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Marinette had always loved the sea. Even as a little girl, she’d race along the shore of her coastal Parisian town, spend her days combing the beach for shells and her nights being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves. Her father was a sea captain, and the days when he’d let her play aboard the ship before it left the dock were her favorites.
The sea had felt more like home than the worn-down white cottage of her childhood ever had, and Marinette had embraced as such a long time ago.
She would stand on the rocks along the rougher side of the ocean, allowing the waves to crash over her until saltwater drenched her clothes and stung her eyes. She would swim in the calm waters, sail on smaller boats, spend every waking minute by the sea.
All this practice had paid off when an ocean explorer, Luka, had needed an extra crew member on board after one of his own fell ill. He had seen her tying knots on the boardwalk, prepping her father’s boat for another voyage.
“Excuse me,” He said, tapping her on the shoulder, “Are you a sailor?”
Marinette shook her head bashfully, strands of hair whipping around her face in the wind, “No, I’m afraid not. My father is the captain of this boat, and I love the sea, but I’ve never been on a voyage before,”
As he sent her a smile that made her heart beat a little faster in her chest, he nodded his head over to a boat, “Well, I’m the captain of that boat, The Liberty. One of my crew members fell ill, and I’ve been looking for a replacement. Would you be interested?”
Her jaw had practically dropped, staring between the blue-haired boy and the boat she’d just been offered a job on. “Really?” She whispered.
Luka nodded, “We’re going out exploring. Four months at sea and then you’d be right back here.”
“I’d love that,”
He gave her one last grin before backing away, retreating to his ship. Marinette practically raced home, enthused to tell her mother.
Sabine had been nervous about Marinette going, but sent her a small smile as she teared up. “I’m very proud of you,”
“Thanks, mom,”
She helped Marinette back up her simpler clothes– linen pants and shirts, and two dresses just in case, pressing a pink and green seashell necklace into Marinette’s hands at the end.
“You made this when you were only a child,” Sabine choked out, “You carried it with you everywhere, saying it was your lucky charm. I hope it’ll bring you luck on your journey,”
Marinette blinked back the tears in her eyes, “Thank you. I’ll see you a few months,”
“A few months,” Her mother repeated, tucking a strand of hair behind Marinette’s ear. “Good luck, my brave girl,”
Sabine pressed a light kiss to Marinette’s forehead and backed away, holding out Marinette’s bags.
She picked them up before backing out the door of her house, just barely catching her mother’s final farewell.
“Be smart, be brave, be strong.”
As it turned out, the green and pink dyed shells did not bring luck wherever they went, no matter what ten-year-old Marinette believed.
Although Luka was kind, the rest of his crew looked down upon her, and ever since they left the docks, the sea had been cruel and unforgiving. In fact, as Marinette stood watch along the starboard side of the ship, she could see the darkest storm clouds yet gathering on the horizon.
Some of the other sailors were muttering nervously at the sight of the dark clouds, and Marinette could see Luka’s second, who everyone called Hawk, whispering into his ear at the steering wheel.
She narrowed her eyes at the horizon, already seeing lightning flashing across the sky and the crack of thunder that followed after.
“The storm is coming in fast!” Jalil called out.
Max nodded, “It’ll be on top of us in twenty minutes, at the longest!”
Marinette looked out at the sea, the waves already turning rough and pounding against the side of the ship. She turned back to Luka, “What’s the plan, Captain?”
Hawk’s mouth twitched up into a smirk that caused Marinette’s stomach to churn nervously.
As Luka opened his mouth to speak, Hawk quickly cut him off, stepping up to stand in front of the entire crew.
“Now, we can all agree that this has been the worst weather our crew has seen yet, right?”
The crew nodded, Marinette included, although she wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
Hawk’s eyes narrowed in on Marinette, “And there’s only one thing that’s changed since the last time we sailed. We now have a woman on board,”
He somehow managed to make woman sound like a bad word, which Marinette didn’t appreciate as silence fell over the ship.
“Women are bad luck aboard ships. In bringing her into our crew, we have doomed ourselves to destruction!”
Luka stepped forward, his eyes betrayed his nerves, “Now, let’s be logical about this–”
“Throw her overboard!” Hawk screamed, “Save our crew!”
“Men, please–”
It was too late for Luka to reason with them. Hawk had stirred the crew into a frenzy, all of them circling Marinette like sharks circling their prey.
Marinette tried to fight back, but before she knew it, her legs had been tied together with tough rope, hands tied behind her back and being pushed towards the edge of the ship. The waves had become more violent, the thunder louder and lightning seeming closer to the ship.
This is it, Marinette thought, I’m never going to see my mother or father again. I’m going to die here, drowning in this ruthless ocean. The thought was almost absurd; Marinette who had been swimming since she was four, was going to die by drowning.
Now precariously balancing on the edge of the ship, the deafening roar of the sailors nearly drowning out the thunder, Marinette freely let her tears flow.
She snuck a glance back at Luka, just managing to see him mouth the words ‘I’m sorry’ before they pushed her overboard.
Holding her breath for as long as she could, Marinette struggled against the ropes, her lungs burning until she breathed in the saltwater against her own will.
As the water filled her lungs, Marinette could barely make out bright red hair before her vision went dark.
When Marinette woke up, the first thing she realized was that she was still underwater. She was lying on a bed of seaweed, a lionfish hovering over her nervously. She blinked the excess water out of her eyes, catching sight of that red hair again.
