An old man sat on a rocking chair, looking down at the young children surrounding him. He smirked before leaning on the armchair as he taps his wooden leg on the floor. "You wanna hear a story, lads?" He heard the roars of the children, grinning widely. "Alrighty, this one happens on a windy breeze, across the seas as you call it. A man, who calls himself an explorer left us and ventured outside of the safe zone. He used to be well useful in studies of the creatures you hear about-"
"Do not mention that man at all, the young ones don't need to hear him." Another man said, looking angry and aggressive towards the old man.
"Alright fine ... that's too dangerous for the little kids." The old man grumbled, hearing boos and sad calls from the children. "Don't worry, I have another one in my mind."
"Better have one or else we'll take you away from your position again." The man said before backing away. The elder let out an annoyed sigh and glanced at the children's faces, seeing them with sad expressions. He kept a facade of a smile, pushing back his irritation even further.
"Heard of the Golden Scales Tale?"
One of the kids gasped, "The ones the adults been talking about?!"
"Indeed, If I am allowed to tell..." The old man glanced over at the adults, glaring them down as they nod their heads. He quickly turned his attention back to the kid. "... I will tell you how this story goes." He cleared his throat before beginning. "At the start of our times, we once labored under the royals on Helotar, a foul former main continent that we fled away from. With how little we knew about the seas, a woman ... who at first was drowning until she reappeared days later. She was a mermaid, a beautiful one with golden scales reflecting the sun's shine. She offered help and guided us through the seas and soon a place where we can call home."
"We grant her rewards though she never wanted to accept them. Once we landed, she seemed to keep a distance as if she was wary of us. At the time, we had only thing on our minds. Survival and that means taking every little item for us to build and live through-"
"Sounds like the mermaid was afraid of us!" A brunette kid said cutting him off, grinning.
"Yeah! We are terrifying sailors!" A black-haired kid said, smiling at her.
"She appeared to be but ... she didn't take it to heart when the times changed." The old man said as he squeezes his hands into fists. "From a harsh life we had, we became sailors who wanted to explore the seas. It was in our blood from the beginning, though it was a foolish goal to follow. As we grew old, the new generation took over and made us into what we are. Though ... the familiar tale you heard starts with my young days, where I still had my two legs."
The children leaned in closer, curiosity appearing on their faces as the old man smirked. "When years passed by, we have forgotten about the beautiful mermaid that would watch us from afar, studying our every move. It was like she disappeared from our sight until a report of a mermaid with magically glowing golden scales showed up. When I heard about this creature, I was excited to capture it for our Grand Captain at the time. Lucky I was a part of a crew at the time, and with double luck, our ship was picked to get it."
"Was he proud of you?!" One of the kids asked.
"Hold your horses, I'm getting there. This mermaid was spotted nearby the Fading Island-" He stopped when the children said Os, though one kept quiet. The kid seemed to be more interested in learning about the creature instead of paying attention to the warnings the island gave. The old man raised a brow before continuing, "My crew wanted the scales of the creature so badly, so we went on this mission, ignoring any warnings of the island. Once we arrived during the day, it was there. It fades away when it's nighttime. We docked our boat and searched for the mermaid until the night was upon us. We couldn't afford to give up and return empty-handed. That is where the fog decided to set in, getting our footing lost in its mist."
"We stayed close to one another, stumbling upon a cave that held a pond within its mountains. It was large, quite large as the water was deep. It probably led out to the seas. Though that wasn't in our care as we rested there. We were going to sleep here and return in the morning now that the night set in by then. That plan was scratched when the water begins to make ripples on its surface. Soon a golden tail was spotted, disappearing a second later-"
"It's the golden mermaid!" Some of the kids said excitedly as they cut off the old man's story again.
"Did you guys fight it off?!" The black-haired kid asked, smiling with glee.
"Or ... capture it?" The brunette kid asked.
An annoyed expression appeared on his face as the children quiet down. "We did, though we didn't. We all stood up and pull out our swords, readying ourselves as elements under our control were by our sides. The rock across the pond from where we stand, reveals the same mermaid from the times before. Though ... she didn't seem to be friendly with us this time. That didn't bother us at all. We were ruthless, couldn't take weakness for an answer."
