The Queen of the Underverse - Chapter 11

Notes From Foto Dono: Tuesday is almost here, which means it’s time for the next installment—Chapter 11. 📖✨Meanwhile, I’m currently writing Chapter 33 and have outlined up to Chapter 38. The end of Rebecca’s story in the Underverse is creeping closer… and honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen when I finally finish it. 😳

I’m not talking about the ending. I actually wrote that last month. Spoilers. 🤐

This whole project has been a wild ride. People keep asking if I’m going to publish it, and the truth is… I’m not sure. To do it properly, I’d need to hire a copyeditor 📝, then run the manuscript through more drafts than I’d like to admit.

But that’s something for Future Me to worry about. Right now, I’m just trying to enjoy the journey. I started this book for my son, but somewhere along the way, it’s grown into something bigger. What if I could go back and tell my younger self, “Hey, you’re going to write a novel one day”?

Well… that’ll be for the next book. 😉

—Yuunral Naretar. “I’m back. The author bribed me with adjectives and a semi-colon. The semi-colon was unnecessary, but appreciated.”

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Previously on The Queen of the Underverse…

On Earth, grief casts long shadows: Mark Lopez holds the pieces of a family missing its center, while young Sarah dreams of impossible reunions. The world keeps turning—but with Rebecca gone, it feels tilted.

Meanwhile, in the Underverse, Rebecca and Chalky push on toward Amberford. The glow that once shielded her is nearly gone, leaving only her will to keep moving. And in the Underverse, a traveler without fire may as well be stone.

Now - Rebecca’s fury burns hotter than ever as she confronts bonds she never asked for, forcing her to choose whether to sever them or carry their weight. Alone on the road to Amberford, her resolve hardens—while in the shadows, unseen eyes are already waiting.

Ye saga continues...

Chapter 11 - Without Fire You're Cold As Rock

Rebecca stormed into her room and slammed the door, the thud reverberating in the stillness.

Glancing into the mirror, she was taken aback by her reflection: her skin shimmered with an ethereal glow as if illuminated from within, and her eyes sparkled with a vibrant radiance that seemed to draw in the light around her. 

She closed her eyes tightly, and her hands balled up into fists. 

"Okay, that's it! I'm tired of being a walking night light, lamp post, or whatever. Firecloak, you need to stop now." 

But I React To…

Rebecca hit her arm where the words were appearing. "Stop it. You bonded to me without consent. You keep changing me without warning. That’s not friendship—it’s possession.”

Am I Bad Friend?

“Let me ask you this: can you ever leave me? Will you ever leave me?” Rebecca was afraid of the answer.

Leave? Why?

Her fists were pounding the sides of the wall next to the mirror, nearly knocking it off the wall.

"Why? Because I'm completely exhausted. I'm worn out from being manipulated by you, Chalky, and Lyra, not to mention everything else that has happened since I arrived. All I've ever wanted is to return home, yet it feels like no one here gives a damn about that. If no one else cares, then I don't need any of you in my life!" Her voice trembled with a fierce rage that Rebecca hadn't heard for a very long time. 

All the lines and patterns had traveled from her fists and up her arms.

Your Anger Hurts.

"Good. Maybe you should understand that you shouldn't go around possessing people's skin without their consent.”

Anger Hurts

You Said That…

She screamed, "I didn't know you were going to invade my body, literally!"

She drew ragged breaths until her lungs steadied, anger ebbing at last, she regained control, her fingers unclenched, releasing their tension. With her heart still racing, she lowered her voice, each word tinged with the weight of her emotions.

"It's been fun, and you've been helpful and kept me warm, but I'm done with all this. It's over."

You Want Me Leave?

"Yes."

She stood before the mirror, her bare skin illuminated by the room's soft light. It felt like she was engaged in a silent, fierce struggle with herself. Her voice, raw and hoarse from the shouting that had erupted only moments before, seemed to echo in the quiet space, a testament to the emotions rolling deep within her. The tension in the air was palpable, and for a moment, all that existed was her, the mirror, and the tumult of feelings that threatened to overwhelm her.

Suddenly, the light surrounding her flickered erratically, casting a dance of shadows across her skin. The intricate lines etched into her flesh seemed to writhe and pulse with a life of their own, each undulation echoing a deeply emotional ache. It was as if the essence of her feelings had manifested, and she could almost sense the sorrow radiating from those captivating patterns.

I Am Sorry.

I Was Lonely.

I Can Stop.

Goodbye.

There was nothing.

Suddenly, flames erupted all around her, bright and fierce, casting flickering shadows across the room. Rebecca let out a terrified scream, her heart racing as panic gripped her—but no heat came. She stood frozen in awe as the fire peeled away like smoke becoming cloth, pooling at her feet in a crimson shroud.

