Part IV: chapter 3
"What?" Gregor and his Mom and Dad and Lizzie and Luxa exclaimed all at once. Mom had jumped up when she said it. Dad had stopped chasing Boots to stand stock still in the middle of the room. Lizzie had protectively grabbed Gregor as she rose, unknowingly tugging at his stitches as she did. Luxa stood so fast she tripped on her feet and fell over. Gregor lunged for her, but Lizzie was in the way. She landed in a bundle on the floor. All Gregor did was tug his stitches again.
The only one still calm after that statement was Mrs. Cormaci. Instead of looking alarmed, she looked thoughtful. "That's one way to interpret it."
"It's a rotten way to interpret it!" Gregor yelled. Only a month or so ago Howard had warned him to stay away from Luxa. Now he wanted him to marry her? "Have you gone crazy?" Hurt, Luxa glared at him from the floor. Oh great. Now he'd hurt Luxa's feelings. "That's not it," he said to her. "We've never even been on a date! You may not like me."
The idea was an affront to Lizzie. "Who wouldn't like you?"
Gregor stared at his sister. "That's not the point!"
In a voice of finality, Mom said, "Gregor's too young to marry anyway."
"Yeah!" Gregor agreed. "And Luxa's younger than I am!" He gestured energetically between himself and Luxa. "We're too young!"
"What if it is a ceremonial marriage?" Howard said then.
Luxa's eyebrows furrowed. "Ceremonial?"
"Yes," Howard said. "For the sake of everybody. A… what is it called?"
"A marriage of convenience?" Dad said.
Luxa's forehead was still wrinkled. "How is that for the sake of everybody?"
Gregor was able to reach down and help her up as Howard said, "It is the way out we have been looking for. On the council. The reconciliation council."
That really confused Luxa. "How does marrying Gregor make it better for the council?"
Howard looked at Gregor. "He is an Overlander." He looked at Luxa. "You are an Underlander."
Gregor still didn't understand, and he hated not understanding. "So."
"Do you not see?" Howard said, clearly irritated by their lack of comprehension.
Mom's voice was at its most dangerous when she said, "Why don't you explain it?" Her voice always got softer when she got mad.
"It is the way forward," Howard said, as if it was obvious. "It brings us together in a positive way."
"But it has nothing to do with the rats or the crawlers or the fliers or the spinners," Luxa argued.
"No, but it has to do with the Underland." Howard looked at them expectantly. "Do you not see?"
Baffled, Luxa shook her head. "No."
"You do it for us all," Howard said. "And for none."
"For… Temp?" Boots said, as confused as Luxa.
"Yes," Howard said. "And Lapblood, and Aurora, and Heronian, and Mareth, and… all of us."
Understanding slowly crossed Luxa's face. "It does not give anything to any one race..."
"... while at the same time gives to all equally!" Howard finished for her.
Luxa squinted. "The rat will never agree to it."
The resolve in Howard's eyes hardened. "I will convince Lapblood. She will convince Ripred."
"Wait a minute - slow down!" Gregor exclaimed. He lurched two paces from the couch, then back, then turned to pace again. "I thought the council's job was to divide up the Underland in pieces that will benefit everybody." Turn, lurch, pace, turn. "That has nothing to do with marriage."
"It has everything to do with marriage," Luxa patiently said.
"Ok, maybe you can explain it better than Howard can." Gregor stopped pacing to face her. "Make me understand."
Luxa took his hand. "Howard thinks far beyond you or I or the time of now. He thinks of the future, as should I."
That didn't help. "Huh?"
Luxa gave a patient sigh. "Howard speaks of a time before you appeared in the Underland. Of things Vikus said to us." She looked to Howard, but Gregor knew she was referring not just to Howard, but all of the royal family, Henry included. "He often cautioned how humans in the Underland would not always be able to remain alone. I thought he meant for us to ally ourselves. But perhaps this is the time he spoke of."
This still didn't help. "Meaning?"
"Though we fought against it, he maintained that Regalia must someday join others. He must have meant the Overland. Solovet disagreed."
"Of course she did," Gregor said. "The only way she would agree is if she went to war with the Overland."
"Vikus did not want a war. Vikus wanted the entire Underland - as one body - to become one."
