Royal Heiress (4 page)

“There you are, being mean to me again!”

“Not mean, Amanda. Just realistic. You don’t
understand humility.”

“That’s nonsense. I’m humble. Why, the other
day I handed out candy to the children in a village.”

“That’s not humility. Humility is being able
to put the other person’s wellbeing before your own. It’s more than
handing out candy or accepting invitations from all the men who
want a chance to be the king.” She stopped talking when she saw the
glazed look in her sister’s eyes. Amanda really didn’t get it.
Amanda assumed she was just fine, and until she could acknowledge
the problem, it wasn’t going to do her any good. “Forget it. I give
up. I’m sure you’ll find that everyone in your circle of existence
will do as you say.”

Amanda huffed. “I can tell when I’m not
wanted. I’m going to have Matthew pack my bags. I’m on my way to
Olympia to visit the gods and goddesses there. At least they
appreciate me.”

Katherine held her tongue as her sister
stormed out of the room. When her sister was safely out of view,
Katherine mumbled, “Like packing your own bags for once in your
life would kill you.”

She picked up the block of wood and started
to carve into it, but the tears falling from her eyes blurred her
vision. She put the wood and knife down. She hated her sister. She
hated the fact that she lived in Amanda’s shadow and always would.
She threw herself down on her bed and cried.

Chapter Four

Cincinnati, Ohio

Planet: Earth

Jake waited in the airport for the man to
get off the plane. Jake was still shocked the man from Italy had
indeed remembered his phone number and address. It was as if the
man had a pristine memory.

The description William had written of the
man on the piece of paper was all Jake needed to spot him in the
crowded airport. The man wore all white. Even his hair and cane
were white. So the man’s appearance didn’t startle him. What
startled him was the fact that the man looked like he was in his
late twenties. Jake had expected an old man, or at least someone in
his sixties.

The man smiled and walked over to him. “You
resemble your father,” the man said as they shook hands.

Jake grimaced at the comment.

“I take it that my statement bothers you,”
the man noted.

“I never saw my father. He wasn’t exactly
happy to have a child.”

The man nodded. “You don’t need to explain.
It is your business.”

“Do you have a name? You know mine.”

“You’re Jake Stafford. That’s a good name. As
for mine, I think Pallid works best.”

“Pallid?” Where did he ever come up with such
an unusual name?

“It was the name someone special called me
years ago. I use it in memory of her.”

“Oh.”

“I suppose I look younger than you expected,”
he said as they walked to the luggage claim area. “You probably
expected me to be the age your father would have been if he had
lived.”

He blinked. It was as if the man could read
his mind. “Actually, yes.”

“I’m immortal,” he whispered so no one would
overhear. “I don’t expect you to believe me. Not right away. But
you will once we have a chance to talk in private.”

Jake closed his mouth, determined to wait
until they were in his hotel before he asked for details. The man
who called himself Pallid was slightly intimidating. He seemed to
know more than he should for someone so young. It wasn’t so much in
the things he said as it was in the way he held himself, talked,
and moved. Everything about him was perfected, as if he’d had
centuries to master his motions.

They quietly rode in the cab to Jake’s hotel.
Now that Pallid was here, he didn’t know where to begin or what to
do. He couldn’t escape the overwhelming feeling in the pit of his
stomach that this was going to change his entire life.

When they stepped into the hotel, Jake made
arrangements for Pallid’s room. “It’s the least I can do for having
you fly across the world to see me,” he quickly explained before
Pallid could argue. “Besides, my dad had more money than anyone
could imagine. It’s time it went to something useful.”

“Ah, yes. He did have a hefty bank account.”
They turned from the counter and entered the elevator. “That is how
he could afford to bring Atlantis back from the ocean.”

Jake studied him. “Is that what his big goal
in life was, to resurrect Atlantis?”

“Yes. He wanted to rule it. I wanted to
resurrect Atlantis, too. That is how we met.”

