Ursula

Chapter 20 A Curse

Ursula

It's too risky to escape the palace now. My mother's guards seem to have multiplied. Despite growing up feeling the discrimination against my family, my mother seems to have a more considerable amount of followers than I would have guessed. Many came out of the woodwork, and others switched sides. Many of Poseidon's men, along with him and his son, are locked away in the dungeons.
Triton.
I don't know what to feel when it comes to him. A part of me hurts. I've lost my chance to be with him. We were so close. So very close to completing the marriage ceremony and sharing our first kiss. By the time my mother had intervened, he could hardly look at me. His face was marked with betrayal and hurt. A pain so potent, I could feel it deep into my bones. My tentacles writhe at the thought.
I find myself wandering the grounds of this place. A palace that was once my home now feels like a dungeon. I'm no worse off than Triton or his father in that sense. The throne room sits empty now as I walk in. Decorations used for my failed wedding are still on display. Some left to lie on the floor from the usurping. It's as if I'm entering into a skeleton of that day. The water in this room seems to chill in my presence as if it remembers what happened here. I approach the end of the aisle and stop just before I reach the spot where I froze in place when everything happened.
Stupid. Ignorant. Pathetic. Weak. Hopeless.
That's what I was. I didn't understand it. Why did my mother decide to do something like this? I was left entirely blindsided by her betrayal.
The water's temperature plummeted even more as my mother entered the throne room. "Your sister informed me of your irrational decision-making of cutting your hair off," she states blandly.
I turn to face her, and she has a scowl on her face that I know all too well. It's the same look she gives me and my sister whenever we do something she disapproves of. Or when we fail to meet expectations. It no longer makes me feel guilty or ashamed. I don't feel much of anything anymore, least of all shame. "That's what you got out of speaking to Morgana? That I changed my hair? Of course, why wouldn't it be," I mutter the last part to myself, but the way my mother scowl deepens tells me she heard it anyway.
"She neglected to tell me what you did to your face, however. At least that is much easier to remedy."
"I'm not changing my makeup, Mother. I'm done doing whatever it is you tell me to do. I did that before, and look where it got me," I gestured to the empty, disheveled room. "I have nothing now, thanks to you."
"My darling, you have everything," she hisses. "I did all of this for us."
"For us? For us? No, Mother, you did this for you. Don't play like you're some hero in all this. We both know what we are."
My mother lets the silence linger almost a moment too long until she finally speaks, "You know nothing."
"And who's fault is that?" I argue. "You have kept me in the dark. For years, apparently. As you made all these plans without me. Did you ever intend on me actually marrying Triton?" I ask.
She purses her lips and begins a steady pace as she moves down the aisle, closing in our distance. "No, you were never going to marry Triton. That was merely a distraction."
"For whom? Me or Poseidon?"
She narrows her eyes at me as she continues to move past me, heading for the throne. "My darling daughter, there is so much you don't know."
"Again, who's fault is that?"
She sits down on the throne, a hand drawing circles on one of the arms. "I tried my best to keep the past hidden from you girls."
"Cryptic now, Mother? Really?"
She ignores me and continues, "I remember this room before water filled it. When crowds of people would gather together, like a family, we all were like family before."
"Do get to the point," I huff.
Again, she ignores me. "I wish you could've seen this place before. When the light of the sun was able to shine through stained glass windows." She looks to the windows and reaches her hand up as if to block sunlight.
I look around the room; the windows lead out into open waters. Nothing, no stained glass prevented anyone from swimming through it if they decided against using the main door. The proper thing would be to use the door, but it's still a viable option for exiting.
"There used to be a courtyard just outside of here. I would go there almost every day and pray to the Gods. Zeus, Hades... Poseidon," she looks at me then, her hand resumes making delicate circles on the armrest of the throne. "Sometimes, I would wonder if the gods were even real. They never answered me before."
"I don't understand," I say.
My mother closes her eyes and her hand stops to grip the armrest, the whites of her knuckles glow. She looks almost mournful, reminiscing on her time spent above the water from before. But more than that, she looks angry. Like an underlying emotion that is trying desperately to take hold of her completely.
