The Maiden and The Four Waters

Walla needed a way to get back to the river’s edge without frustrating Mariana, she needed to be careful on how she did this. Walla wanted her town to stay safe, yet she wanted to keep Mariana at a distance.

“I’ll visit you every afternoon, just after the sun sets.” Walla tried to bring truth to her tone.

Mariana studied Walla’s face for a moment, she wasn’t stupid, and Walla had wrongly sensed that Mariana would believe a lie.

Mariana placed her hands over Walla’s hands “How will you learn of whose taking your men, if we can’t see each other?”

Walla swallowed her words.

“I thought we could be friends, possibly even lovers but all you care about is men. You care about their safety, their love, you care if they see you just like your father or not. What woman cares about the opinion of an ungrateful man?”

Walla stayed silent.

“Here, you don’t have to care about any of that. Here you can just be with me, here you can see what I see, see the wonder from here. The life our world brings, the love it’s filled with not just from my heart but from the king’s and how he loves his village, the way we protect each other rather than scatter from danger.”

“It’s the king? The king is taking my men.”

Mariana let slip a small growl.

“You say your nothing like a siren, yet you’ve got me here. I come when you appear, I disappear from land risking my life with every dive and you take pleasure in it.” Walla had lost all sense of fear as she spoke “You’re a princess, I’m nothing but a common maiden. No king will accept their princess to depart from the royal line.” She didn’t let her words hang in the air for too long “You say your nothing like a siren but you’ve, sorry. Correction. Your king has lured my men from their loves, their reason for protection. My men were doing it to feed us, were doing it to protect their wives and children. We aren’t different from you; we are the same.”

Mariana shifted her gaze to the curtain as it swayed.

Walla followed Mariana’s gaze as she noticed the purple skirt of the king.

The king pushed open the curtain, he stared at Mariana and Walla “Do not step upon arguments with my child.”

If Walla could touch the floor, she would of risen to her feet.