Disclaimer: This is my story I own all rights and characters.
Water Goddess
Chapter 1
(A debt paid)
Margaret sighed as she drove down the highway. She glanced over at her sleeping teenage daughter. ‘She’s never going to understand.’
The dark haired woman thought back on the deal she had made so long ago. If she had realized what would happen she never would have invoked the God of the Sea’s presence. She’d been young though and her mind had been clouded by the need to be the best.
Her sister had been captain of the cheerleading squad and she’d wanted to stand out as well. Things came easily for Janice but Margaret had always had to work hard for anything she wanted. She’d barely made the swim team and after a bad meet the coach had threatened to kick her off the team. Her parents had even come down hard on her for her mistakes. In desperation she’d called out to the God of the Sea.
“I’ll do anything if you just make me a winner.”
“Anything?” Poseidon had questioned.
“Anything.”
“I will give you the ability to out swim anyone you compete against for 4 years. During which I will have full use of your body.”
“But I’m in school!” She’d argued. “I can’t take the chance of getting pregnant!”
“Very well at the end of four years you will belong to me for a time.”
“Six years,” She’d countered. “If I were to get pregnant I would have to drop out of college,” Margaret had told the God of the Sea.
“You will give me four years and I will allow you to continue to win through your college. At the end I will exact my usage of your body.”
“Fine.”
“Should any children be conceived they will belong to me.”
“Agreed.”
The mortal woman hadn’t given it another thought. She’d been the best swimmer from then on. Winning every meet her last two years; and through four years of college. Margaret had been unstoppable.
It wasn’t until she’d turned up pregnant during the last year of her pact with Poseidon that she began to understand what she’d done. The moment Kalani was born Margaret had wanted to keep her.
“The child is mine Margaret. You agreed to my terms,” Poseidon had replied when she’d begged to keep her daughter.
“Please. I’m her mother. I can’t lose her. Please, give me time with her,” Margaret had begged the sea god.
Poseidon had reluctantly agreed. He’d agreed to let her keep Kalani until she was ten. Margaret had argued for 16. Exasperated with the woman’s crying he’d agreed but warned that if she did not surrender his daughter 16 years to the day he would wreak revenge in a way she couldn’t imagine. Margaret had agreed.
The sixteen years had passed and now Margaret had to surrender a daughter that knew nothing of her father. The mortal woman frowned as her green eyes looked over at the unsuspecting girl. ‘Your life will never be the same.’
She turned off the highway and headed down a country road. As she got further away from civilization the road narrowed; allowing only one car on the roadway at a time.
After another hour she came to two iron gates. The gates opened and she drove through them and began to follow the winding path. A small pier and a boat awaited them. It wasn’t a tiny boat but not large either. It was about the size of a small harbor sightseeing boat.
Margaret stopped the car and got out. Two men were waiting on the dock while two more were on the boat watching.
“Where is Poseidon’s daughter?” A man with dark hair and eyes asked in a firm voice.
“She’s in the car; she’s asleep,” Margaret replied. “I thought maybe you could take her things first.”
He nodded and walked toward the car. A blonde man followed him. They went to the trunk and quickly emptied its contents putting them on the boat.
“Kalani doesn’t know anything,” The brown haired mortal woman said once the trunk was empty. “I didn’t know what or how to tell her,” She said pleading for the men to understand her predicament.
“Most do not tell their children. It is better that way,” The dark haired man replied.
“What happens…” Hearing a car door open she stopped and turned to watch as her blonde haired daughter got out of the car.
The teenager yawned and stretched before looking around and then looking at her mother. She looked at the two men by her mother and then looked her mother’s once more. “Um…take a wrong turn?”
“You must be Kalani,” The dark haired man looking at the teenage girl.
“Yeah.”
“My name is Rendell,” The dark haired man said politely. “This is Stewart he said pointing to the blonde man next to him. “Ward and Sorley,” He added gesturing to the two men still on the ship.
“Okay,” The teenage girl said openly confused.
“We’ll be taking you to your new home,” Rendell explained.
“We moved?” Kalani asked becoming even more confused.
Margaret swallowed. “I can’t go with you Kalani. They’re taking you to your father.”
“Excuse me?” The blonde girl said narrowing her eyes and practically glaring at the men she didn’t know. “I’m sixteen mom, we can fight this in court.”
“No we can’t. The only court that would count would rule against me.”
Kalani watched her mother shift uncomfortably. She knew her mother well and knew what every movement she made meant. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Oh baby if I’d realized I wouldn’t have done it!” Margaret said as tears entered her eyes.
“Done what?”
“I wanted to be a winner I wanted….I got selfish. I just saw what I wanted at the time. I was young and stupid and…I made a deal Kay,” The woman said with open regret.
“Deal? What kind of deal? With who?”
“Poseidon,” Her mother replied. “He made me a winner and in turn I let him have me for a time.” Margaret wiped a tear away from her eye. “Poseidon told me if I were to get pregnant by him that the child would be his. I wanted to win so much and get out of my sisters shadow so badly I agreed to anything and everything.”
“Is this a joke?”
“Honey I wish it was. When I found out I was pregnant I begged him to let me keep you. He finally agreed to let me have you until today. I have no choice but to hand you over now,” Margaret told the confused girl. “I love you Kalani and I always will. Never doubt that for a moment.”
“I don’t care what she agreed to I’m not going!” Kalani said firmly. “Besides this whole thing is stupid!” The blonde haired girl turned on her heal and started back for the car only to find Sorley and Ward blocking her path.
“I’m afraid the decision is not yours,” Rendell said from behind her. He sensed the girl becoming angry and looked at her mother. “It’s best you leave now.”
“But…”
“No!” Kalani yelled as the two men grabbed her. Instinctively the teenager began to thrash about and even kick as hard as she could.
“Kalani!” Margaret yelled and went to step toward her. Stewart instantly stopped her.
“It’s time for you to go,” The blonde man said firmly.
“But she’s…”
“This is a normal reaction. She’ll….whoa!” He said ducking a near hit by the girl.
Margret stood horrified as her daughter went ballistic. Tears streamed down her face even harder as she witnessed a violent struggle before her daughter suddenly went limp. “What did you do to her?!” Margaret yelled trying to get to her daughter.
“She’s only knocked out,” Rendell told the shocked woman calmly. “She will wake and have to accept what has happened. Good bye Miss Louis.”
Margaret couldn’t move as she watched her daughter carried onto the boat. It seemed almost instantly the boat untied and pulled away. Tears continued to stream down her face as her heart broke by the loss of her daughter. Kalani was no longer hers and she feared she’d never see her again.