When Ximena awoke the next day, every inch of her body ached. But her tail and back were the worst of it. At first, she thought it was because of all the dancing she had done last night, but she soon realized how wrong she was.
Getting out of her bed of seaweed, she swam past her mirror only to stop and grasped in horror. Her back was covered in black runic patterns, meaning only one thing.
She had lost her virginity.
Ximena tried to recall what had happened the previous night, only for her last memory to be of her dancing with Sienna and Jess. She couldn't remember anything afterward.
Her heart began to beat fast as her mind raced. How could she lose her virginity the night before her meeting with the Mer Prince?! She had basically ruined everything.
Ximena rushed out of her room, quickly swimming through the coral palace until she got to the throne room. There she saw her sister and friends speaking with her mother, the Siren Queen.
Her mother was breathtakingly gorgeous with looks that could capture the hearts of both men and women. She looked like Ximena but with purple eyes, the sign of her power and royalness.
Some said she was the most powerful siren their kingdom had. After all, her mother had ruled for centuries and still looked to be in her thirties, her magic slowing down her aging.
"Amara, what's going on here?" Ximena asked as she swam towards them.
Her mother glared at her, making Ximena freeze in fear. "What's going on?! You broke one of our most sacred laws and nearly destroyed our alliance with the Merfolk! You are an embarrassment to sirens!"
"What are you talking about?" Ximena cried out, still trying to understand what was going on.
"Sister, we found you lying on a beach near a human party." Amara said with tears in her eyes. "We were so worried when you went missing, but to find you with humans…"
Jess patted Amara on the back. "It's okay. At least your sister is okay."
Ximena was flabbergasted. She had never gone to a human party. Why were her sister and friends lying? They had been together the whole time, right? But the marks on her back told another story…
Ximena suddenly recalled the drink. After Amara gave her the drink she felt weird. Had they given her that drink, so she would lose her virginity and ruin everything?
"Amara, what was in the drink you gave me?" Ximena asked, needing to hear the words from her beloved sister's lips.
"What are you talking about, Ximena? We found you sleeping near a human party and here you are talking about a drink." Amara frowned, looking confused.
Ximena felt her heart drop as she realized what was going on. Her sister had betrayed her, framing her for something she had never done.
Who would have thought that the person she trusted the most would betray her like this?
She clenched her fists, her claws piercing her skins as she tightened her fists in rage. She should've known they were up to something when they wanted to explore the human world. She was so foolish to believe them.
"It doesn't matter what happened, now." Her mother sighed. "Ximena broke our laws and must be banished."
"Mother?!" Ximena exclaimed in shock.
She couldn't be banished. Her whole life was here and if she couldn't live here, where was she to go? Being banished was as good as being sentenced to death for a siren.
"No. I will not hear it!" Her mother yelled, "You have harmed us enough to be put to death, but your sister asked me to reconsider. Be thankful that banishment is the only punishment I'm giving you."
"No! You don't understand-"
"Silence! Ximena Lorelai, you are hereby banished from the Siren Kingdom." Ximena's mother declared, her eyes glowing purple. "Should you enter our waters, you'll be put to death. Now leave from here!"
With those words, Ximena found her body moving, swimming through the ocean until she came to the shore of the sandy beach she had been happily sitting on the previous night.
When she finally got control of her body, she sat on the sandy beach, weeping her heart out. She couldn't believe that those she had trusted set her up for some reason and betrayed her.
That her own mother wouldn't hear her out, choosing instead to banish her. What was she even going to do with herself?
Her whole life was the ocean, and now she was forced to live on land among humans. She didn't even have money or a single item to her name. All she had was the magical dress, every siren's tail turned into once on land.
"My dear sister... You shouldn't cry so hard." A voice suddenly called out.
Ximena looked up to see Amara looking down at her. "What do you want?! Haven't you taken everything from me already?"
Amara laughed gleefully, a nasty smirk spreading on her face. "Well, I wanted to explain myself and give you this."
She tossed a small bag at Ximena, some of Ximena's precious items tumbling out of the bag. Ximena was grateful but didn't say so, instead she just glared at her sister.
Amara sat next to her, ignoring the look Ximena gave her. "I'm sorry, okay."
"Sorry?! That's what you have to say after ruining my life." Ximena growled, glaring at Amara.
Amara glared back at Ximena. "Look, I love you and everything, but it was so sickening watching you. You have no guts, but because you were born first, the throne will go to you. You would be known as the princess who married a Mer Prince and brought peace to both people. Everything was handed to you on a silver platter and yet... you were so weak."
"So, that's your excuse for getting me banished?! You were jealous." Ximena exclaimed, each word breaking her heart into tiny pieces.
"Call me jealous if that makes you happy." Amara sighed, standing up. "I just wanted to explain myself and apologize. Whether you forgive me or not... that's up to you. Just live a quiet life from now on. That's the best advice I can give you."
Amara gave Ximena one last look before she headed back into the ocean, disappearing from view and leaving Ximena alone in her fury.