Hello, thank you for being here! ^-^ I hope you'll enjoy chapter two :)

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Chanyeol doesn’t mind the mineshafts. Most are narrow, though, and with his lanky and tall build, he doesn’t always feel equally comfortable. It’s good when he can find the ores to craft with though. He likes it when he comes across a gold vein, however small they may be. Iron is much more common and while it would make sense that he would be less excited to find it, he’s not. Iron is incredibly useful and finding it means helping out his fellow citizens.

Not that they want Chanyeol’s help. The reason why he’s so often stuffed in the mineshafts, is because they are… afraid of him. He doesn’t like to think about those things, but it’s blatantly obvious. Chanyeol is convinced he wouldn’t hurt a fly though and it’s painful to see people turn away from him with fear in their eyes. Whispering words to each other and he can always hear it. Demon, they call him. And he doesn’t know why.

Much rather than hiding from everyone, he wants to work at the forgery. Not only does he love creating things, he loves the heat. The lava that they’ve used since moving to the cave has pulled on his heart for as long as he can remember. Maybe that’s the reason why they all fear him so much. Maybe they can’t understand his love for something that everyone else would rather run away from. They can’t though. They’re the working class and there’s literally nowhere for people like Chanyeol to go.

They can’t move higher into the cave because that’s where the important people live and they certainly can’t leave the cave altogether. Nobody knows what monstrosity roams the realm above, but everyone knows it’s there.

While Chanyeol carefully chips away at the stone before him, his upper body covered in sweat, he can’t help but think of how unfair it is. He doesn’t mind the heat down here, but he knows everyone else does. The people who work the hardest, live in the harshest of environments. He doesn’t know what people up there do, but it can’t be more than reading a book. Staring out a window. It makes him sad to know that his family has worked so hard their entire lives, not seeing anything of the world around them, while there are people who’ve never lifted a finger in their lives. And yet, those people can look out over the cave.

A low rumble and a slight quake wake him from his thoughts. Instantly, Chanyeol is backing out of his crevice in the deep for safety, and what he sees when he reaches the entrance, shocks him. A spout of lava, half Chanyeol’s height, reaches up from the depths of the earth. Somehow a little kid got burned on her hand and she screams, running for her dad that comes rushing out of their house. It doesn’t take long, the lava settles back down, but Chanyeol’s eyes are glued to it.

The panic around him sounds vague, hushed and far away. It’s calling for him, like it did before. And Chanyeol is drawn, just like before. Closer and closer, still carrying the tools and the basket on his back that’s filled with iron ore. Come, it says, and Chanyeol does so. The bright warmth is so inviting, willing to take him in like this city has never done – but then the feeling is broken.

He hears the panicked voices so loud around him. They’re calling him names again; monster, demon, freak. They’re pointing their fingers. But there’s also something else going on. The lava coming up so high has people scrambling to higher levels on ladders that barely hold their weight, afraid of more to come. They gather in the houses there, even though half these people live a level lower. Chanyeol hears them say that they have to get out of here, they can’t stay in the cave. And then people arguing that the cave is the safest place to be and they shouldn’t try to go up anymore.

And then it hits him so hard. They should go up. They should get out of this place. The earth has sent them messages several times – it’s time to go. Chanyeol is the only one keen on getting closer to the fire, he knows that. He’s not crazy, or a freak. Or a demon. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with him, but he does know that he will not sit around waiting for the people around him to get swallowed by the earth.

He knows it isn’t right, but Chanyeol has to climb the levels. He left his tools behind and swapped them for a sleeveless shirt. He knows he will be stared at, but that’s practically his daily life anyway. What he has to do, is get to that castle. That looming structure that looks as daunting to him as lava does to everyone else. Speaking directly to the queen isn’t going to happen, but he needs to find someone there who will listen to him.

For them, the spout of lava may have seemed like a little blob of no significance, but it was huge. Especially to the little girl who could have been swallowed whole by it if it decided to happen a little more to the north. He needs to talk to someone who will agree that this is not a safe place to be anymore. Especially for the people who live and work so far down. And maybe, deep down inside, Chanyeol is ready to see the world.

