by Lisa Lace
"Oh," Mia said, relieved. "Well, that's good then. Okay."
When the door to the transporter opened, Asher motioned her to stand back, eyes wary on the horizon. The sun (which was much paler and a strange shade of lavender) looked like it was hot nonetheless, but the air that fanned in on her face was cool and almost refreshing. This place was so confusing, and Mia had to wonder what caused the land to look so cooked and desolate if it wasn't the heat from the sun.
Before she could get an answer to that, something was happening. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement in the trees. She opened her mouth to say something to Asher, but found that he was staring at the ground with his mouth open.
"What is it?" she asked, heart pounding. Maybe something dangerous had found them?
"Look," Asher breathed, pointing to the ground.
Mia had to lean around him to see what he was talking about, which was easier said than done since he was still halfway in the transporter, one foot on the ground in front of him. What she saw made her eyes widen.
At the point where Asher was standing, greenery had burst through the earth. It was small, but grass seemed to be growing around his foot, and when he moved to stand completely on the ground, more came.
"What's happening?" he asked, wonder in his voice.
"You're asking me?" He seemed to understand how silly that was because he smiled at her, and then took a deep breath and stepped forward again.
Everywhere he walked there was more grass. Movement caught her attention, and she looked to the trees to see that buds were springing forth from the branches, tiny and the palest shades of green, but there nonetheless. Color winked at the corners of her vision, and she looked to see flowers lining the edges of the destroyed buildings. Those, at least, stayed destroyed.
It was as if the land was responding to Asher's arrival, and the scene was breathtaking. She half expected to see people poking their heads out, but they remained alone where they stood.
With the greenery returning, it was easy to see how lush this place once was. The boundaries of roads and property became clearer, some of the earth staying hard while grass and flowers bloomed and came to life on the edges. Vines climbed up the sides of the broken buildings, making the crumbling stone and brick seem alive with color.
In the distance, Mia could see the sunlight glinting off of something, and she shaded her eyes, trying to see what it was that she was looking at. It was tall and pointy like a spire, and when she squinted, she could see turrets below it.
"Look," she said, pointing in that direction, and Asher obeyed, looking up and over and gasping softly.
"The palace."
"Which palace?"
"My palace," he said. "Where I grew up. That's probably where Abon is waiting. That's where I would wait if I were him."
"Then I guess we know where we need to go," Mia said, gesturing ahead of them. Asher seemed to hesitate, but then he nodded and led the way.
He seemed to be lost in thought as they walked towards the palace, and Mia was content to let him think, looking around her at the surroundings and watching as things grew and changed right in front of her eyes. It was amazing, and she could see how this land could have been somewhere lush and wonderful to live before the destruction had set in.
The Shaddoc were truly cruel to have ruined a homeland like this just for their own pleasure.
"I remember that night," Asher murmured to her, and Mia looked up at him.
"What?"
"The night… my last night here until now. I remember it. I was really little when it happened, and I just remember people screaming and running around, everyone trying to get to the tunnels and to safety. And I was trying to see all of it, you know. I wanted to know what was going on, but Mynee, my nanny, she found me and brought me to my mother. I wasn't supposed to be out in the corridors anyway. Not while we were under attack, and my mother had been worried sick about me. I remember how she scooped me up and held me close and called me kithroi."
"What does that mean?" Mia asked softly.
Asher looked at her. "Beloved, or something close to it. Special one. Something like that. She always called me that when we were together, and I loved it. I loved being special to her."
"What was she like? You told me a little before, but." But she wanted to hear all of it.
"My mother? Beautiful. She had hair like mine, only long and wavy, and she always left it loose. It smelled like the flowers that grew outside of the palace, and I'd tuck my face against it when she held me. She was so regal all the time. Her brother was the king, and her father had been king before him, so she knew how to behave like a queen, but she was one the kindest people I'd ever met. I wanted to be just like her when I was old enough to sit on a throne."
Mia felt a stab of envy hearing him talk about her, just as she had the first time. She wished that she had good memories of her mother like that. Memories of them being close and wanting to be like her, instead of the ones of her mother taking her father's side and not letting her do anything she wanted to do.
"When the Shaddoc came, she stayed here," Asher said, motioning to the wreckage of the palace that they were drawing closer to. "She said that someone had to stay with the people, to make them know that their royalty hadn't deserted them. I didn't get it then because I wanted her to come with me, but I understand now. The people looked to her and my Uncle to guide them and lead them, and without them there, there's no telling what would have happened. Abon and I had to leave, so that there would be someone to sit on the throne when the attack was over, but I cried the whole way to Earth, missing my mother so bad."
She was assaulted with the image of a tiny Asher, bawling for his mother, and it made her reach for his hand. More than likely, he didn't even know if his mother was alive or not, and judging from the fact that everything here seemed dead, there was a good chance that she was dead, too.
Unless whatever power Asher seemed to have to bring the land back to life worked for people, too.
He smiled at her and tangled their fingers together as they walked.
