Choices Affect Everyone COMPLETE

Chapter 10

Muriel rests her elbows on the railing as she stares out at the sea. She gnaws on her fingernail, part of her wishing to go back. Her eyes slide towards the cave towards Minerva's entrance. She's scared to go back there. She doesn't want to be Minerva's servant forever. She sighs and hangs her head before rubbing her throat, wishing she could speak.

"Are you all right?" Philip asks, leaning on the railing next to her.

Muriel glances at him for a second before nodding.

"Your family must be worried about you."

Muriel bites her lip and looks away.

He looks down. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."

Muriel places a hand on his arm and smiles to try and tell him it's all right.

He smiles before looking at her. "If you'd like, I can try to teach you how to read and write. Then communication will be a little bit easier."

Muriel smiles and nods.

Philip straightens and holds out his arm.

She slips her arm through his and allows him to lead her back into the palace.

The feeling of her tail separating has faded some, although Muriel wonders if it's just her blocking it out.

She looks up at Philip, wondering if she made the right choice to leave. She realizes that she is just experiencing a crush, and her feelings will fade eventually. And he has shown no attraction to her; it took until now to realize. She knows everything she's seen is just him being polite. She inwardly sighs before looking down at her arms. The bruises from Kyla are barely there anymore. She looks back at Philip. She smiles a little that although she may end up regretting her decision, she may not entirely regret it.

She glances back towards the balcony, starting to worry about Percy. If she gets her voice back, she tells herself that she'll try to go to the beach and talk to him.

A few minutes later, Philip and Muriel arrive in the library. Muriel's eyes grow large as she sees the countless books on the shelves. Back home, things were only written on a long piece of parchment made from different undersea plants.

Muriel slips off of Philip's arm and plucks a random book off the shelf. She smiles, finding the pages more appealing than the scrolls from back home. She looks up at Philip with a smile.

Philip smiles back before pulling a different book off the shelf. "Here, this one has pictures. I'll be right back."

Muriel nods, not even glancing up. As soon as she opens the book, she wishes to be able to read what is on the page. The pictures are of different places with small paragraphs at the bottom, telling about those places, she assumes. Each page, she finds another picture that draws her in, making her pause for a minute, admiring it.

Philip returns with an armful of books, slate, chalk and a cloth. He stops and smiles, seeing Muriel so fixated on the book. He sits next to her. "Hey."

Muriel snaps the book shut and holds it to her best, daring Philip to try and take it away from her.

He chuckles. "You may take it with you, but please be careful. Books are delicate."

Muriel nods.

Philip smiles and gets to his feet. "Come, it may be easier if you're at a table."

Muriel nods and follows him to the round wooden table. She pushes the books and slate out from in front of Philip and places the book in front of him. The points at the words below the picture of a meadow.