Thousands of years in the past
Atlantis
Pallid and Amanda were walking down the steps on the female leaders’ side of the arc when she demanded to know what the confrontation with Avar was about.
“Why were you so mean to him?” she pressed.
“He’s not who you think he is,” Pallid replied. He knew it was a vague answer, but she didn’t have the memories of how the Augur deceived many of the citizens into following him. His entire platform was built on pride and deception.
“He seems like a nice man to me,” she said.
“Of course, he does. You don’t know any better.”
“You love to criticize me, don’t you?”
He stopped and stared at her, as if the eye contact would help her understand the moral character of the man. “He preys on the innocent. He is adored by many, but they do not know who he really is or what he’s capable of. He sensed your purity and desired to take it away from you.”
Her eyes widened. “He only wanted to eat a meal with me. He didn’t want sex.”
“That’s what he wanted you to think so you would trust him. Amanda, you have to understand this city is not Raz. The males here would love nothing more than to take your virginity.”
“Why?”
He had to remind himself she grew up in a sheltered world. It wasn’t her fault she was incredibly naive. “This is a city of pleasure, in many forms. One of those forms is sexual gratification. It is considered a rare privilege to take someone’s virginity.”
“Are you like that, too?”
He noted the disgust in her voice. “No. Neither are the other Infers or the rest of the Augurs, save Avar. Infers and Augurs must keep their lines pure by having sex with their assigned spouse. Avar is granted the right to do as he pleases since the leaders regard him so highly. He is second to them. The rest of us are mere creatures.”
She frowned, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Before he could ask her about it, Hermes flew up the arc, calling out for Pallid and Amanda to clear his way. Noting the leader’s urgency, Pallid pressed Amanda against Demeter’s office window so that she was out of Hermes’ way. Hermes flew directly into Demeter’s office. Pallid wondered what the rush was about. He quickly ran through the events that happened during this time in Atlantis’ past.
“Will you please move away from me?” Amanda snapped.
“Sorry,” he apologized, not even aware he had been too close to her. He stepped away from her and watched Hermes’ interaction with Demeter.
Others were just as curious and stopped on the stairs to watch the scene unfold before them.
“I found your daughter,” Hermes told Demeter.
Demeter put aside her pen and stood up. “Where is she?”
“Persephone is in the Underworld. Apparently, Hades has taken a liking to her and dragged her down there to be with him against her will. He refuses to bring her back.”
“My sweet daughter is a prisoner down there? In the Underworld? I must speak with Zeus at once. He will force that monster to release her.”
Ignoring everyone else, she raced out of her office and up the stairs to the very top of the arc where Zeus was known to spend most of his time.
“At last she has found her daughter,” a woman nearby said, sighing with relief. “She is such a wonderful mother. This shouldn’t be happening to her.”
“And Persephone is so pleasant,” her friend agreed. “She doesn’t deserve to be forced down to the Underworld.”
Others agreed then continued their walk up, or down, the stairs.
“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.