Royal Heiress (13 page)

“We should go, too,” Pallid told Amanda.

“What was that all about?” Amanda asked.

“Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her to
the Underworld to marry her. Demeter has just discovered where her
daughter’s been for the last three weeks, and she is on her way to
plead her case to Zeus, but Zeus won’t interfere because he’s
afraid of Hades. This will cause Demeter to use her weather making
technology to plunge Atlantis into an immediate winter. Zeus, due
to all the complaints he’ll receive, will consent to Demeter’s
wishes and go to the Underworld to bring her daughter back.”

“But Persephone will have eaten six
pomegranate seeds so Hades and Demeter will be forced to share
her,” she said.

“That’s how it will turn out. Of course,
we’re not supposed to know that.”

They walked down the steps in silence for a
few minutes before she spoke again. “Will this affect
Katherine?”

“I don’t think so. She’ll just stay in one of
the temporary dwellings until I finish with my plan. Then we’ll get
her and Jake out of there.”

“What will her dwelling be like?”

Startled at her concern, he paused and
glanced at her. “Cold and impersonal. It is carved into the side of
a cave. She will be given the basic necessities but nothing more.
Thankfully, Jake will be there to keep her company. It is a lonely
place if you’re alone, and most of the people there are alone since
their loved ones stay up here until they are either too old to be
up here anymore or are deemed unfit for society.”

“Oh. It sounds horrible. If I had known that
it was going to be that bad for her, I would have made her wear a
veil.”

“She had to make her own decision.”

“She made the wrong one.”

“Perhaps. Who knows? Maybe something good
will come of it.”

She scoffed. “That is hard to imagine.”

“It isn’t impossible. I sense Jake is
interested in her. She may end up with a marriage proposal.”

Amanda laughed. “You’re kidding.”

He raised an eyebrow, dismayed at her
reaction. “What is so funny about it?”

“For one, she belongs on Raz. Jake’s world is
here. They cannot be together. And second, he’s only with her right
now because he feels sorry for her. I noticed he tends to be soft
towards others.”

“Is that what you really think? Is she always
shoved to the sidelines on Raz?”

“I make it a point to include her. I mention
her good qualities to men all the time.”

“Men who are courting you, correct?”

“Well…I hadn’t thought of it that way, but
yes. I suppose they are all coming to see me. I don’t remember
anyone coming to see her. But that’s because I’m the queen. Those
men just want to be king. They aren’t interested in me either.”

“Maybe not all of them, but I’m sure some of
them are. You are attractive and men notice that kind of
thing.”

She blushed. “You really think I’m
attractive?”

He frowned at her. Could a woman be any
shallower than this one standing before him? “I want you to meet
one of the leaders.”

She blinked at his change of subject but
nodded.

He stopped in front of Aphrodite’s office.
There were ten men—all good looking—vying for Aphrodite’s
attention. They had brought her many gifts in order to please her
and win her over. She looked absolutely stunning. Compared to her,
Amanda didn’t have a chance, which was exactly what he wanted
Amanda to understand. It would be good for her to gain a new
perspective on Katherine’s situation. He waited for Aphrodite to
wave him in before leading Amanda into the office with him.

“Infer Number 177, what a pleasure it is to
see you,” Aphrodite warmly greeted.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he replied,
giving her a slight bow in respect to her authority.

The ten men looked at Amanda but hardly gave
her a second glance. Their sole purpose was to win the heart, if
not just one night, with the most beautiful woman on Atlantis.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, Aphrodite,”
Pallid spoke. “I just came to ask if there is anything new you
would like me to remember for you?”

She twirled her long wavy hair around her
fingers thoughtfully. Her gorgeous red dress flowed neatly around
her figure. “No.” She shook her head. “I can’t think of a single
thing. You already know about my son Cupid creating all kinds of
trouble with his drinks to make people fall in love with each
other. I’m still working with Zeus and Hera to get him to stop. It
is totally inappropriate behavior.”

