"I'm not meant for this life," Caspia wailed, her arm reaching toward the metal bars in front of her. "Just moments ago, I was up there. I had my own room, a comfortable, warm bed, and access to all of my favorite dresses. Now look at me. Thrown away like some sort of criminal because dad has an issue with me falling in love with a cave dweller. So what? I can't help that. He's practically the hottest-"

"Okay!" I snapped, quickly cutting her off. "Remember, this is my brother you keep talking about, and I have no desire to listen for two hours straight about how hot he is!"

"Oh-I've been rambling for two hours?"

"Nearly three now, I'm sure," Charlie sighed. "I know this place isn't your favorite, sis, but a little silence for a minute won't hurt."

"Well. You both know I'm dramatic. It's so dark and cold in here."

"I feel fine."

"Well of course you feel fine, Jessella, you've practically lived in these conditions your entire life. I, on the other hand, am a child of the sun."

"Well, who says I'm not a child of the sun too?"

"Jess," Isaiah began to laugh. "You and I are not children of the sun. You know for a fact that we aren't."

"QUIET!"

One of the guards, an angry, older-looking one, walked up to all of our cells with a frown on his face. "You all have made the king very unhappy tonight. And because of that, you must be punished. I want nothing but absolute silence for the rest of the night. Do you understand me...princess?"

Caspia hesitated, but eventually nodded.

"Good."

The guard then came my way, a slight smirk on his face.

"You know, I've always disliked your kind. Thieves. That's all you are, and that's all you ever will be."

"That's enough, James."

A familiar voice. Captain Fredrick. We all watched him walk up to us in silence, dismissing James with a single wave of his hand.

"Go. It's my time to talk to them."

"But-

"Obey your captain or be beheaded by his sword," he hissed. "Go."

James left in a hurry after that, obviously fearing for his life.

"Fredrick?"

"Caspia," he sighed. "I'm sorry about this. Truly, I am. I'm sorry for each of you. The king is not well."

"Considering how red his face got when we told him about our engagements, I can't help but agree with that statement," Isaiah chuckled. "I've never seen a face so red."

"He's angry, yes, but when I say that he isn't well, I mean that...how else can I put it..."

"Our father's sick," Charlie sighed. "I've seen him have his fits. It's almost as if he's a child in an older man's body."

"Yes. He's irrational. He makes decisions that no king should make, including the decision to invade the caves of our people within a few days."

"What!?"

"The majority of our men are afraid of even entering, so the king has called up some help from other kingdoms. He promised wealth to his partners."

"They plan on taking the cave jewels, then."

"Yes. Every single one. And then they plan on destroying the caves once they've done so."

"I'm going to be sick."

All I could do was fall to the floor. This was all my fault. If I hadn't agreed to be engaged to Charlie, then...maybe the king wouldn't have reacted so harshly. The whole reason why we're in this position is because I messed up. Isaiah said I was the smart one. But nothing I've done so far has been smart. I should've gone back home when I had the chance.

"Now, your mother has been dealing with his behavior for quite some time," Fredrick continued. "But, after his actions tonight, she doesn't know how to handle him anymore. Especially since she's only the queen and she doesn't have as much power as her husband."

"She still could've prevented us from being thrown in here like animals!"

"Trust me, Caspia, she wanted to. But with the way your father is right now...she's mainly just worried about calming him down. She told me that she'd rather have her children in here for the sake of their safety, but she plans on convincing him to let you two go once he is calmer."

"What about Isaiah and Jessella?"

"...I'm unsure about them."

"Of course," she said, sighing heavily. "Of course, he wants to keep the people we love in jail. He will do anything in his power to get whatever he wants us to do...it's so sickening. Fredrick, please help us. I'm begging you. You're the captain, you have the key right there-"

"I cannot. It would be treason. Not only would I lose my job, but I would lose my life."

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing while innocent people are in danger! It isn't right and you know it! You're the captain, aren't you!? You must protect this kingdom. To protect it from every threat. You swore to it when you first became captain, I know you did. You can listen to the king as much as you want, but even you and I can agree that he isn't in his right mind. Somebody needs to do something. Anything. Cave dweller or land dweller, if you reside in this kingdom, you deserve to be protected as a citizen because you are a citizen. Don't you dare tell me that I'm wrong, Fredrick! We still have time to warn them and protect them. Just let us go."

"...If I let you all go, it'll look too suspicious on my end."

He then looked toward me.

"However...if someone managed to pickpocket my keys and escape while I was distracted..."

He hastily removed a key from his chain and threw it to me.

"...Then...things wouldn't be too bad. Especially if this particular person has experience in being sneaky."

I was stunned. He gave me the key. He was giving me an escape. He trusted me.

"I promise to come back to you all when I return," I whispered. "I promise you I will."

"Go, Jessella."

As soon as I managed to unlock my door, I started sprinting away. I could hear Fredrick chasing after me, though he didn't put in too much effort.

"STOP! STOP! SHE'S ESCAPING! SHE TOOK MY KEY AND SHE'S ESCAPING!"

James heard his screaming immediately and lunged, though I managed to easily dodge him since I was more agile. His armor made it more difficult for him to move and chase me down. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I never stopped running. Even when I was out of breath. The world was a blur as I jumped, dodged, and slid past guards who tried desperately to grab me. My shoes even fell off as I ran, but I didn't care. Those shoes were slowing me down anyway. Eventually, I made it outside one of the castle's side exits, still running as fast as I possibly could. I ran into the forests, scratching my skin against thorns and shredding my dress. Maybe I was like Cinderella because I was running back home. Sure, my current situation definitely didn't feel like a fairytale. At all. But I did leave my shoes behind when I ran. And, somewhere deep down within me, I hoped for a happy ending for all of us. Even if Charlie and I don't end up together.

