From the Depths

Kirea’s eyes were wide as she stared at the Siren in utter disbelief. He had just spoken, right? Or was she now on the downward spiral of insanity?

“I-I...I” She couldn’t even form a sentence.

He laughed, it was a soft alluring sound that melted her to the core. His voice was neither deep nor harsh, but it held a manliness that was pleasant to the ears. She hadn’t expected it at all.

“Burns... gone now.” He looked up at her with those large curious eyes.

Ah, so that’s what he had meant. “Oh, well I have two reasons for that. The first being that I didn’t like the way the King was looking at you, it gave me the chills. And second, it was to save my own skin. The longer you need someone to look after you, the longer I get to stay around.” She didn’t add that it also meant the longer she could probably keep her life.

He frowned as though he was confused. Maybe she had spoken too quickly or too much?

“So... You can talk, this may make things a little easier.” She smiled down at him.

He tilted his head up as his brow furrowed.

“You don’t actually understand completely, do you?” She questioned.

His head lulled to the other side as he raised a hand to his finned ears. “Learn.”

“Kirea!” Henry called from outside.

The shout startled them both. Kirea jumped out of her skin and the siren scurried into deeper water with a mighty splash. She cursed under her breath, standing she was ready to give the so-called Knight a piece of her mind as she made her way to the entrance again.

She stuck her head through the wall, from Henry’s perspective she was just a head stuck in the stone, his eyes bugled.

“What!” She spat, clearly miffed and irritated by the interruption.

“Geez, sorry. Don’t get your knickers in a knot.”

She sighed. “Sorry, I just made some progress with him but you scared him with your stupid loud voice!”

“Him?” He asked.

“Were you sworn in?”

“Yeah, but he didn’t tell me anything, just that I had to keep my mouth shut or lose my head. And not to go in the water, only you can. What is this about!?”

“Good.” She grabbed for his arm and yanked him inside.

He made a sound of protest as he was lurched through the invisible stone door. She might have been amused by his girly yelp if she hadn’t been so annoyed at him. She slammed his hand onto the panel inside and waited for it to glow before she proceeded to pull him deeper into the carven.

“Hey hey hey, care to explain what the hell is-” He stopped as his eyes locked with the ones watching them from the surface of the water.

The siren had retreated to the middle of the pool, only the top of his head bobbed atop the dark water, his eyes unfazed by the lapping water as he stared at the two.

“Is that a...” He couldn’t say it. “That’s not possible!”

“You think that’s a person in a costume?” She questioned sarcastically.

“If it is, it’s a bloody good costume.” He took a step toward the water’s edge. “He was in the room in the castle, behind the drapes of silk...” He added more to himself.

The siren appeared to sink further back into the darkness of the cavern. Kirea felt for him, he appeared to be frightened of Henry. She walked into the water with ease and headed for the deeper area.

“What are you doing? He could be dangerous!” Henry hissed in a panic.

She snorted a laugh before sitting down on the edge of the swallows, her legs dangling in the deeper water.

“Woman!” He called, his eyes darting between the siren and her. He went to step into the water but he hesitated and stopped when the siren also moved, dipping his head below the surface.

Henry watched with wide eyes as Kirea splashed the water next to her like she was motioning for the siren to approach

“You seem to be doing better now.” She commented. The siren swam closer to her, she made no movements letting him approach her at his own pace.

But Henry gasped behind her, the light sound echoing in the cavern. He was being far too dramatic, though this would be a normal reaction to finding out something like this existed.

The siren emerged a few feet from her, his eyes taking in every part of her, he didn’t feel threatened by her in the slightest she released, not like he did with the males who had been in the cavern. It was more that he was as curious about her as she was about him.

Approaching Kirea the siren positioned himself next to her, taking hold of the edge he lifted his head completely from the water. “Better.” He nodded.

“I’m glad.” She glanced over her shoulder at Henry. “That’s Henry.” She pointed to the frowning man. “I’m Kirea” She placed a hand on her heart to indicate at herself. “Do you have a name?”

“Kirea!” Henry hissed in a hushed whisper. “Do you think it wise to give a mythical creature our names, we are holding it hostage for pete’s sake! Get out of the water! Now!”

