* Self Doubt *
Milo followed Impesh down a dimly lit hallway and then up a long flight of stairs that opened up into a large brightly lit covered terrace that wrapped around the outside of the palace. There were doors about every ten feet or so that led into the palace, some were open and others closed. The outer edge of the terrace was open to the outside air, large vine covered pillars supported the ceiling above and large balconies opened up to the city below. Down the center there were a number of pools and fountains and everywhere he looked there were statues and carvings. It looked like a grand arboretum, minus the glass of course. Milo couldn't help but be impressed.
As Milo passed by one of the open set of doors, he could hear his friends talking, laughing and having a good time. For a moment he thought about joining them but he had other things on his mind. About half way down the terrace, Milo followed Impesh up another set of stairs that curved around the outside of a tower, lit only by lanterns spaced evenly along the railing and the dim soft blue light of the Heart of Atlantis hovering high above. He wondered were Impesh was taking him.
When they came to the top of the stairs they were on a large balcony. In front of Milo was a large set of doors with guards posted on either side. "Uh... Excuse me... Impesh is it? I don't mean to offend, but where are you taking me?"
"To your room." Impesh politely replied.
The guards opened the doors and Milo followed Impesh into a large seating room that was decorated with fine furniture and artwork. The room had six doors evenly spaced around the walls and at the far end there was another hallway. It was the first room in the palace he had seen that did not have open walls or holes in the ceiling. "This can't be the guest rooms?"
Milo heard the giggling of a woman behind him. The sound stopped abruptly as he turned to see whom it was. Standing before him was a fairly short, thin and cute Atlantean girl who looked to be about sixteen surface years old. Her long white hair hung loosely to her waist. She was wearing a white dress with a light blue sash that fell from one shoulder to her knees. And she had no tattoos that he could see.
"You must be Milo. I am Salin. I have been expecting you." Salin said with a warm smile.
"Expecting me? This isn't the guest quarters is it?" Milo said, taking another look around the room.
"Impesh, you my go now. I will take it from here." Impesh left the room, the doors closing behind him. "This is the royal families private quarters." Salin said, answering Milo.
"Uh... Are you sure I'm in the right place?" Milo gulped as he asked the question.
"Do not be silly. You are where you should be." Salin said as she opened a door. "This will be your room."
"If these are the royal quarters, well... Uh... Which room is...?" Milo shook his head, "No, never mind... I shouldn't ask."
"The Queen's room is that one." She pointed to the door nearest his. "But I think it would be best if you did not see her tonight. She was very upset when she came in."
"Oh... Um... I wouldn't do anything to disturb her."
"Rosha's room is that one." She pointed to the center door on the other side of the seating room. "Come, let me show you your room."
Milo followed Salin into a room that was larger than any two apartments combined he had ever lived in his life.
"I have drawn a bath for you and there is a robe on the bed that you may wear if you wish." Salin said, showing the room to Milo as if she were some sort of bellhop in a fancy hotel.
"Thanks, uh... Wait a minute." Milo said with a surprised expression on his face. "Did you say that Rosha has a room here?"
"Yes, she has always had a room here."
"But isn't she... I mean I thought she was the... You-know, the head servant?" Milo stuttered.
Salin giggled, "No silly. I am a servant. Rosha is the Queen's aunt."
"Aunt...?" Milo quickly replied.
"Yes, she is... Well she was... No that was right... She is the King's sister."
Milo was stunned at first. But as he thought about it, it made sense. Her tattoos, the way she gave orders, and the way she cared for Kida. He didn't understand why he hadn't seen it before.
"Leave your clothes outside the door and I will have them cleaned and ready for you by morning." Salin said as she headed to the door. "If you need anything, just ask one of the guards outside to come and get me."
"Thank..." Salin shut the door before Milo could finish. "...you."
