Ch. 01 - The Ikeda Family

Somewhere Around Eighteen Years Later:

"And how many would you like, sir," I prompted with a polite smile, the politest I could muster while reaching with my free hand for the... somewhat fresh carrots left in my stock for the day.

They had been fresh when they arrived, but being underground and say, not in the sun, and by now being several, several days old meant that they weren't looking so great, but I had to do my job. Besides, they at least had taste as compared to the dried rations and old bread people normally got to eat here.

"As many as I can get with this," the elderly man on the other side of the counter replied, spilling the contents of his small coin purse out onto the wooden surface of my stand.

What few coins there were bounced out unceremoniously and irregularly before settling. I counted them quickly, leaving them where they were only to find that he didn't have enough for even one. I peeked then into the basket he was holding. Inside was nothing more than a single loaf of dry bread as close to stale as you could get with it still being edible. It was the usual meal down here. He must have thought he could splurge a little, get something else for his family.

Schooling my face into an expression of indifference, I ignored the meager amount he presented and grabbed a few for the poor man. He looked like he needed them, and what family he likely lived with would need them as well. He had to live with someone; an old man like him wouldn't survive to such an old age otherwise. And more likely than not, to help care for him, those he lived with likely turned to crime.

As close to the MPs as I was, I should have been alarmed or disgusted but I couldn't feel anything other than pity for him.

The man's eyes widened when I held the vegetables towards him. He frowned, shook his head, and began to protest immediately. "That's far too many," he said, "I couldn't possibly accept..."

"We're having a sale," I cut in simply, not daring to look away from his eyes.

I ignored his sputtering completely, and his voice died in his throat. He looked at me, clearly surprised and clearly knowing that I was lying. But he must have known better than to deny such kindness. In a place like this, genuine kindness was hard to come by. As someone who likely spent his whole life here... he had to have known that.

Before he could reply further, I tossed the carrots into his basket and swiped the coins from the counter. "All sales are final. No refunds and no returns."

A smile broke out onto his face as I sorted the few coins now in my palm. "Thank you, miss," he said excitedly, and at that I looked back into his eyes with a smile of my own. "Thank you. You're incredibly kind."

The man had a toothless smile, all gums and all happiness. His gratefulness showed through in his eyes and the skin by them crinkled, little crow's feet breaking through. I shook my head, pretending that all was normal and that I hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. "With all due respect, sir, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've got a good heart," he continued, looking down into his basket as though I'd packed gold inside it instead. "Very good heart. Thank you so much, I..."

"Don't mention it," I said, watching as another man began to approach the stand. The light of my lantern reflected his hazel eyes prettily as he nodded and began to hobble away, holding his basket close to his chest. The other man walked right up as I stored the money away into my own coin purse. It was about time to pack up but I figured I could deal with this final customer, at least.

The polite smile returned to my lips and I straightened up to greet the newcomer. He looked to be about as old as I was, though of course that was hard to tell with the dim firelight from my sole lantern and the fact that everyone down here looked exhausted and malnourished all the time - which was accurate. But from what I could tell, at least, we were at least somewhat close to each other in age. He had hair that might have been golden blond in the right light, with bangs that came down to cover one of his brown eyes.

I gestured to my wares with one hand. "What would you like tonight, sir?"

The one eye I could see traveled downwards in a rather obvious manner and his eyebrow quirked up in a way likely meant to be flirtatious or playful. He set his forearms on the counter - my counter - and leaned towards me.

"How much for you?"

His voice was smooth and confident, and his mouth was curled into a smirk that would make weaker women swoon. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, scowl, or otherwise react and instead let my own lips lift into a smirk to match his. I set my own elbows on the counter and leaned closer, to which he responded in kind.

"More than you have," I said quietly, my voice not daring to rise above a whisper. His breath ghosted across my cheek and I heard his breath hitch with surprise, earning myself another one when he felt the blade pressed against his stomach. I glanced into his eye and when it widened, my smirk morphed into one more sinister. "If I were you, I'd back away and never visit this stand again."

