She arose from the darkness confused and disoriented. Sleep was an experience she had never felt before, and the grogginess that weighed her down forced her to wonder why humans partook in such a painful ritual. Her species never needed sleep, though they had the capability. Complete blackness for hours, only to feel ill when returning, seemed pointless. It felt normal, but as soon as her eyes popped open she knew she definitely had been taken from the sea. Her surroundings were contained: a clear looking barrier stopping her from swimming a certain distance in front of her. She accidentally ran directly into it a few times, face first. Exasperated, she tried to open her mouth, but something kept her jaw sewn shut, and her throat tightened when she tried to hum a note. Some device was keeping her from using her greatest and only defense, and that was within reason.

The human from the metal bird sat in a chair in front of her, his head hanging and resting on his chest. She accidentally fell into the barrier one last time, resulting in a loud noise jerking the human awake. He locked eyes with her, his half open, and watched as he fully registered what he had woken up to.

She had no desire to hurt him or her peirasmós, which would shock any one of her sisters. She had spent a half of a century murdering innocent humans, carrying the burden of hundreds of lives lost, and now she was finally able to rescind. Never had she been given a choice to decide what she wanted, so as long as these humans did not hurt her, she would leave them alone. Ideally, she would never have to return to the wretched sea ever again.

The only obstacle she could pinpoint was communication. She watched this human pace back and forth, tapping his fingers on a rectangular box. A few times he looked at her, speaking words that she could not interpret. She tried to listen and understand, but eventually gave up, blocking out the annoying human's voice. No matter how loudly or slowly he talked, she was never going to be able to understand what he was trying to tell her. So she swam.

Eventually, the human gave up too.

Time passed slowly in her new environment. Before, she had a wide range of ocean to explore and sea creatures to interact with. The fish usually avoided most seiren; their menacing auras not mixing well. She had a gentle nature that she assumed came from her father. For hours she would swim with schools of fish, sometimes dolphins, once in a while she would befriend a shark.

The lack of a voice was the worst factor, though. She understood their fear, but she had spent most of her life in song. They sang even when there were no humans around, usually with the trance turned off, and that was what she would do if it were not for whatever was keeping her mouth glued shut. She tried to open it again, using more force, but it just caused her to gag and cough, oxygen bubbles coming from her nose.

An image of her peirasmós flashed across her eyes. She knew he was sleeping in his home thanks to the binding connection that had formed in last moment she was awake. It could have been days or hours since then. She sank to the bottom of the containment and let her eyes slowly shut, feeling slightly disconnected from the water that she was now finding home.

She had not expected the bond to be so strong already. Deep in her mind, she could feel that he was in a restless sleep. Every once in a while, something would jerk him awake. Something inside of her hated that she had this insight. It felt intrusive. If she could somehow tell him…

She reminded herself that communication with him would be limited. It would be a long while before she could verbalize exactly what their connection meant, and probably even longer for him to trust that she was telling the truth. She could only hope they would be patient enough with her to help her learn their language and their ways. As far as she knew, she would be sent back to the ocean as soon as they got what they wanted from her. She did not even know what that was. The thought was sickening.

Eyes still shut, she envisioned her parents. She had a clear image of them, as her sisters had drilled it into her brain. The unique channel that the seiren shared allowed them to view memories even from the deepest ends of their minds. Even though she had just been born, she saw how her mother's life ended as if she had been there herself.

It meant that her greatest flaw was open for everyone to see at any time they wanted to

Luckily, she was so far from them now that the channel seemed to have been cut off. Her mind had never been so silent. Every once in a while she would hear a hint of a whisper, but it was easily brushed away. The power to block them out almost brought a smile to her face.

There was a tap on her encasement, and she flinched. The human from before looked concerned, and he tried, again, to tell her something, but it all sounded like gibberish. Unamused, she swam towards him, attempting to get a better look. He had oddly shaped hair on his face. She had seen men with hair on their face before, but the way it grew with sharp points was strange.

An hour later, she was still aimlessly swimming in the small space she was given. She knew that her peirasmós was on his way. He had woken up for the upteenth time, but this time he finally stayed awake. He was closer to her than he was before.

She perked up when he approached.

