Amphitrite - Wilbur Soot

~eleven~

The days that followed were strange, to say the least. Thetis was uncharacteristically gentle and kind with me, and I didn't see Wilbur for a solid four days. I was beginning to worry about what might've happened to him. I don't know what I'd do if such light was snuffed so early.

It was on one of these oddly silent days when Thetis walked up the underwater stairs to get into my room, rather than just materializing in front of me, which she is so fond of doing. She was wearing a dress the color of a glassy sea: uneasy grays, dusty blues, and restless blacks.

"Good afternoon, child," she said in her degrading voice. It's not even like she tried to sound so rude, it was just in her nature.

"Is it afternoon already?" I said, standing from my bench at the piano to bow in front of her. "I seem to have lost track of time again." I could feel her coal-black eyes burning into the top of my head. I hated it.

"The good Queen Callista and her Princes require your attendance at their..." She struggled to find the right word. "...soiree," she finished with a certain shade of disgust leaching into her tone. "I think it is only proper that you go and represent us well." She then went over to my wardrobe and began flipping through my dresses, pulling out clothes, looking at them, and then hanging them back up.

"When is this party?" I asked. She stopped violating my wardrobe and looked me over, her eyes raking over me and my pathetic form.

"Tonight. You need a new dress. We're going into the village." She went to leave, but I didn't move. "Come along, child. We don't have all day."

I don't even know how Thetis managed to disguise herself from the townspeople. It had been so long since I was in the center of town, and I had forgotten just how loud and full it was. Luckily Thetis knew exactly where we were supposed to go and led me into a comparatively quieter and calmer building. Inside, there were dresses on nearly every surface of every color imaginable. Immediately Thetis was drawn to the crimson dresses, but I found myself looking at the gray, black, and white dresses.

"Have you found something, dearest?" Thetis called, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. She seemed to be playing the role of a loving mother, something we both knew she was not. I soon understood my role. I was to be the promising daughter. Lovely.

"What would you like me to wear?" I called back, going to join her by the red dresses. She held up two dresses to my body, her godly face scrunching in human deliberation.

"I think you would be ravishing in this one, miss," what I could only presume was the owner of the shop said, holding up a silvery-blue dress. The woman had rich brown skin, bright and energetic hazel eyes, and dark brown hair that was tied back into a bun. She looked like she was in her early twenties.

"What do you think?" Thetis asked me. I loved the dress. It was so much more my speed compared to the bold red dresses Thetis was looking at.

"I would like to buy it, please," I answered, giving both her and the owner a falsely warm smile.

"How much for it, Madam?" Thetis said, already reaching into her pouch of gold and pearls. It was strange seeing her pretend to be human so well. It was almost like she was never a goddess in the first place.

"Oh, you can call me Willow, or Mrs. Ross if you'd like." She smiled. "Used to be Miss Wright, but Elliot popped the question a year or so ago. God, time flies, doesn't it?" She was babbling as she boxed the dress. "It'll be twelve gold coins, please," she said with an air of finality.

"Congratulations on the marriage," Thetis said through tight lips. The last time she had been married it had been to tether her down. It was obvious she didn't think highly of the practice.