"They aren't just asking anyone to take the oath Mother. Xav and I were chosen, along with a group of about ten other Squires. That's ten out of nearly a hundred. We're the best of the lot, Mother, and this is a great honor." They were sitting around the table in the common area and their Mother, known outside of the small house as Aquala Kalena, although many still remembered her by the name she'd been born with, Aquala Inalara, of the powerful Inalara Clan, sat, fixing her youngest son with a grim stare.

All of the Kalena children knew that look all too well. It was a look that, in their early childhood, would lead them to drop the cookie back onto the plate they were pilfering it from when she caught them in the act of stealing one of her delicious desserts. Iggy squared his shoulders and tried to return the gaze, but after a few seconds he dropped his eyes to his plate, pushing an eggplant around with his knife.

There were five Kalena children in all that had survived the perilous first year of life, when so many children succumbed to illness and each had been welcomed into the community with a great celebration on their first birthday, as was the tradition at all levels of society. The oldest was Clar, who had been followed close behind by Xav. Clar was the only member of the Kalena household who was already completely independent.

Clar had never been particularly close to her two youngest sisters and by that day when Lina asked Quara to go on an adventure with her, Clar was no longer particularly close with any of the six people who sat in the brightly lit room. She had gone to great lengths to distance herself from the family she'd been born into, for if there was ever anything that their eldest daughter had wanted in her entire life, it was to be exactly like everyone else. She hated standing out. She hated being the Girl from the Plains, when she'd never set foot on the Plains in her entire life. She belonged as much as anyone else, she would rant to her mother after coming home from school, and her mother would touch her beautiful golden hair and smile into her turquoise eyes and tell her that being exactly like everyone else was overrated.

She'd never managed to convince Clar of that fact though.

Clar married a week after she finished her schooling and had moved that day into a tidy set of rooms that her new husband, a Master in the Fine Arts Guild, had obtained for them when he'd first asked her to be his bride earlier in the year. She had been seventeen at the time.

Aquala and her oldest daughter had had a heated argument about how young she was, and whether or not she was mature enough to marry anyone, much less a man who she'd met only a few weeks prior to his proposal. Now Clar avoided the portion of the Caverns that she had grown up in as if it were harboring an outbreak of plague.

She had gotten her wish though, Quara thought with a sigh. She had pinned up her hair as a married woman would and wrapped it in a fine linen scarf that her husband had given her, as if she were trying to keep her hair clean during the day's work, rather than hiding the most visible symbol of her otherness. Before long she began to believe that everyone had finally forgotten, at least for the most part, that she wasn't entirely from a family who had been in the Caverns since it's very founding. She'd already started being invited to parties and teas with girls who had hardly given her the time of day when they were in school together, a sure sign, she told herself, that whatever little sacrifices she had made along the way were worthwhile.

Xav, at eighteen, was the oldest boy. In many ways, he reminded Quara of their father. He had the same broad shoulders that both Iggy and Quart shared, with a narrow waist and strong arms that looked as if they were made to wield a sword. He was as at home on the battle field as he was working alongside their Father in his metal shop, and sometimes Quara thought that he was even more comfortable when he was deep down below the surface of the earth, bringing forth fine gems and jewels that he then worked into fine weapons. His swords were fit for a King, their father would say proudly, if there were still one alive who was worthy of his creations.

He was a helpful boy, who had grown into a helpful young man, always the first to offer assistance to a person in need. Even as a child he had been quick to look for ways to help his mother and as a result was one of the best cooks in the Caverns, an accomplishment that very few men could boast of. He was naturally outgoing and had quickly become a leader in the Squires, as other boys seemed willing to follow him into whatever antics he could imagine.

The third born of the Kalena family was another son. Iggy had been born not quite two years after Xav and was as quiet and reserved outside of the walls of their small, merry home as his older brother was gregarious. He was generally content to act as his brother's second, making sure the plans that Xav came up with actually stood a chance of being carried out. While Xav couldn't be described as reckless by any stretch of the imagination, Iggy had on occasion pulled the older boy back from crossing the line and getting into trouble with the boyish pranks that had arisen on those days when the Squires had too much free time on their hands awaiting the day's orders.

