Siren

Siren - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

All was quiet in the castle at Sumoia. Aside from the guards, only two souls were up at that hour, in the royal library.

"I have not been up this late since I was a young lad on my honeymoon," complained the king.

"Oh, shut up and keep looking." snapped Lady Moonstone. The king laughed.

"My dear, I have not seen someone of your calibur since my own wife. Alas, poor Grace, died to the Sumoian plague..."

Lady Moonstone nodded apologetically. "Yes. It was a tragedy."

Queting down, the pair searched through the massive array of books until the king whooped.

"Ha ha! I've found it!" Grasping a massive book covered in a thick leathery hide, he grinned. Scrambling down from the ladder, he raced by Lady Moonstone and slammed the book down on the table. A resounding 'thud'! echoed throughout the quiet library, and Lady Moonstone arched a brow. Walking to the table, she slowly ran her hand over the hide.

"Dragon's skin. How putrid."

The king glared. "Do not always believe "magic" written history," he ground out. "Those creatures were murderers."

"I could say the same for some," she drawled. Cursing under his breath, he ignored any more retorts and opened the clasp of the book. Scanning, he looked for any sign of a remedy to the cure...

"Shine, shoes, shoreline... AH! Siren. Here we are then, Siren."

Lady Moonstone nudged the king aside. She smiled as she looked at the illustration of the Siren beside the description. A beautiful mer-creature, bathing in the moonlight on a slippery rock in the middle of the ocean. Seaweed covered the more private areas of her body, but her breasts were bare. White skin, almost green, reflected off the water. Red hair. The eyes were averted, but she knew what colour they would be...

"The curse of the Siren." she read aloud. "Once every hundred years, a Siren births a child. She bestows upon them a gift of nature, and a curse of the voice. To whomever they first do speak will love the child unconditionally. The curse has been said to last forever, but can be remedied. The effects include an overwhelming desire, and may cause the unfortunate victim to act strangely in the presence of the child. Some have even said to have gone insane."

"What! Insane?" cried the king. Lady Moonstone hissed at him to be quiet.

"If you have been the unfortunate victim of the lure of the Siren's song," she read on, "then please immediately conjure this remedy :

Generous amounts of water (as the concoction can be quite putrid)

1 dragon's scale.

Mix accordingly. Drink the potion, and you will be cured of this wicked curse. Good luck to you, my sorry friend."

Lady Moonstone threw her head back and cackled as the king tried hard not to slump to the floor.

Awakened abruptly as the door slammed open.

"Mallach, by god, if you've gone and done something stupid--" he roared.

"Father, what are you blustering on about?" Mallach rubbed his eyes and threw the covers back, exposing himself fully clothed and Clara's bare legs. A playful slap on the calf got Clara to take the pillow away from over her head and hit him square in the face with it.

"How nice, children." the king spat. "NOW GET UP AND GET DRESSED."

"I am dressed, father."

"How wonderful. Get your sorry arse down to the armory. You two are going on a little trip." The king slammed the door shut, and the two looked at each other, confused.