Milo picked up the robe as he looked around the room. The bed was huge and covered in fine linen. Hand carved furniture with fine pillows on the chairs dotted the room. The stone walls were covered with carvings and the two columns opposite from the door marked the opening to a small balcony that looked out over the city. "I'm in a royal bedroom. Sure beats that dungeon at the university... Oh grandpa, I wish you could see this."
Milo entered the bathroom and was surprised to find an ornately tiled bathing pool with running water. "Now that's what I call indoor plumbing! What's this?" He lifted a lid up from a stone bench then quickly put it back. "Never mind." Milo took his bath and left his clothes outside the door as Salin had suggested, and then tried to rest. But sleep would not come. He couldn't stop thinking about his grandfather. He had been a kind and loving man who had raised Milo after his parents had died in an accident when he was only a small boy.
His grandfather had also been a great anthropologist. An explorer whose dream had been to find Atlantis and prove his critics wrong. Milo, having grown up on stories of Atlantis, shared his grandfather's dream. They had planed to find it together. But this hadn't come to pass. The constant ridicule and criticisms his grandfather had had to endure from his colleagues took a heavy toll on him. He died of, what seemed to Milo, a broken heart three years ago.
But now that he had realized his and his grandfathers dream. The fact that he had found Atlantis didn't seem to matter much any more. All that mattered to him now was Kida. The way he felt when he was with her, the way she would look at him, her soft touch and the gentle way she treated him made him feel like he could spend the rest of his life with her.
"I think I love her."
Never before had Milo felt this way for anyone. He had always been the class joke, the nerd, the one every body picked on. No girl would even look at him without laughing much less spend time with him, but Kida was different. She didn't pick on him or laugh at him, at least in a bad way and she actually appeared to want to be with him. But could Kida love him?
"Ha, who am I kidding? Kida couldn't love me. She is a Princess... No, a Queen. I'm just a joke... Milo your such an idiot."
Milo rolled over and buried his head in his pillow. He would not sleep well this night.
***
Kida sat on the edge of her bed looking around at her room. It was a mess. She had taken her frustrations out by braking almost everything in sight. "I cannot believe he kneeled to me...! Me? No one kneels to me...! I hate it when people kneel to me!"
Although Kida accepted her title as Princess, she hated it when people treated her as such. She had grown up on the streets of Atlantis living with the people and had learned to fish, hunt and fight with the best of them. She thought of herself more as a commoner than as a Princess and she preferred to be respected for her abilities rather than her title.
"I will put a stop to all this kneeling and bowing now that I am... I am..." Kida sighed.
In truth, Kida had not destroyed her room out of rage for Impesh kneeling to her. She destroyed it out of frustration from the fear she felt about what now laid before.
Kida flopped back on her bed gazing at the ceiling then slammed her fist on the bed, "You said you would always be here for me...!"
Rosha had been right. Kida was still a child in many ways and the thought of being Queen due to her father's passing was more than she was ready to deal with. For perhaps the first time in Kida's life, she had self-doubts in her abilities. Even though she was quite adept at leading hunting parties into the caves and had often dreamed about the changes she would make as Queen. Kida now realized that she knew nothing of how to rule an Empire and it terrified her.
In trying to protect his daughter from suffering the same fate as her mother, and to keep his people safe. King Kashekim Nedakh hid everything from his daughter. He never told her of the past and avoided questions by simply telling her that she would understand when she took the throne. But by doing so, Kida was deprived of a great source of knowledge. However, Kida knew that she was also to blame for her lack of knowledge of how to rule. Kida often disagreed with her father's ways and would have rejected any teachings that he may have offered.
Kida had grown up seeing her father in constant sorrow and pain caused by the loss of her mother and the mistakes that he felt he had made as King. The weight that he carried had crushed him until there was almost nothing left of his soul. It caused Kashekim to be closed minded and withdrawn from his people, allowing what was left of his once great Empire to slowly crumble and fade away. This had been the source of many arguments between Kida and her father over the years.