There was a particular prank involving a cow being suspended from the Heart that every other member of their group had seemed to think was a grand idea, that Iggy just couldn't see turning out well. Thankfully, over the years Xav had come to trust his younger brother's judgement implicitly and with a glance Iggy was often able to let the older boy know that he had gone too far.

"You're right that they aren't asking just anyone to take the oath. They're asking my boys. And that is a mistake to say the least. You should enjoy these years of your youth before you have to eat, drink and live war every single day for weeks and months and years on end. Ask you Father. He practically danced with joy when his mandatory years were over and here you are volunteering to take on more time? You don't understand what you're asking." Her dark grey eyes flashed as she turned her eyes towards her husband, pushing a strand of silver streaked hair back behind her ear. "Tell them. Tell them about the horrors that you saw and how it's more than just a game when you're actually out in the field, instead of just walking along thorough these little day trips that they take the Squires on."

Aquala had already placed dinner on the table, and had begun to pass dishes around so that each member of the family could help themselves to their favorite dishes, when Iggy had said that he and Xav had an announcement to make. She'd smiled warmly at her son for the first ten seconds of his little speech and then Quara had noticed that she was gripping the bowl of stoneware that she was holding so firmly that all the color had drained out of her fingers. Before another ten seconds passed Lina noticed that the bowl of garlic eggplant was trembling ever so slightly, before she had slammed it down hard onto the table.

"Mother, we aren't rushing towards battle, but it's coming for us now, as we sit here. We've been hiding in here for generations and so far the defenses have held up. We aren't going to be able to do that for much longer. The danger is virtually at our doorstep, if it isn't already inside our walls. Everyone..." Xav stopped abruptly. Simultaneous looks from both his father and brother let him know that he had already said too much.

"You know something about this?" Aquala's voice was suddenly dangerously calm as she stared at her husband. Quara cast an alarmed glance in her sister's direction, but Lina looked utterly unaffected by the conflict that surrounded her. "Tell me that you haven't been encouraging them. I thought we'd agreed long ago that we wouldn't encourage our boys to go charging off like fools to their deaths, like so many of your friends did. You were lucky to come back alive but most-"

"Stop." Quart's voice was soft, but his tone had an air of finality about it and much to Quara's surprise her mother's voice trailed off mid-sentence. "I know, better than anyone at this table what I saw out there in the forest. I alone hold the memories of those we lost in my mind as clearly as if it happened yesterday. And I don't need to be reminded of it for it is always with me and never more inescapably than now, when our sons face this decision." Aquala bit her lip as her husband spoke and Lina leaned forward ever so slightly as she studied her mother's expression. Were those tears gleaming in her eyes? She had never seen her mother cry, and so Lina now fixed a steady gaze upon the family's matriarch, more focused on the possibility of tears than on the actual conversation that was being hammered out before her on the common room table.

"It's a mistake." Aquala whispered picking up a spoon and ladling a generous helping of eggplant onto Xav's plate, her eyes not leaving her husband's face.

"If it is a mistake, it's their mistake to make. You can't keep them wrapped in swaddling clothes all their lives. They're grown men. They're ready to fight their own battles and they're ready to defend the people that they love. You and I have raised them as best we could and I think that we've done a fine job. Now we need to let them make their own decisions."

"I won't give you my blessing in this. Although it seems that your father already has." She took a deep breath and refused to meet Quart's eyes. "This needs more salt." She stood and walked into the cooking area and stood at her spice rack with her back turned to the common room for several minutes, moving the small spice containers from side to side as if she were looking for the salt.

Everyone at the table knew that the salt was merely an excuse. She hadn't even ladled any food into her bowl, much less lifted a spoon to her lips to know if anything needed salt.

Still, her hands were steady when she returned with the small canister of salt, although her eyes and nose looked slightly red. "Do whatever it is you think you have to do. But don't say that I didn't warn you if it's the worst decision that you've ever made in your entire lives."

Quara listened to the entire conversation with a heavy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She didn't once look up from her plate. Lina pushed the dish of eggplant into her hand after spooning a generous helping into her own bowl, and then, when Quara sat frozen she poked her lightly in the ribs to take the food and then elbowed her again when she nearly dropped the bowl. The older girl was hardly paying attention to what her hands were doing while she imagined how the next day would unfold. Was she doing the right thing agreeing to her sister's ridiculous request to accompany her down into the bowels of the earth?

