Song of the Siren

Legends of sirens have been in port towns like mine for generations. They spoke of women of beauty that lured men and mainly sailors to their deaths with their voices. My mother always told them to me to lull me to sleep. I'd dream as if I was one of them, perched on a rock in the middle of the sea, singing and exploring the seas with sailors. However, when your mother keeps you from the sea in a port town you just yearn for something you can't have.

Growing up I knew I was different. My mother kept me inside all day and while other kids got to play in the water, I had to help around the house, assisting my mother in her work as a seamstress. While little girls got to run through the foam of the sea as it lapped against the shore, I was pricking myself with needles as the dresses and other pieces of clothing were formed. I never had a chance to leave my house for the vast majority of my life.

As the years passed I was able to get a job by working in a bar. My mother was hesitant of me working at first but soon she allowed me to work on my own. At work I was one of few barmaids but I was my boss's favorite. He always gave me the responsibility of preparing the bar for the coming day, and on some days, shopping for supplies at the port. Those days were my favorite, my days near the sea. I could feel the salt lick my face through the air, the wind whip strands across my face and neck, and the sand sinking beneath the pressure of my boots.

In working at the bar, The Black Pearl, I never had a specific uniform so most days I wore a white half sleeved blouse, a teal vest, black pants, a salmon red sash and my classic black boots. They were my favorite pair due to the heel that made me look taller. I was always short at 5'5" but these boots made me at least 5'7" if not 5'8". I got to feel powerful and somewhat sea savvy because they looked like typical pirate boots according to my mother.

My mother never quite approved of what I wore to work. She always wished for me to wear a dress that my grandmother gave to me before she passed away and a normal pair of boots. Little did she know that my job involved men looking for a woman to take home for the night. It was the main reason I wore pants, "easy access" as some men put it was impossible. I didn't want to come home or to work with huge bruises and marks on my body only to have it repeat the next night. It didn't help that my mother would kill me if I came home like that.

"Destiny!" Hearing my name being called, I snap out of my haze as I am polishing one of the bar's tables.

"Yes sir?" I reply to my boss, a question in my voice.

"A large shipment has come in at the port and I have to get it to put it into storage. I need you to hold down the fort and watch the bar," my boss stated gruffly. . This must be a really important order if he has to go get it. Normally he would send me but this was serious.

"Don't worry sir. What could go wrong?" I chuckled. 'Famous last words' my mind chided me. My boss nodded, grumbled a gruff thanks before tossing me the key and running out the door. I just shrugged off my random thought and went back to cleaning the tables. I was silently humming along to an old tune that I remember someone singing to me as a lullaby.

Minutes ticked by and I was singing softly in the bar as I cleaned. 'Your mother would be furious if she heard you singing!'my mind reminded me once again. 'You aren't supposed to be singing!' I shook my head free of those thoughts before I stopped singing. My mother told me to never sing because it would cause a lot of trouble with the songs I had heard. I didn't understand why the children around me could sing without worry while I had to keep quiet. I still don't.

I was snapped out of my memories from a harsh rapping at the bar door. "Let us in." I could tell from the voices that they were men and there were a lot of them.

"The Pearl isn't open yet," I call back, refusing to open the door. It was still early in the morning and none of the other barmaids were here as well as the boss not being back yet. I wasn't allowed to open until later in the afternoon. I had only opened a few times but I always preferred for my boss to open The Pearl.

I heard chuckling behind the door and it wasn't long before the door was kicked open and I was on the floor. I peered up at the invaders to see ten burly men standing above me. I was yanked up by my dark brown hair causing me to yelp in pain. I grit my teeth in pain as the man speaks again. "Told you we wanted booze, woman." He chuckled and I could feel his vile breath on my face. It made me sick. I tried to pry his hands from my hair and get away from his grasp when my arms are captured by his posse. "You want us to let you go?" he joked, laughing.

"Let me go you son of a bitch!" I hiss through gritted teeth as I attempt to free myself.

"Why would we do that? Booze and women are doctors orders." No sooner did he say that was a knife pressed to my throat, sending a little bit of blood down my neck. "No one can help you now." I'm going to die I'm going to die. My eyes fluttered closed and I prepared for him to slit my throat when instead I heard a voice.

"Yo, why are you picking on a scrawny one like that?" My eyes flash open to see a tall man with ash blonde hair, a sword on his hip, and his eyes as blue as the ocean.

"What's it to you?" my captor growled.

"You really are choosing to abuse the kid? You really couldn't do much worse." His eyes met mine and I think I saw slight pity in his eyes but his mouth cloaked in a smirk. I found myself checking him out, finding he was pretty muscular, not overly built but just the right amount for my taste. My captor must've yelled for an attack because these men went after my blond hero, prompting him to pull two swords, TWO, from his hip and he started battling.

"Russell, what did I say about you going in alone?" My eyes flash to the doorway where a man with dark brown hair, the same amount of muscle as his friend, a hazel eye and his left eye hidden behind an eyepatch.

"Eduardo, nice of you to join the party!" Russell, the blond swordsman called to his friend. Said Eduardo pulled out a pistol and began fighting my captors and one by one each of them fell. They weren't dead but unconscious, well some of them. When it came down to my captor versus the two men he cowered in fear, placing me in front of him as a human shield.

"Y-You're the Sirius!" he cried, fear lacing his tone. Sirius? I had never heard of that before but it wasn't long before I was pushed to the floor and some of the men attacked my heroes once again.

I placed my hands on the floor under me and tried to get up but barely could. "Yo! Kid, run!" I looked up to see Eduardo staring at me. I didn't give it a second thought before I dropped the key and ran out the door. I didn't care if I looked crazy. I knew those men would be after me soon and that my heroes couldn't stop them all.

"There she is! Get her!"

"Shit!" I mumbled under my breath as I ducked through an alleyway and headed towards the docks. I knew I could hide there. Within minutes I found an empty barrel and I slid inside placing the top over me and hearing my captors leaving. I sighed and smiled as I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and pressed it to my neck. I never got hurt but when I did it didn't take much to heal. The cut would only take a few hours to heal if I worked fast. I was almost finished cleaning my neck when the barrel I was is shifted to the side as if being lifted. I felt myself being rolled and it was to no surprise that I hit my head.

Darkness came instantly. I didn't say a word but I fell into the abyss of unconsciousness. The last thing I thought was, "Mother is going to kill me."