The halls of the underground “haven” as Sage had called it seemed to go on forever and ever, feeling almost larger than the island it was housed beneath. It took us ages to get to the civilians hall, where we finally started to see people who were in regular clothes and of reasonable size and shape, and doors leading to humble, empty hovels that were probably as well liked as the poor housing above ground was.

We eventually turned a corner and were greeted with an entryway which led to a plethora of hallways to choose from, and Sage bent down to my ear and brought me closer. “Remember the order of this well,” he said. “We dug this to be a great maze so that the enemy, should they come down here, must follow the correct order to reach your room.”

“Did you make sure I have a quick way to get to some food or anything?” I asked, worry in my voice. We had been walking for a long time, and it wasn’t looking like it would be easy to get back up above ground from where I’d be housed, or even make it to the dining hall.

Sage, however, just smiled and ruffled my hair before continuing toward the left hall. “You’ll make do,” he said.

The order of halls to take was simple enough, and was repeated throughout the walk to my quarters: left, left, middle, right, middle, right, left, left. This sequence would lead to a long, narrow hall that was not quite big enough for Chrys to get through easily. “We weren’t expecting you to bring a guest,” Sage commented on it when Chrys attempted to squeeze through. “We’ll try and accommodate you, though.” Of course he really meant no one would feel safe around this monster you brought back. Better make it easier for him to go unseen.

So, leaving Chrys at the entrance to my hall, Sage accompanied me to my room.

He removed a key from his pocket and gave it to me. “There’s only this one,” he whispered to me, as if people might be listening in. “Make sure not to lose it, okay?”

Gripping it tight, I nodded and unlocked the door, which was surprisingly sturdy considering the doors in the civilian hall. It felt like it may have been made of the same material the outer walls were, a reinforced earth and wood construction. It was heavy enough that I had to put my back into it.

Once I got inside, it appeared that all the high quality was wasted on my own defenses. The room was lined with hearty reinforcement, so that no one could go digging into the room presumably. Otherwise, however, my room was simply a lonely bed of hay.

“You bring me to my prison cell?” I asked Sage with all the arrogance an adolescent can muster.

Sage glared at me with a level of displeasure I had ill believed conceivable prior to that moment. “Sit.”

I did so without making eye contact, resting at the edge of my bed so as not to sink in. He chose to sit on the floor, still somehow at eye level with me. From inside his shirt, he pulled free a flask and sipped long, his face sour.

“I’m not sure how much time I have where it’s possible to speak with you frankly,” he began, his voice a darker tone than usual. “So allow me to speak to you free of interruptions. I know that’s hard for you, so I’ll let you interrupt me right now only if you agree that you will stay quiet, just for a moment. Can you do that for me?”

He gave me the option, but I didn’t even speak. I just nodded and looked down at the floor.

“Good,” he said, went to take one last sip of his drink, found it empty and put the flask in his shirt, disappointed.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, your prison comment? It’s not wrong. And I know from experience, trust me. As someone who is so ridiculously in tune with Vastmire as you, with as much potential as you have, you will always be hopping from ‘haven’ to ‘haven,’ and there really isn’t any way for me to dress this up nicely for you. Some prisons will be nicer than others, and this will certainly be one of your least favorite prisons I’m sure. But you will either get used to it, or you’ll do what I never could and always wanted to do.

“In my younger days, I was desperate to change the perception of those who used Vastmire from bloodthirsty war machines to people with feelings who could be real leaders, who could be compassionate, caring, familial men and women. Unfortunately,” he sighed, as if the air were punched from him, “it seems more and more each day I will expire before I can see a world like that, free from the prejudice of people like us.

“We are once again forced to fight for our right to choose, not to be chosen. That fight is one that earned me my prison, the castle in Avocado, and my unnecessary and useless title of the duke. Sage is a name spoken of in passing, a curse, a spell; I am to many individuals a ghoul of the night.

“I created the settlement here at the Orange Archipelago for multiple purposes. It’s a safe haven for war orphans and broken families, a place free from political turmoil and the hardships of our bigger, more developed civilizations. But in all honesty the biggest and most selfish reason I made settlement here was to escape my prison undetected. This place was where I would go to feel free, for just a few days. I’d go when I knew no one would come to check on me, which grew more and more as the years passed and even your mother, the queen, seems to have forgotten my own existence. When you met me, they hadn’t checked on me in months.