"Things were good for a time," she opens her eyes with a deep breath and her posture seems to relax. "I had found this island along my travels. I had paid off a merchant to bring me here. I fell in love with this island the moment we caught sight of it. Even more so when I met the people who lived here. Everyone worked together to survive. There was no 'every man for himself' mindset here. So I decided to stay. I became a healer to them. I was keeping them alive and staving away sickness. A simple little witch I was. I had power, that is true. But it was nothing compared to the power I have now. To the power you possess, too. No mortal has this kind of power."
"You mean, you weren't born with your power?"
"No, I took this power," she smiles.
"I still don't understand," I tell her.
She sighs before she continues. Her hands now resting in her lap, fingers entwined together. "We were starving, though. The seas became too rough for any merchant to reach us. It was also too dangerous for anyone to try to escape the island. We were trapped; our only means of food were what we could catch, and any means of farming was thwarted by the extreme weather we faced. It was as if the gods were conspiring against us. So I prayed and prayed to the God of the Sea to end our torment. If anything, let the weather and seas be calm enough to let us escape. We were dying off, and my little magic and herbs were insufficient to keep everyone alive. Too many had died, most lying on beds that I attended. My work was unyielding and relentless. I was also running out of supplies, cutting dosages in half to make due. The pain of starvation was consuming me, and I had to take any form of pain relief I could to not think about it and focus on everyone else. Giving what little food I could scrape together to children or others in need of it more. Then, the storm of all storms began its approach. I had run out of options. I needed to save these people; they were my family, my home. So I did what I had to do, Ursula."
Her words made my heart beat fast in my chest, my stomach clenching. I hadn't known that they were starving. Why, then, were so many citizens against us? Against me? It didn't add up.
"Why, then, did we face so much discrimination if you helped keep them alive?"
"I wondered that myself for a time until it became clear that Poseidon had overshadowed any efforts I had made before as far as most were concerned. No one wanted to remember the last months we were still living above the surface. Too much pain we had endured to want to remember. Poseidon was their hero in their eyes. He wanted them to forget and accept him as their sovereign."
"But I thought that you were the one to do this? With his help, sure, but you're part of the reason we're here. That your power—"
"Did you not hear me earlier, Ursula? That my power was nothing compared to what it is now. I did not have the power to do this," she gestures all around us. "I had summoned Poseidon and begged for his help. And as he cursed me, I stole a fraction of his power to extend the curse to everyone I could reach on the island. Don't be fooled by the bravado he possesses. He is a selfish and spiteful God. He had no intention of saving everyone. So I did what I had to do. And, of course, Poseidon took it upon himself to claim the gratitude and the people as his own. Leaving me with nothing but scraps of meager thankfulness from those who still remembered me and who I was to them. Which as the years went on, was less and less. As if taken by a different curse, one where memories of me and my kindness were replaced with fear and hatred. The only reason I still have any known tie to what happened is due to my own agenda at play....I did what I had to do to survive, Ursula. It was only a matter of time before this," she gestures to herself, and then the crown atop her head, " was to happen. This plan has been in motion long before you were born. This was not a spiteful act against you, my daughter. No, this was my revenge against the God who cursed us all."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.
"You didn't need to know," she shrugs, her eyes not meeting mine. "The truth would not have benefited you in any way darling. So I saw no reason as to correct the history you've come to know."
"There's something else, isn't there?" My mother looks at me, and her brows pinch together. "What else have you been keeping from me?" I demand.
"Ursula, you'll find out when the time is right," she moves up from the seat of the throne. "But if you'll excuse me," she approaches me, stopping before me. She reaches a hand up and gently cups my cheek. "Behave, Ursula. I'm a very busy woman, and I haven't got all day to spend telling you stories from before your birth." My mother removed her hand, seeming to notice that she was touching me in probably the most affectionate way she ever has. As she makes her way to leave, I'm left with more questions than answers.
I need to speak to Triton. See if he knows of anything. If I'm lucky, Flotsam and Jetsam have information for me regarding the Prince and his father. Or perhaps I should speak to Poseidon himself if he's even able to talk in his condition.
