...

Uncharted Lands

...

Helena sat alone in the dark, the sound of scuttling all she could hear. After she had been captured, she had been lead to this cave and told to wait until the Queen called for her. No cutters were guarding her, but she knew she wouldn't make it far if she tried to escape. She had to go through countless tunnels to even get out of the cutter colony, all without a light. And if by some miracle she did make it out, she had no way of finding the diggers again and would be alone in uncharted territory. A pit of despair gathered in her stomach.

Maybe this feeling of hopelessness was what the cutters wanted her to feel. Maybe they wanted to wear her down slowly, wait for her will to crumble before they continued with whatever plans they had for her. Helena, frowned, growing determined. They hadn't killed her, which meant they needed something from her. If she didn't give in to them... maybe she could get out of this mess alive.

Hours passed. The stone walls of the cave seemed to be shrinking. Helena put her hands over her eyes and thought of her home back in Montana. The sunlit fields, the towering mountain ranges that surrounded her family's house. Her father, her sister, her mother and brother, all sitting at the family dinner table, smiling at her. It all seemed so far away now.

She pictured her last Thanksgiving meal with her family. The turkey her mother had labored hours over, the stuffing, oh the stuffing. Her stomach rumbled as she realized just how hungry she was. When had she last eaten? Or drank, for that matter? She had had a sip of water from a small underground lake near where the diggers lived, but... her last meal had been on the surface. How many days ago was it now? She had no idea. It was so easy to lose track of time underground.

Helena didn't know how long it had been when she began to chew her fingernails. Soon enough she had chewed all of them as much as she could. She had chewed one of her fingernails too far, however, and she felt a slight trickle of blood run down her finger. It stung horribly and she felt tears well in her eyes. Why did she have to disobey her superiors orders?

Helena stared at the entrance to the cave she was stuck in once more. The sound of the scuttling of the cutters, it was growing unbearable. She half thought there must be a group of them just out of sight doing it on purpose. She banged her fist against the wall in frustration, only to let out a slight scream as the stone cut into her hand.

The pain made her furious. Standing up, she howled as she kicked and punched the walls relentlessly, ignoring all the injuries she was inflicting upon herself. She hurled rocks off the ground out of the cave, the sounds of the rocks bouncing off the stone floor echoing. The scuttling stopped momentarily, and Helena regained her sanity. She stopped lashing out, and stared at her arms numbly. They were oozing with blood. She watched as her life dripped onto the floor.

Then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, the scuttling begun again.

Helena sank to her knees.

...

Regalia

...

The council room was in a flurry when Gregor and Luxa arrived. Edward saw them enter and ran over to them. "Your Majesty. The Overlanders have arrived, and they will be arriving here any moment!" Gregor's breath hitched in his throat as he heard the news. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Overlanders made it to Regalia, but he still figured Regalia would have more time to prepare.

Gregor gripped Edward's shoulders. "Remember, be nothing but kind and welcoming. The Overlanders have technology far superior to anything you have down here. They could wipe you out in an instant." Edward nodded, a little pale. Gregor would've smiled if it wasn't for the situation. It was amusing to see Edward out of words for once.

Gregor suddenly found Ripred by his side. "I'll stay out of sight for now. Wouldn't want to scare the Overlanders too early."

Gregor laughed. "Thanks, Ripred."

Ripred shrugged. "Don't thank me. Less time with the Overlanders means more time in the kitchen eating shrimp." He disappeared out of the council room door.

The council members took their seats around the table and waited tersely for the Overlanders to arrive. And finally, they did. The doors swung open and in entered the Overlanders, flanked by Regalian guards. There were two of them.

The first Overlander was a tall, darker skinned woman. She had curly black hair, but to contrast the rest of her complexion she had icy blue eyes. She wore a smile which unnerved Gregor.

The second Overlander was a man of average height with a sharp beard and goatee. He wore shaded aviator glasses, making his eyes impossible to see. His brown hair was slicked back with some kind of gel, giving it an unnatural sheen from the light of the room. But then Gregor's eyes noticed the device on his chest. He frowned as he recognized what it was. It was a body camera, very similar to the ones police wore on their uniforms nowadays.

They were being watched.

...

Outskirts of New York City

...

James's heart skipped a beat as he saw his son on the monitor. Agents Blue, Black, Green and Orange were gathered around him, watching the monitor with him. Both Overlanders who had been sent down to the Underland were wearing body cameras, both of which had an added audio function on them. Their mission was to listen to the meeting and it was James's job to explain any things that came up that they did not already know about.

"Greetings," one of the Overlanders spoke, "my name is Carla and this is my partner, Kyle. We are ambassadors from the United States of America, a nation that resides directly above you. We come in peace."

The camera turned, giving James a view of Luxa. "I am glad to hear it. Regalia has no intentions other than to make peace with our neighbors. As long as you leave our land alone we shall not disturb you."

Carla nodded. "That is agreeable. However, we would like to set up an embassy in Regalia. It is important that we keep in touch, and perhaps we can provide economic benefits for each other as well."

Luxa frowned. "You want this embassy inside Regalia? My people would not be happy with this. There is little space inside the walls as it is. Would it be acceptable if we set up the embassy in the Fount? It is a neighboring city to Regalia and has much more available space for you to set up your embassy."

Carla frowned slightly. "That moves us farther away from Regalia. In times of emergency, we would not be able to contact you." The council members were all beginning to look slightly nervous.

Luxa shook her head. "I am sorry. There's just no place for your embassy inside these walls. If you wish to be closer to Regalia, we could build the embassy right outside these walls."

Carla's eyes narrowed. "That leaves us vulnerable to attacks. Your Majesty, I don't think your argument of not having enough space is valid. I saw plenty of room for a small embassy on my journey into Regalia. I think there's another issue at hand here." Luxa bit her lip, knowing she was trapped. "I think you don't trust us," Carla continued. "And if we don't trust each other from the get go, how can we remain friendly and peaceful allies?"

...

Author's Note

Hey everyone, happy 2017! I hope you all enjoyed my newest chapter. Please leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts/criticism, good or bad. My goal is to become a better writer to deliver better chapters for you all. A few other things to say:

-How do you think I did with the Helena scene? This is a scene I put extra time in effort into to getting right. When I first started this story, this was one of the first scenes I thought of. I had always wondered what would happen to an Overlander who came to the Underland and didn't find Regalia immediately.

-How do you think this meeting between the Overlanders and the Underlanders will end? I'm eager to hear your theories.

Lastly, as always, thanks to those who reviewed: Vengeous and koipbuiop!