Most of the kids roar in proudness, hoping that the old man in this story would win against this mermaid. He smirked, feeling enchanted by these young bloods. "As the cave's light shined on her scales, she disappeared into the water, rushing towards us. Now, at first, this mermaid was charging us with no weapons to fight and get herself caught. It would have been very easy until the song we heard. The song made us drop our weapons and freeze in place. This ... force was strange, very strange to us, especially when we couldn't control our limbs. One of our men was dragged into the water. First, it was bubbling before the blood came onto the surface."
The children gasped in shock as some of them had sad expressions. Their hope was fading as they listen to this story. "It shocked us, but we couldn't do anything. Soon one by one, they were disappearing, leaving me, a young lad to witness the monster this mermaid was. The mermaid didn't have the appearance of the friendly creature that I would imagine back in our awakened times. It had the monster appearance, sharp teeth were shown sharper than a shark's teeth. Its hands became claws as their eyes glowed brighter than I ever would imagine."
He heard whimpers from a few of the kids. He smiled before dropping it a second later. "I ... I dropped to my knees once I had control of them. I begged for my life to be saved, for my life to not be cut off so easily. A weakness I showed to the monster. A mistake that I wish to erase from the past. Since I had control of them, my mind was telling me to run, run away from the creature. Though this continuos song rang and I could not run from the creature. As I begin to feel tears fall upon my cheeks, the mermaid spoke."
" 'I want you off of this island to never show your face here again. If you do show up again, I will gladly rip your limbs one by one as you scream into the depths of the ocean.' It threatened me as I feared for my life. Soon the song's spell was rubbing off of me as I turned away and ran out of that cave. I ran as fast as I could, ignoring the disappearance of the fog. I boarded my ship and drove it back to the alliance. I told the others but they didn't believe me. They didn't believe that a mermaid could have taken down a whole crew, so they blamed it on one of the strongest creatures that we somehow came across on the island." The elder glanced down at the children's reactions. They were in shock, some were terrified as they shivered in pure silence.
"... That mermaid ... now that I think about it ... might have just killed us for fun, making its life number one on our list. I am hoping that once you all grow up to be strong sailors, you will find the same one again." He said.
"... I don't know ... that mermaid seemed scary." One kid said, looking frightened.
"I'd doubt the mermaid was that scary! I've seen worst with other tales of other creatures. Besides, how can a mermaid kill a whole crew?!" The brunette kid said.
"You may not believe me, but that is how I lived from the claws of the creature." The old man said.
"Speaking of that ... what if it's a Shifter pretending to be that same golden mermaid?" Another kid asked.
"That is a good guess ... we just might have to see once we capture it one of these days." The old man said, nodding his head.
" ... What if ... what the adults say about it being a Siren was true?" Every kid turned over to the brunet who flinched from their stares, looking unsure.
"... Which one of the adults said it was a siren? What's a siren anyway?" The brunette asked.
" I don't know! The adults are calling it that." The kid said.
"A new creature?! If only that man from the last story was still here." Another brunet kid said.
"... Ah yes, I heard them call it a Siren. They call it that because they've been hearing a song out in the seas when they bypass it. Their men would freeze up in place, though ... they were fine when they pass it. It sounded like it was toying with them." The old man said, looking disgusted. "It doesn't seem like a threat right now and I hope it stays that way. Now..." He trailed off, turning over to the men walking over to the kids. "... You guys have to go back to your parents, my time is up."
He heard boos from left and right, frowny faces as they were taken away from the scene. He sighed and looked down at the two kids who were left behind. Though they weren't. He barked a laugh before calming himself down a second later. "Sometimes I forget and wonder why no one comes to guide you guys back home. And then I remember you two lost your parents." He got up from his chair, kneeling down in front of them.
"But, we're strong kids! Stronger than the other kids!" The brunette kid smiling.
"Better than them!" The brunet kid said, smiling as well as he scooted closer to his sister.
"That is what I like to hear from my two kids, Dipper and Mabel."
- End of Page 0 -
~~ Next ? ~~
Hello! Finally, I'm uploading this up to anyone who enjoys this type of story.
I'm giving a warning for this entire story. There will be some themes shown in this story, so be careful reading at your own pace! ^^
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one.
Stay safe and have a good day / night! ^^