by Bar Sagi
“It’s a bit obvious,” she said, thinking of the way they acted around each other. “Why are you keeping it a secret?”
Amanda sighed. “Maven comes from the noble family of Maidenhill, and since my mother already has everything she wants from them, she forbade me to marry him. Which of course means I can’t be his girlfriend.” She made a face. “My mother has another noble she wants me to marry, a total nutcase, spoiled brat. But he’s from a very powerful noble family, and it would help.
“She can’t force me to marry someone, but she can force me not to. So we have to keep our relationship secret, otherwise my mother would separate us.” Amanda looked really sad and hopeless as she talked about Maven.
Yasmin swallowed as she took in the unfairness of it all. “Wow, that’s… horrible.”
Amanda rubbed her arms, they were also covered with goose bumps. “That about sums it up,” she agreed. “I love my mother, but she’s changed in the past ten years. She’s ice. And I’m scared of the day when she will break.”
“But what if she doesn’t break?” Yasmin asked, unable to imagine such a strong woman broken. “What if she stays ice forever?”
Amanda smiled sadly. “No one stays ice forever, Yasmin. At one point, they crack.” She seemed to speak from personal experience. “Every human needs to let things go. If you keep it inside you, buried under a layer of ice or smiles, how long will it last?”
Yasmin paused to consider. “But how long has your mother been that way? Has she been like this since the death of your father?”
Amanda nodded, a distant look in her eyes. “I remember that very morning. It was horrible. Like the life had been sucked out of the palace, when he died. You see the castle as it is now, Yasmin…” She waved around at the hustle and bustle of the castle. “But it is not what it once was. Everyone lives in fear. Back then, there was a certain air of freedom, of happiness in the air. It’s gone now. Now everything is cold.”
It was literally cold, but that didn’t count for much. It was March. It was supposed to be cold.
Yasmin tried to imagine what that might be like, to have your father die so suddenly. She couldn’t. If she tried to imagine life without her father, all she saw was a vast grayness. “It must have been horrible. Losing your father so suddenly.”
Amanda sighed. She looked worn. “I lost not only a father when he died, but also a mother. She changed completely after he died. She used to be a caring woman who loved to smile. Now, she’s... well…” Amanda looked close to tears. Clearly this hadn’t been easy on her. So much pressure was on her shoulders to find the rouge army, and she was probably scared. She was just one person, after all.
“In a way, I think I was affected the least, because I had to step up. My two younger brothers, David and Jasper. Jasper was especially connected to our father. I think it was hardest on him when he died. He has never been the same since.” Amanda’s face changed from sad and tired, to annoyed.
Yasmin was taken back. Did Amanda no like her brother? Or just the circumstances in particular?
“Amanda!” A loud, shrill voice called from the hallway.
A young girl was walking across the grass, her nose high in the air. She was the picture of a silly little girl, with a pink dress with so many ruffles and so puffy it looked wrong, even for Halloween. Her blond hair was pulled back into twin ponytails, which were held up by large, very pink, ribbons. She was wearing lace gloves, and a look on her face that said she was royalty, so people better treat her so.
“Where were you? I want to play dress up!” She looked at Yasmin, and a look of disgust came over her baby blue eyes. “Who’s she?” Like Yasmin was a piece of trash.
Yasmin bristled. Who was this idiotic little girl? It was very rude to act that way, more so for an eight year old girl to do it.
“Now, now, Rosetta,” Amanda said soothingly, putting a hand on Rosetta’s shoulder gently. “Don’t you have a nanny? She can play with you. Yasmin and I are doing important stuff. We’re busy.”
“You’re always busy!” Rosetta whined, her eyes filling with tears. It looked like an act. “I’m the princess! I want to play!”
And she burst into the fakest round of tears Yasmin had ever seen, with big, sad sobs, and wailing.
Personally, Yasmin wanted to shut her ears, but this was Amanda’s sister. It would be rude to shut her ears.
