Free Revolution in the Underground by S. J. Michaels

initially hoped that they would forever bond over the interminable splendor of the letter—that it’s secret would serve as a unifying connection between their hearts and minds.  She reluctantly agreed with his criticism, though in more modulated words than his, in hope that the modicum of honesty might breathe life back into the letter.  His interest was waning, and she could see it.  The writing was on the wall.
    Once Ember had a taste of candor, however, he couldn’t go back.  Before long he went into an all out lambast on everything from the sincerity of Abigail’s words to the styling of her prose.  He couldn’t stop until he had so defiled the letter that it could never again rise to the pedestal on which it had initially been placed.  Maggie simply couldn’t keep up and by the end of it they both agreed that it would be unnecessary to ever talk about it again. 
    The truth was that Ember didn’t even believe in all of his criticisms and he truly did value the letter—he just couldn’t accept the idea of a perfect, unassailable object.  The thought of it ever increasing in sentimental worth disturbed him.  He needed to debase the object before he could love it again.
    Towards the end of the first week he had a resurgence of interest in the letter.  With a healthy and controlled curiosity, he felt he could again approach Maggie about it.  Maggie, however, didn’t want a controlled curiosity, she wanted an obsession and when she found out that she couldn’t have it, she turned back to her friends.  Ember and Maggie had even discussed the possibility of sharing the letter with the public, but in the end both agreed that it’s dubious value as a historical testimony was not enough to justify such an irrevocable decision.  As disheartened as they both were, they knew it was, in someway or another, a connection alone for them to share and that it should remain that way until sometime in the distant future.
    Things were awkward between Ember and Maggie for some time after.  Ember seemed to be locked in a quiet dissatisfaction while Maggie found herself acting more and more wild with her friends in hope to fill the void.  When they ran into each other, their conversations seemed forced and always abruptly ended with Maggie running away with her friends.
    One night Maggie unexpectedly came over to Ember’s hut and confronted him about her feelings—about how she felt that something was different and how she wished it wasn’t.  She gave an impassioned speech expressing the desire that everything return to the way it was before the letter.  The awkwardness remained for a few days after the confrontation, but overtime things settled down into a new state of normalcy.  Maggie was as fun and lively as ever and Ember as pensive.  Soon they were staying up late, conversing about life, nature and happiness, just like old times.
    A month after their discovery it was announced, much to everyone’s surprise and Maggie’s embarrassment, that Ember would be appointed as the Chief Protégé.  Maggie had told Jade about Ember’s disastrous Evaluation in order to keep from telling her about the letter, and by indirect word-of-mouth all of Erosa had come to know the tale.  Everyone had expected Ember to fail.  Maggie had a difficult time explaining things to Jade, and everyone else who cared to inquire further, but after a while people stopped questioning her.  Maggie enjoyed such an unquestionable monopoly on all Erosan happenings and information that the event hardly made a dent in her credibility.
    Ember was surprised as well—but not as surprised as everyone else.  He knew that a rejection by the Council would only fuel his own speculations that they had something to hide and he knew that the last thing the Council wanted was a bad perception—even if it was only amongst a single individual.  By accepting him, they showed that they were tolerant of dissent and understanding of criticism. 
    My