Three years ago...

Ralph returned to the ballroom after spending a few moments of silence in the garden.

It was both to think and give Lady in Blue and him enough time to escape a gossipmonger's notice.

She was beautiful. And she was not what he expected her to be.

There was more to her.

He yearned to discover more of that.

Determined, he walked back to the ballroom, scouring the sea of people with his eyes.

Ysabella was dancing with her husband. Emma was with Margaret and their other siblings. His mother was talking with Lady Hayward.

There was no sign of her.

Every blue gown had a different face.

Her cousins were also nowhere in sight.

"She has left," Maxwell's voice said behind him. When Ralph whirled around to look at his brother, Maxwell was wearing a small, knowing smile. He slapped Ralph's back and added, "A brandy would cure your little heartache."

Ralph looked around the ballroom again.

She was gone.

*****

The woman from the large tavern they stayed in, the very same one sitting behind the tall desk, told them (and wrote down) every step on how they could get to their destination: Holystone.

At first the woman was skeptical as to why they could choose such a small village—as what she would call it—for their grand vacation.

Studying the roughly-made map by Lady Belinda, the three of them headed to Durham bus station, a facility where their mechanically-driven long carriage, a bus, was waiting.

Durley sat at the back end of the said carriage, between two ogling young men who could not keep their eyes off Durley's bowler hat. Alex and Ralph sat together in the middle, with Alex looking out the window at the passing bright view.

She wondered what could be happening belowground at that very moment. Here they were, traveling quite fast on a smooth road with a spectacular view while somewhere down below, a carriage was moving slowly and loudly along a rough path with nothing to offer but the dire, dark surrounding—and perhaps a bandit or two.

Ralph fell asleep with his head on her shoulder not long after they had taken off. Alex had to shove him off his sit to wake him up nearly an hour later when they reached Haymarket where they again took another long carriage to Rothbury.

Having had enough respite, Ralph was wide awake to join Alex in watching every detail they passed by. Durley, on the other hand, seemed uninterested where he was sitting in front of them. He remained quiet and unmoving.

Alex sensed Ralph studying her from time to time, chuckling whenever she gasped and pointed at something spectacular like the giant white bird that flew over them, its sound too loud it could not be an actual bird.

There seemed to be too many different sounds. The Town had its own and she grew up in a place where animals and even birds were about. Yet here, aboveground, something else was different. Although she could not hear it because they were in an enclosed carriage, she could see the wind through the trees. They moved so freely she almost felt sorry for the ones underground in the woods. The plantations they passed through were bright green and yellow. They were not shadowed by walls of rocks. They basked in endless sunshine.

And the sun—it was generous and proud. Its glare blinded Alex, its heat seeping through the glass window, warming not burning at all as she first expected. She had thought Meriwether and its gigantic hole was astounding, but no. This, this one aboveground was a miracle.

The sky was no different. It was not a mere large circular painting over her head. It was a sheet of endless woven magic.

"Would you wish to stay here?" Ralph whispered beside Alex, leaning away from the window to sit back against his seat.

"Nae. Are ye a bleedin' idiot? Why d'ye keep askin'?"

Ralph shrugged. "This place is not at all noisy as Durham. It is too far out in the country. And from what I have observed, you would survive here."

She vehemently shook her head, scoffing at the idea. "There are nae rich lords te rob 'ere, guv."

Ralph chuckled and silence fell between them yet again. The silent hum of their carriage's engine was the only sound they could hear for quite a while.

"What's it now, guv?" she snapped without glancing at him many minutes later when she noticed him looking at her strangely.

He seemed to measure his thoughts for some time before he turned them into words. Alex stole him a look and realized he was serious. She returned her eyes on the scenery outside.

"We must discuss what happens to us after this is all over. I am not one to pretend this is merely a passing fancy."

Alex's heart nearly stopped. Truly, it might have done so, what with the leap of a beat she felt inside her chest and the dread that followed. "It's fine, guv. Ye dinna have te discuss anythin' with me about us. That would be stupid."