“Hello?” She croaked out, her voice sounding lower than she was used to– probably because of all the saltwater she inhaled.
The woman turned around, and Marinette was taken aback at how, well not human, she looked. Her eyes were so light blue they were almost white, her dark red hair a shade Marinette had never seen before, and freckles so dark they were nearly black stood out against her extremely pale skin.
She was standing over a table, so Marinette couldn’t see her clothes looked normal– a black tunic studded with mother of pearl.
“Hello, darling. Are you okay?” She asked before swimming over.
It was then that Marinette realized why the woman didn’t look human; she wasn’t. Instead of legs, she had a koi fish patterned tail in red, black, and white.
“You’re a siren,”
The woman nodded, “Yes, I am. And now, you are too. I’m Tikki, and you are…?”
“Mar–” She cleared her throat, “Marinette,”
Tikki smiled kindly, showing off bright white teeth with extremely pointed canines, “Well, Marinette. Welcome to your new home,”
That had been years ago. Marinette can’t bother to count how many days she’s spent with Tikki, learning to heal and hunt and harm. She’s sunk thousands of ships, she’s sure, but she can’t remember all of them.
She remembers her first kill.
A captain named Nathaniel.
Paint splattered pants and shirts and canvases lined out to dry on the floors of the ship.
Unnaturally green eyes.
Red hair– not as dark as Tikki’s.
The calm waters that day.
A sinking ship and the way Nathaniel’s hair substituted for his blood as he sunk to the bottom of the sea.
She remembers the time they tried to fight back.
A man with gray eyes like her mother and brown hair like her father.
His name had been Lê Chiến Kim.
Swimming competitions where Marinette would have to press herself against the bottom of the boat to stay hidden.
How they’d caught sight of her anyway.
The spear that had pierced her shoulder.
Smashed pieces of the ship floating around her and how they hadn’t needed red hair to substitute blood that day.
She remembers the time she’d arrived too late to save a girl.
Théo Barbot with his sly smirk throwing the teen overboard.
How she hadn’t been lucky enough to be saved by the sea, her screams muffled underneath the waves as her lips turned blue.
A chewed lollipop stick tucked between his lips.
Her raspy voice as she drew him in with the figure of the woman he’d just killed.
The waves pounding against his boat as the sailors desperately swam to her.
The boat floating in the water, now a ghost ship as a merciless smile flickered across Marinette’s lips.
As the night fog rolls across the waves, Marinette can’t help her hiss of displeasure. Yes, the fog would obscure her enemies’ view of her, but now she would have trouble seeing her enemies as well.
She still hears the happy music echoing off the water, and every now and then, she can catch a glimpse of the golden hair of the captain.
Marinette had just managed to catch his name before she backed away, retreating behind the boat. Adrien. She had known a boy named Adrien once, back at home. She sometimes thinks about him, wonders if he remembers her at all.
Running a hand through her hair, Marinette closes her eyes, trying to conjure up the image of him in her mind. A warm smile. Kind green eyes. Golden hair. Slightly calloused hands from fencing. A black cat named Plagg. Shaking her head out of those thoughts, Marinette waits for a lull in the music before beginning her song.
She continues piecing together the notes in the minor key, a smile tugging at her lips as quiet falls over the boat.
The only noise other than her voice is the lapping of waves against the side of the boat as Marinette swims closer.
The story folds out through the notes: lost love returning and reuniting of a perfect couple. She takes note as the first splash sounds, signaling a poor sailor has just succumb to her magic.
The weaves her magic to form his loved one– the woman he’s so desperate to see– onto her face.
More and more splashes sound, chaos ringing in her ears as Marinette fights to keep the song at the front of their minds.
She brings forth a tall blonde woman, carroty hair, a brunette with delicate freckles, forcing her voice over the waves.
It is only when she begins to belt out the notes a second time that she sees the captain jump into the sea.
She uses the rest of her magic to bring forth the strongest image yet, the woman who will lure the captain to his doom, only to create an extra copy of her own face.
Her strong tail propels her over the captain, wondering who would be in love with her.
A screech forces its way through her throat, bringing a halt to her magic, although nearly all sailors are already sinking deep beneath the waves.
“Adrien?” She asks frantically, her hands fluttering around her face. A warm smile. Kind green eyes. Golden hair. Slightly calloused hands from fencing.
His eyes fluttered open and closed, his words murky and tired, “Marinette?”
She nods frantically, “Oh my god, Adrien, I’m so sorry. Stay with me, okay?”
Adrien shakes her head, blonde hair falling in front of his eyes, “Too tired, Mar,”
Marinette tries to force magic into her voice, horrified to find that she’s used it all up, “No, no, no.” She says frantically, desperately trying to keep Adrien above the surface, “C’mon, Adrien. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open, okay?”
He gazes up at her lovingly, “Glad to see you ‘gain. We all thought you were dead, you know. Missed you,”
“I missed you, too. So stay with me, and we won’t have to miss each other anymore,”
Adrien nods, “Sounds good.”
And even though he’s agreed, dread fills Marinette as his eyes flutter closed and she lowers her head to his chest.
She waits for the telltale sign of life, the thump of this heart.
“Stay with me, Adrien,” She begs.
But it’s too late. Adrien is dead and whatever was left of Marinette’s heart died with him.