Chapter 5: A Sacrifice (Sea Witch POV)
I knew she was coming before that day… I had known it for ten years, but why had the day come so soon? I stared towards the dark cave-entrance, and closed my eyes in order to keep the warm tears at bay. I could not lose my daughter. I could not allow her to do this, and yet, I knew I simply had to, for I loved her, and all I wanted to do was have the ability to make her happy-- or at least give her a chance to pursue it. And suddenly, I heard her voice, as she boldly entered the cave-- a feat not usually successfully done by others. "Morgana?" she called.
I inhaled a deep breath, preparing myself, and answered, "I was expecting you, my child… Come into the light so that I may look upon your face a bit more clearly," I tried to sound casual. I tried my best to sound unnerved by her appearance-- business as usual, the tone of my voice proclaimed, but it was not so.
She swam deeper into the cave upon my request, and despite my better judgment, I allowed my lips to form a smile at the sight of her, "Can you help me?" she asked, and with one final hesitant thought, I nodded. She was so beautiful… She looked even more beautiful in person than from a distance, "It's very cold in here," she whispered, shivering; obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere before making her forbidden request.
"I know what it is that you wish," I whispered, trying to sound misty and strange to her, "but please think about what you are doing, my child. Think of what you must give up. Please forget about him-- a girl like you will find love under the sea, I assure you, and he will cause you great pain if you venture to the surface in search of his love."
Pearl stared at me, and contemplated my words for a moment before answering, "You must understand, Morgana. I do not care about the dangers I might encounter along the way… I must go to him, don't you understand that? I must be able to have that chance to--"
I smiled bitterly in response, "I know how you feel, pearl. I understand what you're going through, but you must reconsider. You must think about everything that will be lost to you once you leave your home, and your previous life. You--"
"I'm not frightened if that's what you mean!" she shouted, whipping her black hair around, and turning her back to me.
"I'm not saying that. It's just-- think of your father, and your sisters. They love you, and they need you. You must realize that losing you to the world of above would bring them a great sadness. They would be lost without you, my child."
She turned to face me once again, and fell silent for a long while, as I continued my warning, "Would you truly give up everything you know and love just for a man who does not even know that you exist?"
She bowed her head, and there was no sound for nearly five minutes as she processed all of the information I had just given her, "I am willing to make this sacrifice-- for him…" she drifted off, looking towards the sun whose reflection lay at the very top of the water; a small pinpoint of light as it was so very far away from us.
I stared at her, and she began speaking once again: "You are my final hope, Morgana. Please help me. I know that you are the most powerful sorceress in all the land and I also know that while you are feared, you are loved by those whose lives you have touched. All I want is the ability to love him-- is that too much to ask?"
"You are sure of this then?" I whispered.
She nodded, and I began brewing the potion that would perform her, now knowing that it was useless to attempt to argue with her, and convince her not to go through with it.
With each ingredient I heaved into the cauldron, another part of me swiftly died. With each bubble that floated up from the boiling depths of the silver liquid, I was able to accept more and more the notion that my daughter would be lost to our world within a matter of time.
When the potion was at last finished, and the hour of the cooling process was complete, I carefully poured the silver liquid into a small narrow vial, and made to hand it to my daughter, before keeping it out of her reach to finish what needed to be said, "I must tell you this before you leave me forever," I whispered, after having put a stopper into the vial to prevent the liquid from leaking, "You must drink this before the sun rises tomorrow, and then must swim to shore-- you must be above the water at all costs, or you will drown. When your tail has become a pair of legs, you must swim to the shore, and find the boy that you seek," I handed it to her. "One more warning," I added, as she slid the vial into her pouch, "If you are unable to win this man's heart and his love, and he is to fall in love with and marry another, and they conceive… the day after the baby is born, oxygen will become poisonous to you, and you will cease to live. Your legs will become a tail once again, and your heart will cease its beating, and you will become nothing but a small wisp of air. You will not leave behind a legacy for no one-- mortal or otherwise will have the ability to mourn over your earthly being."
She shrugged her shoulders, as if I had merely informed her that water would be less bountiful above-- as if I had stated nonsense, "Pearl, please listen to me!" I was frightened now-- she was actually going through with it-- I was actually going through with it.
"How do you know my name?" she suddenly asked me, now showing her inner fright towards me.
"That does not matter," I whispered, having forgotten to refrain from using her name, "Pearl, once you have transformed, you may never come back to the sea. It is simply impossible, and that is but one of the reasons why you must reconsider and realize the consequences of your actions once you go up there."
She smiled a bitter smile, "I hate the sea. Don't you understand that? I don't feel at home here. I never have. Nobody understands me-- not even my own sisters and father, so please don't act as if you're my mother," these words stung my heart, for she did not yet know the truth of who I was, "How may I pay you?" she added as an afterthought, rummaging through her pouch.
"I'll take no money," I replied, "just try to be safe," and she swam up to me, and kissed me upon the cheek, before swimming away once again, accidentally dropping an expensive ivory comb on the way out, "Pearl!" I called out, picking up the thing, and wondering if she had meant to drop it for me to keep-- I held it close, waiting for her return to reclaim the item but she never did… Now, years later, I wish I could have somehow stopped her from going.