The palace was getting closer now (or they were getting closer to it), and Mia was astounded by what she saw. It seemed to be made of the palest stone imaginable, shot through with vibrant colors and studded with shiny stones and windows. It wasn't hard to see that in its prime, it had stood as a testament to the royal family and the beauty of their land.
Mia opened her mouth to say something, but froze when she heard the sound of metal on stone from up ahead. "Did you hear that?" she hissed.
"Hear what?" But there the noise was again, and Asher paled. "I didn't even think… This might be bad."
"What might be bad?" she asked, heart racing in her chest.
"Shaddoc. They might still be living here. I didn't think they would be after all this time. After they'd done this, but maybe there are still some left just in case."
"Just in case? What would they want to be here for?" Mia wanted to know. "There's nothing here for them to have." Of course, they would know that they were there by now, what with all the things that were growing. There was a whole path of greenery behind them, and it seemed like the process had sped up so that Asher didn't even need to walk near a place for the green to spread. The path was already racing along ahead of them on its way to the palace, and as Mia watched, the same vines started to creep along what remained of the palace walls.
All the same, there wasn't really any place for them to hide, and they didn't know where the Shaddoc might be coming from in the first place.
The answer to that was made clear mere moments later. The grating sound rang through the otherwise silent air, and Mia's head snapped up in time to see one of the Shaddoc come lumbering out of the ruins of the palace ahead.
It was just as horrifying as the ones she'd seen at her own house, and she gasped, hand flying up to cover her mouth to keep herself from making any more sound.
Where the others hadn't been armored or armed, this one most
definitely was, a wickedly sharp looking sword with a curved blade dragging the ground behind him.
For a moment, it seemed like he hadn't noticed them, and Asher motioned for Mia to get behind him. She wanted to hiss that they needed to run or hide or something other than just stand there, considering neither of them had any weapons at all, but her voice was dead in her throat, and she trembled instead, not even fighting it when Asher practically shoved her out of the way.
He was shaking almost as badly as she was, and it occurred to her that he probably had never fought one of these beasts before if he'd left here when he was a child, and they didn't really get violent when they came to Earth to take people.
"Just stay behind me," Asher whispered, and that tiny sound seemed to be enough to make the creature lift its head and pin them with a hot stare.
It tipped its head back and blood curdling cry rang through the air, and for one breathless second, Mia was sure that he was calling more of his kind and that they were going to be killed right then and there.
When no one answered the call, though, it became apparent that the Shaddoc was alone, a raider who just happened to be there at the same time they were, and just happened to be threatening them. If they had some kind of weapon then maybe they would be alright, but even after frantic searching Mia could find nothing but stones.
"When in need," she muttered under her breath, picking up a large stone, ducking around Asher, and throwing it with all the force she could muster.
Her aim wasn't bad. In fact, it was excellent, even though she hadn't really been aiming for anything in specific, and the rock slammed into the side of the Shaddoc's head, making it grunt angrily.
"That's not staying behind me," Asher said from between clenched teeth.
"Sure it is," she quipped back. If she was going to die, and it seemed more and more likely that she would, it wasn't going to be with her tail between her legs.
Of course, by then, they were out of time. The rock to the head seemed to stun the creature for a moment, but it was bellowing soon after, beady eyes locked on the two of them as they tried to inch their way behind one of the crumbling buildings in an effort to use it as a shelter.
Before they could get there, the Shaddoc was lowering his head and running at them full tilt, sword held aloft, sharp and ready to sever their heads from their bodies if he caught them.
A grating sound that was probably a laugh spilled from the thing's lips. "Ackt te shighk'cftai," he said, lips pulled back in a terrifying grin.
Mia had no idea what he was trying to say to them, and she honestly didn't care much, considering it was probably some threat or taunt about how he was about to kill them. She had to wonder if he knew who she was, though it was doubtful that this Shaddoc was one of the same who had been taking her for most of her life.
"Long live the king," Asher translated, and the Shaddoc was on them, bearing down with its horrible breath and face, sword raised to cut.
Asher lifted his arm in an attempt to fend off the thing, and Mia shut her eyes, not wanting to see him get run through.
Another cry split the air, and Mia didn't open her eyes to see how many of the Shaddoc's fellows had come to join the fray. She didn't want to see it, and really if she could just black out before they killed her in whatever brutal and terrible way they had planned, she would be plenty happy with that.
Asher's sudden sharp gasp and the sound of metal cleaving through flesh made her wince, and tears welled in her eyes. She should have stayed on Earth, she should never have thought that things would be better if she ran away. Things were never made better by running, she-
"Mia," Asher breathed. "Mia, it's okay. You can look."
...Was she dead already? That had been fast. And painless.
Asher made an impatient noise and shook her shoulder. "Look."
When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of someone who looked very familiar. At Asher's feet were the remains of the Shaddoc, head separated from his body while he bled out sluggishly onto the ground.
