73. ‘No’
‘No’
The word spilled from my mouth
like the waves of a stormy river.
At first no one looked at me.
So I spoke louder and firmer.
‘NO!’
At my near shout, the rejoicing
stopped. My father finally
looked into my blazing eyes.
‘I will not be given away
like I am a plaything.’
My words were laced with
the sharp edges of my fury.
‘You cannot do this to me.’
My father’s eyes turned turbulent
as his gaze upon me became
withering. ‘You will do as is asked
of a daughter of the house of Oceanus.’
I glared back at him.
‘I am your daughter now, am I?
How convenient for you.
To name me daughter at your pleasure,
but dismiss me when I need you
to be my father.’ A gasp rose from
my sisters who stepped back.
My father’s mighty dark river,
which ran under the obsidian
below our feet rumbled, a noise
that matched the rage on his face.
‘You are unworthy of this honour!’
His voice was so loud now the floor shook.
‘But as my eldest child, you will do
as the family needs!’
I opened my mouth to speak again,
to rebuke his words and make him see,
truly see me, for a change.
But a cool hand slipped into mine.
And I knew that it was Asteria
standing at my side.
She met my eyes and I saw
the caution in her own.
Before I spoke again,
she whispered,
‘There are many ways to build
a fox. And better ways to fight
oceans than crashing into their waves.’
I squeezed my eyes shut and bit back
the poison-laced words I had
built up inside. Instead, I spoke to Pallas,
who had been standing very still
during my loud and rage-filled outburst.
‘May you be a worthier father
than mine has been to his daughter.’
Before anyone could speak
another word, I left the room,
leaving a sea of confused
and angry divinities behind me.