He gulped and swiftly stood up straight, perhaps more caught off-guard than I was originally anticipating. He backed up a step or two, and his eyes followed the movement as I stuck the knife into the wood of the counter with a deep, reverberating thump.

"That's a good boy," I patronized, keeping my eye on him as he continued to back away.

But then he seemed to resummon his nerve, because he scowled and reached behind him, likely for a weapon he kept concealed just within the waistband of his pants. I didn't see even the glint of firelight against the metal of his knife before it was thrown and stuck into the wall behind me - the wall of the Military Police base, of course.

As the only (adopted) child of one of the officers, I was graciously granted a job right here, selling that which they did not use in their mess hall. As it had been so eloquently said, the rats down here deserved a little variety in their meals if they could afford it. So, I set up here, selling leftover goods. It wasn't much, but it was something, and it allowed me to help make some money for the family.

"Bold move," I said, seeing a pair of soldiers over his shoulder.

"And here I thought our patrol would be quiet today," the female soldier said.

"You should know better," said the male soldier. "I just thought we'd be out here for a few minutes before seeing something like this."

Before the man could react, the soldiers had him by the arms. Donning their green emblems proudly over their hearts and on their backs, they kept him from struggling and he gave up quickly. "We'll take care of him," the female soldier, Masie, told me.

"Thanks for this, Amaya," the male soldier, Reyes added. "Already off to a good start, today."

"Thank you," I called to them, watching them bring him right into the base. I shook my head with disbelief; people could be so incredibly stupid. Those two soldiers in particular I had known since I was a child.

When Elwin first took me in, while he was stuck on patrols he'd leave me in the care of whoever could be trusted to watch me. And usually, one of these two would volunteer right away. In this way, it was like I had an aunt and an uncle, and it allowed El to focus on his job. I knew quite a few of the soldiers, save for some of the young ones stuck here usually to pay for some level of insubordination.

When at last I could no longer hear that man swearing and cursing my name endlessly, I packed everything up and started to head home.

Soon, I turned and walked up the worn pathway leading to my home of around two decades now. The curtains were drawn over whatever windows weren't boarded up, but I could see the golden glow of lanterns inside, meaning that El was home already. I smiled, wondering if he didn't have any interesting stories or his patrol or cases he'd had to deal with today to tell me.

When I reached the door I shifted everything to one hand and opened the door with the other, knowing that he'd left it unlocked for me like he always did. A risky practice to be sure, but he was a soldier, and a damn well capable one at that. I stepped inside the house and shut the door behind me, locking it with one practiced hand.

I was expecting a warm welcome home from El. I expected him to be waiting for me, like every other evening that he got home before me. I was expecting him to be sitting on the couch, reading or going over reports until he would realize that I got home, in which case a huge smile would overtake his features and he'd cross the room to take some of the things out of my hands and press a kiss to my hair.

That didn't happen today.

Sure, someone was sitting on the couch, but it was not El. It was a child. "These burglars get younger and younger, I swear," I said, not knowing what else to say. "Kid, you got inside which is great, but most people would have stolen something and left by now, not get your assprint on our furniture."

The kid only looked at me with wide, green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the candlelight. He blinked once, then twice, and still said nothing.

"Um..."

Well, this was awkward.

The kid clearly wasn't a threat. But what the hell was he doing here?

He was sitting where El always would, and couldn't have been any older than seven years old. He was cute, sure, but he was looking at me like he was curious as to what I was doing here. Elwin appeared from the kitchen then, and both of us broke out of our staring contest to look at him instead.

"Oh," El said, a sheepish smile reaching his face. He looked between myself and the boy for a moment before chuckling a little before rushing to assist me like he always did. "Welcome home, darling."

"Glad to be back," I said absently, looking at El to ignore the way the boy was staring at us with poorly-concealed wonder and intrigue in his eyes. "Business was good today, there's not too much leftover for us to work with."

"That's fine," El said. "I picked up a few extra things today anyway. It's special, you see."