When the roaring flames finally subsided, settling into a gentle glow, she beheld the firecloak for the first time. It was more than just a piece of fabric; it resembled an exquisite red blanket embellished with mesmerizing yellow lines and intricate patterns that danced and shifted as if alive. The sight filled her with wonder, starkly contrasting the chaos surrounding her.

She bent down to pick it up and felt it move slightly, warm to the touch. She could also hear it keening. Rebecca almost felt a pang of sympathy for it. After all, it had helped her and even provided for her needs. However, it continued to act without her permission.

"I'm sorry, too." She said, she folded it up and placed it on the chair. "Thank you for understanding."

She could feel the enhancements that firecloak had provided were fading. However, she could see well enough. The room was certainly chilly enough now without the firecloak. She looked over at the table in the room and found her clothes had been washed and folded. She put them on and put the key in her back pocket.

She looked at the battered photo, "I'm coming home, somehow. And fuck anyone who tries to stop me." 

She looked in the mirror, and Anti had followed her word and tailored the clothes. However, Anti was probably color-blind. It was as if someone puked pastel colors all over them.

Her pants had become a patchwork skirt of leather scraps and chiffon, her NASA vest colors inverted, underwear polka-dotted. She groaned–then she noticed the shirt. The shirt had upgraded from “weaponized mint” to “nuclear orange.”

In English, it read: I Shaved My Balls for This?

Rebecca laughed, a jagged sound. “Of course it does.”

So it was either this or go naked. She put the clothes on. "At least no one can see the polka dots." She muttered.

I Shaved my Balls for this?

There was a knock on the door. 

Knock-knock

“Rebecca, it’s me, Chalky. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” she said flatly.

“Look, I wanted to talk to you about…” She saw the firecloak on the bed. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Rebecca said coldly.

“Don’t give me that. What is going on? All we’ve done is been nice to you.”

“Nice! Nice! I’m in a place where there are magic doors that whisk you away, talking houses, and people who don’t tell you the truth. Just enough to make you think they’re being your friend.”

Chalky tried to say something, but Rebecca's anger was still boiling. 

“I’ve just met you, and yet you expect me to treat you like we’re best friends! You all need to earn my trust. I have worked with ten different crews of astronauts in space, and I had to trust each of them with my life. I don’t trust anyone I’ve met here.

She grabbed her backpack and walked past Chalky, "I'm taking the Map, the cash, the Key, and the aethercycle."

Chalky managed to say, "You need the ring to operate the aethercycle."

"Fine, I'll walk. It's only a few miles to the town anyway." She kept walking down the hallway.

Chalky said, "But you need me!"

"No, I don't."

"But…"

Rebecca walked around the corner and soon heard a door open and close.

Chalky stood in the room, unsure of what to do. The firecloak was still keening, so she picked it up and stroked it.

"Shhh. It's okay. Everything will be alright," Chalky whispered, though she didn’t believe her own words.

Quark came in shortly. He shimmered and asked, "So, is everyone having a good time?"

Rebecca collected the map, some camping gear items from the sidecar's trunk, and put them in her backpack. She tried to start the aethercycle, but it didn't start. So she needed the ring after all—Chalky had been right. I wonder why she never mentioned it.

She sighed and opened the map.

On the Road Again.

The map shows she was still about 5 miles from the town. She could do that easily. All she had to do was follow this yellow line on the map. She'd get to the city and find a ride to the Unwritten Library. And if there were any of these Door-wheres to Where-evers along the way, she'd open them. She'd figure it out.

She’d survived the Academy, flown combat missions, earned degrees in math most people couldn’t even pronounce. At 28, she’d clawed her way into NASA’s astronaut corps—time to start using her brain again.

She looked back at the bathhouse. A pang of guilt caught her chest—Chalky and the firecloak didn’t deserve all of that. She rarely lost her temper like she had. But the feeling faded quickly, smothered by the ache of distance from her family. Every step here felt like a step away from them.

She looked up at the pink sun. She would arrive at this town, Amberford, sometime around dusk. Maybe it was the pink sun that was throwing her emotions off. 

Chalky and firecloak both want to help, but do they? She wondered. She couldn't be sure. Lyra said she did, too, but that whole quest was so contrived from the beginning.

She checked the backpack, made sure it was comfortable enough, and began the walk down the road. The temperature was cool and brisk, like fall. Other than the odd colors of the flowers, it was like a regular walk in the park.  

Like with Mark and the kids, the thought escaped from her, and she brought the photo out.

It was supposed to be my last mission. I would spend more time with my family and work a NASA side job. 

She thought about the steps along the way to becoming an astronaut.

She met Astronaut Peggy Annette Whitson in High School in Iowa. She came to give a STEM lecture about her experience to help promote women in science. 

