Nalu: The Siren's Song

Chapter 15

   Of course I just had to jinx it. We were doing so well up until this point, I should have seen it coming and prepared so we wouldn't be caught off guard like this. But here we are and I am now faced with yet another difficult decision. Except this time, there is no right answer. No matter what I choose I am going to loose.
   If I choose to take Lucy and leave Wendy, not only will I be leaving a friend behind, but I am sure that somehow Queen Layla will break her promise and send someone to stop us.
   Then if I take Wendy and leave Lucy, we clearly won't be able make it far or escape. Leaving one of them is definitely out of the question, but the hard part is determining which option would be more helpful to aid our escape, if that even is possible.
   "Natsu, leave me." Wendy quietly says between panting. "You came for  her, so it's only right for you take her and it's your only real shot. I will be fine." Through the pain, she gives me a small smile, reassuring me that everything will be alright. But I am not easily convinced.
   "I can't leave you, Wendy. I made a promise!" I say.
   "He's right." Lucy says from across the room. Her head is hanging down with her bangs covering her face, but a soft smile plays on her lips.
   "Wendy helped us so much, now it's our turn to help her. She deserves this more than me." She says, lifting her head slightly to look me in the eye. Her chocolatey brown eyes stare into my onyx ones, delivering all her emotions to me.
   Lucy nods her head, giving me assurance that everything will be alright. But I also catch something else in her look, like she has a plan. "Fine, you have a deal." I say. "Let Wendy and I leave."
   Wendy's eyes widen as she violently shakes her head. "No! Take Lucy! We won't be able to get far!" She yells.
   "Wendy," Lucy says. "Everything will be okay."
   She takes a few steps forward but the guards stop her. Lucy gives a pleading look to her mother and the Queen reluctantly nods.
  "Let her say her goodbyes." She says.
   The guards let go of Lucy and she slowly walks up to me, not once breaking eye contact. "My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold." She sings.
   Her hands grip mine tightly and give me a small squeeze as a smile forms on her lips. "My heart is pierced by Cupid," She begins again. This time a bright light surrounds her. "I disdain all glittering gold."
   As she turns to face Queen Layla, the light spreads out, drifting towards the sirens. "There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold." At the end of the song, the entire room is smothered in a pure white light leaving everyone blinded.
   I close my eyes tightly and pick Wendy back up. In the background I can here a sudden thud as the sirens collapse to the floor. Suddenly I feel a hand pulling my arm and Lucy whispers in my ear, "Hurry, this way."
   I am pulled back through the tunnel and finally get my sight back as we enter the grotto. As I look down at Wendy, I notice her shell necklace is gone.
   "Come on, my sleep spell will only last for another ten minutes." Lucy says. Before I can question her, she dives into the water and I follow, holding Wendy's hand as we swim.
   The sound of Happy's happy meowing welcomes us as we reach the surface and hoist ourselves onto my sailboat. "Hey Happy." I say, glad to see him alright.
   Once the girls settle into the boat I quickly set sail to get as far away from the island as possible. "What you did back there was amazing." I tell Lucy.
"It's all thanks to you. Sirens within the royal bloodline posses special powers, but have to meet certain conditions to unlock them. Meeting you helped me unlock this power, so thank you. I really cannot thank you enough for all you have done."
With a wide grin spread on my face, I slip my hand into Lucy's. "No problem." I say. Her lips tug up into a soft smile as she rests her head on my shoulder and lets out a content sigh.
"I can't believe we're actually leaving! We're going to make it!" Wendy cheers as she dances around on the deck.
   "Careful!" Lucy warns as Wendy nearly stomps on Happy's tail. Happy arches his back while hissing and scurries over to my side.
"I hope you didn't think you could get away that easily." A sudden voice says behind us. Quickly we all turn around to see a familiar siren.
   "What! How are you here?"