Alistar had drifted in and out of consciousness during the hours that followed the incident with the red stone. Several guards had loomed over his sleeping area for quite some time, but he had been too disoriented to respond to their demanding inquiries. After questioning him in futility long enough for them to lose their patience, they had been forced to have a healer see to his injuries until coherency was achieved.
With the swelling and pain significantly reduced, Alistar’s first thoughts had been on the intriguing process of spellwork that he’d been subjected to. Hands bathed in pale green light, the thin healer sent shocks of cool, relaxing energy throughout his afflicted areas. Minutes later and he looked fine, albeit haggard from fatigue. What would have taken weeks to heal was gone in minutes, all from just a few strange phrases.
Once he’d returned to his right mind, the guards had asked for an account of the events that occurred in the nearby tunnel, and then immediately ordered him to handover the stone. They had been certain that he’d taken it, but he had simply told them that there was no way he could have picked it up. It had killed a grown man after just the slightest contact with his skin, so how could a small child like himself have grabbed it? He could barely walk at the time, and hadn’t been coherent enough to think about anything other than returning home, or so he told them. Unable to refute his logic, the guards left him. Within moments, he had fallen back into his lifeless dreams.
In no time at all, Alistar was woken by the heavy gongs that signified the beginning of a new work day. He hadn’t noticed his family returning and had slept right into the next day.
As it was, he and his uncle were scheduled to be released within a few hours. They weren’t required to work, but they still chose to accompany his mother to that same lonesome spot at the end of the line, where she would continue to toil herself into an early grave after they departed. Worst of all, she would have to suffer alone. The thought was enough to bring tears to Alistar’s eyes, to make him frustrated to the point where he would forget to breathe whenever such contemplations visited his mind. Her condition was as bad as ever, her face drained and her too-cold skin painting a haunting image in his conscience.
From the moment he awoke, Kaila had refused to leave his side. She sat nearby, watching him work behind a mask of distress. After labouring for a time, his uncle forced him to take a break. He was told to stand in front of a torch at a distance where the heat wouldn’t agitate his eyes, and made to stare into the light.
When asked why, his uncle said, “Your eyes have never seen the sun, Alistar. I can only hope that they’ll be able to adjust sooner rather than later.”
After a moment, he replied, “Do I have to stare into the fire? Surely my eyes will be fine. It only takes a few minutes to get used to the light in the Resident Cavern after a day of exploring the lower—the unlit areas.”
“You don’t understand what the sun truly is. For now, do as I say and stare into the light. Trust me.”
His uncle wouldn’t have said so without reason.
Thoughts of a giant flame suspended high above the ground filled Alistar’s mind. What awesome magic had conjured the sun?
And I’m finally going to see it!
For the first time since hearing the news of his release, he allowed himself to entertain a certain excitement. He’d finally get to see the same sun that his parents had always mentioned in their stories, the same sun that both created and devoured shadows.
A world that wasn’t dominated by shadows… An odd rush flitted through him. He had been so worried about the people that he would be leaving behind that he hadn’t given his future much thought, but today his entire life would change. He was going to the outside world.
Oh, the things he would do!
He was going to swim in rivers and lakes, and eventually the ocean. He would hike up mountains and find new understandings as he stared down at the world below, just as his uncle had done in his youth. He would visit castles and see for himself if they were truly as grand and imposing as his family had always made them out to be. He would play with dogs just as his father had loved to do, and with any luck, would tend to his own garden, as had been his mother’s favourite pastime.
There were so many things to see and do, so many people to meet, and…
And Kaila wouldn’t be there.
He’d never hear her pout again, would never hear her sweet little sniffles or her innocent laughter. And at some point today, he would have to bid goodbye to his mother’s loving gaze, a look that he would only see again in his memory.
As the fresh fires of excitement were doused with cold shame, he noticed Kaila’s pensive frown. They shared a longing, wistful stare, and soon Kaila’s smiling face was urging him to forget his worries. He could see it in her eyes, that she was trying her best not to increase his anxiety. Trying her best to be happy for him.
He focused on the torchlight.
Kaila stared into the light along with him, wincing occasionally and touching at her bruised forehead.
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His mother was taking a long break behind him, resting against one of the countless support beams that lined the crudely shaped walls. A small smile graced Laisha’s lips as she quietly stared at her son, and though bittersweet, one couldn’t miss the joy in it. Joy, and relief. She was clearly happy that, after today, the mines would be nothing more than a thing of the past for him.
“Well, this is boring,” Alistar eventually sighed. He shared a weak smile with Kaila as they watched the flames quiver.
“I find it rather exciting,” she said. She often made fun his vocabulary, which was quite extensive for someone his age. He knew that she was self-conscious about the gap between their knowledge of words, though he hadn’t poked fun at her over this in many, many months.
“Exciting? This?”
“I think I’ve found a new pastime to fill my days once you’ve gone.”
“None of that, Kaila. Of course, you’ll keep reviewing your lessons. And you’ll have to be sure to keep Mama and Grandpa Talon company while I’m gone.”
“Why must I continue my lessons?”
“For when you leave the mines, of course.”
“Alie, I…” She took on a pained expression.
