gentle fingers that shook.
"My sister," he murmured, voice loud in the otherwise nearly silent tunnel. She gave no indication that she felt his touch or even knew he was there, and he sighed. "Soon, my dear. Soon your son will return and set all of this right."
He stood up and looked around at the people he had once been in charge of ruling. "Soon you’ll all be free from your sleep and life can begin again."
In the dim light of the tunnel he checked the screen of the device that showed him where Asher was. It would take a good couple of days for him to get back here, once he passed the veil, and Abon closed his eyes and wished him safe travels, hoping he wasn’t coming back alone.
Chapter 11: Touchdown
‘Bumpy’ had been a bit of an understatement, and actually not the right word at all to describe what the first bit was. They’d risen straight up, which had been thrilling to watch from the windows, but then they’d tilted at an angle, which Mia understood because the nose of the thing was probably pointed for a reason.
She’d been on enough planes that she’d assumed it would be something similar, but she hadn’t been prepared at all. Planes started off slow, rolling down the runway to gather speed before they lifted off.
This didn’t do that. It hovered above the tree line for a moment, and Asher assured her that no one would be able to see them because of the cloaking mechanism, and then it shot forward, picking up speed all at once.
It made sense, she supposed, since this craft had a lot farther to go than an airplane, but she still screamed as it rattled along through the air, thanking Asher for reminding her to buckle in because she would have surely been on the floor if she hadn’t done so.
"I don’t remember this part much," Asher called, voice loud over the sudden roar of the engines. "I was crying and being held when we took off because I was too small to be buckled into the seats properly. It’s fun, though, isn’t it?"
He looked at her, and Mia could see that his eyes were alight with excitement. She couldn’t be grumpy about the ride after that. Not when Asher was so thrilled to be going home. Instead she smiled back at him, and nodded, even though she had a white knuckled grip on the armrests of her seat.
Aside from the eventful nature of their takeoff, the rest of the journey was almost dull. They cruised through space, going at a fast clip, but she barely noticed how fast it was. The ship was level and she was able to walk around and make food in the cooking machines once Asher showed her how they worked. She slept on her cot when she was tired, since there was no real difference between night and day where they were now.
Asher spent most of his time looking out the window with a longing expression on his face, and she knew that he was waiting for the first glimpse of his home. She couldn’t even imagine having been away from it for as long as he had, and he didn’t even know what he was going to be coming back to. Not really.
He told her stories in the quiet. About his uncle and how he was king, about his nanny and how she’d had to chase him all over the place sometimes. About how his people had taken things that weren’t pretty by nature and morphed them into works of art.
There was pride in his voice as he talked, and even though he’d been no more than a little boy when he’d last been there, it was easy to hear how much love and respect he had for his people. It made Mia’s heart ache to be a part of it.
She told him stories in return. Not about her parents, because there wasn’t much to tell there, but about her life since she’d moved out of their house. About the things she’d wanted, the dreams she’d had. About how she was something of an artist herself.
The idea of living and learning amongst a group of naturally talented people, which was how Asher made his people sound, was thrilling, and the more he told her about it, the more excited she got. Maybe
"My sister," he murmured, voice loud in the otherwise nearly silent tunnel. She gave no indication that she felt his touch or even knew he was there, and he sighed. "Soon, my dear. Soon your son will return and set all of this right."
He stood up and looked around at the people he had once been in charge of ruling. "Soon you’ll all be free from your sleep and life can begin again."
In the dim light of the tunnel he checked the screen of the device that showed him where Asher was. It would take a good couple of days for him to get back here, once he passed the veil, and Abon closed his eyes and wished him safe travels, hoping he wasn’t coming back alone.
Chapter 11: Touchdown
‘Bumpy’ had been a bit of an understatement, and actually not the right word at all to describe what the first bit was. They’d risen straight up, which had been thrilling to watch from the windows, but then they’d tilted at an angle, which Mia understood because the nose of the thing was probably pointed for a reason.
She’d been on enough planes that she’d assumed it would be something similar, but she hadn’t been prepared at all. Planes started off slow, rolling down the runway to gather speed before they lifted off.
This didn’t do that. It hovered above the tree line for a moment, and Asher assured her that no one would be able to see them because of the cloaking mechanism, and then it shot forward, picking up speed all at once.
It made sense, she supposed, since this craft had a lot farther to go than an airplane, but she still screamed as it rattled along through the air, thanking Asher for reminding her to buckle in because she would have surely been on the floor if she hadn’t done so.
"I don’t remember this part much," Asher called, voice loud over the sudden roar of the engines. "I was crying and being held when we took off because I was too small to be buckled into the seats properly. It’s fun, though, isn’t it?"
He looked at her, and Mia could see that his eyes were alight with excitement. She couldn’t be grumpy about the ride after that. Not when Asher was so thrilled to be going home. Instead she smiled back at him, and nodded, even though she had a white knuckled grip on the armrests of her seat.
Aside from the eventful nature of their takeoff, the rest of the journey was almost dull. They cruised through space, going at a fast clip, but she barely noticed how fast it was. The ship was level and she was able to walk around and make food in the cooking machines once Asher showed her how they worked. She slept on her cot when she was tired, since there was no real difference between night and day where they were now.
Asher spent most of his time looking out the window with a longing expression on his face, and she knew that he was waiting for the first glimpse of his home. She couldn’t even imagine having been away from it for as long as he had, and he didn’t even know what he was going to be coming back to. Not really.
He told her stories in the quiet. About his uncle and how he was king, about his nanny and how she’d had to chase him all over the place sometimes. About how his people had taken things that weren’t pretty by nature and morphed them into works of art.
There was pride in his voice as he talked, and even though he’d been no more than a little boy when he’d last been there, it was easy to hear how much love and respect he had for his people. It made Mia’s heart ache to be a part of it.
She told him stories in return. Not about her parents, because there wasn’t much to tell there, but about her life since she’d moved out of their house. About the things she’d wanted, the dreams she’d had. About how she was something of an artist herself.
The idea of living and learning amongst a group of naturally talented people, which was how Asher made his people sound, was thrilling, and the more he told her about it, the more excited she got. Maybe
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