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feet on front of the
large yellow door. A small sign painted gold off to the right was
inscribed with the name Lucerne and the number twenty-three in
black lettering.
    “Is this your house?” I asked, looking
around. He smiled slightly and nodded in affirmation as he used a
key to unlock the door. “Your name is Brokk Lucerne?”
    “Yes, Callie Rose, that is my name.” He
sounded amused, but he said nothing more as he pushed the door open
and gestured for me to go in.
    The inside of his home was warm and cozy,
just like I would have imagined it to be. The small living room was
neatly decorated with dark brown sofas and shiny black tables.
There were a few books scattered on the coffee table and several
framed photos hanging on the walls.
    The photos were mostly done in black and
white. They contained pictures of a happy looking family with two
young children, a boy and a girl. “Is this you?” I asked, pointing
to the young boy.
    “Yes.” He grinned as he stared at the photo.
“And that is you.” He pointed to the young girl in the picture. I
flinched and looked from him back to the photo. The girl appeared
to be about five or six years old. She was wearing a long flowered
dress and her hair was done up in braided pigtails. The two
children smiled happily at each other as they ran hand in hand and
played in a field of wild flowers.
    It really did look like me. I could not deny
it. The boy in the picture looked familiar too. I was not sure if
it was because I remembered him as a child or because he so closely
resembled Brokk as a man.
    “We looked so happy.” I murmured and then I
turned to face him. “What were we doing that day?”
    “My parents had taken us to the surface. They
thought that we needed to experience as much of the human world as
possible. They wanted us to experience the sunshine and the fresh
air.” He smiled, mostly to himself I think.
    “So we visited the surface regularly?” I
asked.
    “Pretty often.” He replied. “It was one of
the advantages of being a royal at the time. Most of the Fae never
get to see the sun anymore. They spend their whole lives down here.
Only a select few get to go up there now. Mostly just merchants and
occasionally a guard can go, if needed.”
    It must have been really hard to spend so
much time underground. I had only been there for a few days and I
was already missing the sun. Not only that but also the flowers and
the trees, and the feel of the breeze on a hot summer day. All of
the things that people normally take for granted.
    “Why did you have to stop? Why can’t anyone
go up there now?” I asked.
    “Well, once Lilith took control she made it a
law. I am not really sure why, but if you are caught going without
permission there are major consequences. Some have been jailed or
even killed.”
    “Killed?” I was shocked. “Why would she kill
someone?”
    “She did not want your parents alerted to
what was going on here. If they were to return, she would lose her
status. So she considered anyone caught trying to pass any
information on to them to be a traitor.” He looked grave.
    “Then why would she want me here?” If she did
not want my parents to know what she was up to, you would think
that the last thing that she would want was for me to be here.
    Brokk stood in silence for a moment. “Her
plan was to show the people that she is willing to work with you.
She would still be in power but she would be willing to take you
under her wing and prepare you for when you take the thrown.”
    “This all seems a little crazy. Obviously, my
parents are going to wonder where I am. They are going to come
looking for me. I can’t possibly stay here. ” I started pacing the
small room.
    “Maybe, but I think that she was hoping that
they would allow you to stay here if they knew that she was getting
you ready to take control.” He said.
    That seemed a little far-fetched to me too. I
don’t know why but everything about this situation left me