by M. Arcturus
“Oh,” said Selené quietly. “I can’t believe it!” Selené continued, “You can read these tablets then?” She yawned again, reminding Anthony of the reason she had wanted to leave the archive in the first place. He smiled at her determination to keep going.
“You never cease to amaze me. Here I am trying to tell you that Atlantis is a big discovery for me and here you are talking about their tablets and their findings, which I have studied most of my life. I was hoping never to see one of these things ever again!” He gave a faint grin. “To top it off, you speak Atlantean, but you can only read Latin based-literature.”
“Latin?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, the scrolls are in Latin.”
Selené shrugged, “My mother taught me how to read these scrolls, but she never told me they were written in Latin. They were written by the first humans to set foot on Atlantis. As for the tables, I never knew they were written in Atlantean. It’s always been considered an alien language, so learning it had been pushed aside since working with and understanding humans are our top priority here. Without humans, Atlantis would cease to exist, so I guess learning Latin became more important. It might come in handy to have a few people learn how to read Atlantean.” She directed her gaze at him and met his eyes. “I didn’t mean to come across as uncaring earlier. I’m just as excited and shocked as you are just in different ways. I’m excited to discover such astonishing findings, but I can’t believe the origin of Atlantis was based on genetic manipulation. I always wondered why we had a jail in the basement. It’s not a jail at all. They’re cages.” Now Anthony’s heart sank even deeper.
“Maybe they’re not cages, and if they are, we have no proof that they were used or meant to confine humans. We can’t think negatively right now. I want Atlantis to survive, and if that takes figuring out what that gold thing is, then that’s what we should focus on. We should get you to bed so you can rest. I’ll need your help in the morning.” Selené nodded in agreement, and they attempted to leave the archive again.
As they walked the silent corridors, the attraction between them grew stronger almost to the nervous, uncomfortable stage. Once at Pandora’s quarters Selené rapped on her door. It took a while before Pandora stirred. She had already given up on Selené and had gone to bed.
“Wait,” said Anthony right when Pandora began to turn the doorknob from the inside. He pulled Selené back by the arm and kissed her before she even had the chance to turn and enter the opening door.
Pandora had stayed up for about two hours and still had seen no sign of Selené. The fire in her fireplace was starting to burn low, the hot chocolate in her mug had cooled, and her eyelids had started to sag. Selené wasn’t the only reason why she had stayed up. The memories of the past few days haunted her, so she chose to wear herself out, and it worked. Worried that she was going to fall out of her chair, she went into her bedroom and fell asleep. Just as she started to dream, there was a knock at the door. At first, she thought she had imagined it, but her reasoning took over. She got dressed while half sleepwalking and fumbled around trying to answer the door. As she opened the door just a crack, she heard the muffled sound of Anthony’s voice asking for someone to “wait.” Thinking that it was directed at her, she peeked out and saw Anthony kissing Selené. Quietly, she closed the door and sat back down on her couch, reclaiming her mug of cooled chocolate.
Selené slowly opened the door and let herself in. The smell of hot chocolate and Nag Champa floated over to her nose. Selené drew in a deep breath and instantly felt more relaxed. Unlike her chamber, Pandora’s was set up more like a small apartment. She had a living room and a small hallway that led to a bathroom on the left and her bedroom on the right. It had been a while since she had visited Pandora’s quarters. The beige walls and deep green plant life lining the room seemed more vivid in color than what she last remembered. The furniture was new though. The loveseat and both armchairs looked like large hollow tree trunks with green floral-patterned seat cushions, and she was hoping that they were much more comfortable than what they looked.
Selené caught sight of the beautiful glowing butterflies and fireflies fluttering about the room. They were complemented by the illuminated crystals, ferns and mushrooms mixed in with the other plants. A tree standing in the corner with blue leaves dotted with yellow, pink and purple flowers took her breath away as it cast its glow in an eight-foot radius. Selené scanned the room for the hologram cubes creating the plants, butterflies, and fireflies, but when she couldn’t find them, she figured that Pandora had hidden them inside the pots of her plants.
Pandora sat quietly sipping her drink, trying to look happy for Selené, but it wasn’t working. She was too tired. Without a word, Selené grabbed the mug Pandora had set out for her and poured a cup of lukewarm chocolate from the cauldron hanging in the fireplace. A neon pink faerie flew over to Selené with her arms full of marshmallows. Her hair was a darker pink, and she wore a bright yellow sundress with pink flowers on it. “Why thank you!” exclaimed Selené to the faerie. The faerie blushed and took a bow. “I didn’t know that holograms could be so detailed and carry physical objects,” pondered Selené out loud to Pandora. Feeling hurt, the faerie threw a little temper and tossed the marshmallows into her drink causing it to splash on Selené’s face.
“Not everything flying around in here is a hologram,” Pandora chuckled as she handed her a towel.
“I’m sorry,” said Selené to the faerie.
“Hmm!” pouted the faerie as she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, then flew off in a huff.
Noting the concerned look on Selené’s face, Pandora assured her, “Don’t worry; she’ll get over it.”
