Forbidden (The Secret World Of Atlantis 2)

Chapter 3 - Caught In The Act

I stare at Elena dumbfoundedly, barely comprehending her words. She must be joking. Or guessing blindly. There’s no way Eros would stay outside during the full moon by his own will. He would never put others in danger like that. At least not the Eros, that I know.

“How do you know that?” I ask my best friend, who looks even more nervous, if possible. She scoots closer with her chair, leaning to my ear.

“I shouldn’t have, but I visited him in the Amphitheatre, after he was already back to his Light form. Professor Callirrhoe let me in, even if he was forbidden to let anyone speak to Eros,” she begins, making me draw in a sharp breath. “But it’s not like it made any difference. He refused to even look at me, yet alone speak to me. I kept pressuring him to tell me, who forced him to stay outside … As he realized, that I won’t give up, he finally answered. He yelled it at me. For the first time ever …” she trails off, making me sigh heavily. I can’t believe it.

“But he wouldn’t … He would never do that. I know he wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose!” I insist, starting to shake my head in disbelief, but the pain in my neck forces me to stop. I grind my teeth together, why does this hurt so much?

“I want to believe that too … But he said it himself, Arya … He was out, because he wanted to be,” she concludes. I take a deep breath to prevent myself from panicking. I refuse to believe, that the explanation behind this is so simple. But it seems, that I’m going to have to ask Eros about it myself. He’s the only person, who can clarify this. I can’t bring myself to talk about this anymore, so I decide to change the subject.

“How long have I been out?” I ask, feeling genuinely curious about it. Elena frowns for a moment, as she’s counting the days in her head.

“The attack was on Thursday … And I believe you’ve woken up a couple of days ago, and it’s Wednesday. So that makes it four days,” she informs me. I raise my eyebrows. Four days? I’ve been out for so long?

“But that means, that I’ve missed the Flying exam!” I gasp, as I realize that I was supposed to be taking it on Friday. Elena shrugs.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be able to take it during the third partial exams,” she calms me down. Or at least tries to, because I’m not feeling calm at all. I’m feeling like a failure. There’s also something else, that keeps gnawing at my mind. Should I tell Elena about my visit to Olympus? No, I don’t the Gods want anyone else to know about their request. I alone was trusted with this mission and I’m not planning on failing them. I just need some more information to put together a proper plan.

“Elena … When did Eros disappear from the island?” I ask quietly, not wanting the nurse to hear me asking about him. She’s showed exactly what she thinks of him in the last two days. And it’s nothing good.

“Monday. I tried to visit him once again, but the Amphitheatre was locked. I went straight to professor Callirrhoe, but he refused to provide me with any information. So I put one and one together, realizing that they’ve taken him somewhere. I just wish I knew-”

“Visiting hours are over,” Mrs Praxidike informs us in a cold voice, suddenly appearing next to us. She startles me, making my whole body tense. And with that, a sharp pain shoots through my neck once again. I let out a soft grunt, which only makes the nurse shoo Elena outside even faster.

She checks my wound after that and helps me to the bathroom. She assists me, so I can finally take a proper shower. But the bathroom also has a mirror and it’s the first time, that I catch a glimpse of how my neck actually looks. I am horrified. It’s a little swollen, but that’s not what sends shivers down my spine. It’s also not the two tiny spots, where Eros’s fangs were. No. Its colour is what terrifies me. My neck is blue, purple and even black around the wound. I gulp, but not without feeling any pain.

The nurse notices me watching my reflection, stopping for a moment. “Look at yourself. And remember what you see very well. Before you defend the boy again, try to remind yourself of what he did to you. If you’re not too blind,” she remarks in a disgusted tone, that makes me tear up. It’s not fair. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. No matter what he did, he wasn’t in control of himself. Why can’t anyone see this?

But no matter how sad or angry I feel at the nurse’s words, I decide not to let that show on my face. I’m not going to explain my emotions to anyone. It’s not like they would understand them. Because no matter what Eros did to me, no matter how many things he kept from me, my feelings for him haven’t changed. I will save him. No matter the cost.

I have a very restless sleep that night. I know I’m not awake, but I can feel pain in my neck, every time that I try to turn to my side. Maybe that’s how I wake up, when I get the strangest sensation, that someone’s watching me.

My eyes flutter open slowly and it takes me a few seconds to realize, that someone is leaning over me. I blink furiously to make sure, that my mind isn’t playing any tricks on me. When the person moves, I scream my lungs out.

In the next moment, the person already runs away, but they’re too slow. The Clinic lights up and I can hear Mrs Praxidike’s voice yell out: “Stop right there! What are you doing here in the middle of the night, frightening the patients?” I breathe heavily, completely frozen from the terrifying experience.

“I-I’m sorry … Sleepwalking …” I hear a girl say. I am surprised to realize, that her voice doesn’t sound familiar at all. But I still don’t believe a word she says.

“Come, you’re going to apologize to Arya and then you’re going back to bed. You should feel lucky, that I’m not in the mood to walk you over to the Headmistress’s apartment,” the nurse rants on. I don’t want them to come here. I am too afraid of seeing the person, who was towering over me in such a creepy way, but I can’t bring myself to protest, because I’m still in shock.

