"I have some questions for you and you are not leaving this city until they are answered."

Eleanor, now hidden behind a massive pillar, had arrived just in time to see the princess drop from above. She landed silently behind Milo and slipped a hand over his mouth before he noticed her. Eleanor gasped, wondering if she should do something, but Milo didn't put up much of a fight.

"Yeah, well I…ok," he started to say, but the princess shushed him.

"Come with me," she said, taking his wrist. Milo followed obediently.

As they disappeared from view, Eleanor realized that she would have to find a new hiding place. She dashed out from behind the pillar - that tree in the distance might make good cover - but her blood froze as soon as she heard a man's voice boom, "HALT!"

Eleanor couldn't move. What should she do? What could she say? Would the man even be able to understand her?

A strong hand came down on her shoulder and spun her around on the spot. She found herself face to face - or rather, face to chest - with an Atlantean palace guard. He looked down at her from beneath shaggy white fringe. Like the princess, this man was lean and muscular and had white hair that didn't seem to match his age. He had a blue jagged line tattoo that spanned his right cheek and over the rise of his aquiline nose; a second one went across his forehead. He wore a blue skirt that looked like something an ancient Egyptian might wear. Other than a strap from his pauldron, the man was bare chested, which only added to Eleanor's embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" the man demanded.

"I…I was keeping an eye on my f-friend," Eleanor stuttered. She stared at the ground and tried to keep from quivering.

"The runt is your friend?" the man asked. She whipped her head up, ready to defend Milo, but the man didn't seem to register the word as an insult. Eleanor nodded instead.

"It seems foolish to leave the others," the man observed with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just looking out for his safety," Eleanor said shyly. She tried to meet his eye, but became flustered and looked away. Something, either her words or her demeanor, made him laugh with an exhale.

"Truth be told, I am doing the same thing for my princess," he said. "You are the foreigner on our land, not the other way around."

"That's a fair point," Eleanor admitted. "Listen, I'm not here to cause trouble. I am curious about this place. I was just asked…I just, uh…do you know where they're going?"

"Your friend will be safe with Kida," the man assured her. "If you genuinely want to learn about Atlantis, you would see much more if you did not hide."

Eleanor blushed. She knew that she couldn't continue spying with this guard around and at this rate, she wouldn't be able to catch up to Milo and Kida anyway. She might as well get some sight-seeing in.

"My name is Eleanor, by the way."

"I am Jaidev."

"Where would you suggest I start?"

Eleanor looked up at him bashfully, but her round blue eyes managed to keep his gaze. Her hair, long and dark brown, was falling out of the bun that was probably tight and neat at one point. In her floor-length dress, she wasn't dressed like a fighter, but she wasn't dressed for exploring either. Jaidev wasn't sure what to make of her, but he relaxed once he realized that she didn't pose a threat to Princess Kida. He doubted that her friend, the runt, would be much of a threat either; Kida was more than capable of taking him down.

Jaidev remembered the princess' request: gather information about them. Despite her initial fright, it seemed like Eleanor would be receptive to his presence.

"Would you like me to be your guide?" he asked.

"Oh, would you?" she replied, clasping her hands beneath her chin. Her childlike excitement brought a smile to his face. It reminded him of his sister's boy, Batraz.

"There is someone I'd like you to meet first," he said. "Follow me."

Jaidev and his family lived near the palace. He had to wait a few times while Eleanor stopped to take in the environment, but the walk did not take long.

"Wait here for a moment," Jaidev said. He stepped through the doorway and looked for his sister. She was laying clean blankets on Batraz's sleeping mat.

"Jacira," Jaidev could barely contain his excitement. "Do you remember what Siddharth told us this morning?"

Jacira narrowed her eyes at him.
"Come now, brother," she scoffed. "How could I forget his foolish talk of outsiders?"

"You will not hear me say it often, but he may not be foolish after all."

"What are you talking about," Jacira asked nervously. "You mean to say that the outsiders are real?"

Jaidev took his sister by the hand and lead her to the front room. He gestured for her to sit on the stone bench while he went back outside. When Eleanor followed Jaidev back inside, the two women looked at each other wordlessly.

"Jacira, this is Eleanor. Eleanor, this is my older sister, Jacira."

"Pleasure to meet you," Eleanor said with a curtsy.

Jacira's high laugh filled the room.

"Oh no, there is no need for that. I am far from royalty!"

Eleanor blushed and reached for her hair nervously. Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize for the first time that her hair had become messy.

"How ridiculous I must look," Eleanor said quietly. "I promise that I don't always look like this."

"Allow me to help you," Jacira said as she quickly jumped into mothering mode. She sat Eleanor down on the stone bench and began pulling her hair all the way out of the bun. She combed through the brown locks as she addressed Jaidev in Atlantean.

"Wherever did you find her?" she asked. "Was she alone?"

"No," Jaidev replied. He kept a smile on his face to reassure Eleanor. "There are many of them. And Siddharth was right; they have weapons."

Jacira shook her head in disbelief and began braiding Eleanor's hair.

"I offered to show her our city. She says she is curious about Atlantis and I believe her."

"She seems genuine," Jacira agreed after a moment. The braids were now wrapped around Eleanor's head like a crown. Jacira held up a small mirror and Eleanor smiled at her reflection. She touched her braid gently and thanked Jacira. Jaidev admitted to himself that Eleanor looked rather elegant.

"We should go now," Jaidev said to Eleanor. She rose from the bench and followed him out of the house. He turned back toward her and grinned.

"Do you like the sea?"