Hi everyone! Sorry for having kept you waiting! I would have liked to give you an even longer chapter, but I'm leaving in a couple of hours for two weeks - which will be the reason I won't reply to messages, reviews, read your stories, post any review etc (which doesn't mean they are not appreciated)- so I hope this will do instead. Thank you for following these stories with me, and enjoy your reading!


Kida gazed at her reflection in the mirror with great attention, and then graciously turned around to face Audrey and Dr. Sweet, lifting one inquiring eyebrow to signify them that she was waiting for their verdict. Audrey lifted an enthusiastic thumb in the air – a gesture Kida was clearly not familiar with - and winked at her while the massive doctor gently took Kida's slender hand and made her turn round on herself several times. The Queen resisted the urge to let the musical laughter that invaded her throat rise in the air and when Sweet seemed to be satisfied and let her go, she put both hands on her hips, cocked her head and shot a look full of sparkling mischief at him. He kept staring at her, apparently lost in his thoughts and motionless.

"What's the matter? You do not think the dress suits me, do you?" she finally asked him.

"Actually, I was thinking that if Milo had not already won your heart, he would so have competition!" he answered joyously, smiling at Kida's astonished expression.

When she eventually managed to take the compliment in, the Queen leaned in and gave the doctor a friendly hug which he returned with an almost fatherly pride.

"Pagen."

"Si, estas muy guapa, Kida."

« Muchas gracias, Audrey »

« De nada. Voy a pagar for your dress now, and then we can all go back to Mr. Whitmore's."

When the three of them arrived at the mansion, they weren't surprised to find Preston Whitmore sitting in his favourite armchair, in front of one of the huge fireplaces that he seemed to be very keen on. The old millionaire looked lost in his thoughts, and was apparently gazing at something that was put on his knees. Sweet coughed slightly to make their presence known. Mr. Whitmore instantly looked behind him and let an enthusiastic smile spread across his face.

"Ah, there you are! Have you found what you were looking for, Queen Kida?"

"Yes. Sweet and Audrey were very kind to stay and wait for me to choose. And I have already told you several times you can call me Kida."

"Then you have to stop calling me Mr. Whitmore."

"I cannot do that."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I am afraid I have too much respect for you." Kida added with a small smile.

The old millionaire let out a small laugh and shrugged.

"Then you cannot expect to call you otherwise, Queen Kida. By the way, Sweet, your new medical tools are waiting for you in your room."

"Marvellous! I'm gonna check them immediately. Many thanks!"

"Audrey, if you're not busy, could you please check the car and make sure everything's okay for tonight?"

"Way ahead of you!"

And so it was that Kida remained alone with the eccentric man who had enabled Milo to go and find Atlantis, her kingdom. Looking around, the Queen wordlessly contemplated the large aquarium and the multiple objects that were scattered across the room for a long moment. When she lifted her gaze above the fireplace's mantelpiece, it fell upon a gigantic picture that depicted two men. Kida immediately and easily recognized one of them as being Preston Whitmore and her deep blue eyes shifted to the man she didn't know. For some reason, he seemed vaguely familiar.

"This man, Queen Kida, is Thaddeus Thatch. Milo's grandfather."

Kida's eyes widened and she felt her body froze. She didn't reply anything, and observed more carefully the portrait of the man she would never meet and whom she owed so much. Thaddeus Thatch looked like a patient, caring man. Kida smiled at his beard and the small spectacles that had slid down his nose, something that Milo's did quite often. Then Kida's eyes met Thaddeus's and it was then that she understood why the man looked so familiar. Milo had the same loving, innocent, knowledgeable eyes.

"Do you think he would have liked me?" she heard herself asking the question, wondering from which part of her mind it could have possibly come from. From the corner of her eye, she saw Preston Whitmore smiling warmly.

"He would have loved you. You can be sure of that. Here, let me show you something."

The millionaire turned round and motioned for Kida to come with him. She looked one last time at Milo's grandfather, murmured a silent, yet fervent, thank you and followed obediently. Mr. Whitmore returned to his armchair and picked up the book he had been contemplating before Kida, Sweet and Audrey had returned. The Atlantean woman noticed the old, damaged leather cover that proved the book had been opened countless times before. She wondered what story it could possibly hold. Mr. Whitmore offered her to seat into his armchair but she politely declined the invitation and sat on one of the armchair's armrest instead. Gazing at the book with an intense curiosity, she couldn't help but being awestruck when she saw what was on the first page. It wasn't words. It was a picture. A picture that had been shot in Atlantis, and not just anywhere in Atlantis, but in the throne room itself! She recognized it because of the Old King Statue that was still shedding tears. In the middle of the picture, she saw herself and Milo, holding each other's hands, smiling in a very conniving manner and, coming to think of it, obviously in love.

