The Siren's Song.

1

It all started with a storm. One minute, I was helping bail water out of the cargo hold of the Queen's Love, the next I was being hauled out onto the deck and being tossed overboard with my legs tied together. As I plunged into the icy water, I heard women singing, loud and clear as a bell. I gasped, inhaling nothing but water. The singing got louder and louder, echoing around me. As the song continued, my bound legs began to tingle and the water I was breathing flowed through my lungs like air. I looked down at my legs and cried out in shock as I watched them elongating and fusing together, forming a tail. Blue-green scales appeared all over the tail that was formerly my legs and, as I watched, they climbed up my body, covering my chest. Fins sprouted from the end of my tail and along my arms. A soft hand touched my shoulder and I whipped around as best I could in the water to see a red haired woman smiling at me. Her voice sounded husky as she greeted, "Hello. My name is Elizabeth. Who are you?" I shakily opened my mouth, then closed it again, debating whether or not to tell Elizabeth. Elizabeth tilted her head to the side slightly and I replied, "My name is Hannah." My voice startled me, as it was huskier than normal. Elizabeth's face split into a wide grin and she chirped, "That's a pretty name. It suits you quite well." I smiled slightly as she continued, "Well, Hannah, you are probably wondering what is going on. To put it simply, you've become a siren. It happens to all women who are thrown overboard with their legs bound." I stared at her, unable to comprehend what I was being told. All I could think to say was, "Pardon?" Elizabeth laughed softly, stating, "You're a siren. I know, it's hard to believe. But just think about it. Where else would sirens come from?" Another woman, with black hair, swam over and stated, "Madame Pearl will want to see her." Confused and somewhat worried, I asked, "Who is Madame Pearl?" The black haired woman smiled at me and answered, "Madame Pearl is the first siren. She's been around since the first oceans were created." Elizabeth smiled gently and explained, "Madame Pearl won't hurt you. She'll just explain everything that's going on. She can explain much better than we can." The black haired siren swam deeper and I followed somewhat awkwardly, unaccustomed to swimming with a tail. Elizabeth helped me along, teaching me how to swim. We soon arrived at a pearly white castle resting on the sea floor. It emanated a soft white light, and several sirens swam around it. The black haired siren, whose name I still hadn't learned, led us in. We swam through the halls to a large room with a large pile of rocks in the center. We entered the room and a beautiful woman swam in. She seated herself on the rock pile and I got a good look at her. Her long hair was whiter than snow and so was her tail and fins. She was quite pale, with skin the color of porcelain, and her eyes were a light, icy blue. Her eyes focused on me and she smiled, asking, "What's your name?" I quickly answered, "My name is Hannah." The woman nodded and replied, "My name is Madame Pearl." Then she continued, "Hannah, though I'm sure Elizabeth and Sophia have already informed you, you're a siren. I know you must be extremely confused, so I'll explain. When a woman is thrown overboard to drown, she becomes a siren. Sirens use our songs to drown sailors who hear us. As they die, we devour their souls. It sounds harsh, but it's what we do." I nodded as she spoke, her entire speech sounding quite reasonable.