AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's the next story to Hades and Persephone's CAPTIVATED. My take on the whole Poseidon and Amphitrite mythology. The first three chapters are just the precursor to the widely accepted myth of Poseidon and Amphitrite's meeting at the island of Naxos. We'll get there. Soon. But right now, would love to read your comments and reaction on the initial three chapters. =)

THE SEA NYMPH

The Silver Palace

Amphitrite tiptoed along the silent halls of her father's underwater palace, careful not to gain the attention of any of the palace mermaids, the roving merfolks (who were the designated guards of her father's considerable abode), or worse, her parents.

'Oh please no, NOT her parents!' she puffed at a stray of auburn hair that fell across her face as she glanced furtively behind her shoulders and then back at the long empty hallway leading to the array of rooms that were allocated separately for each of the last dozen of Nereus and Doris' fifty daughters.

And much to her chagrin, she was one of the last dozen.

She would've loved so much to be one of the oldest. It just seemed that they had the least to prove to their parents, they had the effortless talent to boss the younger ones around (and actually appear like they had the right to do so) AND they got the best chambers in the palace!

'Well, not that her chamber was any less,' she reconsidered, 'It's just that the chambers assigned to the eldest sisters were facing the palace gates and courtyards, and therefore overlooking the magnificent underwater metropolis that her father reigns over and thus always have the front seat in any of the elaborate mardi gras parades that their kingdom held every year.'

Petty. Amphitrite scoffed at her own thoughts. But that's mostly how her thoughts go anyway whenever she's pitted against her siblings. It never fails to call the unreasonable child in her.

She gave another glance around her surroundings before deciding to take a dash to the second door at the left corridor to reach her chamber. Automatically closing the door behind her, she leaned herself against it and felt a smile softly creeping from her lips.

'At last!' she sighed, 'Her sanctuary!'

If it were a few years ago, she'd never be able to pull that off. Her father's palace was known to be significantly filled with people who had, without surprise, mostly disappeared soon after the rise of the Olympian brothers.

'The Olympian brothers…' Amphitrite had to forcibly stop herself from rolling her eyes at the thought of the unbelievably shrewed, tactically-gifted and physically blessed Olympian brothers who spearheaded the Titanomachy that led to the overthrowing of the rule of the Titans. And by Titans, it meant it included her own father, Nereus, who although aligned with the gods, his role in the realm of the sea had still been greatly diminished by the induction of Poseidon into the sea hierarchy.

Oh, Amphitrite wouldn't have found any problem with that nor with the inclusion of an Olympian God in their underwater sovereignty. If only that certain Olympian god actually deserved the title or, in Poseidon's case, at least show a little interest in overlooking the matters concerning the Sea Realm.

So far, the only notable action he's done was to change his appearance to look older - a whole lot older than he actually was, as she was told for she had never seen him otherwise - so that the leaders and citizens under the sea will take him seriously and place him at par with the Titan brothers, Nereus and Oceanus, who were way older and more experienced than he was in governing the underwater realm.

Though Amphitrite couldn't deny the god his moments of brilliance over the years that he had settled himself into their dominion, but for as long as she could remember, Poseidon was a god whom the underwater people can easily please but is temperamental at his worse and largely complacent at his best which makes him a rather unpredictable head of an incredibly large realm.

And it irritated her. It irritated her so. To have the territory she treasured and cared the most to be placed into the hands of some rash, often unreliable but wildly charismatic head of the underwater state who had immediately attracted the Sea Residents with his easy charm within just a few months after claiming his seat centuries ago - or so Doris says, Amphitrite had to trust her mother on that one because she couldn't recall much about it given that she was just a child when the Olympians took over.

Putting aside the fact that she IS Nereus' daughter; she knew that her father would do just fine handling the Sea Realm better than the Olympian newcomer. Nereus was by far well-adjusted, milder, grounded and a whole less erratic than Poseidon was.

Life would've been a whole lot easier if it were thus, Amphitrite mused. If it were her father ruling over the high seas with her uncle, Oceanus, she wouldn't be in a constant state of worry over the sea-territories and the seaside kingdoms that were assigned to them to look after.

By then she wouldn't have had any reason to regularly meddle in the monthly Sea Council to air the grievances of the coastal and underwater residents that were designated under her jurisdiction. She was currently overseeing the city of Corinth and the waters surrounding it for years already, and she's always in distress over their welfare whenever Poseidon seems too preoccupied on other matters.

Amphitrite's face formed an immediate scrunch as she opened her dressing cabinet and roamed her eyes at the lines of flowing dresses of all cuts and styles imaginable which she rarely even touched. She'd long ditched style over comfort - much to her sisters' dismay - ever since she'd decided that the elaborate robes that most of her sisters seem to prefer were of no use when she was constantly out in the open seas or with the coastal villages.

