Fallen from Grace

Chapter 3

As soon as i dived under the water, my legs again became a tail. The skin on  my neck was no longer smooth, the gills made it again serrated. Now that I had a taste of freedom, the cage was worse. I wanted to be out of that place forever, to be able to breathe sweet air in my lungs again. Stern faced guards were waiting. Their strong scaly arms grasped mine. I came quietly, my head held high. If I struggled, it would take so much longer to escape, and escape was what I wanted. We wound our way around the castle until I was dumped at my fathers feet.

"My own daughter. Breaking the laws I had set down for her safety. I have housed you in this place and let you attend our meetings. But why did you speak to that mortal! He could have been a servant of Zeus for all we know! Are you careless? Or was it just stupidity that took over your mind?"

I remained quiet, ignoring the harsh words he spat at me, hoping to break me no doubt. He sighed and sat down on his throne, his bearded face lying in his hands.

"124 Years I took care of you. And then you betray me like this. I fear you have doomed the sea. Take her to the cellar."

His voice broke mid sentence. It was filled with an incomprehensionsalbe sadness. Only then did I realise the implications of what I had done. I had been foolish and selfish, only trying to accomplish my own ends.

I said three words as they dragged me away

"Father, I'm sorry."

***

Chains were clamped on my hands as I was thrown into the cellar. They hurt my already tender skin and began to wear it away immediatly. That night in the cellar was the worst. There was no bed, just a grimy floor. It was covered with a thin layer of dirty straw that hardly protected me from the slimy bottom underneath. Dirty water swirled around me, so thick with many unmentionable things that clogged my mouth, nose and gills. I had never known of this part of the palace, it was unfamiliar and I knew no escape. I wished I ad not been so insane as to do what I had done. My father's words may well be true. I could have doomed the sea. I stayed in the cleanest corner of the cell, which was still clogged with sand and slime. My stomach aced wit hunger, as I had not eaten since an hour before my journey and I was so hungry. Nobody brought me any food during the night, as they probably forgot I even needed it. My father and the council were deciding my fate at that very moment. Whether to banish me immediately, or to put me on trial for treason. There was no execution in our kingdom, else I would not have dared break that law. No, the worst form of punishment was banishment, for it was known that any of our kind would die if their heads broke the water. They would be doomed to swim the seas for all eternity, and many lost their minds while they were in fish form, and could not figure out how to change back. It was drilled into me that this was unimaginable torture. I curled up in the corner and waited for the night to end.

In the morning, or what I thought was the morning as it was a little lighter, a pale trembling page boy came into my cell.

"T-The council demands your presence i-immediantly."

 I swam out the door and was caught on the arms by two guards. They looked at me with digust and tried to touch me as little as they could. They had always not trusted me, these people. They had always thought I would betray them, and here is their proof. 100 pairs of eyes rested on me as I entered the court. It was dark and discreet, no fancy wall hangings or furniture. Just hard wooden benches behind which the council could stand as they decided my fate. They already stood, faces grave and emotionless. A scribe sat in a corner recording the session. He was very old and he had obviously not written for a while, because the last case had been 200 years before I was born. I approached the tiny bench that was kept for the person on trial, and my father motioned for me to sit down. A grave faced woman in a purple gown with wrinkles lining her face spoke.