Lost (The Secret World Of Atlantis)

Chapter 5 - Meeting The Royal Family

The stud neighs nervously as father speaks up and I pull my hand back quickly. "Just be quiet. He is only misunderstood," I say to my father gently, never glancing away from the Pegasus. He starts stomping with his hoofs, occasionally kicking them back and I extend my hand again. The closer I get, the more nervous the Pegasus is, but I don't give up. I can feel my father stiffen beside me when I finally touch his soft muzzle. Suddenly I feel a familiar tingling in my hand and a bolt of energy shoots through me.

Hello, my dear. I've been waiting for you for a long time, a voice speaks in my head. I remove my hand as if something burned me.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" my father panics and I just shake my head, clutching my hand absent-mindedly, while never removing my eyes off the Pegasus.

"No, he ... He spoke to me," I tell him, a little ashamed of what he might think of me. But his reaction is completely different. He laughs, clasping his hands together in a happy motion.

"Then it's settled! You're the one he's been waiting for!" I stare at him, completely confused, while he encourages me to touch him again. I caress his muzzle and hear his voice in my head again.

I can speak, yes. But only when you're touching me. Our connection isn't strong enough for me to reach out to you from afar yet. My name is Cao Quý, but you may call me Silver. It feels so weird, someone talking to me in my head.

"Alright, Silver, my name is Arya," I say out loud and the Pegasus snorts.

I know you've been around humans for a long time, but you're a magical being. Start acting like one. Speak to me through your mind. I stare at him. For a horse he's quite a savage. I can hear you, you know. I flinch in surprise.

So you can hear anything I say? I ask curiously in my mind.

As long as you're touching me, yes. I smile happily. This is better than any gold of this world. I'm glad you like me. You're not so bad yourself. I chuckle and remove my hand from his head.

"What did he tell you?" father asks curiously and I smile.

"He's quite sassy. I told him he's better than any gold you could give me and he said I'm not so bad myself." Father laughs whole-heartedly at my words.

"Oh, Silver, you're still-"

"Ariston!" a high-pitched woman's voice yells from the door. We both turn around to see a tall skinny woman in a purple dress, walking towards us. Her hair is the lightest platinum blonde I have ever seen, her skin almost white.

"Yes?" my father says, but she doesn't reply, instead she just keeps moving forward. When she comes closer to us, I notice her eyes are light silver. And they are boring straight into mine.

"Delfina?" she gasps and leaves me a little confused. Father sighs impatiently.

"No, Sofia, it's Arya. My daughter," he explains, looking fondly at me. She gives me a look that could kill.

"It's no wonder really. She looks just like your first wife," she remarks coldly. "I'm the queen." I look at my father and he sighs again.

"This is my second wife, Arya," he introduces her to me, and I feel like my breath is knocked out of my lungs. Out of all the women in this land, he chose to remarry someone so unpolite? What did he see in her? But I decide to be the bigger woman and smile at her.

"Nice to meet you," I say politely, while she pouts her lips like a duck.

"Pleasure," she replies, not giving me a second glance.

"What are you doing here?" my father asks her with a thin layer of impatience in his voice. She looks at him with her head raised high up in the air.

"I came to fetch you for lunch," she says, turning on her heel and marching away like the most important person in the world. As she disappears behind the corner, I look at my father. He seems too ashamed to even glance at me, so I just sigh.

"I won't say anything. But oh, poor you," I empathize with him, and he chuckles. "Now let's go please, I'm starving." He nods, smiling affectionately at me and we take off with the two guards still behind us.

When my stepmother mentioned lunch, my stomach awoke. All the events that unfolded until this moment filled me with so much adrenaline, that I hadn't realized, I needed food. I hope they don't eat bugs and snakes or something like that.

As we reach the palace, I notice quite a few people are seated behind the long table, that I've seen on our way to the stable. The first person I look at, ruffles their black curls, gifting me with a wide smile. Eros. But when I look at him, I just get mad. He tried to seduce me with his wings and now he's smiling at me?! They were some fine wings, though, a voice in my head says, so I also get mad at myself for thinking something like that.

On his right side, Elena is sitting, who is also smiling at me and on his left is an unfamiliar girl with the same golden curls as my father. She is the only one, who isn't looking at me but is instead staring at Eros, like she's madly in love. A small tingle shoots through my chest, I don't like that girl one bit. Right next to her, a boy with similar features is waving at me and I wave back.

The next person I notice, hits me like a punch in the face. At first, I think it's my stepmother, but when she turns around and smiles at me, I realize she is just a younger version of the queen. Shaken, I look at my father. "Is that ...?" He doesn't answer me, because the girl already comes running down the stairs excitedly.

"Are you my sister?" she asks and I glance between her and my father.

"Yes, Zara. This is Arya," he answers her, and I don't know what to think. I definitely didn't expect to have any siblings as he told me my mother died, saving me. And my stepmother certainly didn't come across as a woman who would want children.

Zara smiles at me widely, extending her hand towards me. I politely return a smile and reach out to shake her hand, but to my surprise she grabs my elbow, so I mimic her movement. Not her nor father notice I'm surprised by their way of shaking hands, which I'm grateful for. I don't want to look like a fool.

