The Siren's Call

Chapter 6

Ashlynn woke up for the next few mornings just as eager as ever to go back to the surface, if not even more so. As usual, she ate her morning meal with her mother, and got out of the house as quickly as possible. She and Arthur had made tremendous progress with their original song, and for the first time in months Ashlynn wasn't consumed entirely by her stress. Since they had been doing so well, the two of them decided that they could take some downtime today before meeting up.

Ashlynn was happy that she could talk to Hannah again. Not that she couldn't before, but it was nice to do something normal for a change. She told Hannah all about the song ideas, of course leaving out the fact that she was writing it with a human. Her younger friend seemed to like this idea. Hannah herself was out of the norm as it was, so she was all about doing things that were unusual. The mute siren listened with intent interest, giving a few excited clicks and gestures at the things she particularly liked. Ashlynn was ecstatic that her friend liked the idea as much as she did. She couldn't help but wonder, however, what her friend would say if she knew about Arthur. Seeing her enjoying his influence made her a bit more confident, but she knew she couldn't tell her just yet.

After she had talked to Hannah for a few hours, she decided that it was a good time to go meet up with Arthur. She took her time on the way up, rather than rushing as she had been doing since she met the human man.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw at the surface.

Rather, she wasn't prepared for what she didn't see. She scanned the area surrounding the pond. Arthur was nowhere in sight. The inclination of her emotion was overwhelming. First it was mild concern, then full blown worry, which turned into panic. Ashlynn tried to tell herself that it was fine. He was a college student, after all. Arthur had told her all about college life and how big of a step it was in human lives. He might have been busy. Of course he had a life outside of her. She knew that. It didn't stop her worry, though. She had grown so accustomed to seeing him when she poked her head out of the water. She couldn't help but assume that something had happened to him.

In the midst of her panic, she found herself swimming in circles. Pacing, in a way, much like her mother had in front of the cave a few days prior. She supposed she would call it pacing for lack of better words. It was in that moment that she realized just how much Arthur had taught her, how much he affected her. She thought about him all the time. When she thought about it, it made her all the more upset at the thought that she might have lost him.

Several minutes later, the sound of leaves crunching snapped her back to attention. Her head shot up, and she frantically looked over the area in search of the source of the noise. When she finally found it, she let out a massive breath. Arthur had finally shown up. Her heart had been racing, and the immediate relief of seeing him okay felt like several tons lifting from her shoulders.

"Oh my god, Arthur..." She breathed. She wasn't sure how to begin. She had gone through so many emotions in the span of perhaps thirty minutes. It was an emotional rollercoaster if she had ever felt one.

She looked disheveled. It was obvious to Arthur she was off-put the moment he laid eyes on her. Her breath was uneven, and her face, though naturally pale, looked like death. He hurried over to the edge of the pond. He knew he had been the reason for her unfortunate state of being. It was not a good feeling, he felt awful for worrying her. He couldn't help it, though. His professor had called him back after class for a meeting that was vital to his average. He had told himself that he would make it up to Ashlynn somehow, but seeing her now put him on the spot. How was he supposed to make up for scaring her like that?

"Ashlyn, I am so sorry. I swear I would have told you I would be later than expected if I knew. My prof held me back for a while. I didn't know it would have worried you so bad." He apologized. Even then, there were at least a million more apologies that he wanted to bombard her with, but he knew that wouldn't do him any good.

He took a moment to help her calm down, which Ashlynn was thankful for. By the time she could breathe normally again, she had forgiven him at least ten times over. Still, through their conversation, there remained a few more "sorrys" littered here and there. Eventually she managed to convince him that everything was fine, and they decided that they should get back to work on the song. Arthur pulled his notebook back out of his bag, and they got to work on reviewing the focus and how they would draw it all to a close. Ashlynn was extremely excited. The stress was almost over.

They spent hours on the work, as usual. But this time, they were finished. Once the final word was written and Arthur had tucked his mechanical pencil back into his bag, Ashlynn grinned up at him, the happiest he had ever seen her. Arthur nodded his head towards the paper, wanting to hear the finished product. She had no complaints. When she opened her lips, the melody that they had written together came so naturally. Arthur knew that her singing was beautiful, but this time wasn't like the others. This time it was something they did together. It was a connection that he had never felt to anyone before. His head felt cloudy as she continued to sing. He couldn't think straight anymore, his mind could only focus on her. As terrifying as her influence was, he adored it.

When the song drew to a close, Ashlynn opened her eyes so that she could see Arthur's reaction. She almost laughed at what she saw. Arthur had never looked so out of it before. He woke up to her hand waving in front of his face, and immediately became flustered. He had been completely vulnerable at that time, but since it was Ashlynn, he didn't mind at all. She smiled at him, and he gave her one in return, and they both knew that the song was absolutely perfect. Ashlynn was finally ready for her 18th birthday.