Saga of Atlantis

Chapter 102  Side Story : Grace.

[Third-person POV: general]

"Grace, come down! What are you doing up there?"

Under the shades of the towering tree, a six-year-old child wearing a short pant and a light brown tee shirt jumped up and down as he tried to call the girl sitting on the branch of the tree.

"I don't want to!"

The little girl on the tree shouted as she looked down on him, her rosy cheeks and tousled blonde hair hiding behind the shades of leaves as she swung her legs beneath her.

"Everyone is already here; come on."

Eden replied with a tired sigh as he sat down within the shades and tried to jump up again but failed.

"I don't want to be with them," she replied with a sad expression. "They make fun of me."

"They will not. I will be there for you," Eden replied, looking up and extending his hands as he smiled at her. "Like always, don't leave my hand, and I won't leave your company."

"Humph, you will run away with Anna when she arrives, LIKE ALWAYS." She said pouting.

"I can't do much about that," Eden said with a laugh as he showed her the ring in his left hand. "I am engaged with her, you know."

"You could engage with me, you know." She mumbled, her voice barely audible.

"What did you say?" Eden asked curiously, as he hadn't heard her.

"Nothing idiot." She replied

Just as Eden was prepared to coax her to get down, the garden's gate creaked open, revealing the elegant figure of six-year-old princess Angelina. Her gown, adorned with flowers, trailed behind her as she moved around.

"Anna!" Eden shouted as he ran towards her, leaving Grace on the tree branch.

As Grace looked at Eden with Angelina, her expression turned gloomy.

"Why do you always choose her?" She mumbled with a tinge of sadness on her face..

"Who always chooses her?"

"Ahh!" Grace jumped up slightly as she heard a n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Voice behind her, she lost her balance on the tree as she started to fall down, but just as she was about to reach the ground, a gentle hand enveloped her, and she elegantly landed on the ground.

"M-Mommy..." Grace mumbled, opening her eyes slightly as she looked at the woman, who looked like a mature version of herself. With a clam expression, she smiled at her daughter.

"What were you talking about, baby?" She asked as she sat down on the shade of the tree, making Grace sit on her lap. Her armor made a clicking sound as she sat down.

"N-nothing." Grace lightly shook her head as her mother patted her head.

"Hmmm?" Grace's mother, Elina, raised her brow at her response.

"Is that so?" With her mesmerizing red eyes, she looked around until her gaze landed on the princess and Eden.

"Oh... aren't they Princess Angelina and Lady Stephanie's son Eden, right?" She mumbled as she looked at the sliver-haired boy who was holding Angelina's hand as they were talking happily together.

"They looked cute together, didn't they?" Elina said with a slight smile as she changed her gaze from Grace to them.

"Aww, my baby is jealous." She said it mischievously, gently running her hand over her hair.

"Why are you here, mother?" Grace asked, trying to change the topic.

"Hmm, Princess Cassie is having a rest today, so I thought I should come and see how my daughter is doing."

"Hmm-hmm," Grace hummed, but her gaze still moved towards Eden.

With a sigh, she made her daughter face her. "You don't have to be fixed on Eden so much, dear; you will find many good boys for you out there."

"B-but, I l-like him, not others," Grace mumbled, but she immediately placed her hand over her mouth as she understood her blunder.

"Hah, my beautiful baby, is a lost cause even this early in the age." Elina muttered with a sigh.

She wanted her daughter to understand that she should not have these feelings; she should not be thinking about competing with the princess of the kingdom, but the prideful woman in her didn't want to see her daughter lose.

"Whatever, I am sure your father will take care of it," Elina replied with a smile as she looked into her daughter's eyes. "Go for it, baby; I will always have your back."

"Thank you!" Grace replied as she happily hugged her mother.

"But, listen here, Grace." She said this as she seriously looked at her daughter.

"Never ever lose your pride in your love; it will never end well for you."

She then made Grace place her hand on her heart as she continued, "Always guard your pride as much as you guard your heart; never lose your self-respect over love, as if you lose one, the other will follow, leaving only regrets."

