sirenspull | ♫ Eleventh Song ♫ [Video]

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♫ Eleventh Song ♫ [Video]

_{[The feed starts with a sickening crack of a clam shell being smashed against a rock, long fingers prying the shell open with ease. The poor clam is scooped out of its shell and eaten immediately before the shell is tossed carelessly away into the sea water. Syrena's hair is wet and windswept and she tucks part of it behind an ear, scraping a nail against the surface of the rock she's leaning on. Part of her golden tail can be seen for a moment as she lifts it up to splash some water on her back before letting it fall back into the sea water behind her.

She seems, if anything, a little troubled. If she is though, it doesn't show much.]}

There is something I do not understand.

_{[She pulls herself up a bit on the rock then, cradling her face in her palms as she stares at the NV, elbows propped up on the rock and her long hair keeping what would be a rather bare chest out of sight for now.]}

There was a ritual held on the beach this morning. A man and a woman were dressed in white clothes and a man who spoke in the name of God joined them together. I do not recall every word shared but their hearts and souls became one and the same. That is what the man in black and white said to the man and woman. There was music and laughter, movement and song. I wished to sing with them but I did not. I stayed silent and hidden.

Their ritual seemed sacred.

_{[She seems a little forlorn at this if not a tad bit jealous of the happiness she'd witnessed earlier, letting her gaze trail away from the NV to the wet surface of the rock.]}

But I do not understand. What was this ritual? Why were they, until that moment, incomplete? Am I incomplete? I was told that I have a soul, but I do not understand what that means. I was told that I was one of God's creatures, but I do not know of God.

I knew nothing of these things until Philip. Even now, I am ignorant.

How can one who does not know what a soul is have one? How would another person know if one possesses one? It is an important thing, a soul, is it not? If it was not, I do not think Philip would have tried to save people's souls.

_{[She rakes her nails across the surface of the rock before looking back at the NV.]}

If I have a soul, what is it to me? I do not know.

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_{[It's then, at that very moment, Syrena freezes and turns around, effectively pulling some of her hair out of Ahiru's hands.]}

Why? Why would she do such a thing? Was she an idiot, this mermaid? Did she not know all one must do to get legs is to go on land? Why would she be so foolish?

[She flails a little, surprised, but seeing as she's treading water and there's not anywhere to fall, she recovers quickly.]

What? No! I-I mean, I'm sure it's that way in your world, but... Every place is different. And it's a story, anyways - maybe the author was writing about a different kind of mermaid that can't get legs by going onto land.

Then what happened?

The witch told her that once she became a human, she wouldn't be able to be a mermaid ever again. She'd never be able to be with her family again, and if the prince didn't fall in love with her, the mermaid would turn into sea foam if he married another. The mermaid was still determined, but the witch told her that in exchange for turning her human, she would need to take the mermaid's voice. The mermaid agreed, and the witch... Cut out her tongue.

[She takes hold of Syrena's hair again, starting over with the strands that had gotten loose a few moments ago.]

_{[Her voice. The mermaid had given away her voice. The most important thing her kind could have and just like that, she had agreed to give it away. With a hiss Syrena turned around to stare at Ahiru, clearly distressed.]}

Her voice? She let that be taken from her?!

_{[It was the most worked up she had let herself get, but the story was truly horrifying.]}

How could she not realize she was condemning herself to death? For a human she had never even met when he was awake! A mermaid cannot live without her voice! They may breathe, they may eat, but they will die soon enough.

[Startled, she lets go of her hair again, her expression growing confused. When she speaks, it's a little quieter.]

That kind of thing... Sometimes taking a risk is worth it, for someone who you really love. Someone you would do anything to be with. Being without them, that would be a fate worse than death.

For a human, perhaps, but for a mermaid? There is no worse fate than losing her voice.

...Why? What happens?

She can never truly be happy.

How can a bird fly without its wings? It will die if they are cut off. How can a fish swim without its tail? It will die if it is lost.

To not be able to sing is a fate worse than death. I rather die than live without my voice.

Maybe singing wasn't as important to her as it was to the other mermaids. Do you want to hear the rest?

I would kill her, this stupid mermaid.

_{[She settles down though, turning around again.]}

Yes.

After she got the draught from the witch to turn her human, she swam to the shore by the prince's palace. Once she was out of the water, she drank the potion, and felt like she had been pierced by a double edge sword. She fainted, and when she woke up, she saw the prince looking down at her. She saw that she had legs instead of a tail. When the prince asked who she was and where she came from, though, she couldn't answer him.

_{[It's a painful story and it shows on her face. Even if Ahiru can't see her expression, the effect of her words is clear enough in Syrena's body language. She knew just how painful it was to have a double edged sword plunged into your tail. She knew what it was like to have legs, albeit useless ones.

Worst of all, the thought of not having a voice was going to make her feel uneasy for the rest of the day.]}

What did the prince do?

He helped her stand, and it was just like the witch said. Every step she took made it feel like she was walking on knives, but she was more graceful than anyone else there. The women who worked in the palace came to see what the prince was doing, and they began to dance. Soon, the mermaid began to dance, too, and everyone was amazed at how beautiful her movements were. The prince was enchanted, so she continued to dance, despite how painful it was.

She danced?

Yes. The prince told her he wanted to be with her forever, and she had permission to sleep at his door. He made a special dress for her designed for riding horses, so she could go with him when he rode. She went with him even though walking was painful. Sometimes at night, she would go to the shore to rest her feet in the ocean's water, since it dulled the pain. On one of those nights, her sisters happened to be approaching, and she was able to hear them speak for the first time in days. The Sea King and her grandmother were too old to come as close as her sisters, though.

What did her sisters say?

They told her how much she had hurt them all when she left. After they left, though, and as the days passed, she began to love the prince more and more. He loved her the same way he would a child, but he never thought about marrying her. He didn't know it was her who saved him from the shipwreck, so he only thought she was someone who resembled the girl who had helped him. He said he could only truly love the girl who saved him, but the little mermaid was very dear to him.

She should have never saved him.

That's not true at all. Anyways, soon after, the prince was old enough that he was obligated to marry soon. His parents arranged a visit with the princess of a neighboring country. Before the prince left, though, he kissed the mermaid and told her that his parents wouldn't force him to marry the princess, and if it came down to it, he would rather marry the mermaid herself. He kissed her, and invited her to go on the boat with him as he traveled to the princess' country.

...He kissed her?

Yes. He played with her hair, too, and rested his head on her heart. But when they finally reached the neighboring country and the princess came out to meet them, the mermaid had to admit that she had never seen anyone so beautiful. The prince was immediately convinced that it was the princess who had saved his life instead of the mermaid, and told the princess he would gladly marry her. He expected the mermaid to be delighted for his happiness, but although she smiled, she could feel her heart breaking on the inside.

What an idiot prince.

I don't think that's quite it, either. All around them was festive music and dancing, but the only thing that the mermaid could feel was sorrow. Even as she held the train of the bride's dress, she could only think of how the prince's wedding morning would mean her death, and she would never be able to be with him again. The morning before the wedding, however, as she leaned over the rails of the boat to watch the sunset that brought her last day on earth, she saw her sisters rising out of the water to speak to her, and try to help.

What did they say to her?

♫ Eleventh Song ♫ [Video]

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