"Clearly," I said when he took the small box of leftovers I'd packed and set it on the table. There wasn't a meal to be made of what was left, even if he did pick up a few extra items. "Made just enough to pick some meat up if we wanted, but the problem is finding somewhere respectable to buy it this late."

"As I said," El said with an easy smile, "I took care of it tonight."

"You took care of dinner? Goodness, you must be in a really good mood," I teased.

"Ha, ha," he snarked back. "Very funny. Save the money. Your birthday will be coming up soon."

"Oh? Will I be paying for my own special dinner?"

That got a bark of a laugh out of him. "Ok, maybe not. My birthday, then."

"Mm-hm. Right. Well."

"Well."

"El."

"Mm-hm?"

"Who is this child?"

"Ah," he said, as though reminded the kid was there. He cleared his throat and gestured to the boy. "This is Caden. The newest member of our family." When he heard his name, Caden beamed, his smile so incredibly adorable and consequently infectious that it brought one to my own face. "Caden, this is Amaya, your new sister."

"Sister," I began to say, but Caden was smiling so widely and he leapt up from the couch to run over and hug me and the rest of my words died in my throat. I reached down and patted his back, looking at El incredulously.

He shrugged and smiled that smile at me, the one that told me that he knew exactly what he was doing and wasn't ashamed of it. I jerked my head slightly towards the kitchen, silently gesturing to him that the two of us needed to head into the kitchen to talk. His smile faltered, knowing that I was about to chew him out on his nonsense despite being a grown-ass adult.

"Alright, Caden," El said, "let her breathe."

Caden stepped away but smiled up at me as he did. I returned the gesture as best I could before leading El to the kitchen with a quiet "excuse us for a moment, please."

"Ok, Amaya," El said as soon as we were through the doorway, as though to get ahead of what he knew I was about to say. "I know what you're thinking. I do. And I understand your concerns. However-"

"El," I interrupted gently and with a sigh, "why?"

"The boy was brought in today," he said quietly, his voice at a conspiratorial whisper. "His parents and siblings were killed and his grandparents couldn't care for him and he was going to be left all alone."

"His grandparents couldn't... or wouldn't care for him?"

"Wouldn't. Their own deteriorating health... No, they downright refused to leave with him. It's... It was a similar situation to you, Amaya."

"I know," I responded quietly. "I get it. The orphanages haven't improved any?"

"No. The kids are all but worked to death. I couldn't leave him to that, just as I couldn't leave you to that."

"But..."

"I know there are financial concerns."

"We're barely able to take care of just the two of us," I said. "How can we possibly take care of him, too?"

"I can pick up more shifts," El proposed.

"You're already working yourself to the bone," I argued. "I can... I can figure something out for myself."

"I don't want you to need a second job," El said. "You're a woman and if myself and the others aren't there to watch over you, I don't want to risk anything happening to you."

"I'm an adult and you taught me how to defend myself," I said. "If I need to, I'll look for something. There's gotta be something respectable here."

"Doubtful," he said. "I know it's irresponsible and it was a spur of the moment decision, but I couldn't see another life waste away down here."

I closed my eyes and considered it silently for a moment. When I opened them again after a deep breath, El was looking at me hopefully. Warm brown eyes were pleading with me, and just as my own pleading look had always broken him down, the same went for me.

"Until we get another bed," I said, which had him perking up, "he can stay with me in my room. You can bring him to HQ with you in the mornings just as you did with me, and I'll try not to upsell everything at the stand."

His jaw dropped open and he didn't seem to believe what I was saying. Perhaps he just needed a bit more convincing.

"This kid just better not become your favorite," I said playfully, making him smile with so much relief that I thought he would cry and honestly, he might have.

"Amaya," he breathed out, "you don't know how much this means to me."

"You made the decision already," I reasoned. "I didn't have much say in the matter." I set my hands on my hips, looking at him with what I'm sure was a smile that meant only mischief and trouble. "Goddesses help you, you're too old to still give into your damn bleeding heart like this."

