I staggered in, carrying two pails of water from the well on the hill.

"They always have to put wells on hills, don't they?" I muttered.

My sister was standing over the counter, chopping up carrots and peas for soup. She turned when she heard me come in.

"Here, let me help you with that." She came forward and took one of the water pails, and placed it over the fire. I put the other pail in the corner, next to the broom closet.

"Do you think father will catch a fish for us to put in the soup?" Eleri asked me, as she turned back to the vegetables.

"To be honest, I don't know. He has been so distant ever since mother left." I began wiping off the table to prepare for supper.

Our father was a sailor, and a fisherman, or he used to be. That was how he met my mother. He used to tell the tale of how he met her often.

"Well," he'd start, "I was out on the fishing boat, in the bay. I had been out there all day, and had not caught a single fish. I was preparing to head back in, when I heard this wonderful singing. I was entrance, and decided to stay a little longer. The fish started biting. I must have caught ten carp in a few minutes, more than I had every caught in a day! Then I saw this woman rise from the water, on the shore. I rowed in, and greeted her. She was wearing a sea green dress that seemed to blend with the foam of the waves as they lapped against the shore. Her hair of dark black, and soaking wet. Enchanted, I invited her into my hut, to warm up. She accepted, and within a few months we were married. Ten years later, and we had you three!" He'd tell us.

When Merlyn was about seven, and Eleri was ten our mother left. She had gone for a walk along the sea. I was twelve. As I was churning butter, I heard her singing, a mourning song about missing the sea. It went something like this:

Mother, Father

Wings of the sea

Listening to crashing of the waves

Makes me want to be free

Churning, twirling,

Deep green sea

I feel so trapped

I just want to be free

Lonesome it is

Without you here

Everything is changing,

Like the churning sea

There was more, but I no longer remember. My attention was called away by my sister, Merlyn, who needed help with her sewing. She was preparing a quilt for mother, with images of mermaids and seagulls. In the center was our mother.

I heard the call of a falcon, and rushed to the window. Merlyn came up next to me. Our mother was gone. All that was left of her was her sea green gown, and a pair of slippers. A falcon circled above, calling. A merlin falcon.

Our father was distraught at the disappearance of his beautiful wife. When the villagers questioned us, we didn't know what to say. People began saying things.

There were many stories of what happened to our mother. Most believe she ran away with some handsome sailor. My sisters and I didn't believe the tale.

As I finished cleaning the table, my father came in. His face was weary, and in his hand he held a bag. Eleri, went over to him, and planted a kiss on his cheek. He dumped the bag out onto the table.

It was a fish. Eleri quickly gutted it and began cooking it. Our father sat down on the table and cleared his throat. We look at him expectantly.

"Girls, you know your mother has been missing for about five years." We nodded. He sighed and continued. "Well, I believe you girls need a mother," Eleri opened her mouth to speak, but our father held out his hand to stop her. "So I have decided to remarry."

The call of a falcon rang through the silence. Eleri and I were stunned at father's words. I was the first to speak.

"What! Why are you remarrying? Have you forgotten about mother?" I was hysterical.

My father remained calm. "Hush, Redynvre. No, I have not forgotten your mother. You are almost seventeen, and you need someone to teach you how to be a woman. I can't have you running around on horseback, shooting arrows. You need to be tamed, so you can find a husband."

"What if I don't want to get married?" I asked, my green eyes flaring angrily.

"We need you to marry, so we can continue living the way we do. We are not rich, and fishing has been poor. We need help." He sighed again.

I turned my back, silent. A falcon called again. Something about that call was familiar . . .

Merlyn burst into the kitchen. "Redynvre, it's the merlin bird, from when mother disappeared!" she announced, breathless.

I rose up, Eleri and my father looked at us, questioning.

"Follow me." Merlyn began running down to the beach. We followed, as fast as our feet could carry us. My father was in front, right behind Merlyn.

We arrived as a figure rose from the waves. It was mother.

"Mairenn!" My father was breathless. He stared at her entranced.

"Yes Rhys, it's me." My mother's voice was soft and understanding. At first we just stood there, unsure of what to do. She opened her arms, and we ran into them, enclosed in a salty embrace.

A merlin falcon cried, as it circled overhead. Mother raised her arm, and the falcon came down to rest on her wrist.

We looked at the bird, then at her surprised.

