A cover of hazy darkness has engulfed the land like a great black blanket by the time we reach the capital city. It's far too dark for me to see anything or tell what the city is really like.
"So... where to?" I ask, trying not to let my nervousness show.
"Back to the palace," says Aysela. "Despite Alyna, the prince has yet to kick me out. Hopefully they'll let you in with me."
"Alright," I say nervously. After all, the reigning monarch did try to murder my best friend. And that queen is sure to be in the palace. It's only normal to be nervous about the possibility of coming face to face with her. Or at least that's what I tell myself in an effort to console my jittery nerves.
"And Ivy," says Aysela, a new urgency coming unto her silken voice that makes me turn towards her.
"Yes?"
"Whatever you do, you can not let on you know I'm a siren. Were anyone to find out, they might suspect Alyna as well and that would not go over well. At all. She's extremely perceptive. If she has any feeling that you might pose a threat, you will become a pile of ashes before you even see it coming."
I swallow nervously. Something else that Aysela said has caught my attention.
"What do you mean not to let anyone else know that you guys are sirens?" I ask. "Do they really not know?"
"Of course not," says Aysela, sounding shocked. "Do you really think you stuck up lowly humans would allow us sirens in the palace? People have all sorts of wild superstitions about us. They're convinced that we're evil killing machines. It's ridiculous; it's not like humans are any better."
I decide it's for the best not to tell her that I'm not sure that she isn't an evil killing machine. Instead, I ask, "What about your animal-like eyes? Your sharp teeth? Your blue flesh? Do they really not realize that you inhuman? I mean, Snow and I noticed pretty much instantly. And as soon as Snow got a good look at you she realized that you were a siren."
"Yeah," says Aysela. She chews her blue lip with sharp teeth that make me wonder how the skin isn't pierced and bleeding. "We cast a spell. A concealing song, the last one I was allowed to sing before my banishment. To protect ourselves from humans, so they can't see our true appearances. I don't know how you were able to see me like that. Something about the two of you must be different. But you should not have been able to see. In fact, if this trend keeps up, you'll probably be able to see how Alyna really looks as well and you must not let on."
"So you mean nobody else can see your teeth?" I gasp.
"Essentially," says Aysela. "People will see what they want to see. It's an easy spell. People see you from afar, they see a beautiful girl, they believe you are a beautiful girl. It's easy to keep them believing it."
"Oo-kay," I say, nervously. "So is there anything else I should know?"
"Nope," says Aysela. "Just don't trust Alyna and kill her first chance you get. And once you do all of Oceania will forever be in your debt. Here, we're here."
And indeed, I was too engrossed in all she was telling me to realize that we have arrived at the base of the most majestic building I have ever seen. It's too dark to see details, but even now I can see that Snow wasn't exaggerating when she bragged of the palace's splendor. Of its tall towers and turrets, its majestic architecture, of the large, looming, magical feel it casts.
"Halt." The voice coming from the darkness, on the other hand, is anything but welcoming. My eyes have adjusted enough so that after a moment, I can see a tall, burly looking guard standing by the majestic door, hand on the hilt of what can only be a wicked sword. "Who bypasses?" he asks.
"It is I, Aysela," she says in a voice so silky and seductive that I can hardly believe that it belongs to the same siren who was so rude to Snow and me on the beach. If this is nothing on her sister, I am starting to understand how scared I should be of Alyna.
"You're not alone," says the guard, harshly, clearly unphased by her voice, which is surprising. "Who are you with?"
"This is my dear friend Ivy," says Aysela. "I found her wandering the beach. She is from another city and has nowhere to stay the night. I thought since it be dark out, perchance she could stay here with me for the night? She has someone to meet on the morrow and I wouldn't want her out wandering after dark."
The guard doesn't say anything for the longest time. I wouldn't put it past Aysela to leave me on the streets if this man doesn't let me enter. Furthermore, I don't know how for the skies she actually wants me to be able to kill her sister if I'm permitted to stay for just one night. But I can't very well voice those concerns so I just smile pleasantly and keep my mouth shut.
Finally, the guard relents. "Fine," he grumbles. "She may enter. But if the royalty have a problem with her, it's on you, not me."
"Of course," says Aysela. "Come on, Ivy."
Distracted, I let her pull me inside the most magnificent place I've ever seen. From the gorgeous bright tapestries, to the intricate crystalline chandeliers, to the high arched ceilings, I'm not sure that I'm even in a human dwelling anymore. Surely something of this magnitude belongs in the skies, or a palace of fairies, at the least. I'd thought that my tower was grand, and indeed it was in comparison with Grandmother's hut, but in comparison to this, I might have been living in a shack.
"Let's just go to my chamber," says Aysela. "We can talk more ther-" Suddenly, she stops, body stiffening. Looking around, I can't see what might have startled her. The rooms are empty, and silent, but for distant sounding footsteps and a high, girlish giggle.
Oh.
