Lua wondered if he was dead. If what he felt like was death crawling through his bones chewing at him from the inside out. It was only a matter of time before his mind shut down as well.

He felt himself sinking. Each breath became a struggle. Despair hung by his every nerve, anchoring him to the depths of darkness. Then like the first rays of day, her voice filled him with hope.

"Lua?"

He peeled back his eyelids to find himself in the same empty room. He sighed. She was in his dreams again. Of everyone he knew, she was the only one who kept him from falling into dismay. And only then did he realize that she freed him from his worries, at least for a moment.

"Lua."

He blinked. He was dreaming no longer. This girl was making him lose his mind.

"Lua." The door fell open and the princess stepped through. Lua watched her, caught in disbelief.

Behind her came the masked woman. All sense told him she'd captured the princess as well. Lua sprang forward only to be forced back by his binds.

"Calm down will you," the woman said. She slashed the binds tethering his ankle with a knife.

The princess laid a hand on his shoulder and lowered to her knees beside his bed. Hesitance, and perhaps hope, filled her touch. She looked sleep-deprived and tired. But that didn't hinder the relief shown through her smile. "Lua?"

"Why are you here? What's going on?" The urge to tear away his binds and tear apart the masked woman bit away at his sanity. "Did she hurt you? Are you being held hostage?"

The woman slashed the bind over his other ankle.

The princess folded her hand over his.  "She's a friend. I trust her. You should too."

"That explains nothing."

She laughed. "I'm still processing this myself. But I'm just glad Vaya found you and not someone else." 

Vaya, the masked woman, severed the last bind over his wrists. Lua certainly didn't forgive her for putting him through this torture but he held himself back only for the sake of the princess.

"I hate to put an end to this happy reunion," Vaya announced. "But I seem to be in a pickle at the moment. Hooligans are at my doorstep. The princess needs to be kept somewhere safe and you, surface dweller, must be kept somewhere no one can find you."

The princess's hands slipped away. But Lua caught her hand in time, surprising himself. "I can keep her safe just fine." He had to repay his debt somehow.

"Can I trust him to protect you, your highness?" Vaya looked to the princess for her response. And when it didn't come, Lua pulled away.

"He's protected me before." The princess squeezed his hand. "I trust him." A warmth blossomed in his chest that, of all things, felt out of place.

"Do you know how to use one of these?"
Vaya held out a crooked metallic bar.

"Is that supposed to be a blunt weapon?"  Lua perked a brow.

"Okay this isn't going to work." She sighed.

Lua took the blunt weapon and the knife tucked into her belt. "This'll do just fine."

"I don't want this to get out of hand," Vaya said. "I will try my best to control the situation and settle any disagreements. But should things go south and my enemies find their way here, I'm relying on you to keep her safe. You may not care for what happens to us down here or for all of Dhulka but her safety could tip the scales of peace between the Underbelly and the people upstairs I've tried to maintain for so long."

Peace keeping was his job as the future chief of Drait and he'd failed even before he started. But perhaps this time round he wouldn't disappoint. Perhaps he could redeem himself. "No harm shall befall the princess. But should it come to it, I shall lay down my life for hers."

~~~

For Quincies to show up right at Vermillions' doorstep was suicide in and of itself. Only madmen would march into Vermillion territory and accuse them of their own actions. But Quincies were no strangers to insanity.

Stalls and shops were torn down and pillaged. Innocent men and women beaten blue and bloody and locked up like prey. Entrances barricaded and guarded by men with guns.

Anyone who lived within the Underbelly long enough knew that, any man or woman whose appearance was accented with blue and tatted with a dragonfly was bad news. Unlike Vermillions they were a rough put together of individuals who had long ago abandoned morals for a life of reckless endeavors. Held together only by the common loyalty to their leader, Asad Mavis.

But their control of the Underbelly was merely second to the Vermillions who were more than just a gang. They kept what peace could grow in their lawless land. The people looked to them to maintain order and keep them from the rampant violence of those like the Quincies, by returning their ill deeds for violence far worse than anyone in the Underbelly could ever dream up.

One minute there was light the next darkness reigned. Quincies dropped like flies in the streets. Bullets originated from slightly ajar windows and stole the souls of every living Quincy.

"Why are you here?" A voice rang throughout the space. To those hiding in fear it was a source of hope. To the invaders it was a mockery.

A scream ripped through the darkness. Gunmen froze. The Quincies had taken a child hostage. He held the child against his frame, gun pressed against the child's temple.

"Tell them," the Quincy whispered into the child's ear. "Tell them this is all their doing."

"He says..." Her words trembled along its way out. "He says this is—"

"Louder!" The gun dug into her skin.

"He says this is all your doing!" Her cries carried through the still air.

"Repeat after me," he murmured. "Twenty men dead and one missing dog."

"Twenty men dead and one missing dog!"

"I don't believe you've come here to play games." Vay's voice was tranquil. "What have Vermillions done to anger the Quincy?"

"You took the princess didn't you?"

The words caught in the young girl's throat.

"Speak or I'll blow your brains out." The Quincy tightened his hold on the girl.

"You took the princess!" She cried out.

There followed a silence, filled by a million possible outcomes. But in that moment only one group made their move. Soldiers of the king moved through the dark alleys and through buildings where they disappeared from the aided eye. 

Vaya killed the amplifier and raised the radio to her lips. "Hoffa, are you there?"

"Yes ma'am." A male voice came through the radio.

"Get the princess and fugitive out of here, right now."

"Where shall I take them, ma'am?"

"Upstairs."

"Yes ma—" the cry of bullets drowned out his last words.

"Hoffa?" Vaya waited for him to come through. "Hoffa, are you there? Hoffa what's going on?"

The radio was dead silent.

"Damn it." They were after the princess all along. But if they got to her they'd discover the surface dweller as well and that was another ordeal of its own. Vaya had to make sure these two individuals were safe at all costs.