Rosetta turned to Yasmin with an upset look on her face as her gaze swept up and down her body. Yasmin felt annoyed and strangely exposed. She wasn’t a doll, standing there to be gawked at!
“You’ll do,” she said finally, calming down in an instant.
Grabbing Yasmin’s hand, she began to drag her away. “You can be my new doll. You need a lot of work.” She made it sound like Yasmin was dressed in rags.
“Rosetta…” began Amanda, but Yasmin had had enough.
Yasmin tore her arm out of Rosetta’s grip and put her hands on her hips, glaring at the little princess.
“You’re bring very rude!” she said, looking at the indignant look on Rosetta’s face. “Just because you’re a princess does not mean you can do whatever you want, Rosetta!” She saw Rosetta’s bottom lip quiver and sighed with annoyance.
“Crying won’t help!” Yasmin said, just as Rosetta burst into tears again. “I don’t have time to play dress up! I may not be in school but I still have homework! And three tests coming up…” Yasmin rubbed her head. How had she gotten into this?
“You’re mean!” Rosetta said as she ran from the grass. “I’m gonna tell mother!” She turned around and stuck her tongue out at Yasmin. “She’s gonna behead you!”
Yasmin and Amanda sighed simultaneously and looked at the hallway, where several maids were comforting the princess.
“I’ll talk to her,” Amanda said, glancing at Yasmin. “She has to realize that she can’t treat people this way, but mother hasn’t found a nanny that Rosetta hasn’t been able to bribe or fire. Because of that, she’s become spoiled.”
Yasmin smirked and shook her head, feeling sorry for Amanda. Sort of.
“Anyway,” Amanda said, straightening and giving Yasmin a tired smile. “You’ll be the first person I tell as soon as I get news of the rebels, all right?”
“Sounds great,” Yasmin said, grinning slyly. “And good luck with Maven!” She grinned evilly at Amanda, who, interestingly enough, turned a bright shade of pink.
“I… gotta go.” Amanda rushed from the grass as fast as her legs would carry her, leaving Yasmin behind, fighting to keep a straight face.
As soon as Amanda was out of sight, Yasmin burst out laughing. “That woman is even more innocent than I am!” She kept giggling all the way to her room.
When she got there, she opened the windows, pulled on a sweater, and pulled out her books. It was time for serious studying. She had a feeling that her studying time would be cut short soon.
***
David lay on his king sized bed, looking up at the stars. Not real stars, of course, glow in the dark stars that a servant had put up there years ago, when he had been scared to sleep alone.
Stretching this way and that, he tried to become comfortable. But try as he might to get comfortable on the amazingly good mattress, he couldn’t relax. He just didn’t belong here in the castle, not since his father had died.
He hadn’t really been happy since then, unless you counted the ten months he was in Israel. That had been the best time of his life, with no cruel, bullying brother, and no cold mother. He hated those two… hated them so much partly because he was afraid of them.
He hated his mother most of all. Clenching his hand into a fist, he wondered not for the first time why he couldn’t just tell her no for once. Everything she wanted, he did, like a robot. It was humiliating, and not to mention, horrible.
And why hadn’t Amanda told him about the rouge army? She was his sist
er, wasn’t she? She was the one who had taught him about this castle, backward and forward, and the one who had become a second mother to him when his father died. He thought they didn’t keep things like this secret. And yet apparently, she did.
And Yasmin being the peace maker! David had only heard what his tutor had told him, that a treaty was being set up, and the rouge army was promising to find the rebels soon. The queen, in return, promised to send her army to evacuate everyone and protect the town.
Why does she have to be here? David thought, not for the hundredth time. Why can’t Yasmin be at home, far away from all of this… war. I just wish she was safe.
Scolding himself for a moment of weakness, he thought. And if wishes were stars, no one could see the nights.
Turning around, he closed his eyes...
Chapter 20
The new mission
Yasmin was just finishing up for the day, putting her homework away and getting ready for bed. She couldn’t believe how much time had flown by.
