A/N – Warning, there are mentions of death, so please read with care. There is also an important announcement at the end, so if it's not much of your time, please read it. Without further ado, happy reading! - Diwata
.
.
.
Another year passed and little Brielle was almost four.
Morning came and Melody and invited her to come down with her to eat breakfast.
They had a simple breakfast, scrambled eggs and sausages for protein, accompanied with apple slices for dessert and orange juice to push it all down.
Brielle was about to go to the living room when her mother's question stopped her mid-way.
"Brie, how about we go to Aunt Lia's place? Byron said he wanted to play with you since yesterday afternoon, but you were already fast asleep." Melody asked Brie as she put away the dirty dishes and washed her hands on the sink.
"Really? Then we have to go there! I wanna see what they're doing!" Brielle replied enthusiastically, running back to the kitchen to know about more.
"Then I take that as a yes, let's give you first a bath and then we can go there." Her mother said as she wiped her hands on a nearby kitchen towel.
"Yay!" Melody's daughter replied, jumping in excitement.
After a much needed bath and other essential things, they were off to the Kaito's residence.
Brielle grew up with her playmate Byron, who was her Uncle Chi and Aunt Lia's son.
At first she thought that she wasn't going to enjoy the company of another baby just because of her mental age, but she soon ate her words afterwards when Melody brought her to their place for the second time after the major party. (from the last chapter).
Her motherly instincts kicked in and she actually became a sort of older sister figure to her older friend. She would play with Byron with either his or her toys, as both weren't selfish to hoard all their toys for themselves.
Byron, although he was a baby, was quite fun to be with. He was a sweet baby boy and was always sharing with her his toys, which she found to be a very rare occurrence. It was also fairly amusing for Brielle when he would do stupid things that she already warned him not to do.
She got a good laugh that one time during dinner when Byron reached for a lemon slice on the table. She tried to pry the sour fruit away from his buttery hands, but he refused to, and made a large bite, to which he immediately regretted.
She laughed at his facial expression and wore a face that screamed 'I told you so'.
That taught Byron to always listen to her in any way.
Melody, who was holding Brielle by the hand, ringed the doorbell on the gate of the house in front of her. She was greeted by Chiko on his way out for work and welcomed them inside. He then left in a hurry, presumably to his workshop.
They entered inside the house and was greeted with an overly excited boy. Byron appeared from the kitchen, bounced in excitement and happily approached the two.
"Brielle! You're here! Hi Aunt Mel!" Byron said excitedly, he ran and sat himself next to Brielle on the high sofa and swung his feet rhythmically.
Ophelia came out of the kitchen soon after her, and greeted her guests with a tray of refreshments for them to drink.
"Hi Byron! Hi Aunt Lia!" Brielle greeted with a smile.
"Hi Lia, hello there Byron, I brought Brielle just like you've asked." Melody teased the boy lightly as he had taken a liking to her daughter.
She knew it was platonic, but she never missed a beat to tease her kinda-nephew.
"Aunt Mel!" Byron half-shouted, his cheeks tinted red. Embarrassed by the comment, he pouted and crossed his arms in reponse.
"Hello Mel, hello to you too Brielle, and don't be mad Byron, Aunt Mel was just teasing you. Now, why don't you go with Brielle, your Aunt and I are gonna have an adult-talk now." Ophelia said as she ushered the children to play by the sidelines.
"Okay Mama, common Brie! Let's go play!" Byron said with a smile, and tugged on Brielle's wrist towards their usual play area.
"So, what are we gonna play today?" Brielle asked Byron as he was looking for something in his toy box.
"Hmmmm, I dunno, what do you want to play?" The blonde boy asked, and closed off the box to look at Brielle.
"Well, how about we draw something?" Brielle suggested and reached for her mini backpack.
"Draw? What kinda game is that?" Byron asked his friend partially confused.
"Drawing isn't a game silly, it's like you look at something, and try to uhh, wait, let me just show you."
