A/N: thanks for all of your reviews!! Really enjoyed reading them. Oh, and
one more thing. Many of you were wondering how Char wasn't killed by the
siren. . . you'll find out in this chappy. =)
::Chapter 18: Sirens::
"Now where did we leave off last time. . ." Brayden mumbled under his breath as he flipped through the pages of a gigantic study book. "Oh yes, that's it. Fairies." He turned a couple more pages, then spread the book out in front of me, marking his finger in the middle of a page. "I'm pretty sure this is where we left off, Princess. You may start reading."
"Fairies are magical creatures-" I stopped. I knew enough about fairies. "Brayden. . ." I said, lifting my eyes off the page and to my tutor. I noticed he was staring out the window. He gave a sudden jolt at the call of his name, then faced me. "Yes, Princess?"
"Do you. . . do you think that we can. . ." Learn about sirens?? I wanted to shout. But I didn't want to sound too suspicious. ". . . read about something else? We've already had plenty of lessons on fairies in the past. And. . . I've been wanting to learn more about-"
A look of surprise crossed his face. I had NEVER suggested a lesson change before. I usually just sat there, pretending to pay attention to what was printed in the book, and looked out the window, not unlike what Brayden was just doing moments before.
"You want to. . . learn?" He stared at me, clearly shocked. "Yes. . . yes, of course. You've been wanting to learn about what?"
"Sirens."
At the sound of my answer his facial expression changed. His mouth dropped open. "S-Sirens. . ." he repeated. His face grew white, and his blue eyes had this strange look to them, as if he were thinking upon painful thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, then opened them again.
"Brayden? Are you alright??" Brayden had never acted this way before. He was usually silent and dull, never showing any other speck of emotion.
"Of course. Why would you suggest otherwise, Princess?" he glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. He was back to normal. "Yes, yes. . . er, sirens. Now let's see. . ." He carefully flipped through the book a few pages at a time. A few moments later, he stopped, shutting the book closed.
"There doesn't seem to be anything on sirens in here. . . It's quite an unusual subject for someone like you to be studying, but I guess it's good for a change once in a while." he paused. "Wait here a moment, Princess. I'll be right back."
I nodded, and he left the room. Why did he leave? All of the palace's books were carefully shelved along the walls of the study, the room we were in.
I drummed my fingers impatiently for a few minutes when I heard the door creak open.
"I'm sorry to keep have kept you waiting, Princess," Brayden said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. I noticed he was holding something under his arm.
He walked over and seated himself beside me, setting a book down in front of us. I examined the cover. It was very dull and simple. . . plain brown leather without any particular designs or even a title. But for some reason it seemed vaguely familiar. . .
"Where did you get this?" I asked curiously, lifting the front cover.
He slapped it shut. "Er. . . Sorry about that, Princess. I got it as a gift from my Mother when I was a boy. It should have what we're looking for."
He held the bottom corner of the leather cover, hesitating for a few moments before fully opening it. And sure enough, the top of the first page was titled 'Sirens' in fancy lettering.
"So what would you like to start with, Princess? This book should have everything you would want to know. . ." he smoothed the page. "About sirens, that is."
"Mmmm. . ." I said, scanning the first page. It was all writing. "Can we jus start reading from here?" I laid a finger on the first word.
"Of course, of course. Would you like to start, Princess?"
I shrugged, but started reading anyway. "Sirens are mysterious creatures who take the form of a beautiful woman. Most sirens use their enchanting voice to lure men, captivating them and eventually leading them to destruction in unknown ways. Contrary to popular belief, sirens are not a separate race of magical creatures. Sirenism is a rare gift very few women of any type of creature are born with. Sirens are very rare, and there have only been seven reported in the past thousand years. Although not all sirens choose to use their deadly voice, the ones that do are immediately taken to the nearest female ruler, who may choose to either burn or drown them to death."
I stopped reading, and shuddered. Although it was my idea, I regretted reading about the sirens. Honestly, it was starting to creep me out.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to read this. . . You're still young, and- " he started to close the book shut.
"Wait," I said, stopping him. "Wait. . . just a few more pages."
Brayden nodded reluctantly. "Continue."
I read more than I ever wanted to learn about sirens. I turned to the next page and stopped. It was a picture.
I stared at the woman in awe and horror. Indeed, she was very beautiful. . . with flowing long, hair that matched the color of the sunset. Her face was pale, with just enough color in her cheeks to indicate that she was alive. And although it was ghostly pale, she seemed to be attracting in a haunting way. Her thick hair was coving most of her body, but I noticed that she had a shimmering fishlike tail where there normally should have been a pair of legs. . . . Sirenism is a rare gift very few women of any type of creature are born with . . . This one was obviously a mermaid. I continued to read. "Although it is almost impossible to escape a siren's wrath, there is one difficult way it can be done. The lover of the victim must take their own life, giving the victim the choice to escape."
