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It is hard, Favourite thinks, to love a woman. It is even harder to love a woman that isn’t human.
She had never believed in tales of fancy before she met Fantine. Her father had not been the sort of man to trouble himself with fairytales, and her mother had only come to her later in life, and was not the sort of woman who would tell pretty tales to her daughter. Favourite lived in a concrete world, one that could not include fairies, brownies, and all manner of other magical creatures.
She was, understandably, absolutely terrified when she met Fantine. One simply does not expect anyone’s lower body to resemble that of a fish, especially one with such a lovely upper body as Fantine’s.
Favourite was willing to admit that upon meeting Fantine for the first time, she thought she was breathtaking. She had been taking a holiday by the sea. She had taken to going on walks early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, as this time of day afforded her quite a bit of privacy. She hadn’t seen anyone else by the water in the week that she’d been there, and therefore she had been utterly surprised to see a woman lounging in the shallows, close to the shore. The woman in question was breathtaking, with long blonde hair (like spun gold, Favourite’s mind had supplied) and she displayed brilliant white teeth (like pearls, but so sharp) when she smiled. Perhaps the most shocking thing about her was her utter lack of clothing, although her hair reached her waist and was draped over her shoulders, concealing most of her torso. What her hair did not cover, she had draped with strands of pearls and chains of gold. Small slivers of pale skin peeked out from golden hair and jewelry.
“Hello,” she called from the water, waving from her position in the water. As she turned to face Favourite, her tail broke the surface of the water. Favourite took a step back, almost prepared to run, as she rubbed a hand gently across her eyes. Fantine laughed, the sound so musical and warm that Favourite could hardly believe she had ever contemplated running away. “Why don’t you wade into the water?” she continued, tilting her head prettily and blinking up at Favourite.
Favourite could think of no reason why wading into the water could possibly be a bad idea. As she walked closer to the edge of the water, she spared a thought for her shoes and the hem of her dress, but as Fantine smiled up at her, Favourite brushed the thought aside. She had more shoes and other dresses, so there was no reason to be overly worried about this pair of shoes and this dress, was there?
The water lapped gently at her shoes and the bottom of her dress, pulling her gently into the water. Fantine smiled, sharp teeth white and straight behind her pink lips. “See that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Favourite waded in until the water was just at the middle of her shins, a few feet away from Fantine.
“What’s your name?” she smiled. “You can call me Fantine, if you’d like. I’d like to know what you’re called.”
As soon as she told Fantine her name, Favourite was lost.
She left the sea for her city home after a week with Fantine. Fantine couldn’t leave the sea, of course, which she had explained at length. A siren would die outside of the water, lost without the sea around and below her. At the time, Fantine hadn’t revealed her true occupation. Instead, she had showed Favourite some of her treasures, and given her a beautiful strand of pearls. “To remember me by,” Fantine had insisted, leaning up to kiss Favourite softly on the lips. Her kisses were always closed-mouth, for fear of hurting her with her razor-edged teeth.
When Favourite returned to her usual apartment, she was so terribly distracted that Dahlia and Zephine had to remark upon it. Favourite waved them away, assuring them that it was nothing. At night, she dreamed of a life beneath the waves, Fantine’s hair streaming behind her as she swam through the water, beckoning Favourite after her, but Favourite could never quite catch up to her. She woke up as soon as her fingers brushed Fantine’s, with the taste of salt water in her mouth.
She had never known a feeling like this before. It wasn’t normal. She didn’t grow so attached to those she had only just met. She had known Dahlia and Zephine for years and had grown close with them over a period of weeks and months. But Fantine was so different from them.
Favourite wanted desperately to see her again. There had to be some way she could spend more time with her, either on land or under the water. She scoured the shops for books on sirens, and found only one, a book of children’s stories. It was within the pages of that book that she found out how Fantine obtained her fabulous treasures and beautiful jewelry.
Sirens, Favourite learned, lured men to their deaths. They would sing to sailors, or simply talk to them, and then the sailors would become obsessed with the siren. The sailors would then crash their ships into rocks or a sandbar, leaving the sirens to scavenge for treasure from the wreckage. Favourite found no information as to why sirens’ teeth were so sharp, and found that she didn’t honestly want to know.
Favourite came to realize that she must be under Fantine’s spell. It was the only explanation for her dreams and her desire.
The more she thought about it, the more she ceased to care.
After another week of dreams and sea salt, Favourite gave in. She had to see Fantine again, no matter the cost. Favourite once more made a journey to the sea, this time taking almost nothing with her. She took her walk by the sea in the morning, as had been her custom. Fantine was once again lounging in the shallows. Her face lit up and she smiled, teeth gleaming in the light.
“Favourite! I knew you’d come,” she grinned, holding out one of her hands. “Are you coming to stay with me now?”
“I don’t have any treasure for you, Fantine,” Favourite said sadly. She wore the necklace Fantine had given her. “All I have is your necklace.”
“That’s perfectly all right,” Fantine replied, still smiling. “You’ll be my treasure then, and you can keep your necklace. It’s yours now.” Fantine opened her arms. “Come to me.”
Favourite took a deep breath, smiled, and stepped into the waves and into Fantine’s waiting arms.