Brielle prompted as she sat down near a low table and placed her pad paper and box of crayons she brought with her.
She patted her hand on a chair next to her and Byron sat next to her curious about what the 'drawing thing' was.
She tore a piece of paper from her pad, and gave it to him, she also lent him her crayons.
"It's like this, you see the flowers on the vase?" Brielle pointed at a flower vase filled with fresh flowers.
"Yeah"
"Well, I try to copy it using my hands! I use a crayon and uh, try to make it look like the flowers!" Brielle tried her best to explain without using complicated words.
She then proceeded to draw the said flowers using her different colored crayons. When she finished, she showed it to Byron.
It was indeed the same flowers, just with a different color scheme. Brielle actually drew quite well for an almost four year old and it amazed the boy that he was intrigued by her talent.
"Ohhhh so it's like that huh." He nodded to himself in understanding.
"See? It's really fun to do! Here, use this and try it for yourself!" Brielle offered a crayon and giggled as she encouraged her playmate to try and do the activity.
"A-Alright" Byron replied and gave himself a try. He reached for the crayon offered to him and began drawing on the blank piece of white paper.
Brielle watched closely at what he was drawing. He looked like he enjoyed the newfound activity and drew a bunch of little drawings on the paper, but one stood out among the rest.
When Byron deemed himself to be done, he proudly showed his friend his very first set of drawings.
"This is a drawing of you and me. I know, it's not as good as yours, but, I hope you like it! It's all yours!" He beamed at her, and she felt her heart melt into goo at the drawing.
It was a drawing of the two of them of what looked like them playing with their toys. It was not the best looking drawing, but she could care less of how it looked, because all that mattered was the thought and how diabetically sweet it was.
"Awww! I love it! Thank youuuu!" Brielle thank Byron and gave him a big hug.
The two laughed, and gained the attention of the two adults who secretly watched their interactions.
"L-Lia! H-help! m-my heart ughhh….!" Melody said as she clutched her chest and leaned over Ophelia for support.
"I feel you Mel…! Ahhh they're so cute!" Ophelia replied as they gushed over their children.
"Should we set up an arranged marriage now Lia? I'm sure Alex would certainly agree!"
"And I suppose Chiko won't say no too! I know so!"
Both ladies laughed heartily at their words and the two jokingly began a secret agreement between their respective children.
"Mom, what the heck." Brielle thought as she overheard her mom and aunt's sketchy conversation, and quivered at the idea. She squinted her eyes at the two women and decided to pay no mind to their conversation.
Like she would agree to that arranged marriage without her consent, absolutely not! Her household was a democracy!
"Ophie dear! I'm back!" Chiko's voice was heard loud and clear inside the house, his presence was quickly noticed.
"Ah! Papa's here! Hi Papa!" Byron exclaimed and hurriedly went to greet his father in the living room.
"Hi son." Chiko hugged his son in a big bear hug before he let him down in one swift movement, earning a laugh from Byron.
"Now come here, I got something for you and your friend here."
Those words immediately gained the attention of the two kids.
Brielle followed after Byron, and greeted the man with a bow. Chiko gave his kinda-niece a rub on the head and a big toothy smile.
"Hello Uncle Chi"
"Hey there kiddo, now, I got a surprise for you two."
That statement caught Brielle's attention, she was a sucker for surprises and it never ceased to bore her.
Chiko pulled something out of a large bag and showed the two children what it was.
Brielle's eyes sparkled at the instrument before her. Chiko gave her a black bag, and in it, was an ukulele which seemed to be crafted by none other than the man himself.
"I heard from your mom that you've been interested in music, and you're birthday's coming up real soon, right Brielle? So, this is an early gift from your Uncle."
Chiko handed the instrument over to the anticipating kid. The moment her hands touched the gift, she felt herself connect with the instrument immediately.
"Your Aunt Lia can help you learn how to play it, it's fairly easy to play, and I know you'll like it." Chiko smiled at the positive reaction Brielle gave him when he handed his gift.
