Chapter Four
It had been a long journey, but not particularly difficult. Christian was used to traveling long distances, but it had usually been with his father or older brothers. This journey he'd made alone, nearly drowning in nervousness all the while. The morning he'd left, what he was doing had sunk in.
He was going to the land of the sirens, possibly to be lost forever.
And now he was here.
Pale pink blossoms of cherry trees shimmered in the soft moonlight, and he cautiously made his way through the forest. Fairies danced their way through the night sky, giggling and pointing downward at him.
Fairy dust swarmed through the air, sparkling gold and scarlet. The grass was soft beneath his feet, lush and a brilliant shade of emerald. Diamonds seemed to be everywhere, shining magnificently.
And then he heard the moaning.
With a startled gasp, he followed his eyes forward to see a huge crowd of men, down at their knees and wailing. Most were in tears, many shrieking the names of assorted sirens. They were all sickly, thin...wasting away before his very eyes.
The damned sirens didn't even care.
Christian was usually a kind person, but hatred surged through him. How could they do this to the poor men, men with families and women that they genuinely loved and yet would never see again??
It was enough to make one ill.
Christian was about to turn and make his way back empty-handed, even though there was a great possibility that the king would have him killed for failing him. Oh well. It was better than spending the rest of his life here, in this place, eternally bewitched and-
"Kiss..."
His thoughts disappeared at once, wiping his mind blissfully blank as the voice filled his ears. He couldn't see its owner, but knew at once that it was her. He recalled faintly in the back of his mind that the king had told him her name, and yet every thought had made its way from his head, leaving nothing but the voice.
He'd never heard anything like it before...so sweet and yet sultry, so purely beautiful...completely intoxicating...
Oh, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. To kiss her and touch her and feel her body next to his. To...
NO!
Christian shook his head vigorously. No, no, no! He couldn't be lost to her like this! Not after one word.
And yet the voice persisted.
"Hand...diamonds...best friend."
He could see her now, stepping out from the forest, alabaster skin glowing radiantly in the moonlight. She was the most beautiful creature Christian had ever seen in his entire life. Such beauty couldn't be imagined, even by the most creative person on the planet. Fiery curls danced down her back, a waterfall of silky scarlet. Her skin was the fairest ivory, flawless and looking so soft that Christian wanted nothing more than to brush his callused fingers against it. Her tall, slim body was wrapped in a long red dress, sparkling brilliantly as though enchanted (and perhaps it was) and revealing smooth bare shoulders.
And her lips...
Sweet and lush and the deepest crimson that Christian had ever seen in his entire life. Oh, he longed to kiss her, to feel those lips upon his own-
No! No! the logical side of his brain screamed at the top of its lungs. (Or it would have, if brains had lungs.) Stop! Stop! You're throwing your life away! Stop it! Turn and run!
She continued, raising one side of her mouth in a coquettish half-smile. It was inviting, as though asking him to come over to her, to fulfill the carnal fantasies that had unwillingly fought their way into his mind.
"Kiss," she breathed, drawing out the word. As it escaped her lips, Christian wanted, needed to sweep her up into his arms, to kiss her, just once...just once...
"Grand," she continued, stepping closer to him. "Diamonds...best friend..."
Sing, you fool! his mind yelled. Now! Now! Sing!
Sing what?? he thought desperately.
ANYTHING! JUST SING!
The siren opened her mouth to let out the next word, but before she could, Christian's voice filled the silent air.
"My gift is my song..."
She fell silent at once, and her piercing blue eyes suddenly changed. Instead of sparkling triumphantly, as though sure that she had him under her spell, they were unprotected, almost vulnerable.
"And this one's for you," he continued, a smile making its way onto his face. Oh, he had her now! It had been close, yes, but he'd trapped her...she was his, his.
And yet it seemed so wrong for him to own a woman.
But she's not a woman, he reminded himself. She's a creature, a monster.
He was silent for a few teasing moments, and the siren studied him hopefully, eyes filled with longing.
"Please, don't stop," she requested, her voice barely a whisper.
She looked so naive, so completely enticed by his song. He had captured her, he had ensnared her, and yet...
She was a thousand times more beautiful now, eyes wide and lips slightly parted as though yearning to drink in the sound of his voice.
No one had ever really asked anything of him...no woman had ever loved him.
She doesn't love you, the logical side of his brain reminded him, She's lost to you...chained to you.
And yet in his heart, he couldn't bring himself to believe it.