Grace nodded slightly, but she didn't understand much about what she said.

"Now, let's go." Elina said as she stood up with Grace.

"Where?" Grace asked titling her head a little.

"To Eden, he needs some spanking for making my daughter sad." Elina said as she started moving towards Eden.

"N-no,no, mommy, mommy." Grace tried to stop her, but her words didn't bother Elina as she made her way towards Eden.

****†****†****†****†****†****†

"Grace, wake up!" A loud voice resonated throughout the room as Grace opened her eyes, still half asleep.

She looked around her room until her eyes landed on the woman who opened the door.

"Aunt Sophia," Grace mumbled as she sat on the bed while placing her head on her folded knees.

"Are you alright?" Sophia asked with a concerned face. "You have been sleeping since you came back from the academy."

"I am fine," Grace replied, sighing.

"If you have anything to talk about,I am here for you." Sophia said as she sat on the bed.

"Did Father contact you?" Grace asked after a while.

"....No." Sophia replied.

"Of course he didn't." With a tired chuckle, Grace replied, "He has already chosen the kingdom over his daughter."

"...I miss mom, aunt." Grace said it with tired eyes. "She always had the solution to every trouble."

"It's fine; I am here for you." Sophia said while she hugged her.

".... Angelina t-took everything a-away from me, aunt." Grace said, trembling.

"My f-father, m-mother, e-everything."

Sophia gently rubbed her hair as she remained silent at her words.

"....Grace, did Eden say anything? He shouldn't have." Sophia asked as she noticed her neice condition.

"....he said he was sorry for what he did." Grace replied, looking at Sophia.

"THaT BAStarD!" Sophia exclaimed, "Does he think a sorry is enough for what he did to you?"

"It's not," Grace whispered, "but at least he knows he was in the wrong."

"What's the point of that now?" Shopia mumbled.

".....he would always be running away whenever he saw Mom around," Grace whispered.

"Yeah, sister Elina would always spank him for making you sad."

"Haha, until the very end, he never had the idea why she did that." Grace chuckled as little as she buried her face in Sophia's bossoms.

"...hic..hic..."

As Sophia hugged her, gently patting her head, Grace started to whimper; her muffled crying resonated in the room.

"Hush....It's alright." Sophia said gently, "I am here for you; nothing bad will happen."

Ever since Eden messed up her emotions, Grace is under constant pressure from suppressed memories coming back to her.

Years of suppressing had already taken a huge mental toll on her, but talking with Eden has broken the last line of defense she had.

"Can you leave me alone for a while?" After crying her eyes out, Grace gently parted ways with her aunt.

"Come down when you are feel like it; dinner is ready." Sophia said as she closed the door to her room.

Grace sighed as she leaned on the bed. Her mind replayed all the memories she had with Eden; bit by bit, she was remembering all of them.

"Don't let your rage consume you."

"Don't leave my hand, and I won't leave your company," Grace mumbled as she looked at her hand.

"It's too late for that, Eden," she mumbled as she clenched her hands.

"It's too late." She mumbled again as an ominous aura started to surround her.

************

A/N : Hello, author here, I usually don't add a note in the chapter, but I did this time because no one was reading the author's note.

First, a reminder The next chapter will be a light R-18 chapter, the first one in this novel, and I wanted to remind you that you guys can skip it if you want to.

First, a reminder The next chapter will be a light R-18 chapter, the first one in this novel, and I wanted to remind you that you guys can skip it if you want to.

Second, please give me your feedback and any details you would like to share about this novel, as I am genuinely trying to make it better, and though it may feel unnecessary, I would love to hear your thoughts about the novel.

Third: an update: I have completed the draft of the novel up to the end of the second game, and I am removing all the plot holes that I could find in it. As most of you guess, the novel has time travel in it, and time travel and plot holes go hand in hand. I am trying my best to remove them, and I will also increase chapter release up to at least 10 per week after my exam is over.

Yeah, my exams are going on right now, and all these chapters, I wrote them a whole ago.

As soon as my winter vacation starts, I will increase the chapters per week.

Thank you for reading my novel; it means a lot to me.