Chapter Text
You followed your sisters – Neireda, Oona, and Mila – as they moved in on a ship. It was late at night, so only sentries would be awake, and it was easier that way to lure them over the side of a ship without causing a ruckus. Especially since it was a Galleon ship, big enough that if you were to lure them towards the bow, no one would hear their splash.
It was like clockwork the way they swam around each other, finding position. They were here to teach you tonight. You’re singing voice had finally developed after decades of being alive. You’d asked why it took so long for it to develop but no one had been able to give you a straight answer.
Neireda swam back to you and grabbed your hand. You hadn’t even realized you’d stopped.
“Come,” she encouraged you.
Letting her take the lead, you swam with her until she pulled you to the surface and you were near the hull of the boat.
She gave you a knowing look and you swallowed sharply, nervous that you would not be able to coerce the sailors properly. You didn’t want to fail.
Your voice was shaky at first, quieter than it should have been as well. You felt Neireda’s soft touch on your shoulder and you inhaled deeply before trying it again.
It was smoother this time, soft but louder than it had been. You needed time to build up your song and let it weave into an ethereal call for the sailors on board. You were becoming more confident the more powerful you felt your voice becoming. Not loud but the layers of your voice encircling the ship.
A man peered over the side and Neireda was all show immediately. A seductive smile painted her face, her eyes sly. The man’s eyes were wide, his hands gripping the rigging of the ship to lean over further to see the pair of you.
Neireda swam closer to the ship and placed her hand on it, looking up at the man who leaned ever further to still see her. She was hungry, but she kept her façade of a beautiful maiden up, joining in to your song.
The smile on the man’s face was serene and you could see the desire burning in his eyes.
The sailor startled, jumping back and you knew someone had come up behind him. You kept up your enchanting song, knowing it wouldn’t take long for the other sailor to look over.
You could hear the two of them arguing quietly and finally they both looked back over, and the new man’s eyes widened. His eyes snapped to Neireda who had rose her voice, it dancing around yours, further amplifying the affect.
He fell into the rhythm quicker than you expected and now both of them were watching transfixed with the pair of you.
Neireda began swimming towards the bow of the boat slowly, keeping her eyes on the two men, keeping her beautiful voice steady.
You felt someone slide by you and turning your head, you saw Oona had surfaced and was following Neireda. Her copper eyes were alight, another powerful tactic used by your kind to further entice the sailors in.
Movement caught your eye and you turned towards the noise and saw a young man staring down, leaning over the railing of the boat.
Your singing dulled, staring up at those blue eyes. They were almost as striking as one of your kind’s. Your voice trailed off, but it did nothing to deter the young man from staring at you longingly. He’d already been entangled in the spider’s web, trapped.
The young man was watching you closely and you felt his pull towards you. He was enamored with you but for some reason you couldn’t open your mouth to lull him in. Your heart hammered in your ears, your eyes running over his features and his frame. There was something about him…
A splash distracted you and your head turned towards the noise but you couldn’t see around the bow of the boat. You knew one of the men had jumped off and one of your sisters was taking him into her arms.
“My lady,” the young man spoke to you and your eyes snapped back to meet his. Relief looked like it flooded through him, having your gaze upon him again.
You couldn’t kill him.
You dove back underneath the water.
But not before turning around and looking back up through the water. Through the waves, your powerful eyesight could still see him.
He was leaning so far over the side of the boat, his eyes searching the water for you excitedly. You watched him from beneath the waves, your heart clenching at thinking about him jumping in after you to try to find you. Or worse, one of your sisters spotting him and bringing him to his death.
You wouldn’t resurface. You didn’t resurface.
They didn’t have to know that he had been on the deck. That you had let him go.
Neireda and Oona caught your eyes, holding the men in their arms. They had to be close to dead now, water filling their lungs.
One more glance up at the deck, you etched the young man into your memory, knowing it was more than likely you would never see him again. And you regretted dragging him into this, fearing he could never fully shake your song.
You followed your sisters, leaving the searching man, and feeling like you were leaving something important behind.