Back to Atlantis by Bar Sagi (best book reader txt) 📗

curtsying. “This is most improper. We were in the middle of a very important lesson.”

Princes Amanda straightened and fixed Gloriana with her sharp gaze. “I need the mage for royally important matters. The queen would also agree that this is something I need her for. I’m sure your lesson will be arranged for later. Good day.” And with that, she took Yasmin out of the library.

Yasmin snuck a glance at Gloriana, who looked shocked. She grinned to herself. She could finally breathe! Those lessons were getting on her nerves! She had not had a second to breathe in days!

Out in the hallway, Amanda let go of Yasmin’s hand and turned to her, still slightly out of breath. “You won’t believe it!” She sounded happier than Yasmin had ever seen her, her beautiful face flushed. “You won’t believe what happened!”

Yasmin smiled slightly. Whatever had happened, it must be good. “Did you find the headquarters of the rebels?”

Amanda sagged a bit, but then came up again, grinning more than ever. “I’m getting close. But that’s not the good news. My mother finally agreed to an alliance with the rogue army!” She held up a brown leather notebook, which Yasmin hadn’t noticed until now. “I’ve got to tell Maven! He’ll be so happy! He’s been working so hard lately.” A sad look crossed her eyes.

Yasmin looked closer at the notebook, which seemed old and tattered. “I’ve been meaning to ask for a while. Are you and Maven dating?” She noticed with curiosity that Amanda’s face had gone pale.

Amanda took her outside and whispered, “How did you know?” She seemed terrified someone would find out.

Yasmin shivered. It was cold! March wasn’t a very good month to be outside. Taking in Amanda’s pale face, she wondered, why does it have to be a secret? Probably the queen again. I think that woman has it out for couples.

“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,