Amphitrite glowered at the collection of colorful dresses in front of her. 'Gracious! She didn't even have any idea what style was fashionable!' she remarked to herself, 'She's helpless!'

Making a hasty decision, she pulled a cream white chiffon dress with beadings in its wide-sweeping collar as well as the linings in the shoulder opening of its puffy sleeves that were cinched just above the elbows, as she hurriedly discarded her daily wear from Corinth.

She eyed herself in her floor-length mirror. 'That's strange,' she contemplated, 'She swore this same dress didn't fit her properly just a few years ago. It just slump its way down all over the floor, just like the rest of her other dresses.'

She made a swift turn of the dress and marveled. Corinth food might have done her something good, for the dress now fits her all in the right places. Fancy! Her mother would be so glad about it given that Doris never fails to harass her about being too gangly for her height and almost always shoves food under her nose whenever chance permits her mother to.

Amphitrite consciously ran a hand through her crown of unruly auburn curls and wondered, 'Now, what to do with her hair…'

As if summoned by her thoughts, her chamber doors suddenly flew open, with two golden haired mermaids sashaying into the expanse of her room.

One can barely hear the footsteps that bristle underneath their long, flowy skirts that immediately transforms into fish-like tails as soon as they step out from the Silver Palace. Either way, fish-like tails or without, the mermaids boasted the slimmest waists in the entirety of the Sea Realm which they never allow you to forget, because their upper bodies are only covered by colored shells to conceal their breasts, the rest lay bare for all the world to see.

"Lady Amphitrite!" exclaimed the blue-eyed Melusine, "It really IS you!"

Amphitrite flailed her hand furiously, warning, "Hush! Keep your voice down."

Melusine dropped her voice audibly, "But why didn't you inform us of your arrival, milady? Your mother's been expecting you for ages!"

Amphitrite replied with an impish smile, "Exactly!" she replied, "That's why I prefer my appearance a secret."

"I told you t'was her!" the other attendant, Thessalonike, gestured, "It was either Rhea sneaking about by the pillared hallway, or Amphitrite. Nobody's hair as red as theirs! And since it's unimaginable for the Mother of the Gods to be creeping about by the hallways in the Silver Palace, it could only be none other than Amphitrite that I spotted."

Amphitrite gasped, aghast, "How dare you! You make it sound as if I make it a habit to be creeping about by the hallways."

Melusine sneered at her, "Well, you were very good at demonstrating it just about a minute ago," the attendant disputed, "I saw you myself."

Embarrassed, Amphitrite transferred her attention back to the mirror, tugging at her messy hair, "Everybody sneaks about at least once in their lives…" she mumbled.

"Your parents have been really concerned about you, milady," softly reprimanded Thessalonike, as she started to glaze a critical eye on the chiffon dress that Amphitrite was wearing, her assisting nature kicking into action, "You haven't returned to the palace for seven months. And your mother's been complaining that she only sees you during the Sea Council and even then you disappear immediately right after…"

"I've been really busy at Corinth," Amphitrite shrugged curtly, "And besides… it hasn't been seven months!" she complained, "Where did mother think I get all the decent dresses I wear during the Sea Council?"

"So!" Melusine remarked, "You've been sneaking around the palace for seven months now!"

"Why do you make it sound like it's a crime?" protested the young Nereid.

"This needs a belt," uttered Thessalonike, not paying attention to the conversation.

Melusine herself pushed Amphitrite into a chair, facing the mirror, and then seizing control of her hair, "Here, let me do that," the attendant offered, trying to make sense out of her massive curls, before responding to Amphitrite's remark, "Just in case you forgot, milady, your father owns this palace. You don't really have to go sneaking about."

Thessalonike reappeared carrying a brown beaded belt that matched the linings of her dress, "Sit up straight, so I can put this around you," she instructed and Amphitrite did as she was told.

"Where, may we ask, are you going?" Melusine inquired as she continued fervently combing at the strands of her hair.

"The Sea Council," she replied matter-of-factly.

This earned a low whistle from Thessalonike, "Oh… I'm not sure someone's going to like that…"

Amphitrite wrinkled her nose in answer, "I have no choice!" she protested, "The people at Corinth had been recently ravaged by a heavy storm that took almost their entire livelihood!"

"Well, does your mother know about your attendance to the Sea Council?" Melusine followed.

"Nope!" a voice from behind chimed in bursting from the chamber door, "Mother does NOT know about YOUR attendance in the Sea Council!"

Amphitrite snapped around, "Mother!" she gasped.

Doris eyed the two attendants, gently ordering, "Leave us."

Even before Amphitrite could stand, Doris' hands were already on her shoulders pinning her down to her sitting position. Her mother waited for the mermaids to exit the chamber and close the door behind them.

