A Siren's Love

Chapter Four

"I want to say I'm impressed, but she hasn't improved at all."
Merilee scoffs at Rhydia's words.
"She got worse, if anything. I think she enjoys flirting with the men. Damara knows she's beautiful. Who's to say she won't abuse that?"
Rhydia clicks her tongue.
"She is trying her best to please us. That much, I know. We have to be patient. Penelope, is she attentive when you teach?"
Penelope smiles and nods.
"Then all that is left is to be patient and supportive of her."
Merilee opens her mouth to argue, but stops and turns towards the mouth of the cave.
All three of the sirens sit in silence and try to figure out what it is they are hearing.
The knot in Penelope's stomach twists, causing her to jump up.
"Damara..." She swims as fast as her body allows her to, but is too late.
As she expected, Damara is singing to a new victim.
Penelope looks at his pile of belongings.
•Small Case
•Large Coat
•Large Shirt
There is a small red badge on his coat with a blue figure on it.
She recognizes it as quickly as she realizes that there are no pants in the pile.
Turning her attention to the man, Penelope sees his shorts are still pulled tightly around his waist, one hand in his pocket.
The badge was something very rare for this area.
He was a hunter, specially trained to hunt and kill sirens. Their people would return the Siren's body to their purchaser, mainly kings and noblemen, and receive a lot of money or rare traded products.
Before she could scream to warn Damara, Penelope saw the man grabbed out his knife and stab her in the left shoulder, missing her heart by quite the distance.
Damara screamed out in pain, but didn't give in to the burning sensation of the knife twisting in her flesh.
Instead, she bit the man's neck and drank. His face was that of surprise and defeat as he sank to the bottom of the pool.
She sighs out of relief as the knife is pulled from her skin, but is faced with a new challenge before being able to recover from everything that had just happened: a different man, taller and more built up than the last, was running towards her.
He grabs her by the waist and right shoulder and pulls her out of the water.
Thankfully, her legs look as human as any other woman's would.
He takes off his coat, throws it over her to cover her body and tends to the stab wound.
"Are you alright? Are you dizzy or tired? Come on sweetheart, you've gotta stay awake." He poured something from a flask in her mouth and then poured it over the wound, causing her to yelp in pain.
"It hurts! Make it stop!" He rubs her head the way a mother would rub her child's head after a nightmare.
"It won't last forever. Hang in there, okay?" He rips his shirt, revealing a set of abs traced with an uneven scar, and ties it tightly around the wound.
"This should hold. Where do you live? I'll take you home."
He is looking closely at her now, maybe even figuring out for himself that the girl in front of him was special.
"There you are! Oh darling, are you alright? Thank you... Thank you so much for helping my daughter. I was worried sick when she ran off! Oh, sweetheart... What did you get yourself into?" Rhydia stood by the man, dressed in the oversized shirt and coat of Damara's most recent victim.
She was tiny compared to him and made it look like a peasant's dress.
"I take it you're her mother. Don't worry, ma'am. She has been stabbed in the shoulder, but there isn't much left we can do for it."
Rhydia wiped away what Penelope wasn't sure were real or fake tears.
"Will she be alright?"
The man grabs her hand and kisses it. "The worst that will come of this is a thick scar. I am Jayson, ma'am. My father was a doctor when I was young. I've picked up on a few things growing up in the medical field. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
Rhydia puts a hand to her cheek and thanks him once more.
They exchange a few more words before he sets off to who-knows-where.
Damara looks up at Rhydia.
She's crying.
"I'm sorry.. I-"
"You did very well. I am so proud of you."
Rhydia kisses her head and helps her back in the water.
We all carry her back to the cave where we are certain she will be safe.
(Jayson...) Penelope found herself thinking of the man that saved her sister.
She could tell he knew what Damara was, but why he helped her instead of killing her for the riches, she was not sure of.