Spell of the Siren's Voice
Disclaimer: Count/Earl Cain rightfully belongs to Kaori Yuki. Under no circumstances do I claim ownership of the original characters, but I do happen to own the plot and my own imaginative characters.
Thank Yous: Thank you Fanfiction for hosting my fanfic and thank you SakuraCrisis for showing just how great Kaori Yuki's works really are: dark, gruesome, and humorous with such suspense and horror.
Chapter 1: The Siren
The light of the full moon shone through the small cracks between the curtains in a dark unlit room. Two figures were seen talking to one another while the third one lay silent and hidden in the darkness…
"Jezebel, as the Soul Taker, you do realize that the blue moon approaches quickly and we are running out of time…-"
"I know."
"This is no time for child's play. We must move quickly and cleanly."
"But seeing their suffering truly does amuse me so dear father."
"Enough! I'm sending someone to assist you to assassinate the rest of the approving sacrifices. Siren, you may come out now."
In the dark unlit corner of the room emerged the third person, a young woman. Her pale face was covered by the darkness and she bowed to her master.
"I am at your service Card Master, Soul Taker."
When the Siren finished greeting the two men she looked up to glare at Jezebel. Jezebel saw her glaring at him and he noticed the emotionless void in her ice blue eyes. He studied her quickly and saw that she wore a white shirt, a black vest and a long black dress. He also saw a sapphire pendant around her neck.
"Jezebel, this is your new assistant, also known as The Siren of the Minor Arcana. I trust that with her abilities you will move much faster."
"I do not need any help from this minor...-"
"Yes you do. And you shall not question my orders either. And while you're gathering the sacrifices do not let the doll interfere...I have warned you countless times, and if he is harmed, you'll know the punishment."
"I understand."
"Don't worry my dear son; you'll have your chance when the time is right. In the meantime, you two are free to spend some time with each other. Now leave."
The two bowed and left the room. Jezebel was in deep thought while the Siren followed silently behind Jezebel, staring at the ground while walking slowly.
Cain…the one that I love dearly, yet enough love to want him to die because of his sin…
"I can hear your thoughts quite clearly you know…" The Siren spoke her first words to Jezebel, still staring at the ground. Jezebel turned around and smirked at his new assistant.
"So…you can read minds…well then I should be more careful when I am thinking to myself. By the way…what is your name?" Jezebel asked out of curiosity. The Siren stopped and slowly looked up to face Jezebel eye to eye. Jezebel could see the paleness of her beautiful face and the emptiness in her eyes as though she was possessed.
"My name is Shinah." She had a beautiful voice, but it was cold and it could send shivers up anyone's spine. But her voice did not affect Jezebel in the slightest bit.
"Well Shinah, your first task will begin in two days. In the meantime, you should get some rest."
"Very well Soul Taker, may you have a good night's sleep."
"You may call me Jezebel." The Siren bowed and bided him goodnight. They both departed to their room as they walked away in opposite directions. The sapphire pendant that hung around Shinah's neck glowed. Shinah suddenly stopped walking and her voice became very dark.
"You have dark secrets within you that you don't want getting out. You are burdened with a sad and lonely life. You long to feel love but you know you cannot have it until you know for sure that Cain is out of the way…" Jezebel stopped as he heard what she had said. He was shocked and puzzled as to how Shinah could've known something like that, but as he turned around to ask her something, Shinah was gone.
As Jezebel tried to sleep, he kept thinking about what Shinah had said, and how her words kept ringing in his mind every second that past.
"You have dark secrets within you that you don't want getting out. You are burdened with a sad and lonely life."
It was the next morning when the sun shone through the windows of the Hargreaves residence, currently inhabited by Count Cain.
Cain was sleeping peacefully when the sun shone through his eyes, causing him to awake. Cain sat up strait on his bed and noticed Riff folding his newly washed clothes.
"Good morning young master." Riff said with a smile.
