To the surface! Luna has so much to learn about the world of Gielinor!
This is the last chapter of 'Book' two! XD Thanks to everyone for staying with me and reading this random story!
Skylar and I had decided to sit with our backs against the marketplace building while we talked.
"Kid, if you don't have a name... where's your family and home?"
"My home is gone. I never had a family."
"My home is gone too," Skylar sighed and let his shoulders slide down, "no family to live for any more."
"We're both out of luck, I guess," I replied and thought it over. That's what I seemed to be good at too, apparently; thinking. Then, the obvious solution hit me:
"We can live together!" I declared, turning to Skylar. He pondered it for a second, then smiled brightly.
"Why not? It's not like we have anything to lose!" He laughed and ruffled my hair again, "you can be my little sister!" Skylar turned serious for a moment and stared at my hair intently. "Though, if you're going to become an adventurer, you have to do something about that." He pointed at my hair, "it's a hazard."
I opened my mouth to protest, but I realized he was right. There were many times when I could have escaped the guards if my hair was shorter. I loved it too much to let it go, though. It was the only thing I had. My hand went to the pendant resting against my collar bone instinctively. Courage, once again, flowed through my very soul. "Okay, let's cut it off."
Skylar nodded and drew a sharp, dangerous-looking dagger from his belt that was made from a crimson, scale-covered metal. We stood up and Skylar gathered my hair into a bunch, then sawed through it with the dagger. I tried not to flinch as my lovely white hair fell to the ground in heaps. I moved my hand to the remaining hair I had, which was barely to the base of my ears.
"It doesn't look too bad," Skylar assured me, still smiling, "We'll take you to a real hair salon when we get to the surface."
The surface! We were going to the surface!
"The surface!" I squeaked, thrilled at the idea of leaving the underground, "what's it like there?"
"It's just a lot brighter than it is down here, I guess," Skylar shrugged, kicking a pile of hair off to the side, "you know, with the sun and stuff."
I nodded, eager to hear everything I could about the sun. "Is there anything else?" I asked, "is there anything else in the sky?"
Skylar nodded and glanced upwards, as though he could see the sky above him. "The sun has it's nighttime counterpart," Skylar explained, "it's called the moon."
Night and day were things regulated by clocks in Dorgesh-Kaan. The thought of being able to know time by the way the sky looked only made the surface seem so much more wondrous. More questions filled my mind and began to pour out my mouth in a river of words:
"What make the moon and the sun bright? What does grass feel like? It there anything dangerous on the surface? What is our home going to be like? What are-"
"For Zamorak's sake, kid! Calm down!" Skylar laughed, brushing my questions off. "You'll understand everything once we get up there." I clamped my mouth shut and nodded obediently. Skylar looked around and sighed, "Got any money on you, kid? We're going to need to charter a boat to get to the surface."
"Yeah, I have some money," I replied, holding out my meager handful of coins. Skylar nodded and reached into his own pocket. A couple seconds later, he drew an equally small handful of coins out and dropped them into my hand.
"You hold on to the money. You're more organized," Skylar explained, dusting his hands off, "Now, let's go get that boat." He took my hand and led me to a stable wooden platform that hung over a stream of murky blue water. The water, unmoved by a current, was a filthy trash-dump. I studied the stagnant waters while Skylar spoke to a dwarf who was leaning against a boat. After exchanging a few more words with the man, Skylar motioned for me to stand beside him.
"You see, sir," Skylar said, putting an arm around me, "my baby sister and I are trying to get home. So won't you kindly take us to the mines in your ship?" The Dwarven stranger thought it over while Skylar smiled charmingly.
"Help me decide," said the dwarf, holding his hand out.
"Give him the money, sis," Skylar whispered. I dug the coins out of my pocket and dumped them into the large, meaty hand of the Dwarven boatman. He laughed and told us to board the boat. Skylar grabbed my hand again and pulled me up the gangplank. In less than 30 minutes, the boat lurched out of the 'port' and began to weave along the trash-filled river. With neither wind nor current to help him, the poor Dwarven boatman worked tirelessly to make the vessel move. I pulled away from Skylar and called to the man,
"Hey, mister, do you need some help?" I asked, decidedly concerned for him. The dwarf shook his head and continued to pull at the controls. Beads of sweat rolled down his plump, red face as he labored. "Where's the crew, then?"
The man only shrugged again and told me to sit down. I shuffled back to my place beside Skylar, who was laughing boisterously.
"That's dwarves for ya, sis," he said, his face reddening from laughing so much, "they don't like help from outsiders that much." I pouted and stood beside him silently. Boats and trains were things Dorgeshuun children were taught about at a young age. I knew more about boats than the silly human man beside me, probably. Not wanting to offend either of my companions, I kept my mouth shut.
Nearly two hours passed before we pulled into the next port. Skylar had curled up on the deck and fallen asleep. I leaned against him and listened to his loud snoring absently. The scenery had been thrilling at first, but I had grown bored with it quickly.
"Hey, get up you humans," shouted the dwarf, kicking Skylar, "we're here." Skylar sat up groggily and pushed me away.
"Gosh, kid," he yawned, "you're heavier than you look." I laughed and stood up while Skylar rambled about how I needed to go on some kind of 'diet'. The boatman ushered us down the gangplank and bid us farewell. Then, the dwarf climbed back up the gangplank and vanished from my field of view.
"Come on," said Skylar as he pulled me past an abandoned campfire, "we're almost there." We stopped in front of a cave opening. Everything past it was dark, but I could hear something moving around. "You need to hold my hand and stay silent. Don't speak, and breathe as quietly as possible." The young man glanced warily into the darkness. "I've been through there a thousand times, but..."
Afraid to speak, I squeezed his hand and clamped my eyes shut. I let Skylar pull me through the dark place without so much as opening my eyes for a second. The sounds grew louder and faded within seconds.
"We're here."
I opened my eyes tentatively. Something cool moved past me, pulling my hair along with it. I turned my small, pale face toward the sky and gasped. Above me hung a plane of darkness speckled with sparks of light. Among the sparks was a tiny glowing disk. I pointed at it and asked,
"What's that, big brother?"
"The moon, kid," replied Skylar, who had a thoughtful expression on his face, "it's night right now." I continued to gaze at the moon, thrilled by it's gently glow.
"I got it!" Skylar cried excitedly, "we'll name you after the moon, since it's the first thing you saw on the surface!" I nodded absently, still fixed on that perfect little circle of light. "Luna, is what we'll call you- that's 'moon' in the Holy Language." I broke my gaze from the sky and stared at Skylar dumbly, trying to take in everything he had just said. My name was Luna. A smile spread across my face and I nodded appreciatively.
"Luna." I whispered, looking him in the eyes, "I love that."
"Well, come on, Luna; I have a whole new world to show you." Skylar replied, reaching for my hand. I gently pulled it away and shook my head. Instead, I rested my hand on my lovely silver pendant.
It's funny what dreams can do for you.