It was like déjà vu and the familiar strings of the ukulele felt so natural to her touch. She admired the careful craftsmanship of the stringed instrument. She knew her uncle was a skilled craftsman but this really heightened her standards.
It was a beautiful wooden ukulele with intricate carvings along the neck and body. It was truly a work of art and she could very much cry at the sight of the instrument.
"T-thank you so much Uncle Chi! I love it!" Brielle exclaimed with pure joy and had nothing else to say than strings of gratitude for the man.
"Oh! And don't forget about this, it's something that your Aunt Lia thought of to accompany the ukulele, it's supposed to make the pitch go higher." Her uncle gave another small present, which looked like a make shift capo.
Brielle couldn't thank the family enough for giving her such a wonderful gift.
Byron on the other hand, received a flute with the same intricacy as Brielle's ukulele, and was more than happy to receive another gift from his father. He thanked his dad and the two children began experimenting with their brand new instruments.
After a quick *merienda, Brielle and Melody spent the day there, before headed back home at four in the afternoon.
Brielle's excitement haven't subsided once she got her hands on her precious ukulele.
She settled in her room, and reached for an unused little notebook she's been keeping for a while inside her drawer and decided it would be her new little songbook.
When the familiar instrument touched her fingertips, she was reminded of all the songs she's ever learned to play on the ukulele.
Back in her past life, she bought an ukulele on a whim, and although she had her interests, she never really knew how to play it.
So, she taught herself how to play, and as expected, it was a lot easier to play than the guitar. Soon enough she's learned quite a lot of songs already and with months of practice, became a decent ukulele player.
With little muscle memory of her playing the different chords and strumming patterns, she had to get used to it all over again, not to mention having to tune the ukulele every single day as the strings were new and it needs to get stretched to a certain length until its permanent and hold their tune well.
"Alright let's start with a simple C chord…" Brielle muttered to herself and placed a single finger on the fourth string of the third fret.
She strummed, and what came out of the instrument was a beautiful shrill sound that vibrated in the hollow inside of the instrument.
"Aaahhh I've missed playing the ukulele." She sighed happily, and proceeded to relearn the playing the ukulele for the next months.
.
.
.
Another year passed during Brielle's peaceful stay in Toroa, West Blue and it was filled with happy memories that she would soon keep very dearly.
Her father came home, and the little girl was more than happy to see his loving father again.
It was during this specific stay when she found out that his father, was in fact, an amazing dancer. It all happened at yet another party that her mother held for him.
She convinced him enough to show off his skills, for both his daughter and the townspeople to see.
Brielle was confused at first, but sat tight to watch how the events unfold.
Surprised was the only thing that could describe what she saw and what she felt.
Her father was utterly amazing on the dance floor. His moves were fluid and precise like water, and he was always on beat with the drums and bass that thumped in the room.
She didn't know her father harbored a secret like this, she was mesmerized by his movement. It was like the people around him were entranced, and allured them like an enchantress would, while Melody looked at the scene in amusement.
His talents were displayed and his dancing styles weren't for a single genre of dance either. It seemed like God has blessed him too much, overfilling the cup of talent her father owned.
The matine captain just so happened to know ballroom dances, social dances, hiphop, popping dance, and even r&b.
She wasn't ashamed to say she never fangirled so hard for her own father until that night.
After the dance-filled party, Brielle was determined to learn a thing or two from her father, to which he so gladly obliged.
She didn't really had that great of an interest in dancing before, but she did like the feeling of dancing and how much freedom it made her feel.
The only thing that prevented her from pursuing dance were her insecurities.
Since she was already dead-set on turning over a new leaf, she decided to give it a try for a change.
There was nothing inherently wrong about the idea, and she was up with trying new things, with the addition of the guidance from her father, there wasn't any real excuse for her not to do so.
Alexander was happy her daughter showed interest in dancing and immediately prompted to teach her everything he knew about dancing.
The following day he taught his little princess the basics of his dance, after a proper stretch and proceeded to watch over her daughter learn in pride.
