The Maidening Ceremony

Chapter One - Scene 2

"Oh, by the by, have you heard about the girl with the red tail?" Damien mentioned as the Council prepared to dismiss him. As the Community's healer, he was required to come in every so often to report on pregnancies, births, and deaths. The Council monitors these statistics carefully. If the Council did not require the merpeople to form family units and procreate, they would not do it on their own. Eventually, if they had it their way, the Community would die out. Extinction is always a very near possibility.

"A red tail!" William exclaimed. "Surely not!"

The rest of the Council's astonishment echoed throughout the deep cave, but Damien nodded with conviction. He floated near the entrance, a large archway closed from non-Elders by streamers of braided mermaid hair, weighed down by dull ivory seashells. "Oh yes, to be sure. A red tail. Shaz and Dalphen's youngest offspring, Arilya. She is at the right age for her tail to turn and I saw her recently. Her parents thought she may be sick, but she appeared completely healthy to me, other than the strange tail."

"A red tail is not completely unheard of," Millicent said quietly, smoothing the drape she wore over her own tail. The other Elders either did not hear, or chose to ignore her. They often chose to ignore her, so she seldom ventured to offer her true thoughts or opinions on any subject.

"Thank you for letting us know, Healer," Elizabeth said, waving him off. He bowed politely before swimming away. Once he was out of earshot, the squabble began.

"What can it mean?"

"What should we do about it?"

"The merphan must be ill – the healer does not know what he is talking about."

"A red tail – it cannot be true red."

Everyone spoke at once, no one paid any heed to what their peers said. Millicent listened as calmly as she could, accustomed to their bickering and self-absorbed attitudes, knowing eventually they would calm down enough to discuss the issue rationally.

William lifted his well-worn gavel and brought it down with a dull thwack on the uneven surface of the patchwork stone table. The Council quieted. "What is to be done?" he asked.

"We should consider the parents' fears. The merphan could be infected. She could contaminate the entire Community. We have worked too hard to maintain the population to let an outbreak destroy it," Elizabeth said. Several of the others nodded. "We should send her outside the borders and be done with it. It is the safest thing for everyone." More nods around the table.

Millicent straightened her back and spoke sternly, "Damien said she was healthy. It is a bit drastic to cast her out with no proof she is sick."

"Is the red fin not proof?" Elizabeth shot back.

"No, it is not."

The Council looked on as Elizabeth and Millicent battled. "There has never been another red tail.  Ever. It cannot be a good sign. I am worried for the health of the Community."

"This is not the first red tail."

"Oh, it is not? Who else has had one?" Elizabeth replied, icily, a smug smile flashing towards her fellow Elders.

"How easily you forget. It does not matter. The point is, the healer does not think there is an immediate danger to her life nor any of ours, so it would be wiser of us to allow the merphan to remain. If we were to cast her outside the borders, she will draw attention to us. The last time we cast someone out, shark attacks within the borders increased drastically. We had to push four classes early through the Maidening Ceremony in order to replace those lost. You must remember how immature those parents were – half of the infants died quickly after birth. It was disastrous." Millicent tried to gauge the reactions around her. Her peers appeared deep in thought, but a few nodded in agreement.

"Millicent is right," William eventually said. "The previous attacks not only weakened the population, they also weakened our authority. We should continue to monitor the girl's condition, of course, but as long as she remains healthy and we see no sign that she has infected others, we will leave her be."

"But William..." Elizabeth began.

"I think the rest of the Council agrees, Elizabeth." Millicent surveyed the room; everyone was nodding. "Should we take a vote?"

"I do not think that is necessary. Are we done, William, or is there anything else on the agenda?" Elizabeth asked curtly.

"I believe that is all, unless anyone else has new business to discuss."

No one spoke up, so William dismissed the group. "Millicent, may I have a word?"

"What can I do for you, William?"

"You never speak at our Council meetings. We usually forget you are on the Council."

"Or that I exist at all?"

"That is not what I said."

"You do not have to."

He persisted. "You spoke up today."

"She is an innocent merphan. She does not deserve to be cast out, sentenced to die."

"Perhaps you should speak up more often."

"Perhaps," Millicent turned, trying to get back to her cave, but William had to have the last word.

"Not all of us forget. I have not forgotten."

She did not stop to ask exactly what he meant; it was not possible he remembered what she did. How could he? He had a green tail.

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