Alumeria Dalmachin

The Princes

 

Traversing the underground world of the Allfaang proved to be something Alumeria was quite good at; for a while at least. Running around small parts of it in her spare time became exceptionally handy after she’d escaped capture in Vanavallar with Harlow and Rumali. Even without a specified destination, she’d been able to find them food, in the form of cavernous lichen, and water regularly. They’d avoided the Pohpen, the primary tunnel that cut through the Allfaang connecting the major underground cities, out of fear of discovery. Eventually, the Pohpen was no longer an issue, as she led them deeper into the back passages. After two weeks’ worth of travel, it became apparent they needed to find civilization, and soon.

“He doesn’t look well,” Rumali said, hunched over a small makeshift fire. He stoked the jadebark shavings, sparks flying. They’d bartered a sackful of them off a small merchant caravan with a few of Rumali’s rings. His black cape was tied tight in the front to better conceal his golden waistcoat and keep him warm. Alumeria followed his gaze over to Harlow, who had begun another coughing fit in his sleep. The jovial librarian had become a shivering man who coughed more than he spoke.

“He needs a healer,” Alumeria said. She sat near the fire as it burned, holding the tatters of her purple dress close to her knees. While the dress hadn’t reached the floor at the ball, she’d torn away at it to avoid snapping on anything. Her hair hung down her back, pulled from the bun she’d neatly tied it into for the Advent Ball. It had begun giving her headaches.

 

“Is it the gas you released back in the shop?” Rumali asked. “He seemed alright a few days ago.”

 

“Yes, I think so,” Alumeria said. “I…my Blessing is not foolproof. It did work to get us away, but I cannot get every piece right all the time.” She cursed under her breath. 

 

Of course I screwed it all up. 

 

She was at her best when everything was calm. Her most helpful decisions had been behind a desk, poring over her father’s notes, or playing pranks on Pymeria or Dorea, her wash attendant. 

“...Allie…you killed that soldier…Anim…didn’t you.” There it was. The topic they had been avoiding the last two weeks. Alumeria had felt Rumali’s stares and knew there was something he wanted to say, but he’d never opened up about it until now.

“Maybe…maybe not,” she said as Rumali winced and looked up at her blankly. She watched him grapple with how to feel. “I ran the scenarios over and over. As a Lithegar, he would be pulling in the air at a much faster rate than any of us. That in itself could have proved deadly. It could have asphyxiated him. However, if he got out…”

“He. That “He” you speak of was Anim. He was teaching me how to speak Maleelan from his homeland in the Whirling Isles. He was a good man. You speak of him so callously, like he is no one of importance to anyone.”

“He is important to you and your family, but at that moment he was dangerous,” Alumeria said, wringing her hands. “Both of those things can be true. I did what was best for our survival. I did what my Blessing told me to do.”

“It doesn’t seem like your Blessing is very giving,” Rumali said as he poked at the fire with a spare jadebark stick. He placed the stick on the remaining pile of shavings they had burned over and over again. The true beauty and versatility of jadebark. 

“Careful, that sounded close to blasphemy,” Alumeria said. “We don’t speak ill of the things the Gods bestowed.” She had never lived her life in fear of what people thought or said, only what they were capable of. Rumali was a seeker of intellect. He was no fighter. It was what had drawn her to him in the first place. “I cannot make perfect calls under emotional duress, and I’m no Tulvaat. I do as my Blessing guides.”

“What is done is done,” Rumali said, setting his jaw. “I will not speculate what happened to him any longer.” 

 

“You can leave if you wish, Rumali. If I’m being honest, I was surprised you came at all.”

 

The young Reverent prince snapped his head up at her, a pained expression on his face. 

 

“That was the most callous thing you’ve said yet. You know why I came.”

 

You’re in love with me.

 

Alumeria didn’t respond, letting the conversation fall away. Rumali nodded at the silence and laid down, staring at the shadows dancing on the walls. He sat up again quickly and pulled off his cape, rolling it into a ball to use as a makeshift pillow.

“Harlow’s health is worrying me too,” Alumeria said. “We should find a city or town in the morning.”

“In the morning,” Rumali snapped. “Look around you. We’re underground. How would we know if it is daylight at all? The world could be on fire above us and we would never know.”

“You aren’t wrong…there haven’t been any koomotes in a while. Their root system travels nearly the entire Allfaang and they glow brightest at night, releasing floating motes that illuminate the cave system exceptionally well. We may be further in than I originally thought.”

 

“Wonderful,” the Prince said, turning over to face away from her.

