It was late afternoon by the time the Princess Train pulled into Jasper station.
According to the map that Zander had given her, Jasper was a city that was flanked with the southern ocean on both the west and south sides and to the east, the city meandered all the way to the edges of Aquamarine Lake.
Hemmed in by water on both sides, there was not much room for the city to grow other than length-wise. On the southeast side of the city was a dense oak forest so the only other avenue of growth was in the northerly direction.
"We are here, My Queen." Jana tapped on the door.
Mira slid her black cap on and went to open the door.
The moist heat hit her in the face.
"Wow, it's hot in Jasper."
"Yes. There is a ridiculously resilient ridge of high pressure that stays immediately to the west of Jasper and that's what's keeping all the moisture and heat locking into this area. It's a constant tropical jungle no matter the time of year."
"Where is Prince Erick?"
"He is with his group of men, scouting out the train station to make sure it's safe before we disembark, Your Royal Highness."
Mira nodded. Even with the glock by her side, she knew she was up against very high level wizardry and unimaginable magik.
"I came to escort you to the rendezvous point. This way, Your Highness."
Mira followed Jana as she beelined for the train's exit.
Jasper station was much like all the other train stations around Ashrya with one big exception. The air was so muggy and saturated with moisture that the walls of the squat buildings were stained with greenish olive mold and mildew.
The faint smell of rotting vegetation permeated the place, even with magiked air deodorizers blowing through fan-like flowers in strategically placed locations.
Here and there, people thronged waiting for their trains in lethargic groups, fanning themselves with whatever was in their hands. Several men had even stripped down to simple shorts.
Mira took in all this with only brief glances as Jana quickly took her through a maze of squat buildings and passages that eventually turned into a huge blur for her.
After what seemed like forever, they finally arrived at a tiny octagon-shaped tower that extended upwards into the cave ceiling. Jana opened the arched door and disappeared downward.
Mira hesitated. They were not going up?
She stepped in.
The floor dropped.
Before she could even utter a yelp, it had slowed to a stop.
Someone pulled her out of the tower.
"You're finally here." She heard Erick's voice call out to her, but it was pitch black and she could see nothing. "Hang onto me love. I know it's a bit dark in here, but we'll be out where it's light soon enough."
Even with Erick's guiding hand, Mira found herself stumbling and crashing into everyone around her until finally, she felt herself being swept up into his arms.
"Just stay still Mira. It's only a few more steps."
Erick's 'few more steps' turned out to be another fifteen minutes of being carried through absolute darkness. She could hear the sounds of others talking softly around her. Their voices bounced around as if they were in an echo chamber.
It sounded as if there were at least three other dwarves along with Jana and Theo.
Carried princess-style as she was, there was very little room for movement. The only thing she could do to help him was to hang on and not make too many movements.
Mira snaked her arms around his neck and hung on. Her ear was pressed up against his chest from the way he carried her and she could hear the strong steady thumping of his heart.
Erick was solid and steady like a rock.
From the point of time when Zander disappeared, Erick had been a steady solid presence that she had inadvertently been leaning on. He had never left her side and in fact had taken care of so many things beyond her purview that she did not even know how to begin to thank him.
Searching for Zander was a major undertaking that she had asked him to help her with. He could just simply have said no and saved all the hassle, and yet here he was literally carrying her through the darkness.
After what seemed like forever, a glow appeared in the distance. The glow got brighter and brighter until Mira was finally able to see the rock-hewn tunnel that they had been traveling through.
Beside her were the dwarves Ziggy, Daran, and Alfric, and flanked on each side were Theo and Jana.
"You can put me down now Erick. Your arms must be so tired from holding me for such a long time," Mira laughed.
"You barely weigh anything, Love, but we are here." He gently released her from his arms and she was able to see for the first time the place they had arrived at.
Light was streaming down in dappled whorls from the cavern ceiling. The misty illumination was such that she could not tell if it was a dolmian-painted ceiling or if it was actual sunlight that had somehow found its way down into the cavern floor.
There was a profusion of greens and blues dancing about everywhere. Her eyes focused on what looked like ribbons fluttering in the chilly moving breeze.
No. That wasn't quite right. They weren't ribbons.
They were plant runners and vines of varying shades of blues from teal to cerulean to azure, and greens in sage, olive, and emerald green. Interspersed in between all this green and blue were the pinks and yellows of tiny floral inflorescences.
The damp coolness contrasted greatly with the hot muggy air of Jasper station that for a moment, Mira thought they had been transported elsewhere until she realized that as long as Erick's legs were, he had only been walking for fifteen minutes.
They had to be somewhere in the bowels of Jasper still.
"Greetings Your Royal Highnesses." A tall man with olive hair and pale green skin wearing dark hunter green vestments bowed at the waist. "My name is Gerald Pomfrey. I am the Prime Minister for the celadonians living in the southern region of Ashrya."
"Gerald Pomfrey. Are you, by any chance related to Tinsel Pomfrey?"
The green man laughed. "Tinsel is my spouse. He took on my family name when we were married some decades ago."
Mira's jaw dropped. The two men barely looked to be in their mid twenties. How could they possibly have been married for a few decades?
"If you are married, why are you living so far apart?"
Gerald laughed. "We aren't. We port to each other at the end of the day. Sometimes we are here and sometimes we are in Diamond. This depends on our schedules, of course."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Gerald. It's unfortunate that as long as I've been in Diamond, I've never met you before,"
Gerald Pomfrey nodded. "I have been lacking in that aspect. We were unsure how you would feel about the fact that Tinsel and I were a married couple."
Mira smiled. "It's a nothing issue. That's like asking me how I feel about Alfric and Pearla being a married couple."
Gerald Pomfrey nodded again. "Then, at the next opportunity, we would be honored to host a dinner in honor of your presence, Your Majesty."
Mira looked around the cavern filled with hanging vines and flowering blossoms. "So this is the underground area of Jasper."
"Actually, we are no longer in Jasper, Love." Erick smiled. We are in Celadonia.
Mira wrinkled her brows. "I don't recall a city named Celadonia on the maps."
"It is an underground city, much like Dolmia and Tourmaline is." Gerald Pomfrey's emerald green eyes danced. "The only difference is that entry into our city is limited to a few portals scattered around Jasper."
"So Celadonia is under Jasper?"
"Oh no. Celadonia is the entirety of the oak forest in between Jasper and Topaz. We are currently under the forest itself."
I see. No wonder it is so cool here.
"Yes. There has been quite a few magikcal anomalies which is causing Jasper and the surrounding areas to have…" he moved his fingers expressively, "--extreme weather fluctuations."
"Is that why it's so hot in Jasper?" Mira asked.
"Yes. The heat that is rising in Jasper has made life there miserable for celadonians so we have left that area for the dwarves and Ashryans who enjoy the heat and retreated into Shari."
"Shari?"
Gerald held out his hands and lifted them up into the expanse of the chamber.
"Shari is this entire forest."
Mira's jaw dropped. "You mean the oak jungle that exists between Jasper and Topaz?"
Erick nodded. "Yes sweetheart. That jungle is one very large gnarly oak tree."
"He is a single male oak that has lived through time immemorial, spawning new members of himself until he has taken up the entirety of the span between Topaz and Jasper." Gerald Pomfrey elaborated.
"The entire tree is a single male…" Mira mused. "Is there a female oak of the same species?"
Erick laughed. "Trust my lady to zero in on such an important detail that no one ever thinks about."
"The single female oak Shara exists in an area between Diamond and Olivine."
"And do they have any saplings together?" Mira pondered, scratching her head.
The people around her looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly everyone burst into laughter.