Chapter 4: Under And Above

A/N: Time for the NaoSa charm to kick in! Let's get CREATIVE! :)

"Where are we?" Kendra asked as they walked down what should have been, a very dark hall. Though since she had her fairykind status, was very well lit.

Ronodin smiled, "We're in the Underealm."

"The under-what?" She asked, "Are we underground, or is that just a fancy name?"

Ronodin chuckled, "We're in the domain of the Underking and it is called the Underealm. Somewhere underground, but also somewhere you cannot dig to."

"And where are we going?" Kendra asked.

"You don't have full permission to be here," Ronodin explained, "You have to talk to the Underking and ask him to stay here. You must say you only wish to stay with me, but also do not lie."

"Do you think it will work?" Kendra asked hopefully.

Ronodin shrugged, "We're just going to have to see, hun." He said, "He is definitely not going to be keen on your status, but maybe he'll be in a forgiving mood."

Kendra could hear the fakeness in his words but chose to ignore the voice nagging at her head. "Can you come with me?" She asked.

Ronodin shook his head, 'I'm afraid you're on your own for this," he said, "Keep your back to the Underking. Do not insult him and stay humble, and maybe try not to get killed. I would mourn the news terribly."

Well, that was reassuring, Kendra thought.

"Do I have to do this?" She asked, "I don't like the sound of all of this."

"You'll be fine," he said, "Probably." Wow, he was good at reassuring. Kendra was starting to wonder why she would have fallen for him before.

"Right," she said, not at all convinced.

"Great!" Ronodin didn't pick up her uneasiness or he just didn't care. He practically shoved her through the door and locked it behind her. Such a great supposed boyfriend.

Kendra found herself, in what was for the first time, a dark room. She could still see a little, but not as much as she is used to. It almost hurt her eyes to see darkness, for she was not adjusted to it.

A growl hit her head like thunder, nearly causing her to collapse.

Who brings such light into my realm! The voice boomed, Who dares!

Kendra tried her best to open her mouth. To say anything to this voice splitting her head into pieces with its booming voice, but she could cause not even a squeak to come out.

Well? The voice persisted, Who do you think you are? Why should I not kill you where you stand?

"My name is Kendra," she said weakly, "I have come to work with Ronodin, I want nothing more.

You jest, the voice said, Keeping such a light in my realm? Disrupting my loyal subjects, who I will repay with the one thing that unease them most when your life is just a feeble spark?

"I will stay humble," Kendra tried, "I want nothing more."

We both know that isn't true, the Underking said, I could give you back your memories, if you diminish the light within you. A near-fatal process, but you would have your memory for a few seconds.

"All I want is to work with Ronodin," Kendra said.

Send him in here, the voice said, but not to her. She felt a cold, cold presence swoop by her, sending chills down her spine. The Underking then addressed her, Leave.

Kendra did not hesitate to leave the room. She could feel herself pass Ronodin on the way out, but neither he nor she said a word. They would talk later. After the Underking was done with Ronodin.

Seth's griffin's wings were beating in perfect rhythm, unlike everything flowing through Seth Sorenson's head.

What was going through his head could not be put into words, mainly because there were too many thoughts and they were so unorganized, not even Kendra could organize them, and that is saying something.

You should see her when there is a single book out of place in her room, Seth shivered at the thought. He had learned after that NOT to mess up her room, especially with an unmotivated reason. He still had nightmares, not that he'd admit that to anyone of course.

He hoped the fair folk would be able to help them out. Maybe he could also try and talk to that prince Kendra had been hanging out with as well. Garrett, Seth remembered. He seemed to be fond of Kendra.

As he had said to his grandfather, he knew Eve would do what she could to help them. Heck, she probably wouldn't even hesitate to run out of the castle with them even if it meant she would have dish duty for a month or more. It was one of the things Seth enjoyed about her, it reminded him of himself.