~~~

A dozen consecutive blasts came from beyond the brick wall. Lua watched the door like a hawk, knife locked in his grip.

"Lua," the princess said. "Go before they see you."

"Shut up. I'm not leaving you."

"They won't hurt me, they wouldn't dare. But I can't say the same for you."

"I don't trust you."

She was silent a moment.

"I'm sorry I let this happen to you. You should be on the surface and long gone by now."

Lua sighed and turned in her direction. But she was safely tucked away from sight, hidden behind the wardrobe doors. "It's not your fault. I should've—"

Two knocks resounded through the room. Lua's attention snapped to the door.

"Princess Zemlya! Are you there? It's me Officer Tayo!"

The wardrobe door fell open. Recognition was written across her features.

"Do you know him?" Lua asked.

"He's an investigator who became my guard after you and Harran left." Hesitance wove its way into her tone. "He can't see you."

"He can't see us together."

She bristled. She pondered. She was desperate. "What if I beg him to let you go? I can pleade with him, I can try—"

"You know better than I do that that won't work."

"I'm not giving up on you."

"What can you do? What power do you have?"

Her eyes widened. "Use me. Hold me hostage. We'll leave together."

"Princess Zemlya! Hold on I'm coming!!" The investigator shouted once again.

Something sour layered his throat. He didn't want to be in the position of her captor, he didn't want to hurt her. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her. But he had no other choice.

"Alright." He took her hand and led her out the wardrobe. He came to stand behind her, raising the knife to her throat. "Don't move your head until I tell you to. But the moment I hurt you, we stop."

"I trust you, Lua."

He wound his arm round her waist and pushed her against him. "You have to look scared."

"I am scared. Scared that they'll take you."

Lua was scared too. Scared that he'd hurt her. "Open the doors."

Her trembling hand twisted the door knob. The door fell open and a metal tube passed through, aimed dead centre the princess's forehead. The metal tube dropped in the next second. The man, Officer Tayo as he called himself, raised his hands over his head.

"Step aside, or I'll slit open your dear princess's throat." Lua wiped his face of all emotion, fear, anxiety, despair. He had to become a stone cold monster, which wasn't very far off from who he was raised to be.

The princess's dog barked and growled in their direction. She was never aggressive towards Lua, but a knife to a loved one's throat would make anyone antsy.

"Hold the dog," Lua instructed. The officer coiled her leash round his fist and held her back.

The princess's chest rose and swooped. Her breaths quickened. She sniffled. Her fear seemed almost real, and Lua hated that. They stepped out of the room and into the dimly lit hall.

"Officer Tayo," the princess said. "No matter what happens. Don't shoot. If you do—" She swallowed. "If you do, I'll have you and all your men trialed for disobeying my orders and putting me in danger."

"Your Highness, I promise you, you will be safe."

"Do you swear not to shoot?"

A storm brewed behind the officer's gaze. He hesitated. Lua could see how much he dreaded what he would say next. "I swear."

Lua stepped back and away from the officer. "If I sense anything funny. I promise all that'll be left of her will be her ashes."

They stepped back, further and further into the dark hall, till all Lua could see was black. And only then did he realize that they hadn't quite thought this through. How were they to escape this place and return upstairs?

Darkness stretched on, on all sides. The only source of light came from the hall they had just left. And they couldn't go back. The longer darkness lingered, the faster his threat crumbled. How could he burn her to ashes without any flame?

There came a click then light, travelling down the hall and across another. They stepped into the light and followed its path. He wasn't certain but he suspected someone was watching them and wanted to help them.

