by Bar Sagi
He scooted over and took one of her hands in his.
David’s fingers were cold, and the memories they carried with them nearly overwhelmed her again. She wanted nothing more than to lean against his shoulder, to have someone she could trust with her life.
“Not to mention he thinks you’re hot!” Jon called from a few feet away.
David let go of her hand like it was a hot coal.
Yasmin flinched, remembering. Oh right, she thought. David is not someone I can trust. He is not someone I know. And as much as that hurts, I have to remember that. I don’t know him. Not one bit.
Wiping tears off her face, Yasmin stood and surveyed the room. The fog had mostly cleared, making it safe to stand. Blood was sprinkled here and there on the floor, but it didn’t look like there were too many casualties.
The queen was lying on the floor far off to her left, her guard’s bodies littering the ground around her. On her right, Princess Amanda and Violet lay on top of each other, and about ten rebels lay near them on the floor, along with a few guards.
Yasmin left, knowing there was nothing more she wanted to do here. There was no one here she could really trust. Not now, not ever. These people played mind games. But she wasn’t here for them. She was here for the citizens. As long as she kept reminding herself that, she would be okay. She wouldn’t break. And she would find some way to help Atlantis without magic.
Chapter 12
The magic block
“Yasmin, try again,” Gloriana’s exasperated voice penetrated Yasmin’s daydreams. “You did this perfectly last week.” Even though her teacher tried, she couldn’t keep the annoyance from her voice. Tapping her finders against the wooden chair, she scowled.
Yasmin closed her eyes and pretended to draw on her magic. She wore a look of concentration, and held out her hand to summon lightning. But nothing happened, of course. Because ever since last week, Yasmin hadn’t done magic. At all.
She was still training her body, getting stronger each day. Her teacher in sword lessons called her a natural, and she was doing better at karate, too.
But no matter how much Gloriana pressed, or people pushed, or shouted, or begged, Yasmin would not do magic. She wouldn’t hurt someone.
“I just can’t do it,” she said, pressing a hand to her forehead. “I feel faint. Maybe I have the flu?” She tried to keep her voice light and her face innocent.
Gloriana tutted. “Yasmin, you have to stop pretending!” She got up and paced the grass. Turning around, she faced the trees. “What is happening to you? Just last week you were excelling in your lessons, and now you refuse to even try!” She sounded furious. “And in case you’ve forgotten, a rebellion is still going on, and the kingdom of Atlantis still needs you. Or are you giving up on us?”
“No!” Yasmin cried, jumping to her feet. “I just…” She tried to find the right words. “Maybe there are different ways to help Atlantis.”
Gloriana checked her watch. “I have a council meeting. The princess suggested you attend, but you’re not coming until this nonsense is out of your head.”
Yasmin turned away from Gloriana, hurt.
“I care about you, Yasmin,” Gloriana said, but Yasmin didn’t turn around. “You agreed to be the mage, to help Atlantis, and that’s not something you can abandon on a whim.” She picked up her bag. “Maybe go to the town, to see how much Atlantis really needs the mage.”
Gloriana left, leaving Yasmin feeling a bit guilty. But she had made a decision. Grabbing her bottled water, she left for the town.
It was cool, but also unseasonably warm for February, so she only needed a sweater. But just in case, she grabbed her pink hat too, tucking her ears in well as she departed.
Whistling to herself, she strolled around town, looking at shops and occasionally entering bookstores. But she wasn’t able to concentrate. Her mind kept coming back to Gloriana’s harsh words. Worst of all, she knew Gloriana was right. It did feel like she was abandoning Atlantis, a bit. But she hadn’t been able to help before. Besides, she had a plan to help Atlantis. She would get the rouge army and the queen’s army to work together, doubling their chances of winning.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she wondered if she should go to the orphanage. But today was Friday, so maybe not. She would see them in two days, anyway. What was the point of going now?
“Yasmin!” Someone called from across the street. She turned, trying to figure out who had called. Then she saw someone waving his arm, grinning at her and coming closer. Lucas.
“Lucas!” she called out, smiling and waving. She had only met him once, but he had seemed really nice. “What are you doing here?”
“Buying groceries.” He came up next to her, pushing his wild hair out of his eyes. “What about you?”
Yasmin shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. “Just wandering around. I feel a bit down for some reason.”
Lucas tilted his head, grinning. “Wanna come with me to buy tomatoes? I hear company and fruit do wonders for sadness.”
“I don’t know.” Yasmin ducked her head, suddenly shy.
“Aww, come on.” Lucas laughed, such a carefree sound that Yasmin had to smile too. “The tomatoes in town have magical properties. They can make anyone smile. Plus, they are so sweet!” He licked his lips.
“You’ve persuaded me!” Yasmin lifted her hands into the air, surrendering. “Let’s go buy groceries!”
“Onward!” He proclaimed, and pointed in the distance, where the farmers market was.
Yasmin giggled. “Onward!” She suddenly felt so much better.
“This is the big decision.” Lucas looked more serious than he’d ever been. “Which tomatoes should I get?”
“Hmm.” Yasmin tapped a finger on her chin, feeling lighter than she had in days. “I don’t know. The big red juicy ones over there seem promising. But they might get crushed on the way back, and then…” She gasped dramatically. “No tomatoes!”