"You're probably right." His eyebrows furrowed then, and his smile faded from his lips as he leaned closer, his eyes fixed on my cheek. "What happened there?" What he was referring to, of course, was a small cut I'd gotten.

"This morning," I began, "someone decided they deserved special treatment just because they only had eight fingers. He got angry, obviously, and was just quick enough to get a lucky slice of my cheek. That's all."

"And?"

"And," I said, laughing at the prompt because he knew me so well to know that I was omitting the rest of the story, "I didn't really hurt him or anything, I just threatened to cut off more of his fingers."

"And?"

"..."

"Amaya."

"And gave him a matching cut."

"Amaya."

"What? An eye for an eye, or something."

"It was self defense, so I'll leave it alone." His shoulders slumped a little with relief and he shook his head fondly. "And you're sure you're fine?"

"Positive," I said. "Don't worry about me."

That made him sigh dramatically and he dropped his head. "Wouldn't be my daughter if you didn't try to downplay how you feel. The one thing I wish you hadn't learned from me."

"Well I wish I hadn't gotten your stupid bleeding heart," I muttered.

"I'm glad for that, actually," El said softly. "Not enough people are as kind as you."

"Yeah, yeah. Flatter me all you want, I'm still going to complain about this for a few days."

That enticed a snort of a laugh out of him. "That's my girl."

---

Months Later:

"Into bed, Caden," I instructed, pulling his covers back. I glanced over at him as he sat on the floor, toy still in hand and looking mischievously at me. "Don't give me that look, little man. You've stalled long enough."

His mischievous look shifted into a pout and I rolled my eyes, fighting the urge to laugh. I stood and faced him, setting my hands on my hips and arching one eyebrow up in a silent question that he knew would ask, "Are you really going to keep disobeying me?"

He knew better than to answer verbally, and he knew better than to keep disobeying - for long. His responding smile let me know that he was going to push his luck for as long as he could, at least until I would stop letting him get away with it.. Caden knew he had me wrapped around his finger, and that until a certain point he could get away with a lot. But of course, rules were rules and eventually they had to be followed and right now it was far past the time he should have gone to bed.

I wasted little time in crossing the room to scoop him into my arms. He started to giggle and tried to squirm out of my grasp but I didn't let him. I only threw him over my shoulder and he began poking my back. "Hey," he protested through his laughter, "put me down!"

"I don't particularly want to, Cay," I said easily.

The sound of his jubilant laughter made my smile grow and I spun in a circle, getting a surprised shout from him and then, an excitable whee! I lowered him from my shoulder only enough for him to graze his feet against the floor. He made to dash away from me of course, but I hefted him back up before he could plant his feet on the floor. A laugh escaped me as I carried him to the bed.

We drew ever closer to his bed - in the bedroom I'd occupied since moving in here - and upon realizing he lost the battle, he began to backpedal. "Maya," he whined, "I'll go to bed, just let me down!"

I tutted quietly before saying in a sweet, sing-song way, "You're missing something."

"Please put me down, Maya," he said through a sigh.

"Well now, that just did not seem genuine, now did it?"

"Pretty please put me down, Maya!"

"Oh, so you found your manners? About time, don't you think?" And with that I unceremoniously tossed him to his mattress, making him laugh more. "Actually, I think you forgot something else."

"What?"

I sent a pointed look over my shoulder at the toys left out. "Oh."

"I'll help you," I offered. And help I did, and with the two of us the work got done quickly. Caden for his part actually cleaned up without protest, and soon he climbed back into his bed and got under the covers and I sat down on the edge of the bed when at last he seemed to settle in.

"Do you think you could maybe read a story to me tonight, Maya?"

"Hm? I thought you liked to read to me."

"I do," he assured me, looking awfully bashful now, "but for tonight..."

"I'd be happy to read to you," I said. "Have a story in mind?"

"Mm-hm," he said, reaching towards the sole item on his nightstand. It was a thin storybook, and one I knew well. He handed it to me and when I took it in hand, its familiar weight was comforting, reminding me of when I was younger, yet confusing me all the same.

"This one? Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said.