 

Alumeria did not want to scare Rumali, but the lack of koomotes could have meant they were nearing Adurashine territory. The Adurashine were a perverse and twisted cousin to the Adurash, the marbled-skinned peoples of the Allfaang. Where the Adurash lived like everyone else, the Adurashine were afflicted from the poisons of an underground murkwood. Her research said they attacked like beasts with claws and razor-sharp teeth, pulling prey into the darkness where only they could see clearly. It was imperative they found an area of koomotes again.

Alumeria let the conversation die. She did not want to fight with him, but she had felt the growing tension for a while now. His tendency to throw side glances at her had become commonplace. Her stomach twisted at the thought of him hating her, but she reminded herself that he hadn’t left. Once they were safe she could focus on mending their relationship. For now, she needed to focus on finding a healer. Alumeria had attempted to close off her emotions down in the Allfaang tunnels out of fear of her Blessing faltering her again, but inside she was immensely worried for Harlow. She laid down and closed her eyes. She needed to fix this, and soon.

 

✽

 

When she awoke next,  Alumeria found Harlow sitting up against the cavern wall, staring down at the floor between his legs. Rumali lay sleeping still, his cape now a blanket to keep him warm. The fire was lower, but still burning strong. Harlow looked up and smiled faintly at her.

 

“Hello, your Reverence,” Harlow said, descending into another coughing fit.

 

“I think I’ve decided,” Alumeria said as she moved to sit next to the large man, “You should just call me Allie. I’m not a Reverent and I’m no longer in a royal position. Allie is just fine.”

 

“Yes…Allie,” Harlow said with a pained smile.

 

Rumali shifted and bolted up. When he realized where he was, he laid back down on his back and looked up at the ceiling. 

“Well, we’re all up. We should move out now,” Alumeria said. She knew Rumali did not want to talk, but she hoped he could at least follow orders. If anything, we need to get moving for Harlow’s sake. 

Silently, Rumali stood and collected his cape. He kicked dust and rubble at the remaining jadebark shavings still alight and collected them in the small sack they were purchased in. Alumeria pulled a handful of salvaged koomote out of her sack to light the way and moved off, leading them through the dark. 

Several hours later, mostly due to Harlow’s slower pace, they hadn’t gotten very far. However, Alumeria squinted and saw yellow koomotes sprawling up and down the walls ahead of them. Yellow meant there was likely a livable settlement nearby as it gave off vitamins similar to the sun, keeping inhabitants of the Allfaang healthy. As they walked, an opening appeared on the right. Looking down it, Alumeria only saw a twisting tunnel lined in yellow koomotes that stretched into the unknown. 

“I am unsure where this goes,” Alumeria said. “But there is an eighty percent chance a settlement can be found in that direction.” 

Rumali said nothing and Harlow coughed heavily. I’ll take that as an OK, let’s do it. Alumeria moved off down the tunnel hoping she was right.

Luckily for her, she was. An hour later, the tunnel opened into a massive chamber, illuminated in swatches of yellow, purple, pink, and orange koomotes. Even more breathtaking than the size of the chamber, was the city within it. It was unlike anything Alumeria could have imagined. It was as if someone had transported an ancient city into the depths of the underground. Intricately carved stone buildings dotted the city, surrounded by roadways cut into the cavern floor. Bridges and pathways overlapped one another as the city ascended. Some paths looked as if they cut back into the Allfaang and entered back elsewhere in the city. The sweet smell of moss filled the air as waterfalls of various sizes crashed down to the basin of the city from all over. The sound they made echoed throughout the vast space, drowning out all other sounds. So much so that Alumeria jumped when Rumali yelled to talk to her.

 

“It’s breathtaking,” he yelled. “What city is this?”

 

“I…I’m not sure,” Alumeria said. She spotted a small stone building with a sign outside that sported a mug and pointed over to it. “We can rest and ask questions in that alehouse.”

 

“Good idea,” Rumali responded, straining his voice so he could be heard. “Harlow, did you hear…Harlow!”

Alumeria looked and saw Harlow on the floor gasping for air. A woman in a gray dress who saw the commotion ran over to help. She dropped a basket of orange koomote vines to the floor, the plants spilling out before her. 

 

“Oh my,” she exclaimed. “Is he alright?”

 

“No,” Alumeria said in a panic. “He inhaled a fair amount of Devil’s Breath and needs medical attention. Do you have any Terves in this city?”

“We do, but only citizens of Allveen can escort an outsider into the healer’s clinic, and only outsiders in duress can enter at all. You will need to leave him with us.” 