She thought Peggy and all the women in the astronaut corps were extraordinary. Her high school teachers had encouraged her passion for math and the physical sciences. Determined to pursue her dream, she wanted to become an astronaut. Although she had once aspired to be a rock star, she realized that becoming a pilot and an astronaut was much cooler.

Peggy spent over 60 hours in space and completed 10 EVAs, a record that Rebecca has just surpassed. If the accident had not occurred, she would have broken Sunita Williams' record of 62 hours.

Rebecca smiled a little at that.

The clouds ahead were becoming pink with hues of red and orange. She marveled at walking under an alien sky.

She remembered telling her Mom about the day Peggy visited her high school. She said, "Well, it'll take much work, Rebecca. But maybe one day you'll get to walk in another world." She rolled her eyes at her and said, "Oh, really, it's not like that at all."

"I guess you were right, Mom." She shook her head.

Her Mom had passed away before she graduated from high school. She returned from school one day and found her father crying over her mother. He had just come home as well. Her Mom had a stroke earlier in the day, and no one knew.  

"Well, Mom, I am walking on an alien world. I do hope you're proud of me."  

Her father passed away after she graduated from the Air Force Academy from an aggressive form of cancer. She hated that school took her from him, but he insisted it was okay. He kept saying to her, "It's okay. Besides, I miss your Mom." 

"It's unfair, Pop, that time has been cruel to you. I worry that I didn't spend enough time with you, Mom, and Grandpop."

Her grandfather passed away shortly after that. He had dementia, and when she last visited him to tell him about his son's death, he couldn't even remember who his son was. This was the same man who used to tell her bedtime stories about adventures, even when she was too old for them.

"I wish I could tell you about this story, Grandpa.”

The cousins from the birthday parties had drifted away. She saw them briefly.

Sara Mitchel became the only family she had, until Mark and the kids.

She tucked the photo back in her pocket.

“I need to focus on getting back,” she mused. 

The pink sun was sinking fast, and the temperature was dropping. She pumped her arms back and forth. 

"I know I just dumped my own skin, but hell—it kept me warm.” She laughed, and she put an extra pep in her step.

"Ready or not, Amberford, here I come." She concentrated on the walk, hoping it wouldn't get too cold.

Kai was not amused. 

He was looking for Shean and the younglings he was responsible for. Shean was a Provider for younglings known collectively as Orphans of the City. He was a good Provider and cared deeply about his charges. In Amberford, it was hard to remain kind, and Shean was skilled at being kind without being naive. It was one of the qualities Kai liked about him before Kai died.

He stood outside the Provider’s School, looking around to see if they were back. 

It was early in the evening, and the streets were still relatively empty. The sky was deepening in reds and oranges, and the light crystals hanging along the roads were beginning to twinkle.

He considered the possibility of going elsewhere, which might attract too much unwanted attention. They had already mentioned that Asher's family was away on holiday. They sent word—whatever their names were—and even their servants had gone on a trip. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice; well, then you're just expecting a third." So the saying goes, he reflected.

Eventually, the beings here would figure it out, but they were slow and not very smart. However, if he pressed them too hard, someone might notice something wrong.

Kai sighed. He reread the letter left in Kai’s place. He has returned to keep up appearances. The words weren’t meant for him, not really, but he could pretend.

#

Kai,

I'm sorry, but things are not working out between us. I hate leaving it in a letter. But I'm not sure when you'll be back. I don't believe in this Underverse Rebirth nonsense from Queen Lyra. She did right by me and the Orphans of the City, and I'm genuinely sorry she died. I know she meant a lot to you.

Regardless, we are walking two different paths. I'm grateful we got to walk together for a while. I wish you well.  

I still have your belongings if you’d like them back.

I'm taking the younglings out of the city to look for Fiddler's Green. They say he's been showing up near town. We should be back in a few days if you’re still here.

Please be at peace.

May Lyra be with you always.

Love Shean

#

He smiled and said to himself, “I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer.”

He sniffed the air. She was much closer now. He sniffed again. She was also alone.

“Well, Well. A deep subject you’ve become, Human.” Kai laughed at his joke.

He looked back at the Provider’s School and ran his tongue around his mouth. "Can't wait around here all night. Still people to do, and things to see." He put his hands behind his back and whistled a playful tune. 

Still people to do, and things to see.

Playtime will begin soon. With that happy thought, he walked away.

––To be continued

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Next Time on The Queen of the Underverse…

The road to Amberford bends in strange directions, and sometimes the shortest path leads straight into danger. Rebecca will find new allies—and new threats—in places that shift beneath her very feet.

Don’t miss Chapter 12 - I Shoulda Taken That Left Turn.

© 2025 Donnavon Evans

August 26, 2025