“Yes, I recall that very well.” The men
around her seemed to grow displeased by her lack of attention to
them, but Pallid didn’t let that stop him from introducing Amanda.
“By the way, this is a friend of mine, Amanda. I thought you might
be able to help her. It is what you do best.”

Aphrodite giggled. “You know exactly what to
say to get me to do your bidding. If you weren’t limited to your
wife, I’d love to show you what I’m really good at.”

He cleared his throat at her meaning.
Aphrodite was well-known for her sexual pursuits.

“I’ll be just another minute,” she told the
ten men who grinned widely since she had spoken directly to them.
She turned to Amanda and scanned her critically up and down.
“Amanda, you have potential. You seem to have natural good looks,
so I am assuming that you have never had cosmetic surgery to
enhance your beauty?”

Amanda swallowed the lump in her throat. “No.
I didn’t even know such things existed.”

“You are a visitor then! No wonder I didn’t
recognize you. You’re in luck. We happen to offer beauty treatments
to visitors. It is a new service I insisted on. I think if you can
look even better when you return home, then I have done you, and
those who look at you, a great service. Here are some brochures you
might find to your liking.” She handed Amanda a few colorful pieces
of paper. “You will see that we offer every kind of treatment
available. The most popular one is the Aphrodite’s Deluxe
Treatment. It will give you my figure and eliminate all wrinkles. I
can’t make anyone look like me, though many women have often wished
to. We haven’t developed that far in our technology yet. I’m afraid
you’ll just have to be content to look less beautiful than me.”

“Oh, okay,” Amanda slowly said, her face
growing pale.

“I would also recommend a wonderful clothing
store down by the water. It’s called Aphrodite’s Boutique. The
owner is a man who named it after me because I was his inspiration.
You will find the most exquisite clothes not found anywhere else on
this planet. It will give the illusion of having the perfect figure
so men will be drooling all over you. There are also accessories
there like make-up. It would really help with your inadequately
thin lips and pale complexion. It doesn’t wear off in the rain
either, so you can look great in any kind of weather.” She winked
at her. “You never know when you’ll want to have fun in the
water.”

Amanda only nodded again.

“It would help if you stood up straighter,
too,” Aphrodite continued. “Your posture needs to convey
confidence. Men don’t want a woman who thinks too little of
herself. You could also stand to lose about ten pounds. The curves
you have are nice, but your face is a little on the chubby side. We
do offer a beauty treatment to surgically remove the fat from you
so you don’t have to diet. You will find that in one of our
brochures as well.”

“Yes, um, thank you. I think I’ve heard
enough,” Amanda said before Aphrodite could continue. “Infer Number
177 is anxious to go shopping.”

“Of course. I understand. It was a pleasure
to meet you, and if you have any questions or want any more help,
please come by any time my office door is open. If it’s closed,
it’s because I’m busy.”

The men chuckled at Aphrodite’s words.

Amanda blanched at the woman’s meaning,
finally understanding what kind of society she had stepped into.
She mutely waved her thanks to the leader and left the room.

Pallid grinned to himself as he helped Amanda
down the steps. Maybe now she wouldn’t think too highly of herself.
“I take it Aphrodite was different when you met her on Olympia,” he
said.

Amanda shook her head, still looking
bewildered. “She was nice on Olympia.”

“What do you think of her here?”

“I don’t like her. She wasn’t helping me. She
was being critical of me.”

“Fortunately, she changed her ways since she
lived here.”

“Yes. Fortunately. I hope she was sincere on
Olympia when she said I was beautiful and could have any man I
wanted with the snap of my fingers. Maybe she really didn’t think
much of me at all.”

“No, Amanda. She was true to you on Olympia.
The leaders changed after Atlantis sank into the ocean. They
developed a sense of humility they lacked before. They no longer
thought too highly of themselves.”

“Thank goodness Atlantis sank then. Who would
want to live in this kind of world? It’s all fake.”

