Izroulia: Hunt for the Lost Pod

Chapter 6 | Aries

On March 20th 1991, Aries Nautica was born. In a body that wasn't quite right, but at that age they couldn't tell. All the baby siren knew was to cry when they were hungry and sleep when they were tied. As any baby did.

They didn't remember anything before they turned 4, so the story of when their birth parents gave them to their best friend was only something they'd heard in stories from Momo Swan, the fae they were handed over too.

The war had broken out about a year prior, and the parents of the siren had managed to evade capture for that long. But as more and more merfolk dropped dead and all their hiding spots were ceased, they knew they had to run or be killed. It broke their hearts to do so, but with a toddler they couldn't take care of in the current state of the realm, they knew the whole family would die. So with tears in their eyes and a shattered heart, Aries was handed over by their mother to Momo as they slept. Wrapped up in a blanket, the family signet ring in their neck as a necklace since it was too big for their small fingers.

The fae, childhood friend of the siren mother swore to protect Aries. And holding the child to her chest and crying her eyes out, she waved goodbye to her best friend and her husband for the final time. To this day she never found out what happened to them. While it was likely they were dead, and she'd mourned the loss, there was the tiniest chance they were alive out there.

The whole war, Momo kept Aries inside. The siren wasn't allowed past the front gate, and had to keep out of sight of any henchmen patrolling the area. When the war ended, Momo breathed a sigh of relief. Not for Agnemetra being in control, but because there'd be no more patrols for hidden merfolk.

So Aries was now allowed to come pick fruit in the orchid, as long as they stayed dry and never ever showed their tail to anyone. She and the child would play in the woods, plant flowers in the garden, nurse hurt animals back to health. And of course being a fae and known for pranks and trickery, Momo had to pass down some of her best pranks to Aries.

It was around 7 years old Aries finally managed to put the odd feeling they always had into words. It came out as "my body is wrong".

It didn't take long for Momo to realise the siren was transgender, non binary in particular. She wasn't sure how to get the necessary help for transitioning when she had to keep Aries hidden, but she tried her absolute best to support the child.

She let them pick their own clothes, used gender neutral language instead of gendered language, let the child cry on her shoulder when the dysphoria was too hard that day.

That's what her best friend would have wanted for their child after all, love and support. By the time Aries was an older kid, they had no memories of their birth parents and refereed to Momo as mum. Momo always made sure Aries knew who their birth parents were and told stories about them, to make sure the siren origins in them would stay alive in their mind. She told them about merfolk culture, how their parents celebrated the changing of the tides ceremony and how their power worked. She even made Aries traditional merfolk clothing so they could celebrate holidays and ceremonies in secret.

Aries became more and more adventurous, more and more full of fire and fight. It was clear if Momo didn't let Aries explore more of the world, the siren would just sneak out anyway. So she taught the child how to fight, how to protect themselves, what magic was useful for survival, what foods were safe to eat and scavenge. If anything ever happened to Aries, they'd be able to survive with all the skills Momo taught them.

At 9, Aries was able to beat the fully grown adult fae in a fight, and could fend for themselves if needed. So with the promise that they'd never go near the kingdoms main city, Aries was allowed to explore.

The siren spend many days in the lakes and rivers swimming, climbing trees in the Forrest, 'accidentally' setting fire to the gardens of those who were involved with Agnemetra in anyway.