"It is Mrs. Packard who shot that picture, Queen Kida."

"Shot? But it didn't harm anyone, did it?"

The millionaire chuckled, mischief pouring though his eyes.

"No, the verb 'to shoot' is used to describe the action of taking a picture with a camera."

"But Milo told me that this verb is also used for weapons."

"Yes. Ironically enough, a gun shoots and kills while a camera shoots and immortalize."

Kida blinked a few times, nodded and decided to drop the subject. Mr. Whitmore turned the page and another picture appeared in front of them. She recognized it as the one she had taken a look at in the caves a long time ago - even though the picture's bottom was now covered with Milo's handwriting - when she and her fellow hunters had secretly entered the camp the Ulysses crew had set up. Now she had a second chance to look closely at it, and she smiled at the enthusiastic little boy she knew to be Milo. It was evident in the child's eyes that he almost worshipped his grandfather, who looked tenderly at his grandson. For a second, Kida could imagine how Milo's heart must have been torn when the old explorer had died. The Queen eventually looked at the picture that was on the third page and froze; there was Thaddeus Thatch walking beside a man, tall and thin, himself next to a beautiful dirty-blond haired woman who was laughing silently through time. Her right hand was extended to caress her son's cheek while he was perched on his father's shoulders, his arms spread like wings in delight and grinning from ear-to-ear, his owl glasses way too big for him. Kida slowly brushed her forefinger against the photography.

"This is the only picture left of Milo's family." Mr. Whitmore's voice commented. "This," he added, "is Lucille Rose Thatch, Milo's mother, and this is Augustus Avery Thatch, Thaddeus's son and Milo's father. Milo was 2 years old when this picture was shot."

Kida felt lump rise in her throat. It was an extremely strange feeling for her to look at these people who were now part of her family as well, even if they were not there anymore. And the little Milo looked so happy there.

"When did Milo's parents died?"

"Milo was born in 1882, and both his parents died in a train accident in 1885."

"3 years old…" Kida spoke in a whisper. "Where is Milo anyway? I thought he was with you."

"He was. After we bought him the outfit he'll wear tonight, he told me to come back without him because he wanted to go to the graveyard. I think Milo needed to be alone for a while."

"Milo needs everything but to be alone. Besides, I have wonderful news to tell him."

"Oh? And may I know what it is?"

Kida smiled and leaned in to whisper against the old man's ear. Preston Whitmore almost jumped in surprise.

"REALLY?"

"Yes. At least, that's what Sweet told me."

"If Sweet said so, then there's no mistake! How will you tell Milo? Have you already thought of something?"

"Yes, but I need to ask you a favour."

"I'm listening."

"Could you lend me your shard of crystal?"

"Of course. Here."

"Thank you. I give you my word I will give it back to you as soon as Milo knows about this."

"When I know about what?" another voice interrupted.

Startled, both Kida and Preston Whitmore jumped round to find Milo smiling at them while removing his coat from his shoulders. Quickly, Kida concealed the crystal into her pocket whilst the millionaire greeted Atlantis's King.

"When you know that we were almost getting worried about you and your absence, my boy!"

"Oh…sorry about that.", Milo shrugged and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "It's just that I found a song I would like to be carved on my grandfather's grave, since the old epitaph has been erased."

"Consider it done, my boy. May I see the lyrics?"

"Sure."

The King handed a sheet of paper to the millionaire who read carefully what was written on it.

The tears I fell today

I'll wait to shed tomorrow.

Though I'll not sleep this night

Nor find surcease from sorrow.

My eyes must keep their sight;

I dare not be tear-blinded.

I must be free to talk

Not choked with grief, clear-minded.

My mouth cannot betray

The anguish that I know.

Yes, I'll keep my tears till later:

But my grief will never go.

Preston Whitmore nodded in approbation.

"A good choice, Milo. I'll take care of that as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Mr. Whitmore."

Milo walked over to where his wife was standing and gave her a tender kiss on her cheek.

"Vinny and Mrs Packard would like to know if you'd be interested in having a walk in the city before tonight."

Kida immediately beamed with joy and asked her husband what on earth they were waiting for. He laughed.