"Shall we? The table is set," father interrupts our meeting and smiles at us softly. I nod, while Zara is already turning around to go back up and retake her seat by the girl with golden hair.

While I walk up the stairs, I notice a few more people, sitting behind the table and they are all smiling at me fondly. Father joins me and first introduces the people on the left side of the table.

"These are your grandparents, the former King and Queen, your uncle Kaspar and your aunt Berenike." They all stand up and greet me with that special elbow gripping. "You already met your stepmother, Sofia and your sister Zara," he continues, while the Queen squeezes her lips together.

Father doesn't acknowledge her sour face expression and instead keeps introducing the right side of the table to me. "These are your cousins, Nahuel and Flora," he says, and they both stand up to greet me. Nahuel greets me with a happy smile, while Flora smirks and digs her nails into my elbow. To her surprise, I don't even flinch, and her face falls quite quickly. She lets go of me bitterly and I just smile at her petty attempt to throw me off guard.

"And this is Prince Eros Callisto and his sister, Princess Elena Callisto," father continues as my cousins sit down. But his voice is hiding some sort of dislike for them.

"I already know them, father. They brought me here," I answer, but still grip their elbows. Father doesn't answer, but he seems quite shook from the news. I thought he knew that. Eros gives me a half-smile as we look at each other and I get goosebumps where his fingers trace my skin. I feel so angry with myself, why is this happening against my will? I don't want to feel this way around him.

I move away as quickly as I can and greet Elena. She gasps and catches me by surprise as she twirls me around. We giggle like little girls. "You look quite royal, Your Majesty," she says and I thank her with a shy smile. I've never gotten compliments before.

My father is already sitting at the top of the table and the only free seat is opposite of him, between Elena and my grandfather, so I take it. As soon as I sit down, dishes are brought in front of us. The food smells amazing even before I see it, but as the plates are put onto the table, I almost start drooling.

There are rice stuffed vine leaves, goat cheese pastries, roasted pork ribs, lamb with gravy, boiled Brussel sprouts, green beans and broccoli, glazed carrots and even mashed potatoes. If I didn't have to show my manners, I would probably just grab everything and stuff it in my mouth. I am already so hungry, that my stomach starts protesting quietly.

I notice my grandfather and Elena extending their hands at me and I realize everyone is already holding their neighbour's palms, staring at me. I quickly grab them and smile, even if I have no clue, what this is about.

"Under the eyes of the Gods, we were today reunited with our beloved Arya, who was taken from us, before we even had a chance to offer her to your blessings. But I promise you, she will step into your temple, offering herself into your service. We thank you, almighty Zeus for this gift. We will cherish and protect her until our last breath," father speaks with so much passion, that it makes me feel slightly intimidated. His faith in the Gods is endless and I promise myself, I won't let him down. I will go to that temple and do what I must do. For him. It looks like he's done talking, but he doesn't let go of Zara and the Queen, so we keep holding hands.

My eyes suddenly glance directly at where Eros is holding Flora's hand and I can't help but feel an uncomfortable tension in my chest. I try to avert my gaze elsewhere, but it lands on my uncle, who is staring at Eros murderously. I look down at my plate, feeling even worse after seeing my uncle looking at him with such hatred. I watch the other members of my family, who all seem to stiffen as they glance at Eros and Elena. What's up with everybody? I thought they liked them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be sitting by the table with us, right?

My eyes suddenly bolt to Eros, who is already staring directly into my eyes. He winks at me cheekily, making me feel even more uncomfortable, but I still manage to offer him a small smile in return. I just hope no one noticed this. But as soon as I look forward, I see my tense father, narrowing his eyes at him. Oh, no, this can't be good.

Luckily, father doesn't say anything. Instead, he lets go of his neighbours' hands and we can all finally pull our hands to ourselves, too. "Now, let's eat!" he exclaims, clapping his hands together.

Soon the tension at the table is gone, as everyone starts chatting about everything and nothing, while putting food on their plates. I grab some lamb and glazed carrots, then try to decide between stuffed vine leaves, mashed potatoes, and goat cheese pastries.

"Need some help?" Elena asks me kindly when she notices I'm struggling with what to pick.

"You could say so, yes," I answer desperately, shaking my head at myself and she chuckles.

"My absolute favourite are goat cheese pastries. But today I'm favouring something else, which is why I'll go for Dolmades," she says, reaching for the plate with stuffed vine leaves and offers them to me first, catching me a bit by surprise. How friendly of her to offer this dish to me first. I also didn't know it had a special name.

"Why, thank you," I smile and put three rolls on my plate.

"Anytime," she says, taking a few Dolmades for herself and putting the plate back into the middle of the table.

As I dig in, I can't help but smile. I've never tasted anything so delicious in my life. Suddenly, my grandfather asks me how I like it in Dairelis, and I engage in a conversation with him. My grandmother joins in soon, they are really kind to me and genuinely interested in my life on Earth.

We continue chatting after dessert, when they start telling me stories about when my father was a child. He doesn't seem like the rebellious type to me, but it's fun to imagine him like that.