Turns out, she did manage to inherit his genes when it comes to dancing. She was a natural, and followed the steps her father gave with ease.
The dance lessons continued for the course of his father's stay and acted as a kind of bonding time between father and daughter, and by the time he was to leave again, he encouraged Brielle to keep practicing while he was gone, and promised a mini dance battle by the time he returned.
Brielle was up for a challenge with her old man, and gladly accepted the offer. She once again said goodbye to her dad and continued to go on with her day.
Melody, on the other hand was contemplating on something.
She did not want to feel left behind forming a special bond with her daughter. So, she decided to teach her a special secret that she might be old enough to learn and need in the future.
With much thought and consideration, Melody made up her mind and later that day, she approached her daughter.
Brielle was currently practicing her moves in front of the mirror. She immediately stopped what she was doing when she saw her mother enter the room to listen to her mother.
Melody wasn't sure how to properly explain what she wanted to teach her daughter, but she did the best she could under the guise of…..singing lessons.
She thought it was the best approach, because for some time now, she had caught her daughter singing behind closed doors in an unfamiliar language.
Maybe she was just humming to something using incoherent words because of her influence. She hadn't really taught her any of her songs and she must have been imitating her.
Oftentimes she would sing to Brie, and she knows that her daughter loves her songs so much, that she would always ask her to sing more.
Maybe it was the right time for her to also hone her daughter's talent in singing.
From what she had heard, her daughter possessed a light and airy quality. Guess she could say proudly it came from her side of the genes, as her husband was a terrible singer (not to boost her ego or something).
Though inexperienced, she can conclude that her daughter already had it in her, and with a few polishing here and there, she reckons she'd become as good, if not better than her at singing in the near future.
The real lessons she wanted to teach her daughter for the most part, were a set of skills used to train the user's voice to do a wide variety of things. Most of which was very practical in surviving terrains with many enemies or lurking danger.
If trained hard enough, one can manipulate their voice to affect people in more ways than one. It was a special technique that only Melody's family line practiced and perfected for generations.
Her family were gifted with a lineage of beautiful voices, to which they mastered and honed flawlessly to develop attacks and defenses. It then became tradition and their family duty to pass down their knowledge for the next generations.
It was a series of techniques compiled and rightfully named as a book called "The Songs of a Siren".
It was a homage for their ancestors who created and contributed to its contents.
The true reason behind the creation of the book was a bit of an enigma, but the most plausible reason believed was because of the circumstances that pushed them on edge and against their will.
The book was made in response to the situation they encountered during that time, long, long ago.
A little over a hundred years ago, their ancestors lived a relatively peaceful life. However, after the changing tides and the creation of the World Government, things began to change for the worst.
A conflict arose between the World Government and her ancestors. Their vocal refusal to serve under them caused a large string of events that made them a major target of the World Government.
So much so that after a week of dispute, they were greeted with an army of marine ships equivalent to that of a Buster Call ready to blast them out of existence, and had the Cipher Pol dispatched at their necks.
How her ancestors survived after the onslaught was a mystery, but it was clear that the incident prompted them to flee for their lives and tread the knife for survival.
Since they weren't fighters by nature, they had to be creative and find a way to defend themselves from their hunters.
This lead to a development that paved the way to make use of their majestic voices.
They used it to attack, defend, and protect themselves from their pursuers and successfully stood their grounds against the World Government.
This events were kept under rags from civilian's eyes over the last a century to avoid a bad reputation, but her ancestors managed to keep themselves alive and even start anew under the radar of the World Government.
Time, ever so gracefully passed, and although the hunt was inevitably pulled back to avoid suspicion, Melody's ancestors continued their practices on to their children, grandchildren, so on and so forth if they were ever hunted again.
The Songs of a Siren altered the user's voice to become more flexible than rubber, and ranged to such lengths that no one outside their family could ever imagine the possibility.