The moment they stop at the bottom of my bed, I find myself surprised once again. I don’t think I’ve ever met the girl, yet alone spoke to her. She looks afraid and ashamed of herself. That’s right, she should be! Why would she be staring at me in the middle of the night?

“What is that?” Mrs Praxidike suddenly points out. I try to turn to where she’s looking, but as soon as I move, I feel terrible pain once again. That’s how the nurse walks over to the night table herself and picks up a very familiar looking scroll. I gasp in shock, trying to tell her what this is about, but nothing comes out of my mind. “What is it? Are you in pain?” she asks worriedly. That’s when I notice the girl trying to slip away.

“No! Grab her!” I finally yell out. My voice sounds so urgent, that the nurse runs after the girl like she’s our age. She brings her back to me, not letting go of her forearm for even a second.

“Tell me, what this is about,” the nurse demands sternly. I raise my hand, motioning to the scroll weakly.

“Read it out loud, please,” I ask, my voice shaking in fear. Mrs Praxidike narrows her eyes at me, but still unrolls the paper in her hand. Her eyes widen and she looks at the girl, she’s holding.

“You better have an explanation for this,” she warns her in a menacing tone, before glancing at me and then turning to the message once again. “Do you see what happens, when you fornicate? I hope you won’t be so lucky next time,” she reads the note, making my eyes widen in horror. I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, as the nurse looks at me, before sending a glare at the girl.

She then conjures a swirling lilac ball, whispering some words into it, that I can’t hear. She then pushes it up, and it floats into the ceiling. In the next moment, she advises the girl: “Think well of how you’re going to defend yourself. The Headmistress is going to be here soon.”

After that we wait in a tense silence, that makes all my insides twist and turn. Nothing makes sense to me. Is this really the girl, who was sending me those messages? I don’t get it. What made her do this? I’ve never even spoken to her!

I couldn’t be happier to hear the door of the Clinic open. And I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to see the Headmistress’s face. Which is staring at the girl in all of its raging glory. I hope we can get to the bottom of this together.

“Pandora, what is the meaning of this? Is it true, that you’ve delivered another threatening message to Arya?” she questions the girl immediately, without any polite greetings. Pandora lowers her head in shame, before nodding. I open my mouth in disbelief. No way. She’s actually admitting to sending those notes to me?

“I … Yes, Headmistress, it was me,” she confesses. Mrs Adrastea shakes her head in disappointment, while I gape at the scene, unfolding in front of me. I can’t believe my eyes, nor my ears. This is impossible. I’ve never spoken to the girl and she just decided to send threatening notes to me? There’s something really wrong with this story.

“Why?” the Headmistress asks sternly, her eyes narrowed at Pandora. The girl tucks a stray hair behind her ear, sneaking a glance at me for the first time since the nurse dragged her back here. I am surprised by how much hate I see in her eyes.

“I was sick of it. The nobles are clueless … They have no idea how hard life can be. They sleep in warm beds, eat food, that us commoners can only dream about … They ride in carriages, while we must walk on foot … They know nothing. My family barely lives, while they’re all bathing in luxury. I wanted to have control for the first time, since I was born. I wanted to make the Princess feel, what it’s like to have someone hovering over you all the time,” she bursts out in a cold voice, that makes shivers run down my spine. But as she finishes, her face expression shifts. She looks afraid and nervous. Something truly isn’t right here.

“Who’s making you do this?” I blurt out, before I’m able to stop myself. The nurse and the Headmistress both look at me in shock. But the girl doesn’t. If anything, she tries her best to avoid my gaze.

“Arya, I don’t think you understood, what Pandora just told you … She’s the one, who’s been sending you threatening messages,” the Headmistress explains slowly. I get angry at her tone. She sounds like she’s speaking to someone stupid.

“I understood her very well. I just don’t believe, that she was behind this alone. I’ve never even met her personally until now,” I keep pressing, but Mrs Adrastea sends me such a glare, that I don’t dare to open my mouth again.

“It was me,” the girl repeats again. I don’t say anything. It’s no use, she won’t say anything in front of the Headmistress, so I don’t even bother responding.

“Alright, Pandora, go to bed now. We’ll discuss the consequences of your actions in the morning,” Mrs Adrastea says and the girl rushes out of the Clinic rapidly. The Headmistress turns to me then. “I’m glad, that you’re doing well. I’ll make sure, the girl gets punished properly,” she assures me, but I shake my head.

“Whatever you do, just don’t expel her,” I plead, making both women furrow their eyebrows in confusion.

“But you’ve heard her. She’s admitted to sending you threatening notes. Don’t you think she deserves it?” the nurse asks. Do they really want me to answer that? I’ve already told them, that I don’t think she was up to this alone. But that won’t convince them.

“She already despises me. I don’t want her to blame for also ruining her chance of a better life,” I explain. They both stare at me in disbelief for a moment, before composing themselves.

“I don’t agree with you … But I must admit, that this is very noble of you,” the Headmistress voices her thoughts. I wait patiently for her to continue. “Alright, I’ll try to find another way to punish the girl. I hope you don’t regret this, because there’ll be no way back,” she warns me. I nod in understanding.

“I’m aware of that. Thank you for listening to me.” The Headmistress simply nods in response, both of the women wishing me a good night, before they leave me alone. As the lights go off, I find myself so troubled, that I can barely fall asleep again.