"Hear that?" she asks, and I nod, grimly. One look tells me that it's exactly as I'd guessed- Alyna.
Aysela doesn't say anything as the footsteps gradually get closer until I can see faint shapes approaching. It looks like a raven haired beauty in a blood red ball gown clinging to the arm of a well dressed blonde male. From everything said, I can assume that it's Aysela's sister, Princess Alyna, hanging on to Snow's brother, Prince Richard. Although that doesn't make the most sense since I'd assumed that Richard has black hair like his sister and everyone else from Mirshcon.
Although they don't seem to notice us as our two groups continue to walk towards each other, I'm doing my best to get a good look. Alyna seems pretty predictable. She's tall and thin, with fair skin, tinged the slightest bit blue, although if Aysela is to be believed, I'm the only one who can see the blue. She has a ovular, shapely face, with a small nose and large blue eyes. Her black hair falls straight down her back to her waist, and her razor sharp teeth poke out of cherry red lips when she laughs.
The man is the exact opposite of what I'd expected. As we draw close enough for me to get a good look at his face, I realize to my uttermost shock that he is not, in fact, Prince Richard. On the contrary, smiling at something Alyna has said is either his doppelganger, or the very same Leon that brought me half dead through the Krwenian desert. I stop dead in my tracks, giving an involuntary gasp of shock as I stare at the man who is most certainly not a merchant.
I must have been louder than I'd thought because before I know it, Leon has stopped as well and seen me. As he looks at me, all amusement evaporates from his face as he stares at me, distraught, the perfect picture of shock.
"Leo?" asks Alyna in a saccharine sweet, high pitched voice. I suppose it is supposed to be charming, but to me, the thin, slightly nasal sound is just irritating. "Is something the matter?" It takes her just a moment to spot us, but unlike Leon, her gaze settles on Aysela. Her lip curls in disgust, so quickly that I'm half sure I imagined it as she's back to smiling, the perfect picture of innocence.
"Ivy," says Leon, ignoring both the sirens and walking so he stands right in front of me. His surprise has dissipated and his face shows nothing but relief. "Oh skies Ivy, I'd thought for sure you were dead. What happened?"
"Um, it's a long story," I say, hesitantly. "But what about you? Why are you here? You told me you were a merchant."
He grimaces slightly. "This wasn't how I wanted to tell you. I was hoping that I could find you in the market one day, or something like that."
"Well, you didn't," I retort, strangely angry. He's keeping secrets again, when his letter explicitly promised to tell the truth on everything. "So here I am."
"Do you know this girl, Leo?" asks Alyna. I can see frustration and surprise flicker on her face when he doesn't turn towards her, ignores her completely and continues to look at me, searching me face for my reaction towards this whole mess.
"We know each other," I say, replying instead. "And if you would both excuse us, we have some catching up to do." I glare at Leon as I say it, making it clear that by catching up, I mean he had better start explaining.
Alyna, however, doesn't seem too happy about this. "I'm sorry, but who are you? I've never seen you around before. And you can't just order around a prince, you know."
I gasp, hating the satisfaction I see on her perfect face when she sees my reaction. "A prince?" Could Leon actually be the Prince Richard, Snow's brother?
"Of course," says Alyna, smugly. "He's Prince Leonardo, the youngest child of the king and queen of Krwenia. He's been visiting the Mirshconese royal family to-"
"Talk about our foreign policy," Leon, or should I say, Prince Leonardo, interrupts. "And yeah, Ivy is right, we really do need to talk in private. I'm sorry to just have to cut off our evening like that, Lady Alyna. Perhaps you can spend some time with Miss Aysela?"
Aysela gives a snort at that and I feel bad for abandoning her to her sister but Leon has some serious confessing to do. And I can't say that I don't enjoy the look on Alyna's face when she realizes that someone is actually saying no to her. The look of a spoiled monster who's put off by not getting her way is something that I can't help but revel in.
"Come on," says Leon, grabbing my hand and leading me away. I follow him without looking back. He walks back in the way that he came from, walking much more briskly than Aysela and I had been going, taking such long strides that I'm nearly jogging to keep up. He takes me up a few flights of stairs, then down a long hallway. We're going so quickly that I barely have time to take in the magnificent architecture around me. Finally, he pushes open the door to some sort of bedchamber. It's small really, with nothing but a bed, wardrobe, chair.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"This is one of the guest rooms," he says. "I assume when Aysela brought you in, you hadn't actually gotten a place to stay yet?"
"No," I admit.
"Then you can stay here. I'll tell Richard to make sure nobody bothers you, although I'm quite sure nobody would anyways. This wing is nearly deserted. The palace has far more guest chambers than guests, at any given time, ever."
"Good," I say, my initial shock and nervousness at being in the palace and seeing Leon all turning to anger, adding to my already existing anger. "Then you'd better start talking, merchant."
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Dedicated to your_figgy
Did anyone guess about Leon? Don't forget to vote and comment and check out The Siren and the Singer, a novella all about Aysela and Alyna.
**edited