “We know.”

“Yes,” Ria moistened her lips. “I appreciate you all coming here.”

Grumbles and grunts were her only response. Okay, it was clear they weren’t a group that would be swayed by pretty words or flattery.

Ria wanted to shrivel up and die. What was she doing? Class speeches were bad enough, and now she had to give an actual one? She cursed Laila and sighed. This is to get what I want, she reminded herself.

Steeling herself, Ria announced, “I will be blunt. I plan to stage a rescue of the ‘Sick Area’.” She exhaled, “As well as an escape for those that accompany us in this endeavor.”

It was silent. Ria held her breath. The only reaction she got was two miners shaking their heads and walking out. Surprised it was only two, she thought sourly.

The gruff miner’s bushy brows furrowed. “That’s impossible.”

“Not if we work together,” Ria replied, voice adamant. In the back of her mind, she thought she could hear the clock ticking down.

Meanwhile, multiple voices of dissent and scorn filled the air. Ria was lucky no one had launched a direct insult (or rock) at her… yet.

“Impossible!”

“How will you get past the supervisors?”

“Do we even know where the ‘Sick Area’ is?”

“HEY!” Finn hollered, voice echoing over the crowd. “This is your queen speaking! Show some respect! According to the laws of your kingdom, disrespect of the monarch such like you fools are showing would cost you an arm or leg!”

Ria internally applauded Finn. Who knew he had that in him? She was touched by his defense. Too bad, it didn’t exactly garner the response they wanted.

“What laws?” A person guffawed, “The puppet ministers cut anyone’s limb for simply existing!”

“Plus, we’re not in Oceanport, are we?” someone hollered tauntingly.

Finn raised a fist and waved it around, but made no indication of actually moving towards the miners and laying fists. The boy crossed his arms, retorting to glaring at the crowd in stormy silence.

“Some announcement this is,” complained a woman, rolling her eyes.

A snort. “It’d be better to call it a waste of time.”

“Why bother?”

The group started shuffling towards the exit. Ria’s eyes widened. This was her one chance! She had to convince them!

“Because we can’t give up!” Ria raised her voice. “Because if we don’t save the children from the ‘Sick Area’ we can only say that the other kingdoms are right for calling us cowardly dogs!”

The girl wrung her hands together behind her back but kept her voice as steady as she could. “You have no future here. The supervisors see you as nothing more than numbers! They don’t care if we live or not! And those of you who actually get wages,” she shook her head, “you’ll only see it become less and less until it is nothing! If you stay, you are waiting to die.”

The gruff miner huffed, “At least I’ll get a few more years. With your plan, we won’t live to see the fortnight.”

“Not if the plan works!” Ria pushed back.

“But that’s a lot of ifs,” snapped the man. His expression morphed into one of helplessness. “Even if we do all escape, and if we find the 'Sick Area' and get past the supervisors at the borders, how will we get past the wall? Overwhelm a few men? Let’s say we could take them all down, all it takes is one signal flare for them to send more reinforcements!”

“What would we even do with the sick children?” someone wondered. “We don’t have the money for medicine.”

“But-” Ria fumbled with her words.

“And let’s just say, for the fun of it, we do miraculously make it past all of this and cross over the wall. Then what?” The gruff miner laughed incredulously. “We just go back to our lousy, penniless lives at Oceanport.” He shook his head and gestured around. “None of us here have anything good waiting for us there! We either had nowhere to go or came here willingly!”

“What of your freedom?” Ria demanded.

The gruff miner shook his head, eyes taking on a sharp look. “Why the sudden leaderly urge, your highness? Nothing for years, and suddenly there’s a grand plan to lead the Port-Dogs in revolution and escape their pitiful imprisonment? Is it truly for us?” He sniffed but genuinely asked, “Or is it only because one of your people has been taken?”

Someone in the back hollered, “You want to use us as your meat shields!”

“That, that’s not true! If we all work together then-” Ria’s palms were sweaty and she clenched her fists tightly. Why are they trying to twist her words? She wasn’t the enemy! “When we get to Oceanport, I can help you all find jobs and-”

“With what authority? How will you destroy the puppet ministers that are backed by the other queens?” asked the gruff miner.

The rest quieted, staring at Ria intently.

“Word is that you couldn’t even stand up against Eres alone. What will you do when Oceanport needs to face the wrath and might of Sica and Rex, as well?”

Ria opened her mouth and shut it. The girl glanced up at the ceiling, she couldn’t give up. Her teeth gritted together, if they wanted to save Daisy, she couldn’t let them see her feelings. They couldn’t see the uncertainties and doubt in her eyes. She willed the exhausted tears away. Ria needed to come up with a response but… she had nothing.

The gruff miner sighed. He almost looked disappointed, but to be disappointed, one must have hope, and the older man had long lost sight of that painful fantasy.

“Eres has treated us like dog-shit, but,” he shrugged helplessly, “we get fed, have shelter, some of us can send money back and the funny thing is….” His dark eyes stared straight into Ria’s, freezing the girl in place. halting her protests. “It’s more than Oceanport has ever done for us.”

The work bells rang in the distance.

The crowd shook their heads. As they headed out, they didn’t bother hiding their muttered grievances about the waste of a good break time.

The gruff miner glanced back at a dejected Ria. “For what it’s worth, Four… I do wish you luck in your endeavor.”

Ria glanced up at him. It was hard to paint the other as the villain, even though he had wrecked her plan. If she were in his shoes… Ria didn’t want to go down that train of thought.

The gruff miner sighed, “But we cannot be part of your suicide mission.”

“It was never my intention to do that,” said Ria, brows pinched together. “Using you guys as meat shields or otherwise.”

The miner took one look at Ria and shook his head. “I don’t know why,” he offered her an odd look. “But I’d really like to believe you.”

With that, he hobbled away. It was only then that Ria noticed the wooden stump in the place where his right leg should have been. She listened to the uneven gait and sighed after the man and sound faded in the distance. The cave was empty and the silence seemed to echo around her.

Well, so much for that plan. How embarrassing. Ria wanted to hide in a corner.

Finn stretched, yawning, “So, what now?”

Ria sighed, shoulders drooping. “I guess we fly solo. I mean, they do say third time’s a charm.” Ria sucked in a breath and glanced at Finn. “You in?”

The ex-pirate was still trying to piece together what exactly “flying solo” meant but he looked up at her question.

The boy smirked, “Might as well.” Suddenly, he crossed his arms. “As long as it’s not in a cave.” He flexed his biceps. “I need to get my tan back! My precious babies have suffered-”

“Yeah, yeah,” the girl waved him off, heading towards the entrance.

Finn huffed, crossing his arms, but trotted behind her, purposely dragging his feet. He stuck his tongue out at the piles of rocks they passed. “Stupid rocks. I never want to see any more rocks either.”

“Good luck with that,” drawled Ria.

The girl couldn’t even be bothered to roll her eyes. And…to be fair, she was quite sick of rocks and caves too.