Nalu: The Siren's Song

Chapter 4

My vision starts to get blurry and I close my eyes. I can hear the water splashing, my cat hissing, then a sudden scream coming from the mermaid. Her grip on me loosens and I open my eyes see Happy bitting her. I immediately swim back to my sailboat with Happy following close behind.
Once we are safely on board, I look back to see Lucy clutching her fresh wound, too busy to notice us. Without any hesitation I set sail, but before we can get too far, I hear another ear piercing scream. But it sounds more troubled than angry.
I cannot just ignore a scream like that. I look back to see Lucy with an electrifying blue aura surrounding her. Small sparks seem to be coming out of the shell on her necklace, zapping her. She looks like she is in pain.
Now I am faced with what might be the hardest decision of my life, but I was always taught to be chivalrous and cannot just ignore someone who might be in trouble, so I decide to go back.
By the time my sailboat returns to Lucy, the sparks have stopped and the blue light is gone. "You're not a mermaid, are you?" I ask, the sudden noise surprising her. She looks up at me in astonishment, clearly not expecting me to come back.
    "N-no, I-i'm not." She stutters. "I'm a siren."
She looks down towards the ocean to avoid my eyes. "What was that?" I ask, gesturing to her shell necklace.
   "Punishment." I stay silent and wait for her to continue. "Every siren gets a necklace like this. It gives them special powers. But if they fail to do what they are told, the shell sends out a powerful shock."
    After finishing her story, she nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks back down at the still sea. "So you don't drown people on purpose?"
    "No! I never wanted to but I..."
   "Was forced to." I finish for her. She looks up at me sadly and nods. "You shouldn't stay here where you are forced to do this! Come with me." I offer, extending my hand down to her.
    She looks up into my onyx eyes and smiles softly, but it quickly fades. "I can't," She pauses for a moment before continuing. "The farther away I go, the worse the shocks get."
"Then why don't you just take it off?" I say as if it is ever that simple. Reaching down for the shell on her necklace, I try to pull it off but instead of breaking, it sends a small electric shock into my hand making me back away.
   "If only it were that easy." She sighs. "But only the celestial stone can free me."
    "And where would we find this 'celestial stone'?" I ask.
   "It's within the cavern on Queen Layla's island."
   "Lead the way."
She looks up at me with confusion evident in her eyes. "Why are you helping me?" She asks. "I almost drowned you."
    I look at her for a moment before answering. "I think you deserve a second chance. And I-"
Before I can finish I get interrupted by Happy jumping in my lap. He stares down at Lucy like he is trying to figure out whether she is trustworthy or not. Suddenly, he lunges at her and licks her face, showing his approval.
Lucy laughs while running her fingers through the wet cat's soft fur. "Happy trusts you, and that's saying something."
    She looks at me with a smile. "Follow me." She says before diving into the water as I set sail after her.
Though I have no idea what I am getting myself into, I feel like I can trust her and I will do anything to help.