The seven days of traveling through the tunnels were mostly quiet as Anwen led the way. Remembering her previous encounter with them, she and the young men pressed on each day, stopping only to briefly to take in the sunlight from the surface, nourish themselves with rations, and for sleep and relieving themselves of the waste in their systems. This time around, Anwen’s travel through the tunnels was much more bearable, even though it was considerably longer. She was sure that neither Ivan nor Stefan would kill her if she made a mistake, as Vi nearly did once upon a time. And if she ever got too lost in her thoughts, overwhelmed by how large of a number 30,000 was, she could always make conversation with her two companions to find a way out of her mind.
“Hey, Stefan,” Ivan spoke in one of the few conversations in the tunnels Anwen would later on remember being witness to. “I… need to tell you something.”
“What’s up?”
“I know I give you a lot of shit for the stuff you do. And rightfully so. What you did, basically abandoning Vigdis was scummy. But I won’t deny that you did it to protect us. And that frenzy you unleashed with that sword… I think you saved my life there.”
“But… you weren’t even there at the vanguard.” Stefan admitted.
“Meinrad got me pretty good. I would’ve been a sitting duck had you not held those barbarians back. So, thanks.”
“Nothing to thank me for.” Stefan accepted the appreciation modestly.
After a short spell of silence, the boy spoke again.
“I wonder what would’ve happened if I'd met Meinrad or Klaudia on the battlefield that day. Would I have been able to take a swing or shot at them?” Stefan asked to no one in particular.
“Maybe… maybe they couldn’t bring themselves to find and hurt you.” Anwen postulated.
“Or maybe they had orders not to engage with you.” Ivan snickered.
“If I wasn’t able to hit them, would they still go on to hurt me? Just like how they never hesitated to cut down our people in Shargara? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Stefan breathed.
--
The trio exited their final well under a sky that brought down the sun below the horizon. The climate was much different from the Barrens, as a breeze typical of the northern Yeupisian early spring cut through the area. The mountain pass was within viewing distance and was only a half-hour’s march away.
“I never want to go into another tunnel again.” Ivan said, heaving himself out of the well before his young companions.
“If we do our job right, we won’t have to.” Anwen reminded as she got out following the young man.
Stefan exited last, and all three had their sights on the mountains and the rocky, but smooth pass that divided them. it was much narrower than the renowned Haldor’s Pass, and it was presumed that it hadn’t been used in years. Not since the official partition between north and south just over 40 decades earlier. Haldor’s pass was the only official mountain pass that allowed any sanctioned travel between the north and south. If it was still used in any capacity, it had to have been by illegal smugglers bringing in luxuries from the south.
Leon’s parents must’ve gone through a pass like this, Anwen mused as she and the two males took a break after hours of non-stop marching. Maybe this exact one.
However, her discomfort was not comparable due to her artificial leg. But she wouldn’t leave the boys behind to catch up to her. After snacking on some rations for a quick boost of energy, the trio set off once again.
Even then, it was not her body that was troubled, but her mind. She had forgotten the weight they had to bear, temporarily, but now all she could think about were her colleagues who were dozens, even hundreds of leagues away from her. She thought of Jay, who she imagined must’ve battled greatly with the idea of sending her, Stefan, and Ivan out for a long time, before he decided he had no choice but to accept it. She thought of Leon who was God-knew-where, risking his life to save and treat Black Shield soldiers without the company of anyone he was close with. Not Anwen, not Stefan, and as the girl had clued in on over the months she had spent away from Stefan, Vi.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
As she gazed onto the pass out in the distance, she saw images arbitrarily spawn in her mind. As they flickered in and out, she understood that they were not random. They were of the very pass she and the others were about to cross over. She saw herself cradled in a strong man’s arms, holding her tightly yet gently. She saw how small her arms were as they were wrapped around his neck. So firmly, in fact, she would think that she would lose her way forever if she left the man’s grasp. She understood what they were. It was as if a hand had plunged deep into her head, pulling out memories of a locked away past. They were exactly that—memories. That man was none other than Gareth, and that version of her in his arms was the tiny girl he rescued from some hell she still couldn’t put her finger on. That was it. She couldn’t remember anything before, or anything after until she found herself in the Bernard house.