It was now March 27, and she still hadn’t had a chance to see Lucas. It was crazy! But lately, whenever she went to the orphanage, he wasn’t there. It was starting to feel like he was avoiding her.
No way! Yasmin thought, clutching her pillow to her chest. Lucas wouldn’t do that! He looked miserable the other day! Something is probably very wrong.
Feeling slightly guilty and relived, Yasmin sat on her bed. Thanks to her treacherous thoughts she was now wide awake. She would get some sleep later.
The next morning, Yasmin sat up, yawning so hard her jaw creaked. She hadn’t managed to get to sleep until one in the morning, she was now exhausted. Changing out of her pajamas, she got ready for the new day.
On her way to the kitchen for breakfast, Yasmin bumped into Violet, who was humming merrily.
Her pink hair was up in a bun, and her carefree gaze was accompanied by her sharp eyes.
“Yasmin!” Violet said, excited for some reason. “Have you heard?”
“About the treaty? Yeah, I have.” Yasmin still felt a bit awkward talking so friendly with Violet, who was David’s fiancée. But she was also a nice person. And she had never truly been mean to Yasmin. She was one of the only people who had understood her decision to quit magic. But then again, Violet had been with her in the gardens, so maybe it wasn’t saying much.
“Not about the treaty! About what Amanda told me this morning?” Violet’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Um, no.”
“Well, I can’t tell you here. There’s a chance someone might overhear. Anyway, I have to go. Gotta get packed!” Violet waved goodbye and took off, walking very quickly.
In her excitement, Violet had forgotten to act like a lady.
Yasmin frowned as she wondered what Violet could be talking about. And what was she panicking for? A romantic vacation with David? Feeling slightly ashamed from thinking badly of Violet, after all, David was the one she was mad at, Yasmin kept walking to the kitchen. Her stomach was rumbling quite loudly. Yasmin was afraid everyone in the hallway could hear her.
Blushing a deep shade of red, Yasmin quickened her pace and nearly bumped into someone.
“Amanda!” she said, surprised, as she stumbled back a bit from the princess. “Hi!”
Amanda looked up from the notes she had been reading in her hand and smiled, distracted. “Rumor is they were last seen here, but twenty miles west a bit…” She trailed off, realizing Yasmin was looking incredibly awkward. “Sorry, Yasmin! I’ve just been trying to find the rebels again, nothing certain, you know, but still…” She sighed, then shook her head again. “Why aren’t you packing?”
Yasmin tilted her head, confused. “Packing? I wasn’t aware that a rebel attack had occurred. Besides, I’m useless now. That’s why nobody asked me for help on the last rebel attack.” She remembered that heartbreaking day very well, it had been the last time anyone had tried to make her use magic.
Gloriana had burst into her room while Yasmin was doing her homework, her hair halfway in a bun.
Yasmin had looked up, startled, while Gloriana had burst into an explanation of where the rebels were attacking, and why they needed to get there now!
The queen had a portal held open, and she was sending solders through, but they wouldn’t be able to help. Not against spellcasters.
Yasmin had clenched her fist hard and tried to resist temptation. “I can’t go,” she said, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. “I won’t be of any use without my magic.”
Gloriana stared at her as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “The main reason you go to all these places is to give some hope to all these people. They need to see you doing magic, doing your best. Not what you are now, a coward, hiding behind books.”
With that she had left, and refused to talk to Yasmin for a week. After that, Gloriana returned, somewhat grudgingly, to teaching Yasmin, but instead of teaching her magic, she taught her from books.
“Yasmin?” Amanda waved a hand in front of her face. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for a while now. Are you all right? You zoned out?”
“Umm,” Yasmin said, trying to get out of the memory. “Yeah. What were you saying again?” She felt like her head was full of fog.
“You need to pack for tomorrow morning,” Amanda repeated patiently. “We think the rebels are going to attack a town in the south of Atlantis, called Meldon. I know you don’t do magic anymore, but will you go?”
Yasmin couldn’t understand why anyone would want her near something like that. “But how would I help?”