Kida swore at an early age that when she took the throne she would rebuild Atlantis and restore her people's culture. She thought it would be simple, all she would have to do is tell the people what she wanted to be done and they would do it. But after having merged with the Heart of Atlantis, she finally understood why the burden of ruling Atlantis weighed so heavily on her father.
There was much more to ruling than just giving orders, and Kida feared that the same weight that crushed her father would now crush her. This caused her self-doubts to grow even larger.
"I do not understand father. But I do understand that I do not wish to be Queen."
Mercifully Kida's thoughts drifted from those of being the Queen to thoughts of Milo. Thinking of him calmed her and made the issue of being the Queen seem unimportant.
She thought about the time she had spent with Milo. The way she felt when she was with him, the way he would look at her, his soft touch and the gentle way he treated her made her feel like she could spend the rest of her life with him. She was beginning to understand what the feelings she was having for Milo meant.
"Could I be in love with Milo?"
Royalty aside, Kida was unlike most Atlantean women. Whether it was just her nature or the fact that she had grown up on the streets without a mother. Kida was a bit of a tomboy. She preferred to do things like explore the city and caves, or lead hunting parties, and of course the occasional fight always helped to keep her skills sharp. Doing things like sewing, shopping or gossiping with girl friends was almost as foreign to her as it would be for a man and she know very little of the ways of love.
Although most people found her pleasant to be around and she had many friends, her willfulness, her warrior ways and the fact she was a Princess intimidated most Atlantean men and they would not court her. The few times she had been courted had all ended badly. Her date would ether find her to be just too odd or he would try something he shouldn't and then Kida would beat him without mercy. In any case it always ended with the men running away.
Kida had never felt this strongly about anyone before. But a new doubt entered her mind, "Milo could not love me. He is a scholar and a wise man. He could not love a girl that cannot read or write. He will tell me that... that I am stupid and... and he will run away like the others." Tears began to flow down Kida's cheeks as she rolled over and buried her head in her pillow. She would not sleep well this night.
Milo followed Impesh down a dimly lit hallway and then up a long flight of stairs that opened up into a large brightly lit covered terrace that wrapped around the outside of the palace. There were doors about every ten feet or so that led into the palace, some were open and others closed. The outer edge of the terrace was open to the outside air, large vine covered pillars supported the ceiling above and large balconies opened up to the city below. Down the center there were a number of pools and fountains and everywhere he looked there were statues and carvings. It looked like a grand arboretum, minus the glass of course. Milo couldn't help but be impressed.
As Milo passed by one of the open set of doors, he could hear his friends talking, laughing and having a good time. For a moment he thought about joining them but he had other things on his mind. About half way down the terrace, Milo followed Impesh up another set of stairs that curved around the outside of a tower, lit only by lanterns spaced evenly along the railing and the dim soft blue light of the Heart of Atlantis hovering high above. He wondered were Impesh was taking him.
When they came to the top of the stairs they were on a large balcony. In front of Milo was a large set of doors with guards posted on either side. "Uh... Excuse me... Impesh is it? I don't mean to offend, but where are you taking me?"
"To your room." Impesh politely replied.
The guards opened the doors and Milo followed Impesh into a large seating room that was decorated with fine furniture and artwork. The room had six doors evenly spaced around the walls and at the far end there was another hallway. It was the first room in the palace he had seen that did not have open walls or holes in the ceiling. "This can't be the guest rooms?"
Milo heard the giggling of a woman behind him. The sound stopped abruptly as he turned to see whom it was. Standing before him was a fairly short, thin and cute Atlantean girl who looked to be about sixteen surface years old. Her long white hair hung loosely to her waist. She was wearing a white dress with a light blue sash that fell from one shoulder to her knees. And she had no tattoos that he could see.
"You must be Milo. I am Salin. I have been expecting you." Salin said with a warm smile.
"Expecting me? This isn't the guest quarters is it?" Milo said, taking another look around the room.
