Tell me what you think about the chapter :) Your comments motivate me to write faster!
.
"Mother, Aunt Nerissa is here."
As soon as Queen Asherah heard her sister's name, she sat straight up on her throne, her fingers tightened around her gold trident as if she was ready to fight. Koa waited by the door until her mother flicked her long fingers, ordering Koa to present their guest. Koa didn't know what had happened between them in the past, but the Queen and her sister hadn't been in contact for over a decade. It probably had something to do with the fact that Nerissa was the firstborn, but it was Queen Asherah who had inherited the queendom.
Nerissa swam into the throne room, escorted by two siren soldiers, both of whom were dismissed by Queen Asherah. Koa was about to leave as well, but her aunt grabbed her before she could even move.
"Look at you, Koa!" exclaimed Nerissa. "You've grown so much!" Koa was speechless, too distracted by the purple curls bouncing around her aunt's round head. Nerissa resembled Queen Asherah in every way except for that long scar snaking from behind her left ear down to the centre of her chest. Some said she'd been bitten by a shark when she was small, but no one had dared to ask her about what had really happened. The last siren who'd questioned Nerissa about the history of the scar had been found torn in half in a cave somewhere. Nerissa was known for her madness, so usually, people would just avoid her at all costs.
"Nerissa," Queen Asherah said, her voice booming.
Nerissa let out a sigh and released Koa as she faced the Queen. "Sister."
"Where were all your manners?" Queen Asherah asked, looking proud and mighty on her throne. Koa liked watching her mother interact with her subjects. The Queen was everything Koa wanted to be. "You came in here and didn't even--"
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Nerissa said. Koa feared for her safety, but it seemed like she couldn't care less about disrespecting the Sea Queen. She folded her arms across her chest and looked around, her thin purple brows pulled together. "Where's the Queen-to-be? I came all the way here for her twentieth birthday to attend the coronation."
Koa flicked her gaze to her mother, who wasn't looking at her. The Queen's expression remained stone cold as she said, "Who told you about the coronation?"
Nerissa laughed, shaking like a dancing skeleton. "I'm family, Sister. I don't need an invitation, do I? Besides, you were crowned at twentieth, so it's Ezili's time to shine now." A corner of her lips curled condescendingly. "Or do you want to keep the trident to yourself until you turn into seafoam?"
Koa looked at her mother again. She had no idea why the Queen seemed unbothered by Nerissa's jabbing. If Koa had said those words, she would've lost a fin before she'd even finished her sentence.
But Queen Asherah only sucked in a breath. "There won't be a coronation."
"What?" Narissa breathed, still smiling, but this time in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"She's not ready. You know Ezili."
"Oh my," Narissa gasped, and Koa could tell the astonishment was fake. "Finally! Someone said it! I've been trying to tell you that Ezili wasn't ready! She was the weakest link in our family, Sister." Quickly, she caught Koa's face between her palms and squeezed. "So this is our new queen, I see. Well deserved!"
"No."
Both Koa and Narissa whipped their heads back to the Queen. Koa hated how unfaltering that 'No' was, as if her mother hadn't considered making her Queen before. She clenched her fists yet said nothing since it wasn't her turn.
"What do you mean?" Narissa chuckled. "One of your daughters must inherit the throne and the trident, Sister."
"It will be Ezili," Queen Asherah said. Even the sound of her sister's name made Koa's skin crawl.
"So where is she now?"
"On land."
Narissa let out a snort, then she realised the Sea Queen wasn't joking. It was stupid to assume the Queen would ever make a joke, anyway. In fact, Koa had never actually seen a happy smile on her mother's face. Being Queen would mean giving up your own happiness for your subjects. Something Koa knew Ezili would be too selfish to do.
"Oh no," Narissa murmured, shaking her head once she'd finally caught on. "You're not sending her on the mission."
"She asked me to. She wanted to prove that she was worthy of the throne and the trident."
"You're sending her there to die! She's Ezili." Nerissa sighed, her face contorted with feigned sadness. "Poor little sweet Ezili."
"She's not the strongest of us, but she's stronger than most of them," Queen Asherah said. "And smarter. She'll survive."
