The Siren

Part one: King William of Tibin ~One~

"The Siren, your majesty," one of the men said. There were five of them. All dressed in their best clothes: they were here to impress.

William wanted to ask if he was kidding, but that would have been rude and he wasn't allowed to be too rude, not right now. The Ministers and Lords were just waiting for him to make a big mistake. They came from Brennia, that godforsaken piece of rocky coast that his father (may he burn in hell for all eternity) insisted on conquering. Brennian soldiers were fierce, the rocky coast had been slick with blood and most of it hadn't been Brennian's – at least at the beginning of the war. The first thing William did after his father died was work out a peace treaty. It hadn't been easy: the Ministers had protested, the Lords not so much, the people had been just relieved that the war would finally be over. And here they were now. And the delegation from Brennia was offering up a – Siren. As an act of goodwill.

The Siren was male, pale, slender, dirty and his mouth was sewn shut with what seemed to be a golden thread. The Siren, the boy, William thought a bit disgusted, was looking down at the polished marble floor of the hall. He was shivering, that much William could see, but he wanted a closer look.
He got up from the throne and walked carefully over to the where the Siren was kneeling.

"Look up," William said and the Siren did.
His eyes were striking; pale violet; unlike any eyes William had ever seen. Maybe that had been the reason why these Brennians had thought him a creature of legends. His face was dirty, his hair too and he smelled.
"The Siren," William said slowly.

"Yes, your majesty," the Brennian spokesperson said. William couldn't for the life of him remember the man's name.

"I thought slavery was forbidden in your part of the lands?" William asked.

"It's not human," the man answered, "therefor our laws don't apply to it."

It, William thought. These people really believed that this boy was something else. And they wanted to get rid of him, that much was clear. Why else offer him up to William?

"Why is his mouth sewn shut?" William asked, as he walked slowly around the boy, so he could examine the Siren from every angle. The boy was clutching a dirty woolen cape to his chest. William could see a pale shoulder , pale hands in heavy manacles. Slender wrists; bloody and sore from the iron. He was pretty sure the Siren was naked underneath that woolen cape.

"So it can't curse anyone, your majesty," the man answered. There was something in his tone that told William he thought William was a bit stupid for asking that question. William let it slide. It wasn't worth the hassle.

"Of course," William replied. "Where did you get him?"

"We caught it under great losses and thought that it would make an adequate gift for a king," the man replied. Which didn't answer the where, and William was aware of that. He let that slide as well.

A Siren would be an adequate gift for a king, if it was a Siren. Which William was pretty sure it was not. If the boy was one, they were probably glad to get rid of him.

He turned to the spokesperson and smiled. "I am very pleased with your gift. So pleased in fact that I don't require any other gifts you might have brought."

The man blinked at him. "Your majesty." He bowed low and the rest of them did as well. William could feel the Siren's eyes on him.

"The servants will show you to your rooms," William said, dismissing them. They bowed again, didn't question their luck and left the hall.
William took a second to take a deep breath. The boy's smell was horrible.
"Take the Siren to my quarters, get him cleaned up, and in some clothes fit for a king's gift," William said to his valet, Ginger. He wasn't going to trust anyone else with the Siren. Some of the servants took liberties with prisoners and concubines sometimes. Of course the Siren was neither, but what he was, William didn't know.
Ginger bowed and then helped the Siren stand. The boy looked like he was going to faint any second. William looked away as Ginger dragged the boy out of the hall.
He took another second for himself before he had to go and be a king again.