“What, do you think I’ll just forget you once I’ve left?” Boldly, he took both of her hands in his, forgoing the flickering torchlight as fixed her with a deep stare. Rough and calloused as they were, his hands were big for his age, especially when viewed beside Kaila’s. “I will come back for you. I swear it. Once I get out, I’ll save up so that I can buy your freedom, and Uncle Raidon will save up so Mama can leave as well. Grandpa Talon will have worked enough years to leave by then, so I’m sure everything will work out.”
“But Alie…” She didn’t look too convinced.
“I promise, Kaila.”
They had never broken a promise to each other. Knowing that, Kaila bit her lip and nodded in acquiescence. She had no other choice but to believe in him. They stared at one another without further comment, the sounds of a typical workday in the mines replacing the conversation. They eventually began to speak in their usual way, bantering back and forth about pointless things while occasionally teasing one another in a half-hearted manner. Usually, they would share thoughts on the outside world, but today they subconsciously avoided the topic.
Over time, Alistar noticed a change in the expressions of the nearby guards. Their postures straightened, the lax looks swept from their faces. Looking down the line, he saw the red-haired captain approaching.
The young man stopped in front of the closest guard, and made an astonished exclamation. “Jesson, man. Are you blind? A slave is passing its time in leisure right before your eyes.”
A man of middling age with honest eyes and a few days of peppered growth on his face, Jesson replied, “One is working in her place. The rate of production is faster, so isn’t it fine?”
The young man blinked in an exaggerated manner, as if incredulous at Jesson’s response. “Here one must pull one’s own weight. Such is the way in Crystellum.” When Jesson remained in place and averted his gaze, the captain let out a fit of laughter that ended as abruptly as it began. “A week’s pay.”
The captain turned to the next nearest guard and motioned impatiently toward Alistar’s mother.
The guard shook his head and then spoke before the young captain could voice his opinion. “A week’s pay, yes.”
“What nonsense is this? Where are Benson and Macile and Halman? No one informed me of a change in postings.”
“I believe they’ve fallen ill, sir,” the second guard replied.
The young captain snatched the man’s spear and stormed over to Alistar’s mother, clearly intent on harassing her, but Alistar was quick to intercept him. “Please,” he begged, glancing over at his mother’s ever-paling face.
“Out of the way.”
Alistar took a blow to his cheek but didn’t move, a light taste of blood spreading through his mouth. However, the moment the captain struck him, Raidon was suddenly towering over him with a lifetime of anger in his eyes. He snatched the spear with little resistance and snapped it in half as if it were one of the brittle branches that fueled the cook fires.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the man bellowed, his face red with rage as he instinctively stepped back. Though he was angry, shock and unease also seeped from his expression.
“I am standing,” Raidon replied. “I’ve taken a liking to this spot, so unfortunately I can’t let you pass.” Before the man could respond, his uncle smiled. “A perk of being a free man, you see.”
The young man jumped back and drew his sword. Noise drained from the area. Even the Carriers stopped moving.
Raidon broke the brief silence. “Say you make an attempt on me. Say I snap your spineless little neck. What happens then? I’m put back into forced labour? I quite like it here, and I’m finding myself reluctant to leave.” Alistar could have sworn that a part of his uncle truly wanted the young man to strike him.
“You dare speak to me in such a manner!” The young captain looked back at Jesson, who shrugged.
“Free man, sir.”
Infuriated, the captain looked from Alistar to his uncle and then to the nearby guards and slaves. He glared daggers at Alistar’s family. “Time to set off, the both of you! If you choose to stay, then it will be taken as voluntary submission.” When they didn’t move, he snarled, “Now!” When it was clear that they would not obey, he met Raidon’s eyes after a moment of hesitation. Within seconds, he sheathed his sword and stormed off, glaring at guards and shoving at slaves as he continued on his way. “Back to work! What are you looking at? Back to work, I said!” His yells diminished with the distance.
Alistar had never seen so many slaves grinning at the same time, nor had he seen so many apathetic guards. A lot of times, a slave was struck simply for smiling, but that didn’t happen often since not many slaves tended to smile.
His uncle let out a pent-up breath, and looked to the nearest guard. “Thank you, Logan.”
Frowning slightly as Raidon considered his uniform, Jesson—or Logan, apparently—nodded. “Shame those fellows took sick.”
The men shared a stare but said nothing more. After a minute, Raidon returned to his mining, brows furrowed in thought. He was almost done filling Laisha’s container.
As Raidon worked, Alistar and Kaila found places beside his mother, who grasped both of their hands gently from where she sat leaning against an old wooden beam. Her hands were cold and bony. “Children,” she rasped, swallowing saliva to moisten her throat. “Won’t you lighten up already? This is a blessed occasion, and we should be happy. You are still young. Although you will be parting soon, not all goodbyes are forever.” She shifted her focus to Alistar, seeing through him as if he were a pane of glass. “Alie, don’t let your worries hold you back. You might think that you’re being selfish, but the price we’ve been forced to pay is no fault of your own. It’s one that would gladly be paid a thousand times over. Please, for your mama, won’t you put on a smile?” She pinched his cheek lovingly.
He couldn’t help but give her the smile that she wanted.