Episode Twenty-Two We Get to Really Live

A lliana

There's never been a day as beautiful as this. I'm convinced of it. In the Up Above, all of the one hundred towers have atriums with trees and flowers. They're filled with dim light that filters through thick windows built hundreds of years ago to protect us from the pollution fogging the planet.

Now that my feet have touched Earth's soil, I can vouch that what streamed through those windows was a pale imitation of the real thing.

Earth must have been a hellhole hundreds of years ago when the elite built the towers and fled, leaving all but the wealthiest people to manage in the ruined world Down Below. But somehow, the Earth cleansed itself after the people mutated.

I heard there are still parts of the world that produce things that are needed Up Above, like steel and home goods. Women weren't allowed to be educated, so I don't understand all the workings of it, but because most of Down Below isn't industrialized, somehow in the last two hundred years, much of the world healed itself.

The people Up Above are like animals in a zoo. Down Below, we get to really live.

And today I get to live with Mirron. I don't think I love him more than eager, exuberant Luka, or steady, patient Deklan. It's just that I had to work harder for this, this peaceful affection I feel with Mirron. I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

Maybe it's because I wasn't allowed to learn anything Up Above, but I love that Mirron stops whenever we see something new and points it out to me. Who knew there's a name for everything?

Every flower and seed pod and weed has a name. It will be convenient and will help me remember what's poisonous and what will make stews taste better.

He makes me halt when the wind shifts, and teaches me how to spot the changes, then tells me what it means. I'm learning when weather fronts are coming in. Weather! We didn't even have that in our safe towers Up Above.

No. Not safe. I wasn't in danger from wolven's sharp teeth or poo-throwing monks, but I was in danger, nonetheless. My danger was more insidious—the danger of not having free will, of being a slave. That's what I was.

"I'm going to teach you to climb trees. We'll start with that one," he says, pointing at a tall tree that's lost half its leaves.

"No. You can't make me," I tell Mirron, shaking my head vigorously at his outrageous suggestion.

"I'll boost you up," he says seriously, as if the idea of teaching me to climb a tree is sane.

"You go first," I taunt even as I look at his thick bulk, knowing minotaurs were never meant to climb trees.

"See this?" He points to one of his deadly horns. "They don't go well with climbing trees, nor do I need to flee. You might, Little Prize. Some day you might need to take shelter in a tree. Climb."

How can I say no to him today? He's such a different male than the one I've known since I arrived. His tone is soft, cajoling. He's not ordering me like my father, the Senator, or any of the others. He wants me to do this for my own good.

He teaches me how to assess my ascent. Before I even leave the ground, I know my next ten moves, including what branch I'll end up on and where I'll hide behind a thick clump of leaves.

Then he boosts me and talks me through every step even as he reassures me he'll catch me if I fall.

My first attempt is both terrifying and clumsy. My second is more measured, and I learn how to steady my balance. The third is done without coaching.

"You're not going to give me a boost?" my voice is screechy in disbelief when it's time for my fourth ascent.

"I wouldn't ask you to do it if I didn't think you were capable," his voice is so calm, so measured, so reassuring.

I open my mouth to argue, but snap it shut. What wouldn't I have given in the Up Above for someone to not only teach me something with this amount of patience, but to have so much belief in me? Mirron thinks I can do it? I'll try.

I give it my best, but I never do get my hands on the lowest branch. After four aborted attempts, my mentor claps his hands, says, "Good try," and hands me my bow and arrows as we leave the tree behind.

"Your spirit is so big, I forget how small you are, Alliana," he says as we wend our way deeper into the woods.

My eyes fill with tears and I have trouble swallowing. I think that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Even better than when Luka said my breasts were the most beautiful things he's ever seen.

I want to ask, "Really?" but I don't. I just breathe and swallow and walk silently just as Mirron taught me, allowing myself to wallow in the compliment. My chest swells with happiness. The rest of my life is going to be amazing with these three males as my mates.