Return to the Eastern Caverns (Book 1)

Strings Attached

But Kerien couldn't hold onto that peace and safety forever.

Every place she looked made her flash into a terrifying memory.

The palace for one, but also the place used for the tournament, even the markets where her mom used to sell their crops.

And people...people brought on the worst memories.

There were the ex-underlords, of course, like Swick and Sleade.

But they were used to people being anxious around them.

And they had kinda of grown on Kerien in her weeks back. Swick was funny and she respected Sleade's Sleadeness.

Besides, she never really knew them when she was held by the Emperor.

But she did know the Dark Slinger. And that's what really hit her the most--whenever she saw her best friend, Kerien couldn't stop the flashes.

And she noticed it was the same for her slugs. They had been hanging out with the other slugs once, and Haunted House had frozen for a second when he saw Joo-Joo, probably remembering the time the two had battled when he was ghouled.

And Kerien just felt detached from her home. The people she had once know were gone, children grown into adults, adults to elders, elders six-feet under.

There wasn't even the shadow clan anymore, except for the Giver.

Not that anyone had been unwelcoming to Kerien. After the people had grown accustomed to her appearance (and after she had confirmed she was not the Emperor reborn), she had been invited to stay at houses until she got one of her own.

At present, she and her slugs were staying with Junjie and Lian in the tower temple, but that hadn't been going well.

The place had been used for...bad things during Kerien's time as the Emperor's prisoner. Bad flashes.

But Kerien had no idea where she could go.

Everywhere she went in Peach Blossom Springs, in the Eastern Caverns, there were strings attached to terrifying memories.

But there was one place Kerien and her slugs could go where there were no strings, no flashes.

The Shane Gang's camp. The gang was staying a few more days. They had come to the cavern to help Junjie out but asked the Giver to return with them to the 99 caverns, to help out with some problems they were having with the shadow clan there.

Kerien went there anytime she could. Trixie showed her videos of the 99 caverns, Kord showed her some of his tech, her and Eli trained, and Pronto...bragged.

But everything felt lighter with them and...clearer.

Everything in the Eastern Cavern was painted in black for Kerien now.

And she hated it. The Emperor had ruined her home. She couldn't look anywhere without getting nightmares of his terror.

But she didn't say anything about it. Well, she told her slugs.

But Lian, Junjie, Hamenkgu...she couldn't tell them.

They had all been through so much more than her, how could she complain to them when everything was getting better.

But she knew isolating from them was hurting them, especially Junjie.

They all hung out at the camp, but Kerien spent almost all day there.

And it hurt to tell Junjie she'd rather visit them then go with him to talk or to visit some old friends. His face got all sad and cute and it actually hurt.