Chapter Text
The salty Mediterranean breeze ruffled Alek’s hair and stung his sinuses as he gazed out of the port, brilliant azure waves washing up onto shore, scattering the sand and smoothing out the footprints of sailors preparing their ships for yet another long voyage.
The Leviathan’s large foremast sails wavered in the warm breeze, massive curtain-like canvas fabric that stretched taut along the wooden support beams, ready to catch the wind.
The chief mate—Baur—barked orders at the men on the deck as they pulled down the ropes in tandem, deliberately releasing the sails one by one. Though it would be hours until the vessel was ready to set sail, Alek found himself quite fascinated by the process.
He reclined against the post of a wooden fence, listening idly to the call of seagulls and the demanding yells of the sailors. All around him, people tended to their daily business. Shops and inns lined the streets of the port, and business flowed in and out with every new trading vessel.
The people living here functioned like a well-oiled machine. The ships were dutifully stocked with loads of cargo as horse-drawn carriages passed between crowded buildings, laden with both peasants and aristocrats alike.
Alek found that he quite enjoyed the ubiquitous chatter of the port’s everyday workers. In a way, the thousands of lives commingled into a single town breathed a certain, characteristic spirit into the port. In a way, it was a living, breathing creature—the merchant ships and people moving about serving as life-giving blood.
Similarly, Alek figured that the entire concept of an economy could be simplified into some sort of animal. Ports and business towns were almost like organs. The people, ships, and other modes of transportation served as the blood, carrying nutrients in the form of goods and money, circulating about foreign countries, weaving in and out of their borders. Together, it was an interconnected web that ensured the health of the collective organism.
Alek tilted his head up at the sky, a modest number of cotton-white clouds floating above his head and towards some unknown destination. Seabirds swept gracefully through the air, occasionally diving into the waves only to resurface with a flailing fish in their beaks. Other times, they stalked the fishermen on the port, occasionally nabbing a gutted fish whenever the men’s attention were elsewhere.
Today was Alek’s eighteenth birthday—an inevitable matter that he’d awaited patiently for years. Today, he’d have the opportunity to travel aboard his family’s most esteemed merchant ship—The Leviathan.
It was a beautiful vessel—designed not only for the heavy loads of cargo it was meant to carry, but to please the eyes as well. The curves of the ship were gracefully carved, as gentle as the waves she was meant to sail on. It was by far the largest—and certainly the most beautiful of all the trading ships in his father’s collection.
The Hohenberg family was quite wealthy due to a long history regarding maritime trade and therefore were of the most prominent family names in the business. As Franz’s only son, Alek was expected to inherit the company—and therefore the extensive wealth in due time.
This.. expedition was, in a sense, a coming-of-age event for Alek. For once, he would be on his own, without the assistance of his family. The voyage would take a month at the very least, and during this time, he would have the opportunity to learn a great many things about the trade.
A proper businessman, according to his father, had to first become a worker. He needed to be aware of the realities that came with living on a sea vessel, because there was nothing superior to first-hand experience.
Up until then, Alek had prepared himself quite thoroughly. He’s studied the sails, the blueprints—everything about the Leviathan, down to her individual rivets. There wasn’t a single aspect of the majestic merchant vessel that he did not know like the back of his hand.
And God, how he was elated. Though he was under the careful watch of his father’s dearest friend, the Captain of the Leviathan: Volger, he was able to experience some degree of freedom in the meantime. Frankly, that was more than enough.
Alek hummed to himself the music he’d heard on the street, watching as the Leviathan’s crew continued to dutifully work. The majestic vessel let down yet another sail, which was quickly tied taut against its tall, proud beams.
He eventually turned to Volger, head cocking to the side like a bird. Mildly impatient, Alek shifted on his feet, fingers curling and uncurling at his sides. “When do we depart?”
“In two hours’ time,” Volger replied smoothly, his gaze tipped upward. His sharp, grey eyes watched his crew as they bustled about like busy worker ants, and his face remained as impassive as ever. “Besides, we’re ahead of schedule.”
“And I assume that my things are already in my cabin?”
“Every single item. You packed light—good, we need the space for cargo.”
“I figured I didn’t have much to bring..” Alek shrugged, eyeing the cutlass at Volger’s side. The brass pommel glinted faintly in the morning sun, the smooth metal of the blade sheathed by leather.
