The tinted green waves crashed against the rocks standing just above the water while a ship stalked across the sea turning Venus’ mind back to before her family had disappeared before her eyes. The sunken city of Baia swarmed with sirens of different tails while fish traveled to and fro between the cracking structures. With the sun peering between the clouds and down to the sandy seafloor, ships approached from above casting a dark shadow over the siren’s only kingdom given to them by their God Poseidon.

Rushing past each other, guards and citizens swam hurriedly in and out of the buildings as the cracks twitched with the light going in and out. The magic keeping the walls alive was crumbling underneath the arrows and metal nets being flung into the water. From inside the main palace walls, the king rose from his position and welcomed the rushed knights and warriors into the hall. They sucked in the salty water around them to collect their composure before their majesty swam down before them. His black and white tail uttered dominance throughout the hall as the sirens before him bowed and awaited his response to the attacks raining down from above.

They didn’t look up even when his voice echoed in a harsh tone throughout with a rushing essence leaking through, “The humans have begun to blame us for things we took no part in and have now begun to hunt us. Our times of peace and prosperity between them have ended with the murder of one of our own. My brothers and sisters see and hear me now,” the warriors lifted their heads with a man and a woman floating tall among the others with a golden crest of Poseidon around their tales. The two stepped forward while the others behind them dipped their heads down to listen, “we no longer have an obligation to stay peaceful with the dry people. If you see them, attack on sight with all of the power you have.” The king looked upon the woman in front of him and ordered, “you’ll take the first squad up to the surface to defend us below, Mercy. Do whatever it takes to protect your people. Do not spare them just as they didn’t us, my child.”

The siren girl named Mercy straightened with a powerful shine reflecting in her pearly eyes. She bowed, “we won’t let them get away from us this time, I promise you, King Livida, and all of your people that right here and right now!” The warriors behind her all rose their heads with determined cheers echoing around.

At the raise of King Livida’s hand, they simmered down to pay attention to his calls again, “Vulcan,” the man stepped forward beside Mercy, “you’ll take the third squad and protect the people of Baia with every breath you have. No siren shall be taken from us in these coming moments.” The warriors hollered from every corner of the hall, the only one floating without a speck of determination was Vulcan.

His grey eyes darkened at the thought of being left behind to swim around on guard while the second-best warrior in his mind, Mercy, fought the real enemies on two feet above the waves. He looked around waiting for his moment to speak his mind but no such thing happened. Swimming toward his king he objected, “why me?” The men and women around them stopped their cheers and hollering with confused expressions, “everyone here knows that I’m the best warrior we have,” he didn’t look Mercy in the eyes, knowing that he was being full of himself. She just scoffed as he continued complaining, “why are you holding me back King Livida? I’ve stood by your side for millennia without questioning your orders but now you give me this?” He turned to his fellow guardians with an exasperated sigh, “these men have worked their tail fins off to be here and now you’re going to stick them to protect these crumbling walls? It just seems a little unfair that Mercy, a mere girl is given the chance of a-” He would’ve continued if it hadn’t been for Mercy sending him flying across the room with a whip of her golden orange tail. No gasps nor objections sounded, only silence from all that witnessed.

“Just like everyone else,” Mercy swam closer to him without a hint of herself in her attitude, “I worked day in and day out to receive the position of co-commander.” She picked him up by the medallion around his neck and seethed, “just because I’m a princess doesn’t mean I don’t deserve what the king gives me. I’d be glad to protect this land and so should you be!” She snapped the string taking the necklace with her to swim it back to her father, King Livida.

She dropped it at his feet and gave him a glare he’d never wanted to see from any of his people before. Looking back to Vulcan he waited for an answer to the scene she’d just displayed but silence only rang. “Well?”

“What?” Vulcan didn’t look up to his leader, disrespecting not only him but also himself.

“You’re the only one I can trust to not let bias get in the way of protecting this whole city. If Mercy stayed-”

“I’d want to stay with my family to make sure they were safe. Are you happy now? You’ve beaten me at the one thing I could never be able to get away with.” Mercy crossed her arms and turned away from him with her orange scales pricked up in anger. “You boast so much about being the best warrior but then get upset about being given one of the most important jobs? Ha! I have no idea whether you’re purposely stupid or if it just happens naturally.”

King Livida picked up the medallion as Vulcan picked himself up from the humiliation that just knocked him down. Reaching out, Vulcan bowed to his king as he accepted the medal again, “I’m honored to be given such a task and I apologize for letting my feelings get the better of myself.”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. I know that I’m a competent king and these sirens behind you know that you’re a competent commander,” the ‘but’ hung in the salty water. From the corner of the hall, Mercy’s golden-orange figure disappeared down the way without another word. The princess that wanted to fight for her kingdom, being put down by a man that didn’t believe she was enough. That’s all it took for her to need enough.

