We lived together peacefully in the kingdom ruled by my parents, King Vladimir and Queen Ravenna. They were kind to all their subjects and so they were the beloved rulers of Thalassinia, our kingdom. You couldn't ask for better parents. They gave me love and attention and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. They gave me whatever my heart desired, but they never spoiled me. They taught me to be kind and good to all living creatures. Everything was perfect, there had been no wars or raids on our kingdom for as long as I could remember. But then again I was only a young mermaid at the time.

We never saw the danger until it was too late. You wouldn't begin to be able to imagine the magnitude of destruction unless you had seen it firsthand. The way I did. I remember the day clearly, I relive it all the time in my dreams or should I say in my nightmares. I was a young mermaid, about 9 or 10 years old and quite adventurous. My mother worried for my safety constantly. My father on the other hand found it amusing and said that I was a high spirited little mermaid. They never allowed me to go to the surface though. They were always warning me about the dangers of humans and what would happen to me if I ever got captured. Looking back on these events makes me wish that I had listened to them. One day I decided that I would swim to the surface and see it for myself. I told my parents that I was going to play in the gardens (which were huge and a fair distance from the palace.) They gave me the usual warning about humans and told me to have fun. I swam in the direction of the gardens since my parents were watching from the palace doors. I went into the gardens then waited until they went back inside. Once I saw the door shut I swam out of the gardens and up into the great unknown.

At the time though, I didn't know that I had condemned my entire kingdom. I swam faster and faster until I broke through the surface of the water and was bathed in the golden glow of the sunlight. I gazed in awe at all the brand new wonders all around me. I spotted a small cove with a waterfall and some rocks that would be perfect to lounge on. I gathered my courage as all the warnings and horror stories about humans flooded back to me. Then I swam over to the cove and pulled myself up onto one of the rocks. I sang a little melody but didn't realize that my voice echoed and was amplified. I had also failed to notice the huge pirate ship floating ever closer. I guess they heard my singing and figured that they could catch a mermaid for a fair price. Apparently my parents were alerted of the pirates and had sent guards to fetch me from the gardens so that I would be safe. When they told them I was nowhere to be found my mother fainted dead away after saying that I must have gone to the surface. Her ladies' in waiting took her to her chambers and watched over her as my father and a group of guards went searching for me.

I heard shouting and gunshots directly behind me. I turned around and stared in horror at the huge ship that was anchored right in front of the cove. It had tattered sails that were as black as night. The flag was black with a grinning skull and crossbones. I sat there frozen in terror as a small boat full of pirates was slowly lowered into the water. There were at least a dozen pirates in the boat. One of them pointed at me and the boat came speeding toward the cove as the pirates rowed with ferocity. At the same time, one of the palace guards spotted me and alerted the rest of the group. One of the pirates who wasn't rowing was holding up a huge net and was preparing to throw it at me. I screamed as he threw it, convinced that I was going to be captured, but then something happened. At the last second, my beloved father screamed my name and leapt in front of the net. He was instantly tangled up in it and fell into the water. Instantly tears fell from my eyes and I slid off the rock and tried to untangle him. "Juliet, my beloved daughter, you must leave me. You are not strong enough to free me from this net. You must save yourself, my time is almost up. Now go. Go!" My father commanded me to swim away. "I'm so sorry Daddy. I should have listened to you. I'm so sorry." I was crying so hard and my vision was blurring terribly. I swam away from him and hid behind a rock. The pirates grabbed the net and dragged my father up. One of them drew his sword and right before my eyes he ran my father through. I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the scream that tore through me. The guards rushed the boat and began attacking the pirates, but they were no match. The pirates were cutting them down with their swords, and some were shooting them with muskets and pistols. I watched helplessly as they were killed. While the pirates finished them off, I swam as fast as I could to get away.

What I didn't know was that the ship was right behind me, tracking my every move. I swam down toward the palace to warn everyone but it was too late. Cannonballs were being blasted down through the water. Even a couple of explosives I think. The first explosive hit the palace and the destruction was devastating. One part of the palace was blasted away, there was nothing left. I saw mer people swimming frantically and I heard their awful screams. The cannonballs and explosives kept raining down from above. Soon none of the buildings were standing and everything was black and burned. It was a horrifying sight to behold. Tears blinded me as I realized that all this death and destruction was my fault. If I had just listened to my parents none of this would have happened.

The cannonballs kept raining down long after everything had fallen. One hit a huge boulder and shattered it, sending debris everywhere. I screamed and scrambled to get away as it fell in my direction. As I swam away, one piece of the debris hit me in the head and knocked me unconscious. I sank quickly and ended up in a small cave, safe from the destruction. The world was black all around me and very faintly I heard explosions and dying screams. I don't know how much time passed but eventually everything was eerily silent. I slowly came to and immediately cringed as my head throbbed painfully. I reached up and touched the side of my head gingerly. I clenched my teeth at the pain and tears sprang to my eyes. Instantly I remembered all the destruction that I had brought upon my kingdom. I swam to the mouth of the cave and was shocked by what I saw. It was as if our kingdom had never been there. The ground was black and charred and debris was everywhere. I swam out of the cave toward the place where the palace used to be. There were no survivors anywhere. I dug through the debris and found my mother's crown. I hugged it to my chest and cried, cried for all those who had died. All of it was my fault, all my fault. That thought kept flying around in my head and it really was all my fault. I collapsed and cried for who knows how long.

Eventually I came to the realization that I couldn't stay there, and that I had to seek refuge somewhere else. That thought scared me. What if I couldn't find a safe place to stay? Or worse what if the pirates came back? I slowly pushed off and swam a little bit away from the ruins. There were dead bodies littering the sea floor everywhere. I closed my eyes and turned my head away from the grizzly sight. "I'm so sorry," I whispered and then turned and swam away from everything I had known and loved and destroyed...

I swam forever it seemed like and I never stayed in one place for too long. I would always hide whenever I saw a pirate ship. I lived in fear of them and I still do to this day. As the years passed I grew older and wiser, I avoided humans at all costs. But if I did cross one I made sure they wouldn't live to tell the tale. My hatred and fear of pirates had caused me to undergo a strange transformation. I was able to retain my original mermaid form, but I was able to use it as a disguise. I had gained a siren form, an evil mermaid. I would have my revenge against the killers who had slaughtered my family and destroyed my kingdom. I lured many pirates to their deaths with my beautiful siren songs. The only question that keeps going through my mind is will I ever truly be safe? Only time will tell and I can only hope that nothing like this ever happens again.

The End...