"Mother," Amphitrite began, "I can explain…"

"Why are you doing this?" the blonde-haired Doris interrupted, her voice gentle and maternal, green eyes meeting their exact match by the reflection in the mirror.

"Mother, you know I need to," she explained, "We have responsibilities to the people we are designated to. And right now, the people of Corinth need me. And on my part, I have to communicate those needs to the right people who's got the power to help them."

"They need you so much you failed to show yourself up in your father's house for seven months?" Doris inquired, "And really Amphitrite, if you need the Council Head to help you, you've got to practice expressing it with a little more charm than force. It's a secret weapon women of all ages have been using!"

Amphitrite couldn't help rolling her eyes, "And by Council Head you mean Poseidon."

"Who else?" Doris exclaimed, "On last month's council, you basically verbally battered the man just so he'd support one of your sisters in the Erythraean Sea."

"On my defense, mother, HE wasn't listening!" Amphitrite objected, "Clio had been addressing her cause for a good half an hour but that old man's attention had been distracted by some sea nymph that passed by the amphitheatre! It's unbearable."

"I appreciate your loyalty to your sister, dearest, but you've got to give Clio the chance to stand up on her own," Doris justified, "And besides, you really need to try to be a little bit more agreeable to the Council Head," her mother advised, "You're beginning to get quite a reputation."

Amphitrite immediately scowled, "What do I care about having a reputation?"

"Oh you HAVE to care," Doris stressed, "Most of the eligible men in the territory attends the council and you're scaring them away!"

"Cowards!" mumbled Amphitrite.

"Amphitrite," Doris warned.

She huffed, "Just for reasoning's sake, mother, the only reason I stood up for Clio in the council last month was because I saw she needed a little push. That's all there was to it," she explained, "Clio's the gentlest soul, mother. A slight rejection can crush her."

"Do you think I don't know that? I'm your mother. I know everything about the lot of you," Doris replied, gathering the remaining mass of Amphitrite's hair that Melusine left unbraided.

"Oh do you?" teased Amphitrite.

"Don't tempt me," Doris retorted, tugging at her hair, "And, also, how many times do I have to tell you to stop referring to Poseidon as an old man? You, being Nereus' daughter, should know better that it's all only for appearances sake."

Amphitrite tried to crane her head around to look at her mother, but to no avail, "But I've never seen him otherwise!" she reasoned.

"Oh, hush now!" her mother remarked, "You'd always somehow carried some animosity, some sort of resentment, towards the god over their taking over the lines of the Titans."

"Don't you?" Amphitrite returned.

"No," Doris answered.

"Really?"

"Really," her mother emphasized, "And so does your father. That's what always happens after a war, darling. There's always going to be a change in power. It's the law of nature. The axis will be tilted. One has got to accept that."

"Just like that?" the young Nereid pushed.

"Just like that," nodded her mother, each word said with emphasis as she finished braiding Amphitrite's hair, "It's actually incredible to find that you've been carrying that burden in you when you were just about four… when the Olympians took power."

"Five!" she corrected, meeting her mother's gaze at the mirror and handing her the hair net with tiny shower of white pearls to scoop her braid up.

A frown suddenly formed on her mother's pretty face as she made some final fixes on Amphitrite's hair, expressing, "Long hair suits you. I never quite understood why you insist on pulling them up on a hair net."

Doris placed a final pat on Amphitrite's hair before the young Nereid stood up, "Don't you like my hair net?" she asked, "I find them really… convenient," she said as she took a last look on herself in the mirror before facing her mother, "There. How do I look? Am I decent enough?"

A look of awe was sketched on her mother's face which actually frightened her a bit.

"My, we really haven't seen each other for a long while," Doris whispered, looking at her from head to foot, "You've changed."

Amphitrite's brows furrowed, "Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"

Doris pushed her daughter to take a swift turn, and rejoined, "Definitely GOOD!"

She really didn't know how to accept that, so Amphitrite returned it, "You're looking good yourself, mother," she supplied, "Going somewhere?"

This time, Doris gave her a narrowing gaze and a pursed mouth, "To the Sea Council."

"You've been making a frequent appearance in the Council yourself, mother," she joked.

"I only attend because I'm trying to save some of my daughters from expressing their opinions too much and make themselves a group of social pariah!" she proclaimed, "For the love of all that is holy, Amphitrite, please don't idolize your sisters Pherusa and Dynamene so much!"

"Whoever told you that I was idolizing them?"

Her mother nodded at her knowingly, "Oh, you are fast becoming like them! Opinionated, unrepentant and completely uncontrollable!"

Amphitrite shrugged, as she started for the door, "They're my elder sisters, maybe I take after them."

"Where are you going?" followed Doris.

"To the Sea Council," Amphitrite announced with a sweet smile, "I've got some verbal battering to do!"

"Oh no you don't!" Doris called, trailing after her.