Alek carried his own blade. His cutlass at his hip; a small survival dagger tucked neatly into his boot. By all means, he came quite prepared to learn the life of a sailor—though Volger seemed to find the matter quite amusing.
“We’ll arrive in Naples in three days,” the man reminded Alek, slowly dipping his head. “That should be enough time to get your bearings straight.” He glanced sidelong at the boy. “You certainly look like you want to make yourself useful.”
“Well, the crew seems to have their affairs in order. There’s no space for me in the meantime,” Alek reasoned. He pressed his forearms against the fence, shutting his eyes in order to feel the morning sun’s warmth on his face. He envisioned himself standing on the deck of the Leviathan as it sailed far, far away to distant lands, the wind whipping around his face with nothing but clear weather ahead…
“Then, in the meantime, savor the feeling of solid earth beneath your feet,” Volger advised. “Our voyages will only lengthen as time goes on, and for an inexperienced sailor such as yourself, you’d better do well to prepare yourself for it.”
“I’ve been preparing myself for months,” Alek reminded the man. He leaned back on his heels, shifting his weight as he took a step back. “I was planning to walk the beach in the meantime. Savor the morning for as long as I can.”
“Then keep an eye on the time,” Volger advised, taking a step towards the vessel. He had matters to tend to as captain—and Alek wouldn’t prefer to be in his way.
“I’ll be mindful,” Alek reassured with a nod, then spun around on his heels. He waved the man off before breaking into a slow jog, traveling parallel to the shore, lips lifted into a pleased smile.
Though the Hohenbergs were predominantly Austrian, they had what was essentially a monopoly on French shipyards. Their business often took their vessels from Italy to India and all sorts of locations in between.
The ground beneath Alek’s feet gradually morphed from wooden planks into smooth, white sand. Black rocks studded the shore, cropping up all around him as he walked. From here, human activity gradually tapered off as he neared the edge of the extensive port.
The everyday chatter of the townsfolk gradually faded behind Alek, instead replaced by the gentle sound of the waves washing against the shore. The tide pulled in and out, and Alek found himself tempted to step out into the surf and feel the water lap up at his ankles.
Alek hummed to himself, eyeing the town in the distance. Houses sprawled out into the hills, buildings cropping up just as frequently as the rocks on the beach. A bell tower stood in the distance, its stones swallowed up by wreaths of ivy that snaked up its side, anchoring itself between the cracks in the mortar.
It was a lovely morning, and the weather was impeccable. Alek found himself singing a tune he’d picked up from the sailors of the port, occasionally whistling into the maritime wind.
He wouldn’t be a proper sailor—not for a little while, but he appreciated the oppurtunity to gain experience. At least then, he’d be capable of inheriting the company once his father passed it on to him. He’d already spent the previous year studying the nature of their business, learning the economy through the process of hundreds of grueling lessons.
As he walked, there was a soft crunch beneath his left boot.
Curious, Alek paused and peered down, lifting his foot. At first, he assumed that he’d passed over a branch, but in further examination he found that it was in fact a small, nail-sized scale.
How odd.. Alek mused, crouching. He pinched the tiny object between his fingers, turning it around in his hands. The scale shimmered a lovely sky-blue that sparkled a thousand different hues whenever he turned it on an angle.
Scales were generally quite common on the beach, especially with the thriving fishing business in the area—but this one, Alek decided, was quite particular. After all, fish weren’t known to be so starkly blue.
Perplexed, Alek glanced up at the stretch of the beach. Once he squinted, he was able to make out several more scattered, identical scales. Most glimmered in the sand, partially submerged as they caught and deflected morning sunlight.
“Almost like a trail..” Alek muttered, collecting each scale that he came across. Eventually, he found himself clambering over a mix of black rock and sand that formed into shallow tide pools, the scales scattered every which way—and yet, they all led to one particular direction.
Alek clambered over a particular rock, tucking the collection of scales into his pocket. Eyes narrowed, he caught sight of a humanoid figure, lying prone on the sand. They were partially submerged in a shallow tide pool, the waves washing over one end. The shifting water lapped up against their nape, and if they remained unconscious, the changing tide would surely suffocate them if it raised any more than an inch.
From the looks of it, the individual was a young boy—perhaps Alek’s age?