"Or she won't." Narissa lifted her pointy shoulders. From the smirk growing on her face, Koa knew she was already up to no good. "Remember how we used to joke about her being more human than siren? What if..."
"What are you implying, Nerissa?"
"Well, you know it, dear sister." Narissa did a twirl as she gestured with her hands. "Beautiful Ezili goes on land, makes a man fall in love with her, but then she realises how much she has in common with the man. She then falls in love. Next thing we know, sirens start going missing. That's when you know who's the snitch."
A shiver coursed right through Koa. Could it be possible? That her sister, her weak pathetic sister, could become a traitor? If she helped the humans invade the queendom, they would not be able to fight back. Ezili had wits and knew too many secrets about sirens that she would become a weapon, along with humans' advanced technologies. It was only a matter of time--
"--until sirens go extinct."
"No!" Koa blurted, then all four eyes pinned on her, and she recoiled to the side.
Queen Asherah's expression didn't change. "Koa, tell me what you think."
Koa thought for a long moment. The fate of her mother's queendom was now all on her. She knew whatever she said next would influence her mother's final decision. So she had to think wisely. What could she do for her queendom? What could she do to save them and at the same time prove her loyalty to her mother?
"I'll go on land."
"What?" Narissa gasped. "You can't! You're the only daughter left!"
"Go on, Koa," Queen Asherah said.
Koa bit her lip. "I'll go after Ezili to make sure she won't betray us. You don't trust Ezili but you can trust me. Have I ever let you down, Mother?"
Queen Asherah seemed hesitant, but after a moment of thinking, she nodded her head. "You may start at dawn."
"Yes, Mother."
"Oh, wow!" Narissa covered her mouth as she laughed, and even though Koa knew her aunt was mad, she could not help but feel uneasy. "Aww, the things you'd do for your sister," Narissa said with a crooked grin as she pinched Koa's chin. "You must love her so much, don't you, child?"
Koa said nothing. She shrugged her aunt's hand off her, gave her mother one last look, and swam out of the room.
.
.
Harry didn't like the song. Well, 'not like' wasn't a strong enough emotion, but he didn't want to be rude and admit that he hated it. From the first few notes, he already knew he could not vibe with it even if he tried. Jeff, his manager, however, was bobbing his head to the song with a big smile on his face, as if it didn't sound like the generic pop on the radio that would be overplayed during the summer and hated by the end of it.
"So," Jeff said as he removed his headphones. "What do you think?"
Harry poked his tongue into his cheek, pretending to give it some deep thoughts. "I don't...um...I was expecting something more...you know...me."
"Harry, you said you couldn't write songs, and we must start working on your new album now. It's been over a year since you last released an album."
"Yeah, yeah, I've been busy lately. Just give me some more time," Harry said, scratching the back of his head. He could have written ten new songs since he returned to London if it hadn't been for the mythical creature in his house that had been causing trouble wherever she went.
Jeff sighed, gave Harry a tired look and put the headphones down. "Okay, if you don't like this, then can I hear something of yours this weekend?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Is this weekend good? How much time do you need?"
"This weekend should be fine," Harry lied and faked a smile. It was already Wednesday, so he only had a few days to come up with something new and better than what they'd given him. Maybe he could concentrate on writing if he could get Ezi to stop pestering him while he worked.
"Ezi, I've got an assignment for you," he told the fish girl as soon as he came home. She was lying on her stomach on the floor with Chilli and her fairy tale book. It felt like he now had two cats in the house, not just one.
"What is it?" Ezi glanced up lazily, her chin resting on her knuckles. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"
"I was out for three hours and you're still on the first page."
"Well, I'm still learning how to spell," she said, then smiled. "Hey, don't forget about the bedtime story tonight! We're at the part where the mermaid finally got her legs."
"Sure, sure." Harry gave a dismissive wave as he uncuffed his sleeves. "Anyway, assignment. You must finish reading ten pages today."
"What?" Ezi jolted, jumped to her feet and followed Harry to the staircase. "That's a lot of words!"
Harry stopped on a stair and looked down at her. "You're being lazy. I know you're smart, Ezi. You can do it."
Ezi frowned, crossing her arms. "What if I don't want to?"
"Then no bedtime story for you--Hey!" Harry put up a hand before Ezi could jump at him and possibly scratch his eyes out. "If you kill me, you won't know how it ends."