I looked at him skeptically. "Last I checked, you hated this story."

"I did," he said, "but people can change their minds, you know!"

"People can," I agreed with a smirk, "but you have always been very adamant in telling me how much you hate this book."

"El told me it was your favorite when he saw it the other day," Caden said. "So I decided it can't be that bad, right?"

"Right," I said, unconvinced. "You know, people can change their minds, but you can also just have your own opinion."

"Sure, but I don't think I actually ever read it..."

I rolled my eyes. This kid was too much. I reached out and ruffled his hair before opening the book and beginning to read, the familiar words that I had memorized coming back to me in a rush of nostalgia.

It wasn't until a few pages from the end of the story that Caden started to yawn. It wasn't terribly long, but for a young kid I'm sure it was quite the tale to get through. When at last I finished the story and closed the book, I said, "You're tired."

"I'm not, Amaya," he protested, despite his words being interrupted by another yawn.

"You are very clearly tired," I countered. "We finished the story, so it's time for bed." He opened his mouth to protest, but he cut it off when I sent him a look. "I mean it, Cay."

He frowned as I stood, adjusting the blanket over him and smoothing it out. "I don't want to go to bed," he whined.

"And why not," I mused to humor him.

"Because," he said petulantly, "who knows what fun things I miss when I go to sleep, and you stay up with El?"

I laughed softly. "You aren't missing much. Nothing important, anyway, so don't worry."

"But what do you do?"

"We talk."

"About what?"

"Boring adult stuff," I told him. "Finances and work and how we so badly want to buy citizenship for us both so we can all go aboveground."

"Do you think we'll ever get there?"

"We will," I said surely. "I know it. We're very close to buying your citizenship, you know. We've both been hard at work and soon, you'll be able to see the sun. So trust me, you aren't missing anything fun."

"You promise?"

"I promise, Cay. We'd include you if we were talking about anything fun."

"Not that," he said impatiently. "I mean about going upstairs."

"Oh," I said. I nodded slowly at him, hoping to assure him with a smile. I lowered myself to sit beside him once more. "Of course. I promise."

He seemed to think for a moment. "Is El your real dad?"

"No," I answered. "He isn't. He adopted me, just like he adopted you. I was younger than you were when I met him, though."

Concern crossed his face and he leaned forward, closer to me. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, Cay," I said, shaking my head. "I was very young when it happened and I don't remember all of it. All I know is that like you, my family could no longer take care of me and so he took me in, kind as he is."

"Are your parents like mine?"

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died."

"Ah," I considered. "As far as I know... yes. El told me I lived with my grandmother by the time I was brought in and there was no one else to care for me."

He frowned and looked away, his eyes catching the candlelight yet not looking as bright as always. He looked dejected and... like he was ready to cry. I knew he could only be thinking of one thing: his parents. "A neighbor brought me to El's work," he said. "I overheard everything. They talked about it... about my family being dead... like I wasn't even there."

"Oh, Cay," I said, my voice hushed as I leaned forward, taking him into my arms. I hugged him close to my chest and he melted into my embrace. "Don't think about that. Look at you now, at how strong you've been and how much stronger you've become. Your parents would be so proud of you, Caden, just like El and I are. Regardless of what happened to them, you've grown into quite the young man and one day, you'll do amazing things. I know that wherever they are, they'd want you to be happy. Right?"

When he didn't answer, I pulled away slightly. He peered up at me with teary eyes and a runny nose and he used his sleeve to take care of his snot while he did what he could to blink away his tears.

"Not your sleeve," I said with a chuckle, pulling a handkerchief from my pocket. "Here."

He took it and gently wiped his tears away, and dried his nose and cheeks. When at last his tears were dried, he nodded in answer and nothing more. He had a tight grip on my shirt with one hand, as though to keep me here, to keep him anchored against me.

"Why..." He trailed off to sniffle. "Why do people hurt others, Maya?"

"There isn't one single answer, Cay," I said through a sigh, "and that goes double for where we live."

"Why can't we just go upstairs?"

