The Siren's Call

Chapter 9

The look on Arthur's face was priceless

It wasn't funny or anything, but it was a look that Ashlynn wouldn't forget for the rest of her life. He was practically glowing with excitement in such an endearing way. If he was grinning when he met her, he was beaming now. He had even gone as far as to hug her upper half that wasn't submerged in the water, getting himself wet in the process from the remaining droplets on her skin. Despite the cold, damp patch on his button up, he didn't seem to mind at all.

About halfway through Arthur's gushing, Hannah poked her head out of the water, and made her presence known with a small click. The rambling had only stopped for a short moment so that he could greet her, but his excitement never ceased. Ashlynn was right, he really was proud.

It turns out that Arthur's excitement rubbed off on Ashlynn, because after they made their way back into the water, she had started rambling to Hannah as well. All her words, however, focused on how grateful she was that she had her friend and Arthur to help her through it all. It was then that Ashlynn finally told Hannah about how she was beginning to feel towards the human. The mute was visibly excited at this discovery, and she made it known with a few trills.

Unfortunately, they were not the only two who were in on the conversation. Ashlynn's mother, who had been coming to retrieve her for dinner, had overheard all that Ashlynn had been saying about a special someone. When she made her presence known, Ashlynn's words came to a screeching halt. All color had drained for her face, and she slowly turned her head in the direction of her mother.

"What's this about having feelings for someone?" her mother teased, unaware of the severity of the situation. Ashlynn was stunned, and began to stutter. Luckily, she hadn't said anything about his species in her previous ramblings. Trying to hide the horror on her face, she faced her mother.

"Oh, nothing..." she laughed nervously. She could only hope that the woman would back off soon, or she might be in some real trouble.

"Who's the lucky siren? It's okay to like people, y'know, hun!" her mother pushed further. Ashlynn had to hold back a relieved sigh. Perhaps she could play it off, after all. After all, Arthur was so much more than a human. He was intelligent, curious, and he helped her when she most needed it, and that's exactly what she told the woman. Thankfully, she took the bait. The only thing that her mother had left to say was that she hoped she could meet him sometime. If all went well, that would happen sometime soon, like Ashlynn had been hoping.

Though, apparently one eavesdropper wasn't enough, according to fate. Her mother may have left, but once she was out of sight, they had a new visitor. Ashlynn had barely had time to let out a sigh of relief before a new voice called out to her. This time the voice was that of an even older woman.

"Lucky siren, eh? I find that a bit hard to believe," the voice teased. The red haired siren whipped around in the direction of the new sound. The sight took away any miniscule amount of relief she may have gathered in the short time since her mother left. It was one of the siren elders, one that she didn't see as often as the others. Her presence alone was enchanting. This woman could very likely have anything she wanted from others had she asked. Perhaps that is why she chose to hide away, to avoid using her charm in such a way.

"Do you remember me, dear?" the woman asked. Ashlynn did, in fact, remember her. She had showed up every now and then at the important parts of her life, like when her father passed, or even the day before, at the ceremony. She didn't, however, know her name, so she remained silent. The elder seemed to understand despite her lack of response.

"My name is Elenore. I am sure you have seen me around here and there," she said, smiling. "It seems that you're in quite the predicament, hm?"

Strangely, the elder didn't seem to be angry. Seeing her understanding, Ashlynn relaxed a bit.

"You aren't going to punish me?" she asked, unsure, to which the elder shook her head.

"Of course not, dear. Our kind's discriminatory customs were not part of my plan. It seems we finally have the chance to tear down these sad walls we have built for ourselves. Will you allow us to help each other reach that goal?" she spoke with such convincing intent. Hope pooled within Ashlynn's chest. Not all of the elders felt the way that she thought. Seeing this as her chance, she nodded her head eagerly.

"Then how about you start by talking to your friend on the surface? We will need his compliance, after all." The woman says, her words being more of a command than a suggestion, coated in a soft tone. Ashlynn wasn't complaining, however. Having one of the more influential people in the community on her side was definitely a huge turn in her favor.

Beckoning for Hannah to follow her lead, she bid Elenore farewell and began to make her way back to the surface. On the way up, the younger siren let out a few questioning clicks. She understood that their gaining a new ally was a good thing, but she wasn't entirely sure what they needed Arthur's "compliance" for, as the elder had said.

"What are we going to ask him about?" Ashlynn voiced the question that Hannah couldn't. "Well, we're going to see how he feels about joining our family of sirens."

Not expecting such a straightforward answer out in public, Hannah's eyes widened a bit. The initial shock didn't last long, however, as the longer the idea settled in her head, the more excited she became. A series of enthusiastic trills told Ashlynn of that fact. The mutual excitement between the two prompted them to swim faster towards the surface. The both of them were getting antsy. Finally, the boundaries between their small siren pond and the world of humans would be broken down, and they wouldn't have to worry about being discovered anymore. As long as they could get all of the other sirens to feel the same way as they did, there shouldn't have been a problem with introducing a new member to their little community. Hopefully there will be more people to talk to. As nice as the familiarity of your limited amount of neighbors was, a few fresh new faces wouldn't hurt.