that long?”
“Your sisters love you,” I said soothingly, my voice coming out wiser and slightly lower.
“You must know that. They only judge that which you have done, not who you are.”
“What do you know of judgment, Thetis?” Keto cried at me. Thetis. I had entered an antiquity experience! The last thing I remembered was lying on my bed, listening to the creaking of the rocking chair as Zara patiently watched me purposely enter my mother’s memories. As Keto continued her rant, I forced down my excitement and tried to concentrate on my surroundings. I found myself in a grand room with high ceilings, marble floors and looming windows covered with lavish silk tapestries. A large stone fireplace roared behind us as we sat on regal furniture. A modest table stood between Amphitrite and me, overflowing with books. Keto stood before us; exasperated and contemptuous. Mom’s gaze commanded Keto’s attention before she spoke again. I could feel her anger rise and fall as Keto’s tone cut her. She quickly collected herself and succeeded in presenting the picture of grace and dignity.
“The scornful eye of judgment watches us all, especially me,” Mom said. “Every step, every decision I make is critiqued and discussed. I feel the pressure at my back every waking hour, but you must stand strong and remain confident in who you are and move forward.”
Keto threw up her arms in frustration. “You could have it so easy if you would utilize the gifts bestowed upon you! You are the strongest of us all! You must know that no Nereid would challenge you! The words you speak have no validity when such an advantage exists!”
“The path to obtain the love and respect of those around you is not through overpowering them,” Mom corrected her sternly. “Strength and power must be used to protect and nurture those who depend on you. Those are the qualities our Order covets in a leader. Those are the qualities which earn the trust of our sisters. Once that trust is broken, it is extremely difficult to rebuild- as you are experiencing now. But, you must remember…” Mom leaned forward, “It can be rebuilt.”
“I do not wish to lower myself to pleading on my knees, in a pathetic attempt to win back that which I have been stripped of. One accusation does not warrant such a harsh penalty!”
“The penalty for your indiscretion lies on those you have hurt the most,” Amphitrite informed her gravely. “Themisto believes one year banishment and revocation of your title is fair punishment for your betrayal, and I agree. There will be no negotiations.”
“My own sisters have turned against me,” Keto stated plainly.
“Your own sisters are giving you a chance to make it right,” Amphitrite corrected her.
“And how does my absence make anything right? How does stripping my title make anything right? I am an embarrassment! Something to brush under the rug! I will never regain the status I had before!”
“Our decisions determine our destiny, Keto,” Amphitrite declared; resolve deadening her tone. “Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the victim. You have earned your punishment.”
“No, you’re wrong,” Keto fumed incessantly. “I have earned my freedom. I do not want any part of a sisterhood which turns their back at a moment’s notice.”
“Your sisterhood would never turn their back on you. We love you. We need you,” Thetis explained with kindness. “But you must serve your punishment. You must be held accountable for your actions. You cannot claim to believe we would make an exception for one sister and not for all.”
“This sisterhood is poison in my veins; imprisoning me and sentencing me to a life without power.” Keto stepped towards us, and I felt Amphitrite tense next to me. Her next words were spoken slowly, deliberately, and with unfaltering conviction. “I denounce my place in this prison of sisterhood. I will not subject my descendents to this treachery, nor will I forgive this act of betrayal.”
“Your sisterhood loves you and needs you,” Amphitrite beseeched.
“You’re a liar! A traitor!” Keto bellowed and threw up her hands, but Mom was quicker.
With a flick of a finger she shielded herself and Amphitrite from Keto’s energy. Mom’s bright blue energy swarmed around Keto, tightening and rendering her powerless. Amphitrite nodded her head ever so slightly at several guards standing near the grand door at the back of the room. They swiftly dragged a screaming Keto from the room.
Mom disintegrated back into her chair and a deep sadness washed over her. I felt her love for Keto, and the pain she felt at her vow to break from the sisterhood. She glanced up at Amphitrite, whose head hung down in defeat; a single tear rolling down her cheek.
“Stasia?” a faraway voice called. “Stasia, wake up!” I rolled over and searched for the source of the voice. Zara peered down at me with concern marking her beautiful features. When I sat up, tears streamed down my face; I wiped them away with the back of my hand as a thrill shot through me.
“I did it!” I exclaimed; consequently opening the flood gates for what I had just seen to come pouring out. “My mom and Amphitrite were talking to Keto - she did something - and they were issuing the punishment - but Keto didn’t agree with it - she told them she was leaving the sisterhood!”
“Hold on, slow down.” Zara sat down on the edge of the bed. “Keto? Amphitrite?”
“They were in a large room arguing about whatever Keto had done. They told her she would be banished for one year and stripped of her title? I didn’t know that Keto held a title,” I rambled.
“She was one of Amphitrite’s prefects of counsel,” Zara breathed, appearing caught off guard by my words. “But the exact events of Keto’s leaving have never been revealed by the Nereids. All I know is that a Tyde - a descendent of Melite - was murdered on Keto’s command. Or so she was accused. Themisto was the prefect of customary law and had gathered the details of her punishment.
But Keto left the sisterhood before it could ever be carried out.”
“Amphitrite and Mom tried to talk her out of it. But Keto couldn’t be convinced that the Nereids had not turned their backs on her. They were so…poised and strong. It was impressive.”
“What’s ‘impressive’ is your ability to access that memory,” Zara raised an eyebrow at me.
“That happened several centuries ago.”
“I was thinking of Mom and Amphitrite and it just kind of…happened.” I smiled, but another question I’d been wanting to ask surfaced. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“I know that the Nereids all have to Choose me before or during my Epiphany ceremony in order for me to become a Nereid, and therefore Leader of the Tydes.” I held my breath. “That being the case, does Keto have to Choose me as well?”
“When Keto left the sisterhood, she left all ties and any input as well. She will have no bearing on your future as a Nereid.”
“Oh good,” I sighed. A weight lifted from my shoulders and I ran a shaking hand through my hair in relief. “The chances of Keto Choosing me for anything other than to be her slave are about as good as the ocean dislodging from the sea floor and floating away.”
“Careful what you wish for,” she chuckled. “You could probably make it happen.”
“So what exactly happens at my Epiphany ceremony?”
“It’s actually pretty spectacular, from what I hear. As you know, once you are Chosen by all of the Nereids, you will become one of them. But the process of becoming a goddess is a little more intense.”
“Intense?”
“Have you ever been struck by lightning?”
