Lost (The Secret World Of Atlantis)

Chapter 4 - The King

At that moment it feels like I'm awakened from a trance. And a very strong one, might I add. He starts coming back to us and it makes me freeze. "Are you insane? I was about to throw myself at you!" I gasp in horror. He smiles triumphantly.

"So you admit you fancy me?" he smirks and my face falls. This one is really looking for trouble. I'm about to answer, when a bunch of maids burst into the room happily. As soon as they get to me, they start bowing and squealing and crying, making me think they went completely mad.

They start dragging me out of the foyer and I look over my shoulder to see Eros and Elena waving at me. Are they leaving me? And where are these girls taking me? I get my answer as soon as we step into an enormous bathroom, filled with tufted lounges, armchairs and ottomans. The room is covered in mirrors and this is how I spot a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, located right behind the furniture.

The first thing they do is undress me, to my embarrassment not without drama. As soon as I take my shirt off, they gasp in shock, some even covering their eyes. My cheeks fill up with heat and I ask them, what is wrong. Nobody dares to speak, but after some pleading, one maid finally works up her courage and tells me what the fuss is about.

"You have the jewelry that marks brothel women," she half-whispers and I furrow my eyebrows. Really? I am not taking my belly piercing out just because it's a symbol of sluts.

"Don't worry, I'm a virgin," I laugh it off and they seem to be a bit more at ease.

Next they dive me into the warm water, scented with rosemary leaves and olive oil. As I emerge from the bathtub, they immediately cover me up, while one of them goes looking for some clothes. The others dry me with magic. I feel scared at first, but the warmth spreading all over my body feels so wonderful, that I realize, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Then two of them start braiding my hair, while the others massage my arms, my legs and rub some sort of cream into my skin. I feel like I'm in an upper class spa. As they're finishing, the maid returns with a wonderful olive dress, made out of silk. Ditching my bra seems odd to me, but at the same time I don't really care, because no woman in this world wears it.

The dress feels wonderful on my bare skin. It is very similar to Elena's, except mine has two wide straps, with two long bands, fixated on my shoulders. I have a golden rope tied around my waist, which they complement by putting two massive golden earrings into my ears. They try to get rid of my necklace so they could put a golden one on my neck, but I don't let them.

They don't pressure me further, which I'm grateful for. They make me wear some sandals, which don't really fit my feet, but it doesn't bother me, because they're open in the back. After that they take me out of the bathroom and I follow them around spacious hallways, full of tapestries, paintings and flower bouquets.

We stop in front of a tall wooden double door with golden knobs. I gulp deeply. I already suspect who is behind these walls, but I don't say anything. On the other hand, my heart is aching from excitement. I want to burst through that door right now.

As if the maids are reading my mind, one of them opens the door and pushes me in. There's a loud thud behind me. I suddenly find myself in a rather large space, decorated with ceiling frescos and bookshelves filling a whole wall. My eyes travel downwards to realize there are two swords pointing in my face. Behind them, two armed men are shielding a writing desk from me.

I throw my hands up in the air in defense, not knowing what is going on. "State your name and business," one of them orders sharply.

"I-I'm Arya and I don't know why I'm here," I stutter and the guards eye each other knowingly.

"What did you say?" I hear another voice from behind them. They step aside, revealing a tall middle-aged man, shamelessly gawking at me. He is lean, with unusually big hands. His facial features and golden hair don't look familiar to me, but when I see the turquoise colour of his eyes, my eyes well up with tears.

"Are you my father?" I whisper as his eyes land on my necklace. He sobs uncontrollably, throwing his arms around me. I bury my face in his shoulder, wetting his linen shirt with tears. He smells so foreign, but at the same time just like home.

I don't know how long we are standing there, embracing each other, but I don't want this moment to end. I am hugging my father! I can't believe it! My whole life has been a lie, and nothing ever made sense before. The orphanage, the school ... And this feeling meant that I am finally where I need to be.

My father moves away a little and cups my face. "Let me take a look at you," he says, shaking his head in disbelief. I smile up at him and he sobs again, gently caressing my head. "You look just like your mother," he whispers with a sad look on his face, while my smile becomes even prouder.

"Where is she? When can I meet her, too?" I ask with excitement. But his face becomes even sadder and I realize what he's about to tell me. I shake my head. No, it can't be. I didn't come all this way to hear this.

"Your mother died protecting you," he confirms and my heart breaks in a million pieces. I lower my head. Tears start pouring down my face once again and he squeezes my shoulder firmly, making me look at him. His face is like stone, determined and emotionless. "She loved you, Arya. And she wouldn't want us crying when we remember her." I nod, my lower lip trembling. But how could I not cry? I was looking forward to this moment all my life, just to find out I only have one living parent.

"I wish I could've met her," I whisper and he nods, his expression once again full of sadness. Then he forces a smile on his face and looks at the guards.

"Would you be so kind as to escort us to the gardens? My daughter needs to see the beauty of her home," he asks and they both give him a short nod. He turns back to me, saying: "Would you excuse me for a moment?" I nod, wiping the tears off my face.

He takes a few steps towards his writing table, full of papyrus scrolls and fetches a laurel wreath, made out of gold and diamonds. He puts it on his curls and walks back to me, offering me his elbow. "Shall we?" Smiling, I slide my hand through the loop of his arm and one of the guards opens the door for us. That’s when the maids that dressed me up, nearly fall onto the floor. They quickly bow and scatter away, but father only chuckles.