Ezi glared at him, her nostrils flared. Whenever she gave him that kind of look, he was reminded that she was a killing machine and not a sweet innocent girl who loved fairy tales. Why had he even agreed to keep her in his house?
"Fine." Her expression eased as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Ten pages then."
"Great! I'll be upstairs so I won't disturb you."
Before she could say something else, he immediately escaped to his music room.
Harry expected to have at least the whole afternoon for himself, because he was the one teaching Ezi how to read, and knew that there was no way she could read ten pages that quickly when she still had to spell out each word. But he had barely got time to even come up with the first verse of the song when she burst into the room and slammed the book onto the carpet in front of him.
"Done!"
"Liar!"
"Test me. I'm not lying!"
Harry exhaled in frustration as he set his guitar aside and leaned forward to check if she was reading the correct words on the page. She did. She read aloud every single word perfectly and without pause. How could she do that?
Knowing she'd outplayed him, Ezi looked up once she was done with a victorious grin on her face. "Scared?"
"Terrified." Harry swallowed.
Ezi closed her fairy tale book and hugged it to her chest as she knelt in front of him. "So...I have to ask you something--"
"Not right now, Ezi. I'm busy."
"You're not. You were just making noises."
"That's what I'm paid to do. I sing and write songs."
Ezi's face lit up. "Let's hear it then! I haven't heard you sing."
"Well, I haven't written anything."
"But you've been here for so long!"
"Not long enough because you've disturbed me!"
Harry grabbed the guitar and turned away from Ezi, who said nothing but didn't move either. Chilli had followed her into the room, and they just sat there, staring at him. Harry reckoned there was no way to make them leave without one, or both of them, attacking him, so he pretended they weren't there and resumed his work. He didn't need to see to imagine the look on Ezi's face when she watched him strum his guitar, playing a few experimental chords. He loved having an audience, so maybe her presence in the room would make writing easier.
"I saw a sailor make music with one of these," Ezi said.
"It's a guitar."
"Nice. Can you teach me how to--"
"Not now, Ezi." Harry sighed, then he thought for a moment and opened his notebook. "Actually, I need your opinion."
"Sure."
"So I wrote this poem years ago. I might use this as new song lyrics. Tell me if you think they're good."
Ezi nodded, picked up the cat and put it on her lap as she scooted closer to Harry.
He cleared his throat and started reading, "I'm in my bed, and you're not here. And there's no one to blame, but the drink in my wandering hands. Forget what I said. It's not what I meant, and I can't take it back. I can't unpack the baggage you left." Finished, he lowered the notebook and looked at a wide-eyed Ezi. "So what do you think?"
She stared at him for a moment, and he pictured the wheel in her head running as she analysed every single word of his. "It's good," she said at last. "I like this poem. It'll be a good song, unlike those meaningless lyrics you sang to me on the beach."
"They weren't meaningless. They were metaphorical. But you know what? Thanks. Your job here is done."
When he turned away and looked over his poem to find the melody for it, Ezi started humming. Harry didn't usually pay attention to her hummings because she did that a lot out of habit. But what shocked him this time was the fact that it was his words she was singing.
He whipped his head up. "How did you do that?"
Ezi stopped petting the cat and glanced up at Harry with a confused look on her face. "Do what?"
"That melody," Harry said, frantically gesturing with his hand. "How did you come up with that in just a second?"
Ezi thought for a second and shrugged. "Don't know. I just did."
Harry drummed his fingers on the guitar, biting his lip. "I think that has something to do with you being a siren. Sirens sing songs, right? Do you just come up with random melodies?"
"I think so," Ezi said, her brows knitted together. From her baffled reaction, Harry assumed that she had never thought of her musical ability as something special. Maybe to sirens, it wasn't.
"Sing it again," he told her.
She blinked, her eyes round and wide. "Why?"
"Just do it." Hurriedly, he repositioned the guitar on his lap and pushed the notebook towards her. "Sing my lyrics with the melody you came up with."
"Harry, I can't read."
"Oh, shit, right."
"But it's okay, I remember the lyrics," she said, pushing the notebook away. "However, I have a lot of questions about--"
"Ezi, just sing."
