So hey...I'm watching my brother play mario cart right now. It makes me feel kinda pathetic, seeing how good he is at it. He and I always argue over which of us gets to use Rosalina. Anyone else know her? The one from Super Mario Galaxy? Yeah, she's the bomb. And that little Luma she always has? Only the best thing in the video game universe. Right now he's struggling to beat a shadow, a pre-programmed run of the racetrack. It's kinda funny.

So yeah. Moving onto the story now.


They had made it sound like it would be awhile before they could take me to the stairs, but when I wake up the next morning, Farlan assures me that Levi could take me after breakfast if they could convince him. So I sit down, only to have a bowl of mush placed in front of me.

"...what is this?"

"Breakfast, Princess," Isabel smirks from across the table. "Eat up."

"This isn't food," I grimace, pushing the bowl away from me.

She shovels a spoonful of her own gruel in her mouth, speaking through her full mouth. "Well it's pretty much what we've got. A lot of people down here don't even have this much."

I purse my lips in disgust, then stand up from the table. Yes, I'm hungry, but starving for a short while would be better than putting any of that goop in me. It just means I've got to get out of here as quickly as possible, which doesn't exactly change my situation. I turn to face Levi, who's already washing his bowl with the water from the bucket.

Pointedly ignoring what surely contaminates the water he's cleaning with, I state, "I'm ready to go."

He glances up. "I'm busy."

"Levi," Farlan argues, "Isabel and I have a job today."

"So do I," he scowls.

"You're not needed until later in the job. You should have enough time to take her over and run back to get your gear." When Levi seems to write him off, Farlan adds, "The sooner she goes, the sooner she'll stop trying to go." Although I'm not such a fan of how he puts it, at least it gets Levi to appear to consider it. I cross my arms, the time he takes to make up his mind wearing my patience thin.

Eventually, Levi relents. "We're leaving, Edaline."

"Now?"

When his eyes meet mine, I shrink back under the freeze they send my way. Swallowing all remaining complaints, I just nod and move to follow him. My eyes widen when he slips a knife into his pocket. I nearly inquire about it, nearly insist that I don't want to be walking around with someone ready to stab something, then quickly clam up. Just for now. I just need to stay silent for now. Once I'm back above ground, I can scream and complain all I want. I can wait another hour for that.

Levi doesn't wait up for me and I have to rush out the door after him. Despite the fact that he took me in, he hardly seems to be any sort of gentlemen. Someone as rough as him is little less than an ingrate, but I'll at least give credit where credit is due. At least he's taking me to the stairs.

"Stay close to me," he suddenly orders as we descend the stairs in front of his house. "If you don't, I won't help you if you get caught by someone unsightly."

I gape, "You'd really just leave me?"

"Be thankful I'm doing anything for you at all."

"Couldn't you be a little nicer?" When he doesn't respond, I reach out to grab his shoulder. "Hey, I'm talking to-"

Pain spikes up my arm when he grabs my extended hand by the wrist and twists it. I choke on a scream, tears sprouting in my eyes. I try to wrench away, but he keeps ahold of me agonizingly tight.

"Stop acting so high and mighty," he commands. He glares down at me icily, the pain he inflicted having doubled me over. As I attempt to pry my hand free with my other, he berates me further, voice as sharp as the electric pain jolting through my limb as he spells out, "Down here, you're no better than us. You're worse. You don't even understand how to survive, so until you do, you're as good as a stray dog that leeches off any scrap of compassion it can find. Know your place."

I whimper, a tear slipping out before he finally releases me. Then he starts walking again. I trail behind him and massage my poor wrist, biting back hateful curses that crowd behind my lips all the while. The only thing that allows me to contain myself is the fact that this humiliation will be over soon. I'll soon be rid of this disgraceful man, and this disgusting place.

The rest of the walk is walked in silence, mutual reluctance to converse emanating from the both of us. As we walk, though, my eyes wander. They wander to the dirty humans roaming the streets, watching how some beg and the others ignore. One woman doesn't ignore a beggar and pulls out a small purse. The second after she opens it, someone darts out from an alleyway and snatches it out of her hands. I see this, but I mainly pay mind to the mangy mutts howling on half of the street corners. The drool that drips from their mouths, the ribs that practically stab through their strained tight skin, the fleas that pounce from one's fur to another's…

I shudder. This is what Levi was comparing me to? Me? I'm the girl everyone has always adored! I'm the girl all men lusted after! And yet he calls me one of these hideous things? Impossible! Utterly impossible!

Suddenly we stop walking, and I look to see why. In front of us is a heavily guarded, open doorway that seems to delve into the wall of the cavern. I glance to Levi, who simply steps aside and motions for me to go ahead. This must be it, then. The stairs.

Gathering all the dignity I'm able and straightening myself, I clear my throat. "Excuse me." A few of the men turn to look, but the others ignore me. Annoyed, I put more emphasis into my next words. "I'm going up."