Selené cracked a small smile then changed the subject. “Do you want me to refresh your chocolate while I’m here at the cauldron?”
“No, I’ll be headed to bed soon. How was your evening?” yawned Pandora, still trying to muster the energy to look happy and alert.
Selené didn’t take her friend’s lack of energy as an insult because she was running on fumes herself. “I’m glad it happened, and I’m glad it’s over with,” said Selené as she plopped down in the seat closest to her. The tree-trunk-inspired loveseat was much softer than she was expecting. Her butt was completely devoured by the cushion. Selené began to wonder how she was ever going to get out of the seat.
“From what I saw, you seemed to have enjoyed yourself.”
“What you didn’t see was the yelling match with Icarus and the exhaustion that came with it.”
“Oh no, what did he do?”
“It appears he was snooping around the archive and decided to insult my mentality. Then, he tried to win my affection.”
“Oh geez, I’m sure that went over well! He actually thought by insulting you that he would win your heart?” she asked exasperatedly. “Can’t he get a life?”
“Beats the heck out of me!” retorted Selené. “He’s going to need to get a life now. I am no longer a part of it!” Pandora cocked one of her eyebrows indicating intrigue. Selené continued, “He tried to get in the middle of the conversation that I was trying to have with Anthony. I ended up yelling at him. I told him to get out, and for once, he listened. I was completely shocked. For a second there, I thought I was going to have to chase him out physically. He’s heartbroken, but I think I finally got through to him.”
“I’m not going to hold my breath. We’ll see.” Pandora smirked mischievously, “What about Anthony and the kiss?”
Selené tried to hold back a smile, but Pandora saw past it. “Anthony came here to Atlantis because of me.” She couldn’t hold it in anymore. The blush on her face lit up the room.
“Yeah, he told me that earlier. He’s still not sure exactly what caused his machine to go berserk, but he’s glad it did. Otherwise, he would have spent many more years trying to get the right coordinates to land here.”
�
��What do you mean?”
“Well, his time machine involves inputting time and location. Atlantis has neither. For him to try that hard to get here just to see you, I guess you made an impression on one of the representatives that used to come here. Stories about you must have been passed down through the generations. I wonder what they said about you.”
“I wish that were the case, but it’s not like that. He is one of the representatives that used to come here.”
“Hold on a sec; I think my ears went to bed without me. Say that again?”
“He claims to be the reincarnation of Leonard da Vinci,” said Selené getting up to pour another partial cup of chocolate.
“Okay, now I know I’m dreaming. I just thought you said he was your long-lost Da Vinci.”
“I did. I know it sounds crazy. It sounds crazy to me, too. I still don’t know what to make of it.”
“Okay? You do realize we’ll need to go over this in the morning when I’m awake and alive?”
“Yeah, I figured that,” Selené cracked a smile.
Sleep crept over Pandora. “I think I’m going to bed now. Here’s a blanket for you,” Pandora offered as she covered her friend up and gave her a pillow. “If you need anything or get scared, feel free to join me. My door is open. I will see you in the morning.” She blew out the candles in the hallway and left Selené in the hands of the dream world.
As quickly as the lights went out, the fireflies danced in the darkness, and Selené fell fast asleep. She drifted high above her dream as if she was too exhausted to partake in it. The world of her imagination played out and moved about as she flew in the sky above it. However, almost out of nowhere came a ghostly cry. The words faded in and out, but she could still make out what was being said.
“My children, where are my children?”
Selené looked about, but her world still played out down below her as if nothing happened. Then something moved past her. She didn’t get a good look at it, but it was of fairly decent size. It passed her again, but this time on the other side, moving in the opposite direction. She didn’t lose sight of it this time. It darted from treetop to treetop as if it were looking in the branches for something. Its long snake-like body was created from a cloud of gray mist. As it moved about, it fretted and wined a painful lament.
There it happened again, “My children, where are my children?”
The object darted right for her, revealing three haunting blue eyes as it neared. Just as it appeared that it was going to fly right through her, she woke up in a panic and she realized there was a knock at the door. Slowly sitting up, she looked about and realized the sun was up and beaming at her through the window across the way. It took a moment for her to recognize and remember that she was in Pandora’s apartment. Once she was oriented, the knock happened again, and a muffled voice sounded on the other side of the door. With the blanket wrapped around her, she tried to get off of the loveseat, but she fumbled to the floor.
“Hold on!” she shouted. Stumbling around, she finally opened the door. There, standing before her was a skinny mouse of a man holding flowers.
“I’m sorry to have wakened you, but breakfast is waiting downstairs, and these are for you madam,” he said. He seemed a little nervous as if trying to imply that the flowers were not from him.
As she took the little bundle of yellow flowers, he briskly turned on his heel and walked away in such an uptight manner that Selené had to chuckle. He moved as if his butt cheeks had been glued together. Due to his posture and the speed at which he was moving, it looked a little strange when he abruptly halted and pivoted at the next doorway. Then again, maybe he was just embarrassed to hand her flowers and wanted to get away from the situation as quickly as possible to only find it ironic that he had to stop just a few yards away.
“Let me guess—breakfast is ready.”