Alumeria looked up to see more people had gathered. She glanced at Rumali with a worried expression but realized there was nothing they could do but trust the strangers. She thought about spinning her orbs but was unsure how Ajuru were treated here. Rumali looked skeptical.

“OK, if that’s what it takes,” Alumeria said. Rumali sighed heavily but moved out of the way. The woman smiled and worked with others to help Harlow to his feet. Before they could say much more, Harlow had been carried away. Alumeria pointed to the bar again and Rumali followed her in.

In comparison to the city, the alehouse was nothing special. Stone tables and chairs replaced the wooden ones found on the surface, but otherwise, it smelled and sounded the same. A bard even sang near the back, which was clearly cut back into the stone. Allie led Rumali up to the bar and took a seat on a circular stone column that had no back.

“You want cup o’ ale,” the Adurash barman said with an accent that sounded like he was gargling with stones. Alumeria had not met many of the Allfaang-dwelling people in her short life. His skin swirled with blacks and oranges, as it soaked up nutrients from the yellow koomotes that wrapped the bar’s walls. I wonder if any of the swirls are attached to his emotions, or if it is all uncontrolled, just a reaction to the yellow lighting. 

 

“You have ale this deep in the Allfaang?” Alumeria asked.

 

“Mhm,” he said. He looked slightly excited. Allie surmised the sight of newcomers was rare down here.

 

“We ferment lichen and it turns into ale.”

 

“You can ferment lichen?” Alumeria wondered out loud. She had never heard of such a thing. Lichen was not close in any way to wheat or barley.

Fascinating!

“You can ferment anything!” The voice came from a blind man a few stools down. He also appeared to be Adurash, his skin a swirl of orange and white. “My brother and I fermented milk once, we did. Threw up like any other hangover I’ve had, we did!”

“I’m not thirsty,” Rumali said, turning off his chair and walking out of the establishment. Alumeria nodded to the barman, who now looked annoyed, and walked out behind Rumali, leaving the blind man laughing as he took another swig of his ale. The barman cursed inaudibly at the blind man as the sound of the falling water washed over Alumeria again.

She followed Rumali over to a small stream that sliced through the stone and beneath a bridge. The young Reverent prince knelt near the water and began to pray. He touched his forehead with splashes of water and made smooth motions with his arms. He was praying to Valmandus. When he finished he stood and looked at her.

“Allie, this was a mistake.” Tears began forming in his eyes. “I came because you asked me to…and because I…I do care for you. But this is not who I am. I don’t run from my Kingsguard. I don’t defy my father’s wishes.”

“You already defied him by caring about me,” Alumeria said. “You’ve known my fate for a while and cared for me anyway. You are not like the rest of the Reverents.”

“I’m not trying to be an outcast within my own kind,” he said, hitting the ground with his fist. “I am already an outsider! I don’t want to pick up a sword, or a bow, or a polearm, or any weapon. Blood makes me squeamish and I prefer the company of books to most people. This has already set me apart from everyone else.”

“Everyone but me,” Alumeria said. She wasn’t sure why she was fighting for him to stay. He had been a burden during travel and clearly was not devoted enough to stick by her side. Maybe it was because she knew he still believed what he was doing was the right thing. Her fate was better out here, fending for herself than back there with the Valivoim. …and I care for you too…

 

“Allie…I think I…” Rumali started until he stopped to stare at something behind Alumeria.

 

“Oh! Don’t stop on my account! It sounded like you were about to get to the good part.” 

 

Alumeria turned to see a tall young man smiling at them. He appeared to be close in age to her, with a mischievous air about him. He sported black plain clothes with matching black leather boots. His messy dark brown hair, olive skin, and gold-ringed eyes pinned him as not Adurash. Likely had an ancestor from the Whirling Isles. Her mind quickly wandered to her father. He was not fond of the Whirling Isles and its peoples. They were often pirates with no honor. He was also averse to being on ships altogether, hating the way they swayed and kept him off balance.

 

“This was a private conversation,” Alumeria said. 

 

He is quite tall, she thought to herself.

 

“You entered my city. I’ll decide what’s private and what’s not,” he said as he crossed his arms. “You’re already making use of our healers and don’t appear to have any money on you.”

 

“We have enough to barter with.”

 

“Do you? That tattered ball gown won’t get you much and we don’t take Reverent bribery here,” he said this while looking at Rumali. The Prince went to speak, but thought better of it. He turned back to the stream.

 

“Who are you,” Allie asked. 

 

“Now there’s a good question,” he said with his mischievous smile. “The name’s Hadran Vana, Prince of Allveen.”