The Sirens

Chapter 1

~ Arianna ~

The cool night winds made my hair whip at my face and become nearly impossible to keep in one place.  The loud whistle shrieked throughout the canopy of trees that kept our haven hidden from the outside world and the moon showed through the cracks in branches and glinted off the pond with a golden glow.  I sat on one of the rocks by the water while some of the others waded in and combed their fingers through their long black hair.  It had been a long night of singing and lurking through the village and I was exhausted.

"Tired?" The leader of the Sirens, Roselia, asked as she appeared at my side.  Her fiery curls were contained in a long braid with a snow white ribbon that she had been using for as long as I could remember.  She wore it on the night that she nearly killed me, but then resented and saved my life instead.  She usually wore it in perfect corkscrew ringlets down to the small of her back.  

"I'm fine, just daydreaming," I replied softly and stood, allowing her to take my seat.  She lifted her long silk skirt and ravishingly took a seat on the cool stone.

"Daydreaming of the next full moon, I presume?"  She gazed at the other sirens, her followers.  Many of them had stopped chatting and playing and were now watching us intently.  It felt like they always did that.  Like nothing could be kept a secret.

"Well, no.  I was daydreaming of the Winter and the mortals of the village.  It's almost Christmas, maybe we could spare them for one night," I piped up.  Now every girl was staring, a few whispering to each other.  Roselia's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.  She stood and used a finger to prop my chin up.

"You've been here so long Arianna, I thought you knew better," she sighed and used the opposite hand to flatten the mess of  chestnut brown hair atop my head.  "They're childish holidays are just another reason why we despise them," I watched as her lush pink lips formed the harsh words, her golden eyes staring me down in disgrace.

"I-it was just a thought, I thought it was foolish," I said quickly.  Roselia smirked and lifted away.  She shifted her gaze back to the others.  She raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes and strolled away.  The sirens stayed frozen, their stares boring holes in my head.  They then resumed to what they were doing after the awkward moment of silence and allowed me to escape.

I had found a hidden exit in the trees that led to the forest only a few years ago.  It had been the only thing that kept me sane and relaxed from the intensity of the other girls.  They practically hated me, except a rare few who were mutual towards my quiet and scared personality.  I felt lost with them, like a flimsy daisy in a patch of gorgeous wild blooms

I slipped through the tiny split in the rocks and stepped through the dark cave that opened out into the forest.  My bare feet crunched into the snow, yet what would send chills and aching pain through a human's bones didn't bother me the least.  It was mid December according to my counting, yes I had been counting the days, and the trees in the forest were covered in a thick layer of snow.  Frost had hit in early October and the icy temperatures remained for the rest of the fall.  I used to enjoy the Winter along with the holidays.  My mother and I used to find fallen tree in the forest and lug it home to decorate with garlands.

I weaved through the trees like a lurking white spirit, lost in the wilderness with nothing and no one, yet I felt content and continued to roam throughout.

I came to the flowerless cherry blossom tree and leaned against the smooth lower trunk.  It had been there for as long as I could remember.  I had found it the first day that I had found the escape and slept in the tall grass that grew around it since I couldn't find my way back. I had woken to the sweet aroma of the blossoms that had showered around me and covered me like a delicate blanket.

I smiled at the thought of warm weather and hazily brushed my fingers through my long hair.  It would have been a perfect night for a moonlight picnic, especially with a village boy.  That's what all the girls dreamed about after we turned thirteen when I was mortal.  During the Summertime, we would find ourselves down at the beach by the water, holding up our skirts while standing barefoot and knee deep in the water while the boys raced around in the sand.  I had never had the chance to love, since non of the boys ever even bothered to speak to me.  As a human, I was horrendously ugly.  I was the lonely girl with a bird's nest of chestnut hair on top of her head, dull gray eyes and chalky skin.

I sighed deeply, but jumped in shock when the echo of a horse's ninny.  Half a second later a black mare raced past, it's hooves picking up snow and pounding against the dirt.  I stayed completely frozen as the horse raised it's front legs in the air and a loud shriek escaped its lips.  I peeked around and watched as it stood on all fours and snorted.  I caught a glimpse of a young man riding bareback atop it, a quiver over his shoulder and a majestic bow in his grip.  He stroked the horse's mane and hushed it gently before climbing down and falling into a bank of snow.  The white snow around him took the color crimson, the color of blood.  

A low and painful moan escaped his pale lips as snowflakes fell onto his deathly pale face.  I rushed over to his side, ignoring my mind that warned me of what was about to happen.  I crouched down beside him, careless of my gown that was becoming bloody and wet.  I used my hands to brush damp dark blonde hairs from his face and frozen cheeks.  His moss green eyes stared up at me in disbelief, probably wondering if I was death, about to whisk him away.  

"Don't struggle," I whispered softly while unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a hollow and blood caked gash along his wide.

"Are you an angel?"  He asked groggily, his eyes beginning to close.  I couldn't help but chuckle as I continued to brush away hair from his rosy forehead.

"No," I mused while leaning in, "but you're going to be fine, you just have to keep calm."  The boy's tense muscles relaxed.  "What has happened to you?" I asked frantically.

"Thieves, they took everything I had and killed my sister," he huffed.  I pressed my right hand to his chest and listened to a heartbeat.  It was beginning to slow.  There wasn't much time.

I leaned in further and delicately pressed my lips to his.  His eyes widened and he threw his hands up in the air in shock, but he fell limp seconds later and his eyes closed.  I pulled away and sighed.  He looked so calm in his sleep, seeing the near death experience.  I watched intently as the skin around the wound began to sew itself together and in minutes it was just a patch of raw pink skin.

The kiss of a siren could heal any wound, even if the person was seconds from death.  I glanced over to the horse that had fallen in the snow, an arrow that I had not noticed before was pierced through it's flesh.  I carried the boy in my arms and laid him agains the horse.  Villagers had probably heard the commosion and were on their way, but for the time being he needed to keep warm for he was still at risk of dying from the bone-chilling temperatures.

"Hello!!??  Is there someone out there?!" I heard a man call in the distance.  I gasped and pulled myself to my feet and began to run.

I glanced back at the boy who lay against the horse, his chest breathing at a steady pace up and down.  Seconds later he was surrounded by villagers on horses.  I slipped behind a tree and watched hidden in the shadows as they helped him up and hurried back to their village. 

They were gone in an instant, leaving me alone once again in the darkness.  

"I thought you were better than to do such an unthinkable thing," I heard Roselia hiss as her hand grabbed my shoulders.  I gasped and shot around to find her standing before a group of some of the sirens, the look in her honey eyes unforgiveable.