Selené turned to see Pandora enter the room drying her wet hair with a towel and dressed in a fluffy pale pink bathrobe. As Selené stood there with the flowers in hand, she almost had a guilty look on her face.
“Who are they from, Sel?”
“I haven’t looked at the card yet.”
“Come on! Don’t you dare leave me in suspense!”
Selené shifted uneasily, “To the most wonderful woman in my life. From yours truly, Sir Anthony.” She started to blush, “Honestly, I thought they were for you.”
“No, Seth is in the medical center, and flowers are not his style. As for the wolf-man, if he can’t hunt it down and rip it apart with his teeth, then it’s not worth his time.”
Selené could care less about Sorbek. However, she was taken back from the news regarding Seth. “Why is Seth in the medical center?”
“A wound from a Kit-Lar is very hard to heal.”
Selené reflected back on Seth’s last known words to her and how he was gasping for air. She asked, “What is a Kit-Lar?”
“It’s a serrated dagger that the Ackrids use to strip their enemy of the afterlife and reincarnation. One of the Ackrids shoved a Kit-Lar through one of Seth’s lungs. I stayed by his side for a long time after the war ceased. He’s doing alright now, but he almost didn’t make it through the war.” Pandora looked a little weary and had just turned to head back to her bedroom when there was another knock on the door.
Once again, Selené opened the door to another palace worker. This time, he was toting a cart with about three dozen more flowers. They were the most vibrant red flowers she had ever seen. Selené turned toward Pandora with eyes wide filled with shock.
Stepping in to help Selené, Pandora stated, “Oh, passionflowers, just bring them in and place them anywhere.”
“Okay?” replied the doorman questioningly. “If that is what you wish.”
Selené started to get a little upset. “I understand a bouquet, but four of them?”
“Maybe he just really misses you.”
“Missing me or not there is still a fine line between romantic and cheesy.” Pandora giggled at Selené’s remark. Selené continued, “I’m going to take a shower. Should I wait to bathe till the doorman leaves so I can close the door behind him?”
Pandora looked at the doorman who was still unloading his cart. He looked up at her after setting one of the vases on a nearby table with a pleading look in his eye. “Don’t worry about it, Sel. I’ll close it after I finish getting dressed.” Pandora turned and addressed the doorman, “Actually, will you close the door when you are done?”
“Thank you, ma’am; I would be glad the close the door for you.” His response seemed a little strange to them both, but they went down the hall to take care of business.
Selené and Pandora both finished and walked into the living room at the same time only to be confronted by a whole slew of doormen unloading carts of flowers. The pollen already started to get to Selené. She began to experience a sneezing fit. One right after another, her sneezes jerked her head downward, and her ponytail jolted in response. Her eyes started to water.
“Oh, you poor thing,” said Pandora sympathetically putting an arm around her friend. “I didn’t know you were allergic to flowers? We need to get these out of here.” The doormen all turned and looked at her with panic in their eyes. Pandora walked out into the hallway to see what was going on. The carts went on forever! “Who are all of these from?” asked Pandora as she started to read the cards. “To the injured angel whom I will eternally love, to the angel that invades my dreams, to the angel with invisible wings and arrows which have pierced my heart.” Pandora fumed with anger, “God! Can’t he get a clue?”
Almost on cue, there was a voice at the door. Empathy flooded his words, “Oh no, he didn’t!”
They both turned their attention to the doorway where Shadow stood. A smile started to spread across his face, but he suppressed it the best he could. “I know this isn’t funny, but I just can’t help but feel amused.
” Shadow stood in amazement as Selené started her sneezing fit all over again.
“Shadow, I’m not sure why you are here, but I’m glad you are. We need to get these out of here now!” said Pandora practically throwing a bouquet at him.
Shadow stopped the one who appeared to be the doorman in charge by grasping his shoulder. “Hold on a minute. How many of these things are there?” he asked as the doorman grabbed a pad of paper out of his side pocket. When the doorman whispered his reply, Shadow’s face turned white. He stepped out into the hall and eyed the carts lined up in a row. Running past all of them down the hall and around the corner he disappeared trying to find the last in line.
After Shadow left the doorway, it became too crowded for Pandora and Selené to leave. The pollen had started to sting her eyes, causing tears to run down her cheeks. Selené became frantic as she tried to get away from all of the flowers. Pandora knew there was no place for them to go, for the hallway in her quarters was starting to get filled up as well. Then a miracle out of nowhere presented itself. The men started taking the flowers away as they heard Shadow in the background commanding them to move the flowers to the palace gardens. Shadow stepped into Pandora’s quarters and joined the doormen who were removing the flowers around the nearest window.
“Hurry, move Selené to the window!” Pandora gladly obliged as Shadow kept removing the monstrosities.
The wind was a nice welcome to Selené bringing in fresh air to breathe. She had never reacted that way to flowers before, but with so many in such a small place, there really was no real wonder! Between Pandora and Shadow, most of the flowers had been removed. She watched the doormen down below placing the flowers in the gardens. She couldn’t believe it: most of the sidewalks were being covered because there were so many flowers. As she stood by her newfound life support, she heard something she didn’t want to hear.
