The Cave - Chapter X - Luke Dubs That This Stinks Like Cheese

     Julia frowned. War? She then shook it off. Why was she concerned for these people? However, she wasn’t quite able to dismiss the feeling of fear.

     “With who, your grace?” Oliver asked.

     “Daeva.” Ackerley said. The name seemed to weigh upon the room heavily.

     “No offense or anything, but that didn’t exactly clear anything up.” Luke stated.

     Ackerley nodded. “Ah, of course it would not. Daeva is a monster. For centuries, she has been hiding – we have no clue where for all this time. She had tried to battle the four kingdoms once before, and has failed. Thank goodness. But now, we believe that she is trying to start another battle.”

     “By ‘believe’, Ackerley means that Daeva sent a message declaring a battle.” Celeste added.

     Julia took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure if it was from panic, or the fact that there was less oxygen down there. “How will that affect above ground?”

     “That’s why we need you, kid.” Phil said gravely while stirring a sugar cube into his drink. “Daeva said that it had to be Up – above.”

     “Why?” Luke asked.

     “On that, we have no clue.” Metis answered. “We do, however, believe that it is so Daeva can conquer Up – above in addition to the four underground kingdoms.”

     “And we need you children to guide us using maps you made so we can have a fair advantage.” Celeste explained.

     “But… that…” Luke stuttered.

     “Look. I’m going to be blunt. You can’t just expect us to drop everything and help you guys just because you told us to. We’re going to walk out of here, and pretend that none of this ever happened.” Lee said calmly, standing and pushing her chair from the table.

     “Actually, I am afraid that we cannot allow that to happen.” Ackerley sighed, as if he regretted what he was saying. “We are holding you captive until the beginning of the battle.”

     “No way!” Oliver protested.

     “Yes way.” Phil said.

     “Who died and made you king?” Luke challenged. “Hang on…”

     Julia stood and nearly knocked her chair over running. “Come on, guys!” They pulled open the door, only to see the two guards glowering down at them. They pointed their swords at the four, and herded them back toward the table. The royals were looking at them regretfully, and angrily.

     “You are staying, and that is all.” Metis decided.

     Julia sent them the most hateful glare she could muster. “Why can’t we go home?”

     “Because then we cannot be sure that you will not come back.” Ackerley explained.

     “Why don’t you just stalk us like you did last week?” Lee asked.

     “Pardon?” Matilde frowned.

     Oliver stepped forward. “Didn’t you send your guards to watch us?”

     Ackerley shook his head. “Not at all. I would have, had you not shown up on time this evening, but you did.”

     Luke crossed his arms. “Okay, I’ll buy that, but where will we sleep and stuff?”

     “You will live here in this kingdom.” Celeste said. “And so will we, to discuss battle strategy.”

     Julia’s glare loosened. “How long until the war?”

     “Half a year.” Phil grunted.

     “That will be all the questions for tonight,” Ackerley decided. “For now, I am nearly positive that you have much sleep to catch up on.”

     Wordlessly, Julia nodded. She was stunned. First, these strangers make her and her friends stay for help them with a war. Then they say they can't go home for half a year, then they decide that they've asked enough questions. However, she was feeling exhausted, and her legs felt like boiled noodles from the early morning hike. Ackerley said something about guards leading them somewhere, but she lost interest. She didn’t want to listen. All she knew, was that for over half a year, she would be kept from her family, in a strange place, in a strange culture. She closed her eyes as they threatened to well up with tears.

     Blindly, she followed the others, staring at Lee’s back. All she wanted, was to sleep. To temporarily forget the situation. To just allow herself a couple minutes more of her pity party before she quit these negative thoughts. She was aware that she sounded like some sort of spoilt moody teenager, but she figured she had a good excuse. The guards touched their hands to their caps before walking back down the hall. The four faced each other.

     “This stinks.” Oliver decided.

     “Like cheese.” Luke added.

     Lee laughed wryly. “Understatement of the century.”

     “We can’t talk like this.” Julia told them.

     “You know what?” Oliver began. “I think we just need some sleep. Goodnight,” and with that, he disappeared into his room.

     Julia gave a small smile to her friends, then opened up her door. She walked in, not taking any time looking around the room. She simply collapsed into her bed and began snoring.

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I'm back from the dead! Here's the next chapter (finally)! I'm not even titling these properly. How do you title? Anyhow, comment, like it, enjoy it! Thanks for reading, and many happy wishes.