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Skye donned a recollective expression; “Isn’t that the name of the person that Mickey thought ye were with when he tried startin’ trouble a few minutes ago?”

Amara grinned and nodded; “Aye, that be him: Gavin Bruce. Our genius engineer whose got a knack fer tinkerin’. He’s also one of me closest friends, and was Reggie’s best friend.”

As Skye listened to Amara talk about him, Skye noticed that her eyes had a warmth to them. According to her, Gavin was one of the best men she’d ever known, and as honorable as Murdoc.

“If ye can win him over, then ye can win the rest of ’em. Drexel’s followers are few and far between now. Only one remains that I worry about.. But he wasna really one of his laddies to begin wit.”

Who’s Malcolm?” Skye asked as she leaned against the back wall.

“Ye know that elder that was givin’ us the stink-eye? The one with the long, scraggly beard? Looks like Dumbledore’s evil twin?”

“Wait, who’s Dimbledorf? Have I met them yet?” Skye asked with an adorably confused expression.

“Oh, aye! That’s right! Ye probably havena heard of Harry Potter yet. But I bet ye will before ye leave.. Tis quite popular right now.”

.....

Amara explained a bit of their ‘trending pop culture’, then turned the subject back to what she knew of the Catalyst Legend. They had a copy of it, but it had been stolen a few years ago. That, and the original emblem stamp of the Warrick family.

They were considered national treasures to the Highlanders, and they’d spent weeks trying to figure out who had taken the items, but to no avail. Every home had been checked out, and they never caught the culprits.. But that was after Amara and Gavin had studied them extensively.

Amara had written school papers on the legend in her youth, for various grades. It was one of her favorite subjects, and had been one of the things that she, Reggie, and Gavin had bonded over. Warm nostalgia lined her words as she told a few stories.

Skye listened tentatively until she caught her talking about the last part of the legend; the part missing from Alcon’s copy. When she inquired about it, Amara hesitated because she didn’t remember much about that part.

Their projects always centered around decoding the first two parts, which Skye had already done. They discussed the possible meanings and correlations behind the phrases.

Amara knew that the second part pertained to the powers of Catalyst, but she didn’t fully understand the first part. Skye explained what she could remember off of the top of her head, which made Amara as excited as a grade-schooler.

They were in the middle of talking about the bloodlines when Tidas knocked on, and opened the door. The elders were getting irritated, and Murdoc was having a hard time keeping them patient. The two had been talking together for nearly half an hour.

Skye apologized to her husband, whom smiled gently at her in return. Tidas told her that he was okay with them talking longer, but the elders were calling for them. She hugged him and smiled back with genuine affection reflected in her eyes..

‘I guess they really do love each other.. The Winchester in ’em must be stronger than the MacArthur, thank the gods.’

After a few moments of affectionate bantering between them, the three went back out into the hallway. Murdoc looked agitated, and the elders looked flat-out pissed. They weren’t used to being kept waiting.

************

They didn’t walk much farther down the hallway, and Skye couldn’t figure out why they didn’t just go into the room to wait. They were obviously crabby from having to stand for so long. As they started to file into the room, Skye noticed a name on the door that said, ‘Conference Room’.

When they entered, Skye and Tidas took in their surroundings. A large, rounded table with matching chairs sat in the center of the room. It was a decent-sized room, but didn’t have a raised ceiling like all the others had so far. Light fixtures encircled the room, but only gave off a faint glow compared to the others she’d seen.

Once they settled down into their seats, Amara spoke about the treaty first. They were still against giving up their children, even at sixteen, which was when they were considered an adult in most kingdoms. But not in the Highlands.

Children could get jobs at fourteen, but they had to maintain decent grades in order to keep it. At seventeen, they could graduate early, but most enjoyed the free ride given as long as possible.

There were a few times throughout the year that every Highlander was required to work, like during their harvests. The field that Skye and Tidas had seen was only one of four, and required all able-bodies to bring in and process the harvests each year.

One field was strictly for livestock, but the other three were used for fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Each field had its own growing cycle, but they timed the planting each year so that the harvests were done before the winter settled in.

They also rotated the crops to avoid monocropping. But after centuries of rotations, the nutrients in the soil just couldn’t be replenished by simple means anymore. Usually composting balanced the soil, but their problem ran deeper than the topsoil.

The bunkers had run off of hydroelectric power for centuries now, but the main bunker had run on something different when their ancestors were around. A dangerous power source that poisoned the ground, water, and air when an accident occurred six centuries ago..

