Pain of the Past (a Preminger fanfiction)

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Returning to the mines felt like stepping straight into Premingers memories. They appeared larger and deeper and there were more carts and tracks present than in his time, but the same musty smell still hung in the air, and it was still just as dark as he remembered. Faces covered in soot and grime were illuminated in the dim torchlight, listening intently as William spoke to them from atop a pile of stone.

He spoke with his entire body, animated and with the same passion and charm as when he'd first waltzed into Preminger's tavern. Oddly enough, that already seemed a lifetime ago, though it couldn't have been more than a year. Much had changed since then.

William relayed the details of the plan to the men of the mines, lacing his words with rousing imagery. Preminger had heard the speech many times before, in the villages they'd stopped in along the way of their journey and even in his own recruitment. It always seemed to have the same effect, igniting a buzz in the air and inciting eager chatter. By the end of it, the men seemed ready to storm the castle then and there.

As William made his way back over, Preminger quickly dropped his gaze, feigning interest in the maps he held outstretched before him. Despite the mustiness of the underground, he could smell the fresh winter air that seemed to follow William.

"Tell me you have terrible news," he said, leaning against the wall where Preminger stood. Preminger quirked an eyebrow, forcing himself to meet William's eyes from over the sheets. He was less than a foot away.

"Excuse me?"

"This," William waved a hand vaguely at the mines around them. "Is all going too smoothly. We've hardly hit a hitch since you first proposed this plan. That cant be a good sign."

"Well, I may be able to ease your mind." He leaned closer in the torchlight, angling the maps so William could see their contents. "The mineshafts beneath the castle are not on the map."

"What?"

Preminger pointed to the empty spot where the etchings should have been.

"You could ask around here to see if anyone knows the way, but I'm sure you'll find nothing. This section of the tunnels was meant to expand out. You wont find many workers who have been allowed into the passages beneath the inner city; that work is reserved for people in servitude to the king."

William frowned, considering this for a moment through a furrowed brow. He met Preminger's gaze, the deep brown of his eyes drinking in the firelight.

"How deep have you gone?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The tunnels," William said with a nod over his shoulder. The chasm behind them stretched out into shadows out of sight. "How far have you been?"

Preminger ran a hand over the back of his neck, massaging at the gooseflesh that had arisen uninvited. He forced himself to remember his youth in the mines, the years he spent toiling in the darkness with the others.

"At least to the city's edge." He reasoned.

William nodded again before giving his head a loose shake, closing his eyes to massage at his temples. It had been a long day. A long week. A long year. Their rest at Lady Gossamer's had been a gift, but it did not alleviate the feeling of impending doom. Preminger wished he could find words of comfort to say, but he had nothing to offer.