They went on with the officer's promise that no one would shoot. Lua didn't trust him and he suspected the princess didn't either but he was the only one who could promise them safety at the moment, however true it could've been.

The path of light ended at an elevator. They stepped through and the door slid close on its own.

~~~

"How much longer must we wait!" Zaki demanded. "Lua is dead. He died that night and he won't be coming back."

Makapa had nothing to say. His reasoning made as little sense to him as it did to everyone else. The late chief had specifically instructed him to hold out until Lua returned, from wherever it was he had gone, the afterlife or another world. And he would do as he was told until he couldn't any longer.

"Give me another day." Makapa wouldn't argue. Zaki had every right to question him. "Then we'll return and take back Drait."

"Why can't we leave right now?" Zaki badgered. "Could it be that you're a snake as well?"

Makapa bristled. He flared his fingers and took a deep breath. They couldn't tear themselves apart at their most vulnerable. "Zaki, calm down. You're being ridiculous."

Zaki paced the room. His unease contagious. Tangible almost. An entity of its own, screaming down at Makapa. Zaki halted and stared at the door separating them from the rest of the warriors. "There are a hundred man out there, who don't know what's happened to their mothers and wives, sisters and daughters. We're at your beck and call but there comes a point where doubt takes hold of a man."

In the next moment, the same doors burst open and one of the warriors stepped through. Distress written across his countenance.

Makapa snapped to attention. "What's wrong?"

"A girl, she, a Drait girl—" Zaki and Makapa rushed past him into the hall before he finished. He scurried after them.

"How sure are you that she's a Drait?" Zaki said.

"Daba recognizes her. She was found along the edge of the ruins, unconscious."

"Injured?" Makapa asked.

"Exhaustion it seems."

"Has she awoken yet? Has she said anything?" The eagerness laced Zaki's every word.

He would get his answers soon enough. The girl was awake and all she wanted to do was talk.

"Where is he?" She asked Daba, her sanity drained along with her sustenance. "Where did he go? You must bring him. Please, you have to help me or they'll kill everyone." Her fear-filled eyes fell on Makapa and Zaki who stood by the door.

Makapa inched towards her. He held nothing but sympathy for her in his gaze. 

"It's alright." Makapa was gentle. "You're alright. You're safe. We're here to help. But you must tell us, clearly, what happened?"

"They've killed them all." She looked off, the horror replaying behind her eyes. "All the men and boys, slaughtered and hung up like dolls along the streets. But when the streets get full, they burn them. Only at night, when we can't use our fire. We're herded like cattle, forced under obedience. Acting out will only earn you a place among the piles of bodies."

"How did you get here then?" Makapa didn't want to push her, but they needed answers.

"I was sent here." The memories seemed to return to her, slowly. "I did something horrible. And because of me, all the women of my village will be killed—"

"What have you done?!" Zaki barked. He sounded about ready to rip her to shreds. The fear claimed her once again.

"Zaki, back off and let her speak," Makapa sneered.

"She's a traitor."

"Get out if all you're here to do is accuse her." Makapa was at the edge of his patience. Stretched thin and about to snap.

Eyes blazing, and smoke seeping past his nostrils Zaki stormed out the door.

"We are not the enemy." Makapa tried to hold her attention. But the fear numbed her through. "We are your warriors. You can trust us. Tell us what you have done."

She took a moment to return to herself. "I've killed one of them. And now all the women are being held hostage until I can bring him back."

"Who must you bring back?"

"The chief's son, Lua."

Makapa recoiled. Everyone needed Lua but no one knew where he was. "Who sent you?"

"I don't know his name. But I remember. I can't ever forget his face. Eyes like storm clouds. Scripture round his throat."

Wasu, was the man on their minds for sure. But what would Wasu want to do with Lua? Or perhaps he only spoke on another's behalf? Someone much closer to Lua.

"I know Lua is dead." The despair consumed her. But hope, as tiny as it was, glimmered in the gloom. "But you must help us. You must fight for us. Please."

Makapa's mind ran through every possible outcome. If they returned without Lua, the women were sure to be killed. And then they would be killed as well. Because unlike Makapa, Lua could and would lead them to victory. Lua was the better leader, a hundred times over.

If they refused to return to Drait. All the women would be killed. Along with whatever minscule amount of trust for the warriors of Drait remained. And Wasu was never fair, if he simply felt like it, he'd kill another whole village of women if he had to. The Drait people meant nothing to them, they could erase Drait off the face of the earth and still sleep peacefully at night.

Makapa was caught between a rock and a hard place. But what mattered most was the people of Drait. If they waited any longer, there would be no one left to protect even if Lua did return.

"What's your name?" Makapa said.

"Rahama."

"Rahama, it's time we returned to Drait. And take back what is rightfully ours."