“The people that lived before the Great Shift were innovators, and created things that we can barely wrap our heads around. One of those things tis called a nuclear reactor. It was the power source for the Origin Bunker, and was capable of powering everything in the Highlands.”

Amara took a breath before she continued; “As the grounds have shifted over the centuries, the reactor became damaged, and caused an accident that killed hundreds of our people. We weren’t as populated back then, so a lack of manpower and safety equipment caused them to abandon that section.”

Skye and Tidas listened tentatively as Amara tried to explain their situation. They didn’t understand a few of the terms she’d used, but got the gist of the situation. Their soil was poisoned, therefore rendering it useless.

Over a quarter of one of their fields was already lost, and they would feel the effects of it’s loss soon. It was the cause behind them needing to raid; to balance the loss.

As the couple listened, Skye’s attention was squarely on what the ‘Origin Bunker’ was. The name was intriguing, and Skye asked about it as soon as Amara left a gap in her discussion.

“When ye say ‘Origin Bunker’, do ye mean the one that ye all ultimately come from?”

Amara shared a glance with Murdoc, who had been sitting quietly the whole time. Amara was much better at technical jargon than he was. When she saw her king’s approval, Amara to them the truth of it all...

“When I say ‘Origin Bunker’, I mean the origin of most of the people that are alive today. Other ancient countries had similar systems, in case of a worldwide catastrophe, but ours was one of the few that always had a high number of people in it.”

“When the Great Shift occurred, most bunkers went on automatic lockdown, as per their design. Those outside were left for dead, but before the worst of it, our ancestors opened the doors, and got a decent amount of people from the nearby town inside.”

The Highlanders in the room all took on an air of pride at the mention of their heroic ancestors’ actions. ‘No one left behind’ was a favored motto amongst them due to the tale.

Clearing her throat lightly, Amara continued; “After they sealed the doors, our ancestors spent the first few decades living simple lives, but as their population grew, they had to expand. New bunkers were added on, and some were discovered as they bore into the mountain.”

“Everyone was relatively well off, and the surface was nearly ready to inhabit again when the Calamity had happened.. Their power source was damaged during an earthquake, and it killed a quarter of their population.”

Sighing deeply, Amara locked eyes with Skye; “The radiation leak has never spread this far before.. If we canna figure out a way ta stop the spread, we’ll lose our home. Is there any way that ye can help us Yer Highness?”

Skye shot Amara a look for using the unwanted title, then replied; “I should be able to, but I’ll be needin’ ta read up on it first. Do ye have any books on the subject?”

Amara grinned mischievously; “Oh aye! We’ve got plenty for ye ta read about it. From ancient tomes, to movies.”

Skye’s jaw dropped as Tidas asked what a movie was. She had read about them in ancient tomes, and had always wanted to see one. Amara described them as plays made with moving pictures, and the concept was highly intriguing to Skye.

They discussed possible solutions to the poisoned soil, but until Skye could see the damage herself, it was a moot point. From there they covered everything from the ground rules for the RMC members, to the possibility of a scouting mission once the snow cleared.

Over three hours had passed since they’d left with the Highlander leaders, and the Alconian soldiers were getting restless. If Petrie wasn’t there to corral them, then several of them would’ve violated the rules on the first day.

The number one rule was that the RMC soldiers had to stay within their designated bunker. They weren’t allowed to go wandering around the Highlanders’ home without an assigned escort. It was a safety precaution for both sides, meant to keep the possibility of conflicts to a minimum.

The other big rule was no damaging the infrastructures. The bunkers were sturdy, but old. The wrong beam taken out in the right place could cause the collapse of an entire section. Bringing the mountain above them down into their heads.

Once the basics were covered, and their meeting done for the day; Amara offered to show the royal couple their room as they walked back. When they entered their designated bunker, Tidas protested until Arthur overheard the conversation..

He laughed boisterously before telling his Commander; “You really think that the soldiers care about that stupid rule?”

Tidas grimaced; “It’s a rule.. They should care-”

“It’s a dumb rule, and you’ve freely admitted that before,” Arthur quipped while cutting him off.

Tidas huffed; “Yes, but it’s still a rule. I’m the commander. How am I supposed to expect my soldiers to follow the rules if I don’t?”

“Ye act like the couples don’t sneak into each other’s tents,” Ronnie murmured from behind Arthur Tanner.

“What?!”

Kari and Klaus glared at Ronnie, as did a few other RMC members scattered around them. It wasn’t a well-kept secret, but no one was dumb enough to tell their Commander that it was commonplace.

Ronnie rubbed at the back of his head; “Did ye not know that? Oops.. Ima.. Ima just gonna go over there..”