Allies of the Sun

Chapter 16

Aspen was super excited to see what awaited them as they went down, down, down. It seemed like forever before the elevator came to a stop. On the way down, William told them all about the Midnight Sun. Aspen already knew most of it but her friends didn't.
As they exited the elevator, Aspen was surprised to see that the underground space was huge. It was probably three times the entire castle grounds. There were buildings that probably housed all the families associated with the Midnight Sun. The place was like a bigger version of the village they had passed through except there were separate tunnels branching off in all directions.
That was when Aspen saw someone very familiar, two someones in fact. It was Conner and her mom! She hurried over to them and her friends followed her. Aspen hugged them both tightly and didn't let go. They both hugged her back, after a while her mom spoke. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE HAVE BEEN SO WORRIED!"
"Even Father and Alina?" Aspen asked hopefully. "I have been so worried," she corrected. Conner seemed to notice Jay and Glared at them but Aspen ignored it. "What happened at Alina's party?" Aspen stopped hugging them and explained everything.
When she finished, her mother gave her another big hug. Aspen hugged her back, she had never been happier to see her mother. This was probably the best day in her entire life. She had reunited with everyone who felt like family to her. Aspen pulled out of the hug and she introduced her friends. "Mother, this is Lexie, Jay, and Gabe. Glimmer and Kiki are still outside though, Glimmer is a unicorn and Kiki is my new pet!"
"What kind of pet?" her mother asked. Aspen shrugged but Lexie said, "Kiki is a wild quat. My older sister has one too but hers is.... less wild..." Her mother looked confused as she asked, "What about Lola? I brought her with me today because she was getting restless without you to keep her company." Aspen looked around excitedly for her pet. Lola had been with her family for generations. Royal pets could live forever, they weren't immortal because they could die but they never died from old age. Royal pets kept the memory of their previous owners' lives and they were said to be smarter than anyone because of their vast knowledge.
Lola ran over to them, jumped on her knocking her over, then licked her face. Aspen hugged Lola to her chest and said in her baby voice, "Hi Lola! I missed you! Yes I did, yes I did!" Her mother shook her head in exasperation. Aspen knew that Lola didn't like it when she talked to her like that but she couldn't help it.
Mother gave them a tour of the main chamber in the underground hideout and Aspen touched everything and asked all kinds of questions about everything. Everyone could clearly see how excited Aspen was. Lexie was probably as excited as she was.
"This place is so cool!" Lexie said in awe. Gabe had gone to explore some of the upper levels built into the walls. It looked like they were testing new weapons in some of them."
This place is so cool!" Lexie said in awe. Gabe had gone to explore some of the upper levels built into the walls. It looked like they were testing new weapons in some of them.
When Gabe came back down Mother said, " Hey Aspen, I think it is time you learned how to fly." Aspen stared at her in shock, she had never imagined flying through the sky but now that she thought about it it sounded like a lot of fun. She smiled at her mom and hugged her again. "Thanks, Mother," she said softly.
Learning how to fly wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. She could barely get herself off the ground! Gabe even tried to help but he just said, "Jump and flap and fly, it's as easy as that." It wasn't very helpful. Mother ended up telling him to leave and Aspen had made no progress.
By the time her mother had to go, she had been able to get three feet in the air, which was an improvement. She wondered if she would be able to go home with her mother, or if it was still unsafe. Mother would fix everything though, right?
She hugged her mother and waved goodbye. Aspen watched as she walked into a tunnel, Lola following a few feet behind her. "Isn't the elevator the other way?" she asked Conner. "Well, there are many entrances and exits to our underground hideout. And we have more hideouts hidden all over the kingdom that are all connected." He responded. Wow, that sure is a lot of people in Midnight Sun. She thought, staring into the tunnel her mother went through.
Lexie had disappeared somewhere so Aspen went to go look for her. She spotted her watching a woman train with a sword and walked over to them. Aspen thought she recognized the woman but she didn't see how she could. She was a bear hybrid with black hair and brown eyes. She looked young and experienced in fighting.
"Isn't she cool?" Lexie asked excitedly. "She moves so fast with precise movements. I think I will try using a sword." Aspen nodded excitedly. "I would also like to learn but I should probably focus on trying to fly before I use any weapons." It would be a big advantage if I could fly and use the sword! However, she couldn't imagine actually hurting someone.
She was about to go up to the woman to ask her name when a boy about the woman's age got there first. He was a dog hybrid with brown hair and amber eyes. When the woman saw him she turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm and said, "Wait, I'm sorry, I really am okay." He sounded desperate and Aspen felt awkward being there to witness what should be a private moment.
It looked like he was about to say something else when there was a loud BOOM and the whole underground cave shook. They all looked toward the direction it had come from. It did not look good, a hole had appeared in the roof of the cave. Perhaps the creature from last night meant something else, something bad.

Uploaded: November 15, 2021