Her eyes, studying the ground previously, met his, and at once he knew that they were meant to be together.
At once he knew that he loved her.
"And you can tell everybody," he continued; softly this time, sweetly. "That this is your song..."
She took a few steps towards him, as though in a trance. Her arms wrapped around him, resting lazily on his shoulders. Their eyes were locked, and Christian wasn't sure he could even remember his name.
"It may be quite simple, but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words..."
He didn't know the song: the words were unknown to him even as they spilled from his lips.
"How wonderful life is," he breathed softly, caressing her cheek, "Now you're in the world..."
The words lingered in the air for a moment before she replied in song, a sweet melody filling the balmy night.
"I am lost to you now....there's no amount of reason to save me."
"Lost to me?" he repeated weakly.
She nodded, looking a bit scared. "I...your song, it...I am yours now." As she said the next words, she cringed involuntarily.
"I...you can do what you like with me. Whatever you wish, I must do."
Christian had always been naive, having never left his home until so recently, and didn't understand what she spoke of until she began to trail kisses across his neck.
"N...no," he stammered shyly. "No, I...no."
She looked up at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "You...you understand that you can use me however you like?"
Christian felt his cheeks flush crimson as he nodded.
"And yet..." her lovely voice trailed off, and she studied him as though she were completely baffled and intoxicated all at once. "You're not like the rest of them."
"The rest of them?" Christian asked faintly.
"Men," she said simply. "I thought they were all the same."
Christian had no idea what to say to that, and decided to reply with a sheepish smile.
"W...well..." he stuttered before giving up completely on coherent speech.
She was silent for a moment, watching him with an intensity that caused blood to pulsate though his veins at a frightening speed.
"Will you promise me something?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Of course."
Anything.
"Please..." she breathed, her sapphire gaze falling to the ground as she continued meekly, "Please don't hurt me."
"I won't," he promised.
He wouldn't.
~*~
"What's your name?" Satine asked as they made their way through the dark forest. Night had long since fallen, and haunting, everlasting blackness surrounded them. The young man's steadying hand clung to hers as they walked.
"Christian," he responded with a grin that Satine could barely make out in the shadows. "What's yours?"
"Satine."
After a silent moment of what seemed to be careful consideration, he replied delicately, "It fits."
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
"It's...very beautiful," he responded. Satine could practically hear him blushing. "Like you. It's...you...you're very beautiful."
A wide, giddy smile spread across Satine's face, and she hoped that he couldn't see it in the dark of night.
"Where are we going?" she asked after a moment of silence that she used to compose herself.
"Monroth," Christian replied, sounding a bit crestfallen. "It's a kingdom...have you heard of it?"
"Yes," Satine said. "Why are we going there?"
"I...well..." he stammered, flustered. "I...we're...you...the king..."
"King?" Satine repeated, interested.
"Well, you see, you're not exactly meant to stay with me," he said weakly.
As soon as the eleven words escaped from his lips, Satine felt her soaring heart fall to the very depths of her jaded soul. She'd come to love this man in the few precious hours they'd spent together, and she knew that feelings this strong couldn't be the mere curse of the captured siren.
Now she had to leave him.
Swallowing back a sob, she uttered one word.
"Why."
It wasn't a question, not really; instead, it was a sad sort of statement, possessing the bittersweet knowledge that she'd been aware all along that it had been too good to be true.
"The king wants a wife," Christian responded almost glumly. "He heard my voice and sent me out to capture you." In a tone of forced brightness, he added, "You're to be the queen! I'm sure it will be wonderful!"
"Why does he want me?" Satine asked blankly. "I'm a creature of sin...a temptress, a whore."
"You...well....I...you...I don't know...he-"
"It's because I'm beautiful," Satine cut him off tersely.
"Well...yes."
Satine laughed ruefully. "I should have known. I really should have known something like this would happen."
She sighed deeply, then proclaimed, "Well, you'd better tell your king that I won't be around for long. I'll waste away without you, you know."
"I'll be there," Christian responded eagerly. "I'm going to be made the royal entertainer. I'll still see you."
She tried to convince herself that merely seeing him would be enough, but she knew that it wouldn't. Something in her soul told her that she needed to be with him, to love him.
Anything less simply wasn't enough.
"It won't be the same," she said simply.
To love him was pure stupidity, she knew that much. Theirs was a love doomed from the very beginning, a love that would only end in tragedy.
But as he squeezed her hand lightly and caressed her cheek with his lips, Satine realized that at the moment she couldn't bring herself to care.