Royal Heiress (14 page)

“Not except for you and this lady.” The
servant motioned to Katherine, who smiled.

“In that case, they may enter,” Persephone
invited.

As Katherine and Jake walked in, Katherine
noted the elaborate way the room was adorned. Despite the black
satin bed sheets and furniture, it was a very comfortable
environment. Jewels, elegant dresses and black flowers filled her
room. These were the tokens of love Hades had bestowed on her in
hopes of winning her over. But they hadn’t been enough. Persephone
required more.

Katherine’s heart pounded loudly as she
debated how to begin. She couldn’t just come out and tell
Persephone she was from the future.

“I wish I could be happy to see you,”
Persephone told them as she sat on the edge of her neatly made bed.
She motioned for them to sit in the chairs across from her, which
they did. “My heart is heavy. I don’t know what to do.”

Sensing Persephone’s desire to confide in
someone not related to the problem, Katherine spoke, “I have heard
of your dilemma from the place I live. Do you wish to be here?”

“Yes and no.” Persephone smoothed out her
dress. “It is true Hades brought me down here against my will, but
in the time I’ve been here, I have gotten to know him, and he’s not
the ogre others make him out to be. He’s actually quite sweet.”

“So you care for him?”

“That is my dilemma. I not only care for him.
I love him.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Two reasons. One, my mother already hates
him. She will never approve of my marrying him. That will create a
lot of tension for everyone involved. Two, it is depressing down
here. I miss the joy of Atlantis.”

“There is little you can do about your
mother. However, you can do something about this place.”

Persephone tilted her head in interest. “Go
on.”

“You wish to be with Hades, but this place is
holding you back from marrying him, correct?”

She nodded.

“Can you do anything to change the
environment down here?” Katherine asked.

“I believe Hades will let me do anything I
want. He is very generous.”

“What would you like to see this place
become?”

Persephone stared at the wall thoughtfully.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Finally, she gave her answer. “I
know that this place cannot exist above ground, so it is foolish to
wish for sunshine. I can live without that anyway. What I most want
to hear is laughter. I want people to enjoy themselves. I accept
that the condition they are in is difficult to bear. I also
understand how awful they feel, but can’t they find a sense of joy
and contentment despite their situation, or am I expecting too
much?”

As Katherine listened to Persephone, it
occurred to her that what the goddess was saying applied to her as
well. It didn’t matter where she lived or what the circumstances
were in her life. The key was to be content with who she was rather
than relying on others to make things ideal for her.

The insight gave her a new perspective on how
her own life actually was and how she was making it worse by her
negative thoughts. It wasn’t Amanda’s fault she wasn’t as popular
or as pretty as Amanda was. Most of all, it wasn’t Amanda’s fault
Raz chose her to be its queen. It was time Katherine stopped
letting bitterness take root in her life.

“No,” Jake said, interrupting Katherine’s
thoughts. “People can be happy in any given situation. It’s a
matter of letting the past go. The way their life was above ground
was probably a good one, but they can rise above the past and
create a better future.”

Katherine wondered if he was also speaking
for himself. Perhaps he had to overcome some obstacle in his life
like she had.

“How can these people be happy?” Persephone
asked then her face lit up. “I know! I could plant flowers down
here. Flowers are my specialty. I can create some flowers that grow
without the sunlight.”

“One thing I noticed on my way here,”
Katherine began, “is that people don’t talk to each other. They
keep to themselves. One boy in a wheelchair was having trouble
reaching for an orange on the tree, and when I went to help him, he
said no one had talked to him in a long time.”

“It is hard to get people together down here.
Some people are happy by themselves, but you are right. Some people
are lonely.”

“Give people an opportunity to meet each
other,” Jake suggested. “Social functions, like dinners or birthday
parties, are great for giving people a place to gather and
meet.”

“What if you had them eat their meals at the
same place?” Katherine added. “If someone would rather eat alone,
then give them that choice, of course. I think people are much
happier if they feel they have a choice over their activities.”

“That is true,” Persephone acknowledged. “I
have noticed there are babies who come through here who, although
they are taken care of by the servants, don’t have the benefit of a
mother, and some women are down here without their children. It
would be nice to pair them up together.”

“Do people marry here?” Jake asked.

“No. They just come here to bide their time
until they die. Then they are burned in the fires of the great
incinerator. There isn’t room for a cemetery down here.”

Katherine shivered. “No wonder this is a sad
place.”

“They should be able to marry down here
though,” Persephone stated, a newfound determination in her voice.
“Babies should have parents who will love them.”

“This world would be a happier place if that
were to happen,” Jake agreed. “Children need parents who care for
them.”

“I must speak with Hades at once. I know we
can create a better place. It may not be as ideal as what it is
above ground, but we can come close to it.” She looked at them with
hope in her eyes. “You will help establish this place, won’t
you?”

Katherine glanced at Jake who nodded his
willingness to help. “It would be a good use of our time,” she
said. “Let’s do what we can!”

Chapter Fourteen

Thousands of years in the past

Atlantis

Above the ground, Demeter was already
manipulating the weather to create a powerful ice storm all over
Atlantis. Amanda and Pallid were inside the store when Demeter’s
full fury poured down from the sky. Amanda glanced out the window
while Pallid was investigating something with the salesman.

Amanda winced at the blinding white snow that
fell from the sky. People ran to the nearest buildings, slipping on
the freezing rain that covered the ground. She shivered. She could
feel the chill seep in through the edges of the window.

Atlantis wasn’t made for severe weather.
Demeter had kept it in a constant state of Spring or Summer. There
weren’t any coats or other clothes that were fit to wear in the
cold temperature, and from what people were saying, the temperature
was continuing to drop at an alarming rate. It was already twenty
degrees Fahrenheit. Soon it would be ten.

