It was Mera who devised a plan of escape for the two of them. They would escape via the main bridge, slipping out through the cover of the traffic provided by the sea creatures and ships (people usually didn't travel across the bridge by just swimming). Should they be caught, they would explain that Princess Mera was showing Aurelia around the kingdom. It was risky, but necessary.
They wore cloaks for further cover, especially Mera's striking and recognizable red hair. Mera tried to get Aurelia to wear a wetsuit to 'fit in better', but Aurelia remained stubborn and gave her a firm 'no.' Besides, they were going on land and she would just have to change anyway.
Once at the bridge, having left the main city centre successfully, the two waited for some oncoming traffic. Aurelia put her communication ability to good use and called over some sea creatures, who surrounded the two women protectively, helping guide them across the bridge and out of sight.
Finally, she was out of Atlantis and heading back on land.
"So, where to now?"
Mera ran her fingers over the engraved markings decorating the cylinder. "To the Ocean of Sand your people call the Sahara."
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After one long swim, the two finally arrived at their destination. They were able to find some clothes and a small airbase where they hired a pilot to take them across the desert. They weren't exactly sure where they were going yet, however, Mera had a shell-shaped device, which she said would lead them there. Basically a high-tech compass or GPS.
"It'll do, but I don't usually get paid in pirate treasure," the pilot said when Aurelia handed him a handful of gold coins.
"Whew, is it always so hot on the surface." Mera was fanning herself.
"Depends on where you are," Aurelia told her. "In the desert? Yeah, pretty hot."
Mera closed her eyes and exhaled a heavy breath, hand on her stomach.
"Hey, you okay?" Aurelia sat down across from her.
"I've just never been so high up before." Mera cast a wary glance out the window, before her gaze snapped back to the other woman.
"Don't worry, people get airsick all the time."
"I've also never been so far from home."
"You Atlanteans sure don't get out much, do you? Well, hopefully this whole mess will be over quick, and we'll be on our merry ways." She folded her hands behind her head and leaned back.
Now Mera scoffed. "You really don't realize how much is at stake here, do you?"
"Well I know how much is at stake for me and my home."
"Well those are the least of your worries right now-" Mera became silent when Aurelia shot her a death glare.
The plane hit some turbulence then and for a moment Aurelia thought Mera might vomit. "Distract me from this. Tell me something." Mera squeezed her eyes shut.
"Okay..."
"Like your betrothal to Orm." Now Mera smirked.
"That's not what I was thinking of, but, fair enough. I'd be curious too." Aurelia sighed. "Well, apparently, we've been betrothed since childhood. Something to do with us both being heirs and 'complicating things', and this seemed to be the easiest option, though I'm not sure for who."
"Betrothal is Atlantean tradition."
"So I've been told. What about you? Any cute Atlantean's catch your eye?" She really just wanted to move the conversation away from the 'B' word - and Orm in general.
Mera rolled her eyes. "No."
"I should introduce you to my cousin, I think you two would get along. He likes the ocean, and redheads."
"Well, as a princess I'll be expected to marry royal Atlantean blood."
Aurelia fake gagged. "Know what I'd do? I'd say 'screw that!' and move on." Which is what I'm basically doing now...
"And do what?"
Aurelia shrugged. "Do what I want. And if I got married, it would be for love." Like Mom and Dad...
"My duty is not to love. It is to my family and my nation."
"Well, I mean, I've got duties to my family and home too, but love should factor in there."
"So, on the surface, you don't have betrothal?"
"Not really, not anymore. It's mostly a thing of the past."
"So you can just marry whoever you want?"
"Pretty much."
Mera was obviously surprised by this. "That was never really an option for me."
Now Aurelia was the surprised one. "We obviously grew up in very different worlds, with very different expectations.."
"Yes, we did."
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Aurelia awoke to an annoying beeping with her face squished against the metal side of the plane.
"We're here!" Mera's expression was bright and she was staring at the blinking shell in her hand. She had obviously overcome and/or forgotten her airsickness.
"Hey, anywhere to land around here?" Aurelia called to the pilot groggily.
"No, sorry! Nothin' but desert for hundreds of kilometers!"
"There's nothing," Aurelia said.
"You're wrong-" Mera was up on her feet and pulling the hatch open, and before Aurelia could even utter anything else, she jumped.
Aurelia leapt to her feet, running to the hatch to watch Mera's bright hair sailing towards the golden landscape.
"What - she didn't have a parachute!" cried the pilot in obvious panic.
"Redheads! Gotta love them! Thanks again, Mate! WHOOOO!" With that, Aurelia jumped too.
"WHOOOOO HOOOO - AHHHHHH!" CRASH! With a burst of sand, both women struck the ground, rolling down the dunes, shaking sand from their hair and clothes and coughing up a storm.
"Ah, you're crazier than I thought," laughed Aurelia, lying in the sand.
But Mera paid her no attention, and was already back on her feet again, eyes trained on her device.
Aurelia in tow, Mera led the way, trekking across the sandy landscape. But as far as Aurelia could tell, the pilot had been right, that was all there was out here: sand. Sand, sand, and even more sand.
"This used to be the location of the Deserter Kingdom," Mera explained as they walked.
"Why'd they desert?" asked Aurelia. "Cause they were fed up with the royal Atlanteans too?"
Mera ignored her. "When the water dried up, they perished along with it."
"Perished? Great."
"We're getting close now," Mera assured her - which she had been continually doing this whole time.
"Oh yeah, close to what? Dying of thirst?"
"Close to getting punched in the face!" Mera whirled around suddenly, fist raised.
"Listen, Fight Club. I know you're new to how things work up here, but why don't you look around: we are lost. You see that? Hey, what is that?" She squinted. "Nada! Nothing! This is a wasteland."
Mera scoffed and kept walking. "You're the one who calls this wasteland a home."
"This isn't my home! It's not like the whole surface world looks like this."
"Oh no, of course not, my mistake. You also have disgusting cities and sewers that empty out into our oceans, and whole mountains made out of trash. Oh, and let's not forget you have great factories that do nothing but belch out filth and melt ice caps, and-"
"Okay, okay, point taken." Aurelia scurried around so she was in front of Mera. "Listen, yeah, we've got some idiots running the show, but we've got some good stuff too. Like big green forests and mountains and beautiful lakes - you'd love them they're like little baby oceans. I'll show you them sometime."
Aurelia thought the lake thing was for sure a win, but Mera's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to provoke me?"
"I'm just saying you can't judge a place you've never been to or seen before."
"Well, speak for yourself. You've judged Atlantis on far less." Mera scoffed and stomped ahead again, continuing her trek.
Aurelia let out a frustrated groan before turning and continuing to follow, only to be met by the same irritating beeping of Mera's device. "Oh, no, no, no, will you just stop it with that thing! No!" She swatted it out of the other woman's hand, it plopping to the sand below at their feet. "Your stupid Atlantean GPS just told you to jump out of an airplane over the desert and now we are stranded so, thanks a lot."
"Well I'm not the person to talk to if you have issues with our technology. That would be your betrothed."
"Don't call him that!"
"Well he is!"
"He is not! And don't change the subject! Which one of us is from the surface world?"
"You have no idea where we're going!"
"Well neither do you, apparently! The point is, we are lost - AHHHHH!"
Aurelia's startled cry grew faint and echoed as the sand at her feet fell away, and the ground swallowed her whole.
"Exactly where it said it would be." Mera scooped up the device and brushed it off. "If you're really the next true queen we are doomed." With a sigh, she jumped.
(Haha, love their arguing! We're almost finished, a couple chapters left!
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))