"We need to pay, unfortunately," I answered. "It's awful, isn't it? But El and I are working hard so we can go as soon as we can, so that you and I can buy our way up."

"Doesn't he need to pay, too?"

"Nope," I said, helping him relax back against his pillows. "He's a soldier." I ran a hand through his hair, relishing in the way he closed his eyes as he started to relax. "He used to live upstairs."

"Why'd he come down?"

"If you ask him, he'll say it's so he could meet us," I said with a smile, "but it's actually because he was assigned here. All he'll have to do when we get our citizenship is to send in a form asking to be reassigned."

"I want to help," he said, opening his eyes. "How soon can I get a job?"

"Hopefully we'll be long gone from here before you're old enough for one," I said, smiling at the thought. "But think of it, Cay: we'll be able to go outside, see the sun, see the sky and clouds and snow and rain, and birds and animals, everything."

"Stars, too," he added quietly.

"That's right," I said, my smile growing.

I imagined it now; a dark, inky sky dotted with millions of stars. Goodness, what a sight it must be. I heard there was a place in the city, a thin crack in the rocky ceiling, where you could see up at the sky. I'd have to ask around and find it. I'd never truly seen the sky before. Only glimpses of sunlight when walking by the stairwell. And that... that was all.

"I've heard sunsets are pretty, too," I said.

"What about sunrise?"

"That requires getting up early, Cay."

"Oh."

"Nevermind?"

"Nevermind."

"We'll get there one day," I assured him. And before he could ask me to, I added, "I promise."

At that, he smiled and slid further down into the covers, getting comfortable. He yawned once more and I stood to tuck him in. He was fighting to keep his eyes open, and I knew he would until I left the room. "Goodnight, Cay," I said, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight, Maya," he said sleepily. I set the book on his nightstand, took the candle in hand, turned, and started to leave. "Love you!"

I stopped mid step and turned to look at him. "I love you too. Sleep well."

I left the room and shut the door as quietly as I could behind me, leaving the room dark and quiet. I headed into the kitchen where I knew El was; during the story, he'd come in to say his own goodnight to Caden and told me where he'd be waiting to talk.

And now... here I was. To talk.

After setting the candle down on the table gently, adding it to the arsenal already sitting atop the surface, I settled into the seat across from him with a low creak of old wood. There was a somber look on his face, a beaten-down slouch in his back. He was sitting leaning forward, his elbows on the table.

There were two things on the table before him, and yet he didn't seem to be focusing on either. One was a piece of paper crisp and white against the wood of the table. It was a notice of some kind, from what I could tell. The other... was the small safe we kept our savings in.

Oh no.

The combined candlelight flickered and wavered in undecipherable patterns, casting shadows across the room and into the corners. El moved, pushing away from the table to set his elbows on his knees and place his head into his hands.

"El," I called quietly, crossing my arms and setting them on the table. He didn't seem to hear me. "El." Still no answer. "I'm going on a walk alone."

"Huh?" He lifted his head and stared at me incredulously. I fought the urge to snicker. Got him. I smiled when recognition filled his features. "Maya? What did you say?"

"Something's bothering you."

"Yes."

Well, I certainly hadn't expected him to admit it so readily. I was expecting to have to work for it.

I accepted it when he picked the piece of paper up and held it towards me. I read it quickly, finding that it was a letter from our scumbag landlord. He was a jackass through and through and only in name did he own this property; it wasn't as though he did anything to maintain it. It was an unfortunate circumstance, to have to rent in a place like this, but it was all El could find when he wanted to find a place of his own instead of the barracks.

Rent was increased. We could hardly stand to pay it before, but now...

"What the hell," I hissed, setting the page on the table. "That's bullshit, and he knows it. We pay on time, he's got no reason to do this. Our living here hasn't improved the damn property value, I assure you."

"I know," El agreed. "I know. But there's nothing to be done with it. There's no negotiating with him, you know that."

"I'm sure something can be done," I said, reaching down into my boot to pat the spot where my knife - gifted to me by El - diligently sat. It was a clear insinuation of what I meant, and El shook his head.