He sighed. It seemed as if their visit with
Aphrodite didn’t accomplish what he had hoped it would. Instead of
making the comparison between herself and Katherine, Amanda had
chosen to look at things from a different angle. How was it
possible for anyone to be so vain? He felt sorry for the man she
ended up with.

Giving up, he led Amanda to the store where
he could buy the weapon he would use to kill Avar. He wouldn’t let
Amanda distract him any longer. From this moment forward, he was
going to do everything he could to save his beloved city.

Chapter Thirteen

Thousands of years in the past

Atlantis

Meanwhile, the old man led Katherine and
Jake to Hades’ mansion. He rang the bell, which chimed a melancholy
tune. She thought it fit with the mood of this world. There was no
happiness here.

The door seemed to open on its own. It took
her a second glance to realize a petite woman had answered the
door. She wore a long black dress and limped as she went to summon
her master.

Katherine’s first impression of Hades was
that he was an intimidating figure in his black clothes and cape.
He was tall. His black hair matched his dark eyes. He would have
fit in perfectly here if it weren’t for the fact that he was
extremely handsome, even when he scowled.

“I did not wish to be interrupted,” Hades
growled at the old man. “I am trying to talk Persephone into having
something to eat. As soon as Hermes tells Demeter where her
daughter is, I have little chance at getting Persephone to marry
me.”

“I am sorry for bothering you, leader,” the
old man began. “I thought you might be interested in meeting this
woman and her friend. She is the only person, besides Persephone,
that I have found Cerebus taking an immediate liking to.”

Hades raised an eyebrow in interest.
“Really?”

The man nodded.

For the first time, Hades addressed the two.
“You are not residents of Atlantis. I would have recognized you if
you were.”

“We are visitors,” Jake replied.

“Then you have no business being here. It’s
not the ideal vacation spot. If I were you, I’d leave this place
and check out another city on Earth. There are more understanding
and compassionate societies than this one.”

“My sister has to be here,” Katherine
informed him. “I was told I had to accompany her. However, in order
to stay up there, I’d have to hide my face behind a veil.”

Hades rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable. There’s
nothing wrong with the way you look. The other leaders are getting
more and more ridiculous in their standards of perfection. If it
was up to me, you’d be allowed to remain up there without a veil.
Unfortunately, my vote doesn’t count for much up there.”

She appreciated his words. Certainly, there
was a note of compassion in this place despite the dreariness
around them.

“So Cerebus likes you,” Hades said, his voice
thoughtful. “He knows something the rest of us don’t. Cerebus is
very picky about who he’ll accept. You and your friend must stay in
this mansion while your sister performs her business. I will have
my servants set up the rooms for you.” He motioned for the thin
woman to escort them to their rooms. “Unfortunately, I have other
matters to tend to at the moment, so I cannot be a gracious
host.”

Katherine hesitated to say something, but
then she figured she might as well. After all, she had nothing to
lose. “If I may speak, please let me do so.”

Hades granted her request.

“I have heard much about Persephone from
where I live,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “May I speak
with her?”

He sighed. “You might as well. I have done
all I could. If she won’t marry me by now, it will never
happen.”

She knew he would end up marrying her, but
she had often wondered if it was something Persephone wanted or if
she was forced into it.

The servant led them to Persephone’s room.
Her door was closed so the servant knocked on it. “She is very
nice,” the servant said. “But she is sad.”

Katherine nodded, expecting that to be the
case.

The door opened. Persephone’s long, curly
light-brown hair was pulled back through an onyx and diamond crown
that Hades had given her. She wore a black dress with diamonds
embedded into it. Katherine was surprised Persephone wore this
attire. She had expected Persephone to be wearing clothes suited
for her position above ground.

“Please, tell Hades I cannot accept any more
of his gifts,” Persephone said. “My mother will be here to get me
soon. I cannot be with him. She will not allow it.”

“He didn’t come bearing more gifts,” the
servant replied. “A young lady and gentleman have asked to speak
with you.” She gestured to Katherine and Jake. “Cerebus likes the
lady.”

Persephone didn’t hide her surprise. “I
thought that dog didn’t like anyone.”