Abandoning his hunt for the scales, Alek surged forward with a sense of urgency. Upon closer inspection, the boy seemed to have washed up on shore—perhaps he drifted from a wreck? Like a fish, he was entangled in a net, the rope fibers rubbing deep, red sores into his skin from what looked like an attempt to free himself earlier.
I should make sure he’s alive first, Alek decided. He grasped their arm—warm to the touch from the morning sun, and flipped the boy over. The back of his head nodded against the rock, bright, blond hair cut short against his nape.
No, wait a minute.. Alek blinked. This isn’t a boy at all. It’s a girl..! He shifted back on his feet for a minute, staring deep into the girl’s freckled face. If she’d been drifting, then she should have extensive sunburns. Hell, she didn’t have so much as a shirt on!
Alek blanked.
Scales. Sky-blue scales scattered about her torso, trailing down her forearms.
Had.. had that been there before..? Alek thought chillingly, his eyes lingering down to her legs.
Well. The lack of. Because there was a long fish-tail-like appendage replacing them, water washing over the glittery surface.
His mouth instantly went dry.
Siren. It’s a damned siren, Jesus Christ..!
Alek let out a startled yelp once he truly recognized the girl for what she was, then immediately began to backtrack. He stepped out of the wave pool just as the creature began to shift, two sky-blue eyes staring back at his own.
For some reason, Alek’s immediate thought wasn’t one of terror. Rather, he couldn’t help but admire the sudden, sheer beauty in her face. Her thin lips, freckled face, and slitted pupils..
A moment later he shook his head, trying to clear the silly thoughts from his head. That’s a siren! Alek chided himself. Don’t be so head-over-heels all of a sudden!
He proactively reached for the cutlass at his hip as the creature began to writhe with a sudden burst of energy. Now that he was several steps away, he was able to view the girl as a whole—strange fins, or frills, behind her ears that flared out, mostly hidden by her blonde hair. Her ribs and the side of her neck were slitted in neat rows, likely serving as her gills.
Her scales, sky blue and a light smattering of white, adorned certain areas of her forearms and torso. Her hips tapered down into a long fish tail in place of legs, koi-fish-like fins protruding almost majestically. Meanwhile, white lightly mottled her blue scales in a vague pattern.
Sirens and merfolk weren’t exactly the thing of myth and legend—not really. Rather, they were feared creatures viewed as pests, largely because of the common rumors and tales of them preying on innocent sailors.
These days, their population were progressively decreasing—perhaps from the swell of fishermen and widespread merfolk hunting. Their scales were a commodity, and certain beliefs lingered around the medicinal use of their fish-like appendages.
Alek was raised to fear these creatures. After all, they were dangerous and blood-thirsty wretches of the sea, responsible for what was very well hundreds of missing merchant vessels.
And yet.. he couldn’t help but wonder why such a creature would be so.. ferocious. All things considered, she seemed so.. ordinary.
The siren (Mermaid? What was the difference?) narrowed her eyes at Alek, vaguely wincing whenever her movements caused the ropes to slide deeper into her gills. Moved with pity, Alek slowly inched forward..
…and was met with dagger-like fangs. Sharp, protruding teeth—the girl hissed at him, like a snake threatening to bite; poised to lunge. At the sudden threat, Alek yelped and stumbled backwards, landing in the water with a grunt. He continued to back away, though the girl made no effort to give chase. Perhaps the pain prevented her from doing so. In fact, she backed away like a threatened animal, entangled and pained…
He watched cautiously from the lip of the wave pool as she slowly closed her mouth, the frills behind her ears flattening against the sides of her head once more. The mermaid gave him a cautious, skeptical look, as if she was weighing her options.
It would be the perfect opportunity for Alek to flee. He could turn away and forget all about this, because God forbid he linger for a moment longer and find out this is all a trick. Perhaps she was waiting for him to inch closer out of curiosity, so that she could suddenly break out of the ropes and drag him into the ocean…
And yet… the longer he stared into her ocean-blue eyes, the less he found himself wanting to leave. Something rooted Alek down to the ground, her strange, animal-like gaze that was unnervingly humanoid drawing him in like a magnet.
There was no ferocity behind her eyes—only fear, nothing more. She breathed heavily, chest rising and falling raggedly. Her lingering eyes never departed from his face, and a tiny, tiny voice in the back of Alek’s mind begged him to help.
