Yes, I KNOW I suck at writing tragedies. Please don't hate me for it. ^_^'
Chapter 3
Calanthe spent the next three days in her room, speaking to no-one, accepting no meals, and barely sleeping, trying to accept the fact that Leonidas was gone forever. The only person she saw was Ines, and the two never even spoke. Ines would simply assist Calanthe with her bath, dressing, and fixing her hair and makeup, and would then leave.
So her mother's prayers to Athena to protect Leonidas in battle hadn't been enough. Neither had her own prayers to each of the gods – she'd prayed to every single one, even the ones who had nothing to do with war, but to no avail.
On the fourth day, however, Calanthe left her room and walked down the house's main hallway. A couple of the slaves inquired where she was going when they saw her about to leave the house.
"I'm going out; I'll be back," Calanthe said simply. And then added quietly to herself, "Maybe."
A while later, she had reached the edge of the city and was walking along the tops of the cliffs she and Leonidas had walked together a little over a year ago. A sea breeze was blowing her chiton, her pinned-up curls. Calanthe looked out at the sparkling sea and listened to the far-off cries of seagulls.
I'll be coming back to you, Calanthe, I swear to you…
I'll tell you what, dove – I'll swear to you that I'm coming back to you on…on…on everything that's in the world! …Because I can't think of just one thing that's good enough for me to swear on…
Nothing will happen to me, dove. Even if I'm wounded, I'll fight to stay alive harder than I would fight any soldier of the opposing army…
Calanthe, you look absolutely gorgeous when you smile like that – I believe you look even more beautiful than Aphrodite herself…
Different things that Leonidas had said that day rang through her head. This was the very spot that he'd spoken those words over a year ago, and the spot where they'd shared one of their last kisses…
I'll be coming back to you, Calanthe, I swear to you…
And now he would never come home.
As Calanthe stood on the tops of the cliffs, something made her take out her hairpins and ornaments and let her deep-brown waves flow down around her shoulders; one by one, she flicked her hairpins into the water down below. As she pulled her hand away from her hair, she saw something on her finger: the very ring that Leonidas had given her as a token of his vow to return.
Calanthe stared at the simple amber ring; as she stared at it, tears came to her eyes and overflowed – and with that, Calanthe wept for the first time since learning about Leonidas' death.
When she had calmed down somewhat, Calanthe stared back out at the sea. Her true love was gone, and she wondered: how would she go on with life with her heart broken like this? Life didn't even feel worth living anymore…
Calanthe was vaguely aware of her feet leaving the rocky cliff. And of the sea wind whipping through her long hair. And then she was aware of the falling feeling she got inside as she plummeted towards the water.
And then the harsh feeling of hitting the water.
Take me now, Poseidon! Calanthe thought as she sank through the waters. Let my soul go down to Hades, and your home be a grave for my body.
You aren't going down to Hades today, dear girl, but I'll still take you, a voice answered – but it was not the voice of Poseidon. This was a female voice.
Calanthe opened her eyes. Who are you? she thought. How are we talking to each-other? Am I breathing underwater right now?
You are indeed breathing underwater – because of me. I can hear your thoughts, and you can hear mine.
But who are you, then? If you're not the great Poseidon, then are you one of the other gods or goddesses of the ocean?
I'm not a deity of the ocean, dear girl – I AM the Ocean. I am in every drop of water on the Earth, and I have worked for people since the beginning of time. However, I need help; I need to be fed, and I have been able to do this Myself for the longest time, but I cannot do this much longer. So I have created a plan to fix that.
How? And where do I fit into this?
I'm getting there. I need girls and young women who I can recruit to work for me as singers. Sirens.
Why, we have singing creatures in our mythology called Sirens! They're birds with the heads of women who sing and lure sailors to their death.
I know that they're in your mythology. And that's why, since your people of Greece are the first people to believe in such a creature, and you are the first girl of your people who has come to Me in such a way as this, I am offering you the chance to be my very first Siren. If you choose to stay, you will serve Me for a hundred years, and during that time, you will never age a year, or get hurt or fall ill; you will also never need to eat or sleep. However, you will not be able to speak to anyone the way you normally would, because your voice will be poison. The only time you can let people hear your voice is when I command you to sing – and that will only be when I need to be fed.
But what would you eat?
The Ocean paused. Who do you think causes ships to sink, and why?
Is that what you eat?
Yes. Your voice will cause people to want to come to you, and then they will jump overboard and thus feed me. I will explain it more as the time for your first singing draws near. However, if you break any of my rules as a Siren, such as refusing to sing or deliberately using your voice to kill your old enemies, I will just as quickly end your life.
Calanthe felt a bit uneasy. She didn't like the idea of killing people…
You will do this for a hundred years, and at the end of those hundred years, you'll get your voice and your mortality back. If you decide to become a Siren, I will put my magic in you, and that will make you immortal and invincible – although you will still look like yourself; you will not look like the creatures your people call "sirens". However, this up to you; if you decide to refuse my offer to be my Siren, I will let you drown now and go down to Hades. The choice is yours.
Almighty Zeus! Calanthe thought to herself as she debated. She could serve the Ocean, killing innocent people with her voice and unable to speak normally to anyone without them drowning themselves – or she could die now and forget all about her troubles.
Still, she didn't really want to die – although she did want to forget about her sadness regarding Leonidas. Perhaps if…
If I become a Siren, will I forget about my human life?
It might take a while, but you eventually will – unless you deliberately decide to hold onto certain memories. And once you become a human again, you will forget everything from your life of being a Siren.
Hmmm… Calanthe debated a little more. Finally, she answered, Alright. I'll stay and work for you.
What's your name, dear girl, and how old are you?
My name is Calanthe – and I'm seventeen.
She could almost feel the Ocean smiling. Wonderful. Well then, Calanthe, welcome to My service.
One moment, please, just before you change me.
Of course.
Calanthe surfaced, with assistance from the Ocean, and felt as the Ocean solidified under her feet for miles out. She walked far out into the middle of the water, further out than anyone could ever swim (even further than any Olympic athlete could swim), and stopped as she looked down at Leonidas' ring on her finger. If she were to keep this ring, would that be holding onto him – and her sadness? Undoubtedly.
After a few reluctant seconds, Calanthe pulled the ring off her finger. She looked at it for a long moment, and then threw it far, far away – as far away as she could. It landed in the water with a small splash, and then sank down, down, down…until it reached the Ocean floor – never to be seen again.
Goodbye, Leonidas; you're truly gone now, she thought. Goodbye…goodbye…
Calanthe paused. I'm ready now. Change me.
With that, the Ocean tugged her under the water, and Calanthe felt her mouth be gently pulled open – and then felt something get forced down her throat and go into her veins and mix with her blood. It was a strange feeling, and a bit frightening, but it didn't hurt at all.
Moments later, her beauty was magnified by ten as she fully became a Siren: her eyes grew brighter, her skin grew more luminous, and her hair grew thicker and wavier. As the Ocean pulled her deeper down, her chiton fell away, and sea-salt began clinging to her skin. A minute later, she was wearing her very first glittering sea-salt gown – that would be the first of many.
Her new life had fully begun.