by Bar Sagi
David looked worried again. “My mother is taking care of it, she gives the kingdom a lot more thought than she does me and my family. They should be fine.”
“Okay.” Yasmin suddenly felt uncomfortable, and she didn’t know what to do. She had been very mean to him the last time they had seen each other, and she had said some unforgivable things. Even if he deserved it, that didn’t matter.
She wouldn’t feel better until she apologized. And then she would find out the truth. Did David ever really like her?
“Look, Yasmin.” David looked very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat nervously. “I need to go back. I have work to do. The rebels are getting out of control.”
Yasmin’s head throbbed. And she felt her eyes sting with tears. How could she apologize to him if he didn’t want to be near her? He obviously hated her, and that was that. “Just to be clear,” she said, trying to push aside her pain. “Are we broken up yet?”
She had the satisfaction of seeing David stiffen, and a look of pain come to his face. “I don’t know,” he whispered. For the first time in a while, his mask broke and he was just a normal boy again. “I thought you would hate me now.” He hung his head. “I certainly deserve it, huh?”
Yasmin’s head throbbed again. It was getting harder to think straight. “I don’t know, David,” she said. “I really don’t like that prince back at the ball who did nothing while his friends were attacked.” She swallowed hard. “But I loved the David who helped me realize who I am. The funny, sweet guy who I really want to find again.”
She swiped at her cheek. It was wet and dirty. “Who are you now?” she asked David. “Are you the one I love or the one I hate?”
David didn’t answer. He just looked at her, shocked. “You don’t like me because I’m a prince?” he asked, like that was the most important thing.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Yasmin cried, nearly banging her head on the wall. “I hate the fact that you are a prince. I feel like the palace has trapped you somehow.” She scowled at David. “And there are much more important things to discuss. Did you ever like me?” She crossed her arms, refusing to soften. Even when David was showing her his puppy dog face.
“I can’t answer that.” He didn’t look at her. “I have to go. The rebels are causing problems.”
He left her for real then, leaving her blinking away tears. Why wouldn’t he answer her question? Unless he really didn’t know? Or maybe he just didn’t care. Staring at the ceiling wide-eyed, Yasmin tried to think of what to do next.
Luckily, she didn’t have to. Just then, Gloriana came in, wearing a long black robe that looked very formal. In her ears hung earrings, and her hair was tied up. She looked a bit tired, but that might have been Yasmin’s imagination.
And as always, Gloriana had that sharp look in her eye that caught everything.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, her eyes catching all the dirt in her hair. Yasmin suddenly felt the urge to take a bath. “Thanks to our efforts, the villagers will be okay.” She massaged her neck. “Though, I must admit, it was a bit rough. Because there were no rivers nearby, we had to dry up all the water in the air. And take a bit from the clouds. At least it paid off.”
Yasmin just stared at her. Why was Gloriana here? “Why are you being nice to me, Gloriana?” she asked. “I thought you didn’t like me.”
“I try not to instantly like people,” Gloriana said stiffly. “We just met a week ago. And besides, you acted like you didn’t like me.”
“That’s because you drove me to the maximum!” Yasmin pointed out, suddenly overcome with the urge to giggle. It seemed so funny now, so small.
“And without that training, you wouldn’t have survived that last ordeal,” Gloriana retorted. “You had better put on your finest clothes. We have an audience with the queen.”
Chapter 7
The queen
Trying to ignore her aching head, Yasmin put on her fanciest clothes. She had her opal necklace, which she sadly couldn’t take off, and cute feather earrings. But other than that, she had nothing even slightly girly. Except for a black silk skirt that billowed like the wind, which she didn’t even know she had.
Pulling it on, along with a gray shirt, made her feel as ready as she would ever be. As long as no one shouted, she would be able to manage her headache.
Rubbing her head, Yasmin tried to find Gloriana. She was quickly lost, however, in the maze of rooms and corridors. She felt bad for the people who cleaned it.
Waling over to the nearest person, Yasmin asked her where to queen was right now. She said she was Gloriana’s student. The woman’s big brown eyes had widened so much they were the size of plates. She gave her a map, which even after a few wrong turns, managed to lead her to the meeting room.
The guards standing at the door eyed her warily, and clearly they knew who she was. But they opened the great gold door, which led to the meeting room.
If you could even call it that. It was huge, with marble floors. The silver curtains were drawn back to let the light in, and the windows were made of glass so transparent it was like air. The walls were a pearly color, and around a stone table—a really big one—about fifty people sat, arguing heatedly.
A voice rang out among all the others. “Enough!” It was the queen, brilliant but cold in a vibrant red dress. Her hair was hanging freely, but her eyes commanded silence.
Even though Yasmin didn’t like her—not just because of the harsh greeting, but what Amanda had said. It was because David seemed afraid of her.
She had to admire the way the queen took command. She looked flawless, like a sculpture of ice, so cold it was unable to melt.
The shouting turned into mummers. Everyone was looking at the queen now, but she was looking at Gloriana.
“Gloriana,” she said in a clear voice. “Your student is here. The mage. Why is she here?” It was clear that the queen hadn’t told her to come here. Yasmin wanted to stay even more now.
