Chapter One ~ Kida's Ketak Adventure
5356 B.C.
The Atlantean royal family was sitting on their private balcony enjoying their lunch of fresh shemubin milk, fruit, and juicy squid-tentacles-on-a-stick. The Mother Crystal shimmered peacefully above.
"YAHD-lu-goh-nihk! Maralana, if you eat one more of those you won't be able to get up to walk across the balcony!" King Kashekim shrieked as the queen bit off her fifth tentacle.
"I can't help it, Kashekim! They're addicting!" Queen Maralana protested.
Kida giggled. "You know they're MAH-tihm's favorite, TAHB-toap!"
"Only too well," the king sighed, forcing back a grin.
"As you were saying," the queen changed the subject, "The Egyptians have been..." Kida rolled her eyes and gazed over the side of the balcony at the bustling city below. Ever since Atlantis had started having problems with Greece and Egypt, it seemed like her parents had been paying less and less attention to her.
Kida fingered her glowing crystal pendant and gazed up at the blue Mother Crystal that gave it power. 'One day I will be queen,' Kida thought. 'And when that time comes, I will never fight with the Greeks or the Egyptians, and I will never ignore my daughter.' But for the tme being, she decided she would go play with her best friend, Meeranakash. After all, there was nothing to do around here.
"MAH-tihm, can I go play with Meera?" Kida asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure, Kida Sweetie. Have fun. Right now TAHB-toap and I are busy," the queen said distractedly.
"I know you're busy, MAH-tihm," Kida whispered. "You're always too busy for me."
~*~
Meera and Kida were wandering the streets of Alantis looking for something to do. First, they stopped at the tattooing booth to watch the artist do his work.
Kida lifted a hand to her left cheek and stroked her own tattoo. She could not remember when she was given her mark, but she still knew what it meant. It symbolized her courage, spirit, and ability to heal. It was her mark as the future queen of Atlantis.
The hum of engines caught Kida's attention. She looed up. Over her head flew a fleet of Ketaks, Martags, and Aktiraks- huge stone fish, the transport and defense vehicles of Atlantis, powered by the Mother Crystal that gave the city its energy.
A small Ketak landed several feet from where Kida and Meera were standing. The driver got up and walked briskly into a nearby shop. The engine on the Ketak was still running. Kida's blue eyes sparkled brightly . "Hey Meera," she said slyly. "Want to have an adventure?"
Meera's eyes widened. "Kida, what are you thinking?" Kida grabbed Meera's arm and pulled her towards the glowing Ketak. "Oh, no, no Kida!" Meera squealed.
"C'mon, Meera, this is going to be fun!" Kida hopped onto the Ketak. Meera reluctantly climbed up behind her.
"Okay, let's see," Kida murmured, looking over the controls. She gently placed her hand on the control pad. The Ketak rose a few feet in the air.
"All right!" Kida exclaimed.
"Oh, dear," Meera said nervously.
Kida pressed the control pad again and the Ketak took off into the skies. "Woo-hoo!" Kida called joyously. "Isn't this great, Meera?" Meera looked down at the city as they sped overhead. "Great isn't the word, Kida," she said. The Ketak tore through a cloud. Kida flipped her white hair through the mist. "So this is what the inside of a cloud looks like," she giggled.
Meera chuckled nervously and looked down at the ground whizzzing by beneath them. "Not that this hasn't been fun and all, Kida, but can we go down now?"
"Oh, all right, sissy," Kida said. "Now- how do we land this thing?"
"You mean you don't know?!" Meera shrieked.
"Don't panic, Meera. It can't be too hard. After all, I figured out how to start it!"
"We're doomed!" Meera cried.
Kida furrowed her eyebrows and looked over the controls. "Hmm..." she mumbled. "Let's try this one!" She pressed a corner or the control pad. Instead of slowing down, the vehicle sped up! Meera screamed. "I'm going to try something else!" Kida shouted. "Don't panic!"
"Who's panicking?!" Meera shouted back. Kida pressed another corner of the control pad. This time, a bright blue laser shot out of the Ketak's mouth and blasted the spire of the top of a tall building.
"Oops," Kida muttered.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Meera wailed. Then her eyes widened in fear. "Kida! Look ahead!!!" The vehicle was heading for a huge tower.
"Lean to the right! Lean to the right!" Kida screamed. The Ketak narrowly missed smashing into the tower. But matters were about to get worse. The out of control Ketak was heading into the Nedakh Royal Complex.
~*~
Meanwhile, the king and queen were still sitting on their balcony discussing the Egyptians.
