Serenade of a Slave: Opening
A melodic thumping draws me from my trance. It calls to me, resonates all around me as I float in the icy black of the ocean. Fathoms extend above and below me, and yet even in the dark I am not alone. The beating is steady, with an almost palpable undulation that flows in a wave-like pattern towards me. I too, add to this rhythm; my contribution varying slightly, yet deemed unremarkable in the presence of so many others.
A ray of light filters down to us in the dark and I feel it is time. I cry out, one voice, alone, to the blinding oblivion. A string of notes questioningly asking: Are you there? They reverberate with the original pulse and spread outward from myself. A ripple in the musical water. Like a stone my notes grow stronger and collect into chords, weaving themselves in time to the cadence we have naturally laced.
Another voice, one different from my own echoes back the small elements of a greater piece back to me. They are followed by another voice, and the chosen chords fill a small pocket of the ocean's void briefly. We are awake. The time has come. I propel myself upwards, ascending at a moderate pace.
As I break away the gentle pounding lessens, my connection is waning, but where the old one is severed new ties begin to form. I am followed. I continue to sing, expelling notes in the lightless space and I swim upwards in a lazy spiral. My voice goes from one to three as I am joined by two more. They follow me, spiraling as I do, adding to the song I have started. Although they are both Harmony and Melody, we still lack enough counterparts to be deemed whole.
Casting a look downward I see more of us rising to join our miniscule trio. Our voices strengthen with theirs and our spiral becomes a helix. Obsidian gives way to dim twilight and languidly we climb, continuing to sing as we go. Our garments flutter like flower petals dancing in the wind as we spin through the many fathoms.
At last, the majority of the plumbs necessary to reach the uppermost levels of the water have been overcome and we freely swim through the bright cerulean breaking our formation in favor of chasing light beams. The elation of awaking is quickly replaced by a different feeling, one of the most primal urges. Hunger. We are most fortunate for a large fishing schooner has chosen to pass over us. It isn't long before Accelerando is calling out for order as she begins the piece. Allegro adjusts the tempo with a few quicker chords and we all soon adapt. The whimsy of our awakening song is replaced by the jazzier and more upbeat feel of this predatory arrangement.
Allegro circles the underside of the ship, her fuchsia coverings trailing behind her elegantly. It isn't long before we all begin to follow her in a line, a much wider spiral than before. Our garments flutter out behind us like fins as we begin to stalk our prey. Melody cuts through the spiral to join Allegro, and her counterpart, Harmony agilely swims faster to catch up with her. The very two who joined me not so long ago now move to lend their talents to our current conductor.
The water has not yet carried our song up to the surface as we are merely humming the introduction, like bubbles we can only go upward from here, we are not yet ready to spring our assault. The bright hues emanating from our collective wardrobe must have attracted the fishermen's attention as they have dropped anchor—which cut directly down the center of our spiral—and have begun to throw nets into the water with hopes that they might haul in a school of beautiful fish. They will be quite mistaken.
Still unaware of the danger that lurks beneath them, we continue to finalize our attack configuration. After ushering a quick stream of babbling notes back and forth the strategy is finalized. One section of us will become "snared" in their nets as if they landed a massive catch while the rest of will slowly progress out of the water to accompany them. Together, we will all assault the crew and feed from them as they stand dazed by our beauty and enchanted by our song.
The plan is set and the feeding begins. As one we sing, the water ripples from the force of our interwoven voices and we ascend. "I've got you…under my skin." I am part of the group chosen to scale the ship after the fishermen are distracted by the sudden heaviness in their nets. I use my extended talons to dig into the ship's side as I climb, the wood is slick with sea spray and deposits of salt. Since their ship isn't particularly fancy—it is a mere fishing schooner—it doesn't take long to reach the deck. I am already over the railing and stretching seductively before the men onboard notice. "I've got you deep in the heart of me…"
We do not normally hunt in the daylight, so to actually see prey awake or sober is different for the chorus I am in. However, this is not our territory, so as a way of showing respect to the local chorus, my pack temporarily adopts their hunting practices, as well as allows them first pick of the prey. "So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me…I've got you…under my skin."
As we swarm them the men greet us with open arms, praising their fortunes in a language I can only roughly understand. When I finally have one to feed on I am able to note that we could have charmed them with looks alone. This group of men is so weak-minded that a hunt song would not have even been necessary. "I'd sacrifice anything come what might/For the sake of havin' you near. In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night/And repeats, repeats in my ear…" I toy with my victim for a little bit, coaxing out as much adoration as I can before I choose to feed. I can almost see it, the air between us is thick with his infatuation and soon it will be perfectly primed for consumption. I bring him in close and sing darkly, my lips at his ear, "Don't you know, little fool, you never can win? Use you mentality, wake up to reality…" It would be interesting to see if a human could actually resist the seductive notes of my voice but I have yet to see it happen. I tilt his face with one hand and cup his chin with another. Our lips are millimeters from touching, but they never will. The first tendrils of his adulation flow down my throat and I sigh with content. His "love", is spicy from his motherland's drink and quite warm. There isn't much to take, and all too soon I find my victim unconscious and slouching in my clutches. I could acquire more, but I don't like to harm my prey unlike some members of our chorus.
In the past I have been called weak due to my hesitation to kill my victims, and while not everyone shares these sentiments most know better than to throw that fact back in their faces. They won't dare to pull any of those stunts while we are in unfamiliar waters, but I know how malevolent my fellows can be if they're hungry enough. If their feed was as unsatisfactory as my own, then I know that we won't make it far out of this chorus' territory before we stop to feed once more.
I gently lay my sleeping victim against a coil of rope, and it would seem the others are doing the same. Not necessarily placing their victim in a decent position as I have, but nonetheless declaring that we are through with this ship. A call for retreat goes out, and soon the air is filled with the sound of our bodies diving back into the water.
It is time for us to continue our journey home and the united chorus sets off in a southern direction. A song, led by the radiant and lithe Symphonia, soon ripples in the water and in the bubbles we leave behind us. Our voices echo amidst the depths, everyone is content to just be as we head for warmer waters. "What good are the words I say to you? They can't convey what's in my heart/ If you could hear instead/ The words I've left unsaid…"
On my left two of the native chorus' members—one in maroon and the other in deep velvet purple coverings—are giggling at the song's irony. I fail to share the humor but smile nevertheless as I surpass them. "Time after time/ I tell myself that I'm/ So lucky to be loving you."
Lakme – The Flower Duet
Frank Sinatra – I've Got You under My Skin
Frank Sinatra – Time After Time
A/N: The credits to the used songs belong to the artists listed, this goes for the rest of songs to be used in later chapters. I do not have any rights to the music used, nor do I claim to. I do however, have a playlist made on Youtube that will contain all of the music I use, in order of appearance. Perhaps you'll find something that interests you. Feel free to rate and review at will. At times I made need a music suggestion, but I am willing to accept some if I feel they meet certain basic criteria. Thank you and Happy Reading.