A voice so enchanting, it made the hearers obey their every command and fall into submission, much like the emperor's will. In a very rare chance that the user did manage to possess such wills, then the effect would be amplified ten-fold.
A pitch so high that it could and pierce the enemies' eardrums and become deaf, both momentarily and permanently.
A pitch so low that it could cause the ground to quake in different magnitudes.
A voice so emotionally manipulative that could control other's emotions at will. If used proficiently can be utilized to tamper person's emotional state and make them vulnerable, which is always an advantage in large areas.
An otherworldly tune that made the hearers hallucinate vividly as if what they are imagining was reality itself.
A melody so addictive that not even a single soul that heard it could escape its immeasurable clutches.
The listeners were reduced into a zombie-like and scrambled on their feet just be near the source of the voices and once the singing stopped, they were driven into madness with side effects such as screeching and paranoia, and in rare cases, killed themselves from being unable to hear the addicting melody ever again. It was a form of sick torture.
And lastly, the most powerful of all, a song so deadly that it possessed the power to lure people to their deaths, much like a true siren.
It was said to be so intoxicating that anyone in the vicinity would throw away any logical thinking and absentmindedly began to follow whatever the song told them to. It was like a permanent hypnosis, under a spell of pleasure with a promise of death in it's wake.
It was like a moth to a fire, a fly caught inside a Venus flytrap.
Once heard, there was no turning back. The victims signed their deaths willingly, and accepted their demise.
Under the control of the quote on quote 'siren's' command, the user would sing a song about death, to which the listeners without resistance would do exactly what the song suggests them to do.
The original scenario was that the listeners killed each other with their fists, and those that remained drowned themselves into the deepest depths of the sea thinking it was a call from the heavens to leave the cruel world and enter paradise. It was a sick murder-suicide command.
It was completely up to the user's creativity on what the command wanted them to do as long as the victims died by the time the song ended.
It was the agreement embedded when using the song, however, there was always a catch to holding that amount of power.
That song was called "Elysium" and it was used strictly for dire situations, and was often advised not to use it in general. It was a kid of bet they didn't want to take.
It was like a double edged sword that might seemingly be the most powerful song, could potentially harm the user themselves if not skilled enough to perform the song. Its results were always unpredictable, but one thing was for certain. After it was sung, there would be death of some kind.
That was the fate of the original writer of the song. She ended her life shortly after she sang the complete song.
That person was the creator of most of the songs written within the book was a beautiful woman named Agatha.
In a desperate attempt to save her family from an unexpected ambush the ruthless marines, she sacrificed herself and held the group of bloodthirsty men away for her family for them to successfully escape.
It was a complete massacre. After the song, the smell of copper and corpses wafted in the air. It was suffocating, and every inch of the area was covered in crimson shades. A single bloody woman stood atop the carcasses of men, laughing in victory, in a fit of insanity before she fled the scene and ended her own life, never to be seen again.
It was believed that she had drowned herself, as what was left of her existence was a necklace that she always wore washed ashore and was later found by her relatives.
She was honored for her act of bravery and they held her name with high regards. She was remembered as a mighty fighter and savior.
The necklace was the last tangible relic left of her existence and it was a pearl necklace which was turned into a prized family heirloom that was passed from generation to generation.
It yellowed over time, and in the present day, was owned by none other than the loving mother Melody, the latest generation of her family tree.
Although Melody thought the history of her ancestors and how the book of said techniques made her stomach churn, it was unmistakably useful in combat certainly a handy thing to know considering the threats that the pirates nowadays brought on about.
She was also keen about her daughter's adventurous bouts, and it was something that would develop into a yearning escapade.
She was curious by nature, much like herself, and she could feel it in her intuition, that she would be out and exploring the world. Of course she wouldn't stop her from doing so, Brielle was free like a child under the sun, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
The solution she could come up with to ease her worries, was to teach her daughter everything she knows starting at a young age.
She herself was also trained at a young age, but she never truly had the chance to properly use her knowledge of the songs, thankfully, but she wasn't at all rusty.
