Fans

Fans Part 4

Fans - The Fans Themselves (Continued)

Lyken's voice floated through the door. "Why leave the key in the lock?"

The dwarf laughed. "They cannot escape. I leave the keys to frustrate the ghosts down here. The spirits attempt to grasp the key through their ethereal fingers. I dun like 'em coming around me."

The fans blanched when the dwarf mentioned ghosts.

The dwarf continued, "The queens do not mean to leave them here for long, do you think?"

"I have never seen them more upset at each other, and they blame the fans. They will be here for a long spell, I suspect."

In a small alcove near the door sat a glowing sphere casting off blue light, making everyone look pale and ghastly. Footsteps receded down the corridor as the prisoners regarded each other—panic and desperation in their eyes. Apple set her chin and pointed at Penny. "I blame you."

"Why?"

"You started the fight."

Matches interrupted, "The queens do not care about one isolated skirmish. They have been warning us for weeks. We tipped the balance on their scale of patience."

"If you hadn't kept teasing my friends, Matches," said Ashes. "The two of us would not be here."

Heggy leaned against a wall. "Of course we would. Teasing is not a crime."

Apple walked underneath the door and looked up. "I do not belong here. I should be home with my parents." She wiped her eyes.

The fans lowered their heads. Penny ran a hand through her long, tangled hair. "Me too. We are children."

Ashes' eyes filled with tears. "And we admired them. We loved our queens."

Heggy, leaning against the wall, slipped to the ground. "How could they do this to us?"

Silence reigned supreme in the room for a long time. To break it, Penny stood and marched around the room like a soldier then suddenly turned toward Apple. "I am sorry for what happened."

Apple regarded her with disdain. "How will that help us now?"

"It may not help us, but it would be what Queen Penta would do. Of all the queens, she did not want to punish us. We owe her, we owe them all, our best behavior."

"Penny, they threw us in prison!"

Matches shifted straw with her foot. "They want to teach us a lesson. Perhaps Penny is right. The better behaved we are, the more likely they will let us go. If they hear we are arguing and fighting, they may keep us here."

Apple shrugged. "'Tis logical."

Penny lifted her chin, mimicking the queen she admired. "But my apology is more than a show for me. Perhaps when we get out of here, I will apologize to the queens." She squared her shoulders. "Penta would seek forgiveness. We know their stories. The queens all would."

The five teenagers looked at each other. Forgive the insults, the cruel chants, the fights, the destruction against their homes? For a long time, they wouldn't look at each other, examining the walls or the ground. Then Ashes broke the silence. "Heggy, I did not know the meaning of the insult when I called you that name. Only later did I realize how awful it must have sounded."

"It really hurt."

Ashes blushed. "I did not realize. I am sorry."

"It makes sense you did not realize the meaning of the word," said Matches. "You usually do not use such language, Ashes."