Back to Atlantis

her, laughing. Instead, she fell into the dirt.
“Nah nah nah nah!” Henry said, grinning that missing teeth grin of his. “You’re so slow!”
“Really?” Yasmin asked, getting up slowly and deliberately. “I’ll show you who’s slow!” She was laughing. She only ever felt free here, in the orphanage. They didn’t care who she was. They let her be a kid again.
Half an hour later, Yasmin stopped to catch her breath. Most of the kids were still at it, and were having a lot of fun.
“You really help them, you know.” She looked up.
Lucas was still grinning, looking as friendly and sweet as ever.
She swallowed hard, gesturing for him to sit next to her on the grass.
“I wish I could do more.” She felt really close to Lucas already, even though she had only known him for a day. He was this really relaxed person, easygoing and friendly with just about everyone. “They help me so much too. More than I help them.”
“I doubt it.” Lucas sat next to her, trying to brush the dirt off his well-worn jeans. It was in vain. Those jeans were already torn to shreds. “I’ve only been here for a week, and I’ll be gone in a year. But I can’t bear the thought of leaving. This place… as hard as it is to live here, it’s so homey. Everyone cares about everyone.” He waved his arm around, gesturing to the orphanage. They were on the hilltop, so she could see the kids playing below.
“I know,” Yasmin said, tucking a hair behind her ear. She suddenly felt shy for some reason. Maybe it was the entire day. “What do you want to do, you know, after the orphanage?”
“Maybe work here?” He shrugged. “I try not to think about it.”
“Oh,” she said, as uncomfortable silence stretched between them.
“Have you heard that it is Prince David’s birthday tomorrow?” he asked, trying to break the ice. Yasmin stiffened.
“I have.”
“Oh.”
“Is it nearly lunch time?” Yasmin asked, suddenly aware of her rumbling stomach.
“Soon.” Lucas looked at her again, completely relaxed. “I don’t suppose you’ve brought your own? We don’t exactly have any spare.”
“Dang it!” Yasmin muttered, patting her coat. “I knew I forgot something this morning! Guess I have to go back then.”
“So what will I tell the kids?”
“I will see them on Sunday again,” Yasmin replied, searching her pockets one more time. She looked up to see the smile had gone from Lucas’s face, and he was watching her intently. She gulped.
He was quite close now. Should she lean away? Or did it not matter to him, because he was so friendly? “I’ll see you then too.”
She smiled a bit nervously.
His face broke into a big smile. “Well see you then!” He ran down to join the kids on the grass.
“See you…” Yasmin said, a bit confused by the whole thing.
Taking her gloves off, it was getting warmer, she walked away from the orphanage, and back to the palace.

Chapter 10
Prince David’s
birthday ball
“I hate this!” Yasmin paced the floor of her bedroom suite.
Over the months it had become more than a bit messy, and filled with books. But it still wasn’t home. “I hate him!”
She was dressed for the ball in a sleeveless periwinkle dress, with gold and brown sandals. The skirt was long and floaty, making her a bit afraid to drip something on it.
The dress gave her a sweet, fairy look, which made her want to wrinkle her nose, but she didn’t have anything else to wear. Pinning her hair up, she clipped a butterfly to her hair and looked at herself in the mirror.
She was wearing zero makeup–good. At least Yasmin looked like herself. That was something. Her skin quivered with goosebumps in the cool night air, but the ballroom was warmed, so she didn’t need a wrap. Gathering up her courage, she prayed that she wouldn’t lose her temper as she walked toward the ballroom.
She heard the noise even before she got there. Waltz music played from the band in the corner, and it was amplified all around. Nobles yattered like brightly colored birds on the sidelines while couples danced in the middle. Servants scampered all over the room, serving drinks and finger foods. Yasmin felt like an outcast. She hated big parties.
Looking up at the ceiling instead of at the people, Yasmin didn’t notice David until she bumped into him.
“Ouch!” she muttered angrily, massaging her foot. Somehow she had wandered into the center of the dance floor. People were staring at her and she heard whispers start up.
“That’s the mage!” A female voice whispered loudly from her left.
“The crazy one?”
Yasmin ignored them, looking up instead to apologize for bumping into–well, whoever it was. Her eyes met a pair of bright blue ones, looking as uncomfortable as hers, and she swallowed hard.
“David,” she whispered, looking at him.
He looked just as polished as he had during the last ball, more so, in a slim, navy blue tux that highlighted his eyes.
“Yasmin.” He opened and closed his mouth, looking just as awkward as she felt.
“Yasmin!” Violet chirped from beside him, glamorous as ever in a long pink gown. She looked like a princess. And for some reason, Violet seemed to really like her.
“Um, hi Violet.” Yasmin awkwardly waved, then lowered her arm to rub her neck. “How are you?”
“Great!” Violet beamed at Yasmin, completely oblivious that her fiancé was staring at Yasmin with obvious discomfort. “Soon the queen will announce David’s birthday, but after that, do you have some time to hang out? I have barely seen you the past few months, you’ve been so busy protecting Atlantis!”
Yasmin felt a wave of guilt hit her. She couldn’t protect Atlantis. Not one bit. She muttered a hasty yes to Violet, then left, practically running in her slippery sandals in an attempt to get away from the guilt.
She spent the next hour or so in the gardens, breathing in their scent. She loved it here. Everything grew, and none of the plants wanted anything. It was easily her