Underland Chronicles: 1 - The Border's Edge (A Gregor the Overlander FanFic)

Chapter 15

Pandora didn't know what to say, which was fortunate because she didn't think she could find her voice. Her sad eyes turned to Ripred as he joined the conversation.

"Howard could not accept the fact that she was dead." He stopped chewing on the bone, twirling it slowly in his claw as he studied it. "If not for Mareth knocking him unconscious, he would have swum to the island and met the same fate." Pandora got the feeling Ripred wasn't talking to them any longer. "Those mites are unstoppable, and nearly inescapable."

Pandora remembered meeting Mareth and how nice he had appeared. At first, she couldn't imagine him hurting someone, but then thought about the situation. "Mareth saved Howard's life," Pandora said slowly, finding that the lump in her throat was shrinking.

"He is a great man," Hazard commented. "It is a shame he lost his leg."

"Not a shame," Ripred said. "I think he is in the right place. He is a brilliant military strategist, and his skills were wasted as a mere soldier on the battlefield."

"I suppose you are right, Ripred," Hazard acknowledged.

"Saying that someone is your bond implies a special connection here in the Underland, doesn't it?" Pandora knew that being someone's bond meant a powerful friendship, but she didn't quite know the details. "What does it mean exactly?"

"Pledging to be a bond is a serious commitment," Ripred said.

"You must guard your bond's life as you guard your own," Hazard continued.

"Once you are bonded, you are bonded for life. Luxa and Aurora, and Luxa and I, are bonded until the day we die."

"Humans are allowed to have two bonds. One with a flyer and one with a gnawer," Hazard said. "Howard and Nike are bonds, but I don't understand how Howard could pledge to another flyer."

"Some people handle grief differently than others," Ripred said to him. "Howard looks to the future instead of dwelling in the past, which makes him better able to handle work at the hospital."

Hazard looked down at his hands, water dripping off his hair and onto the floor. When he finally spoke, he did so quietly. "Thalia's place in my heart cannot be filled by another."

Just then, Howard walked up. Dripping wet, he stopped to ring out the bottom of his tunic. He shook droplets out of his hair with his hands; Pandora didn't realize how much longer his hair was than when she first saw him. "My, you all look quite solemn," Howard said with a smile. "What are you three talking about?"

"Mareth," Ripred said, resuming his bone chewing with loud scraping sounds. "We are debating whether it was fortunate or unfortunate for him to have lost his leg."

"Yes, I remember that journey," Howard looked off into the distance. "He saved my life at a time in which I did not want to be saved." He paused briefly for a moment to sit on the floor beside Ripred. "Considering his high title in the Regalian military as of right now, I would say it was a fortunate occurrence." When his gaze met Pandora's, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly shifted her gaze to Ripred, although she could feel his eyes still on her.

"That is exactly what I think," Ripred said appreciatively. Pandora looked over near the spring and saw that Luxa was finished swimming. She stopped to pick up something from a pack before making her way towards the group.

"Uh, if you'll excuse me," Pandora said. "I haven't had a chance to take a dip in the spring."

"While you're at it," Ripred said as she stood up. "Make yourself useful and fill some of the empty canteens."

"Sure," Pandora said with a shrug. Luxa gave her a cold stare as she passed; Pandora looked away. Although Luxa was the queen of Regalia and had admirable qualities about her, Pandora knew that their personalities would never match up.