We pass a long hallway and descend down a winding staircase, reaching an open foyer, similar to the one at the main entrance. But this one doesn't have a fountain with a pegasus in the middle of it. Instead, the centre of the space is a round table, made solidly out of glass, but there aren't any chairs around it. The walls are covered with portraits. The people on them all share the same golden hair and turquoise eyes. It isn't hard to guess that they are my ancestors. I spot my father on the last painting in the middle of the wall. He is much younger, a happier glint in his eyes, but otherwise he's the same.

"Why doesn't that table have any chairs?" I ask curiously and my father stops in front of it. We look at it for a moment in silence and I notice some engravings that look like ancient letters. They might be runes or something like that.

"Because here is where the Royal Council holds meetings. And to show respect for the people we rule, we stand by the table while doing our business. It was a gift from the elves. They are the finest sculptors in this land, but unfortunately they've separated themselves from us and they live in their own kingdoms now." I admire the work, then furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Elves? I thought that fairies abandoned the kingdom." My father shoots a look at me, smiling.

"Elves are a sort of fairies, just like pixies." I stare at him in utter confusion. And what might be pixies? He sees me bulging my eyes out and chuckles. "I am so sorry, I forget you don't know anything about our world. Pixies are the only fairies that still live among us. They take care of our mail delivery, but very few stayed behind to do this job." This surprises me quite a lot. Who would've thought there is actually a post office in this land? Remarkable.

We move forward, the guards opening the foyer's French door, which are leading to a spacious terrace. On the left there is a long dining table with lots of chairs around it, while the right side is empty. In front of us there is another marble staircase, followed by the most beautiful garden I've ever seen. I gasp at the sight of bushes with peonies in white, pink and red, accompanied by roses in the same colours. Together with laurel trees they are planted in a big circle, hugging a stone paved courtyard.

"This is the space where we throw parties throughout the year," my father says proudly as he notices how impressed I am.

"It's beautiful," I whisper in awe.             

"I'm glad you like it. Here is where your Blessing party will take place," he says casually and I look up at him.

"What does that mean?" I ask curiously.

"We believe in the Gods of Olympus. When we are born, we are taken to the Temple, where one or more of the Gods declare themselves our godfathers by blessing us. We couldn't do that with you, because you were taken away at birth, so we will try this ritual now," he explains to me. I don't say anything. I didn't go to church on Earth, because I'm an atheist, but I don't have the heart to tell him I don't believe in Gods.

"Father, who took me away?" I change the subject and he sighs heavily. He has probably been trying to avoid this question, but I need to know what happened to me.

"This is something I would rather tell you sitting down. Let's move a bit forward, shall we?" I nod and we walk deeper into the gardens. We cross the courtyard and reach a paved path winding between olive, laurel and palm trees, with more peonies, irises, roses, lilies and a few other flowers I didn't recognize. We soon reach a white marble bench and father gestures for me to sit down.

As I do so, I can't help but ask him to tell me all about the night I was kidnapped. "Your mother was still in labour, when intruders found their way into the palace. You weren't even born and they already tried to take you away. I was helping the Guardians fight off the people that attacked the palace. To my mistake, I demanded for all Guardians to help fight them off, leaving your mother unprotected with only two maids by her side ... By the time I realized that somebody from the Palace might have been helping them, it was already too late. When I came into our chambers, you were gone, the maids were lying on the floor motionless and your mother was bleeding out. She used magic after labour to fight the attackers, which is extremely dangerous for the mother. I tried to heal her, but I couldn't... It was too late and she bled out in my arms. She kept repeating over and over again 'find her'. And I couldn't do anything to make her live, I ... I failed her," he tells me, burying his face in his hands. I snake my arm around his shoulder reassuringly. He is blaming himself for her death, it's much worse than I thought it would be. I feel so sad about my mother's death. She should let them take me and live, so she could be here by our sides.

"Father, it isn't your fault. It was her decision, she tried to protect me. I'm just sad it was all in vain," I say, patting his back gently. He looks at me with tears in his eyes.

"You truly are your mother's daughter," he smiles. "And you are the spitting image of her. You only have my-"

"Eyes," I finish his sentence and his smile widens. He takes me in for another hug and I rest my head on his shoulder. As much as I wish my mother was still alive, I am happy to at least have my father by my side. He moves away suddenly, his eyes glinting brightly.

"I have a gift for you," he says, standing up. "I hope you like animals." My face lights up at his words.

"I love them, father," I tell him and he smiles, offering me his elbow again. We take off, the guards still by our sides. Turning onto a path filled with lime trees and willows, we soon reach a beautiful stable, perfectly matching the exterior of the palace. I can already smell the horses and my smile reaches my eyes. I'm getting a horse? I truly hope so, they have always been my favourite animals, even if I could never ride one.

We step into the building, horses neighing softly all around us. I already spot a few beautiful manes I would love to bury my hands into, but we move forward. I already think we are only passing through the stable, when we stop at the last door. I gasp when I see a snow white Pegasus staring back at me.

"He was your mother's," he tells me quietly. "No one's been able to touch him ever since she ..." He can't finish the sentence and I smile at him softly. Then I turn back to the Pegasus, who is eyeing me closely. Without a second thought, I find myself reaching out to him. "Arya, I wouldn't."