"Impesh, you my go now. I will take it from here." Impesh left the room, the doors closing behind him. "This is the royal families private quarters." Salin said, answering Milo.
"Uh... Are you sure I'm in the right place?" Milo gulped as he asked the question.
"Do not be silly. You are where you should be." Salin said as she opened a door. "This will be your room."
"If these are the royal quarters, well... Uh... Which room is...?" Milo shook his head, "No, never mind... I shouldn't ask."
"The Queen's room is that one." She pointed to the door nearest his. "But I think it would be best if you did not see her tonight. She was very upset when she came in."
"Oh... Um... I wouldn't do anything to disturb her."
"Rosha's room is that one." She pointed to the center door on the other side of the seating room. "Come, let me show you your room."
Milo followed Salin into a room that was larger than any two apartments combined he had ever lived in his life.
"I have drawn a bath for you and there is a robe on the bed that you may wear if you wish." Salin said, showing the room to Milo as if she were some sort of bellhop in a fancy hotel.
"Thanks, uh... Wait a minute." Milo said with a surprised expression on his face. "Did you say that Rosha has a room here?"
"Yes, she has always had a room here."
"But isn't she... I mean I thought she was the... You-know, the head servant?" Milo stuttered.
Salin giggled, "No silly. I am a servant. Rosha is the Queen's aunt."
"Aunt...?" Milo quickly replied.
"Yes, she is... Well she was... No that was right... She is the King's sister."
Milo was stunned at first. But as he thought about it, it made sense. Her tattoos, the way she gave orders, and the way she cared for Kida. He didn't understand why he hadn't seen it before.
"Leave your clothes outside the door and I will have them cleaned and ready for you by morning." Salin said as she headed to the door. "If you need anything, just ask one of the guards outside to come and get me."
"Thank..." Salin shut the door before Milo could finish. "...you."
Milo picked up the robe as he looked around the room. The bed was huge and covered in fine linen. Hand carved furniture with fine pillows on the chairs dotted the room. The stone walls were covered with carvings and the two columns opposite from the door marked the opening to a small balcony that looked out over the city. "I'm in a royal bedroom. Sure beats that dungeon at the university... Oh grandpa, I wish you could see this."
Milo entered the bathroom and was surprised to find an ornately tiled bathing pool with running water. "Now that's what I call indoor plumbing! What's this?" He lifted a lid up from a stone bench then quickly put it back. "Never mind." Milo took his bath and left his clothes outside the door as Salin had suggested, and then tried to rest. But sleep would not come. He couldn't stop thinking about his grandfather. He had been a kind and loving man who had raised Milo after his parents had died in an accident when he was only a small boy.
His grandfather had also been a great anthropologist. An explorer whose dream had been to find Atlantis and prove his critics wrong. Milo, having grown up on stories of Atlantis, shared his grandfather's dream. They had planed to find it together. But this hadn't come to pass. The constant ridicule and criticisms his grandfather had had to endure from his colleagues took a heavy toll on him. He died of, what seemed to Milo, a broken heart three years ago.
But now that he had realized his and his grandfathers dream. The fact that he had found Atlantis didn't seem to matter much any more. All that mattered to him now was Kida. The way he felt when he was with her, the way she would look at him, her soft touch and the gentle way she treated him made him feel like he could spend the rest of his life with her.
"I think I love her."
Never before had Milo felt this way for anyone. He had always been the class joke, the nerd, the one every body picked on. No girl would even look at him without laughing much less spend time with him, but Kida was different. She didn't pick on him or laugh at him, at least in a bad way and she actually appeared to want to be with him. But could Kida love him?
"Ha, who am I kidding? Kida couldn't love me. She is a Princess... No, a Queen. I'm just a joke... Milo your such an idiot."
Milo rolled over and buried his head in his pillow. He would not sleep well this night.