“Yesterday she saw part of the truth, your majesty. She saw how much the people of Atlantis are suffering,” Gloriana said. “It made me realize that Yasmin wants to help people, but she doesn’t know how.”
“Neither do we,” the queen said angrily. “She is a child. And one who has no control over her temper.”
Yasmin bit her tongue. She wanted to tell the queen she could control her temper perfectly fine, but she also wanted to hear what would happen next.
“She has the power to change the tide,” Gloriana pointed out, shooting a look at Yasmin that said ‘Silence!’ “And I believe that we need her help. But for her to trust us, we should trust her. And let her be a part of everything.”
Silence followed her words. Most of them had probably never considered that side. But the mage was still a child. And many of them weren’t sure she could handle it. It wasn’t just sheer power. They needed motivation. The kingdom had given up, and the mage needed to be a light in the dark.
A hand rose. “I will vouch for her,” Amanda said, surprising everyone.
The queen inclined her head. “Very well,” she agreed. “But if the child loses her temper, both of you will be banned from these meetings.” She sifted her attention back to Gloriana. “Now, I believe we were talking about the condition of the village. How many survivors?”
“Seventy, your majesty.” She hesitated. “One of them claims they were taking prisoners.”
Yasmin gasped. Wasn’t it bad enough to kill someone, but take them prisoner? That was horrid. Because if you weren’t rescued, the only way to save you was to hurt your country. They would be trading their freedom for the lives of their country.
“Master Ashtree.” The queen addressed an elderly man in the back of the room. “I suggest we all double the watch for enemy spellcasters and the rebellion.”
Master Ashtree raised his tired blue eyes at her. “What do you think I h
ave been doing, your majesty?” he said, his voice nearly gone. “I have been using all my magic to help my spellcasters in any way I can.” He spread his hands. “We are all spent out, all of us but Gloriana and the mage. Perhaps they can give us energy to fight.”
A whisper of agreement built up in the room.
Yasmin felt a bit afraid. How could she be asked to do something she had no idea how to do? And could she even really help them, if all these people failed?
“You can’t.” Gloriana’s voice rang out clear above the rest.
“Why not?” Master Ashtree asked. “Attached to your new student, Gloriana?”
“Her power is too much for her body to take,” Gloriana said. “As you know, there were two mages for the first time in history. Abby Silvertree and Yasmin Rose Hill.”
A voice rang out. “We know the basic knowledge, Gloriana!” he said. “Stop wasting our time!”
Gloriana glared at him. “When Abby Silvertree died, Yasmin’s body and mind were only barely adjusting to the power she had then. She would have died or lost complete control of her power. But Abby’s magic was absorbed into her necklace, which keeps it hidden until she is ready. So while she has a lot of magic power, she is not a mage.”
Chapter 8
A spellcaster in training
“What?!” Master Ashtree shouted, his eyes wide like saucers.
He wasn’t the only one. All around the room, people were loud and confused. They were trying to figure out what was going on.
Gloriana and the queen, along with Amanda, were the only ones silent. Amanda also looked very confused, and she appeared to be looking for a way to calm things down.
Gloriana, on the other hand, was drawing something in the air, muttering words. Suddenly a loud trumpet sounded throughout the room.
Yasmin winced and clasped her hands to her ears. Everyone else did the same, except Gloriana, who seemed to have earplugs.
“Gloriana!” The queen slammed her hands down on the table. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“I am sorry, your majesty.” Gloriana bowed, her face solemn. “I wanted to quiet everyone down, and I could think of no other way.”
“Not about that!” The queen rubbed her head. She seemed very disturbed. She squeezed her eyes, and a shadow passed over her face. It smoothed out, and she had a calm face when she opened her eyes. It reminded Yasmin of ice, but also glass.
“Why did you–is this true about the mage?” the queen asked. “We need the mage, and we went through all this trouble. Are you sure you weren’t making a mistake?”
“There is a simple way to check.” Master Ashtree stood up. He walked over to Yasmin, who was feeling very uncomfortable. If they wouldn’t let her participate in the debate, then she should have brought a book!
“Young mage.” Yasmin looked up, startled. “Can you conjure a ball of light for me?” He looked at Yasmin’s opal necklace. “You have put a lot of power in that,” Master Ashtree said. “But there is some evil in there, too.”
“Master!” Gloriana’s voice sounded impatient. “Will you please do the test now? I don’t like people thinking I’m wrong.”
“Just a minute, Gloriana.” Master Ashtree looked at her necklace again. He was frowning. “All right. Conjure a ball of light. Like so.” Master Ashtree conjured a bright beige ball of light.
“I don’t know how,” Yasmin said, a bit embarrassed. But it looked cool.
“Just imagine a ball of light, child. It’s very simple.”
That sounded not too hard. Yasmin closed her eyes and imagined a bright ball of light in her hand, full of thought and feelings and blue.
“Hmm,” Master Ashtree said, startling Yasmin. She opened her eyes to find she was holding a ball of light. It shone, but not as brightly as Master Ashtree’s. It was blue all right, but that wasn’t all. Inside, it had flickers of green and pink.