“I take it the plan didn’t work.”

“No, it did not. And it may have been a
blessing in disguise.”

The elevator door opened, and they entered
the hallway.

“This is my room. Yours will be down there.”
Jake motioned down the corridor.

“I would like to see the contents of your
father’s box before retiring for the night, if that is alright with
you.”

“I’m anxious to hear what you think about it.
Come in.”

Pallid sat in one of the two chairs in the
room.

“I’ll order something to eat. Does pizza
sound too boring?” Jake asked.

“Pizza is fine.”

Jake set the box in front of him so he could
examine its contents before he picked up the phone. He briefly
noted Pallid’s joy as he read the papers in the box. After Jake
made his order, he sat across from him. “What do you think?”

“I told you I was immortal,” Pallid reminded
him. “I have a stone in my cane, right here at the top. This stone
is responsible for that immortality. Technically, I am thousands of
years old, but with this stone, I am 28. That’s the age I was when
I found the stone.”

Jake remained silent, unsure of what to
say.

“Brace yourself. There’s more,” Pallid
warned. “I was born on Atlantis. It did exist, and it was the most
beautiful and technologically advanced city that ever existed on
Earth. It still exists under the ocean, just waiting for someone to
bring it back up.”

Finally, Jake laughed. “This is all a joke.
Okay. I get it. Now I know I’ve wasted my time in talking to
you.”

“No, Jake. This is real. I have proof.”

Jake started to shake his head, wondering how
far the man was going to take this when the man took a small mirror
out of the pocket of his suit jacket. The sides of the mirror were
silver with sapphire buttons on the side of the frame. His smile
faded into a look of shock when he saw the picture of him and Clark
sitting in the lawyer’s office.

“What is this? Did you record me?” he
demanded.

“No. It’s not a video recorder. It’s a life
recorder. I can look up anyone or anything on this mirror and see
whatever I wish to. This not only reveals the past, but it also
reveals the future and the mysterious ‘what ifs’ in life. This
button here will play the scenario for you.”

Jake pressed the button. His heart pounded
fiercely in his chest as he watched Clark read the letter to him.
“How do I stop this?” he asked.

“This button does that.”

He immediately pressed it. Glancing up at
Pallid, he asked, “How do I know this really does what you say? For
all I know, the lawyer had a video recorder in the room and gave
this to you.”

“I’ll show you a part of your future then.”
Pallid took the mirror from him and pressed a button. The scene on
the mirror showed Jake in a large library looking out of the window
at an impressive city whose buildings seemed to change color
despite the thunderstorm raging outside.

“How did you get this?” Jake asked. “I’ve
never been there. I don’t even know where that place is.”

“It’s Atlantis. You will be there.”

“I don’t understand. How did you get that
image on the screen?”

“I held it and simply thought the question in
my mind. This device can pick up on human thought. Here, you try
it. Hold it firmly in your hands and make your request. You can ask
it to look into your past or into your future. You can even ask it
what would have happened if Nichols raised you.”

Jake took it from him and
held it. He had to select something Pallid could not possibly know
about him. It had to be something no one could know. Finally, he
came up with a part of his past that was his special secret. Taking
a deep breath, he silently asked his question,
Where did I go when I felt sad as a child?
He opened his eyes and gasped when he saw his
favorite tree that stood by a lake.

“Now do you believe me?” Pallid asked.

“I don’t have any choice but to,” he finally
admitted.

Pallid nodded in satisfaction. “Do you know
the details of your father’s death?”

“Does it matter?”

“Only in the intergalactic sense.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. What could that
mean?

“There is life on other planets. Many planets
outside of our galaxy have abundant life on them,” Pallid said.
“Your father died in a battle with the queen from the planet called
Raz, which is located in the Enchanted Galaxy. Shortly before his
death, I learned that the queen’s daughter, Amanda, will come to
Earth and destroy Atlantis. Atlantis will come up from the ocean
again, and when it does, Amanda will finish the destruction that
began long ago. You may encounter people from other planets while
you are on Atlantis.”

