Ursula

The Sea Witch

"Vernis les truos!" Ursula chanted, her arms extended towards the mottled seagull feathers in the granite basin in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clenching into fists, every fiber of her being willing the feathers to-

"Squawk!" Her eyes burst open and she shot forward. Sitting in the basin, was a greying seagull, old and scruffy, missing both eyes. "Squawk!" it said again, cocking it's head towards Ursula's shocked face. It pecked at the basin once, then flapped it's wings. Six of its wing feathers fell off. The seagull seemed surprised that it was falling apart, and flapped it's wings again experimentally. This time the corner of it's left wing caught on the edge of the basin and broke off. The seagull was now freaking out, squawking and jumping up and down, still trying to fly in the water. It's right foot broke off, which set it off balance. It fell a bit, feathers and bones breaking and falling off everywhere. It started floating upwards slowly, still falling apart. Ursula stared, wide eyed. It reached the low cave ceiling with a small bump, and immediately disintegrated into a fine dust that quickly dispersed in the water.

Ursula finally found her voice. "I- I did it!" Her face broke into a huge grin as she whipped around to face the figure in the shadows. "I did it! I re-animated it!" The figure stepped out of the shadow. She was a tall, intimidating woman, and she towered over Ursula's small seventeen year old frame. Her right eye was rimmed with dark black squid ink, framing her flaming iris. She only had one eye, scarlet at the rim and amber nearer to the pupil. Her left eye was covered with a sleek eel skin patch, and a thin ivory scar could be seen just coming out of the bottom of it. Her hair was a deep burgundy, long and thick, and it billowed around her underneath her shark skin turban. Her dress was woven out of Darkness itself, blacker than anything and tight against her upper body. It showed her shoulders and sharp, pale collarbones. At the waist it flared outwards, and billowed around all her legs. She had six legs, all scarlet, and razor sharp at the ends. She had the legs of a crab. Her face and body held a dark, cruel beauty, something not even her legs could mar. She was the Sea Witch.

"Well done," the Sea Witch said, her voice rich and silky. She scuttled over to where Ursula floated beaming, still managing to make the movement look graceful. She pushed a lock of Ursula's pale lavender hair out of her face, and gently touched her cheek with her sharp nails. "You've outdone any maiden I have ever trained. Ursula, you are the best."

Ursula glowed with pride. "Does this mean I'm ready? Can I finally come with you on the next hunt?"

The witch absentmindedly picked up a thin fish bone from inside the basin. "We'll see."

"Oh please, Skalandra? You said I could come when I have completed my training, and you said this was the last test," Usula begged, hope radiating from her face. The witch sighed.

"Flotsam? Jetsam? What do you two think? Is Ursula ready to hunt?" The two eels seemed to materialize from the cave walls, and slithered forward to where Skalandra stood. Each one wrapped it's long body around one of her pale arms and fixated their identical yellow eyes on Ursula with a long, inquisitive stare.

Ursula clenched her jaw and thrust her chest out. The eels suddenly drew back and each draped themselves around the witch's neck, one head on either side.
"The girrrl isss readyyy," they hissed in unison. "Take her on theee hunt."

Ursula grinned. "Thank you Skalandra, you won't regret making this decision!"

The Sea Witch just shook her head, the faint trace of a smile on her blood-red lips. "The next hunt is the day after tomorrow. Gather all your things, and, Ursula, practice."

"I will! I won't disappoint you!"

Skalandra regained her cool, expressionless face. "Good."