Anyhow, I got a review asking where Anamaria was, and I guess I forgot about her at the time. So Ananamaria's just not in this story. Although I do like her, she's a good character. I don't enjoy when stories hate on her...
Disclaimer: I don't own POTC.
"Lovely." mumbled Jack as he slowly got closer and closer to the edge of the boat. Elizabeth didn't know what to do. What could she do? Then it came to her.
She opened her mouth and shrieked, long and loud. She saw Will wince, spurring her on to yell louder. Jack blinked and moved back to the center of the boat.
The Black Pearl jolted violently.
Elizabeth fought terribly to stay on her feet, still screaming, as she ran shakily towards her two friends, grabbing their arms and towing them roughly to the Captain's Cabin. There she let go of their arms, and sat down on Jack's bed.
"What was that?" asked Will, shaking his head roughly and staring out the window, his eyes wild and unfocused.
"It keeps playin' in my head." mumbled Jack in a low voice. "I hear 'em callin' my name." Elizabeth pondered for a moment.
"It was a siren." she said finally, hoping that they wouldn't think she was insane. Though I can't imagine why they would.
"What's a siren?" asked Will, obviously still somewhat confused.
"A siren," explained Elizabeth, digging into the back of her mind, searching for her childhood memories. "Is a type of mermaid. They sing to lure men into the sea. If they like what they lure, they carry them to their islands, and use them for immortalization." Jack looked confused but seemed to be taking this quite well.
"How do they 'use' them?" he asked gruffly.
"Well," stammered Elizabeth, blushing very slightly. "If I remember the stories, they, erm, 'bed' them..." Elizabeth was turning red.
"I suggest we sail away." said Will.
A mighty crack stopped anyone from moving. "The helm." muttered Jack, running out of the Captain's cabin and to the steering wheel of the Pearl.
Then the singing started again. Will and Elizabeth watched through the Captain's window, watching Jack struggle against the beautiful singing.
"Stay here." Elizabeth ordered Will, running up to the helm and catching Sparrow by the arm.
But he was too strong. He pulled away supposedly of his own accord and dove over the side of the Pearl, into the deep, menacing waters of the ocean. "Jack!" called Elizabeth.
Will came running up. The continuing singing had an instant effect on him. He was caught.
He too dove in after Jack. Elizabeth had no choice but to dive in after them, hoping that the sirens liked what they saw and dragged them to shore.
The coolness of the water was unexpected, although she had been bracing herself for it.
The salt stung her eyes as she dove under, searching for Will and Jack. There was a glimmer of pink in the water. The sirens. They had apparently liked the male specimens that had dove into the water and were taking them to a nearby island.
Elizabeth swam towards the island.
When she got there, she saw Will and Jack, both lying on the sandy beach of the island, unconscious.
Five sirens were fawning over them, whispering quietly. Each of them was completely different, but they were all beautiful. But beauty was usually misleading.
One was all pink, the other pure red, another shimmering black, one a deep blue, and the last a fiery gold. "Get away from them." she said coldly, picking up a large rock and bracing it menacingly, holding it above her head as a weapon.
The five sirens hissed and shrank back into the water, sliding over the trails of seaweed.
Elizabeth kneeled beside her two friends, checking their pulses and feeling their foreheads. They were fine. How they had been knocked out, she didn't know, and didn't really care to. Now all she could do was wait.
A slight gasp came from the water. It was another. Elizabeth held up her rock, meaning to threaten the thing. It was beautiful. It's skin was tanned, tinged with blue, and it's scales emerald green, tipped with gold. It's hair was more than a meter long, sun-bleached and wavy. And it had the most stunning eyes of orange. Long twists of seaweed had been twisted around the siren's torso, creating a makeshift shirt.
Elizabeth stood motionless for a moment. Then she raised her arm higher, swearing that if the siren didn't leave in a minute, she'd throw it.
"I don't mean any harm." said the creature, it's voice sounding strangely foreign. It had some sort of accent. Or maybe it was just a trace of song. "I know how to revive them. You'll never figure out how to do it on your own." it said quietly.
"What do you want?" hissed Elizabeth menacingly. "Because if you want them," she said motioning towards her two unconscious friends. "you can't have them."
"I mean no harm." repeated the siren, this time a little louder. "I am different from my sisters. I don't believe in killing men for our own benefits. Not after the last ship that crashed..." her musical voice trailed off.
"You're trying to trick me." said Elizabeth coldly. "It won't work."
"No tricks." said the siren. It could see the distrust in the human's eyes. She sighed sadly, wishing she was not what she was. "What can I do to get you to trust me?"
The siren's voice had changed slightly at these words. It had become less musical, and more familiarly accented. Slightly Irish, a little bit of British, and a small pit of Spanish. It was as if the being was speaking several languages at once.
"I could give you my word." the creature offered.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Words are easily broken."
"Then my life." it said serenely. "If I do not fulfill my promise of not killing your companions, you may kill me."
Elizabeth wasn't completely satisfied, but had no other choice. The siren was probably right. She would never revive them on her own. They were in some sort of trance.
"All right." she said. "But one false move and I will kill you."
The siren nodded. "I am Naiya." it introduced, it's voice resuming it's song-like quality.
"Elizabeth." said Elizabeth, nodding.
"Ahh." said Naiya thoughtfully. "Consecrated to God. I am sure you have been adequately named."
"I don't know." said Elizabeth, looking at the siren strangely.
"What are their names?" asked Naiya, dragging herself out of the water and onto the shore with it's slithering arms.
"Will and Jack." said Elizabeth, pointing to each of their unconscious forms.
"Protector, " murmured Naiya. "And merciful."
"How do you know the meanings of their names?" Elizabeth asked, curious as to just how much Naiya knew.
"Learning." said Naiya simply, finally pulling herself alongside of the two men. "I myself am named after a water nymph."
The siren closed her eyes, murmuring delicately in a sort of foreign language.
Both Will and Jack's eyes sprang open, and they both sat up suddenly, surprised at their location.
"What happened?" asked Will dazedly. He noticed the strangely colored creature next to him and scrambled away from it.
Jack remained silent and stared at the siren, into it's glowing, tawny eyes.
"So this is a siren." he mumbled huskily.
"Are you all right?" asked Elizabeth loudly, hoping to direct both Jack and Will's attention away from the siren.
"Fine." said Will, standing up and staring at the siren with Jack.
"This is Naiya." introduced Elizabeth.
"So this is a siren." repeated Jack, his voice louder than before.
"I should be going." said Naiya, her voice abandoning the song-like quality, and once again speaking all languages at once.
She slipped into the water, her wavy, sun-bleached hair trailing in after her. "I will come back with food soon. Treat them with care."
Elizabeth nodded.
The siren disappeared into the salty water silently. A sharp glint of gold in the distance showed that Naiya had traveled several hundred yards in a short time.
"She was beautiful." stated Jack simply.
"She saved your lives." replied Elizabeth.
Will remained silent. "This might seem strange," he said after a long while. "but I think I was dead."
Jack nodded. "I know what you mean, mate. It was like I was in another world."
"Just hope you never feel like that again." advised Elizabeth, staring out into the sea. "I have no doubt that you will not survive next time."