to
do, anything. She didn’t dare think, and if she couldn’t think, she
had to do.
“ What do Atlanteans do for
entertainment?”
She was almost immediately sorry she’d
said that.
Thor studied her for a long moment.
Finally, he, too, rose, extending his hand. “It is festival time. I
will take you.”
“ Uh. Actually, I hadn’t
expected to go out, not like this, anyway,” Alexis said, crossing
her arms uncomfortably when Thor looked her up and down.
“ Our customs are very
difficult for you.”
It wasn’t a question. Alexis shrugged.
“I suppose, given time, I might grow accustomed, but in just a few
days….”
Thor looked at her thoughtfully for a
moment. “Wait here.”
He was back in a few minutes, carrying
a cloak—undoubtedly his. When he’d draped it around her shoulders,
she saw that it was about a foot too long.
Thor frowned. “We’ll have to shorten
it for you.”
“ Oh, no! I’d hate for you to
cut it up. It’ll be fine, really! Actually, it looks kind of neat,
like I have a train or something.”
“ You are certain? It is
likely to be trampled upon.”
“ You’ve got a point,” Alexis
said, frowning. She reached down, grasped the hem of the cloak and
flipped it over her arm. “There.”
Thor looked doubtful, but took her
arm, looping it through his, and escorted her from the
house.
It was a rather courtly gesture,
reminding her of the ‘gentlemanly’ behavior of past centuries.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t altogether comfortable with Thor’s
proximity, but if Thor read that thought, he chose to ignore
it.
It was night, she saw, as they left
Thor’s house. A gentle breeze wafted across the cove, bringing with
it the pleasantly pungent scent of the sea. Above them, a full moon
and a million stars lit up the night, bathing the city in a gentle
glow that chased shadows into tiny corners around buildings and
beneath trees.
It was almost impossible to grasp that
it was entirely manufactured. In every way, it looked, smelled and
felt like the most perfect of spring nights.
She couldn’t even keep her home this
well acclimated. How the Atlanteans managed to do so on such a
scale amazed her.
She studied the buildings they passed,
admiring the architecture. Each was unique, and yet each building
complimented the others around it, giving the city as a whole a
continuity one rarely saw in cities of any size.
There were no vehicles of any kind on
the streets. They passed a vender pushing a cart laden with what
appeared to be oil lamps, but otherwise no sort of
conveyance.
Everyone in Atlantis, it seemed,
walked where ever they went—or shifted into a birdman and flew, or
into a merman and swam.
Small wonder everyone they passed was
lithe, fit—Alexis realized suddenly that, with the exception of the
elderly who could not be expected to be lovely, she had not seen a
soul who could’ve even been described as plain.
Vanity, then, must not be a big
problem. It would be difficult to feel exceptionally pretty in a
place where everyone was attractive.
Alexis didn’t find it all difficult to
feel dull and plain beside them.
She was fit though. She had only been
eight when her mother died, leaving her and her father alone.
Naturally enough, her father had been inclined to push her toward
sports. Not that she’d been very good at any of it, but her
attempts to please him had resulted in growing up physically
fit.
It had been her father who’d insisted
she take up kick-boxing, despite her earnest objections, so that
she could learn self-defense. She had not liked it. She had dropped
out after only a few months and that had been years ago. She was
surprised she’d even remembered any of the moves, let alone been
able to perform them, but she was glad now that he’d insisted. All
that time spent playing punching bag had been worth it if only for
the look on Thor’s face, and Helen’s, when she’d creamed them. If
there had been any chance at all of escaping that first day,
do, anything. She didn’t dare think, and if she couldn’t think, she
had to do.
“ What do Atlanteans do for
entertainment?”
She was almost immediately sorry she’d
said that.
Thor studied her for a long moment.
Finally, he, too, rose, extending his hand. “It is festival time. I
will take you.”
“ Uh. Actually, I hadn’t
expected to go out, not like this, anyway,” Alexis said, crossing
her arms uncomfortably when Thor looked her up and down.
“ Our customs are very
difficult for you.”
It wasn’t a question. Alexis shrugged.
“I suppose, given time, I might grow accustomed, but in just a few
days….”
Thor looked at her thoughtfully for a
moment. “Wait here.”
He was back in a few minutes, carrying
a cloak—undoubtedly his. When he’d draped it around her shoulders,
she saw that it was about a foot too long.
Thor frowned. “We’ll have to shorten
it for you.”
“ Oh, no! I’d hate for you to
cut it up. It’ll be fine, really! Actually, it looks kind of neat,
like I have a train or something.”
“ You are certain? It is
likely to be trampled upon.”
“ You’ve got a point,” Alexis
said, frowning. She reached down, grasped the hem of the cloak and
flipped it over her arm. “There.”
Thor looked doubtful, but took her
arm, looping it through his, and escorted her from the
house.
It was a rather courtly gesture,
reminding her of the ‘gentlemanly’ behavior of past centuries.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t altogether comfortable with Thor’s
proximity, but if Thor read that thought, he chose to ignore
it.
It was night, she saw, as they left
Thor’s house. A gentle breeze wafted across the cove, bringing with
it the pleasantly pungent scent of the sea. Above them, a full moon
and a million stars lit up the night, bathing the city in a gentle
glow that chased shadows into tiny corners around buildings and
beneath trees.
It was almost impossible to grasp that
it was entirely manufactured. In every way, it looked, smelled and
felt like the most perfect of spring nights.
She couldn’t even keep her home this
well acclimated. How the Atlanteans managed to do so on such a
scale amazed her.
She studied the buildings they passed,
admiring the architecture. Each was unique, and yet each building
complimented the others around it, giving the city as a whole a
continuity one rarely saw in cities of any size.
There were no vehicles of any kind on
the streets. They passed a vender pushing a cart laden with what
appeared to be oil lamps, but otherwise no sort of
conveyance.
Everyone in Atlantis, it seemed,
walked where ever they went—or shifted into a birdman and flew, or
into a merman and swam.
Small wonder everyone they passed was
lithe, fit—Alexis realized suddenly that, with the exception of the
elderly who could not be expected to be lovely, she had not seen a
soul who could’ve even been described as plain.
Vanity, then, must not be a big
problem. It would be difficult to feel exceptionally pretty in a
place where everyone was attractive.
Alexis didn’t find it all difficult to
feel dull and plain beside them.
She was fit though. She had only been
eight when her mother died, leaving her and her father alone.
Naturally enough, her father had been inclined to push her toward
sports. Not that she’d been very good at any of it, but her
attempts to please him had resulted in growing up physically
fit.
It had been her father who’d insisted
she take up kick-boxing, despite her earnest objections, so that
she could learn self-defense. She had not liked it. She had dropped
out after only a few months and that had been years ago. She was
surprised she’d even remembered any of the moves, let alone been
able to perform them, but she was glad now that he’d insisted. All
that time spent playing punching bag had been worth it if only for
the look on Thor’s face, and Helen’s, when she’d creamed them. If
there had been any chance at all of escaping that first day,
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