In a way Quara was relieved by the turn the dinner conversation had taken. The tension at the table was unbearably thick, but at the same time that meant that a heavy silence had fallen and no one expected anyone else to make small talk or discuss their day or what they'd learned in school.

It was an incredibly rare meal at the Kalena table, which was usually known for its overflowing dishes and loud and boisterous conversation, and Quara felt slightly more at ease as she became more confident that no one was going to ask her how her visit to the Meadow had gone, and whether she would be going back the next day, since shifts were usually assigned by the week.

Lina still couldn't entirely believe that her sister had agreed. She had told her to tell anyone who asked that she'd realized that she hadn't really been on the schedule for this week and had gone on a walk with her sister instead, but while both those facts were true Quara was certain that if she said them out loud to either of her parents it would be instantly clear from her voice and eyes and burning red cheeks, that she was trying to deceive them and while Lina had repeatedly pointed out that it wasn't a lie at all she had said that without a doubt it was, because it was based on so many assumptions that were patently false.

After a hotly debated conversation about what exactly a lie was, Lina had finally announced that her sister wouldn't have to lie at all because she would make sure that no one asked her a single question. Quara wasn't entirely clear on how Lina would manage this feat, but she'd never known Lina to shirk a challenge, or to even fail when she set her mind to something and so she imagined that she would find a way to make sure things unfolded exactly as she wished.

Taking a bite of the eggplant, which was now lukewarm since it had been sitting on the table while the rather lengthy debate unfolded, Quara finally looked up and let her eyes wander around the table. Xav and Iggy were both staring at their plates as if they were the most interesting thing that either of them had ever seen. Her father was staring at the door, but she had the distinct impression that he wasn't really seeing it and was instead seeing something else entirely. Her mother's eyes were on the boys and she alternated between looking absolutely enraged and looking as if she were about to burst into tears. Occasionally she would glance at her husband and then purse her lips and shake her head and glance back down at her plate for a moment, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to notice her disapproval at his handling of the conversation.

Lastly her eyes settled on Lina who looked as if it were a holiday morning and she were about to open a present that she'd been asking for, for months. The corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile and she was actually picking at her eggplant, which Quara found almost as shocking as anything else that had happened that day, since Lina was the most finicky eater she had ever met. Living in an underground cave system with one cave that contributed nearly ninety percent of the Caverns food didn't allow for many picky eaters, but Lina had somehow managed to be just that while still surviving.

"I've asked the boys to come down with me into the mines tomorrow." Quart had turned his attention back to the table and nearly ten minutes after the last word had been spoken he broke the silence with his news. "It looks like we've discovered a new vein. After a couple months of careful planning we're going to be doing some major excavating tomorrow. We won't be anywhere near it when it actually blows, and it will be so far down that it will be nothing more than a gentle earthquake all the way up here, but I thought that the set up would be interesting for them to see. I got permission last week when we were finalizing the plans and the clearance came through today. That is, if you boys want to come. You girls can tag along as well, although I didn't think it sounded like something Quara would be all that excited about, since she doesn't like going below the Guildhall for any reason other than to go to the Lake. What do you think?"

"I'll be there." Xav was the first one to speak and he said the words around a mouthful of food before gulping down a glass of water, still attempting to avoid his mother's steely gaze.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Iggy said quickly after him, not looking up.

"We'll pass." Lina spoke as soon as he finished, before her sister had thought of anything to say, knowing that keeping Quara from saying as much as possible at this point was her best possible course of action.

"Big plans for tomorrow?" Their father asked as he watched his wife finally drop her eyes to her own plate, looking many years older than she had that very same morning.

"You might say that." Quara marveled at her sister's ability to look entirely guiltless when she was anything but innocent. "But you know me, I always have big plans. It's just a matter of putting them into action. And dragging Quara along for the ride. I've been hoping we could have some quality sister time together now that we're in the same class and I think that tomorrow will be the perfect day for it. I think we should spend some time together down at the lake!"