Lucas bit his lip, deep in thought. “I think I shall risk it!” he cried, then dropped a bunch of tomatoes in the basket. Grinning at her, he bounced on his toes. “We’ve done it!” Placing a hand valiantly on his chest, he bowed. “Thank you for helping me finish this hard quest, Lady Yasmin. Your name shall always remain in my heart.”
That was the last straw for Yasmin. She collapsed in a fit of giggles, doubling over in laughter.
Lucas looked at her, resisting for a moment before he joined in.
“I’ve never met anyone so funny!” Yasmin said as they walked back to the orphanage side by side.
They each carried a basket, and Yasmin hadn’t wanted to say goodbye anyway, so she had offered to help him with his baskets.
“Well, you’ve never met me,” Lucas said, smiling softly, completely relaxed.
“No, I guess not.” Yasmin caught Lucas’s eye.
He was looking at her with an expression of such softness that it caught her by surprise. She looked away, unused to the feeling that it gave her. Did Lucas like her? No, it was a stupid thought. They barely knew each other.
“Well, I have to go here,” Lucas said when they reached the gates. He sounded a bit sad.
“I guess you do.” Yasmin bit her lip. What was going on?
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” he asked again, looking hopeful. “I know it would be a lot of noise and all, but…” Lucas trailed off when he saw Yasmin shake her head.
“I had better get back now,” Yasmin said, looking up at the sky. “It’ll soon be dark.” The sun was getting lower in the sky with each passing minute, and Yasmin did not want to be outside the palace in the dark. “But I had a lot of fun,” she added hurriedly. “Maybe we can do this again sometime?”
Lucas smiled enthusiastically. “I would love that.”
His green eyes lit up like lamps when he smiled Yasmin noticed.
> “See you again soon?” he asked.
Yasmin nodded and turned to leave. Halfway down the street, she turned back to see that Lucas hadn’t gone in and was watching her.
Blushing, she smiled as she walked back to the castle.
Chapter 13
Secrets hidden under
a crown
“Hello, Yasmin.” Violet smiled sweetly. “How are you this evening?”
Yasmin looked at Violet, feeling both amazed and amused. She was obviously a very good actress. “Wonderful. And very hungry. I need to talk with you,” she stated, grabbing Violet’s arm and leading her toward the library. “Do you know a secure place?”
Violet considered that for a moment. “Princess Amanda’s room, perhaps.”
“Great!” Yasmin turned away from the library and paused. “I get lost here really easily. Do you know the way”?
Violet snorted with amusement and led the way.
They walked past half familiar hallways decorated with tapestries and paintings. Yasmin was sure she recognized one of the stars but then decided it was probably nothing.
“So, how are you since the last ball?” Violet asked, trying to break the ice. She held her head high, proclaiming to the world who she was. As always, she seemed like a fairy, floating in a sweet white dress that stopped at her knees. Her pink hair was swept up into a braid that looked like a crown. Pearls were strung about her neck.
Yasmin sighed as she looked at her worn out sneakers compared to Violet’s heeled shoes. She still preferred her comfortable shoes. Poor rich people. They had no idea what a joy it was to be comfortable with flats.
“Umm, not bad,” Yasmin answered awkwardly. “How many people got hurt?”
Violet looked sad. “Around fifty were hurt pretty badly. This rebellion is out of control. I don’t know how they even got in.”
“Maybe someone let them in?” Yasmin suggested. It seemed perfectly reasonable.
Violet spun around, gasping. “No one in this palace would ever betray the royal family!” she protested, her face indignant.
Yasmin raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Whatever.”
“You don’t understand.” Violet rubbed her forehead as they kept walking.
“No. I don’t.”
“I love Atlantis,” Violet stated. “It’s my home.” She clenched her hands. “I protect it in secret, but I would give my life up to save it in a heartbeat. I help the rouge army as much as I can, and I do my best to stop the rebellion. I am even getting married to stop it.”
Yasmin paused. “You’re marrying David to stop a war? How will you being married to him make the beast stop attacking us?”
“My marriage to David will unify the fairies and the kingdom of Atlantis in friendship, and they will lend us their aid in stopping the rebellion.” Violet looked proud of what she was doing.
“That’s wrong.” Yasmin said the first thing that came to mind. “Don’t you love him?”
“I have been in love with him since I was seven, and he gave me purple cake for my birthday.” Violet smiled softly at the memory. “But I would marry him anyway. This marriage has nothing to do with love.”
Yasmin looked at Violet in pity. “Marriage has everything to do with love. I feel bad for you and David for having to go through with this.”
“We are not being forced,” Violet said icily. “If David had not wanted to marry me, he would have stopped this.”
Yasmin remembered what Princess Amanda had said about David not being able to say no to his mother. “It’s not exactly much of a choice, is it?” she asked, and knocked on Princess Amanda’s door.
“Who is it?” Amanda’s voice called from the other side of the door.
Yasmin rubbed her arm nervously. Even with a sweater, she was getting goose bumps.
“Yasmin,” she called back.
“Come in.” A male opened the door. Yasmin stepped back in surprise.
The man was taller than her by a head and a half, and while she craned her neck to look up at him, she noticed his unusual blood-red hair. When matched with his unnaturally bright green eyes, they gave him a striking look that could make any woman swoon. He looked delicate and fairy-like, but something in his eyes said he was not someone to be messed with.
“Brother!” Violet said in surprise, 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 e
ven 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.”
