Dome of Atlantis

Chapter 3

I rushed getting ready after opening the door to be greeted by the pretty elf lady that spoke to me the day before.

"You don't have to rush so much. Our ruler is very understanding of the situation that you all landed in," she said.

"Your ruler is nice then?" I asked the petite elf.

"I'm sure he'll be welcoming. You are the first one he has chosen to meet with out of all you humans, so I'm sure he'll treat you nice."

I smiled at her and nodded. I hope she's right, I thought to myself and hurried to finish getting ready. She smiled happily once I finished and was able to catch my breath.

The floor glowed from my room through a hallway we walked. It was like watching the northern lights light up the floor. The colors swirled from a teal to a purple. I looked up to see pillars once we exited the hall. The pillars reminded me of the old building structures in Rome. Along the pictures were attached lanterns with a bright red and yellow glow from a fire lit inside. My feet left the cold colorful hallway and stepped on a massive rug. The rug felt velvety in texture under my shoes and it lay under a giant oval table.

A handful of elves stood by the table and stopped talking when I approached along with the elf lady.

The elvish men wore bright silver armor along with long navy blue capes. Their hair differed in color, but most of their hair was at least shoulder length if not longer. They wore it in fancy braids and had rapiers attached at their hips. An elvish man stepped out from behind them and wore a magnificent deep green tunic. He had long black hair tied in a braid behind his back. The bottom of his thick braid made it to the back of his calves. A gold crown with a red ruby adorned his forehead.

My heart stopped in my chest as he approached me along with the petite lady elf from earlier. His silver eyes lifted to see mine. I folded my arms behind the small of my back to keep myself from shriveling up in nervousness. I just didn't know if I was nervous to meet him because he was the ruler or because of how gorgeous he was.

I did an awkward curtsy and bowed my head a little in respect since I was on his land.

"You're the first human girl we've seen in ages," he said with a chuckle. "Much smaller than I remember them being. My name is Edric."

The petite elf lady curtsied much better than me and walked away from the ruler and me.

He spoke to me again, "I wanted to see that the rumors were true and see how you were doing."

I looked up surprised at him. I furrowed my brow and tried to piece together what I was planning to tell to him. "We weren't headed for this island. A waterspout caused our helicopter to crash onto your island. My father sent out a letter for me to meet him on an island doing an archaeology expedition, but we ended up here. The elf lady tells me that the people who came with me are in a hospital of some sort here?"

He smiled to show bleach-white teeth. His chiseled jaw shaped his pale face and some loose strands of hair fell in front of his eyes. "The elf lady was correct, you don't need to worry about them. Your friends are in good care. We have the two of them being monitored for their health, but I'm afraid one of them seems to still be knocked out. They're breathing just fine, their body might need a bit of rest from the shock of the crash."

"Two of them?"

"Yes, and then the outdoor islander elves found you being seduced by that merman."

"Seduced?" I almost laughed. He wasn't seducing me. He was definitely gorgeous like you, but I didn't feel like he was a predator, I thought. "You said you found two of them? There were four of us on the helicopter can we go see them, so I can see who's missing and look for them?"

The elf ruler looked confused. "If not seducing, gaining your trust for ill purposes. There was another friend of yours? Were they male or female?" he asked anxiously.

"They looked male to me, but I can't just assume anyone's gender," I said not wanting to offend anyone.

He furrowed his brow and then nodded at me. "I want to show you something before I bring you to your friends and look for that other friend of yours. I'm sorry we have not found them yet. Might I ask your name?"

I realized I hadn't told him my name yet and felt a little rude for not starting with that as an entrance. "I'm sorry. My name is Vivian."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance Vivian. Now if you'll follow me, the sun sets randomly here, but I believe it is starting to set now."

I walked with Edric out of the palace back onto a secluded area of beach full of white sand. I looked around to see a few palm trees we had passed holding coconuts among their leaves. The sun started to creep behind the ocean and then I saw something horrifying. The water started to climb onto the beach at alarming speeds.

"Edric we need to go uphill, the tide is coming up way too fast," I said with worry in my voice.

He turned around and smiled sadly at me. "We're not going to drown. Just watch for a little bit."

My body started to shake when I saw something invisible catch the water before it reached us. I watched it raise up while an invisible force held the water. "What is it?" I asked him.

"It's a long story, but the end of the short version is troublesome and why we pulled you away from that merman so quick. They say once a merman eats three stolen hearts of three women the dome will no longer protect the island from the ocean. Then the sea-folk will be able to take whatever they want. The island will fall into the water and everyone here on the island will die," Edric said and looked at me.

"Why did he save me then?" I asked.

"He saved you?"

"I believe it was him."

He looked deep in thought. "That is something I do not have the answer to, but please be careful and don't talk to any more mermen if they call you to the water. The Island is covered in the water almost every time the sun sets. It is quite unpredictable, so I advice everyone to avoid swimming not only because of mermen, but because they might not be safe when the dome appears.

I looked at him. "I won't talk to any more mermen," I said and watched as the whole island was darkened by the water overlapping the dome protecting the island.

"Shall we go see your friends?" he asked.

"Yes please," I said and followed him back to the beautiful palace.