In Between The Ends

Chapter Twenty Four

Together they made their way through the throng of people to the other side of the market, Arya guiding them along the wall to an archway between two buildings that bordered the square.

Following an offshoot of the main alleyway they emerged into a small courtyard of carved stone and full of lush green plants. Balconies with delicately shaped iron rails lined the high walls surrounding the plaza, angled in a way that turned a shallow set of stone steps at the far end into what could only be described as a stage.

The small space and high balconies were beginning to fill, and Arya nodded her head in the direction of an even smaller alleyway on the north side of the courtyard.

Halfway down she turned suddenly, climbing up a narrow set of stairs that was practically invisible from certain angles. They climbed until the stairway ended on a small landing with high walls roughly halfway up one of the buildings that circled the plaza. If one was seated, they were virtually invisible to prying eyes.

Arya sank down to the floor, cradling her still warm tea in her hands as Levi apprehensively seated himself down opposite her. They sat in not particularly uncomfortable silence for a while, sipping their teas and eating their lunch, which Arya couldn't scarf down quickly enough. When they had finished and cleaned up their trash, she leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh.

"I used to come here all the time was when I was studying." She said finally, breaking their amicable quietness. Levi watched her closely as she continued. "I suppose it was something like an escape; a place where no one could find me, and the city noise wasn't quite so loud."

The racket of the busy streets did seem unusually muted despite being so close, though there was now a low murmur of voices that continued to gather beneath them in the plaza.

"I'd come here with a question..." Arya said, smiling. "And leave with an answer, even when I wasn't sure what it was." The noise below was steadily increasing, and Levi shifted uncertainly.

"It's a little more closed in than I usually prefer."

She nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. Like looking up through the sewer grates at the sky."

He stared at her in shock. That's exactly what it felt like to him: staring up at a tiny piece of sky from deep beneath the city, a feeling that burned into the back of his mind. They only ones who knew what that felt like were-

"I was born in the Underground." She shrugged, voice barely above a whisper. "I lived in an orphanage until I was maybe five or six, then I was adopted. My parents were wonderful and my life with them was perfect, right up to the moment they died... but I still remember what it was like down there. I suppose that's not something you can easily forget."

She knew. She knew what it was like to be trapped in the piss and shit and filth beneath the world.

Levi nodded slowly, unable to put his thoughts into words. As he struggled to find something to say, his gaze slide from her face to the silver locket that had slid out from the edge of her cloak.

It was intricately carved and ornate, with two minuscule hinges on the side that allowed it to open. The markings struck a chord somewhere deep in his subconscious and a memory flashed in his mind: A young child, a little girl filthy and tear-stained holding a broken locket chain in her hands. It only lasted a second before it disappeared again, but it was long enough to send his mind reeling again.

Levi finally opened his mouth to speak when the entire plaza was abruptly filled to the brim with sound. Chilling notes from an instrument he didn't recognize bounced back and forth in the small space, intertwined with the flutter of harps and deep bang of drums.

The acoustics were unmatched; music so consuming that it felt as though it lived inside you. Arya had tipped her head back and closed her eyes when it began, full absorbed as every thought was pushed out of Levi's mind and replaced with this foreign tune.

A deep and beautiful voice started harmonizing with the music in a language he did not know or understand, though he noticed when Arya's lips began to move in sync to the words and creating her own delicate harmony, high and clear. The song had begun sad and sober, yet as it progressed it became hopeful and confident within itself. Now it exalted power and courage and a new dawn as it ricocheted around the courtyard until it was all consuming.

As the last high note struck and faded away, Arya opened her eyes and smiled.

"It's really something, isn't it?" Whether it was the effects of the music or something else entirely, she seemed surer of herself, her heart slightly less heavy.

"Really something, indeed." He mumbled. Their voices seemed loud in the sudden quiet between songs.

Rising to her feet, Arya gathered up the remains of their meal and gestured to the stairs. "We should be getting back." Levi followed suit silently until they reached the bottom of the stairwell, where he could no longer contain his curiosity.

"Did you get your answer?"

She looked at him briefly and grinned.

"I guess we will find out."

    General Loren closed the door behind him and paused, turning to Angelo with a wicked and triumphant smile. Angelo's mouth fell open as he turned to follow the general as he took off down the barely lit dungeon hallway with purpose.

"It's true, then? What the farm hand said?"

Loren nodded as they rounded the far corner and hurried to one of the cells halfway down the adjacent hall. 'Do you understand the gravity of this revelation, Bernard? What this truth will provided for us?"

"Yes, sir." Angelo said in a huff as he rushed to keep up with the General's long strides. "This changes everything! Eldia can finally be reborn into the glory that was intended from the start. Our strength shall be known to all underneath the reign of our born-again savior!"

The pair stopped in front of the iron-clad door and gestured to the lone guard. The hinges protested loudly as it swung open to reveal it's occupant, who scurried to the far wall of the empty room.

Approaching slowly, Loren came to a halt a few feet away and knelt down, looking at the young girl in awe. Her pale-yellow hair hung limp and dirty around her terrified face and her small body shook violently.

"Hello again, princess." The general said softly, thought the girl shrunk back as if he had struck her.

"There is no need to be afraid anymore, dear child. The truth has been revealed."

He reached out and ran his fingers along the top of her golden head gently. "How about we get you cleaned up and fed, hmm? Along with a much warmer room with a beautiful view. Does that sound nice?"

Though the girl still shook slightly and was regarding him warily, the thought of a nice warm bed clearly appealed to her despite her fear. Loren stood back up and offered the child his hand.

"You no longer need to be afraid, little one. This whole world belongs to you. Let us take care of you now." An older and more experienced eye would have noticed the hard glint and self-serving nature behind the General's kind smile, but this malice was lost in the eyes of a child. Ymira hesitantly took Loren's outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her out of the cold cell.

"Once you are comfortable, my dear princess," Loren said as he ushered her up the stairs and into the daylight above, "It would be my greatest pleasure to tell you all about your father."