CHAPTER TWO: STORIES

I curled up on the ocean floor and thought about what had just happened.  I stared at my dagger; I had threatened to kill her with it then she died.  The men had looked like they were savage's, long, tangled hair, I could count every rip!

They weren't handsome anyway.  Hilde swam down next to me.  "We are going to see Mother now.  Come on."

I smiled.  Mother always told the best stories.  We started off towards Liber Rock, where mother and her nymphs lived.  As we swam, I watched the swarms of fish go by.  They were all colors; red, green, blue, but I liked the silver the best.
"Relena, where are you going?"  I snapped back to attention.  I had swam right past the rock!  I blushed and turned, following my sisters.

"Welcome my beautiful mermaids."  Mother looked at the other five pods and smiled sadly.  "We are missing a pod and you have lost a sister."
"Mother."  I said softly.  "Tell us the story of our origin."
"Again Relena?"  Everyone nodded.

"OK.  Not everything is known.  Your father was a god, an immortal.  He was Oceanus, the god of the seas.  Everyone and everything in the water loved and respected him.  He rode in a chariot pulled by magnificent black stallions.  He was searching the coral and found a beautiful sea sprite.  She was very similar to you mermaids.  He fell in love with her instantly.

"That night, they made love.  At his trail, much later, he confessed to it being the best love he had ever had."  I looked up.  Mother had never told us this part.  "The next morning, Sienna, your mother, found out she was pregnant.  She grew angry with Oceanus.  They argued.

"Zeus came to Oceanus.  'You have violated the codes of the gods.'  Oceanus was confused.  'Gods make love to sprites all the time!'  Zeus shook his head.  'She was no sprite.  You have given a demon the power of the gods; your children must be killed.'  Oceanus was horrified.  Those were his only children!  How could the mother be a demon!

"Oceanus went to Sienna.  He killed her and took the eggs from her body.  He distributed them at six different places around the seas.  His children would live in peace.  His daughters were not immortal, like Gods and Demons, Zeus had found out that Oceanus had saved them and he put a curse on the daughters.  They were to be mortal.  They were to live and to die, like humans.  He took Oceanus into the Trial of the Gods.  He was sentenced to live the rest of his life as a creature he had created.  The Gods turned him into a mortal mermaid."  I stared.  /Why had she never told us this before?/

"Oceanus then told Zeus 'My daughters shall be immortal.  They will make love to humans and be immortal.  You can not rid the world of my beautiful daughters!'  He then killed himself, letting the blood wash over Zeus' feet.  Aphrodite then asked me, the mother of Nymphs, to watch over you.  I did.  Now, go to Siren rock.  Sing.  Sing for your father.  Sing for the demons.  Sing for your sisters.  Sing for immortality!"  She vanished, and we headed silently for Siren rock.