"Abon?" she breathed, and he looked so much like he had when she'd known him as a child. Tall and friendly, with an open face and red hair. At his side, clutched in his hand was a silver sword, bloodied and dripping into the dirt.
Well. That explained a lot.
Chapter 12: Home
It was sort of overwhelming to go from being sure you were going to die to being saved by your uncle who you hadn't seen in years, and Asher wasn't really processing it well. Mostly he was gaping with his mouth open, looking from the body of the dead Shaddoc at his feet to Abon who was standing there gripping a sword.
Where had he even gotten a sword from?
"It's good to see you," Abon said, and his warm gaze went from Asher to Mia and then back again, seemingly waiting for one of them to say something.
Mia seemed to have recovered before him because she was stepping forward, but Asher was rooted in place. Just minutes ago, he had been faced with the realization that he was probably going to die and that Mia was going to die and it was all his fault for bringing her here. He hadn't known how to fight back or anything, and he'd just stood there, terrified.
And people expected him to be king? To stand for all the people when he couldn't even keep himself or the woman he was interested in safe from a single Shaddoc raider?
When he looked up, it was to see that Abon was folding Mia into a hug. She looked stunned for a moment, but then she seemed to melt into it, and that shook Asher from his daze. "Have you been here this whole time?" he demanded, striding forward and stepping over the corpse laid at his feet. "Is this where you've been hiding?"
"Asher," Abon said, letting Mia go and moving closer to him. "I haven't been hiding."
"No? Because that's what it seems like. You left me! You left and you came home without me." To his astonishment, his eyes were wet. Asher had cried to find himself alone when it'd first happened, but he'd thought that he'd done a good job of getting over it other than that. He had moved on and done what was asked of him, but standing here right now and facing his Uncle, he found that he could barely speak without trembling.
"I came back to see if I was right," Abon replied. "And I was. Look around you, Asher, and tell me what you see."
He frowned and glanced at the landscape around them. Even with things growing now, it was nothing like it had once been. It was still a beaten down corpse of the place where he had lived and played, and it hurt his heart to see it. "A ruin," Asher replied. Because that's all there was.
Abon shook his head. "That's not what you see, Asher. You see growth. You see promise. Building has been in the blood of the Nalyi since before you or I came to be. Rebuilding won't be a challenge for our kind." He sounded so cheerful. so pleased with himself, and Asher didn't know how to take that. Clearly there were still things that Abon knew and hadn't told him, and Asher was all at once fed up with the secrets.
"What is happening?" he demanded. "You owe me an explanation. You can't just. Just leave and leave behind little notes and messages and expect that to be enough. You can't just tell me that I'm supposed to be king because your time is over or whatever and then expect me to just take up the crown. And in case you haven't noticed, there's not much here for me to be king of."
He started to ask where all the people were, but let the question die in his mouth. He didn't want to hear it if they were dead or captured or worse.
Abon seemed to be studying him, a surprised look on his face. For several seconds that seemed longer than they could actually be, no one said anything. Then Abon smiled at him. "You have grown up quite well, Asher," he said. "And you do deserve explanations, so let me begin with this. If I were still king of this place, then all the growth that has happened since you stepped foot onto the soil would have already taken place. Quantari would have woken itself up for me, but it didn't. Until you got here, everything was dead and brown."
"What… I don't understand."
"There is an old Nalyi l
egend that goes like this. Many hundreds of years ago, the Nayli were a warrior people. They fought tooth and nail for their freedom and their survival against any other clan that might come against them. They defended themselves with whatever they had, and in the end, there was no one left to oppose them. They had created a land where they were safe and could finally put down their arms and come to learn other things. They learned art and craft. They stopped making weapons and started making beautiful things. In time, they forgot they had ever been warriors. Of course, it's impossible to ever defeat all of your enemies because new ones are always eager to rise in place of the old ones, and this is what happened to the Nalyi.
"The Shaddoc came, eager to prove that they could be the ones to finally defeat the Nalyi. By this point, no one who remembered their warrior ways was left, and the Nalyi were defenseless. Calta, the king at the time, and the one said to be responsible for the creation of Nalyi tunnels, urged his people to go and hide themselves while he confronted their attackers. What he didn't know what that his younger brother and heir to the throne followed him, unwilling to abandon him. Calta was killed, and his brother fled, seeking aid from nearby clans. He found it, and when he came back, he found things in a sort of...suspended state. The people in the tunnels were sleeping as if dead, and nothing he could do would wake them. The land had been ravaged and burned, and he mourned the loss of his people, even while their allies drove the Shaddoc out. ‘I am king of an empty land,' he cried to the heavens, and miraculously things began to grow again, the people woke from their sleep, and the Nayli prospered once more."
Asher stared at his uncle when he finished speaking. "So...when there's no king…" he whispered, piecing things together in his head.
"When there's no king, the Nayli and the land fall to slumber. No one can say for sure why this happens. Maybe it was granted by some benevolent powers that be. But in the legend, that's what happens. And it was what I was banking on when I left the people and took you with me."
