Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue (Ch. 1)

Out of the Blue

By stillhere

© stillhere 2010

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My existence brings new meaning to the word dreadful.

I once had it all, a family who loved me (in their own way), friends who supported me, and countless beaus. Alas, all this changed in the early hours of All Hallows Eve. I was a typical naïve 16-year-old girl, vain and a tad self centered. Of course, when I was offered the chance to visit a vessel designed by the infamous Khayyam,I jumped at the prospect. Why, you may ask? I wanted to be popular, the head of my group, and to do so I had to something that no one else had done before. I can see now why no one did; they had the common sense not to meet a strange man at nighttime. I snuck out my window at ten, an hour after my curfew, to meet this gent at the local dock. At first, I thought I had misheard the time, but as the moon rose, so did my anger. The scoundrel had stood me up! Me, the daughter ofbeloved merchant Giorgos Sysco, Nereida Shapa Sysco! I was too deep in thought to hear the muted steps approaching behind me until it was too late. My midnight black hair was suddenly yanked back, and I fell to the wooden wharf below my once stable feet. Dazed, I tried to arise, but a great force pushed me back down. The next, and last, few moments are too gruesome to recount and I would rather not remember the unimaginable horror I was put through. When he was done with me, he shoved me into the obscurely bitter water. I was too near death to fight the sea already filling my lungs. As I was drifting off, I thought I sensed two pairs of arms pulling me, not towards the expected air on top, but to the side, to an unknown destination.

***

When I awoke, I felt...different. I slowly opened my eyes to the shocking sight of two girls, only perhaps a few years older than I, peering anxiously down at me. However, when I fully opened my eyes, they visibly relaxed. The darkest of the pair spoke, "Oh you're finally awake! Do you remember anything?" I mulled over her words, trying to gather the fragments of my memory together.

"I-I-I remember being um a-a-attacked by that delinquent" I paused, desperately trying to keep at bay the terrible memories wanting to flood into my conscious mind. In spite of this, the two mysterious maids urged me to continue with expressions and gestures.

"Okay...well he then did away with me?" I asked the question more to myself; my memory was still contorted from my near death experience.

"It is all right to feel confused, we all did at first," The smaller stated.

I peeked away from my hands to see the darker maiden send the petite one a look. That is when I started to feel uncomfortable.

"Look, I deeply appreciate being rescued but I think it is time for me to return to my quarters".

The darker girl sighed, "I am very sorry, but you will not be returning home"

"What?"

"You see, we did rescue you- in the only way we could" The tiny one explained.

"What in the Zeus' name are you talking about?!"

"Nereida, are you familiar with Greek myths?"

"Of course!"

"Ever heard of the siren's tale?"

"Yes...um...is it when Demeter sends Persephone's maids to search for her?"

"Yes...and no". The petite one answered. The larger girl had gone silent; conceivably, she wasn't acquainted with Greek tales.

She continued, "Yes, Demeter did send her daughter's maids to search for her, but they were not all birds. There were three, Thelchtereia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe. Thelchtereia was sent to search in the sea, Aglaope to the sky, and Peisinoe sent to the land. This arrangement was supposed to be temporary, but when they failed to find their friend Persephone, the array became permanent. In their anger, each girl vowed to cause great damage on humankind. Thelchtereia swore to harm sailors as they passed by; Aglaope vowed to send harmful weather to poor village folk and Peisinoe give her word to charm common folk into their demise. The humans have given a name to each kind. Thelchtereia's girls are called sirens, Aglaope's girls are called fairies, and to Peisinoe's clan are witches" She paused to take a breath. I took the chance to speak "And what does this have to do with me?"

"Nereida...you are a siren"

"WHAT?! HOW?!"

This time the darker girl spoke "We saved you. We gave you a little of our magic from the sea to revive you and make you immortal"

I just stared, speechless.

Does this mean I cannot go to the banquet tomorrow?

*****

I smiled at the memory of my new beginning. A lot has changed since then. The year when I first became a siren was 809 B.C.E. Now it is 1574 A.D., and I have seen many things happen to my homeland, the funerals of all the ones I knew and loved, many wars fought, and many great empires that have fallen. The current empire, Ottoman, is now very strong and near the height of its success. How nice for them. My work as a siren is not kind at all. Each member of Thelchtereia's group has to bring death to a person at least once every six months. I have killed many innocent people to stay alive and not be given up to the harsh, unfamiliar world I once knew. My life was not as bleak as some, I did have friends. The two girls that saved me, Odelet (petite girl) and Kessie (darker girl), are now my closest friends. I thank the Gods daily for that mercy. Speaking of the Gods, they have largely fallen out of favor to the monotheistic religions, like Judaism and Islam. The Gods were at first angry, sending disaster upon disaster to humanity, but slowly grew dormant over the years. However, when they get especially cranky, they send a few disasters to earth. Humans, as they always were, are oblivious to us. Its a common for the girls to comment on their idiocy. My appearance has also changed. My eyes were once a deep, rich brown, but now they are the color of the sea. Every siren's eyes are like that, but I am different. My eyes have a dark brown outter ring. Its a mystery, no God or Goddess I asked knows, and the Fates aren't revealing anything to me soon. Also, I grow a tail. Yes you heard me, a TAIL. When I'm in the sea, It just appears, when I go onto land, into disappears. But thats normal for us sirens. Everything has a pattern to me, and everything is 'normal' and boring.

Until, that is, now.

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New story please comment w thoughts.. Thanks