The painting that was before them in the art gallery represented two big oblongs, one red and the other yellow, on a white background.

"At a pinch it could, ah, represent some dynamite." Vinny unconvincingly said, staring like Milo at the painting. "Eh, why do artists never paint gardens full of dynamite?"

"Must have something to do with people's sensitivity. I'm not sure bombs would be appreciated by everyone."

"Bombs paintings would, ah, make a 'boom' in the world of art."

"Whatever you say."

"This one is entitled 'Oblongs in the Middle of a Desolate Landscape'" Kida pointed out, proud to show her friends that her countless reading lessons with Milo had really paid off.

"I'm the one who's desolate to see that." Mrs Packard interjected cynically, making them all chuckle.

They did not notice the tall raven-black-haired woman who was observing them from the corner of her eye. Lisa McGrath couldn't believe her eyes. There he was, in her own art gallery. Milo James Thatch. The only man in the world who had dared to turn her down when she had offered him the chance to have sex with her. He was still a very young man then, only in his twenties, and had purely and simply refused to seize the opportunity she had given him. She never forgot the feeling of pure humiliation that had pierced her pride like a zillion blades. Lisa's eyes drifted from Milo to the woman who stood beside him, her fingers intertwined with his. Though she could only see her back, the woman's white hair and dark hands were enough for Lisa to deduce that she was Atlantean. A cold shiver ran through Lisa's spine; a shiver she identified as one of jealousy. Suddenly the Atlantean woman released Milo's hand, turned round, as if she had felt her gaze, and her deep blue eyes met Lisa's, holding for a few seconds that suddenly appeared like an eternity. The American woman frowned in a very particular way that made her look clearly antipathetic yet still seductive. Not breaking eye-contact, Lisa faced the unspoken challenge and stepped forward. She saw the Atlantean woman smile and turn round again to whisper something against the scholar's ear. He nodded, and she left his side to come towards her. Milo would pay, yes, but only later that evening. Eventually letting her gaze drop on the ground, Lisa McGrath thought it better to disappear before Milo saw her; she went away, listening to the familiar noise of her stiletto heels echoing on the floor's tiles. The impact she foresaw to have in the evening wouldn't be the same if she didn't take him by surprise. When Milo and Kida looked around in an attempt to find her, they both understood it was already too late. They looked at each other and shrugged. Lisa McGrath had disappeared.

The incident quickly forgotten, Milo, Kida, Vinny and Mrs. Packard took a look at another odd painting. That one represented a dozen white circles on a black background and was entitled 'Spheres in the middle of Wastefulness'. There was a moment of troubled silence before Mrs Packard's voice rose in the air and pronounced the sentence.

"He could have found a shorter title. 'Wastefulness' would have been just fine."

"The whole bunch of you doesn't understand anything!" another voice interrupted.

They quickly turned round to see who had spoken and didn't find anyone.

"Hey, I'm over here." The voice spoke again. It came from…beneath?!

Sure enough, they all lowered their gazes to face a tiny black-haired man whose moustache seemed too long for his nose. Intrigued, blue eyes curious, Kida lowered herself like she had done years ago when meeting Mole.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "And who are you?"

"I, my dear, am the one who painted those wonderful canvases."

"Oh."

Milo and Vinny shot him a weird look while Mrs Packard kept concentrating on her ever-lasting cigarette. Puffs of smoke rose in the air. The painter, bursting with pride, didn't pay attention to them.

"You must be open-minded, my dear. Those paintings are out of boundaries!"

"And out of price, too."

"Boom." Vinny commented.

Milo caught a small laugh with his hand. Kida was smiling broadly. The painter wasn't. Suddenly, the Queen's eye was caught by a third quite modern painting. She extended her right hand and pointed at it.

"What on earth," she inquired of the painter standing beside –and below- her, "is that?"

He replied condescendingly, "That, my dear, is supposed to be a mother and her child."

Kida blinked, looked at the painting again but, in all honesty, couldn't find anything in it that looked like that.

"Well then," continued the Queen fondly, "why isn't it?"

And something incredible happened at that precise moment. Not only Milo laughed, not only Vinny laughed, but Mrs Packard did too. It was a harsh laughter, a laughter that had been damaged by all the cigarettes that had been smoked, but it was there.

The painter, of course, rushed away fuming with rage while Kida stared at his retreating back blankly. Then she felt Milo's hand touch her shoulder and looked at him.

"Oh, Kida," he said while wiping a tear of laughter away, "if only you knew how much I love you!"