Hell Is An Empty Body (Book Two of The Triple Moon's Chronicles)

15 | The Awful Feel Of Fangs ***

Warning for mention of cannibalism, this is straight from the material source that I kept and used to give a means to my characters.

Oceanus is one of the largest kingdoms.
If Mother Gaia's ground were to be a sphere,
Water will embrace half of it in its arms; this is how vast we are.

Two hundred and twelve thousand is the number of species sharing the underwater
Each being more different from the other,
Each one having a seat at my court,
Each of them has their own way of life,
Each of you lives with respect for your neighbours.

No swords had taught us that,
Only words taught us to be the better person we are.

This is our strength as aquatic deities.
We speak as one; we lead as one, and we are all one.

Those were the words of Amphitrite for the new generation. To the contrary to the sky, where the inhabitants were only deities, and to the underworld, where the indwellers were mostly dead souls, the underwater was an ever-growing population.

One with a queen who placed a high value on education.

Amphitrite didn't hesitate to preside at any time over the first ever school in the divine world, sharing with them her beliefs, faiths, and laws.

That day, she didn't fail her oath. She was in one classroom, surrounded by high stone pillars; they were as high as her own reflection about knowledge. Unconstrained, shared, and free to watch for the less fortunate ones beneath her on a see-through glass floor, her words of wisdom had to resound loudly all over her kingdom and not only to her pupils—the future Aquatic Deities who sat in their shell chairs.

Poseidon brought a reluctant Demeter to one of those places sacred to Amphitrite. In their kingdom, all divine children were to go to those kinds of institutions where they were looked after, dressed, nourished, and, most importantly, well instructed until they were fully mature.

"So, Demeter, did I convince you?" Poseidon asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot on the ground. "Do you consent for Daeira to attend school next year?"

Demeter opened her mouth but couldn't answer. Unlike her, Daeira had well settled into her new home. As the daughter of Poseidon, fishes followed every one of her footsteps underneath the glass floor. Sometimes Daeira would try to catch them with her hands, but they stood still, admiring her divine beauty.

Poseidon spoiled his new daughter with toys and even her first aquatic pet—a beautiful pink sea horse who agreed to dedicate his life to being her servant. His love just didn't stop here, as he created for her only the first ever underwater organ made of coral and shell, for Daeira adored her musical instrument so much that she played with it for hours and hours, turning all the waves into melodies with a smile.

Daeira had anything a child could wish for and more than Demeter could ever offer her.

Demeter's brows drew closer at the sight of the children trapped in the glass classroom. Everything here was too good to be true. "Is it really necessary, Poseidon?" Her eyes were unblinking at the scene before her, while in her head, daughters bloomed like flowers to run wild in the forest, learning as they went, and a tear formed in the corner of her eyes, making her chin dip into her chest. "I can teach her all those things myself, just like I did with Persephone."

At that last statement, her voice broke. Demeter had raised Daeira with no one but Rhea, and now Poseidon was there to take her away, and his confirmation came as he remained silent. Poseidon only held on tighter to their daughter.

Silence made the disagreement louder, separating them from the obvious and creating pits that were too deep to fill.

Was it all a mistake, moving into the ocean in such haste?