"Stupid?" he incredulously repeated as if he found her word abhorrent. "Alex, we..."

"Ye have many lovers te discuss such topic with. I'm certain they'd want to entertain any idea in yer head, guv."

"Lovers," he scoffed. "I do not have that many left belowground, I am afraid. Not when you scared them all away," he tried to jest.

Alex ignored him, pretending to look at the group of people standing on the side of the street. "People dress quite differently 'ere," she noted. "It's like they're all bandits. They sound like bandits as well. Ye ought be scared, guv."

Hearing Ralph's sigh of defeat, Alex started to calm down while her head spun. Why would he want to talk about them? There was nothing to talk with Ralph about them. Apart from enjoying each other's company in bed, she did not think there could be anything more.

*****

By the time they reached Holystone, they were as weary as the night they arrived aboveground. Although it was a very fast transport, they all agreed that having too many people traveling with them with their large baggage was as equally exhausting.

Holystone was as the woman from their tavern had described. The village was quite small with wide green fields surrounding it.

"However will we find it?" Alex asked, opening one of the windows of the cottage they rented for the day. "We dinna have much time."

"I am venturing into the saloon we passed by earlier," said Durley, putting on his bowler hat.

"Perhaps you should reconsider taking off the hat, Durley," Ralph told him. "You've been getting too much attention with that thing."

Durley merely looked at Ralph dryly. "I dress however I like, Beechworth."

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Then do wait. I shall be going with you."

"Need not."

"Yes," Ralph sternly replied. "I am not a fool to allow you to go out there alone and do something utterly stupid."

"You do not trust me."

"I have reasons not to," Ralph snapped. "Wait while I get my coat." He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Durley and Alex alone.

Alex could take her eyes off Durley. He noticed and he cocked an eyebrow. "You find something interesting?"

She shook her head. "Nothin'." She blinked and turned away to look back outside the window. Dawn had settled in and it was one of the most magical things. It was far beyond what the holes over Meriwether could offer, Alex thought. "Yer sister must be very dear te ye."

"Of course," Durley said. "She is the only one I have. I do believe you understand?"

His words brought panic to rise up her throat. Yes, of course.

At that moment, Ralph walked out with his coat.

"I'm commin' along," Alex said as the two men started for the door.

"You stay here," said Ralph.

"Why?"

Ralph stopped and faced her. "Because I cannot have anything happen to you at this crucial point," he retorted. "It is best you stay here. Lock the doors and wait until our return. We shall not be long as we will only be making inquiries."

Alex looked at Ralph and then at Durley. She nodded. She needed some time alone anyway.

From inside the cottage, she watched Ralph and Durley walk down the street to the direction of the village. Whatever they would find tonight, it ought to be something good for Alex could not stay far away from the Town any longer.

There was so much she had left behind.

*****

Alex waited for Ralph and Durley to return with apples they bought from the village market earlier.

Nighttime had finally settled and the sky was now covered with bright stars.

She remembered the nights when she, Ned and Barto would lay on their backs, staring at the stars, counting each one of them. Little did they know, there were far more than they could count. Her cousins would not even believe her if she were to tell them they could never count the stars in this lifetime. Even the next.

Her musing was interrupted by a loud sound. She looked down the road and saw a big carriage driving by. For a moment, its sound broke the quiet in the small village. She watched it drive by until it turned a corner and the sound wavered, returning the returning the quiet it broke.

She sighed. And then she looked up at the sky.

She was not one who prayed, but this time she did.

She prayed for those belowground.

*****

"I told you to lose the hat," Ralph muttered under his breath before he gulped down the rest of the ale offered to them by the handsome man behind the counter.

"I do like the hat," Durley countered.

"Because you think it provides you a certain kind of mystery," Ralph said with a scoff. "That is not truly the case, if you must know."

"Stop talking about the bloody hat."