After a long moment, I turned to leave, with my sights set on going to the dungeons. As I step out of the doorway, I look around the hallways. My mother's tales spun through my mind; I wondered what this place looked like, void of the water that covered every square inch of space. I wonder if my mother misses it. I'd only ever tasted air on occasion. Never indeed leaving the safer of the ocean. My mother was born human, with two legs instead of tentacles. I'd never really thought much about it before. I wonder what having two legs may be like. I've always had these tentacles; I wouldn't know what I'm missing.
I move quickly, deeper into the palace, where little light reaches and the water grows still. An eerie silence creeps from the depths, and the water chills to a frigid temperature, my teeth almost clattering. I hold my head higher and brace myself as I enter the threshold into the hall lined with cells and columns. The only sounds you hear are pangs of metal against metal reverberating through the space. I hear faint sounds of crying and prayers as I pass cells containing mermen and even some merwomen. Two mermen guard a set of bars and eye me while I approach. I return their gaze with confidence.
I am allowed to be here.
I tell myself that anyway, steeling my face. I was never told explicitly not to visit our prisoners.
"Princess Ursula, what brings you here?" One of the guards asks, and I bristle at the title given to me. My mother may have usurped the crown, but that doesn't mean she's Queen and I... a princess... does it?
I shake off the thought. "I'm here to speak to this prisoner."
"Missing your ex-betrothed already?" a voice calls from inside the cell.
"Leave us," I tell the guards, my eyes still trained on the cell's interior.
"You have five minutes," the same guard who spoke earlier tells me. They both move farther down the hall. Far enough not to hear us say, but close enough to still watch our encounter. Ready if anything were to happen. Not that it would.
From what little I can make out in the darkness, Triton sits against the back of the cell—chains holding his writs and waist. A heavy weight is attached to his fin, seeming to have him there or at least slow down his movements.
"What is it you want, Princess?" He spits.
"Don't call me that," I say before I even think. He smiles at that and tries to move towards the bars separating us. It's clearly challenging to move, and he struggles to make it a few feet before stopping again. The dim light from the hall touches his face. He looks tired. His hair is a knotted mess, and the bags under his eyes are a deep purple. Scrapes and bruises cover his arms and chest. Remnants of his attire at our wedding cling to him with what little scraps remain. He put up a fight; that much is apparent considering his appearance. It wasn't enough, though. I'm sure my mother's magic somehow subdued him along with the guards that had taken him away.
"How much do you know of the beginning of Atlantica?" I ask, skipping any pleasantries.
A confused look crosses Triton's face as he says, "What in the bloody ocean does that have to do with anything?"
"Apparently, my mother seems to think it has to do with everything."
He pauses, leaning back to contemplate. "I don't know much more than what our tutors taught us. It can be assumed I know just as much as you."
I sigh, "You're useless."
"Kick a merman while he's down, why don't you?" he jokes. There was not a trace of humor in his voice.
"What is it you remember?" I ask.
Triton proceeds to reiterate the same teachings we received from our tutors long ago. Nothing new or worthy of any note until he says, "My father did tell me once that Atlantica fell into his lap somewhat unexpectedly."
"What does he mean by that?" I ask.
"How should I know? I was young when he said it. It's just some offhand remark he made one time. I didn't care to ask him more," he shrugs.
I huff loudly and bang my hand against one of the bars. I hear the guards approaching now, and I move back, turning away.
"Thanks anyway," I sigh.
The guards approach, and one guard says, "Times up, Princess."
"Ursula?" Triton says my name gently, and it makes me pause. I look back at him. "Is she... is she down here too?"
I know who he's asking about before he speaks her name.
"Is Athena down here?" His eyes plead with me for an answer, but my face hardens as the sound of her name leaves his lips. Any sympathy I had for Triton dissipated. I didn't even give him an answer.
Instead, I leave him to continue rotting away in his cell as I make my exit. I need to approach Poseidon, but I'm sure he's kept under a closer watch than Triton, and I doubt I would have the same five minutes of peace to speak with him.
No, I needed more time to plan a conversation with the God of the sea. This would not be something I could rush.