Our conversation is suddenly interrupted by a tense interaction between Eros and my uncle. "How come you suddenly found my niece? I thought not even professional Guardians weren't able to track her and then two Royals take a trip to Earth, making her magically appear. Don't you think this seems a bit ... suspicious?" uncle starts, venom pouring out of his mouth. This can't be happening.

"I beg your pardon?" Eros says, trying to be polite, but uncle doesn't stop.

"You heard me. Was this your family's doing? It's quite inconvenient, that two teenagers brought the lost Princess back to Atlantis, when professionals couldn't even find her. There is no other explanation for this. Your family took her away and that's how you suddenly knew, where she was. And you did this so you could take all the glory for yourself!" he rages at him.

"We are not monsters. No one would ever even think of doing something so horrifying, Queen Delfina was my mother's best friend, if you've forgotten," Eros grits through his teeth. "But you're right. You should ask yourself if the Guardians are really that incompetent, that two teenagers beat them in doing their job."

"You little-"

"Kaspar! That's quite enough!" father warns his brother, making him curl his lips in a snarl, but he stops talking. The king then looks at Eros, seeming like he's fighting himself whether to say something or not. Then he opens his mouth, saying: "I would like to personally thank you, Prince Callisto, for bringing my daughter back to me. For this I am forever in your debt."

"It was a pleasure, Your Highness," Eros tells him, smiling and casts a short glance at me before continuing. "Your daughter is quite extraordinary."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" my uncle bursts out again and father quiets him down with a single glare.

"Zara, would you be so kind to escort Arya to her chambers in The Queen's Tower?" he says without taking his eyes off uncle Kaspar. She nods and stands up. I look at Eros and Elena worriedly, slowly rising from my chair. They both smile at me reassuringly and only then I follow my sister into the palace.

We walk around the halls quietly, until we reach a door, leading to a spiral staircase. "You might get a little dizzy. It's a long way up," she warns me, and I nod. We then start walking up for a few minutes, until we finally reach a golden door. Really? What is up with gold being plastered literally everywhere in this place? She opens the door, and I am luckily greeted by a beautifully decorated room. It luckily includes just a pinch of gold.

"Is this where I'm going to sleep?" I ask curiously when I step in after her. She nods and I admire the room's aesthetic. "It's beautiful," I say, and she smiles.

"These were your mother's chambers before the wedding," she explains, giving me a tour of the bathroom with a tub as large as a swimming pool and mirrors all around the walls, just like the bathroom the maids prepared me in. But I'm not sure if I'm ready to see that much of myself every day.

The next stop is a big walk-in closet, filled with dresses made from delicate fabrics and a table, filled with expensive pieces of jewellery. "Everything you see here, belonged to your mother. You can use anything you like. It would be a shame if those stunning jewels would be just dust collectors," Zara continues and I can't help but gulp deeply. I would rather have my mother alive than use her whole wardrobe. But this is the best I'm getting from her. She can't come back.

"Thank you. I appreciate this a lot," I tell my sister and she smiles at me widely.

"Anytime. Dinner is in four hours, you can do anything you like until then. Might as well explore the castle," she says, and I think a little. If I go off by myself, I'll surely get lost. I'm not very good at finding my way around big buildings.

"Would you mind showing me around?" I ask her sheepishly. She sighs.

"I'm sorry, I would love to, but I already promised Flora that we will go to the city together," she explains, and I nod.

"Alright then," I smile, not showing my disappointment. She smiles and walks out of my chambers, leaving me all by myself.

I decide to step out on the balcony, and I don't regret it one bit. The view from my tower is fantastic. I can see the whole city and beyond. The ocean is waving in every possible shade of blue, a truly marvellous sight. But I can't help but think about Eros and Elena. Why did father order Zara to take me away? What is he going to do with them?

The thoughts shake me to my core, and I bolt down the stairs, running right back to the dining table on the terrace. To my horror, there is no one there anymore. I stand there for a moment, utterly confused. Was I really gone that long?

I turn around and shriek a little when I see my father standing at the archway. "You scared me," I breathe out heavily and he chuckles, but his face expression is quite serious. "Where are Eros and Elena?" I ask carefully and his jaw tightens. After a moment he sighs, finally opening his mouth to answer me.

"They are headed to the harbour this very moment. One of our merchant ships is taking them back home," he tells me. I frown in displeasure.

"You made them leave without saying goodbye to me? They saved me. They are the ones that brought me here, they brought me to you," I grit through my teeth. I'm pissed. It's my first day here and I'm already being treated like I can't decide good enough for myself.

"Don't worry, Arya. You'll be seeing plenty of them in the future," he sighs heavily, and I narrow my eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snap.

"That you'll be going to the Academy together and Elena will be your schoolmate, so you'll see her all the time," he explains softly. I wonder why he's avoiding speaking about Eros, but I let it go. I don't want to argue on our first day together.

"Alright then," I sigh. My lips curve into a smile as I get an idea. "Would you mind giving me a tour of the castle?" I plead and he nods happily.

"Of course, darling. Today is all about you."