Marrying Atlantis

Chapter 26

We slowly swam down the street, people smiling going about their daily business. I turned to Sebastian and waited for him to speak. I looked at him smiling; gosh he was cute, especially when he was being so casual. I looked down at my hand in his. Think of a question to ask him Aubrey, something deep and meaningful.

“Ah… whats your favourite colour?” I asked scolding myself as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth. That was great Aubrey, why don’t you ask him what his name is while you’re at it? He paused for a second and smiled at me.

“Either a blue or a green, probably more green. Didn’t we already ask that question ages ago? Let’s play twenty questions…hmm maybe just ten,” I nodded in agreement waited for him to start. “Where did you learn to cook?” he asked.

“Playschool,” I smiled. “We made playdough spaghetti,” I giggled. “No but seriously I started learning from the TV when I was seven, mum and dad weren’t home much and frozen dinners aren’t something to live off.” I answered truthfully.

“Why weren’t …” he began before I cut him off.

“No, it’s my turn. This title of yours, it’s not just simply a title, is it? You swim around with too much authority for it to be just meaningless, unless there is something else you haven’t told me.” He turned to me shocked spread across his face. Thankfully it slowly turned into a smile.

“Witty. Yeah although historically, Count it is not a very high rank, my family has always been very highly regarded. But after gaining the kings favor when I was fifteen I have been known as Count Vischer. Formalities aren’t a big concern, with me so not many people bother with the title,” he explained now thinking of a question to ask me.

I noticed we passed a street vendor selling little fairy floss like things and I pointed it to Sebastian, who thoughtfully bought me some. I shared a little with him and continued swim as a gentle pace.

“Did you ever have a boyfriend back at topside?” he asked. I shook my head in response. Strange he was asking me now. It was my turn now.

“How much is a clim worth?” I asked.

“I’d say maybe about two dollars. So think of it as double of what you normally pay. Though the value of things here will vary from what you’re used to.” I nodded thinking about that one off time I went to Almond’s store. I really needed to do some shopping and learn the value of things. “What do you have against your parents?” I stared up at him questioning what he meant. “You always seem negative when it comes to your parents, especially your mother. I also noticed it with your brother Paul,” he added. Shrugging my shoulders I sighed.

“Cutting the long story short, my parents are real money grabbers, and to an extent they are successful. But as soon as I was in school mum and dad more or less abandoned us. And when they were around, they were drilling me to become a sophisticated business woman. It was the same for Paul, but of course it didn’t work to well. We learnt pretty quickly to act like that only when they were around and when they weren’t, we were totally different people.” I confessed feeling a little guilty. I took a chuck of my sugary sweet. Sebastian nodded finally understanding my ‘negative’ views of my parents. “You’re lucky, you have a nice family,” I smiled softy. I would have loved to have known my great grandparents, or even just meet my grandparents, who I think were still alive.