Jake laughed in disbelief. “I have no plans
on going there.”

“The mirror doesn’t lie. You will go.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps the mirror will give you the
answer.” He motioned to the new image on the screen.

Jake blinked, not realizing the mirror had
changed scenes. More than that, the scene was playing in front of
him. He saw himself standing before a silver spaceship as Atlantis
was consumed in a blazing fire. “Now I know what my purpose is,” he
said. “I can let go of the past and move on.”

In the mirror, he turned to face the person
standing next to him, but the video stopped before he could see who
he talked to. He only knew it was a woman.

“Why won’t it keep playing?” Jake asked.

“It doesn’t answer our questions to the point
where it takes all of the guesswork out of the future. If it did
that, then there would be no surprises.”

“So I have to go to Atlantis? I have no
choice because this mirror told me I was going there?”

“No. You have freewill. You can decide not to
go.”

“And what will happen if I don’t?”

“I believe your answer lies in your
grasp.”

Jake glanced at the mirror. Sure enough, the
image in front of him was different than the one before. He shook
his head but pressed the play button, just to see what would
happen.

This time, he saw himself twenty years in the
future, and he sat in a large chair in his luxurious house with
servants running around to do his bidding. For all the grandeur
surrounding him, though, he was miserable and lonely.

He wore a black suit, indicating he was ready
to go to a funeral.

“I hate my father,” he mumbled. “He robbed me
of everything that ever mattered.”

“Mr. Stafford,” his butler began, “the car is
ready for you.”

“I’ll be right there.”

The butler nodded and left the room.

Jake picked up the obituary in the paper and
reread it. It was Clark’s obituary. He shook his head in disgust.
“You should have been my real father. All the time I wasted in
trying to find out about William Nichols…” He sighed. “I should
have spent it with you instead.” He put the paper on the desk next
to him and stood up. “I will never forgive my father. I hope he
rots in Hell for all the pain he put me through.”

The video stopped.

Jake handed it to Pallid before it could
answer another one of his many questions. The more he found out,
the more depressed he got.

“Obviously, if you go to Atlantis, then you
will be happier,” Pallid commented thoughtfully. “And it appears
you have no desire to rule there.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t have a desire to be a
leader.”

“What of the riches and fame that come with
it? What about the people who look up to you and adore you?”

“What I just saw in that mirror, as a wealthy
man, was a depressing scene. All the prestige in the world can’t
buy happiness.”

“And what of the technology that can produce
such things as this mirror?”

“Personally, I’m beginning to think the world
would be better off without that kind of thing. I don’t care for
any kind of fortune telling device.”

“What about the ability to create clones?
What about the ability to modify your appearance so that you look
perfect?”

“You’re talking about creating the perfect
society where no one has any flaws. That’s dangerous thinking. Is
that what Atlantis was all about? Perfectionism at the expense of
individuality?”

Pallid raised an eyebrow in interest. “I
never thought about it that way. I am such a creation. I’m not a
clone, but I was created in a test tube environment. My purpose is
to retain memories, and I never forget anything.”

“I wish I could forget William Nichols is my
father.”

“It’s not the process of remembering things
that is painful. It’s the inability to forgive that creates the
torment.”

He shook his head. Pallid didn’t understand,
nor could he be expected to. Only someone in a similar situation
could appreciate the emotional storm raging inside of him.

“You certainly don’t sound like your father,”
Pallid finally commented.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“As you should.”

The more he was discovering about his father,
the more he was becoming aware of the fact that his father wasn’t
well-liked by anyone, and that didn’t surprise him considering it
took a man of little character to abandon the mother of his
child.

“Shall we make arrangements to go to
Atlantis?” Pallid asked, breaking Jake out of his bitter
thoughts.