Back to Atlantis

them. And she didn’t regret her decision. But sometimes, she wished she was at home, snuggled up under the covers and reading a book. Not having to worry about the fate of an entire country. Not having to worry about the fact that all of Atlantis had been waiting for her for almost eleven years.
Yasmin shook her head to clear her thoughts. There had been more and more rebel attacks lately. Five cities had been attacked in the past two months. It wasn’t that the queen didn’t have powerful armies, and even more powerful spellcasters. She did. But the rebels struck fast and hard, and they were nearly impossible to track. The only time that they hadn’t managed to kill hundreds wasn’t even thanks to the army.
It had been thanks to the citizens. They had risen up and attacked the rebels back. Quite a few of them had died in the process. Arthur town, the city named for the first king of Atlantis, had used weapons they weren’t supposed to have. Of course, citizens could have weapons, but at such a number? Nearly every citizen had been armed, and by the time Yasmin and Gloriana arrived, they were clearing up the remains.
The mayor of the city had treated Gloriana with courtesy, but no respect. Yasmin had ignored it at the time. It hadn’t seemed interesting. But she began hearing the rumors. The whispers in the hall. They all said variations of the same thing: they talked about a second army, a secret one. The rouge army.
But when Yasmin asked Amanda, the princess had shushed her so fast it was a bit suspicious. She had told her never to speak of it again. But instead of making Yasmin leave it alone, it had only made her more interested. So she visited the town close by as often as she could, knowing that any info she gained in the palace might not be real. If the rouge army was real, they might be able to help stop the rebellion. Or at least find them.
“Good morning,” Gloriana said, emerging from inside the palace walls. She was gently blowing on a mug of hot chocolate, and just sniffing it made Yasmin’s stomach rumble. Even though she had just eaten breakfast.
Gloriana raised an eyebrow, looking at her with amusement. “This is mine, you know.”
“I know,” Yasmin said, grinning and making a face.
Gloriana had thawed to her in the recent months, which had been nice. Because all the servants thought she was strong and dangerous after the mishap at the ball, she had been unable to make friends. And Daniella had also left a while back, and Jon… well, she couldn’t trust him. Not after he had known that David had a fiancée and never said anything. Gloriana was the closest thing she had to a friend.
“Now, to work,” Gloriana said, sounding business-like. “You have finally managed to make a shield using magic. Have you made any progress with the tracking spell?”
Yasmin shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said, glancing longingly at the hot chocolate. She would try to get one tomorrow, but it was too late today.
“I can imagine everything well enough, but my will isn’t strong enough. I just don’t get why I want to find this guy so much. Plus, my magic has been getting out of control recently.” She winced.
Gloriana had been encouraging her to use as much magic as possible on some days, to build up reserves. But lately, when she tried to light a candle using magic, it had completely melted.
And even worse than that, one time when she tried to use a cleaning spell Gloriana had taught her, the broom had started whacking some of the servants. She had apologized, but the servants had probably thought she was doing it on purpose. Yasmin had cried that night.
Gloriana sighed and sat down on the only chair in the courtyard. It was a clean wooden thing, plain and old. There were cracks in it. Yasmin refused to go anywhere near that chair ever since she had seen a spider on it. Spiders are the most terrifying thing in the world, she thought, shivering.
“I know it’s hard, but we are trying to figure out why your magic has been acting up. Maybe your power has been getting stronger, so it’s harder for that necklace to control.” She rubbed her forehead. “For now, only use magic when I’m nearby, okay? I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“I know,” Yasmin said, looking down. She had lied to Gloriana. She could very well do the tracking spell. Well, she couldn’t. But the problem wasn’t her willpower. She had plenty of that. No, she couldn’t do the spell because ever since the cleaning incident, she had become terrified of her own magic. She kept holding back, scared she would hurt someone.
“I think we should take a break today. You’ve been working hard.” Gloriana abounded a bit different than usual.
When Yasmin looked up at her, a strange expression was on her face. Her heart skipped. Could Gloriana be proud of her? “And you have made more progress in three months than most have made in three years. Besides…” she added, looking at the warm castle. “I think some fresh air will do you good. Maybe visit the town again. I know you love that.”
Yasmin looked at Gloriana in surprise. She would get a day off? But it was only Wednesday!
“The whole town is preparing for his highness’s birthday tomorrow,” Gloriana added, looking at Yasmin carefully. After all, she too had been at the ball.
Yasmin’s spirts sank. She had not been looking forward to David’s birthday. The palace would be throwing a huge party, and as the mage, and as an important guest, she would be required to attend. She had barely seen David in the past few months. She wanted to keep it that way.
But maybe a visit to the town would do some good. Besides, she rarely got a break. She wasn’t