"I cannot because no one is obviously very keen sharing a table with us," Ralph shot back. "Because of that bloody hat."

"Pardon, gentlemen," the man behind them said, twisting around his chair to smile at them through his heavy beard. His eyes were drooping and his cheeks were flaming red. He burped before he nodded at Durley. "Like the hat, mon."

Durley smiled proudly. "Thank you," throwing Ralph a sideway glance.

"Now, can ye two shut the bloody hell up 'bout the damn hat and let us get our own quiet?"

Ralph and Durley were stupefied as the man twisted back to face his companion.

"Did'ye hear that?" his companion asked, voice more irritated than the bearded old man. Ralph listened as well but heard nothing peculiar other than the loud engine sounds that passed the saloon outside. "Them truck's comin' in like clockworks every bloody Sunday night."

"Did'ye tell the stupid man leadin' this town?"

"Just bloody proved he's stupid," the other man growled angrily. "I'm tellin' ye, that estate's doin' something weird. I wager me week's earnin' they'll come by again next week. I might up and grab me pistol and follow them—see what they're doin' in that forest of theirs."

The last statement got Ralph's attention. He looked over his shoulder and the man facing their table glared at him. He leaned closer to the bearded man to whisper something.

Bearded man twisted in his chair again to fix Ralph and Durley a strange look. "Ye tourists?"

Ralph blinked. "Yes."

"Spies is more like it," the bearded man's companion said. "They're one of 'em truck drivers."

"We are not what you—" Durley started but bearded man jumped to his feet to face them.

The attention of everyone in the saloon was now on them.

"What are ye bastards up te, eh?" the man asked. "Ye shippin' drugs from somewhere? Packin' 'em goods here? Someone from somewhere has to take a look at that estate. Ye've been doin' yer dirty secret work fer years. Don't think no one notices."

Durely stood up and righted his coat. "We are merely drinking, sir. We mean no harm."

"Yes," Ralph added from his chair. "Just drinkin'." Perhaps it was a bad idea to leave Alex behind. She would have been of good use at the moment.

"Ye dress up like 'em folks from that estate," said bearded man's companion, also coming to his feet to stand beside his friend.

Ralph stood up as well. "We do not know what you are talking about, gentlemen."

"No fightin'!" the man behind the bar shouted, pointing at the two drunkards. "Ye take it outside."

"These men are takin' over our village, I'm tellin' ye," bearded man said, pointing at Ralph and Durley. "Don't any of ye care any fer this village?"

"You're obsessed, the two of you!" someone shouted from one corner. "That bloody estate's done nothin'!"

"That bloody estate's been buyin' off yer lands, ye bloody idiots! Soon, we'll find ourselves workin' for a bloody amusement park. I won't be surprised if that happens!" bearded man's companion shouted. "Ain't I right, Cooper? Ye sold yer father's land so ye can spend yer pounds on that woman in Rothbury!"

Suddenly a large man jumped to his feet from the right side of the room, his face red as he stormed toward the two drunkards. "What did ye say?"

"No fightin'!" the barman shouted once again.

People started to cheer as Cooper grabbed bearded man's friend by the collar. He glared at the man as he pulled him closer, their faces merely inches apart and breathed down on him. "What did ye say?"

"Ye sold yer father's land te that estate so ye can bed a woman in Rothbury!" the foxed man said with a laugh.

All hell broke loose. Bearded man and his friend were sent across the room. People laughed and cheered as Cooper stalked after them, grabbing them by their throats to make them stand up.

Ralph grabbed Durley and they both walked out of the saloon as the chaos continued.

Walking in silence, both of them knew the other was thinking the same thing.

"We are literally walking over the Dark Forest," Durley stated matter-of-factly.

Ralph nodded. "Lady Belinda has guessed so."

"And if your source was telling the truth, the passage is somewhere near."

Silence followed his statement again.

"There must be a way to see this estate those two bastards were talking about."

Ralph nodded. "And fast."