She couldn’t return to the water, not with her entanglement. And though it would be an easy decision to leave her here, it wouldn’t be the safest option. Could merfolk dry out? It didn’t seem likely, seeing that they could breathe just as well on land as they did water…
Then again, Alek didn’t want to get his arm bitten off just for helping. And yet.. It would be a rather cruel thing to do, turning a blind eye to her plight.
And so, with a heavy sigh, Alek crept forward. He cautiously reached for his boot, slipping the dagger out from his hidden sheath. As he approached, the mermaid propped herself up on her palms, perhaps perceiving Alek’s advancement as a threat.
She began to writhe once again, the giant basin of a tail fin scooping up wet sand from the bottom of the tide pool. The siren swept it in his direction, though he pressed his forearm against his eyes to shield his vision from the pathetic attack.
“Stop—stop writhing!” Alek demanded once he took ahold of the tangled rope, wincing as droplets of salty water flicked into his eyes throughout the ordeal. He wasn’t sure if the creature could understand him—likely not, but she seemed to relax somewhat as he began to saw away at the ropes.
They came undone one by one. Alek worked quickly and efficiently, nearly nicking himself in the process as the ropes frayed and broke.
At some point, she ceased moving entirely. She merely stared with those bright, blue eyes that were much to beautiful to belong to a creature such as herself. She didn’t speak a word to him—though Alek doubted if she even could.
Finally, He managed to rip away the ropes encircling her torso, gently removing them from where they were tangled up between her gills. With one hard pull, the entire net came away, freeing the girl. Of course, not without a few sores here and there from the threads rubbing up against her skin for so long.
“There..” Alek breathed, discarding the net. Now that the siren was free, he stepped out of the tide pool, putting a significant amount of distance between them. His clothes were ruined by the sand and thoroughly soaked with water from the effort, but at the very least he’d managed to do some good.
Like this, Alek observed the girl from a distance. She blinked slowly at him, as if unsure on whether or not she should flee. After a moment of consideration, she raised her head and braced her palms against the shallow bottom of the tide pool, bringing a hand up to the red sores on her neck.
“There..” he spoke carefully, raising his hands. “You’re free now.”
Though it was quite unbecoming of a sailor—allowing a mermaid (or siren) to live. It was something unheard of, though he found himself quite unbothered by the principle. Alek certainly wasn’t cold-hearted, and frankly, he couldn’t bear watching her struggle. In fact, she must’ve passed out from exhaustion earlier, considering the way she was sleeping when he’d first stumbled upon her.
Was Alek generous? Or plain stupid? He wasn’t quite sure of it himself, and though he was overtaken by terror from the creature in the beginning, his heart had slowly opened up to her. After all, she never made an attempt to kill him throughout the ordeal.
Sort of. The show of fangs was just a threat, wasn’t it?
“..go on,” he said, waving a hand out. The siren merely tipped her head at the gesture, tail curling, sending ripples in the water. Alek, intrigued, made another attempt.
“Go on, shoo. I helped you. It would be best not to stay for long,” he reasoned, though there was a fairly high chance that she couldn’t understand human reasoning. “Go on, go—“
In an instant, the girl let out another low hiss, baring her chillingly sharp fangs as if Alek had startled her. He cautiously took a mindful step back as she began to shift, fleeing into the waves in an instant.
And just like that, the siren was gone.
Perplexed, Alek stared at the waves, wondering what he’d done to frighten her. At that moment, he felt a hand brace against his shoulder, and he let out an unbecoming yelp, twisting around and nearly falling onto his behind.
“You—Volger, for heaven’s sake, man, you startled me!”
“Never mind that,” he scoffed, sharp eyes flicking up and down, taking in Alek’s sudden sodden appearance. “Where in God’s name were you? The Leviathan departs in half an hour!”
“Half.. an hour..?” Alek blinked. Just how long did he spend on this beach? Perhaps the time had gotten away from him, though Alek could have sworn he kept an eye on his pocket watch. “..I was only taking a walk, and then..”
Volger gave him an unconvinced snort, turning on his heel. “Come back to the port—and how in the world did you ruin your clothing so quickly?”
“I.. tripped.”
The man gave him an incredulous sigh, then waved his hand over his shoulder. “Hurry up, or I shall leave you behind. Our schedule waits for no man, Alek.”