"Maya," he said, disappointment lacing his tone. "You know better."

"This city doesn't. Our neighbors don't. Our landlord doesn't."

"That doesn't mean we have to resort to such mindless acts of violence."

"So, what? We let this asshole walk all over us? Be the only people unwilling to do what we need to do to get things done?"

"What's gotten into you?"

"I don't know," I said, releasing my frustration in a huff. "Just... where else will we go? We can't afford this."

He didn't reply. He only looked at our savings. Inside... we nearly had enough to buy Caden his citizenship. When he'd joined the family, what we'd saved for me we set instead for him. But repairs here had set things back, as well as how expensive medicines were. Caden was a sickly child, but we always made sure to have what he needed. It was never a cause for hesitation; his well being took precedence over all else.

But still, to get rid of years and years of hard work... It wasn't my own contributions that I was worried about, I'd spend them in an instant to ensure our family could live comfortably. But El... Two decades of working hard, of picking up extra patrols and staying late to clean around the base and anything else he could do to pick up extra money. Sure, soldiers earned a respectable salary but most of it went into keeping us here.

He was a soldier, and a well-respected one at that. Hard-working, dedicated, talented. It was the only reason he'd been not only able to join the Military Police, but personally recommended by his commandant to the MP Commander. He could theoretically just go live in the barracks, but a long time ago, he'd fallen in love and the two of them wanted a place of their own.

It wasn't quite regulation for soldiers but technically it was allowed. Many soldiers had property of their own, at least aboveground, so he told me, so that people could have somewhere to go when they had their few breaks during the year.

But he loved too much. His heart was too big. Despite the possibility of him living comfortably - or more comfortably - rent-free and warm in the barracks, he wouldn't. He wouldn't leave us like this.

And all this time... he'd wanted his own home with his own family and now he had it and the only thing keeping him from having his full dream was buying citizenship for us.

That dream was about to slip further away and I couldn't do anything about it.

Or... could I?

"Amaya," El said, pulling me from my thoughts. "I don't like that look in your eye. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"We can negotiate," I proposed.

He sighed. "Negotiate how? If you mean like the negotiations I regularly break up down here, then for one thing, you've not a violent bone in your body and for another, there is a very honest way to go about this."

"We can't just let all your hard work go to waste," I pleaded. "You've done so much and now it's all going to get thrown away."

"Our hard work," El corrected me. "Don't discount what you've done."

"Please," I huffed. "It's not comparable and you know that. I mean... the sum on this piece of paper for one month alone is damn near six months of my contributions."

"Don't sell yourself short. We can take care of this month at least with some of our savings and... figure it out from there."

"I don't like this."

"I know. I don't either."

"Is there nothing else for us to do?"

"Not that I can see."

"Can't you... Oh, maybe I can ask for a raise."

He chuckled. "The MP's don't have enough funding right now to offer you one. Everything is suffering up above and funding down here is lacking because of it." He set his chin in his hand and looked towards the far corner of the room. There was a distant, faraway look in his eye. "Makes you wonder what the king is doing up there. Taxes go up, people can't pay them, and we can't make a livable wage."

"Their priority I'm sure are the soldiers up there, anyway."

"Exactly."

"What if we burn it?" I offered. "Say we never got it. There's no evidence we did. They could search the house but there wouldn't be a trace of it. Besides, who would guess an MP would do such a thing? It's foolproof."

"You know, so long as we ignore the fact that the jackass dropped it off himself and posted it to the door. We have to do this honestly, Amaya."

"We have to do what's best for Caden," I said.

"And for you," El pressed. "You get caught doing something, you'll get tossed in a cell and with a record like that you'll never be allowed to buy citizenship."

"So I won't get caught," I tried desperately.

"Maya."

"I hate this," I admitted, tears brimming in my eyes. "We won't last another two months here, let alone how long it'll take to actually buy citizenship for him. I just feel so helpless."

El reached across the table and took my hand into his. "I know. I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault."