As the rest of the hall emptied, King Livida and Vulcan swam side by side in silence in a different direction towards the main palace’s bed chambers. Sweet music drifted between the waves only sinking up when they crashed together. But below the water, a fragrant voice wafted around the two men as the swam closer and closer. Without any doors closing in the secrets of songs and women, the king made his way into the room where the tantalizing music was coming from. Just one girl twisting and diving around the room as the cracks in her walls shifted lighting with the song she sang. Her golden yellow tail clashed with each note while her fiery orange hair stood out like a shark among whales swirling in the sea.

Vulcan seemed just as interested in the girl as he was when the king told him about standing watch on the reefs decades ago. He looked down the hall to see the room he wished he was brought to only to hear the sweet voice fade and the colorful lights die down. The girl swam over to the king and wrapped him in a bear hug. She gleefully shrieked, “father! It’s been ages since you’ve come to see me,” she smiled making a side glance to Vulcan before turning back to her father.

“I came to warn you about the war that we talked about before. I know you and your sisters are scared but you’ll be fine. I’m leaving the two of you and your mother with one of my best knights.” He glided over to Vulcan and continued, “I know you two haven’t gotten along in the past but I need you to stay together. Promise me that you’ll get along with him, Demia.”

She pouted in the corner making the cracks light up in a deep blue. The room deepened, almost as if she was camouflaging with the deep dark bottomless sea. She reluctantly agreed then asked, “why won’t you be staying with us father?”

He leaves them be telling her to give him a minute. Vulcan swam towards the rotting window as Demia watched her father go, panic traveling through her blue blood. The two didn’t speak, only the pounding of both of their hearts as spears and bullets flew through the water only to fall lifelessly to the sand.

King Livida slowly swam down the hall to enter a room with the cracks shining green and yellow while his youngest daughter tinkered with pieces of metal and fabric he assumes she found on the seafloor. He didn’t have to make a sound for her to acknowledge his presence, “are you joining them this time?”

“I’m afraid so but I’ll be leaving you girls with one of my best guards, Venus.” He wrapped his arms around her as she wept for the pending war. She knew there would be some sirens that wouldn’t return and she was afraid of one of them being those that she loved most. “We’ll be back, you have nothing to worry about. In the meantime, I want you to keep learning spells and incantations from Demia. Especially since you’ll be spending the next few hours together.”

Venus rolled her eyes and turned to her father pouting, “I’ve spent my whole life learning spells! I’ve already made a few of my own…”

“Well, then keep making more so that you can help us protect our people.”

She took a deep breath before hugging him once more then followed him out of the room. As much as she wanted him to stay here with their family, Venus knew that he had a duty to protect Poseidon’s people. The desire to lock him up with the rest of her family crept up her neck but was pushed back down by his leading hand that took her down the hall into Demia’s room. The cracks in the walls shined red as Vulcan bickered with Demia about who was in charge of who.

“Demia, I told you not to start trouble.” King Livida hovered over her and crossed his arms, “now come here girls,” he pulled the two of them into a hug. A single tear rolled down Venus’ cheek and dissipated into the salty water around her. She remembered the times before all of the memories began to crumble to dust over what seemed never-ending war.

“You can’t leave us again, I won’t let you!” Vulcan snapped back to the three of them as Venus didn’t let go even after Demia did. “Please don’t leave! I have a twisting feeling this time, you can’t go out!” She pleaded with him only to be gently pulled away by Vulcan.

“It’ll be fine, your father is strong. You need to believe that he’ll come back no matter what.”

“I can’t help but feel uneasy about all of this. They keep coming later in the day, the sun is falling in the sky why are they doing this?”

“It’s not your job to worry about that.”

“Then what is my job?” Venus shoved him away and turned back to her father, “why can’t you just make someone else go?”

He sighed and explained to her about how no one else is as capable as he is to protect their people. He calmed her down as much as he could before leaving the three of them to join the fray.

When King Livida returned, the tone of the kingdom died with the fallen sirens from the last battle. When news of the crown princess not returning circulated between the seas, echos of cries and pain could be heard even above the waves. Sailors cheered and praised each other for their feats against the sirens. Holding pup severed tails while bodies burned on the dry sand. They drank till they toppled over each other singing songs of spirits and victory over a species they could never try to understand if they tried. Below the roaring tides, vengeance brewed in the melancholic song the sirens chanted in unison. Their eyes glowed red with rage, Demia and Queen Minerva, her mother, leading the school towards the surface.

TBC