"And good morning to you Riff." Cain stood up and stretched. The door was closed so Riff took this as the opportunity to help Cain get dressed. As soon as Cain finished the last button of his shirt, Merryweather stormed into the room happily and gave him a big hug. Cain smiled and patted his beloved sister on the head.
"Good morning brother! You're going to take me shopping today right?" Merryweather said happily. Cain thought about it for a while, teasing Merryweather about whether or not they should go and asking if she was a good girl today. Riff found it amusing to watch Cain tease his younger half sister.
After a while, Cain agreed to take Merryweather out shopping seeing as how he had nothing else to do. Riff helped put on Cain's and Merryweather's coats and off they went into town.
Many people were out shopping, all gossiping and talking happily amongst themselves. The women were looking at the latest style of dresses while the men were rushing about worrying about taxes and their wives.
Merryweather looked left to right until she spotted a toy shop up ahead.
"Brother! Can we go to the toy shop?" Merryweather asked while tugging on Cain's arm.
"Merryweather, don't you have enough toys at home?" Cain asked with a sigh while looking at Merryweather with sympathetic eyes.
"I got bored of them. Please can we go?" Merryweather pleaded using her most effective pout and puppy eyed look that she was most famous for. Cain thought about it for a moment ignoring the face Merryweather was making. Well, she does have a point. Cain didn't take another second longer to think and agreed to buy some new toys for Merryweather.
"Yay!!" Merryweather shouted with glee. Riff smiled seeing as how happy Merryweather was. They walked into the toy shop as Merryweather went to look at all the toys on the shelves.
Cain and Riff stood near the doorway and watched Merryweather attentively. Cain suddenly remembered something.
"Riff, I need to go to the antique shop, watch Merryweather for me, ok?" Cain asked. Riff nodded. "Merryweather, I'm going to the antique shop. Riff will look after you and he'll pay for the toys you want to buy." Merryweather looked up to her brother and said goodbye. She then resumed to looking at the rest of the toys.
"Be careful Master Cain." Riff said with a worried look.
"Don't worry Riff, I'll be fine. I just have to do something for a little while. I'll be back as soon as possible." And with that, Cain walked out the door.
It was moments later when Cain finally spotted the antique shop. When he went in, he saw dust flying everywhere and cobwebs hung low in the corners of the ceiling. This of course wasn't unusual for Cain seeing as how he visited the antique shop often. He then spotted a person at the counter and smiled.
"I take it that you have the poison Mr. Collins."
"Yes, indeed I have it." The old man which seemed to be Mr. Collins looked to be about in his late 40's. He gave Cain a small bottle of forest green liquid. "This poison is called Death's Punishment which comes from the heart of Africa. Shamans have used this poison for centuries to kill those who have defied the laws of their religion. Once the person drinks it, their body will become paralyzed and they will suffer the most excruciating pain possible as they experience their darkest nightmares, secrets and their past and it will consume their minds, leading them towards agony, insanity, torture and death. But be very careful with this poison, it's dangerous and very rare. If it's not used correctly, it could destroy you."
"Don't worry; I'll take very good care of my new child." Cain seemed very interested in the effects of the poison. He was about to pay for it when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He walked towards a shelf and he noticed a very old book with a lock. There was something strange about the book he couldn't quite figure out. It was brown and it had a gold binding. There were many pictures of angels, sirens, witches and all sorts of fairytale and mythical creatures. He stared at it for quite some time. Its mysterious aura captivated him until Mr. Collins spoke.
"It's a beauty eh? That book has been passed down generations after generations from one of the oldest families known. It contains quite a bit of history and the book itself has many secrets." Mr. Collins smiled as Cain looked at him with a curious.
"Tell me Mr. Collins, is the book for sale?" Cain asked.
"Why of course it's for sale. Why else would it be on the shelf?" Mr. Collins replied with much amusement to Cain's delight.
"I'll take it then." Cain smiled, paying for both the poison and the book.