"But I'm supposed to provide for you," he said ruefully. "All this time and I haven't even been able to buy your citizenship, let alone for another child, and..." He lowered his head into his hands. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't," I said. "Don't apologize, please. I'd rather be here if it means staying with you. It's all I want. You two are all I've got. I don't care if I never see the sun so long as you two are happy and healthy. So don't... Don't apologize because you saved me as a little girl just like you've saved Caden. I love you both dearly and... despite all the trouble, I wouldn't trade you two for anything."

That made him smile. "Someone raised you very well."

I shook my head affectionately. "Yeah. I know. I don't know how, but... we'll get through this."

"For now," El said, "we focus on finding ways to make extra income. If we have to move, we will. I can't just very well let you two live with me in the barracks, but..."

That gave me an idea. "What if... what if I was a recruit?"

"You have to go through years of training and be in the top of your class to be considered for the MPs," he reminded me.

"I know," I said. "Which is why I'll graduate at the top of my class. It'll be easy."

He laughed. "Right, right. But anyway, you'd need a visa to go above for that reason, and you'll be closely monitored."

"For what?"

"For any misbehavior, any sign that you're abusing the privilege to just avoid buying citizenship. If you become a soldier, you would bypass that step entirely. You'd earn it, but they want to make sure you're not abusing it."

"What a fucked-up system."

"Indeed."

"I don't know if I like the idea of being away from you two for so long, but I'll do it if I need to."

"Let's not jump to that right away. I'd rather not have you go off alone, either. There's a different kind of danger up there, but it is a good idea. But Maya..."

"Yes?"

"This isn't just your responsibility. It is mine. I am grateful for your help, I am, and I love you, but at the end of the day, it is my burden to bear."

"I know. But you've done so much for me, I want to help. I want to help Caden as you helped me and repay everything you've done for me."

He shook his head, a warm smile on his face. "You don't need to do that."

"Still..."

"You've got a good heart, Maya. I've always known you were too good of a person to be trapped down here."

"We'll get there someday. I know it. I just hate that we're trapped here in the first place."

"I agree. The world wasn't made for the elite, for those who can afford the finer things in life. Life itself, the world... those are not the finer things, those are just... the things. Goddesses only know how badly I want for you to experience the world as it was meant to be experienced." He tilted his head back as though to see through the ceiling of our home, the ceiling of our cave, and to the sky above. "The infinite cosmos above us were made for all of us to see."

"Yet here we are," I said. "Trapped like moles."

"All we can do now is continue on," he said. "I'll see about a visa for you. You'd make a fine soldier, you know. The Military Police would be honored to one day have you. Though maybe something more exciting would be more your speed."

"What, like the scouts?"

"Maybe. Though right now it's a deathwish. No, I was thinking about the Garrison. They get to use cannons."

"Oh, how fun."

"Isn't it? But for now, we need to get some rest."

"I'm going to charm the fuck out of people tomorrow," I assured him with a confident smile. "Just watch: I'll sell items for triple their original price."

"I'll be holding you to that, Amaya," El said, smiling widely. "Keep that in mind."

I snickered. "I wouldn't ever say something without fully intending to follow through with it. You know that."

"That I do." He pushed his chair away from the table and stood. He took our savings in one hand and the paper in the other as he rounded the table. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple. "About time we head to bed."

"Right."

"Goodnight, darling. I love you."

"I love you too," I responded, standing as well. I pressed a kiss to his cheek as I passed by him. "Goodnight, El."

I headed down the hall, back to Caden's room. We called it his room but it was the one I started in and had never truly left. I had my own bed in one corner and didn't really spend any time in there other than when I needed to sleep, so if he wanted to call it his room, he very well could. I stepped inside quietly and crossed the space to my bed on silent, trained feet. I let out a slow breath that worked to release some of my frustration from the evening before lowering my head to the pillow. I fought the urge to groan; we sure had our work cut out for us.

But if there was one thing I was willing to put work towards, it was for my family and for our future. Nothing else mattered.

And with determination set in my heart and a plan in mind, I fell into a dreamless sleep.