“Anyway,” he finally said, running fingers through his hair, “I’m rambling right now. My point is that though this feels like a prison, and it probably is a prison to you, I want you to do your best to feel comfortable and try hard to realize my dream. A dream of no prisons will be achieved someday by someone like us, of this I am sure. And I owe it to you to at least tell you why I came to rescue you from your mother—who I feel necessary to point out, by the way, was imprisoning you. Does all of this make sense? Do you at least understand where I’m coming from?”

Nodding I finally looked him in the eyes. “I think I do. I just have one question.”

“Anything,” he said as he got up and stretched, looking ready to go.

“Do you actually feel free here? On these islands I mean.”

He gave me a sad smile before opening the door and said, “For moments, sometimes. But I know the truth, as I’m sure you know too. Stay safe for me, boy.”

And with that I was left alone, to my own devices.

♣ ♣ ♣

There was little to do as far as occupying myself in that room, so you can imagine my delight when I heard the roar of Chrys interrupting my brooding inner monologue. Whipping the door open, I gave him a quizzical look and he jerked his head to the right.

“This way. Some people have come to visit you and they won’t go away.”

When I got to the end of the hallway, I just about teared up. Everyone I was wanting to see was there waiting for me; Basil was standing there with a big grin on his face, his overall countenance a general improvement over what it was prior to my leaving; Conifer was there, plucking away at his guitar to a jovial tune to set the mood; Parsley was laughing away, her arm around Conifer’s neck and looking as if she were absolutely in love; and Rose stood there, radiant as ever, her cheeks rosey and her eyes too strong for me to look at for longer than a few seconds, she held out a hand and I took it gladly, ready to speak to her about everything on my adventure.

I recounted the whole thing, where Chrys had come from and that he was safe to be near, and we all sang songs with Conifer playing and it was a great time.

Basil eventually asked me, “So have you heard the news?”

And I asked, “What news?”

Conifer and Parsley looked at each other, looking more and more in love by the second. “We’re engaged,” they said in unison, and everyone clapped, including myself.

“That’s great!”

“Isn’t it wonderful?”

Then Conifer continued his guitar playing, slowing it down and deepening the tone, going darker, and darker, until the sound permeated the room and the world dimmed, and everyone’s faces were shrouded deep in shadow and I felt nauseated but couldn’t leave.

Without warning, everyone began falling and crying, bathed in glossy red blood, their faces all permanent screams with taut muscles and bug eyes. I backed away but wasn’t fast enough, and I heard laughter as a blade of insurmountable length impaled me. From the shadows a boy stepped forward, about my age.

His hair was a dusty mix of brown and green, his right eye brown, his left eye green, his expression the same as I’d always known it.

“Sumac?” I croaked out.

His thin lips became an invisible line, an unseen smile.

When he spoke, his voice was a whisper of sounds I couldn’t understand.

♣ ♣ ♣

My body lurched from my bed in a flash of stiff, brutal agony. I felt around my chest; no hole. Searching around, I quickly realized that there was nothing for me to wash the sweat from my body and so instead just removed my clothes to cool off.

Trying to swallow my heart back into my chest, I opened the door of my room and called out to Chrys. “Are you awake?”

He shook himself and got up like a dog, though with less eagerness in his movement.

“Any chance you could find some water for me? There isn’t any in here and I need some. My mouth is a desert.”

Chrys left without a word, and I returned to my room and sat down for a while, airing myself out from the heat I made. To this day, nightmares make my body turn volcanic and I’m unsure why.

It wasn’t long before I finally returned fully to my senses, processed everything that had happened, and realized I was a fool for sending Chrys off on his own. There were a lot of people who saw him on the way in, but there were probably an equal amount who knew nothing of his existence and would be…

Well, surprise doesn’t really do justice to the feeling one has when meeting Chrys for the first time.

Throwing my pants back on but leaving my shirt off for now, I jogged back out to the hallway to find Chrys, but upon reaching the first crossroads I remembered how much of a maze the place was. What was the route again? Right, left, left… shit. I didn’t know at all. Proverbial tail between my legs, I sulked back to my room, looking over my shoulder constantly. I wanted to go find Chrys, it would be better than him being found by someone who wasn’t accepting. But if I got lost, the situation would be no better.

Sage should have left me a map or something.

Before I turned the corner to the hall for my room, I bumped into what I thought was the wall when in fact it was a person. Shaking my head, I said, “Sorry about that, I should be looking at where I’m going more.”

“Mint?”

I stopped in my tracks.

“Basil? Is that you?”

