Of Letters and Broken Dreams

Author: TUCfan

Pairing: Gregor/Luxa or Gluxa

Rating: It's TUC, so T.

Description: "Lizzie saw the look in his eyes when he handed her the letter. She knew he was lying."

Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland Chronicles. They are owned by the amazing Suzanne Collins, who we wouldn't be writing fanfiction without. This story contains mentions of character death, but since it's sourced directly from Code of Claw, you should already know that.

Author's Note: This is my second story to be published, so please, go easy on it. If you have a criticism, please kindly review, but do not hate. Hating does nothing but make me feel bad.

Song: Probably something depressing like How to Save a Life or Iris.


Lizzie accepted the letter and looked at Gregor as he explained why she should give it to Luxa instead of him. Something about him was off. He had this look in his eyes, like he was going off to his death. It scared her.

With the arrival of Lapblood and the other rats, the letter slipped her mind. It wasn't until they were sent to bed that she remembered. She turned it over in her mind. Why would Gregor lie about the letter? Did it say something he couldn't say to Luxa? With all kinds of theories and questions swirling in her mind, she fell into a restless sleep. What felt like hours later, she awoke to hushed whispers. It took her a few moments to decipher who was speaking. It sounded like Ripred and Gregor. Ripred was saying something about the prophecies being fake when she heard something that shook her to her core.

"And maybe- you're not going to die."

Die? Gregor? Was that what he meant when he said she would return to Regalia before him? Because he would never arrive?

He stuttered something about Nerissa and Hamnet, but Lizzie was too busy thinking to pay attention. Then more words reached her.

"The death of a warrior? Well, if we can swap princesses so easily, why not warriors? Thousands will be dead at the end of this mess. But I'm not convinced you will be. One rager to another, I think you can beat the Bane. I think you're better than he is. And I don't think that any mumbo jumbo of Sandwich's can change that. Unless you let it. So you fight, Gregor the Overlander. And don't you let your guard down for a second because you think anything's inevitable!"

Lizzie recognized what Ripred was doing. He was giving Gregor hope. Hope that whatever terrible thing Sandwich said about him, he could overcome it. And it filled her with hope too.

The pair made the rounds in waking everybody up, and Lizzie quickly closed her eyes and acted as if she was still asleep. Next to her, Gregor awoke Boots the way he did at home, by blowing raspberries on her stomach. She made him do it a few more times before she finally got up. He then dragged them both over to breakfast, where Boots commented on Gregor's newfound hope.

After breakfast, Lizzie and Boots packed their items and prepared to leave. Gregor fixed the pink backpack and gave her the only flashlight.

"Won't you need the flashlight in battle?" she asked.

"I cracked that echolocation thing," he whispered to her.

Surprised, she asked, "Will you teach me?"

He nodded and pulled out another item, a chessboard. He gave it to her and Boots the cookies, and then it was time to go.

In no time at all, they were taking off. Lizzie watched Gregor and Ripred until they took a turn, and that was it.

As soon as she was sure Gregor could not see her, she pulled the letter out of her pocket and unfolded it. He had written it in the Tree of Transmission, likely for privacy. It read:

Luxa, sorry, but one of us has to live. I love you. Gregor

Tears pricked her eyes. Her brother had changed so much in the time he had first come down. He loved a girl. He was resigned to death. Except he wasn't anymore. He had the hope that he could beat the Bane and save the Underland. He had the hope that they could end this war and make it home. He had the hope that, one day, they would be okay again.

And she did too.


Well there you have it folks. A really, really short oneshot about Lizzie discovering her brother's fate. If you see any mistakes, please review. Also, please give constructive criticism, since this is only my second story. Happy reading!