“A source of mine tells me that the rebels are planning to start a fire. If so, Gloriana can borrow your power and another person’s to open a portal and immediately bring the spellcasters from the Carling school of magic to put out the fire. Jon told me you can lend magic. Will you please help?” Amanda’s brown eyes were pleading.
“But if you need magic power so bad, why don’t you send a lot of spellcasters over right away?” Yasmin wanted it know.
“We are sending a few through a portal a few hours before the attack is scheduled to happen, to evacuate as many people as possible. But we don’t want the rebels knowing that anyone is leaving, so that they stop their plan of attack. You see, we need to know where their leader is. And we can’t find them anywhere!” Amanda looked outraged. “I’ve searched everywhere, but nothing!”
“How is that possible?” Yasmin inquired. “Can’t you find them if they are on Atlantis?”
“Not necessarily,” Amanda explained. “You see, a powerful and complex spell on a piece of land can make it untraceable. You can’t put it on a map, or search for it with magic, so we would have to search by human eye. And with Atlantis being as large as India, it would take a while.”
Yasmin whistled. “As large as India? Wow.” She considered for a moment, but she really did want to help. “And as for your question, I would love to come along and be a power battery for Gloriana. By the way, who else is a power battery?” Perhaps a spellcaster student?
“You’ll see.” Amanda smiled to herself, as if it was a private joke. “But you’re going with Gloriana to this town under the alibi that you’re going to a party with your boyfriend. So bring someone along and pretend they are your boyfriend, or something. We can’t let other people know.”
“Um okay.” Yasmin glanced around at the bustling hallway. “Uh, can’t someone overhear us now?”
“No.” Amanda spoke confidently. She tapped her ruby earrings, which were in the shape of a dragon. “They have a handy spell on them, which from anyone outside its range can only hear babble. No one can overhear us.”
“Okay. I guess I’d better get packing then,” Yasmin said, walking off, while thinking of who she could bring along. Who could she bring really, but Lucas? But would he be willing, because their communication had been off in the last few weeks. She hope
d so, because saying that anyone else was her boyfriend just felt wrong.
That afternoon, she made up her mind and decided to invite Lucas along. He could always say no, she thought, as she called the orphanage line.
The plump Ms. Daisy picked up on the second ring, sounding surprised when she realized who was calling. “Yasmin? Are you calling for Lucas?”
“Yes,” she said, feeling more nervous with each passing moment.
“Lucas!” She heard Ms. Daisy call from the phone, and wrenched her ear away from it, winching slightly. “You’ve got a caller!”
“Um, hi, who is it?” Came Lucas’s slightly nervous voice a few moments later. He sounded tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
“Yasmin.” She swallowed hard and continued. “The rebels are trying to set fire to Meldon town, and I am going in hopes of stopping them. Part of the alibi is that I need to bring a boyfriend, I thought of you.” The second the words were out of her mouth, she winced at how bad they sounded. Lucas, however, laughed drily.
“Is this your way of asking me on a date, Yasmin?”
“Well, if you like holding hands while trying to stop a fire, then yes.” She nearly laughed with relief.
“How did you know?” he asked, sounding touched. Yasmin laughed. “When is it?”
“Tomorrow morning. Thank you,” Yasmin said, trying to express her relief.
“Don’t thank me,” Lucas said, and hung up.
Yasmin stared at the phone for several long minutes, wondering what had started this un-Lucas-like behavior. Then, shrugging, she went to pack.
That night, she dreamed of the cold, dark castle where she had heard the beast more than once. He was speaking in low tones to someone she couldn’t make out.
“So you say our useless spy might finally have his uses after all?” he asked in his deep voice. “Good. Give him his new orders, and have him ready. Our plan is finally coming together, after all this time.”
Chapter 21
Enemies and Alibis
They were sitting in a meeting room, waiting for Lucas. Yasmin was sitting in an ornate carved chair by the window, glad the drapes covered the windows, and kept it from being too bright. It was chilly in the morning, but quite foggy outside.
