Sirens

Part Three (Nenet)

Looking at the man in front of me while I tried hard to keep my eyes from slipping shut; I watched as a splash of red marked his cheeks. He was embarrassed, shouldn’t I be the one who is embarrassed. I was just too exhausted to care I guess.

My eyes were drooping again, since the man in front of me didn’t seem like a threat I guess I could close my eyes for a minute longer. But then I remembered the darkness and having to be alone in such a cold place for so long with only a tormenting voice to keep me company. Just thinking of sinking back into the dark made my eyes snap open and my mind clear of the fog it was held in, I could almost taste my fear on the tip of my tongue.

It was only now that I noticed that the man beside me was still watching me wearily, and I could now see that he was actually quite beautiful.  His dark hair was ruffled in a way that showed he often ran his hands through it and his deep emerald green eyes shone but his features were also guarded. He was quite muscular too with broad shoulders and he appeared to be a warrior judging by the scars that ran along his arms and what I could see of his chest behind the metal plates of his armour.

He seemed to be extremely uncomfortable with my staring at him and so spoke out in the silence that surrounded us, “You are a Sirenian, so why are you so deep in Oceanid territory?”

At his question I could only stare at him in confusion, why was I not allowed on the Oceanid territory? Our societies have always been great friends and have often fought together for common objectives. I opened my mouth to tell him this myself but all that came out was a painful croaking noise.

Raising my hand to my throat I tried to tell the man I could not speak with my expression and some weak hand gestures. It seems to take a while but I think that he finally understands what I was trying to say when his eyes widen to an impossibly large size that gives me the strange urge to giggle at the expression it puts on his face.

“You can’t talk?” He asks me and I just nod my head. An idea starts to form in my mind and it leads me to try to imitate drinking from a glass of water, or at least I hope that’s what it looks like but he does seem to understand it despite my horrible imitation skills. “You need water?” he asks me next and I nod frantically as an answer.

The man frightens me though when he suddenly jumps to his feet, stretching to his very impressive height. “I know exactly what you need,” he says, although he seems to be talking more to himself than to me. As I give the man a confused face he bends down towards me and places his arms around me before lifting me into his arms. I was startled by his abrupt movements and somehow managed to wind my arms around his shoulders so as not to fall on the ground in a giant heap.

Balancing me in his arms the man began to walk to the opposite end of the cavern we were in, it was only now that I truly saw my surroundings and they were one of the most beautiful images I had ever seen. Although when I looked towards where the stranger was walking all I could see was darkness. I didn’t want to go back into the dark, I don’t like being in the dark.

It was at that moment that I started to struggle in the man’s arms, I couldn’t go back into the dark or I would be lost all over again. Opening my mouth I tried to tell him to put me down but all that came from my mouth was strangled gasps and croaks; I had almost forgotten my shattered voice. Feeling my struggles the man stopped moving but he did not let me go, my struggles grew weaker until I could barely move and still the stranger did not release me. Looking up at the stranger’s face I could see that he was studying me and I grew agitated because I had never liked the attention.

Seeing my agitation and panic beginning to grow again the man said, “Shhh… there is nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart.” His voice was soothing and I could feel my muscles beginning to relax against my will and better judgement. “There is water on the other side of this tunnel, it will help you heal.”