"Kashekim, I just don't know," Queen Maralana said. "Atlantis has a history of peace with the other nations. Maybe we shouldn't-"
Just then, an out of control Ketak with two screaming little girls on the back sped past the balcony. "Kashekim, look!" the queen gasped.
"Kida!" the king yelled.
"YAHD-lu-goh-nihk!" exclaimed the queen. "She could get killed!" Her eyes darted across the balcony and fell upon a parked Aktirak. Quickly, the queen ran toward it, placed her crystal in the slot, put her hand on the control pad, and turned the crystal a quarter turn back. The Aktirak rose above the ground.
"Maralana, what are you doing?" the king shouted.
"Saving our daughter!" the queen replied, and the Aktirak sped away.
~*~
"We're too young to die!" Meera wailed.
"I can't stop it! I can't even control it!" Kida cried, her voice filled with fear.
"Spirits of Atlantis, protect us from harm!" Meera beseeched.
"HELP!!!" Kida screamed.
"Kida! Meera!" Just then, the queen pulled up beside them. "Jump!"
"You first," Kida told Meera. The little girl leaped into the queen's outstretched arms.
"Kida! Take my hand!" Queen Maralana shouted.
Kida jumped from the speeding Ketak into her mother's Aktirak. Without a driver, the Ketak spun out of control and slammed into a nearby wall, exploding in blue and orange fury.
"Kida, what were you thinking?!" Queen Maralana scolded when they were on the ground. "You and Meera could have both been killed!"
Kida burst into tears. ""I'm so sorry, MAH-tihm," she sobbed. "I just wanted to have an adventure. You and TAHB-toap have been ignoring me so much, and I-"
"What?" the queen interrupted. "Kida, Sweetie, what makes you think we've been ignoring you?
"All you ever think about recently is Greece and Egypt!" Kida cried.
"Oh, Kida." The queen took Kida into her arms. "It's our responsibility as the rulers of Atlantis to take care of our subjects." She looked into her daughter's tear-filled eyes. "But first and foremost, our responsibility is to take care of you. That's a duty we seem to have neglected." She gave Kida a big hug. "Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I love you more than anything else on this earth. Never forget that."
Kida smiled. "I love you too, MAH-tihm."
"And I promise never to ignore you again if you promise to never pull a crazy stunt like this again," the queen continued.
"I promise," Kida said. And she meant it.
"Good. Now let's go home." With that, the queen picked Kida up and carried her back to the palace.
5356 B.C.
The Atlantean royal family was sitting on their private balcony enjoying their lunch of fresh shemubin milk, fruit, and juicy squid-tentacles-on-a-stick. The Mother Crystal shimmered peacefully above.
"YAHD-lu-goh-nihk! Maralana, if you eat one more of those you won't be able to get up to walk across the balcony!" King Kashekim shrieked as the queen bit off her fifth tentacle.
"I can't help it, Kashekim! They're addicting!" Queen Maralana protested.
Kida giggled. "You know they're MAH-tihm's favorite, TAHB-toap!"
"Only too well," the king sighed, forcing back a grin.
"As you were saying," the queen changed the subject, "The Egyptians have been..." Kida rolled her eyes and gazed over the side of the balcony at the bustling city below. Ever since Atlantis had started having problems with Greece and Egypt, it seemed like her parents had been paying less and less attention to her.
Kida fingered her glowing crystal pendant and gazed up at the blue Mother Crystal that gave it power. 'One day I will be queen,' Kida thought. 'And when that time comes, I will never fight with the Greeks or the Egyptians, and I will never ignore my daughter.' But for the tme being, she decided she would go play with her best friend, Meeranakash. After all, there was nothing to do around here.
"MAH-tihm, can I go play with Meera?" Kida asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure, Kida Sweetie. Have fun. Right now TAHB-toap and I are busy," the queen said distractedly.
"I know you're busy, MAH-tihm," Kida whispered. "You're always too busy for me."
Meera and Kida were wandering the streets of Alantis looking for something to do. First, they stopped at the tattooing booth to watch the artist do his work.
Kida lifted a hand to her left cheek and stroked her own tattoo. She could not remember when she was given her mark, but she still knew what it meant. It symbolized her courage, spirit, and ability to heal. It was her mark as the future queen of Atlantis.
The hum of engines caught Kida's attention. She looed up. Over her head flew a fleet of Ketaks, Martags, and Aktiraks- huge stone fish, the transport and defense vehicles of Atlantis, powered by the Mother Crystal that gave the city its energy.
A small Ketak landed several feet from where Kida and Meera were standing. The driver got up and walked briskly into a nearby shop. The engine on the Ketak was still running. Kida's blue eyes sparkled brightly . "Hey Meera," she said slyly. "Want to have an adventure?"
