Cassian felt like a bell had been rung inside of his skull. After training extensively on how to use amethite in combat he was more than proficient, but he never pushed himself this hard in training. Collapsing back against a wall, he sunk down to the ground massaging his eyelids and temples. A small price to pay to save those kids, I’ll be fine in a few hours. What was even happening here?

Tahno returned through the side door with his battered gang and a group of apothecaries. They began helping the wounded to the best of their abilities, though it was clear many would require more extensive procedures to survive. The gang members who were still healthy enough helped move the injured out of the warehouse. Luna and Tahno walked across the room to where Cassian was sitting on the floor.

“Why the hell is the bloody prince of Cloudreach here?” Tahno asked, looking around at the aftermath of the battle bewildered. Several Silent Sharks took notice upon hearing their bosses’ words and gripped their weapons, unsure where the line of questioning was about to lead.

Luna put her hands on her hips, “I thought I’d see pigs fly before seeing a noble stroll around the Undercity. Let alone the damn prince of Enthamere.”

“What were those monsters? I’ve never seen anything like that.” Asked Tahno, scratching his black ink tattooed chin.

The prince stopped rubbing his temples and looked up with bloodshot eyes. “I stumbled across those men bringing three kidnapped children here. I decided I needed to help them and so I followe—”

“Since when do topsiders care about the plight of the Undercity?” Tahno interrupted.

“Easy Tahno, I don’t have any love for the nobles either. But he did help us today.” Her lips tightened and face went sullen, as if her brain was arguing with itself. “On the other hand, you’re right, it’s his people’s fault that children are starving, forced to live on the streets and susceptible to these kinds of situations.”

Cassian laughed softly to himself, “I suppose a simple thank you is out of the question? Either way I understand my appearance down here must be extremely unusual to you.”

Tahno’s face went red as iron pulled from a forge. “I ought to punch a hole through your face! Never doubt the audacity of a topsider to show up all high and mighty just to look down their nose at us.”

The prince climbed to his feet, still off balance and exhausted from his heavy amethite usage, “As the prince of Enthamere it is my intention, no, my duty to help any citizen in need, no matter their birthplace. Now, what I saw upstairs disturbed me deeply. I found a laboratory…or torture chamber… something dark.”

Luna kneeled looking closely at one of the fallen brutes, connecting the dots rapidly in her head, “Someone has been turning the kidnapped children into these monsters.”

“What makes you think that?” Cassian asked with deep sadness.

“During the fight I got a close look at one of the brutes faces.” Luna closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m one hundred percent certain that the face I saw, bloated and disfigured as it was, once belonged to a child.”

Cassian’s brow furrowed and he ground his teeth together. “They were only children! Who would do something like this? It just doesn’t make any damn sense!”

Tahno shrugged with an embarrassed look washing over his face. “Well, we chased the robed men who dashed out the side door…but, eventually they slipped away from us.”

“You let them get away? Leave it to the Sharks to let our only lead escape.” Luna jabbed and Tahno rolled his brown eyes. “No matter, I intend to find out. And when I do, I’m going to make those responsible pay for their perverse actions.” Luna said with a coldness that sent shivers down Cassian’s spine.

“I’m with you. When outsiders prey on our people, it’s the responsibility of the gangs to protect them. Maker knows no one else truly will.” Tahno said, shooting a cold look at the prince.

The prince shot a glare back at Tahno, “Hold on now! You need to stop pointing fingers damnit! I’m sure my father had no idea how bad things had gotten down here. When I explain the situation to him, I know he will send aid to your people.”

Luna moved closer to the prince until they were face to face, “I appreciate your help today, your highness, but Tahno’s right. The people of the Undercity must take matters into our own hands. We can’t sit around waiting for aid that will never come. It’s sad, but it’s just the way things have always been.”

“Gather up the rest of the injured, we’re moving out.” Tahno commanded his men.

