The Maidening Ceremony

Chapter Nineteen - Scene 3

Shaz swam into the northern chamber, a pair of opaque white shells in her hands. "Arilya, put these on."

Arilya took the shells from her mother and held them out at arm's length. "What do you mean?"

"Take off your drape and put the shells on your breasts."

"Why?"

Shaz rolled her eyes. "Because it is what you are supposed to wear. The other maids are wearing theirs, why must you be so difficult?"

Sure enough, Viola and the other maid had replaced their tunics for bright white shells. Their mothers were also in the chamber, each looking as bored and unconcerned as their daughters.

"Shaz, this makes me really uncomfortable. I would rather stay in my own clothes."

"Oh really, Arilya. When are you going to grow up?" Shaz swam over and gripped Arilya's tunic at the back of the neck, dragging it up and forcing it over Arilya's head. Arilya struggled to cover her breasts with her hands, but Shaz yanked them away and slapped the shells on.

The edges of the shells adhered immediately to Arilya's skin and grew hot. Hotter. Hotter.

"Ow!" Arilya shrieked. "They are burning me! Get them off, get them off!" She scratched desperately at her chest, trying to peel the shells off, but they would not budge. The other mermaids in the chamber stared at her as if she were losing her mind, but none attempted to help her remove the singeing shells.

"Please! Someone help me!"

"What is the matter with you? And they call me a drama queen."

The stinging began to lessen until the fire on her breasts was more of a dull, aching tenderness. "Did they not burn you, too?" she asked Viola.

"Of course not. They are just shells. Why would they burn? I swear, Arilya, you act like you are insane most of the time."

"It felt like they were searing off my flesh. Like a jellyfish sting, only a thousand times worse. Did they really not harm you?"

Viola copied Shaz and rolled her eyes.

Shaz gripped Arilya's wrist and pulled her towards a vacant mirror. "You are such an embarrassment to me. The least you can do is make yourself a little less hideous for the spectators. After the Ceremony, I could care less how you choose to present yourself, but for now, you are still known as my daughter and I will not have the Community thinking I allow you to be so ugly."

Arilya's hair was pulled and combed and styled into a dramatic updo, earrings were clipped to her ears and a pearl necklace hooked around her throat. Shaz shrugged. "A small improvement, I suppose." Arilya resisted the urge to retaliate with some insults of her own; she knew it would not make her feel better to be mean to her mother.

Finley had no father to force him to prepare for the ceremony, so William, as his Mentor, came in. He was no more welcome than Shaz had been.

"You are not to wear your tunic during the ceremony."

Finley took it off.

"Secure your hair out of your face."

Finley tied his hair back.

"You must wear this." William held out a mermaid-hair necklace with a small white seashell charm. Finley took it.

"It is a little feminine."

"You do not have a choice."

The other mermen were securing their necklaces on. Finley was too accustomed to following the Council's orders that he only hesitated a second before slinging it around his neck. The moment the shell hit his skin it latched on like a leech.

"What the hell!" The shell was vibrating, pulsating, pinching his skin, causing more pain than he had ever experienced in his life. "What is it doing? Is it sucking my blood?"

William swam closer and peered at the shell, but it showed no sign of defect. "Are you feeling okay, Finley?"

"No! It is gripping my skin like a lobster claw."

"Of course it is not. That is ridiculous."

"Yes, it is! Yes..." the pain died away. Finley tried to lift the shell off his skin, but it was glued in place. "What is this thing?"

"Do not you worry aboutthat. The Council will remove it when itis time."