"Money?" The guy sitting closest to where I am extends his hand to me, as if expecting to get something.

"You don't get it, sir. I shouldn't be down here in the first place, so let me up."

Infuriatingly, he guy just chuckles, "Yeah, no one should be down in this wretched place. If you don't have the money, little lady, get back to your life."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" I insist, any semblance of patience in me dissipating. "I live up there!"

His eyes are clearly skeptical as he requests, "ID?"

"My name is Edaline Dante, daughter of Mason and Lillian Dante! I live in Greengrove Manor in the southern area of Mitras, and I demand to be allowed to return there!" The guy stares at me for a second, and for a moment, I think I've gotten through to him. Then he bursts into laughter along with a couple of the others.

One of the others muses, "First time I've heard that story!"

"I should think!" I flame. "Because it's true!"

"Sure, sure," one guy snickers. "And I'm a member of the Virgil family living in Blueswamp Castle!"

Fists clenched, I rage, "There's no such thing!"

"It's about as believable as your story, girlie. Unless you've got some sort of ID, that is, and even then we'd have to check with the people above ground to make sure."

The one closest to me finishes, "Come back when you've saved up enough money. I'm sure you'll be able to earn that much in a few years if you try. You've got a face guys'll pay to have."

"Are you suggesting that I-" I cut off, aghast, my fingers reflexively reaching up to touch my face at his words. My eyes fly to Levi, but he isn't even looking in my direction! Fury boiling inside me, I burst, "Are you saying I'll have to live the rest of my life down here!? With him!? Hell no! I refuse! I demand that you go check with anyone on the surface using my name, because you'll find who I say I am! I will not waste away in this dump just because I tripped and fell down a freaking hole in my garden!"

"If you cause a ruckus, girlie, we'll have to call the police."

The police. Perfect! Surely they'll be able to get me back to the surface! "Do it!"

"Don't." Levi suddenly grabs me again, albeit not quite as rough as last time, and begins tugging me away from the staircase. As he pulls me away, the guys once again fall into laughter and I flush red in humiliation. I struggle against him, but he keeps a steady hold of me.

Finally, after all too long of struggling, I shout, "Why did you do that? If they called the police, they could have confirmed my identity! I could gotten back above ground! I could have-"

"You would have been tossed in jail for easily the rest of your life," he cuts me off, glaring as he continues to drag me. "The police down here don't care to look into cases. They throw those they catch in a cell, and half of them never get out because of our lousy justice system. So if you not only want to spend the rest of your life down here, but also in a cramped, dirty prison cell," he releases me and waits, "by all means, go back and get them to call the police. Just don't mention my name when you do."

I stand in shock, my hand not even rubbing the forming bruise on my wrist. When I don't move an inch back the way we came, he grabs my wrist for a third time and yanks me behind him all the way back to the house. When we arrive, he throws me onto the nearest chair and delves farther inside. I just stare at the black and purple flower blooming on my skin, reality sinking in.

I'm stuck down here. I'm actually stuck down here. Those idiots won't let me up the stairs. I can't go back the way I came, either. Who knows how far I climbed down from the surface? And all of it was descent. I doubt I could ever scale something like that, especially without light to see by. And even if I managed to climb back out, I'd be in the garden again. In that house again. Where Easton is.

That beautiful garden….I'd loved it so much. The grass that grew green to contrast the cobblestone of the streets, the pond with clear water, devoid of fish, to contrast the district river's murky depths, the petals that collected like fluff on the ground….

I'll never see any of it again.

And Cook's food. All the pork she'd roast, the spices she mixed precisely to my palate, all the sauces she made just to satisfy me...I'll never eat any of it ever again! I'm stuck instead with that mush that brat Isabel had called breakfast. I guess I wouldn't be able to eat Cook's food again, anyway, though, her being dead and all. Same with the gardener who liked to talk with me about plants. We'll never share another conversation about how to grow saplings into cherry blossom trees, or how to raise buttercups.

And Daddy….

And Easton….

I raise my head when Levi reenters the room, barely noticing the tears flooding over and out of my own eyes. Through the water, I can vaguely see a familiar gear set fixed around his body. Able to distinguish the slight confusion over it in my mess of a mind, I inquire absently, "Isn't that the gear police officers use? The 3D whatever?"

He tightens a strap and slips his knife into a built in holster. "Yes."

"Are you an officer then?"

"No."

I nod vacantly, and he says no more. After a few more adjustments, and a final thorough wipedown of the leather and blades to be sure everything's pristine, he leaves the house. The door clicks locked behind him, and I'm left completely alone.


This chapter was a little short, but I got everything I wanted into it. It seems like Edaline's finally come to terms with her situation. This last snippet is probably where I've pitied her most, so far. Something just feels very wrong with her. What do you guys think? Likes? Dislikes? Anticipations? It'd be great to hear from all ya'll. I'm quite curious to hear from you guys.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 Meow!