Meera's eyes widened. "Kida, what are you thinking?" Kida grabbed Meera's arm and pulled her towards the glowing Ketak. "Oh, no, no Kida!" Meera squealed.
"C'mon, Meera, this is going to be fun!" Kida hopped onto the Ketak. Meera reluctantly climbed up behind her.
"Okay, let's see," Kida murmured, looking over the controls. She gently placed her hand on the control pad. The Ketak rose a few feet in the air.
"All right!" Kida exclaimed.
"Oh, dear," Meera said nervously.
Kida pressed the control pad again and the Ketak took off into the skies. "Woo-hoo!" Kida called joyously. "Isn't this great, Meera?" Meera looked down at the city as they sped overhead. "Great isn't the word, Kida," she said. The Ketak tore through a cloud. Kida flipped her white hair through the mist. "So this is what the inside of a cloud looks like," she giggled.
Meera chuckled nervously and looked down at the ground whizzzing by beneath them. "Not that this hasn't been fun and all, Kida, but can we go down now?"
"Oh, all right, sissy," Kida said. "Now- how do we land this thing?"
"You mean you don't know?!" Meera shrieked.
"Don't panic, Meera. It can't be too hard. After all, I figured out how to start it!"
"We're doomed!" Meera cried.
Kida furrowed her eyebrows and looked over the controls. "Hmm..." she mumbled. "Let's try this one!" She pressed a corner or the control pad. Instead of slowing down, the vehicle sped up! Meera screamed. "I'm going to try something else!" Kida shouted. "Don't panic!"
"Who's panicking?!" Meera shouted back. Kida pressed another corner of the control pad. This time, a bright blue laser shot out of the Ketak's mouth and blasted the spire of the top of a tall building.
"Oops," Kida muttered.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Meera wailed. Then her eyes widened in fear. "Kida! Look ahead!!!" The vehicle was heading for a huge tower.
"Lean to the right! Lean to the right!" Kida screamed. The Ketak narrowly missed smashing into the tower. But matters were about to get worse. The out of control Ketak was heading into the Nedakh Royal Complex.
Meanwhile, the king and queen were still sitting on their balcony discussing the Egyptians.
"Kashekim, I just don't know," Queen Maralana said. "Atlantis has a history of peace with the other nations. Maybe we shouldn't-"
Just then, an out of control Ketak with two screaming little girls on the back sped past the balcony. "Kashekim, look!" the queen gasped.
"Kida!" the king yelled.
"YAHD-lu-goh-nihk!" exclaimed the queen. "She could get killed!" Her eyes darted across the balcony and fell upon a parked Aktirak. Quickly, the queen ran toward it, placed her crystal in the slot, put her hand on the control pad, and turned the crystal a quarter turn back. The Aktirak rose above the ground.
"Maralana, what are you doing?" the king shouted.
"Saving our daughter!" the queen replied, and the Aktirak sped away.
"We're too young to die!" Meera wailed.
"I can't stop it! I can't even control it!" Kida cried, her voice filled with fear.
"Spirits of Atlantis, protect us from harm!" Meera beseeched.
"HELP!!!" Kida screamed.
"Kida! Meera!" Just then, the queen pulled up beside them. "Jump!"
"You first," Kida told Meera. The little girl leaped into the queen's outstretched arms.
"Kida! Take my hand!" Queen Maralana shouted.
Kida jumped from the speeding Ketak into her mother's Aktirak. Without a driver, the Ketak spun out of control and slammed into a nearby wall, exploding in blue and orange fury.
"Kida, what were you thinking?!" Queen Maralana scolded when they were on the ground. "You and Meera could have both been killed!"
Kida burst into tears. ""I'm so sorry, MAH-tihm," she sobbed. "I just wanted to have an adventure. You and TAHB-toap have been ignoring me so much, and I-"
"What?" the queen interrupted. "Kida, Sweetie, what makes you think we've been ignoring you?
"All you ever think about recently is Greece and Egypt!" Kida cried.
"Oh, Kida." The queen took Kida into her arms. "It's our responsibility as the rulers of Atlantis to take care of our subjects." She looked into her daughter's tear-filled eyes. "But first and foremost, our responsibility is to take care of you. That's a duty we seem to have neglected." She gave Kida a big hug. "Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I love you more than anything else on this earth. Never forget that."
Kida smiled. "I love you too, MAH-tihm."
"And I promise never to ignore you again if you promise to never pull a crazy stunt like this again," the queen continued.
"I promise," Kida said. And she meant it.
"Good. Now let's go home." With that, the queen picked Kida up and carried her back to the palace.