"I believe you have a lot of explaining to do Mairenn." My father said softly. He was smiling, for the first time in five years.

We all sat around the cherry wood table, each with a cup of steaming hot tea. Mother's hair was still wet, though she had changed her dress. We smiled at her expectantly. She put her cup down and began,

"When your father found me, I had risen out of the sea. I was curious about what life was like above the water." At our inquisitive looks, she laughed, a clear, ringing sound.

"Maybe I should start at the very beginning. I am a siren. You, my children, are half faerie." We were surprised.

"Can we do magic?" Merlyn asked.

"Yes, you can. Each of you have a talent. Merlyn, you have the talent to ken with birds. I used to watch you when you were young, as you would call down the seagulls. Eleri, you take after me. You are a siren as well, though you will not be able to use your power until you are older. And Redynvre. You are the most powerful of us all. You have power over the elements. All of them."

We glanced at each other, surprised. I was stunned. I was really that powerful?

"Anyway, when I rose out of the water, your father was the first human I met. He invited me to his home. I was enchanted by him, and he was entranced by me." My father grinned sheepishly. "We fell in love. I remained out of the sea for twelve years. But I grew lonesome. I missed my family under the sea. Time goes slowly under the water. I left for a visit, and stayed for a year. However, though I had not forgotten you, I had forgotten how fast time goes on land. I was on my way back when I heard your father talking of remarrying. Since I still loved him, I came back as quickly as possible, hoping I was not too late. And I am pleased to see, I wasn't."

My father smiled adoringly at her.

And so our family was reunited.

My sisters and I began lessons in our magic the next day. Merlyn had control over hers already, she was learning how to call down different species of birds. Eleri studies about sirens, learning what she would be like when she grew older. I studied with Eleri and Merlyn, as my power would one day expand to both their fields and magic and more.

I wandered the row, glancing at the shining jewels and exotic spices. Father will be needing me back soon, I thought to myself.

I began making my way towards the fishing booth, where my father and Eleri stood with baskets of fish in front of them.

I paused to look at a fine bolt of silk. It was a deep crimson. On the end were tassels of the finest silk threads. On the ends of the tassels were small ornaments, each one a different charm. A tiger charm caught my eye, hanging above me in the stall. It shimmered and twisted on it's string, calling to me. I checked the price. 60 Lims! That would pay for a year's worth of food for my whole family.

Discouraged, I backed away, right into a young man. He looked up at me and grinned. His eyes shined mischievously. His hair was a sandy blond, and across the bridge of his nose was a light sprinkling of freckles. I became aware of my dirty kitchen dress, my brown hair tied back with a dark blue kerchief. I can imagine my face was smudged with dirt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." He said his voice light and fringed with laughter.

"No, it's my fault, I assure you." I replied quickly, slightly embarrassed. "Any way, I must be on my way."

I hurried over to my father, who was counting the day's profit and watching me. He looked at me questioningly, but when I didn't acknowledge him he returned to counting the money.

Merlyn and Mother were behind the stall, Merlyn learning to call down a peregrine falcon Mother had found in the cliffs.

"15 Lims!" my father announced. We all turned to look at him, astonished. That was the most we made in a long time. Since my mother had returned, the fish were biting like crazy. My father could not go on a fishing trip without bringing home at least ten good sized fish. It had been a prosperous year.

My sisters and I were excelling in out studies of magic. I learned how to call storms, and talk to animals among other accomplishments. My mother also began teaching us archery, swordsmanship and wrestling, as well as better household skills such as cooking and cleaning. I preferred to hang out in the woods communing with the tree spirits, or climbing the cliffs overlooking the seas and just watching the waves crash against the rocks.

Every few days my family would go to the market to sell fish, and my mother would sell her weavings.

There was a rumor going around that the King was to be visiting the village. His wife, the queen had fallen ill, and he had heard there was a skilled healer in our village. However, the healer he had heard of passed away the winter before, leaving me the only person in the village with the magic to heal with. My family dismissed it as a rumor, until a messenger came through the village, announcing the King would be arriving in a few days.

That was when the trouble began.

Yeah, some of you may remember this story from forever ago, when as one of my first stories posted. I removed it to finish it and thought about getting it pubslihed, but i don't think it is original enough, so i am posting it here for you guys to give me your thoughts. None of the chapters have been revised, but they have been altered as far as combining chapters etc. so just let me know what you think!