ATER Book 3: Fire

Chapter 7: The Truth Revealed

"You don't need to tell me anything!" Even though she said it with determination, she still bit her lip in doubt.

"Then I guess you don't want to know about radios."

"What are 'radios'?"

"You may not know, but your father does." Maruca frowned.

"How would you know that?"

Crossing my arms, I replied,"I've been in his office before. He had plenty of objects I've never seen before. Since I've been in the upper world, I've recognized them as modern technology."

"What were you doing in his office?"

"Figuring out funeral arrangements." Maruca clenched her fists, but let them go like she was trying to let go of her anger.

"We'll go into my father's office," she said, "and look for these weird objects. If we do not find them, the consequences won't be pretty, Luna."

"Why would it be my fault that they wouldn't be there? It's not like the office is mine. Your father could've moved them somewhere else."

Maruca stared at me. I guess she'd never heard me talk back to her before. Grumbling, she said, "Let's just go."

************************************

Gaining access to his office was surprisingly easy. I hadn't realized there would be guards posted there until we turned the corner. It was too late to turn back, for it was a rather short hallway and they had seen us.

Without either of us speaking, we each brought up a rock, smashing the them into the guards. The force of the impact made them knock heads, each falling unconscious.

"That was from duel form number 3," Maruca commented. "I hadn't realized how well you knew it."

"I can learn too, you know."

Maruca bent down, and as she picked the lock, she said, "We make a pretty good team, Avatar." She opened the door and ushered me in.

"Yeah," I say once we're inside, "we do." The office is filled with any type of technology possible. There are things in there even I've never seen before. On the wall was a tv, which Salwa had pointed out to me in Emerald Falls.

On the desk was a computer that looked just like what Mako had at his house. There was a typewriter in the corner, a cordless phone mounted on the wall, and walkie-talkies buzzing with voices inside a drawer.

I found the remote and turned on the tv. The channel it was on was talking about the recent election in Republic City, the final vote going to the very first woman president, Fa Li Tayun.

"In Republic City," I explain to Maruca, "they vote for the people they want to rule. It's not chosen through the family." I flipped to another channel which was talking about the Wu Li Shong's recent attacks.

"Is...is a war going on?" Maruca asked. I nodded. "My father never said anything about a war."

"He gives us limited knowledge. There are so many things in this very room that could help everyone." My hand swept across the room. TVs would get information to people faster, computers would type reports and send them immediately to the recipient.

"There's another thing I need to tell you," I say to Maruca. "My mother...well, she's not dead. She never was. In fact, she faked her death so she could assume her place on the throne of the Earth Kingdom."

Maruca's eyes widened. "We shunned you," Maruca sputtered, "for no reason?"

"You had this idea that I was weak implanted in your mind long ago. It's not your fault." Maruca's eyes filled with tears.

"I was so stupid," she said. A tear fell down her face. "I thought I was better than you, I thought my father was right about everything, I thought he was telling me everything." More tears began to fall. "But I was wrong." She slumped against the wall and began to sob.

I sat down next to her and let her cry herself out. After a few minutes, her breathing steadied. "I'm sorry," she said. "For everything. You deserved none of it, yet you're still kind to me."

"I've learned that hating people doesn't get you anywhere. It just makes life bitter." Maruca wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"My coronation, and our birthday, is in a few days. But before that, I'm going to reveal to the village what my father hid from all of us."

************************************

Maruca and I met up with Salwa, Khanu, and Ummi in front of the jail.

"We asked everyone," Khanu explained, "but no one knew what we were talking about."

"What are you asking for?" Maruca asked.

"It's a very powerful type of rock that has incredible properties," Ummi answers.

"It's supposed to be the 'anti-quintessence' rock," I say. Maruca twirls her hair in thought.

"There's only one place that I think may have what you need."

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Hello! I'm usually update earlier in the day, but I had to make a few corrections that couldn't get done this morning. If I do have any errors, don't be afraid to point them out. I go over my work, but there still be stuff I don't catch. Feel free to comment and don't forget to vote!

Ciao!-Lauren