That night, I couldn't stop thinking about Arthuas, and I was hoping that I didn't hurt him. I didn't mean to, and I was scared to face him and apologize. When I hurt someone, I feel like I have to hide from them. So, I spent the majority of the day in my chambers, just waiting for the time to pass. I just wanted to get the map, so this would be over with, so I could help my friends get back home. But, just like I told Arthuas back at the dance club, I didn't want to leave Atlantis.

It was obvious that nobody cared about me back on the mainland. My parents had abandoned me for their jobs, Aunt Kit kept talking garbage about me while Uncle Dewey watched helplessly, and poor baby Beatrice, she was too young to understand what was going on. I would rather live a life away from criticism out in the ocean than go back to my normal life. I looked out the window, and I heard the bells in the city ringing, indicating that the sun went down.

Okay, King Nereus and Arthuas should be going to bed soon. All I have to do is sneak into the library, grab the map, and get out. I kept reciting the plan in my head for another hour until I was sure that Arthuas and Nereus had fallen asleep. I carefully poked my head out into the hall, making sure there were no guards present. The coast was clear, and I carefully closed the door behind me as I entered the hall.

I took one last look at Arthuas' room, waiting to see if the door was going to open, and Arthuas would question why I was still awake. But the door never opened. I swam down the hall, occasionally looking behind me to see if any guards were coming. So far, I was in the clear. As I got closer and closer to the library, I felt small ripples throughout the water, and I knew that someone was coming.

I quickly hid behind one of the nearby pillars, and I poked my head out slightly. Two guards swam past the pillar, taking their sweet time. After waiting for a few more minutes, I saw that the coast was clear. Slowly, I opened the large library door and poked my head inside. I thought there would still be a library assistant in there, but to my surprise, nobody was there.

Despite this, I knew that someone could still come in at any moment and catch me in the act. I quickly swam to the table that contained the rolled-up maps and scrolls. There were too many to count, and I knew that it could take me a while to find the map. I went through about seven different scrolls containing things I did not understand until I finally found the map.

From the looks of it, the map looked like it was made a hundred years ago because it didn't look anything like how Atlantis looked now. The paper had aged terribly, and there were a few small smudges on some of the locations. But how the map looked didn't matter. I needed to get it to my friends and find the border of Atlantis and The Siren Kingdom to see if the myth about the trident was true. As I rolled up the map, I heard the library door creak open slightly, I quickly hide behind a large bookshelf, and I tried my best to stay calm.

I poked my head out slightly, and I could see two guards were in the library, swimming right next to the table of scrolls. One of the guards looked like they were counting the number of scrolls on the table. I was hoping that he wouldn't notice that one scroll was missing. "Didn't we have forty of these scrolls here?" the guard asked. "I don't think so. The last time I checked, we had thirty-eight. The scrollkeeper said that he was getting a few more scrolls in the next few days," the other guard answered.

I poked my head out again, and I could see that the guard seemed a little unsure but nodded his head slightly and swam towards the door. I let out a deep breath of relief when the guards left, and I waited a moment to make sure they were gone. The coast was clear, and without hesitation, I swam down the hall, and I didn't stop until I was out of the castle.

Before I swam over the castle wall, I looked at the castle one last time and silently said goodbye for now.

I'm sorry, Arthuas, but this is something I have to do. I'll be back soon, and I'll explain everything, I promise. Just not right now.