sirenspull | ♫ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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?

They told her they had given their hair to the witch to save her. The witch gave them a knife, and the mermaid was supposed to drive it through the prince's heart before the sunrise was complete. When his blood fell upon her feet, her legs would grow together again, and she would be a mermaid once more. She would be free to return to the sea with her family again. They warned her that the sun would rise completely in a few minutes, so she had to hurry if she wanted to live.

_{[Well, that was more than her own sisters would ever do for her.]}

So she killed him.

_[Clearly.]

No. She took the knife into his room, where he laid asleep with his princess next to him. Once she saw the two of them there, and heard him whispering his bride's name in his sleep, she threw the knife into the water. Then she dived into the ocean and turned into sea foam.

...Why?

Because she loved him. You can't just hurt someone you love that much. You want to do everything in your power to protect them.

Even if it will be your death?

I think... In most cases, there's a way to change a fate like that. I mean, a way to protect who you need to and still keep yourself safe too.

[But since she's come here, she's heard about people who really did have no other choice, no matter how she and Fakir had been able to change their fates together.]

But I think if there was no other way, not at all, then - yes.

I do not like that story.

I'm sorry.

Next time I'll tell you a happier one, okay?

Okay.

What kind of stories are your favorite?

Ones about the sea.

Then I'll try my hardest to find one like that for next time!

I guess you must like it a lot if you stay down here.

♫ Eleventh Song ♫ [Video]

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;