***
Kida sat on the edge of her bed looking around at her room. It was a mess. She had taken her frustrations out by braking almost everything in sight. "I cannot believe he kneeled to me...! Me? No one kneels to me...! I hate it when people kneel to me!"
Although Kida accepted her title as Princess, she hated it when people treated her as such. She had grown up on the streets of Atlantis living with the people and had learned to fish, hunt and fight with the best of them. She thought of herself more as a commoner than as a Princess and she preferred to be respected for her abilities rather than her title.
"I will put a stop to all this kneeling and bowing now that I am... I am..." Kida sighed.
In truth, Kida had not destroyed her room out of rage for Impesh kneeling to her. She destroyed it out of frustration from the fear she felt about what now laid before.
Kida flopped back on her bed gazing at the ceiling then slammed her fist on the bed, "You said you would always be here for me...!"
Rosha had been right. Kida was still a child in many ways and the thought of being Queen due to her father's passing was more than she was ready to deal with. For perhaps the first time in Kida's life, she had self-doubts in her abilities. Even though she was quite adept at leading hunting parties into the caves and had often dreamed about the changes she would make as Queen. Kida now realized that she knew nothing of how to rule an Empire and it terrified her.
In trying to protect his daughter from suffering the same fate as her mother, and to keep his people safe. King Kashekim Nedakh hid everything from his daughter. He never told her of the past and avoided questions by simply telling her that she would understand when she took the throne. But by doing so, Kida was deprived of a great source of knowledge. However, Kida knew that she was also to blame for her lack of knowledge of how to rule. Kida often disagreed with her father's ways and would have rejected any teachings that he may have offered.
Kida had grown up seeing her father in constant sorrow and pain caused by the loss of her mother and the mistakes that he felt he had made as King. The weight that he carried had crushed him until there was almost nothing left of his soul. It caused Kashekim to be closed minded and withdrawn from his people, allowing what was left of his once great Empire to slowly crumble and fade away. This had been the source of many arguments between Kida and her father over the years.
Kida swore at an early age that when she took the throne she would rebuild Atlantis and restore her people's culture. She thought it would be simple, all she would have to do is tell the people what she wanted to be done and they would do it. But after having merged with the Heart of Atlantis, she finally understood why the burden of ruling Atlantis weighed so heavily on her father.
There was much more to ruling than just giving orders, and Kida feared that the same weight that crushed her father would now crush her. This caused her self-doubts to grow even larger.
"I do not understand father. But I do understand that I do not wish to be Queen."
Mercifully Kida's thoughts drifted from those of being the Queen to thoughts of Milo. Thinking of him calmed her and made the issue of being the Queen seem unimportant.
She thought about the time she had spent with Milo. The way she felt when she was with him, the way he would look at her, his soft touch and the gentle way he treated her made her feel like she could spend the rest of her life with him. She was beginning to understand what the feelings she was having for Milo meant.
"Could I be in love with Milo?"
Royalty aside, Kida was unlike most Atlantean women. Whether it was just her nature or the fact that she had grown up on the streets without a mother. Kida was a bit of a tomboy. She preferred to do things like explore the city and caves, or lead hunting parties, and of course the occasional fight always helped to keep her skills sharp. Doing things like sewing, shopping or gossiping with girl friends was almost as foreign to her as it would be for a man and she know very little of the ways of love.
Although most people found her pleasant to be around and she had many friends, her willfulness, her warrior ways and the fact she was a Princess intimidated most Atlantean men and they would not court her. The few times she had been courted had all ended badly. Her date would ether find her to be just too odd or he would try something he shouldn't and then Kida would beat him without mercy. In any case it always ended with the men running away.
Kida had never felt this strongly about anyone before. But a new doubt entered her mind, "Milo could not love me. He is a scholar and a wise man. He could not love a girl that cannot read or write. He will tell me that... that I am stupid and... and he will run away like the others." Tears began to flow down Kida's cheeks as she rolled over and buried her head in her pillow. She would not sleep well this night.