I started to turn to the next page when Brayden slammed the book shut, moving it away from my reach. "That's enough, Princess." He said, tucking the book under his arm.
"Wait-" But before I said anymore, I stopped myself and nodded.
We sat silently for a few moments, when Brayden finally spoke up. "Why did you ask to study sirens, Princess?" he questioned silently.
I paused and shrugged. "I was curious." Although that wasn't the TOTAL truth, I still wasn't lying.
"I see. . ." He rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "Have you. . . ever happen to come across one?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"What??" I asked, facing him.
"Never mind, Princess," he said, slightly chuckling to himself. He lifted his head. "What am I saying. . . you're still young. . . you're a lady. . ."
"Brayden, are you alright?? You're acting kind of strange. . ."
"I'm fine." He stood up from his seat. "Lesson's over. See you next time, Princess." He bowed.
"Alright. . ." I stood up and left the study.
Moments later I arrived in my bedroom. I threw myself onto my bed. It was only when I tried to lay still that I realized I was shaking. Brayden was acting pretty strange today. . . I wonder what that was all about. I sighed. He was probably just stressed out. I had interfered with his lesson plan, after all.
I was about to nod off to sleep when something caught the corner of my eye. . . I sat up to take a better look. The fairy book! It was lying on the corner of the small marble table next to my bed. Annabelle must have picked it up after I threw it the last time.
Cautiously, I reached for that evil, evil book of lies. The one that informed me of father's mistake, which wasn't exactly a lie, but I was better off not knowing about it. The one that told me Nate loved me. Stupid, stupid book. If only I could believe it. . .
I flipped open the front leather cover.
*December 29. *
Yet again it was a different journal entry. . . It was dated for yesterday.
*Although I have just arrived home from Kyrria, I must attempt to take over King Charmont's failed mission. Tomarrow some of Father's armed men and I leave for the Elve's Forest to hunt for the ogres. I don't know why Father's sending me off to do this, I'm only sixteen! I pointed this out to him, but, as I feared, he said that I wasn't a child anymore and that if I couldn't capture a few ogres, I wouldn't be able to take his place as duke. I could really care less. *
I stopped reading. This was Nate's journal entry! My heart began to race. I slammed the book shut, and as I did, I noticed something about the cover. It wasn't much, actually, with a plain brown leather cover that was missing a title. My eyes widened.
I wasn't the only one in the palace with a magical fairy book.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!!
::Chapter 18: Sirens::
"Now where did we leave off last time. . ." Brayden mumbled under his breath as he flipped through the pages of a gigantic study book. "Oh yes, that's it. Fairies." He turned a couple more pages, then spread the book out in front of me, marking his finger in the middle of a page. "I'm pretty sure this is where we left off, Princess. You may start reading."
"Fairies are magical creatures-" I stopped. I knew enough about fairies. "Brayden. . ." I said, lifting my eyes off the page and to my tutor. I noticed he was staring out the window. He gave a sudden jolt at the call of his name, then faced me. "Yes, Princess?"
"Do you. . . do you think that we can. . ." Learn about sirens?? I wanted to shout. But I didn't want to sound too suspicious. ". . . read about something else? We've already had plenty of lessons on fairies in the past. And. . . I've been wanting to learn more about-"
A look of surprise crossed his face. I had NEVER suggested a lesson change before. I usually just sat there, pretending to pay attention to what was printed in the book, and looked out the window, not unlike what Brayden was just doing moments before.
"You want to. . . learn?" He stared at me, clearly shocked. "Yes. . . yes, of course. You've been wanting to learn about what?"
"Sirens."
At the sound of my answer his facial expression changed. His mouth dropped open. "S-Sirens. . ." he repeated. His face grew white, and his blue eyes had this strange look to them, as if he were thinking upon painful thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, then opened them again.
"Brayden? Are you alright??" Brayden had never acted this way before. He was usually silent and dull, never showing any other speck of emotion.
"Of course. Why would you suggest otherwise, Princess?" he glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. He was back to normal. "Yes, yes. . . er, sirens. Now let's see. . ." He carefully flipped through the book a few pages at a time. A few moments later, he stopped, shutting the book closed.
"There doesn't seem to be anything on sirens in here. . . It's quite an unusual subject for someone like you to be studying, but I guess it's good for a change once in a while." he paused. "Wait here a moment, Princess. I'll be right back."
I nodded, and he left the room. Why did he leave? All of the palace's books were carefully shelved along the walls of the study, the room we were in.
I drummed my fingers impatiently for a few minutes when I heard the door creak open.
"I'm sorry to keep have kept you waiting, Princess," Brayden said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. I noticed he was holding something under his arm.
