Chapter Text
Jisung POV
I’m playing in the lagoon with my sisters. It is the only free time we have during the day, so we like to share it together when we aren’t busy with our studies.
My oldest sister, Han Eunkyung, is preparing to be Queen when mother and father step down. My second oldest sister, Han Soonbok, is a fierce warrior. She trains with the royal guard and is very skilled in tridents and daggers. I, on the other hand, cannot do much.
I was born cursed with the powers of a siren. It has been centuries since a merperson of the royal family had been gifted these abilities, but here I am. Mother and father don’t let me use my powers that much, unless it is focused on healing. Other than that, they have made me swear off of using my voice. Although, my parents have considered using my voice against our enemies which mainly consist of pirates. But I am too “weak” in my parents eyes. I refuse to hurt anyone with my siren song. Once I told them I wouldn’t do it, they forbade me from using my voice from anything but healing merfolk in our city.
Our city of Neptris is one of the last few mermaid cities left. Pirates have been taking out whole colonies of merfolk, just to get their tails which they apparently sell in the markets. I don’t understand why anyone would want a tail, but because we are so rare, I have heard that landdwellers seek mermaid tails out for high numbers of coins.
Since we are one of the last few cities, my father has forbidden anyone from going to the surface. My sisters and I try our best to hide away, but sometimes it is fun playing in the shallower waters.
My sister, Eunkyung, swims past me, her green and gold tail shimmering in the sunlight. Everyone in the royal family has a streak of gold in their tail. Soonbok has a dark blue tail with her golden streak curling around her tail. My tail is a teal color with gold specks throughout it.
We play in the lagoon, because we can still be above water while being hidden by the jagged rocks. Pirate ships would not be able to get close to us, so we figure it is safe.
“Sungie! Do it again! It’s getting better,” Eunkyung says. Unlike my parents, she sees potential in my powers and actually encourages me to use it.
I’ve been practicing a song that creates a giant wave. A siren’s song is unique to each siren, so there is no book or scroll guiding me on the things my voice can do. I just sing what feels natural, even if it isn’t in a proper language. My sisters, while protective of me, are very encouraging when it comes to my abilities.
“Okay,” I take a deep breath. I create the image of the wave in my head first, then listen to my soul to see what melody would go along with it. My eyes stay on the water as I begin to sing. The water moves in time with the music as the wall of water grows. Soon, it reaches the top of the lagoon’s cave and comes crashing down. It soaks the three of us, but we don’t mind.
“Wow, Sungie,” Soonbok wraps her arms around me, “You did it!”
“I-I did,” I blush.
“You’re adorable, Sung-ah. It’s okay to be a little prideful at your accomplishments,” Eunkyung says.
“It’s just…what if eomma and appa find out. They’d be so disappointed in me. You already know how much they despise these powers of mine,” I say.
Eunkyung swims over to me and wraps an arm over my other shoulder, “You’re powers are incredible, and you should never be afraid to use them.”
“But what about-”
“Screw what they think, Sungie,” Soonbok exclaims, “They weren’t too happy about a girl becoming a guard, a princess no less, but here I am.”
“I guess you’re right,” I concede, even though these are two very different things. I don’t have the heart to say it to her face, though.
The sound of a ship's wood creaking close to us catches our attention. We dive under water and try to get a better view of the ship from below the water.
We get close enough to see that it looks like a normal trading ship, not a pirate ship. The three of us relax at the realization. Then, a form comes flying at us from the ship.
I originally think it’s the ship’s anchor. But as I inch closer, I notice it’s a person. There is a cut in his midsection and he is bleeding into the water. The blood will surely attract any nearby sharks.
The man has soft features, but a strong chin. He looks muscular, but not too muscular to be intimidating. His dark brown hair is haloing around him in the water. I feel a pull to him, so I swim over, before I am stopped by my sister’s hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t,” Soonbok says.
“He’s injured,” I say.
“He could be dangerous,” Eunkyung says.
“Let me at least take him to the shore, landdwellers can’t breathe underwater right?” I ask. I know the answer, but I need to be sure.
“I guess not,” Soonbok says.
“You can’t be serious,” Eunkyung says.
“Why don’t we give him a chance?” Soonbok turns to me, “You’ll only bring him to the shore right? No magical healing.”
My eyes widen, “Yes! Of course!”
Before anyone can change their mind, I swim as fast as I can to the man slowly falling in the water. I reach him and his features seem more beautiful up close.
I grab him as gently as I can and swim him to the shore of the lagoon. My sisters, thankfully, don’t follow me. I get close enough to the shore and gingerly place him on the soft sand. His chest seems to be moving, which I think is a good sign. But there is too much blood coming out of him. The cut is deep, and I can sort of see inside of him.
I know I promised my sisters that I wouldn’t use my magic, but I cannot in good conscience leave him here to die. What if he has a family? What if he has people who depend on him?
I take another scan around me, making sure there are no boats or sisters around.
I take a deep breath and begin to sing. My voice floats through the air and I watch as his skin stitches itself back together. It’s a sight I’ve seen many times before due to me being the healer of the city, but not something I think I will ever get used to.
I wait until the wound is fully closed to stop sining. There is a scar across his abdomen, but I don’t think he will mind. It’s better than being dead.
He coughs up water and I immediately dive back into the water, not looking back for a second. I pray to the gods that he didn’t see me. Or if he did he only saw my tail.
I go back to my sisters and Eunkyung raises an eyebrow, “You healed him didn’t you?”
“I-”
“Don’t bother lying,” Soonbok says, “Now let’s go before we’re late for dinner.”
I smile and we swim back into the city.
*********
Minho POV
I wake up coughing my lungs out. That’s the last time I try to take on five men at once. The sound of water splashing makes my head turn towards the sea and I see a teal and gold tail disappearing into the ocean.
Odd, I’ve never seen a fish with that kind of pattern too. What’s even odder is the scar on my stomach. Someone healed me? Why would they do that? Where am I? Why aren’t I dead?
Whatever the reason may be, I need to get back to my family. Chan’s going to be pissed that I went off on my own again. I sit up slowly and brush the sand off of me.
I shift into a bengal cat and try to find any trace of my family. I catch a scent and take off towards it.