The Prophecy of Atlantis

Anna; Finale

   As much as Anna wanted to jump into Julian's arms, she couldn't. Because the next thing she knew, her dad was on horseback with some of his men, charging at Julian, his guns ablaze along with the rest of his men. She quickly ran to stand in front of Julian before he could get hurt.

"Move, Anna!" barked her father, pointing a rifle in Julian's direction. "You have no business with this boy!"

"I do, Dad! He's my best friend, and if you hurt him... I'll kill myself."

   Julian spun Anna around. "No, Anna!" He dropped to his knees. "If you did that, I wouldn't be able to live anymore, either." He swallowed a lump in his throat and squeezed her hands. "Please don't leave me," he choked on his words, his eyes tearing up. "I'm less of a person without you."

   Anna's dad interrupted, lowering his weapon. "You... you love my daughter, Julian?" He looked as if he were blinking away tears, himself.

"I do, sir. I always have," Julian responded.

  Anna wrapped her arms around Julian. "I love you, too. I always have, as well."

  Julian kissed her, the slow and tender kind of kiss she always dreamed of getting from him.

   Anna's dad, David, sighed in resignation, his men doing the same,

"My daughter's happiness means more to me than any money in the world." He declared to his men and to Anna and Julian, jumping down off his horse.

"Lower you weapons, men. There will be no casualties." His men did as he asked and backed away from them slowly.

 He hugged Anna tightly. "I'm happy for you, sweetheart." He wiped his tears away with a tissue

 Anna hugged him back even harder. "Thank you, Dad. I'm so glad you see it that way. It means the world to me," she kissed his cheek and he cried a little harder before he let her go.

 "Of course, you're my number one, you know." He ruffled her hair like he used to do when she was a kid and she started laughing. And after wishing Anna and Julian both good luck, he rode off with his men. Without money, without any cures, without anything. Just walking away with the knowledge his little girl was happy and in love.

Soon after, Anna's mom popped out of a portal, crying.

"I knew you could do it, sweetheart!" She reached out and grabbed both Anna and Julian in her arms.

"Well, Julian helped me a lot," Anna admitted sheepishly, and Julian turned a thousand shades of red.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he told her, playfully hitting her in the arm.

Anna's mom laughed. "You two... I'm so glad you finally found each other again. You were always meant to be together." Anna's mom embraced Julian too.

"I have a question, mom." Anna braced herself for the answer while her mother waited patiently for her to ask. "Were you the one that warned the Atlanteans 9,000 years ago of the sinking?"

   Anna's mom just smiled mysteriously. "That's up to you to figure out, my dear. What do you think?" Then she winked, and it was then that Anna had no doubt in her heart and mind that it was her mother that had warned them 9,000 years ago. Her mother was a goddess of some sort, but she may never know exactly how long she'd been alive or where she even came from; she knew there was no use asking those questions. Her mother simply wouldn't answer them. It was just like her to leave it up to her imagination.

"I'm so proud of you both," Anna's mom said to them in admiration. "Both of you are my heroes."

   Anna hugged her mom to the point she didn't think she could let go if she tried. "You're my hero, mom. Always. Thank you for everything." They cried together until eventually she recovered enough to summon a horse for both Anna and Julian, and then one for herself.

   Before Anna and Julian could leave though, they had one more thing they had to do.

"Dr. Whitmore," Anna announced, tears in her eyes. Dr. Whitmore walked up to her and took her in his arms. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. I couldn't have done it without your help," Anna sniffled into his shoulder.

"It was my pleasure, Anna," Dr. Whitmore smiled down at her affectionately.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Whitmore. If it wasn't for you, I would've completely lost my whole presentation idea. If not for you, Anna and I couldn't have saved the Atlantean people."

  Dr. Whitmore just winked. "I have a feeling you two could do anything you put your minds to, even without this old beast."

 Audrey laughed. "You're not a beast, Dr. Whitmore. You're Dr. Whitmore, and you're perfect just the way you are."

Dr. Whitmore beamed at her. "I appreciate that, Audrey."

Audrey went up and shook Anna and Julian's hands. "It was great working with you two. I hope we can all stay in touch after this," Audrey told them, her voice filled with hope.

"Absolutely," Anna replied warmly. "I'd love that."

"I would too," Julian spoke up. "I'd like to hear more about your future adventures as the best engineer I've ever seen," Julian blushed nervously, hoping that wasn't too much to say.

  But Audrey took it with grace. "I'll definitely keep you updated. I appreciate the compliment; it means a lot coming from you," she replied with reverence.

  They exchanged contact information with each other, and they all hugged several times before they departed. They would all miss each other, but perhaps they would go on more adventures together in the future.

   Soon after, Anna's mother was off on her horse, galloping away from them. Then Julian and Anna hopped onto their horse, sharing another kiss before they rode off into the sunset, just like from The Princess Bride.

                                                                                    The End