Lilas' Mini Stories

The Infant (scrapped)

The battle was long and tough. They weren't expecting the siren to be as strong as she was. She put up quite the fight and severally injured the crew by using her voice to hinder them greatly. But by some miracle, Captain Rose was able to slay the monster and secure the chest they have been after for weeks now.

He ordered his men to pull the chest from the rocky waters and onto the deck of the ship. The chest wasn't too large but said to hold a special treasure that made the crew salivate at the thought of the extreme riches to come. They all stood around the chest in anticipation.

Was it ancient royal jewelry? Artifacts from the gods? Never before discovered jewelry?

Captain Rose didn't waste no time using his sword to jam into the rusted lock and prying the lid open.

But what they found instead wasn't something any of them ever expected.

Inside of the chest was an... infant. Pale grey skin, eyes as white as a pearl, small blue scales that clung to her skin and matched the small blue tail that that trembled as the baby began to cry. So many strangers and prying eyes startled the infant siren but scared the pirates even more.

Captain Rose stared down at the baby incredulously while the rest of his crew all jumped back in fright.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"A BABY?! IT HAS A TAIL!"

"WHAT DO WE DO, CAPTAIN?!"

"Shut up." Captain Rose grumbled to his fearful men.

Underneath the baby was treasure but not the treasure he was promised. Just regular old loot you can find anywhere on the seas. This infuriated him.

His first mate, Lewis approached the chest as well and looked down at the crying siren that longed for her mother. While Captain Rose was growing agitated at the promise of great treasure being swept from under his now, Lewis seemed to think differently. The reason for the siren's mother intensely protecting the chest and putting up such a battle with them was not because she was guarding treasure...

She was protecting her child. And they killed her for it.

Lewis felt extreme guilt. Despite sirens being such a danger and the natural enemies to pirates like him and his crew, it didn't feel right to take away this child's mother.

Captain Rose huffed angrily as he turned away to go march off toward his quarters but not before shooting a finger back to point at the chest. "Get rid of it. Kill that thing."

"What?" Lewis shot back, a look of extreme disbelief on his face. "You're just going to kill it?!"

The Captain stopped and glared back at his first mate. "I was promised riches beyond my expectations! Not the baby of a monster!"

"The child is innocent! She doesn't even know that we took her mother away." Lewis argued.

The crew stayed silent watching the two men argue back and forth. They were surprised by the first mate's sudden compassion for the siren but it was a siren. Capable of destruction and death, so the Captain pointed this out. "Are you seriously defending that thing, Lewis? Who's to say once it gets older it won't try to seek revenge on us? I want it dead!"

"She's just a baby! She's as dangerous as the flies in the kitchen! Siren or not, you're ordering us to kill an innocent infant!" Lewis was firm in his words and it seemed to get the rest of the crew thinking. "We're already grouped in with those inhumane and savage men who call themselves pirates like us! Killing this baby will only confirm that. I will not allow our crew to become like those men!"

"And what do you propose we do?" Captain Rose grunted and moved to stand challengingly in his first mate's face. "Enlighten me, Lewis."

The first mate held his ground but wasn't used to standing up to his Captain. They were old friends after all and he has been agreeance with Rose for as long as he can remember. But he couldn't agree to this. He'll go to the ends of the world for Rose but he couldn't allow these men to kill a baby, regardless of species.

Throwing the baby back into the water would just be killing her as well. And handing her off to the wrong people could lend her into slavery or as a pet to some sick rich person.

Atoning for what the crew did will be hard, he felt responsible for all of this since he was the one who brought the info about the treasure to Rose. In a way, he felt solely responsible. So what he said baffled the crew and even threw the Captain off guard.

"I'll care for the infant. An act of service to the mother we took away from her."

The crew immediately went into a frenzy. Was he mad? Insane? Still enchanted by the dead siren mother's effects?

"You'll do what?" Rose's tone deepened.

Lewis turned away from him and faced the chest with the baby who had since stopped crying and was just looking around curiously but still a bit upset. He reached down and picked her up into his arms, the feeling of her reminded him of the child he once loss. This seemed to give him a sense of protectiveness and paternal nature over her. "I'll raise her and ensure she won't be a danger to the crew. We may be ruthless men but we're not savages."

The rest of the crew all seemed uneasy but started to understand the first mate's reasoning. Were they really going to kill a baby who isn't even capable of harm yet?

The only one who was clearly against this was the Captain. "Absolutely not! I will not have a siren aboard my ship! You either kill it now or I'll throw you overboard with it!"

But the Captain's threat fell on death ears. Lewis knew that they were only words. He was vital to this crew even if Rose didn't want to admit it. "Then I'll leave. We'll see how long this ship will stand in my absence."

Several crewmen all grew worried. They needed the first mate as much as they needed the Captain. And while they still believed that having a siren aboard the ship was risky of not life threatening, the baby did look adorable...

She reached her small hands up to fumble with the jewelry Lewis wore and made small sounds like an average human baby. Maybe she won't be a danger as she grows. Maybe they can prevent any harm from happening.

Rose can see the favor toward the siren baby grow amongst the crew and this infuriated him even more. How dare they go against his wishes and side with this treason. But he knew that if Lewis left, their success rate and finding treasure, expensive scores, and what not will surely decline. Rose was the brawn and Lewis was unfortunately the brains.

He couldn't believe this. He stalked up toward Lewis and jabbed a finger into his threat while having an intense threatening look in his eyes. One that showed he wasn't playing. "If that thing causes any ounce of trouble, then its gone. Am I understood?"

Rose's threats didn't phase Lewis, he was just relieved that the Captain was giving in. The crew seemed to share that relief as well.

"Crystal clear." Lewis muttered and watched as the Captain backed off and angrily left to his quarters. Sputtering curses and insults on his first mate's name.

The crew stood around not knowing what to do. They all stared at the baby in Lewis' arms that the man looked down at with fondness and held her close like any father would. They knew of his loss in the past and his sudden fight for the baby's life was starting to make sense.

This was to sure be interesting for the crew...