"And what better way to do that than a marriage between over and under?" Howard added.
This sounded almost like a Medieval set-up. An arranged marriage. "Wait a minute," Gregor said again. "Now you're talking like it's something that's only for political reasons. Luxa's not just a political tool. She's - Luxa!"
"Stop!" Mom said then. "I've already made myself clear. Gregor's too young to get married. End of discussion. Now, you, young man, are coming straight home and…"
"Grace." Dad's voice was full of resignation. "Like I already told you, we can't just tell Gregor to do anything anymore."
"Of course I can. I'm his mother." She faced him head on. "Gregor, go home where I can see to your back, then get to bed. We'll -"
Sadness welled up in Gregor. "No, Mom, I can't do that."
She bristled. "What do you mean? Can't… or won't?"
Gregor said, "Can't. I can't leave my friends in the Underland. I can't leave Luxa. I can't just forget about them. Besides, Howard's taking good care of me. The best."
"That's true," Mrs. Cormaci said. "He's a real life Doogie Howser."
"I don't care who he is," Mom snapped. "As your mom, I -"
"No." Gregor's voice was firm but gentle at the same time. "I'm not saying I agree or disagree with this marriage idea, but we have to face it; Dad fell. Me and Boots fell. Boots is the princess. You caught the plague. Lizzie's the code breaker. The Underland has a hold on the whole family whether we want it to or not. Pretending it doesn't exist doesn't help anyone."
"Don't tell me what helps or -"
Luxa's sudden movement towards Mom abruptly cut her off. "Gregor's Mom, you can be assured the Underland will cherish him, always. He will be safe, and vaunted, and honored. His unique perspective as an Overlander is great. He is of much help."
Gregor warmed at the praise, but smiled a secret smile; he often forgot it, but deep inside, this once bratty girl was definitely a queen.
So, was he for this marriage, or against it? Could he do it by halves? For convenience, as Howard suggested? He wasn't sure he wanted something like a marriage to Luxa to become nothing more than a political tool. But then again, did he want someone else to marry Luxa? Because that's what would happen. If he didn't do it, someone else would, someone more politically acceptable, perhaps, but someone who might not like her as much. By not marrying her, he might be dooming her to a life of misery. Is that what he wanted?
Gregor wasn't ready to decide that. But he wasn't ready to commit himself, either. "Let's think about this before we go having any ceremonies," he suggested. "Besides, this is something so big that the others should have a say in it."
Luxa turned thoughtful. "That is true. But it is ultimately our decision, is it not?"
Gregor groaned. "Ok. How's this? I'm not fully healed yet anyway. Howard can tell you that. We haven't solved the Sandwich/prophecy problem yet, either. How can I do much uniting if Sandwich is always tearing the Underland apart by starting war after war after war? We should leave this Overlander question till we have everybody's opinions. This affects them, too."
Luxa smiled. "Spoken like a king."
Gregor gave a sheepish grin. "I'm no king. Just a twelve year old kid with lots of scars and no shirt on."
Luxa hugged him. "I like your scars. Vikus always said that scars are a badge of honor, though fighting is not."
"That doesn't make much sense."
"Like Sandwich, Vikus never does." Luxa smiled and squeezed him some more.
Luxa's hip contacted his pocket and the bulge of money within. "Oh, I almost forgot. Maybe this will make Mom feel better about the Underland." Gregor pulled the wad of bills out of his pocket and handed it to Mom. "Compliments of the Underland."
She took the wad of money. "What's this?"
"Five thousand reasons to give the Underland a chance. And there's forty-five thousand more reasons in the bank."
Mom looked at him sharply. "Forty-five...thousand?"
"Yep." He knew he'd been right, that he should offer it like this. "Dad told me to bring something back from the museum, so I did. Mrs. Cormaci sold it, and got this. Merry Christmas."
His Mom sank slowly back into her chair, astonished into silence. She finally whispered, "Sakes alive."
"See, like I've been saying, the Underland isn't all bad." Gregor gave Luxa a squeeze. "Not at all."
Author's note: I realize Gregor should not have heeled so quickly from something as serious as a whipping. But such a fast recovery worked well for the plot. Please forgive such poetic license.