He walked over and seated himself beside me, setting a book down in front of us. I examined the cover. It was very dull and simple. . . plain brown leather without any particular designs or even a title. But for some reason it seemed vaguely familiar. . .
"Where did you get this?" I asked curiously, lifting the front cover.
He slapped it shut. "Er. . . Sorry about that, Princess. I got it as a gift from my Mother when I was a boy. It should have what we're looking for."
He held the bottom corner of the leather cover, hesitating for a few moments before fully opening it. And sure enough, the top of the first page was titled 'Sirens' in fancy lettering.
"So what would you like to start with, Princess? This book should have everything you would want to know. . ." he smoothed the page. "About sirens, that is."
"Mmmm. . ." I said, scanning the first page. It was all writing. "Can we jus start reading from here?" I laid a finger on the first word.
"Of course, of course. Would you like to start, Princess?"
I shrugged, but started reading anyway. "Sirens are mysterious creatures who take the form of a beautiful woman. Most sirens use their enchanting voice to lure men, captivating them and eventually leading them to destruction in unknown ways. Contrary to popular belief, sirens are not a separate race of magical creatures. Sirenism is a rare gift very few women of any type of creature are born with. Sirens are very rare, and there have only been seven reported in the past thousand years. Although not all sirens choose to use their deadly voice, the ones that do are immediately taken to the nearest female ruler, who may choose to either burn or drown them to death."
I stopped reading, and shuddered. Although it was my idea, I regretted reading about the sirens. Honestly, it was starting to creep me out.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to read this. . . You're still young, and- " he started to close the book shut.
"Wait," I said, stopping him. "Wait. . . just a few more pages."
Brayden nodded reluctantly. "Continue."
I read more than I ever wanted to learn about sirens. I turned to the next page and stopped. It was a picture.
I stared at the woman in awe and horror. Indeed, she was very beautiful. . . with flowing long, hair that matched the color of the sunset. Her face was pale, with just enough color in her cheeks to indicate that she was alive. And although it was ghostly pale, she seemed to be attracting in a haunting way. Her thick hair was coving most of her body, but I noticed that she had a shimmering fishlike tail where there normally should have been a pair of legs. . . . Sirenism is a rare gift very few women of any type of creature are born with . . . This one was obviously a mermaid. I continued to read. "Although it is almost impossible to escape a siren's wrath, there is one difficult way it can be done. The lover of the victim must take their own life, giving the victim the choice to escape."
I started to turn to the next page when Brayden slammed the book shut, moving it away from my reach. "That's enough, Princess." He said, tucking the book under his arm.
"Wait-" But before I said anymore, I stopped myself and nodded.
We sat silently for a few moments, when Brayden finally spoke up. "Why did you ask to study sirens, Princess?" he questioned silently.
I paused and shrugged. "I was curious." Although that wasn't the TOTAL truth, I still wasn't lying.
"I see. . ." He rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "Have you. . . ever happen to come across one?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"What??" I asked, facing him.
"Never mind, Princess," he said, slightly chuckling to himself. He lifted his head. "What am I saying. . . you're still young. . . you're a lady. . ."
"Brayden, are you alright?? You're acting kind of strange. . ."
"I'm fine." He stood up from his seat. "Lesson's over. See you next time, Princess." He bowed.
"Alright. . ." I stood up and left the study.
Moments later I arrived in my bedroom. I threw myself onto my bed. It was only when I tried to lay still that I realized I was shaking. Brayden was acting pretty strange today. . . I wonder what that was all about. I sighed. He was probably just stressed out. I had interfered with his lesson plan, after all.
I was about to nod off to sleep when something caught the corner of my eye. . . I sat up to take a better look. The fairy book! It was lying on the corner of the small marble table next to my bed. Annabelle must have picked it up after I threw it the last time.
Cautiously, I reached for that evil, evil book of lies. The one that informed me of father's mistake, which wasn't exactly a lie, but I was better off not knowing about it. The one that told me Nate loved me. Stupid, stupid book. If only I could believe it. . .
I flipped open the front leather cover.
*December 29. *
Yet again it was a different journal entry. . . It was dated for yesterday.
*Although I have just arrived home from Kyrria, I must attempt to take over King Charmont's failed mission. Tomarrow some of Father's armed men and I leave for the Elve's Forest to hunt for the ogres. I don't know why Father's sending me off to do this, I'm only sixteen! I pointed this out to him, but, as I feared, he said that I wasn't a child anymore and that if I couldn't capture a few ogres, I wouldn't be able to take his place as duke. I could really care less. *
I stopped reading. This was Nate's journal entry! My heart began to race. I slammed the book shut, and as I did, I noticed something about the cover. It wasn't much, actually, with a plain brown leather cover that was missing a title. My eyes widened.
I wasn't the only one in the palace with a magical fairy book.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!!
