Nate woke up in a panic. Another riot was going on in the main area, around the bonfire once again. It had been 4 years since Dark took over, and almost everyone had given into the way of the "Daggers."

All except Nate and Cristina. They had actually adjusted to the change well, but they refused to join in with the crimes of the other Daggers. Instead, they spent their time hiding in the shadows, dedicating themselves to the stealth aspect of thievery. They knew that eventually, Dark and the other Daggers would push them to focus on offense. 

And that was why they had to leave as soon as possible. 

Anyone who thought that they could rise up from under Dark and bring back the peaceful ways of the Diggers was long dead. Made examples of. The peaceful reputation of the Diggers had been erased on the surface above, as Daggers made their way up to rob and tormet the surface dwellers. 

Dark told everyone tales of the Hopes; the clan he had originally come from. How they were weak, cowardly. They should be destroyed; only the strongest of them should be allowed to survive, and only as a Dagger. That was how Dark got the idea for the games. He determined that when the time was right, and hiring season was in, they would begin a series of games, killing off as many Hopes and castle servants they could find. Nate and Cristina had already seen one of these games, and they did not plan on seeing another. 

At first, Cristina was desperate to bring down Dark from the inside. But as the world around them grew darker, more... evil, they started to realize that the Diggers were long gone. They had to leave, and it had to be soon. 

Nate and Cristina had just turned 16. Before, Nate especially would never have dreamed of leaving the safety of the lower dungeons. But times were getting desperate. So late one night, Cristina came by in the dead of night with a torch at the ready, and a bag full of all the coins she had left; two coins, but it was still enough. They hoped to start a little farm together; maybe open up a shop far away. Stow away on a ship and take up residence across the sea, safe in a cozy little hut deep in the woods where the dreaded Daggers could never follow them. 

Nate had done a fair bit of exploring, now that the rules put in place to protect the Diggers had been removed. And he managed to find a secret unknown to almost everyone. It was little more than a crack in the wall, but it lead to a little hideaway - only the size of a child's bedroom, and it was practically a cave, but he and Cristina used it when they needed some time away from the noise. 

Nate had spent so much time there, that he and Cristina finally noticed something coming from between the cracks of the walls, something that the Daggers had long erased, or so they thought. 

Light. 

Cristina jumped up right away the day they finally noticed it. She started tearing at the little silvery cracks, trying desperately to find the light on the other side. And then, it made way. 

It was a mudslide; leading up to the surface. But because everything had become so dry recently, it wasn't slippery anymore. Perfect to climb up. Nate and Cristina spent weeks digging it out more and more, trying to make it so that they could fit through. Eventually, the hole got big enough for them to crawl through, although it was a fairly tight squeeze. 

They were ready to go. 

Cristina came out first. It was a pleasant sight, seeing the light, glowing brightly up above as Nate climbed up, making sure to block the way behind him so that no one could find it. Looking up, he could see Cristina reaching out to him. He smiled and grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull him up. 

They fell back onto the grass, Nate falling on top of her. They may have found it awkward before, but being above ground for the first time in their lives felt so beautiful that they couldn't find it in themselves to care. 

Nate, still looking at Cristina, still on top of her, finally broke the happy silence. "It's so bright." He said. 

"We're free." She whispered happily, excitedly. "Nate, we're free!" She sat back up and wrapped her arms around him, laughing, almost like she was shocked. She pulled away, letting Nate get his bearings, but it didn't last long. Nate pulled her close and kissed her. At first, there was a second of shock, but they both sunk into it all too easily. 

They finally were forced to separate as Cristina leaned back a little too far and fell backwards off a small ledge onto the sand below. It wasn't much of a drop, no higher than maybe two steps of a staircase. Nate looked over it, and they both shared a laugh. 

But now that Cristina wasn't right in front of him, Nate finally took notice to the world around him. So did Cristina. 

They sky was grey and clouded. The grass was a very dark green, close to brown, and very coarse. Everything looked so gloomy. The only thing that brought him any sort of ease was the water. They were on the beach, but the sandy area wasn't very big. It was long, obviously, and blocked off by several rocks, but it was only a couple wide steps from the grassy ledge to the water. 

Cristina stood up first and stood at the edge of the water. Nate took a few seconds to look around, over the rocks near the sides, but quickly joined her, looking out at the horizon. 

"You know..." Cristina said, "I know it's gloomy and all, but..." 

"It's still... so bright." 

"Living in a dungeon can do that to you," she said. 

"Yeah." 

Cristina looked down. "Look!" She pointed down, then leaned over. Nate looked too. It was a starfish. "How did it get all the way out here?" She said, looking it over. "It's long dead, but how did it happen?" 

"Maybe some wealthy buyer is collecting?" 

"I think it's beautiful. Maybe there's more like it somewhere out there. Really far away, all the way across the ocean," she sighed. "I hope there is." She pressed the starfish to her chest, then stored it away in her bag. Just in case there is a buyer. She thought. We'll need money. 

Nate's hand naturally bumped up against hers, and almost perfectly, it slid into her hand. They squeezed hands tightly, looking out over the ocean, small but powerful waves crashing onto one another, making the most calming noises. 

"Why would we never hear it before?" Nate asked. "The water. Why couldn't we smell the salt?" He took a deep breath and let the scent of the sea into his head. It was so fresh, clear, clean. 

"They're so loud." 

"And smelly." They both shared a laugh at that. Mostly at Nate's word choice of "smelly." They turned to each other. 

"What if we went all the way over the edge of the world? What if we just fell off?" 

"Nate, the world isn't flat." Cristina raised an eyebrow with a confused smirk. 

"No, I know. But, what if... we basically fell off? Like, metaphorically? What if we went so far away that everyone here, Dark, the Daggers, couldn't ever find us again? Like we would cease to exist here?" Nate explained. 

"You know I've always wanted that," she responded. She pointed off into the distance, where a distant boat floated by the docks. "We could jump onto that ship, sneak away into the hold, find somewhere new." 

"Somewhere far away." 

"Just us." 

"And the waves." 

"And the light." 

"You could always sing," Nate said. 

"You found a way to play music even in that place," Cristina responded. 

"But we'd have each other, even if it didn't work out, right?" 

"No, I swear, Nate," Cristina pulled him closer and they embraced each other. "We are not leaving each other. No matter how many times we fight, after everything we've been through, we have to stay together." 

"Even if we make each other miserable?" Nate said with a dorky smile. 

"Even if we want to kill each other." Cristina said with a soft chuckle. They stared into each other's eyes for a bit, the only sound being the waves around them, the first clear, cleansing feeling they had ever had. Their minds were clear of everything except each other. 

Cristina initiated the kiss this time, leaning in slowly until their lips touched. This time, the waves themselves seemed to encourage them, as the wind picked up right at that moment, the waves suddenly growing larger and crashing against the nearby rocks - the wind ruffling Cristina's loose white shirt and wisping around in Nate's hair. The water slid up onto their ankles, shocking them both out of it for a second, as they laughed it off, stepping back. Cristina smiled, almost blushing, and brushed a hair out of her face, her hair now wet from the water's crescendo. Her black Dagger brand on full display, matching the one on Nate's hand. It was a pity that those would always remain with them, because that brand was the only thing that made them Daggers. That's why they wanted to go somewhere far. Because no one would recognize the brand. 

But in that moment, the brand was recognized by a palace guard. 

Because at that very instant, right before they were about to go in for another kiss, Cristina was shot in the stomach by an arrow.