So yeah, here's the deal. I was pretty excited about this story when I started, but that excitement is starting to dwindle. That's for a couple of reasons. 1) It's surprisingly difficult to stay excited over two stories being written at the same time, and personally, I'm pretty invested in the original story I'm writing right now. 2) ...my apologies to everyone who actually is reading this, but very few of you actually seem to be reading and enjoying this story. Lack of excitement from you guys drains the excitement from me, you know? So I've begun to think about dropping it. Still, though, I will update with the next few chapters I have already written, and we'll see what I think once I've done that. Does that sound fair?

Regardless, thank you if you're reading this far. Enjoy the next chapter.


"I'm back."

I hurry inside the house barely a foot behind the owner, eager to escape the dim atmosphere of the streets. Once the door shuts behind me, the stench from outside is abruptly cut off and replaced by a fresh, homely aroma. The appearance, too, is contrast to the outside, with no speck of dirt nor smudge to speak of.

Without turning around, the man orders, "Take off your shoes."

Although I'm far from keen on listening to anyone's commands, I readily remove the blood and dust caked shoes. Then I stand, unsure of what to do with the ruined slippers. In my own house, I'd have just thrown them on the ground, but this place is so pristine compared to everything I just walked through that I hesitate to dirty the sanctified place.

The man who brought me walks over to a lit fireplace, lifting the bucket to hang it over the flame. As I watch him do so, I spy a scrawny, red-headed girl gaping at me from the couch. Disturbed by how she ogles at me like I'm some sort of spectacle, I turn up my nose and instead think about how small the house seems to be. The front room alone is a mere half the size of my bedroom, and from the outside there didn't look to be much more space than what I'm seeing. And this person lives here? And if that girl is a resident here, too, then two people live here? That's preposterous!

All of a sudden, the girl shouts, "Farlan! Farlan! Levi brought home a girl!"

A light haired man, a fair deal taller than the one who found me at the pond, emerges from a back room. When he sees, me, he freezes. "Levi, who is this?"

The dark haired shorty, who must be Levi by the looks of it, doesn't even lift his head as he wipes down the sides of the bucket with a white cloth. "She was at the waterhole. She claims to come from above ground."

"WHAT?" I jump, dropping my shoes when the redhead girl suddenly leaps to her feet. "What do you mean 'above ground'? Is she seriously from there?"

"I am," I confirm, having to force my usual confidence. "And I would be in your debt if you would show me the way back up."

The one who's apparently Farlan leans back against the doorway he came from. "Do you have any ID to prove you're a citizen up there?"

"Of course not. I don't even know what kind of ID you mean. I've never met anyone who carries around that sort of thing."

"I mean any sort of ID. Anything at all."

"Why would I go through the hassle of carrying any of that with me?"

He sighs. "Then you're out of luck. Whether you're actually from there or not, you can't get up the stairs without either money, or an ID."

"What do you mean I can't?" I demand.

"They're excessively strict with you goes up the staircase. If they weren't, everyone would go up there. The fee is incredibly high, and for the lucky ones who save up enough to go up there, they're bound to end up back down here without citizenship to the surface."

"But I have citizenship! I was born up there! I've always lived up there! Surely there are plenty of people on the surface who can vouch for me!"

"Do any of them know you're down here?"

His tone irritates me. It's like he's trying to explain things to a little kid! "No, but I can just write a letter-"

"There's no way to get that letter above ground."

"Don't interrupt me!" I huff, crossing my arms. Even so, his words shake me. "You make it sound like I'm stuck down here!"

Levi then decides to contribute for the first time since the conversation started. "That's because you are."

"I can't be!" I rage. "There has to be some way for me to get back up there! There's no way I can stay in a place as dark and filthy and poor as this!"

"Sorry for being dark and filthy and poor," the girl grumbles.

"I happen to agree," Levi mentions offhandedly, dropping the dirtied cloth into the water to boil it. "It just so happens that I've got no choice in the matter, and we can't help you with it. We've been trying long to save up enough for two of us to go above ground, and now we've got three. I don't even want to try saving up for four."

"That's no fair!"

He turns to face me, disdain in his expression. "Life never is."

"Then what am I going to do?" I whine, lips trembling. "What am I supposed to do, stuck down here? I want to go home! I want to see Daddy, and…." No, not Easton. I don't want to see him. I can't.

"Daddy?" I glance over at the redhead who spoke, who remains the only one I have no name to put to. Maybe I'll just call her Brat. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone over ten call their dad that!"

"Are you calling me a kid?"

"Well, you certainly seem to act like one!"

"Well, excuse me!" I snap through the water collecting again in my eyes. "I happen to have just had the absolute worst day of my life, so I think you could be a little understanding, you brat!"

She scowls. "What did you just say?"