Cassian looked side to side, visibly confused and frustrated, “Please, don’t be this way. I want to help. We’re not all as bad—”

Luna interrupted the prince, “I wish I could believe you, but I can’t forget what I’ve known to be true my whole life based on one suspiciously noble act. Topsiders just don’t care about our people. You can go home proud of yourself for your charity. Now you can brag to your noble friends about how you helped us dirty lowborn.” The leader of the Blind Alchemists looked away from the prince with a sullen expression, “I think it’s time you get back to your palace. Mommy and daddy will be missing you no doubt, and it’s dangerous in these low places for a highborn.”

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At that, the battered Silent Sharks and Blind Alchemists gathered up their wounded and left the warehouse. Cassian stood there stunned. This was a whole world down here that he just couldn’t understand. Not for lack of want, regardless, he felt like a fish out of water, incapable of processing why he couldn’t breathe. He had formed his entire understanding of the world around the nobles and teachers who taught him Topside. A feeling sunk into his stomach that dwarfed the residual pain from overexerting himself. Cassian felt ashamed that he seemed to know next-to-nothing about the state of the kingdom he would one day rule.

Reaching the door, Luna hesitated, glancing over her shoulder back at the prince. For a moment it seemed she was going to say something, but shew decided against it, turning away and putting her mask back on.

Prince Cassian stood there speechless for a time. Could everything they said really be true? How could the denizens of the Undercity live in such filth and squalor? Did anyone truly deserve to live in fear of their life? Why didn’t his father help them? Who was doing these terrible experiments and why? Cassian mused over these questions repeatedly in his mind. When it became clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to answer these questions on his own, he searched through the warehouse to see what he could learn.

After an hour of investigating, he hadn’t gotten any closer to finding out who was responsible. His head still ached and the grimy warehouse full of spiderwebs and nightmares wasn’t helping his mood. Just when he thought about calling it quits, he found something that piqued his interest.

It was a receipt for chemicals. The parchment receipt was signed by a Cyrus Slate. Cassian raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue before placing the receipt into his satchel and stepping out into the street. The races seemed beyond unimportant after everything he had just been through. All he wanted now was to go home and decompress. It was funny the way things could change so swiftly. One moment he wanted nothing more then to get out of the castle and the next he was ready to lock himself in his room. One good thing about his cats was they never made him question whether he was a terrible person.

As he walked down the crowded streets, Cassian’s eyes were locked on the cracked cobblestones and his hood draped over his face. A tattered red rag in the gutter made him gasp aloud, “Mira!” He still owed Mira for covering for him and he intended to keep his promise, despite how trivial it seemed now given the events of the past few hours.

Groggily, he walked to a muddy and dimly lit corridor where a shop called Calico’s Books stood before him. The shop had a sad look to it, like it had seen much better days and it leaned to the right like it was tired of existing at all. For a second, he scratched his head, wondering if the decomposing building might just collapse on top of him. Eventually he chuckled to himself, deciding he was overthinking it and entered.

He looked around the odd bookstore with a curious eye. The books seemed waterlogged, and the shop had an overwhelmingly moldy smell. It didn’t take long at all for the offensive odor to make him feel queasy. Making sure to keep his hood low over his face, he purchased the K.J. Bernard novel for Mira and dipped out of the shop without speaking a word to the old shopkeeper.

Since he had lost the motivation to watch the races, he headed back towards the secret passageway that would take him home to the palace. On the way he saw a stall selling the Halifaxian pear cakes Mira loved and he bought some for her, packing them away in his satchel. While he walked, he thumbed through the novel. He didn’t generally read this type of fiction, but he found the themes inside provided him a welcome escape from the tangle of questions that threatened to bring on a panic attack. The story was about a noble girl who fell in love with a commoner, and their forbidden romance. He laughed aloud as he skimmed through the pages. Well that could never happen, but it’s fun to imagine.

By the time he was nearly back to the palace he found his mood had improved at least a little bit. Cassian had a lot of questions for his mother and father. The promise of clarity lit a fire inside of him that burned the gloom away. But first, he needed to sneak into the library and give Mira her gifts.