Where It All Began

Two

Getting here was harder than I expected. It took me nearly a month to find my way to the country called England on my family's ship. It was an old ship and it was made of wood. We did not have any modern technology in Atlantis. Someone could have accidentally done something that showed the rest of the world where they were. We could not risk it. Who knows what could have happened if anyone found out Atlantis was real? It does not matter anymore though, since I am one of the two people left who has ever even seen Atlantis.

From England, I had to find my way to the city of New York. No one would help me, so, once again, I had to figure it all out on my own. I needed to find a map of the world and set sail to New York. I was only able to find England, because it existed in the old world, but the United States only came to be a part of this world a couple hundred years ago. I am currently in a city called London. Some of the architecture looks similar to something I would have seen back home, but was still more modern than the architecture in Atlantis.

"Excuse me, sir, is there any chance you have a map of the world?" I asked the nearest person. It was a very tall man and I could tell he was very muscular underneath his shirt. I am so happy I stashed my modern clothing on the ship. I do not need to stand out more than I already do. "I would have brought one with me, but they all burned".

"Uh, no, sorry," the man told me with a very confused look on his very handsome face. He had the strangest, yet most beautiful pair of eyes I have ever seen. They were green on the inner iris and brown towards the outer edges of the iris. He had a strong jaw, a perfect nose, and full lips. He looked very young, about twenty years old.

"Do you know where I can get one?" The man had no idea where I could find one, so he asked another man who was with him to take me to a place I could find one. This man was slightly shorter than the other and he was slightly less muscular and was not quite as handsome, but he was still very good looking.

"Meet me back at the restaurant and take her too, if she wants to come," the first man told the second man and walked further down the street.

"What is your name?" The second man asked me as we were walking in the opposite direction of the first man.

"Athena."

"What a pretty name," he looked at me and smiled the sweetest smile. This was the first time I really looked at him. He had light brown eyes that shined like pools of honey in the sun and a large scar across his right cheek. He had a softer jaw than most men I have seen, it looked good on him. His nose was slightly crooked, like it had been broken before, but it did not take away from his beauty. "In here."

We walked into a beautiful little shop. Walking a little further than the man, I twirled, looking at my surroundings in awe. The shop was selling trinkets of all kinds. It did not seem like a shop where someone would go looking for any specific item, so I doubt they had maps. I had never been to a place like this before. I could not help the excitement I felt being here. It was magnificent.

"Have you never been to a shop like this before, Athena?" the man asked me with slight amusement in his tone.

"Never," I told him while giving him my best smile.

He walked up to the cashier, or at least I think it was a cashier, and asked where he would find a map of the world. She pointed to an area at the back of the back of the shop, I guess they do have maps.

As we were walking in the direction she pointed in, I noticed a small pendant, exactly like the one my mother owned. It was an amethyst in the shape of a teardrop, wrapped in yellow gold and it was attached to a yellow gold chain. I could not stop staring at it, it was so beautiful. I almost started to cry, remembering how beautiful my mother looked wearing hers. The necklace was the most important part of my family history and now it is gone forever. No one will ever see it again.

"Athena, are you ready?" the man asked me with the already paid-for map in his hands. I had not realized I was staring at the pendant that long.

"Yes."

"Are you interested in this necklace?" He asked me. He must have noticed me staring at it.

"Yes, I mean no. It just reminds me of someone I used to know," I told him with sadness evident on my face.

"Would you like to go to the restaurant? You don't have to, but if you are hungry, you can."

"Yeah, I'll go." I did not really want to go, but I felt it would have been rude to refuse a free meal.

We left the shop and made our way to the restaurant the first man had told us to meet him at. It was not far from the shop we had just been to, it was only a few shops down.

The restaurant was a building of its own. On the outside, it looked older and expensive. On the inside, it had fancy lights hanging just inside the entrance. The walls were the most beautiful terracotta orange and the floors were made of a material I had never seen. It almost looked like wood. The curtains hanging from the windows were made of silk. I thought that was weird, since silk is not the most durable material for curtains. Maybe the restaurant makes enough money to replace them as often as they need to be.

The man I was with made his way to the table the first man was at and I followed. The table he sat at seemed to have the most privacy of any table. He saw us coming and stood to greet us. His face showed no emotion. He did not seem as friendly as his friend.

"I had the server bring us everything on the menu," the first man told us as we sat at the table. The food was brought to us almost immediately after we took our seats.

"Everything? That's an awful lot of food. Are you sure you guys can eat all of that?" The two men stared at me unamused. In the future, if our paths ever cross again, I will be sure not to make jokes around them. "Well, this place looks expensive, I don't want you to waste your money on me. I'll just go find something cheap. Have a nice day."

"It's fine." The first man, the oh so warm and cuddly man who hardly spoke a single word to me, suddenly felt the need to say something. "I own this place, so I won't be wasting any money on you."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

"Well, thank you for helping me," I said, more to the second man. "Oh and, before I forget, what are your names?"

"Well, my name is Kaden Jones and this is my boss, Thomas Smith," the second man told me, first pointing to himself, then to the first man. He seemed a little surprised I did not know his boss's name. Maybe he is famous here.

"Nice to meet you both," I told them with a genuine smile on my face.

"Where are you from Athena," Kaden asked me.

"Let's just say I'm from far away," I told him. "I really need to get to the city they call New York."

"We're from there. Maybe someday we'll run into each other again," Kaden said. He did not ask anymore about where I was from. Maybe he knew I did not want to talk about my home anymore.

"Maybe."

Thomas only spoke ten words during the entire duration of our meal. Kaden could not stop talking. I did not mind it though. I enjoy talking and having conversations with people and I was happy I could do so. If I ever did randomly meet Kaden again, I do not think I would mind. I am not sure about Thomas though.