He smiled down at me, then gave me a hug with his free arm which I gladly returned. He was warm. When I pulled back I saw that he was still looking a little rough around the edges; his face was covered in a scrappy beard and he wore clothes that were weeks overdue to be changed, faded to such a discolored state that they may as well have been no color at all. I had a ton of questions for him, but before I could ask those I asked instead, “I smell something good. Did you bring me food?”

Grinning, he nodded and said, “Yes, along with a friend of yours. Looked a bit lost, he did.” He pointed behind him to Chrys, and I sighed with relief.

“Good, I was just about to go looking for him but it’s an absolute maze down here. I can’t believe it’s so difficult to navigate.”

“Hmph,” Basil said, looking concerned. “Let’s get you back in your room then, get some food in you.”

“Did you bring water?” I asked, ready for disappointment.

“Of course,” he responded, bringing out a container and jiggling it to show me it made the familiar sloshing sound of liquid.

I grabbed the bag he held in his hand and splayed the contents out across a blanket on the floor. In that bag was a full entree of delectable food only Basil could have made on that island with limited resources. The first thing was a bowl of soup, hot but not unedibly so, and it tasted cozy, as if it were made of memories and plush bed companions. A pleasant kick accompanied the rich flavor of the sea, and washing it down with water was absolutely refreshing. On the side was an assortment of pastries, each sporting its own signature flavor that was sweet and accompanied by delightful citrus.

“How did you make all this?” I asked Basil, mouth stuffed with food.

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy,” he chuckled. “But that’s not what I’d like to talk about. How did your training go? You seem different.”

Finishing what I was chewing, I shrugged and drank some more water. “Maybe. Still not really sure if you could say I’m stronger, but I’ve certainly got more experience.”

“Well, we all get stronger from our experiences,” he said. “Your friend out there…”

“Chrys?”

Basil frowned. “You named him?”

“Yeah. Made it easier to talk with him, having a name and all.”

“You talk with him?”

Adjusting my sitting position to something more digestion friendly, I nodded. “He’s not much of a conversationalist, but sometimes you can really get him going. In fact, sometimes I can’t get the guy to shut up. He’s not so bad when you get to know him though. I know he looks a little mean but…” Basil stared at me with increasing discomfort. “Wait, what’s this all about?”

“You don’t know what he is, do you?” he asked, his voice lowering to a whisper. I shook my head and he leaned closer to me. “He’s a Miric, a creature of the Vastmire.” I stared at him blankly, unsure of how to respond to that. Which wasn’t what he was looking for, so he rolled his eyes and further clarified, “In the past people referred to his kind as demons, monsters, demigods, those sorts of things.”

“Ah,” I said, still not really seeing his point. “So he’s bad or something? Or at least, the world will think he’s bad? Is that it?”

“In a word, yes! Be careful with him.”

Shrugging, I said, “Thanks for the advice, but you shouldn’t think me foolish.”

Leaning closer, he looked over his shoulder as if Chrys were listening in. “You plan to kill him? Or are you using him? Does he know about the encroaching army?”

“Uh, nah. Actually he’s my friend.”

Basil just about blew up.

“I’m glad you’re taking this well,” I smirked, eating another pastry. It was so delicious, I don’t actually remember what Basil said. Probably something along the lines of:

“Wahhh, don’t keep the beast monster! Wahhh, it’s potentially dangerous! Wahhh, wahhh, wahhhhhhh!”

What, Basil doesn’t talk like that? Well he sure did sound like that while I was eating that delicious, absolutely incredible pastry of his. I think it had a banana in it, perhaps some chocolates too. Oh it was good.

“Well, if you’re done whining, why don’t you go talk with Chrys and see for yourself how dangerous he is?” I said, rubbing my stomach.

“Talk with him? How?”

I laughed harshly, sounding more like the old me by the second. “Just speak to him? I don’t know, I can’t teach an old man how to talk.”

“Old? I—hmph! Well fine. Just know I don’t support this, Mint. He might seem fine now, but a beast is a beast no matter what.”

Sticking my tongue out to see him off, he left in a huff and certainly didn’t take the time to speak with Chrys.

When I settled back down, I fell back into my bed with a heavy sigh and wished I had been nicer to Basil. And, I thought, I should have asked him to find Conifer and the others and send them my way.

As time passed and it felt like it might have been night, I slept with the door open so I could see Chrys through it. Something about that room made me miss our dingy cave we’d sleep in, both wounded animals, yet kindred and, most importantly, together.

Before I fell asleep, Chrys turned and laid down facing me. We watched each other down the narrow hall, and I fell soundly asleep.