“Why’d you stop?” a voice asked, snapping her back to reality. She blinked to see Stefan looking back at her, Ivan continuing on a few paces before doing the same.
“I think I just re—”
No, she couldn’t utter it. How could she reveal a piece of her past when she still had not told Stefan the truth of his own heritage? That would unfair, even harsh. “Nothing. It’s nothing, don’t worry. Let’s keep moving.”
Shortly after, the trio found themselves on the pass they were ordered to cross, completing a huge milestone on their journey to the Shimajima. The islands were still very far, of course. But that was one less box on their metaphorical checklist ticked off. The sun had nearly set, so they had to find their car on the other side and drive to a designated rest stop to wait the night.
“You asked Anwen why she stopped in her tracks, but you’re doing the same?” Ivan asked as he noticed Stefan was not keeping up with him and the girl.
Anwen turned around to see Stefan looking back at where they come from, a considerably number of paces behind her and Ivan.
“I know, it’s just…” he trailed off, but his gaze remained over his shoulder.
“Just what?” Ivan asked.
“I feel like we won’t be back here for a very long time.”
Despite being the son of a Titanian emperor, north Yeupis was the only home Stefan ever had, the only one he knew. And he was leaving it for an uncertain amount of time. His past entry into south Yeupis had been an event plagued by anger as he witnessed the Titanian slave raider abusing his captives, but now there was nothing obstructing his mind. All there was in his thoughts was a shallow longing for his homeland, even though he had only just stepped foot off of it.
--
It did not take very long to find the car that had been provided to them by Lord Astor, as Anwen used both a note given to her by Jay with the Craft’s coordinates, and a communicator to confirm. It was in the middle of a forest, hidden well by branches.
“I would’ve walked right by this thing if I didn’t know where it was. Huh.” Ivan said as all three of them pulled back the branches, revealing an unpleasant-looking vehicle that had just too many straight edges and pointed corners. Ironic, considering that less than a year earlier the most advanced method of transport Ivan and Stefan had used was a horse-drawn carriage.
“Well… it’s something.” Stefan shrugged.
The vehicle had a droptop, the roof being retracted. Anwen decided to examine each part of the vehicle to try to guess how it worked, as no manual was provided. Thankfully due to her knowledge of more advanced Crafts, figuring out how to operate a more basic variant was a breeze. She popped open the trunk.
Inside, there were several canisters of liquid methane infused with Utrium to fuel the car for the several-day long journey. In addition, there were several sets of clothing. A few were exotic to the northern eye--salwar kameez very similar to the one Paridi had given her months earlier. The colors were neutral or dull, so as to not stand out too much. In addition she was given a pair of slippers which would graciously hide her artificial leg, and several shawls to protect her hair from the humid air of south Yeupis. However the young men were provided with shirts and pants that looked like they had been worn down, and although they weren’t riddled with many holes and tears, the dirt-stained clothing with the occasional rip made them wonder who, if anyone, had worn them earlier. They only hoped that Astor had simply made a few cuts and rubbed a bit of dirt onto some newly bought clothing. But after experiencing the dark side of reality on Yeupis, any complaints they verbally made would be laughable.
“Hey, not too shabby.” Ivan said, looking himself up and down after he had put on one of the smaller sets of clothing.
“Fits nicely,” Stefan spoke in appreciated. “Surprised that they found me something that was just my size.”
The three youths then hopped through the open-top roof, Anwen taking the driver’s seat, Stefan and Ivan taking the back two seats. Ivan was quick to point out something before Anwen could start the vehicle.
“There’s no palm reader on the dashboard,” he said, remembering that the Crafts he was used to had a feature that enabled the driver’s hand to be waved, activating the Craft when the hand matched one already in the vehicle’s database. “How are you going to start this thing?”
“Of course there isn’t,” Anwen countered. “I’ve never used this before, so how could it already read my hand?”
“So…” Stefan trailed off, being in no place to tell Anwen how to operate a car.
“It’s so simple.” Anwen sighed, as she pulled open a glove compartment. She pulled out a key, flashing it in front of the boys before sliding it into the ignition.
“All we used were horses up till a few months ago!” Ivan facepalmed himself. “What do you mean simple?”
“Let’s get going,” Stefan grumbled. “It’s already dark.”