The next day, Amarédasse sat in her chamber at her easel* painting a beautiful painting in the company of her two favorite cousins and best friends, Hebe, the Goddess of Youth, Daughter of Zeus and Hera, and Makaria, the Goddess of Blessed Death, Daughter of Hades and Persephone. "Oh Amarédasse, this painting is so beautiful," Hebe said amazed at one of her cousin's many talents. "I agree with Hebe, Amaré* this beach looks so realistic," Makaria said in her usual cheerful manner. "Makaria, Hebe, I swear that someday I will walk along a beach just like this one and I will finally see the sun and the sky along with my father's domain the way humans see it," Amarédasse declared to her cousins. "That is if your father will allow you to go outside the barrier," Hebe said sarcastically. "Hebe, I will go outside the barrier one day my father can't keep me locked away from the world forever," Amarédasse stated determinedly. "Look on the bright side, at least you haven't had any unwanted suitors today," said Makaria. "Enough talk about that, let's go down to the basement and see if we can find anything interesting," Amarédasse said as both she and her cousins left the room to go exploring.
As the three young goddesses explored the palace basement going through the items that had been put into storage, Makaria came across a hidden doorway that looked like it had been sealed off for years. "Amarédasse, Hebe, come and look at what I found," Makaria called out to her cousins as they ran towards her. "Strange, I've never noticed this before," Amarédasse said as she slid through the small cracked opening to get a better look at the passageway. "I can feel a draft, so that means that the tunnel must lead somewhere," Amarédasse told her cousins. "Amarédasse, do you really think that this is a good idea?" Hebe asked knowing that her cousin probably wanted to see where the tunnel led. "But I've never been outside the barrier before. This could be my chance and probably my only chance, I'm going to see where this leads," Amarédasse told Hebe and Makaria, her voice filled with confidence and determination. "Okay Amaré we'll cover for you, but first take this you might need some money and use this to cover up your birthmark," Makaria said as she handed Amarédasse a purse and an arm cuff. "Alright, and I'll do my best to keep Makaria out of trouble," Hebe said reluctantly. "Okay, don't worry I'll be back soon," said Amarédasse. With that Amarédasse began walking to see where the passageway led with the hope that it led somewhere outside the barrier.
As Amarédasse reached the end of the tunnel that led to the palace, she came across a door and when she opened the door she found that it led to an underwater sea cave with a pool of water in the middle that led to another part of the passageway. On the wall of the cave, Amarédasse noticed a copy of her parents wedding portrait.* "Father must of use to use this tunnel to sneak in surprises for Mother without her noticing. He probably sealed it up after he placed up the barrier after I was born," Amarédasse said to herself knowing how much her parents loved each other. Amarédasse then placed the arm cuff that Makaria gave her over her birthmark and dove into the water where she transformed into her mermaid form. Her legs became a beautiful sparkling rainbow-colored fish-tail and she wore a gold seashell top over her breasts.
Once she was in the water, Amarédasse began swimming through the tunnel until she reached the end of the passageway and found an opening that appeared to be hidden from view. The moment Amarédasse swam out of the opening she saw that for the first time in her life, she was outside the barrier that protected her home. Finally, free from the barrier that kept her a prisoner her entire life, Amarédasse took the opportunity to roam around the waters, visit the places of the past, and to, at last, see the entirety of her father's realm for herself. Then Amarédasse made the decision that would change her life forever, she decided to swim up to the surface and explore the human world.
*Once more I did a little online research and I found out that the easel goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt. It's amazing to find out that what you had originally believed to have been a modern invention actually has roots in antiquity.
*Pronounce: amar-A.
*How else did Poseidon sneak anything into the palace without Shea noticing when he wanted to surprise her.
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Amarédasse, Daughter of Poseidon
FanfictionProphesied at birth that she would defeat Poseidon's last remaining enemy once she reached the age of eighteen, Amarédasse has been kept virtually a prisoner in her own home and unaware of the prophecy by orders of her father, Poseidon, while her ol...
