Ursula

Chapter 17 The Storm

Pandora

Many years earlier...
I'm out of breath. I've been running for what feels like hours. Only minutes ago, I was at the docks, witnessing a storm approaching faster than I'd ever seen, the waves growing higher and higher with every push and pull of the ocean.
I have to do something. I have to save my city. I may only be a sorceress in training, but that won't stop me. This town took me in when I had no one. Out of all the islands, small cities, and villages I visited while pursuing magic. This town was the most welcoming. They embraced my simple magic and fed me clothed me. I'd never felt so at home as I had here. They could all die too soon if this storm is as bad as it looks. This island suffers from rain and floods, but the storms continue getting worse and more frequent. It is impossible for merchants to dock and for us to seek food from the mainland or fish in the ocean. The constant floods wash away any food we have tried to grow. This city is starving, and aside from what little magic I know, we can't survive like this. I can't continue healing starving children; all I'm doing is staving off their hunger and sustaining them for only a bit longer.
This storm that approaches now, though? It will be the last we ever experience. Our buildings have taken too much damage, and I'm surprised some still stand amidst the strong winds that fly through us. I know there is only one chance we have left. I need help. Not just any use, though. We need help from a god, and I will make him come.
I stop running, pressing my back against a wall in an alley I ran into, trying to reach the city's center. Before I can finish catching my breath, I feel raindrops begin to fall as the droplets pelt my face.
I'm running out of time.
I continue sprinting to the city center, pushing myself from the wall, providing as much momentum as possible to keep me going. The rain is much faster than I am.
Just as I reach the center, I collapse, knees slamming down and my hands catching me before my whole body takes to the ground.
I begin to chant before I give myself any more wasteful time breathing.
Calling on the God of the ocean to save us.
Poseidon.
My powers may be weaker now, but I still feel the thrum in my fingertips and dig my nails into the stone beneath me. I look up; I have to do more. I shakily stand, pushing myself against the heavy rain and rough winds hindering my stance.
"By the waves' embrace and the ocean's might, I summon Poseidon on this night. With trident in hand and waters' command, appear before me, ruler of the sea, as I stand," I chant between heavy breaths.
"From depths unknown, I cast this spell, a beckoning call to the ocean's swell. Poseidon, an ancient ruler of the tide, came forth with power and grace by my side. By coral and seashell, this bond we bind, together we'll journey, heart and mind!" I shout. He has to come. He has to.
Before I begin again, I feel it.
Power.
It calls to me like a beacon in the night. I can sense magic and power from a god is not too much different. I can still sense it, but the taste isn't the same as my own power. I turn and look behind me, and there he is. God of the sea. He's broad and breathtaking. Probably the most handsome man I have ever seen. This is no mere man, though. This is a god.
"Why have you summoned me here?" He asks against the storm.
"I need you to help me save my people!" I tell back. The sound barely cuts through the wind.
"Is that so?" He questions. "What is in it for me?"
I'm so desperate, I'd give him anything.
"I don't care of the price! I will do whatever you wish. So long as my people and I are safe from this storm!"
He looks behind him, and I look, too. An enormous wave is coming. The most significant wave I have seen in my life, and I know, without a doubt, it will destroy all of us.
"You control the ocean, don't you? Make it stop! End this storm and save us!" I beg.
He smiles, "What is your name?"
"My name?" I ask, dumbfounded. "This is hardly the time for formalities, my God. We are all about to drown in this water!"
"Your name then?" I insist again.
"Pandora!" I huff loudly.
"Would you live with me?" He asks.
"What?!" I shout back.
"Live with me, and I will save you and your people," he smiles.
"I—I don't understand!"
"If you called me for no good reason, I'm afraid I'll have to leave your city to ruin—"
"No! No, please! Fine! I'll love with you if that's what it takes!"
"In the ocean?"
I gawk at him, shaking my head. "Surely I can't survive underwater!"
His smile grows more comprehensive, "I can attend to that. A bit tricky, but nothing I won't be able to fix."
The wave is even closer now; any moment, my city will be flooded beyond survivable conditions. "I'll do it! I don't care! Just please! Hurry! We're wasting time arguing over semantics!"
He smiles and raises the trident in his hand, power illuminating the golden finish. A bubble of air blocking the storm surrounds us and grows out, covering more and more of the city as it expands.
Quicker than my mind can catch on, I fall to the ground, a sharp pain to my legs, and fall into a pile of what I assume is an octopus. Where did these tentacles come from?! Has the storm brought in sea life with its downpour? But as my hand touches one, I jerk my hand back. I felt that.
No... it can't be.
I look to my waist, and my torso transitions into eight slimy tentacles. I look back up to where Poseidon stood. He's not looking at me, though. He's controlling our surroundings. I reach for him, grabbing his leg.
I won't be the only one made into this thing.
With all the remaining power I can muster, I draw from him. Pulling power, he doesn't seem to notice. I feed this power back into my surroundings to the people hiding in their homes. He jerks his leg back suddenly, astounded that I would do such a thing.
His fury becomes him, and the bubble pops. Water rushed towards me faster than I thought imaginable. It crashes down, slamming against my now mutilated body. Water fills our surroundings, and I hold my breath. I feel we're being pushed down on all sides, pressure building around my body, and I close my eyes. It's too much. It hurts too much. Gripping whatever I can on the ground. The pressure around me builds and builds, and I can't hold my breath much longer. I have to hold on, but it's too hard.
I breathe in water, taking in more than I should. But it doesn't sting. It feels... fine. I breathe more water in, a taste of salt on my tongue. I'm okay, I'm alive. I really can breathe underwater. But the pressure is still building too fast, and I can't stay conscious for much longer. I try to open my eyes. I manage a tight sliver. I only glimpse a fishtail before my eyes close again, and sleep welcomes me.