The New Story

Chapter 49

It had been like four hours since they started and everyone was starting to get a little tired and hungry.  They all decided to stop and eat something and take a break.

"We must almost be there already?"  Audrielle whined as she took a bite of an apple.

"It'll take more than a day to travel there.  It would be better with nice scenery but I wouldn't dare insult Lexani's lighting choices in our underground camp here," Solxa informed her and giving a sarcastic tone.  

Lexani rolled her eyes.  "It's hard to light up miles of cave.  The rooms and camps constructed along are something to be proud of."

"Camps?"  Audrielle asked.

"Yeah.  So close to the main base of this long cave there are not any large camps.  But this revolution has misplaced a lot of people.  The Queen is ruthless when it comes to rebels.  So like what happened in Spalon there are people left without homes.  We harbor them down here in camps and hide them away from the Queen."  Solxa explained.  Audrielle was astonished.

"So there is a whole society living down here that no one knows about?"  Audrielle went wide-eyed.  Lexani and Solxa nodded.  

"We're close to one, just a few miles out so we'll have somewhere to sleep for the night," Lexani motioned to the miles ahead.  Audrielle never imagined that the people from the Queen's attacks had a place to go.  And had a chance to survive.  It's almost like a breath of relief.  A lot of lives that she thought were lost through the Queen's reign could still be alive and people have a place to go in the future.  It gave her a new appreciation for what the rebellion has been doing that she didn't have before.  They continued to eat and then got back on their horses to get to the closest camps.

Soon enough Audrielle could hear bustling voices and see the outskirts of a camp set up.  "It seems we're here," Solxa said.  When they arrived they all put up their horses and Audrielle took in the sight of the camp.  It wasn't the luxurious places of major cities up above but it was something.  There were rooms made into the walls of the cave and a central area in the middle of all of them that held what it seemed like food and water, as well as a commonplace where people were talking with others.  

"Let's find a room here that's open," Lexani said as they approached.  She seemed to be looking around for someone.  "Samie!"  She yelled as she approached a woman with long dark brown hair and blue eyes.  "Are there any open rooms in this camp?"

The woman nodded.  "Of course Miss Lexani follows me, as well as who you have with you."  She then leads all of them a little way down and gave them each a room.  Audrielle didn't unpack much.  Just what she was going to sleep in that night.  She then met up with everyone in the middle of the camp.  As she looked around there were some people that she knew and she wondered from where for a second.  Then she realized they were from Spain.  The man from the butcher shop that her mother would flirt with when she went to go get lamb chops.  The girl who worked for her parents at the flower shop.  Even the young blacksmith who had liked her in the academy.  

"I know people here," Audrielle told Lexani and Solxa.  "There are people from Spalon here."

"It makes sense.  This was the camp that was the least crowded so the survivors from the attack on Spalon would end up here," Solxa said matter of factly.  

"I didn't know there were any survivors.  I thought all the people that I had grown up with were dead," Audrielle could feel herself start to cry.  There must be a way into the cave in Spalon, that attack was so fast.  She was sure that everyone who didn't know about it ahead of time had died.  

"Why weren't we led down here when we were warned about the attack?"  Audrielle was almost angry.  

"You guys were closer to the Touxulia gate so that's probably why Keoat led you guys that way.  The way into the cave is a little far off from Spalon so I assume that's why they didn't gather as many people as they would have liked to before the attack struck and before the Queen's men went in to take care of the people that were left.  I don't imagine from an attack like that there would be more than ten people that got out of their alive," Solxa explained.  

Audrielle nodded.  That made sense, she wished more people listened to Magia when she was trying to tell everyone what was going to happen.  She had seen it happen.  She looked up and the young blacksmith from the academy was standing in front of her.

"I thought you had died!"  He exclaimed and pulled her into a hug.  It was surprising, she didn't expect him to be there.  She remembered how eccentric of a person he was.  Not someone for her.

"I thought you had as well," she laughed nervously.  She almost had to force herself out of the hug.

"Maybe it's fate, eh," he nudged her in the side jokingly.  A little too hard of a nudge.  

"Who knows," she felt the annoying pain in her side.  She didn't want to be mean, but he was a lot of a person to deal with.  Whenever she saw him at the academy he would race toward her and she would have to book it to get away.  He was the same age as her but it didn't seem like it sometimes.  If you looked at him you would swear he was only 15, 16 years old.  He was skinny and short and didn't have it seemed any muscle on him.  She imagined that would change when he got older and got blacksmithing muscles.  But as for right now, it seems that has not happened yet.  

"I bet you're missing Keoat already," Lexani said.  Maybe an attempt to try and save her from this.

"Keoat survived?  Man, I haven't seen him since he graduated," the young blacksmith said.

"Yes, they are in the midst of courting each other.  They will make mighty fine leaders," Solxa butted in as well.  The young blacksmith managed to keep an awkward smile on his face.

"I see.  Is Keoat a leader in the rebellion?"  he asked.  

"Yes, he is,  and Audrielle is the chosen one," Lexani smiled at her.  There where gasps surrounding them as people looked up from what they were doing to see her.  Whispers started to be heard.

"Looks like she's popular," Solxa laughed.  The young blacksmith looked absolutely shocked.  People started to gather around her.

"Is it true, you are the one to save this country?" one voice said.

"Do you know all magics?"  another one said.

"I heard that you spoke with Ren!" yet another voice said.  Lexani led Audrielle back to her room as people kept berating her with questions.  She smiled at everyone and went into her room.

"Well, I didn't realize how many people were waiting for me.  That was kind of overwhelming," Audrielle chuckled nervously.  

"Yeah, and we left Solxa out there to deal with the mess.  She's going to pound us that's for sure," Lexani lightened the mood.  Audrielle really imagined the anti-social and non-people person Solxa left to deal with a bunch of people.  Just then the door opened and Solxa slipped in with a not pleased look on her face.

"That was worse than anything I have ever experienced in my life," she said.  

"Oh, it wasn't that bad.  Training for when you're regarded as a hero by all the country and everyone will want to talk to you," Lexani put an arm around her friend.  She scoffed.

"Whatever," Solxa said, but there was a small smile creeping on her face.

Audrielle thought about the number of people that were waiting for her and expect so much from her.  This was only one camp.  She imagined all the other camps that were expecting the same things.  That has been waiting for her arrival since forever.  She sighed thinking about it.  She didn't know whether to be honored or terrified.