A bloodied fist slammed into Ursula's jaw. She had lost the training battle to her sister, and was now dealing with the consequences. Mother, the maker of punishments, had been beating and torturing Ursula without ceasing for the past 30 minutes. Crack. Ursula swallowed back a whimper, resisting the urge to even try to free herself from her binds or to make an effort to figure out which tentacle had been injured. The sour tang of blood filled her nose and mouth, making it seem like the only thing she had ever known. Ursula didn't dare make a sound as she felt her mother swim by, circling her like an eagle would a mouse. She felt her heart hammering, each breath becoming more short and frantic. Ursula felt a searing pain in her stomach, then felt the water become warmer and more sour. Ursula clenched her teeth to keep from screaming, fists so tight her nails were digging into her palms and bleeding. How she wished she could see, how she wished she could rip the cloth from her eyes. But she couldn't do that, of course, given that her hands were bound together tightly with a rope made of scales and fish ribs. Black tears gooped down Ursula's face, making the scene even more horrendous. Blood was crusty on her hair, hands, shoulders, and face. She then felt a blast of heat beneath the tips of her tentacles, which were limp and weak. To make an attack more exciting, make it unexpected and random. Let it strike fear into victims hearts, reign in their terror and feed on the sweet taste of victory and power. Orluiowa sent a turret of boiling water in Ursula's direction, watching as it engulfed her, laughing at her helplessness.
The water slowly dissolved into nothing but bubbles. All was still and silent, as far as Ursula was concerned. She didn't dare move. She didn't dare make a single sound. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ursula decided that Mother had left, as she often did.
The moment Ursula's arms twitched to melt off her binds, she had to resist the urge to shake off the tingling she felt on her skin. She resisted the urge to twitch, even as the tingling soon turned to a spiky, painful feeling. Each breath felt like a thousand knifes being stabbed against her chest, beginning to burn her skin and make her itchy all over. Ursula felt her hot tears milk their way down to her neck and stomach, then floating away on the tips of her tentacles and dispersing into the water. She tried to swallow the rising bile in her throat, blood that was choking her inside and out, pricking her throat and stomach. She felt as if her insides were colliding, as if her eyes were being gouged out a million times, she could feel her teeth getting crushed from clenching them so hard. Ursula was filled with the overwhelming urge to die and get it over with, to end the pain once and for all.
In a flash, the pain was gone, the sudden thought of pain seeming almost rare to her. But it wasn't. It was a part of her life, a part of Ursula that would stay with her forever, that would follow her to her death.
The cloth around her eyes was suddenly ripped off and flung off into the water. Morgana was busy untying her sister, not saying a word. Ursula licked her teeth, relieved to feel them still there, felt her stomach, glad to see it still intact, relieved that it had been a nightmare. Or at least the last part of the dream. It seemed so real. Ursula shuddered, grateful that she hadn't died. Ursula then went on with her day, hurrying to clean herself up, lest she be late for her meal.