He wondered if the news was public about what had happened back there. Did they already know what happened to the Wizenstone and his sister? Would they be grateful we saved some of the fairy folk? The people they freed were fair folk after all…

Seth shut down his thoughts or else he would start to go insane. Instead, he focused on the mighty beating of the wings of the griffin. Thump. Thump. Thump. They went, never once breaking rhythm, which honestly, kind of bored Seth. Couldn't they at least be a little more exciting?

He would much rather be on Tempest, but noooo. Grandpa Sorenson wouldn't let him and Seth is not the happiest about that. What is so wrong with Tempest?

Tempest reminds Seth of himself in a lot of ways. Grandpa Sorenson said that was the reason he couldn't use Tempest. Ouch.

It took about two hours for them to reach the castle and Seth could not be more bored on the way. He tried everything to keep himself entertained, even pulled out his emergency Nintendo. He tried not to use it too much because batteries and/or chargers were pretty dang hard to find in the magical world.

He could now see why Newel and Doren were always begging for batteries. It was hard for even him to get them anymore, considering he didn't leave Fablehaven often.

Besides, where would he go? His parents were gone on a cruise on the other side of the world. They are coming back though and Seth is not looking forward to telling them about what happened.

It should have been him, he couldn't shake the idea from his head. His sister was powerful but no offense to her, she could also be too trusting. Would she put her trust in Ronodin, if that is where she was? Or was she with Celebrant? A new enemy? Where even was his sister?

He hoped somehow they would be able to get in contact with Kendra, or at least find out where she was. If he had to choose though, he would want to talk with her. He would never admit this but he longed to hear his sister teasing him. It was better than nothing after all.

Warren and Vanessa were on the left and right side of him on their griffins. Typically, all three of them could fit on two griffins, but they had brought quite a bit of luggage with them. They had also brought a few gifts in the hope to make the king favor them.

Seth was tempted to keep some of it for himself, but he had learned not to steal in the magical world. Otherwise, it would always come back to bite you in the butt.

They were closing in on the castle, Seth noticed. He had to admit, the castle was pretty impressive. Though he had been there once before, he was still startled by the raw beauty of this kingdom. Whether it was the people, the city, or both. Every building was polished and every person's skin was flawless.

It was a good thing he didn't bring Newel and Doren because they tended to go a bit crazy around pretty girls. Seth remembered that time he went to a part with them and boy, they could be pretty lovesick for a couple of basically immortal boys.

Seth noticed unlike last time, people were not cheering for the arrival. Though he supposed that was expected, it's not like they had given any warning that they sphere coming. But still… would it hurt to have a few Seth Rocks signs? He kept this to himself.

They landed on the platform that they knew was a landing deck. Almost as if they had pushed a button, two dashing men came and took the griffin's reins for us. "The King is waiting for you," they informed us, "Down the hall, first room on the left."

Vanessa looked surprised, "He knew we were coming?"

The fairy folk shrugged, "Don't ask me," he said, "I'm just the messenger. I'll be sure to take so these items to your rooms. The gifts as well.."

Vanessa nodded in understanding before turning to face Seth and Warren, "Well," she said, "Looks like we have an audience with the king. And we best not be late."

Kendra waited outside the door for what could have been an eternity. She found herself a little worried about her supposed boyfriend's wellbeing, Besides, the Underking was pretty terrifying. She wouldn't want to send her worst enemy to meet with him. She shuddered as she thought about who was her enemy.

The boy, Seth, who claimed to be her brother didn't seem so evil. Did he? Or was he just tricking her like a Ronodin said he did to him? Her mind felt like it had been split in half as she thought about what was going on. She had no memory, no connections, no nothing.

Her guess was she had lost her identity, most likely by turning the key. Both of her sources had confirmed that fact, but she knew better than to trust them. One of them was lying, she just wishes she knew who…

Her thoughts were interrupted when Ronodin practically burst out of the door, startling Kendra and causing her to jump like a scared cat. Not that she blamed him for wanting to get out of there. As smooth and aloof as Ronodin was, Kendra still bet he trembled when in the presence of the called 'Underking.'

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine," he said harshly, the hardness in his tone startling Kendra, "We have to go." He said, "But first we have to pick up something of mine."

When I Go Up, She Goes Down. I Miss You, I Lack.