Mystia

Chapter 3: Liability

Chapter 3:
In the golden castle deep in the ocean lived Nereus, the old man of the sea and the god of the sea's rich bounty of fish. He lived in the palace with his beautiful wife Doris and fifty Nereid daughters. Like many other sea gods Nereus and his family were master shape shifters. He was a protector of fishers, and would always give them an abundance of fish to catch. He had lots of kindness in his heart. He was always trustworthy and gentle and did what he thought was right. Nereus hated obnoxious, full of themselves people and internationally cruel people. Ever since the humans attacked the mythical land he had forbidden his children from leaving the water at least for the time being. He had a hard time trusting anyone especially since the human king had killed his merman friend Max. Nereus was never usually the type of person to get angry but his blood began to boil when he realized that His youngest daughter, Nerine was missing. "Where is Nerine? Have you seen her!" He asked his daughter who was named Amphitrite. "I don't know, father. I haven't seen her in a while." She answered. Amphirte was known for her beauty and grace and would help sailors and protect the seas from harm. Amphitrite was a good and calm person most of the time but she also could be jealous and vengeful. She wanted all the attention on her and was very competitive. She also strived to keep the ocean at peace. Amphitrite didn't like Nerine that much because she was very disruptive to the peace. Always running away and causing unnecessary problems all the time. Even then she still cared about Nerine and felt worried every time she ran off. King Nereus called for Nerine hoping she was able to hear him. "Ugh where is that girl!" He mumbled, angrily. "Find her!" He demanded. Amphitrite then quickly rushed off and searched around the underwater kingdom. Far from the ocean in the dark forest sat just the girl Nereus was looking for. Nerine was still with her friend Wraith. She then started to hear her fathers voice calling her name from a distance and quickly jumped up. "Is everything alright?" Wraith asked her. "My father. He's looking for me. I'm not supposed to be here." Nerine quickly headed toward the beach. "Oh well we should hang out some time again soon maybe!" Wraith said as he watched the girl move quickly through the trees. "Ok!" She yelled back. She made her way to the beach and realized it was getting dark. The sun was starting to set and in the sky and it was like a painting. Nerine dashed to the sea and dove in and swam as fast as she could back down to her golden palace. Her father is in front of the castle with his hands on his hips and a stern look on his face. Before Mystia was attacked he was never like this but Nerine had to start getting used to this new personality of his that she didn't like. "Where were you? I was worried sick!" He scolded. "No where." Nerine mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "You were on land weren't you?" The king scoffed. "Yeah maybe I was." Nerine said in a sassy way. Nerine didn't usually act that way but she did it to try and feel braver and bolder. "What have I told you a million times and you still continue to disobey me over and over again!" Nereus yelled. "Look I'm sorry but-" "No more excuses child!" He said, cutting her off. "Look I know you said not to but I like it up there!" Nereus has a disappointed look on his face. "It is too dangerous! We are now living among humans who tried to kill all of us and there's no escape!" He explained sternly. "Well they aren't trying to anymore!" Said Nerine as she folded her arms. "They are dangerous Nerine! I don't want you getting hurt! It is for the best that we all stay in the water where it is safe." Nereus grabbed Nerine's hand but she pulled away. "But father, I want to be up there. And walk among the other creatures and make friends with people different from me so I can learn and discover new things. I like it better up there. I feel more free. I feel more like myself!" Nerine explained. "You are a sea nymph! You are supposed to live among the others in the sea! Do you know what happened to Max when he went above the water! Do you want that happening to you too?" "What happened to Max was tragic but the human apologized and has proven that he is a better person and will not do such a thing ever again! Don't you believe in second chances, father?" Asked Nerine. "We don't know for sure that they are good!" Said the king, completely dodging her question. "I can protect myself, ok? Beside I'm not even going near the humans! I like going into the dark forest and no silly human is dumb enough to wander in there." Nerine explained, trying to reassure her father. "The dark forest?! Are you kidding me!? Maybe humans aren't dumb enough to wander in there but you sure are!" Nereus said, harshly. "Ok enough! I am my own person. I can do what I want. I'm not a little girl anymore!" "You are still my child and should do as I say! I'm only doing this to protect you." "Whatever! You have plenty of other children to worry about and you seek to like them much more anyways!" Nerine yelled. "Fine, go live above the surface and do whatever you want but just so you know if you choose to do so you are not welcome back here!" "Wow. Some father you are!" Nerine scoffed. "Some child you are!" He yelled as he watched Nerine begin to swim away to the surface. She stopped and turned around and said, "Stop pretending like you care so much about me all of a sudden! You've never done so before so don't start now because you're pretty terrible at is anyways." The king didn't say anything more and she then turned around once more and headed to the surface.