“Well?” the queen demanded. “Master Ashtree, is she a mage?”
Master Ashtree looked at the queen, deep in thought. He was silent for a bit. “No,” he said, clearly. “But she has three different magic powers inside her. And one of them is from the rebellion.”
The queen held up a hand before people could begin shouting again. “Please explain.”
“That pink is the second mage’s power inside her. And that green thing, if I’m not mistaken, is the power that was used to control the second mage. She was weak.” Master Ashtree scoffed.
Yasmin didn’t move a muscle. She felt like a doll, only to be seen and used. And she also didn’t know if she should defend Abby, or agree with them. Because Abby hadn’t spoken to her since yesterday. And neither had David.
“Young spellcaster.”
Yasmin looked up.
“Have you been experiencing any weird dreams? Ones that don’t seem right?”
Yasmin hesitated. She didn’t want to tell about her recent dream, for some reason. She felt like it was private. But she had been having dreams for a while.
“I have been having prophetic dreams for half a year now,” Yasmin said. “Way before I learned I had magic.”
“That’s not what I meant, child, and you know it!” Master Ashtree scowled. “Have you been having dreams compelling you to join the rebellion?”
“NO!” Yasmin declared, looking straight at the queen, daring her to argue. “Now, can I please be included in the conversation, instead of being a doll? Because while I am curious about my powers, didn’t Gloriana give you an answer? I just need practice.”
“Leave at once, mage.” The queen pointed at the door. “We must discuss this and get back to you about if you can join us.”
Yasmin left, gladly. Was Princess Amanda the only sane one in the family? Because they seemed like royal pains. And all she wanted to do was go home!
She spent lunch in the kitchen, eating part of a chicken and rice until she was full. She still couldn’t shake off the feeling the meeting room gave her: that she was just a doll to them. And Yasmin didn’t know if she could even fight that or not.
As a way to escape, she went to the library, to try to bury her problems in reading. She couldn’t tell her parents about all this. They would tell her to come home, and she couldn’t take that.
And she didn’t want to tell her friends. Even Miriam. Because they wouldn’t be able to help.
Looking at all the books in the beautiful library, Yasmin looked for a fiction one. She didn’t want to read about the royal history of Atlantis now, or even still be here. So fiction was perfect.
“Miss Mage?” A young boy tugged at her sleeve.
He had light brown skin and short brown hair. He wore glasses and had a very serious look in his green eyes. A book was in his hands. “Will you come outside with me for a moment?”
Yasmin frowned, confused. What could this boy want with her? Well, she thought. If he is a book lover, then it is okay.
So she followed him into the corridor. The boy looked around, like he was checking no one was there. Then he wacked her on the arm with his book. Hard.
“Oww!” Yasmin yelped, clutching her arm. “What was that for?”
“That was for my brother, you horrid mage!” the boy said. His green eyes, so serious before, were burning. “You broke his heart!”
“Who…?” Yasmin wondered, but only for a second. The seriousness in his eyes was so similar to David’s, as was the way he held himself, or used to. Like he was carrying the weight of the world.
“You’ve got it wrong, mister!” she said, hurt. “He broke my heart! Not the other way around!” What had David been telling his little brother?
“You told him all those horrid things at the ball!” The boy pointed out, and Yasmin winced. She still felt a bit guilty for that.
“And when I tried to talk about our relationship, he just walked away!” She was so overcome with emotion. �
�You understand nothing of romances, little boy.”
The boy’s face colored. “I am not a little boy,” he said, icily. “My name is Prince Max and I am the third prince of Atlantis.”
“I don’t care much for royalty,” Yasmin retorted. “And let me tell you this, Max. Your brother won’t even tell me the truth. He won’t even tell me he hates me. He just keeps me in the dark, and all this time he was engaged!”
Max’s face hardened. “The troubles of royalty.”
Yasmin sighed. “Just go away, little boy.” She had no interest in arguing. Max obviously thought being royalty meant you were perfect. Well, not to her. To her it meant a lot of problems that didn’t have answers. And she had no interest in talking to a wall.
“Fine,” Max said, walking away. “But remember, you will be punished!” He turned back and glared at her. It was clear he hated her.
Yasmin ignored him and went back in the library. She only had as much free time as long as the meeting went on.
Around three in the afternoon, Yasmin stretched and looked around. She was hungry. Was the meeting still going on? Well, whatever. She would have a snack.
Just as she was walking out of the library, Yasmin bumped into Gloriana.
“Yasmin!” Gloriana sounded out of breath. “I have been looking for you! The meeting ended a while ago.”
“Okay,” Yasmin said. “But can I have an apple before we begin training?” Her stomach rumbled, ceasing the need for further explanation.
“No.” Gloriana grabbed her hand and dragged her to the courtyard. “From now on, you will also be learning to fight with your sword. It might come in handy. Plus, the more physical training, the better.”
For the next two months, Yasmin trained. She visited her family briefly on Chanukah, and every week on Saturday. She avoided the royal family with a passion. And David ignored her, so she ignored him.
Even though she felt a pang in her heart every time she thought of him, the pangs were getting less frequent. She hoped that meant she was learning to live with all of that.