"Jessella?"

I didn't realize how long I ran for until I heard someone say my name.

"Dad?"

His familiar face emerged, just barely showing underneath the moonlight. I noticed he was holding a bow, so I knew that he had to be hunting around the area. His face had a confused expression, one that asked many questions without him having to say a word.

"Jessella...what..."

"There was a ball."

"I can see that. Anything else you want to tell me?"

"...I'm...engaged to the prince...? And Isaiah is engaged to the princess. But right now they're all stuck in a dungeon because the king got upset and threw them in there. And I just escaped from it."

"You're engaged?"

"Yes, but-"

"To the prince?"

"Yes, dad, but listen-"

"I really am getting old, aren't I? Things will change. But for the better, right? Especially since you being engaged to the prince will help our people."

"But that's the thing," my voice cracked. "It isn't. At least not right now because the king is so upset at us. He wanted his children to be engaged with better people. People who can help our kingdom better than we ever can. He's so angry that he wants to raid our caves for everything we have and destroy our home. And I could've prevented all of this if I had just-"

"Stop."

"I'm sorry," I began to weep. "It's all my fault, and I should've known better. I was tasked with fetching things from the castle, but I swear I didn't mean for things to get this far."

"Jessella, stop. Seriously. Come here."

He pulled me in for a much-needed hug. I felt so safe. I had almost forgotten how good it felt to be hugged by him. For just a few minutes, everything I was just worried about faded away. Everything I was running from was just something of the past. I was finally back with my dad, and nothing else mattered for the time being.

"It's not your fault for falling in love, kid. That is, if you are in love with the prince."

"I am. And Isaiah loves the princess. He's crazy about her."

"I never would've guessed your brother would fall in love, but that just adds on to why I love you kids so much. You continue to surprise me."

"Yeah. But mom is going to be angry. So angry."

"She won't be as mad as you think. Let's go home, alright? You can change out of that...what is that? Is that what those people wear?"

"Apparently so."

"Yeah. That isn't practical. Let's get you into something practical."

"Alright."

We walked back to the caves together, which took a little while for us to do. As we walked, I caught him up on all that had happened, including how the prince and I became engaged. He had plenty of questions, and rightfully so. When we finally reached the caves, it seemed like he wasn't the only one who had questions either. Plenty of cave-dwellers approached me. I tried my best to address everyone as much as I could, but I eventually had to just decide to speak to everyone at once.

"ATTENTION ALL!"

Everyone's conversations suddenly stopped as they turned their attention toward me. Just like at the ball. My mouth began to dry at the thought of speaking to everyone. What would I even say? Words have power, yes, but what power could I bring if I couldn't even find the right words?

"I...um..."

Come on, Jessella. Don't be an idiot.

"....Um...you all might be wondering why I have this dress on. This dress that isn't practical in the slightest. But the truth is that this dress symbolizes my time with the land dwellers...it was beautiful to begin with, but over time it has ripped. There's dirt all over it as well. Initially, our deal made with the prince of Cambiot was working out just fine. Both sides got what they wanted. Nobody got hurt. But then something happened between us. The prince and I-"

"Are engaged?"

A little girl looked up to me, pointed toward my finger. Right. My ring has been on throughout this entire situation. It just reminded me of Charlie even more.

"...We are, yes."

Everyone started to murmur. I knew they were judging.

"We decided to became engaged for the sake of our people," I kept speaking, trying my best to talk over everyone. "We didn't mean to fall in love but we did. And we figured becoming engaged would help unite both of our world's-"

"There's a reason why we live down here in the first place!" I heard someone yell. "No matter what we do, we will always be different! Even if we were to start living with them, all they'll see us for are-"

"ENOUGH!"

A voice so sharp and loud pierced above everyone else's. Mom's. Nobody dared to try to speak over her.

"You let my daughter finish speaking or face the consequences," she hissed. "How dare you interrupt while a child of mine is talking!"

"Y-yes ma'am."

Mom looked my way, a flicker of understanding in her eyes. She wasn't mad. Not at me, at least.

"As I was saying," I continued. "We love each other, but we also love our people. That's why we decided to become engaged. Isaiah himself fell in love with the princess as well. But it all may not matter now because the king is extremely upset. Once he found out we were engaged he just...he completely exploded. Now he wants to eliminate us. All of us. Within the next few days, the king plans on raiding our home to steal our most prized possession, our jewels. I understand how conflicted you all must feel. But promise me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make things right for everyone. For the sake of our freedom and our peace. And if you all can fight alongside me, I will make sure that the future of our caves will remain safe and prosperous for as long as we remain in them. The king called us all thieves. He labeled us as insignificant. I believe it's time that we show him that we are much more than that. We can survive this attack if we play things smart, especially since we know the caves much better than they ever can. So I stand before you all today to ask you to fight alongside me. Please. For the sake of us all.

Everyone began to murmur again, and for a moment I thought that they were going to turn against me. I would completely understand if they did. I couldn't help but feel like I dragged them into this mess. I felt like such an idiot.

"I'll fight."

The same person who yelled before stepped in front of everyone to show their support.

"I can't call myself a cave dweller if I don't defend my home, after all."

Everyone else began to step forward as well. It felt so relieving to see. They all had my back. As doubtful as they might've felt, they still wanted to fight anyway.

"Well then," I began to smile. "Let's start preparing for the fight of our lives."