Disclaimer: All characters, items, situations, etc. pertaining to Atlantis: The Lost Empire are property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made save enjoyment!

Notes:The dialogue of this story is intended to be entirely in Atlantean, which accounts for what would otherwise be grammatical anomalies (such as the use of contractions and colloquialisms). The Atlantean words that appear have been romanized as opposed to the phonetic transcriptions that you usually see in regards to Atlantean (i.e. I use Mëbelmōk instead of MEH-bel-moak). I've tried to avoid using Atlantean words unless they are names or unless there's not a good English equivalent, since the entire story is supposed to be in Atlantean anyway.

Enjoy!

The Dark Ones
Prologue

Milo and Kida were walking through the marketplace in the center of Atlantis, as they did everyday. It was hard to believe that this busy, bustling city had been laying in ruins only a few years ago...

"I still can't believe that this is all real!" Milo said. "Everyone on the surface believes that Atlantis was destroyed thousands of years ago, but here it is, a living, thriving civilization!"

Kida poked Milo in the ribs. "Well, it's a good thing that you came and restored the knowledge of the ancient ones to us, or we would not be thriving, would we?" She warmly smiled at him.

Milo blushed, then slyly glanced around. "Wait here," he whispered.

"Why? Where are you going?" Kida inquired.

"Just wait here! I'll be right back!" With that, he ducked into a nearby shop.

"Is it ready?" Milo asked the woman behind the counter.

"Yes. It's exactly what you requested," the clerk said, pulling a tiny box off a shelf. "Custom made for the Queen." She handed Milo the box.

Milo lifted the lid off the box. Inside was a small silver ring, with a blue crystal in the middle and a smaller white crystal on either side. "Oh, it's perfect! It's absolutely perfect! She'll love it!"

"Yes, it's simple, but extremely lovely, is it not?" the clerk beamed. Milo nodded. "If I may ask," the woman continued, "Why did you want the ring?"

Milo blushed again. "Oh, it's just an old surface world custom," he said.

Meanwhile, Kida was still outside, examining some pottery at a nearby booth. Suddenly, she felt someone touch her arm. Startled, Kida whirled around. It was Throck, her former suitor. The last person she wanted to see.

"Hi-ya, Kida," he said smugly.

"You shall address me as 'Your Highness'," Kida snarled.

"Oooh, forgive me, Your Highness," Throck said sarcastically.

"What do you want?" Kida demanded. She was not in the mood to deal with Throck's insolence.

"Just to talk," he said. "I haven't seen you recently. You haven't been avoiding me, have you?" He tried to put his arm around her, but she skirted around him.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Kida asked sourly.

"You know, I heard a rumor that you and that outsider Milo Thatch have been going around together," Throck said, attempting to put his arm around her again.

"You heard correctly," the Queen said matter-of-factly, once again dodging his grasp and wondering how he could be feigning such ignorance.

"I could make you forget him," Throck murmured.

"Ha!" Kida sneered. "No one could ever make me forget Milo Thatch, and especially not you!"

"Wanna bet?" Without warning, Throck grabbed Queen Kida by the wrists, taking her off guard.

"Let me go!" Kida cried, struggling to get away.

"Aww, come on, Kida. Surely you haven't forgotten your feelings for me?"

"Feelings?!" Kida exclaimed. "What feelings? Don't you delude yourself, you self-centered pig! There's nothing between you and me, there never has been, and there never will be! Now let me go!"

Throck's face hardened in rage. His grip on Kida's wrists tightened. Kida felt panic clutch her chest, but she stifled it. "You've been hanging around that outsider too long. Take it from me, Kida, he's not for you. You need someone big, and strong, and handsome. Someone like me," Throck leered.

"Do you realize that I am the Queen?" Kida hissed.

"Oh, yes I do." With that, he roughly pulled her close and kissed her hard. Kida's eyes widened in fury. Wrenching one of her hands free, she struck Throck on the side of his face.

"Stop it! Let me go!" she screamed as Throck pulled back in surprise. "Milo, where are you? Milo!!"

Milo came racing out of the shop the instant he heard Kida scream. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene before him. "Let her go!" Milo shouted, furious. "NOW."

"What claim do you have to her, Thatch?" Throck sneered, but he released Kida nonetheless. She scurried over to where Milo was standing, rubbing her sore wrists.

"If you ever touch her again, I'll kill you!" Milo snarled. Throck rolled his eyes. An empty threat; a lightweight like Thatch couldn't possibly do any damage to him. "Are you all right Kida?" Milo asked softly. "Did he hurt you?" She bit her lip and burst into tears. Milo gently pulled her into his arms, and then turned to face Throck. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.
"Why does it matter to you if I touched her, kissed her a few times?" Throck smirked.

Milo's face hardened. "Because I love her, and I'm going to marry her!"

"Marry?!" Throck's jaw dropped.

"Yes!" Kida said. "We are to be wed tomorrow!"

"That cannot be true!" Throck gasped.

"Oh, but it is," Milo snapped. He turned to Kida. "I was hoping this would fall on a happier occasion, but..." He pulled the ring from his sash and lovingly slipped it on Kida's left ring finger.

"Oh, Milo!" Kida breathed. "It's beautiful."

Milo smiled. "You like it? I had it custom made. It's kind of simple, but–"

"Oh, no! It's perfect! It's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my whole life!"

"You'll be sorry for this, Thatch! And you too, Kida! You'll regret this day for the rest of your miserable lives!" Throck snarled.

"You'd better leave right now, Throck, or I'll call the royal guards on you!" Kida erupted, the last shred of her patience gone. She tried to dismiss his threats as arrogance, but she couldn't shake the growing fear in the pit of her stomach that she was underestimating him. This disconcerted her.

Throck finally turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye, Kida saw Throck giving them a look that chilled her to the bone. "It's okay, Kida," Milo whispered, holding her tightly. Kida smiled, but deep down she could sense that Throck was going to be more of a problem than she had bargained for.

Kida sat bolt upright, then relaxed when she saw that she was safe in her own bed. She thoughtfully twisted the ring on her finger, and gazed over at Milo, who lay sleeping next to her, lightly snoring. Over a year had passed since that day in the square. She and Milo had gotten married the next day as planned, and Throck had not bothered them, save in Kida's dreams. But Kida, being the Queen, was linked to the Heart of Atlantis, and therefore was extremely intuitive. And she had a nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen...

She shook the thought from her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Kida," she told herself. She settled back into bed, and, snuggling close to her husband, the Queen of Atlantis soon fell back to sleep.