For now, he has a bit of a hard time taking in this part of the city though. It’s striking how even the stairs leading to different buildings are built better than they are a little lower down. As if the people working on it long ago just ran out of energy when they got down. Chanyeol frowns because it’s the people who live there, that do all the work; why don’t they take care of themselves before working for those who sit up there doing nothing?

Chanyeol ignores the looks he gets when he takes in all that he sees. Larger buildings, better quality materials, more decorations… it looks like an entirely different world. Not necessarily better. Until he sees those roofs. It almost looks… are they made from emerald? He gets closer, but it’s clear as day to him. Carefully cut, polished and pieced together. And not just one roof, but the higher up he gets, the more he sees the green color pop up. That must have been an incredible amount of work. Chanyeol has mined some emeralds before, but they have always been small bits and have only ever been used to create jewelry that he never saw again.

Wow. Half the city made out of this precious gemstone. And he didn’t even know it. From down below, he could only see the undersides of the roofs, but the colors are warped because of the weird lighting in the cave. Everywhere, there are lanterns and where he lives, the forgery gives of such a strong light, that everything resembles orange.

The more stairs he climbs, the more calm he starts to feel. It’s strange to be so far away from the heart of the earth, but people are quieter here. There’s no rushing around him and there are no large mechanical structures. He can hear them echoing faintly, but it’s distant.

He’s at a point now that he can see the castle so clearly that he’s almost unsure of whether it’s the same as the one he sees from down below. It’s majestic, beautiful, with emerald towers and stone that glistens with a silvery or quartz glow. He’s not sure what was used to build this. And then, before him, there’s a narrow bridge, guarded by two men wearing robes and helmets and spears. No doubt they’d be wearing armor that Chanyeol helped create underneath those robes.

This is a hurdle, he thinks and feels somewhat intimidated by the guards. He straightens his back though, he has something extremely important to do. For a second, his eyes are drawn to another figure already on the narrow bridge and he sees how wary they’re walking. It’s a long fall down, that’s for sure.

When he faces the guards, Chanyeol hardens his look. He doesn’t know how he’s going to pull this off, but there’s no other way than past these two.

“I’m here to see the queen,” he says, voice raspy because it’s been a while since he last spoke. He clears his throat and sees the two before him hesitate – and they really shouldn’t because they’re guards. Chanyeol frowns. These two can’t possibly know that he’s dubbed a demon – they can’t have any reason to be scared.

“I – I’m sorry sir we can’t let you pass,” one of them mumbles, averting his eyes, but trying to still stand his ground. “Don’t look him in the eyes Joonmyun,” he mutters to the other guy, terrified. Chanyeol pretends he didn’t hear that.

“I have something very important to discuss, let me through.”

And they say they can’t, but when Chanyeol nears them, they both don’t do a particularly decent job of trying to stop him. It’s almost awkward when he leaves them behind and rushes over the bridge. In a hurry, to escape the guards who might or might not come after him, as well as to reach the queen as quickly as possible. Towards the middle of the narrow bridge so much higher up than what he’s used to, he pushes past the man who looks on in horror.

He has seen quite enough of that emotion. With an energy more similar to anger than anything else, he rushes into the castle. Its arms are open wide now that the only two guards did absolutely nothing to try and protect their queen. How much resistance is he really going to face when he’s in here?

People avert their eyes. It’s the same as down below and right now, Chanyeol can only believe that they actually see something on him. But he simply isn’t a demon – yet they all treat him like he is. When he asks someone where to find the queen, practically sure that they won’t tell him, he’s pointed right in her direction. Afraid to upset him, probably.

Right now, he believes that he has been treated most kindly at the forgery and mining operation.

When he comes across a set of heavy, dark wooden doors, he pushes them open. This is where he has to be.

Finally someone looks him in the eyes. A woman with eyes more hardened than Chanyeol’s, but grace and beauty are still the words that come to mind when he sees her.

“I feared you would reach me so easily, Chanyeol.”