 |
People were going about their daily lives, baking bread, buying cloth, talking about the weather, children playing. If anyone had stopped for a second to catch their breath by the water and gaze out over the Aegean Sea, they would have heard the faint sound of giggling. The sound was coming from the reeds at the water’s edge, where two girls were hiding.
The first girl pointed to a group of children and said to her friend, “Ooh, look over there at the little ones.” The second girl, whose name was Destiny, burst out laughing.
“They’re so funny when the run like that,” she managed between breaths.
Destiny was a beautiful teenager, almost a woman, and more beautiful than any human. Her gorgeous, long, cobalt blue hair would have made any woman insane with jealousy, and the scales on her mermaid tail shimmered the same color. And if someone would look away from either of those dazzling features, they would have seen her soft, rounded face with eyes larger than on any human’s.
“Calm down, or they’ll hear us,” Kaia said as she twisted her tail nervously.
“You calm down, there’s no one near us and if someone did hear, they’d pass it off as one of the children.” At that, the mermaid submerged under the water and tickled the bottom of Kaia’s orchid-colored fin. The girl shrieked and nearly jumped out of the water.
“I told you not to do that,” Kaia shouted, forgetting to be quiet. “Besides,” she said with a grin, “I know where you’re ticklish.”
“As if!” Destiny replied unbelievingly, “I’m not even ticklish!” As she started swimming away, Kaia ran her finger down the length of her spine. Destiny’s back arched and she thrashed her tail.
“Destiny!” Both girls turned to see a figure swimming towards them. Destiny’s body went rigid, but as the mermaid approached, she relaxed.
“Don’t scare me like that, Neomi, I thought you were my mother.” Destiny said with a sigh of relief.
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t your mother, if I was, there would be no way that you could get yourself out of that dilemma. What are you girls doing so close to the shore?” Neomi asked.
“We’re just looking at the land-dwellers,” Destiny replied coolly, “and don’t tell me you’ve never done it.”
“Yes, I’ve taken my fair share of glances at humans before, but I never screamed my head off right at the shore. I heard you miles away. I came here to tell you that Selena is looking for you.”
Destiny’s eyes widened, “Does she know I’m not at Kaia’s house?”
“Yes, so you better make up something quick and get back home,” said Neomi. Before she even finished the sentence, Destiny had swam off, with Kaia right behind her. Destiny shouted a quick “Thanks,” and Neomi just shook her head and swam off in another direction.
~ ~ ~ ~
“I’m sorry mom,” Destiny mumbled with her head down.
“‘Sorry’ doesn’t make up for the fact that you were playing on the coast!” Selena shouted. “How many times do I have to tell you not to play these stupid human games?”
“I’m sorry mother, I was just curious.” Destiny muttered.
“Well, let’s just hope that you lose your curiosity while you’re grounded. You are becoming too much like Iason every day.”
Iason was Destiny’s father who had run off to find adventure when she was too young to remember. He didn’t want to be tied down by a family, so he just left. Selena was left to raise their daughter alone, and she grew bitter. Destiny was just a constant reminder of the man who broke her heart, and Selena resented her for that.
“After lessons you’re going to stay at Charmed Cavern to help the Enchanters everyday for three weeks.” Destiny wished to protest but resisted. Quarrelling would not help her. Selena gave her one last look, as if she knew Destiny was on the verge of arguing, but when she stayed silent, she turned away.
“I just wish you would behave. You’re not a child anymore, Destiny, and it’s about time you find a husband. And… Thanos, one of the sorcerers I work with, told me his son Luke has an interest in you.” Selena turned back to Destiny, waiting for a response.
“Oh, Mother, please don’t. I hate it when you talk about this. And please not Luke. He’s so boring and indifferent about everything. I’m surprised that he found any interest in me,” Destiny said.
“Destiny, you can’t complain about every man who notices you. You’ll never be married to a good husband if you keep this up,” Selena warned her daughter.
“There are some guys that I don’t complain about,” she said, thinking about one in particular. Her mother picked up on the hint and greatly disapproved, “Timothy is not a sensible choice for a husband, how many times must I tell you this? He is not anything more than the son of a fish farmer. He’s a nice young man but he will be nothing more to you. Please dear, listen to me. You’re a beautiful young women, the years of your childhood have ended. It’s about time for you to think seriously about your future. You don’t have to decide at the moment, but please tell me that you’ll consider Luke. I’ll tell Thanos that I don’t have your answer yet, but you’re in the process of deciding.” Destiny watched her mother swim through the arch of the door as she wondered how people on land lived.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Destiny! Draw the characters with a steady hand! Pay attention, you don’t want another spell mishap like the one that happened two weeks ago.” Destiny almost jumped at the sound of Phaedra’s voice. She looked down at her scroll. She didn’t even remember writing half of the words. “How long had I been daydreaming?” Destiny thought to herself. She quickly corrected words she had sloppily written.
“I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not ruining my spells,” Phaedra said crossly.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” Destiny apologized.
Phaedra was the chief sorceress of the kingdom Plaras Karitos. There were 5 other sorcerers, including Selena, and any other magician was called an enchanter. Destiny and Kaia were enchantresses-in-training and studied at the Charmed Cavern with the other enchanters. Everyday after her studies, Destiny had been staying at the caves until the evening dining, which started when the sun was three quarters of the way through the sky.
Kaia had been staying with Destiny to keep her company. She couldn’t stay with her every day though, and those days when her friend was not there beside her were dreadfully mind-numbing.
Fortunately, today wasn’t one of those days.
“You made a mistake here,” Kaia said as she pointed halfway up my scroll.
“Oh, thanks,” Destiny replied. Kaia made a joke and they laughed together as they worked. Phaedra smiled as she saw the girls working together.
“You can go now, Destiny. Why don’t you girls go explore the cave or do whatever you do for fun. If your mother asks, I’ll tell her we finished early today.” Both Kaia and Destiny had expressions of amazement on their faces. This was too much of a personality switch for them to handle.
Phaedra chuckled at the shock on their faces, “I remember being young, even if your mother doesn’t, Destiny.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison, and they left the cave before she could change her mind.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Have you thought of anything yet?” Destiny asked. The teenagers had been laying on the sand, and couldn’t think of something to do. After a few moments Destiny sat up, “Hmmm.”
Kaia looked at her friend. “I know that look,” she said, “what crazy plan do you have this time?”
~ ~ ~ ~
“I still can’t believe we’re doing this!” Kaia whispered excitedly. The girls were back in the cave and working on a spell.
“I just hope it works,” Kaia said. “Okay, I think its ready. Do you have the rings?” Kaia handed Destiny the golden ring, and she held the other one. “Ready? Now!” The girls started reciting the spell they had just written, each of them held a ring in their palms. When they were finished they looked down at their rings.
“Did it work?” Kaia wondered.
“Let’s try them out!”
|
 |
Reply