Ignoring him she watched the siren frown again, she was starting to understand that the expression meant he was trying to understand. Inching closer, he moved so that his form drifted in front of her. They were so close that his hands now gripped the ledge on either side of her. She caught his eyes dart to the man at the water’s edge. She noticed he appeared cautious of Henry.

“Henry won’t cause you any harm.” She tried.

“Don’t like.” He bobbed his head below the surface after speaking, looking up at her from below the surface.

Kirea giggled. “I don’t think he likes you." She called back to the Knight were appeared to be turning red in the face.

Henry rolled his eyes. “You are an infuriating woman!”

Kirea felt something wrap around her ankle, and with a gentle tug, she was pulled under the water.

Henry screamed her name. However, all she heard was a muffled cry of a panicked man. She wasn't worried at all. Her face now inches away from the siren they stared at each other for what felt like an endless amount of time.

His eyes were enchanting, captivating. When she looked into those emerald green gems she felt as though she were floating in a different world. All sense of panic, time and worry vanished as she stared on, lost in those eyes. His claw-like fingers reached out, gently grazing the side of her cheek, his mouth slightly agape as he studied her.

His touch wasn't threatening, but there was no denying it was alluring. Her mind was blank, she couldn't think.

She felt something wrap around her waist as she was wrenched backward, away from the beautiful creature. Not releasing she was resisting the unknown force until her head was once again above water and Henry’s voice could finally register.

“Kirea! Kirea!” He was frantic and concerned, one might say even scared.

Shaking her head to clear her mind she let him drag her to the swallows where she could hold herself up. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She concluded.

“Bull shit you’re okay! What happened?” He demanded.

“I think I may have been enchanted for a moment.” She admitted now that she could feel her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. She could have drowned if not for Henry pulling her out.

Henry shot a glare at the creature that was once again watching them from the waters, curiosity and a mix of concern playing across its features. “It’s dangerous, don’t go into the water with it.”

“I can’t care for him if I can’t touch him, feed him or examine him.” She argued.

“He very nearly drowned you!” Henry ponied out.

“I don’t think it was intentional.”

“Are you out of your god damned mind! It’s a fucking merman, all the stories say they feed on human hearts and drown all that cross into their territory.”

“Fairy tales created to make children careful around the water.” She defended.

“Stories need to be inspired by something, don’t they? We don’t know what we are dealing with or what it’s capable of.”

“Then how should I care for him? Do you have a better idea?” She was growing angry now. When he didn’t respond she added. “No, I didn’t think so, the King will see us dead if we don’t keep it alive.”

He sighed heavily as the gravity of the situation took its toll. “At least promise me you won’t go in the water without me being around.”

Having given up on fighting against his hold. She gave him a confused look as he finally released her from his death grip. He'd dragged her to the shallows where she now sat between his legs.

“If something like this happens again I can pull you out.” He leaned back on his palms looking toward the siren again.

They sat in silence for a time, not sure what to say to each other, they were in this together now, but that didn’t mean they were friends.

“So...” Henry broke the silence. “What’s your plan?”

“Well, I need to make a water wheel.”

He tilted his head looking at her with a puzzled look.

“The water is stagnant in here, we need to get it moving to keep it aerated.”

“You really know your stuff huh?”

“It was my job to know this stuff until I was taken from my family and my home.”

He cringed, that had been directed at him and he knew it.

“Since you know about the King’s pet project now, I can use you as an errand boy.” She added.

“Wasn’t I already, given today’s events and all? But what else could you possibly need?” He questioned rather dryly.

“We will need to replace some of the water every day, it will help to keep the good bacteria from the sea alive in the water. And also fresh fish for him. Though if we get this pond up and running as a sort of aquarium we can have the fish live in here with him.” With a light splash, she stood up in the shallow waters. “Tonight we build the wheel, tomorrow we get more fish and swap out some water.”

“Don’t you think someone would notice people walking in and out of a rock wall?” He questioned.

“Well, you’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.” She smiled down at him.

He rolled his eyes at her, that was easier said than done.