Exile

Part 2

The next day Immi put on her finest dress, combed her hair, and put a jeweled headband in her hair. Today was the day Atlas would take her for a walk. She always looked forward to these days because he was the only person she could talk to as a friend. He didn't bother with bowing to her or any formalities. They were just friends. Immi saw Atlas' beautiful green eyes and brown hair as she walked downstairs to greet him.

"Hey, Your Dutchessness," he said, grinning.

"Good Morning, Mr. Hallow," said Immi looking around for her father or a servant.

"No one's here. I checked," said Atlas.

With that confirmation, Immi ran over and gave him a big hug.

"Now there's the Dutchess I know."

He smiled at her. They proceeded into the gardens when Atlas asked, "So, how's His Dukeness?"

"He's well. He fired a maid because she put a candelabra on the table."

"Well glad to hear nothing's changed."

She glared at him. "Anyway, I was upset. I liked that candelabra."

"Dutchess," he said, spinning around. "You know that's dangerous for you to say. The more you say it the more you believe it."

"I know but it's the truth!"

"Ah, the little pyromaniac beneath the curls emerges."

She harrumphed and walked past, slightly irritated.

"I know, I'm sorry, you just gotta be careful. I don't know what I would do if they-"

He didn't finish the sentence but they both knew what he meant.

Immi stopped in her tracks and let out a shaky sigh.

"Atlas, they have no right to murder a Duchess like me."

This time Atlas stopped, surprised she mentioned her inevitable death.

"They don't have to have a right. The people have been getting more anxious. We never know, there might be a rebellion in our future. Especially if they knew their beloved Dutchess is a Pyronic."

"Yeah, I guess," said Immi, hoping better of her citizens.

"Anyway, on a lighter note," said Atlas. "I bought you some of those cute muffins you read about at the market."

"Really!" said Immi jumping up and down.

"Okay, calm down," he put a hand on her shoulder, which made Immi want to squirm. Atlas pulled out a huge bag of sweets and cakes from villages around Crane.

"Thank you, Atlas, thank you thank you!" said Immi. She was always excited when she got to try new things. And when she got to study them.

"Always for my Dutchess, " he said with a wink.

Immi tried to hide her blush but failed miserably.

Atlas laughed, "I love it when you do that."

"Do what?" Immi asked

"When you try not to be affected by my irresistible charm."

She kicked his leg and he grinned.

The truth was she was affected by Atlas' charm. She thought about him every day. She thought about their friendship, their childhood spent together. The time he had tried to kiss her was when he was nine and she was eight. Immi had accidentally set a lock of his hair on fire from surprise. Sadly, he never tried again after that. That was one thing about Atlas. He always learned from his mistakes. He never did the same thing twice. He was unique and some people loved him for that, and some people hated him.

"Immi?"

"Oh, yes I'm sorry I went off on a tangent. You know how I get distracted."

"Oh, I know," said Atlas, lightly shoving her.

They walked past a fountain and Atlas stopped. He walked to the edge and picked up some water. This was a sight Immi had often seen but it was awe-inspiring every time. The sphere of water levitated right above Judas, the gardener's head.

Immi stifled a giggle and a big splash indicated Atlas had let go and drenched Judas

"You little-," Judas started but Immi didn't hear the rest because she had been picked up by Atlas and they were running top speed away from the angry gardener.

Feet pounding, Atlas turned a corner and stopped setting Immi down. For a moment she looked at him in shock. Suddenly, Atlas started laughing hysterically. He had one of those contagious laughs. When he started laughing she did.

They laughed and laughed until it was lunchtime and they trudged back to the castle, Atlas' arm around Immi's shoulder. These sorts of days were her fondest memories because it was like having a friend. In her heart of hearts, she hoped the feeling was mutual.