He no longer wore the vibrant, red clothing that he had the first time they met. His clothes reflected a similar feel to the other human he was with. They conversed, their puzzled expressions almost an identical match. She almost wished she could decipher how he was feeling, but the bond did not extend that far. Without her voice, he probably thought she was ugly and detestable, just as her sisters had. In a perfect world, she would have weaned him off of her trance, starting with a weaker one initially anyhow. Alas, she would be first to remind anyone that the world was far from perfect.

The older human left, looking frustrated. The peirasmós watched, his dark brown eyes not leaving until the door slammed shut. When he turned back, their eyes fastened on each other, her heart bursting into a surge of energy. She had not felt a positive emotion since she was a youngling, but looking at his soft features almost brought a smile to her face. Her right hand pressed into the barrier, every part of her desiring to make contact with his hand.

On the other side, he did the same thing. If there were not that small sliver stopping them…

She spoke.

boreíte na me akoúsete epeidí eíste diaforetikoí

She said it to him across the mental, unseen channel her bond had given. It was not out loud, just enough for him to hear. As soon as she finished her sentence, however, his hand flew away and fear visibly struck him. Her eyes shot to his hand that quivered violently. He raised it up, looking at it like it was an anomaly, which it most likely was to him. She had scared him unintentionally. Something she was so used to, hearing others' voices inside her head, was not normal for him.

He spoke a word, needing to clear his throat to speak properly. He only said one word in his own language and repeated it. Frantically, he searched through his own black box, his fingers flying across it. Slowing down, he pressed on it one more time, and she finally heard a word she recognized.

"Eísai Éllinas," the voice was robotic and without inflection, and came from the box he was holding.

You are Greek.

After a long time of not recognizing any words, of hearing them but not understanding, she finally heard a distorted phrase from him. It was not much, but it was a step in the right direction. She rose in excitement, pressing on the glass harder, a smile flashing across her face. She had never felt the emotion of happiness, but the stirring in her stomach had to be something close to it.

Greek. Éllinas. It was the language man had spoken at the start of their reign over the sea. It was the first set of words that they heard. Over time, they slowly stopped hearing their victims speak it. The language died and was replaced with a variety of others. Her sisters found them ugly, and they insisted to keep to tradition. The seiren loved their traditions.

She already had started thinking of them in the past tense. There was still a high possibility she would have to return to them, but she would fight that until they forcibly threw her back.

He shouted at the other human excitedly, using his arms to make a waving motion. She stared at them, eager to hear more from them. Every other second she seemed to catch her peirasmós stealing a glance at her and then immediately looking away. It was a timid reaction to the curious stare she had glued on him and the other human. Minutes passed and she waited while they tapped on their black box, until both looked at her again, her peirasmós looking tense with anticipation.

"Tha thélate na mas peíte ti eísai?"

Would you like to tell us who you are?

She nodded eagerly, tapping on her teeth. The device on her voice had to be taken off if she were to be able to say a word. She might even be able to speak their language through her peirasmós if they took it off; the trance had that sort of power. They looked at each other, their brows furrowed in what was probably fear. More discussion, more time, and she waited for them to come to a consensus. All she wanted to do was reach out to them. She wanted to reach out to him.

What they did not know was her capability to adjust how much a trance could affect them. There was a meticulous scale on how strong she wanted it to be, with millions of factors contributing to it. If a person was weak in the mind, they were easier lured, and it did not require the same amount of energy as someone who was highly intelligent. She could already tell that it would take a lot for either of them to completely fall for her if she had any intent to do that in the first place.

At the minimum, taking off the uncomfortable device could help them hear her without even luring them. She only wanted to keep them on the lowest possible end of the scale. The last thing she wanted to do was lose either one of their trust.

"Sto próto simádi tis prodosías sas, tha to epistrépsoume sto stóma sas," the monotonous voice jerked her back to the situation at hand.

At the first sign of your betrayal, we will return this to your mouth.

Fear still lingered in their eyes, but she understood their hesitation. She nodded again, her eyes locked on the younger one she cared for so deeply. The nod seemed to be a universal sign that they recognized as an affirmative answer.

She swam to the top of the encasement, the older human meeting her there. She hoisted herself up over the edge, allowing him to use a metal tool to detach what gagged her. She felt a rush of air as it released her vocal folds, and the air felt easier to breathe.

Letting go, she fell back into the water, smiling with relaxation. When she re-opened her eyes, the two humans were looking at her intensely, holding on to her every move.

She opened her mouth and began to sing.