The techniques that were drilled into her skull (curtsey of her mother Carolinne) would last her until her second life.
All her hard work poured into learning everything was her pride, and she could efficiently teach her daughter the basics for now, and the more complicated stuff in her later years.
She called her daughter to come sit with her on her bed. She patted the soft mattress with a smile.
"What is it Mommy?" Brielle asked, whilst looking up at her bright green eyes.
"Well, I know you're busy and all with you and your Dad's dance contest, but, I want to ask you something veeery important."
Brielle's eyes widened, and her heart slammed against her chest.
"Did she figure out something? Nononono, she can't possibly know, I hid it so well! M-maybe there was a flaw?"
Brielle's thoughts raced, and she nervously approached her bed, scared of what her mother might ask of her. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and swallowed her saliva. With one deep inhale, she faced her mother.
"Wh-what is it Mommy?" Her voice failed to hide her nervousness.
"What do you wanna do when you grow up?" Melody asked with an innocent smile.
"Th-that's it? Phew, for a second there I thought I blew my cover, well there's one thing I wanna do in the future, I want to explore and seek what this world has to offer, and as much as I love it here in Toroa, I don't want to stay here forever…"
"Uhhh I wanna do lots of things Mommy! I wanna explore the world! And! And! Travel to many places and go on an adventure!" Brielle explained with a giddy smile of her own.
The way her eyes sparkled, and with clear conviction, Melody concluded that her sharp intuition was right. This solidified her thoughts, and she was now determined to finally pass down the torch onto her daughter.
"Ohhh, then what about the baddies? What if they stop you? Some people aren't always nice like the people here you know." Melody asked her, elevated to hear her daughter's reply.
"Then, I'll fight them off! So I can continue to! No one can stop me from reaching my dreams!" Brielle exclaimed as she raised her fits high up in the air.
"That's my girl" Melody thought in pride and didn't dare to fight off her growing smile at her daughter's determination.
"Oh my, what a brave daughter I have, but, don't you think you're going to need help to get stronger and beat the bad guys?"
"Mn! But- I don't know who to ask, Daddy's always gone, and-"
"Well, what if I told you Mommy can help you with that?" Melody suggested
"Really Mommy? Do you know how to fight? That's so cool! When can we start? Can we do it today?" Melody was assaulted with a flurry of questions.
Melody chuckled and replied,
"Of course I can! But I'm going to warn you, it's not gonna be easy, but we can't start today, we'll start early tomorrow morning alright? I still gotta plan some things first." Melody said, as slowly she stood up from Brielle's bed.
"Okay Mommy, and thank youuu!" Brielle thanked her mother with a swift kiss on the cheek accompanied with a happy giggle.
"Ahahaha you're welcome Brie, now go on, you can continue on with your dancing, I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Okay."
Brielle was surprised at her mother's suggestion but she was overall pleased that she had supported her future plans and she was willing to teach her thing or two, which she was extremely grateful for.
She didn't know exactly what she was going to teach her, which prompted her curious side. Eh, she'll eventually find out tomorrow.
.
.
.
A/N – (IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE READ)
Hey guys, it's me, Diwata, and I got some really important news that I need to tell you guys. I made this chapter extra-long to make up for my absence. The truth is, I am going to go on a hiatus.
I am in no way abandoning this story, it's just because, Christmas break is over (sadly) and the next following months would be very hectic for me.
I have Saturday classes ahead maybe even Sunday classes, and I won't have enough time to write a decent chapter. As much as I want to continue updating, I can't. Another thing is, your gurl is graduating soon, and so, I really need to focus and prioritize my studies first and eventually practice for the graduation itself.
So, because of these reasons, I can't update until April. Maybe sometime in between, I can sneak in a chapter, but no promises though. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you guys understand and wait for me until then.
Thank you for all the support and reviews you guys give, it really gives me the motivation to write, and I hope you all have an awesome day, bye bye for now, and I'll see you in a few months' time.