"Hey, now," the blonde guy steps between us. "Let's not start a catfight." Then, to me he suggests, "Why don't you stay the night and clear up your head? We can figure things out in the morning. I can sleep on the couch tonight so you can have a bed, but I can't claim that it's as clean as Levi's."

I sniff. "Okay."

"I'm Farlan, that's Isabel, and the one who brought you here is Levi." Farlan motions to each of them as he goes through introductions. Then he motions to me. "What is it we should call you?"

"Edaline." Even in my condition, I can't help but note that he leaves off their last names. Usually it's the polite thing to give a full name! I guess I shouldn't expect too much civility from them, though, them having been in this environment their entire lives.

"If you want to stay," Levi adds, "you have to clean. Start by throwing out those filthy shoes of yours."

My gaze lowers to the slippers scattered on the floor. "Where?"

"Throw them out the window. Some orphan'll come take them sooner or later."

So I collect the shoes and trudge over to the window, hesitating when I reach it. Studying it, I wonder, "How do I open it?"

Isabel snickers, then pops over to unlatch some sort of contraption that appears to have been holding the two sides of the shutter closed. "There ya go, your highness. Anything else I can do for you while I'm at it?"

"Don't bother," I glare. Then I toss the slippers as told, whirling back to face the interior. "So, what shoes are there for me to wear?"

Levi answers, "We don't have any extra. You'll go barefoot until we can find you a pair."

Suddenly I regret getting rid of the shoes I had. "You can't be serious!"

"We'll do our best to make it bearable," Farlan promises, "but we won't be able to offer you the level of comfort you're probably used to, Edaline. Please try to get used to it, because down here, you aren't likely to get much better. You were lucky Levi decided not to leave you for someone else to find."

"What am I, a stray kitten?"

"A full grown cat, more like," Isabel jabs. "Arrogant as a princess, yet having to rely on someone else to take care of you." I certainly wish I was a cat right now, because then I could claw her eyes out and run. "Really, Levi, why did you bring her home? She's so prissy!"

Before I can throw back an insult, Levi explains, "Because she's good at cleaning."

Taken aback, I refuse, "I am not going to be your maid!"

"Don't take offense," Farlan insists. "It's something we all have to do, or Levi would throw any of us out. He's incredibly strict about cleanliness."

"But I've never cleaned in my life!"

"You said you cleaned yourself at the pond," Levi points out, prodding at the fireplace with a poker. "Looking at the state of your clothes, I can tell you were an absolute disaster before, but now your dress is the only thing disturbing to look at. I couldn't leave you there if you were that good at cleaning and had nowhere to go. It would have been a crime."

"And if I don't clean?"

He finally meets my gaze. "Then you can go back out there and have fun trying to find any other place down here that isn't swimming in muck."

I cringe, but fall silent. Isabel chortles at the sight, which causes my jaw to tighten in irritation. "Fine, I'll clean, but for your information I know nothing about how to do it. And I want to go to the staircase up at the first opportunity."

Farlan shrugs. "We can take you, but we can't promise anything."

"Just so long as you get me there." I'm sure I'll be able to get up. Maybe they do their best to keep the poor contained down here, but I don't belong among them. Surely they'll be able to see that. I just have to put up with this until I can get there, and then I'll be home free. The problem is where to go after that.

Farlan leads me to a back room, which is as bland as the front, but at least has a made bed. Sitting on it, my first reaction is to complain of the stiffness. Farlan just apologizes and says that it's all they could afford.

Grimacing, I suck it up and motion for him to leave the room. When I'm in the process of removing my dress, the door creaks open. Immediately I halt, smoothing down the cloth still around my body. It's Isabel. She tosses a bundle of clothes onto the floor and nods to me with a smirk before taking her leave. Slowly, I bend to grab the clothes she left. What I find them to be are scratchy pants and a crinkled white shirt. Men's clothes. Under any other circumstance, I would never so much as slip my arm into one of those sleeves, but I've got no choice if I want to wear something other than this ruined dress.

With great reluctance, I change into the given clothes, and tuck myself into the uncomfortable bed. Normally, I'd go storming to Daddy for being treated so lowly, but what am I to do if this is the best I can get? I hardly want to know how much worse it could get!

As I'm laying there it finally sinks in: I'll never see Daddy again. He's dead. He's dead, and Easton...oh, I only wish he were dead! If he were dead, I could just cry and get over it. I could seethe with hatred for his killer and preserve my memory of him as my sweet little brother. But he's not dead.

Easton's still alive, and he's done what he's done. And if I get back above ground, he'll be there, and I might end up meeting him again.

Shivers wrack my body as I imagine it, but I don't cry. The tears stay staunched, stuck inside by the overwhelming fear that's risen in me. If he finds me….

If Easton finds me...


I don't really have anything to say today. It happens. So see you guys next chapter.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!