She knew it was an unconventional way to use
the magic her planet had granted her, but she made her dress to
operate as a heater. If she wore a coat, she would arouse
suspicion. At least this way, she would look like everyone else but
remain warm.

With a groan, she glanced at Pallid. How much
longer was he going to be? She didn’t even know why they were here.
She had asked several times, and each time, Pallid refused to
satisfy her curiosity.

She sensed something was wrong but couldn’t
put her finger on it. All she knew was that Pallid wasn’t going to
help her destroy the city. He was planning something else. So why
would the Augurs send her here to meet him? They seemed so sure he
was going to help her destroy Atlantis because it was a threat to
the people on Earth, Aug, and Olympia.

She had to find out what he was up to. She
studied the room full of medical supplies. It was a small room, but
the many rows of shelves made it convenient to lose someone in, or
follow someone without being noticed. She strolled by the rows,
making sure to be quiet. The store was busy with people despite the
fact that they weren’t there to shop. She figured it was due to the
cold weather. People wanted to be inside for weather like this. The
idle chitchat of those around her helped give her the anonymity she
needed.

Finally, she spied Pallid and the salesman
down an aisle filled with needles and containers of various fluids.
She couldn’t read the language in this city, so she had no idea
what kind of fluid he wished to put into the needle. She gulped the
lump in her throat. He wasn’t going to inject her with something,
was he? Did Aphrodite’s advice give him the idea to inject her with
a beauty treatment?

She had to find out what he was up to. She
walked down the aisle next to his and pressed her ear to the boxes
of gloves so she could hear their conversation. It wasn’t easy to
distinguish his voice from the others around her, but she managed
to make sense out of what he was saying to the salesman.

“How long will it take to work?” Pallid asked
the man.

“Oh, it should take effect within five
minutes,” the salesman responded. “He won’t feel any pain. He will
simply go to sleep and never wake up. It’s the most painless way to
go.”

“I don’t wish to expose him to any pain. This
is exactly what I’m looking for.”

“It is better than going to the Underworld.
This way your friend can die with dignity. How long has he had
cancer?”

“A few months. The leaders tried to cure him,
but it’s no use. His health will fail soon and he doesn’t wish to
spend the rest of his living days as an outcast.”

“As is to be expected. No one wants that for
him either. This is the most merciful thing you can do for
him.”

Amanda didn’t want to hear anymore. So that
was his plan. He was going to kill her off. Then he could do
whatever he wanted with Atlantis. She quickly backed away from the
boxes and ran past a group of people standing in the aisle. She
didn’t bother to apologize when she bumped into them. She just
wanted to get out of there.

She opened the door and slipped on the ice
until she fell to the ground.

“Let me help you up,” someone offered.

She glanced up and saw a man and woman
standing over her.

“It’s too cold to be out here,” the man
said.

“Where do you want to go?” the woman
asked.

Amanda stood up and looked through the window
behind her. She grimaced when she saw that Pallid was making his
purchase. She didn’t have much time to hide.

“Excuse me,” she quickly said as she rushed
past them.

It was difficult running on the ice. She
slipped several times, her feet not used to such weather. Raz was
pleasant and warm all year around. This was a new experience for
her. She noticed the streets were quickly emptying as people found
shelter from the storm. That made her feel even more vulnerable.
She would soon be all alone out here.

Her dress did little to keep her warm, so she
used her magic to produce a thick, long winter coat. She sighed in
relief as she stopped shivering. She didn’t know what temperature
it was, but she could tell it was significantly colder than when
she’d entered the store.

She examined her surroundings. She was
between two tall buildings, and there were only a handful of people
running to their homes. The snow continued to blow around her. She
couldn’t see anything more than two feet in front of her. She
struggled to remember where the arc was located. It was the only
building she was familiar with, and right now, she needed something
familiar to ease her nerves.

She couldn’t recall ever being afraid before.
It made her realize just how vulnerable she really was, and she
didn’t like that one bit. She timidly walked between the buildings,
aware that Pallid was walking the streets, and he knew exactly
where things were in this city.

After she managed to get around the building
on her right, she turned down the next street. A blast of cold wind
hit her in the face, causing her to close her eyes. This wasn’t
where she wanted to be. She wouldn’t get anywhere going in this
direction, so she turned around. As she entered the street she had
been on moments before, she ran into someone. She screamed in
alarm.

“You’ve got a warm covering!” a gruff voice
said.

She didn’t recognize the tall, strong man in
front of her, but she understood he wasn’t going to make things
easy for her. She quickly backed up.

“Just hand it over,” he ordered. “You’re no
match for a man of my strength.”

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She
was trained to defend herself, but for the life of her, she
couldn’t figure out what to do in a situation like this.

“You don’t want to fight me,” he warned, his
voice sharp.

She bent her legs in her fighting position
but slipped and fell on the ground, her back aching from the
impact.

“This is way too easy.” He reached down to
take her coat off.

She tried to stop him, but the ice and snow
flying viciously around her prevented her from doing so. After he
successfully took the coat, she broke down and started to cry. She
didn’t feel like standing up. She just lay there, shivering and
crying, her entire body fighting hard to stay warm. Several people
passed her by and saw her, yet they kept going to wherever they
were headed.

She had never felt so humiliated in her
entire life. She was the Queen of Raz, but on Atlantis, she was
regarded with contempt. She recalled Aphrodite’s words that were
meant to “help” her but only served to put her down. Another scene
flashed through her mind. She recalled treating Katherine the same
way.

She had gone into Katherine’s bedroom without
asking for permission, as was her way, and started telling
Katherine what she needed to do in order to attract the men on Raz
who were not good enough for Amanda.