"Okay." Ezi cleared her throat and straightened her back. Harry pressed record, then nodded at her when he started playing so she could start.
"I'm in my bed," she began with the most angelic voice he'd ever heard, "and you're not here. And there's no one to blame, but the drink in my wandering hands. Forget what I said. It's not what I meant, and I can't take it back. I can't unpack the baggage you left."
"Holy shit!" Harry exclaimed, holding his head. "Did we just write a song together?"
"Well, I did all of the work--"
"Those were my lyrics."
"Oh, right." Ezi cracked a smile. "Then we just wrote a song together."
"Ezi!" Harry threw himself at her and pulled her into a tight hug. He was too elated to even consider the fact that she might bite him in the neck like she'd done his cousin. But she just sat there and blinked at him when he pulled back, holding her shoulders. "You're my saviour! I owe you this time."
"Oh, so does that mean I can ask for anything."
"Anything that's in my power of course."
"Okay, I want to go back to that bookstore."
"Sure, you--What? No."
"What do you mean no?!"
Harry shrugged. "Too dangerous. I could come with you to make sure you wouldn't cause trouble, but I'm too busy, and I don't trust Niall or my assistant again." Ezi opened her mouth to argue, but Harry didn't let her. "And no. Not even Dawson."
Ezi angrily crossed her arms. "I'll kill you in your sleep, Harry Styles," she muttered.
"Be my guest." Harry shrugged. "Take me out of my misery."
For a second, he thought that she'd actually do it, but all she did was get up and leave. "She'll get over it," he told the cat, who gave him a sideways glance and followed Ezi as well. It was nice knowing he'd raised a traitor in this house. But anyway, he must send this recording to Jeff.
.
.
.
Stupid creature thinking he had the upper hand. Ezili didn't need his permission to do what she wanted. She just had a little amount of respect for him due to the fact that he'd saved her once and was the owner of Chilli, and also because she needed his heart for her own sake. Nevertheless, she must do what she was here to do.
"Look, Chilli," Ezili said with a smile as she shook the set of keys in her hand. "Look what I've got. I'll be right back." She'd taken them earlier when Harry was hugging her. He was too happy with his little achievement (that she'd created) and let down his guard. Well, now they both had what they both wanted -- she could go to the bookstore, and Harry could be left alone with his guitar and a half-finished poem.
Having learned the lesson from last time, Ezili was more cautious now when she left the house. She followed other humans, noticed where they walked and where they didn't, when they stopped and when they went. Nobody had suspected that she wasn't from here. It felt good. The feeling of belonging. Come to think of it, she had never truly belonged anywhere. Even if she looked like these creatures, she knew she wasn't them. Back when she used to be a siren, she'd also been less siren than her kind. So she enjoyed these little moments when she felt like she belonged, even though deep down, she knew she never did.
"Hello!"
Ezili jumped and clutched her heart. "Hi," she greeted the bookstore's owner.
"I'm Maggie. How do I help you?" the woman said. Ezili eyed her up and down. She reminded Ezili of a typical mermaid from the way she acted. Disturbingly psychotic. Today, Maggie wore a colourful long-sleeved dress that fell right past her ankle, and her puffy hair looked like a seagull's nest. She fixed her big round glasses and flashed Ezili a shiny smile. "You're the girl who came here last week with that tall handsome man."
"That was Dawson," Ezili said. "I came back because I have questions about--"
"Oh, yes, we're hiring!"
"What?"
Maggie grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to Ezili. Ezili's face grew red because she couldn't read, but thankfully she didn't have to.
"We're looking for a new employee!" Maggie said. "The last one quit on her very first day. I shouldn't have hired her anyway. She told me she didn't like cats, which should have been a major red flag."
"She hated cats?!" Ezili gasped. "What a devilish little creature! Cats are great. I left mine at home because I don't wanna be called a cat-stealer. But she's practically mine."
"Nice!" Maggie clasped both hands together. "You're hired, cat lover!"
"Wait, but what do I do?"
"You take care of the books and clean the store. Easy peasy."
"So...I can read as much as I want?"
"Yeah, as long as there's no customer." Maggie blew out her cheeks and looked around with her hands on her hips. "But there are hardly any customers anyway. Nobody reads these days. They have their smartphones and TikTok."
