Back to Atlantis

making a face. She did not look happy.
Yasmin blinked, still confused.
“Violet,” Violet’s brother said, also sounding a bit unhappy. “What are you doing here?”
“I have some important business to discuss with the princess in private.” Violet smoothed her dress, using her noble manners again. “I have come with the mage, who might I add, is very interested in what I have to say.”
Violet’s brother swiveled his head toward her. “You brought the mage? Here?” He sounded annoyed. “Why?”
“Because I am here to talk about the rouge army,” Yasmin said, looking Violet’s brother straight in the eye. “May I come in?”
“How do you…” Violet’s brother swiveled his head to Violet. “Violet! You told her!”
“Maven.” A voice called from inside. “It’s okay.”
Yasmin ducked under Maven’s arm and stepped into the rom.
It was very grand, with the deep red curtains pulled back to show off the cream-colored walls, which were covered with maps of the realm.
Big cushiony furniture was scattered here and there, with a large, white desk off to the side, scattered with a few books. Pen and paper covered the desk, and a picture of the royal family was placed on the table near the bed.
In the center of the room, a big canopy bed decorated with embroidered birds and trees took up most of the space. Yasmin could see more doors leading off to more rooms the princess had.
“Wow,” she said, looking at the maps. She inched closer to them, noticing that a few of the cities were pinned twice, and some of the cities were the ones hit by rebel attacks in the recent months. She frowned. What was going on here? Was Princess Amanda monitoring the attacks?
“Hi, Yasmin.” Princess Amanda stood by the window, dressed in a day gown of light blue. “I see you slipped past my guard.” She turned with a light smile as she said so, making it all a joke. Her dark eyes glimmered with mirth.
Yasmin shrugged. “It wasn’t so hard. He is so tall, that ducking under his arm is quite easy.” She paused. “That didn’t come out right.”
Princess Amanda burst into laughter. “You are very amusing.”
“Amanda,” Maven said, coming into the room with a firm grip on his sister. “Why did you agree to tell the mage about the rouge army?”
Yasmin looked at Amanda in surprise. She was the one who had decided to tell her?
“She was searching for us anyway,” Amanda said, sitting down on a chair. “Besides, she has proved she came here to help us, not for glory or fame, but for the country. So I figured she had earned it.”
Violet shot a glare at her brother, who let go of her arm with a slight push. “See?” she said loudly. “I was following orders. You have no right to tell me what to do in this case!” She rubbed her arm, angry.
“Whatever.” Maven looked at Yasmin with contemp. “But what do we do with her now? She already knows too much.”
“Wait, hold on!” Yasmin cried, holding her hands up. Everybody looked at her with surprise. “You do not get to do anything with me, first of all. And second, what is going on here? Are you part of the rouge army too?”
She pointed at Amanda, who smiled guiltily. “I think I deserve some answers. After all, I spent the past three months here, away from my family, all for your stupid country!” Crossing her arms, she glared at the three of them. “And no one here will even tell me anything!”
“Yasmin, we know you have been sacrificing a lot for us,” Amanda said, then sighed. “But honestly? David doesn’t even know. My mother doesn’t know. The rouge army, as they are called, are a band of citizens all over Atlantis who were sick of the way the queen never managed to stop the rebellion and sick of waiting for the so-called mage, so they formed their own army. They don’t listen to the queen, and refuse to have anything to do with her. But they are trying to stop the rebellion too.”
“And Amanda is their leader,” Violet chimed in.
“Violet!” he scolded, flicking her forehead. “You know she doesn’t like to call herself that.”
“Wait a minute,” Yasmin said, confused. “Are you the leader of the rouge army, Amanda?”
Amanda looked down. “They want me to be their leader, for some reason,” she said through her hair. “But I don’t feel like a leader, and I am not the leader they are hoping for. I am a part of the rouge army, after all, I am a citizen, but I mostly gather information. Their true leader is Maven.”
Maven ran a hand through his hair, groaning. “I am only a temporary leader, Amy,” he said, with a look of someone who was fighting a losing battle. “The rouge army wants you to be their leader. And who am I to say no?”
“I am not a leader,” Amanda protested, pacing around the room. “I can’t even figure out where the rebels are attacking next!”
“If you guys are the leaders of the rebels, then why won’t you work together with the queen’s army to put a stop to this rebellion once and for all?” Yasmin suggested. “I have been looking for you guys for a while just to ask this. I believe the combined might of your armies might stop the rebels. Or at least work better than working alone.”
“You think it’s that easy?” Maven scoffed, leaning against the frame of the canopy bed. “The queen refuses the help of her citizens, and the citizens refuse to help the queen. They think—and rightfully so—that she has lost her mind over this rebellion.”
“Rightfully so?” Yasmin asked.
“Haven’t you seen it, walking around town?” Amanda asked, sighing as she sat down in her desk chair. “My mother has let go of schools, orphanages, and even hospitals, in order to stop the rebellion. Which would be fine, if she was winning. Right now, the rebels number may be a few thousand, which isn’t that much compared to the