"So, how did Arthuas take the news about us being humans?" Violet asked once I met up with the others on the other side of the castle wall. "He's a little upset, but he'll get over it," I lied. Veronica gently hugged me, and I felt her gently pat my back. "It's gonna be okay," she whispered. I felt a small tear fall down my face. I was crying not only because I was leaving Arthuas with so many unanswered questions about my disappearance. But because the guilt I was feeling about lying to my friends was affecting me deeply. I had never lied to anyone before, but I felt miserable when I thought about how my friends would react when I told them the truth.

When Veronica and I pulled apart, I handed Quigley the map so he could point us in the right direction, while Violet revealed a small bag full of parts she took from the inventing labs. "I usually have my ribbon with me. Does anyone have a piece of ribbon or something I could use for my hair?" Violet asked. Veronica swam down to a patch of seaweed, and returned with a small piece of seaweed and handed it to Violet.

"Thanks, Veronica, I know it's silly, but it helps," she smiled, tying her hair back. I was slightly confused until Veronica whispered an explanation. "She ties her hair back whenever she has a good idea," I nodded slightly, and we all watched as she worked her magic and invented a way for us to sneak over the walls surrounding Atlantis. "The wall is too high for us to swim up. I've studied the walls the only way we can get through it is by going under it," Violet explained as she connected a circular blade to a large piece of metal. 

"Even though the walls are very high, they are not made of strong materials. If we were to find a weak spot under the wall, we can tunnel our way through it," We approached the wall, and we all tried to find the weakest point. As I knocked on a small part of the wall, I kept looking back at the castle, wondering if Arthuas had woken up and was wondering where I was.

"Are you still thinking about Arthuas?" Klaus asked. I looked over at him and saw a sad smile on his face. "Once we get the trident, everything will be fine," I answered. Klaus nodded slightly and looked over at Veronica, who was still knocking on the lower wall. "Then we'll get the trident," Klaus sighed, continuing to tap on the wall. I got back to work as well, and then I found a hollow part in the wall. 

"Guys, I think I found a hollow spot!" I called out to the others. Everyone stopped and swam over to me. Violet still had the small metal spike in her hand, ready to test the wall and see if my suspicions were true. "Let's hope this is it," she said. She lifted the spike and hit the wall, and sure enough, small pieces of the wall fell off. "I think you're right, Delphine. This has to be it!" she smiled.

"Guys, try to grab some heavy rocks. We can make the hole if we work together on this," I said to the others. Below me, I found a large rock that weighed a few pounds. Violet hit the same spot on the wall a few more times and then swam out of the way so I could work on it. After a few more hits from the others, the small part of the wall collapsed, revealing a tunnel underneath the wall.

"This is it. Once we swim through here, we're out of Atlantis," Veronica sighed, taking one last look at the beautiful city. "Are we ready?" Duncan asked. Everyone nodded, then they looked over at me, wondering if I was ready. I was nowhere near ready, but I knew that we would come back here once we had the trident.

"Yeah, let's go,"

*******

After we swam through the small tunnel, we had no idea where the border was. The only person who was experienced with maps and could help was Quigley. "Quigley, have you figured out where the border is?" I asked. He unrolled the map, and his finger quickly scanned the map. "Okay, we're right outside Atlantis, so I would say we're ten to fifteen miles away from the border," he answered. The others let out a small sigh, but I was relieved that it wasn't more than twenty miles.

"How will we know we're at the border?" Klaus asked. "According to the map, we'll know we're there when we approach a large wall of rocks," Quigley said, showing us the map as proof. "Well, we should get going. The sooner we get the trident, the better," Veronica smiled. As we were swimming through the water, I started to feel sick to my stomach, and I instantly knew that I wasn't seasick. But, the guilt was causing me to become sick.

I can't tell everyone the truth now. It will put the whole mission in jeopardy. But, I have to tell someone. I couldn't tell the Quagmires. Isadora already disliked me. The Baudelaires were determined to get back home, so I couldn't tell them either. The only person that I could trust with something like this was Veronica. I looked over at her, and she seemed fine, and I decided that the moment we have a moment alone, I would tell her the truth. I just hoped that she would understand.

After about an hour of swimming, we took a small break to search for some food. The others were all far away from each other, so I knew that this was my chance to tell Veronica. She was searching through a small seabush. "Hey, Veronica. Can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked, swimming over to her. "Sure, what is it?" she answered, looking away from the bush.

I took a deep breath and let it out in shaking breaths. "There's something you should know," "It's okay. You know you can tell me anything," Please don't be upset. "I lied to you and the others. I never told Arthuas about us being humans. I was scared that the king was going to execute us once he found out," I explained, feeling sudden relief as I told her the truth.

Veronica's eyes grew slightly wide, and I was worried she was going to get mad. "Please don't be mad at me," I begged. Veronica placed a hand on my shoulder, and I saw that she wasn't mad. Instead, she was sympathetic. "I understand, it would hard for me to tell my crush that I was from a different world, but if you don't mind me asking, why did you lie to the others?" she said as she gently rubbed my shoulder blade.

"I was scared that they would call me a coward," I admitted. Deep inside, I knew that they wouldn't do that because they are nice people, but I didn't want to risk them calling me one. "I don't think you have to worry about that. I know them. They wouldn't say something like that. Sure, they might be upset when you tell them the truth. But, they'll get over it eventually, and they will understand your fears,"

I started to feel slightly better, but I could still feel that uncomfortable knot. "Thanks, Veronica," I smiled. "Of course, anything for my best friend," she smiled as she pulled me into a gentle hug. When we pulled apart, Veronica and I continued to search for food. Eventually, I found a small fish to eat, and this time, a siren did not swoop in and take the fish from me.

"Alright, did everyone find food?" I asked as I polished off the last few pieces of the fish. Everyone nodded in agreement, and we continued our quest to find the border and the trident.