"I love smartphones and TikTok!" Ezili said, smiling. "But also books."
"Well, books are really powerful, you know."
Ezili blinked. She didn't think that stories could possess any power. "How so?"
Maggie seemed thoughtful as she fixed her glasses again. "Books contain knowledge. Without them, we wouldn't be who we are today. Do you think that we'd have smartphones and TikTok without books? Books are so valuable. Even fictional stories can teach us great lessons."
"Can books teach us about love?"
"Sure! Aisle three! Relationship self-help books!"
This is it! Ezili thought to herself. This was where she meant to be. She now had access to one of humans' powerful weapons, and she would use it against her human. Harry would never escape--
"There you are, you sneaky little--"
"Oh my! You're Harry Styles!"
Harry ignored Maggie, headed straight to Ezili and grabbed her hand. She believed he was about to drag her out of there, but one glance at Maggie and he sucked in a breath. Apparently, he was afraid of how others perceived him. He didn't want to show them the Harry that had beat up his cousin. Just like her, he was also a fake.
"Home. Now."
"I just got hired."
"What?" Harry turned and glared at Ezili over his shoulder. "For what?"
"Oh, she's my new employee!" Maggie said, grinning. "I like her."
"She's not qualified."
Ezili angrily yanked her hand out of his grip. "I am! Stop telling me what I am and what I'm not. You don't know me."
Harry growled and stabbed a finger at her chest. "Do not test me, young lady!"
"Or what?"
"I-I'll let you guys talk," Maggie said and quickly disappeared behind one of the shelves.
Ezili huffed and crossed her arms. "She said I could read as much as I wanted, and all I needed to do was clean this place and take care of the books."
"You don't need a job!" Harry said between gritted teeth. "I pay for everything."
"It's not about money. I'm here for the books."
"You can't even read."
"I'm getting there. I memorise a lot faster than you."
Harry's eyes grew big as realisation flashed across his face. He held up a finger. "You liar! You didn't read those ten pages, did you?! You memorised the story when I read it to you."
Ezili rolled her eyes and smirked. "So what? Are you gonna cry about it?"
"You--" Harry pressed his lips together and closed his eyes. Ezili waited for the redness to fade from his face as he calmed down enough to not yell at her in a bookstore. "I'm not having an argument with you," he lowered his voice. "You're not working here, because I'm offering you a real job."
"What?"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. Ezili knew he only did that when he was anxious. "I sent my manager the song, and he liked it."
"Congrats. Now you can benefit from my hard work."
"Hard work? You didn't even break a sweat! But anyway, I don't want to be called a thief because the melody is still yours, so I'm asking you formally to sing a part of the song for me, and I'll credit you for the music."
Ezili blinked, her eyebrows lifted. "You want me to sing with you?"
"Yeah, my manager heard your voice and he fell in love."
"With me?!"
"With your voice."
"Oh."
"Why do you look disappointed?!"
"Nevermind, go on," Ezili said with a wave. "He fell in love with my voice and what?"
"And he wanted the song to be a duet. It means you and I will sing together."
"Okay."
"Oh, come on, I--Wait, what?" Harry flinched, his eyes almost falling out of his head. "You agreed?"
Ezili lifted her shoulders. "Yes."
"Oh my God, thank--"
"Only if you let me work here."
"I fucking knew it!" Harry clenched his fist and punched the air. He pointed a finger to her face, and she didn't hesitate to take a step forward so that his finger touched the tip of her nose.
Her lips curled into a smile. "Deal?"
She could tell that Harry wanted to shout. They both turned and saw Maggie's head quickly disappear behind a shelf. Finally, Harry had to give in. He opened his hand. "Keys."
Ezili placed the keys she'd stolen in his palm. He shoved them back into his pockets, his eyebrows furrowed and his nostrils flared. "She'll start tomorrow," he told Maggie, who threw herself between them and pulled Ezili into a hug.
"Wonderful! You'll have a wonderful time here--"
"Okay, that's it. Let's go," Harry said with a tap on Ezili's shoulder.
"Bye!" Ezili waved happily at Maggie and followed Harry out of the bookstore.
(end of chapter 7)