After saying their goodbyes, Cain left the shop, holding a bag that contained his newly bought items, and headed back to the toy store. While he was walking, he passed by a strange person in a large brown cloak. He sensed something strange but ignored it. He then heard a voice:
"Your sin is the curse that God has given to you. You're surrounded by death wherever you go. Your life has been stained by blood and the ones you love the most shall perish. You have very little hope of finding happiness in your life, and breaking the curse is more difficult than you think."
Cain was shocked, but when he turned to see who had said those words to him, all he noticed was a crowed of gossiping women and a piece of brown cloth being blown in the sky. Cain turned back and pretended as though nothing had happened.
In the toy store, Merryweather was still looking for a toy to buy. Suddenly, music started playing from behind her. She looked behind to see where the music was coming from. It was coming from a small music box on the shelf in the far corner from the opposite wall. The music was hypnotizing her, causing her to go to towards the music box. As soon as she neared it, the music stopped playing. Merryweather was out of her hypnotic daze and she noticed how beautiful the music box was. There were 5 beautiful maidens who were singing on a rock in the sea and a boat was swimming towards them.
Merryweather decided to buy the music box and Riff paid for it. The store owner was curious as to how that music box got into her shop as she claims to never have seen it before but Riff assured her that she probably forgot about it after the years that it's been on the shelf untouched by the customers. But nonetheless, the music box was paid for and Merryweather happily walked outside to look for Cain.
The storeowner waved goodbye to Merryweather and smiled at her. She then started to wonder.
"I'm very sure I have never seen that music box before…I always check all the toys I'm selling so I can clean them and fix any that have been broken…strange…" The storeowner shrugged the thought off and continued to serve the other young happy customers. "Maybe that man was right, I must be losing my memory."
As Riff and Merryweather walked out of the shop, they met up with Cain.
"Brother! I bought a new music box!" Merryweather said happily. She then noticed Cain holding a bag. "What did you get brother?" Merryweather asked curiously.
"It's just something I got from the antique store." Cain replied.
"Don't tell me you got more poisons again…" Merryweather said with a sigh, she already knew what the answer was. Cain always went to that same antique shop to buy some new poisons for his collection.
"Come on Merryweather, it's time to go back home for lunch." Merryweather nodded and followed Riff and Cain home.
"Your sin is the curse that God has given to you."
Cain heard that voice again, and turned to see where the source was. Riff looked at Cain and wondered why Cain has been acting a bit strange.
"Are you alright Master Cain?" Riff asked. Cain turned to look at him with confused eyes.
"No Riff, I'm fine." But Riff knew that Cain wasn't fine. Something was bothering him and he was determined to find out what.
Cain kept wondering about the book and that person. He couldn't shake the feeling off his mind and the voice inside his head kept haunting him throughout the night…
To be continued…
I truly do hope you enjoyed my first Count Cain fanfic. I finally had the inspiration to write this chapter and wonderful ideas came to my mind as I kept writing. Ideas that will help my plot become a lot better! This in fact is my very first fanfic; well…not really, it's probably the first well written fanfic that I have made in quite some time. Some of you might've remembered one of my earlier fanfics: Beyblade Summer Cruise! But sadly…I had to end it because all inspiration was lost towards writing that fanfic. I am truly sorry to those who enjoyed it and maybe someday it could be brought back in the future. Anyways, enough with my rambling and please REVIEW!! Thank you!
Factors:
Doll – A term Delilah uses to refer to Cain.
Shinah – Pronounced as shy-nah. Her past and purpose will be revealed in time. Just have patience.
Sapphire Pendant – Will be revealed in upcoming chapters as the story continues.
Delilah's Plan – You'll find out soon enough.
Count/Earl Cain – Even though Earl is a much respectable status for him and I agree that his name should be Earl Cain, but I prefer Count because it sounds nicer. (Yes I know it's not a very good reason to call him Count, but please bear with me…if you like Earl, then imagine all words that say Count and change them to Earl as you read…)