Scarlet Song

Chapter 5

I phased over to my bedside and looked into the mirror above my vanity. For all these years it had served the purpose of reminding me who I was beneath all of the glamours I had to hold up. Now, it reflected how I really felt, scared and emotional. I could see him as he got up from the floor and wandered over to me and pulled the wet hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear before locking eyes with me in the mirror. "Your sister said there was a ball we had to go to?" I nod and turn to face him and look up at him. "If you can spare the coin, it would be good for you to go into town to buy something for tonight and masks for us both before it's dark again. I can send Arlemis with you if you feel the need." He shakes his head and smiles weakly as he traces his fingers along my jawline and presses his forehead to mine. "No, I'll be fine on my own. I won't be long and I'd rather Arlemis be here with you. Do you have something to wear?" I nod and point to my wardrobe. "I have something specific I want to wear for tonight. You just have to take care of yourself." He smiles a bit more and kisses my lips gently and I let out a soft whimper as I smile up at him. "There is just something you do that makes my heart race, Voltair. I can smile if you're here with me." We parted both feeling more confident apart from the other, knowing we had each other and I set to getting ready. I heard him a while later when he came back aboard and I could hear him talking to Arlemis. I put the finishing touches on my makeup and hair before wandering out in a floor-length gown that was the same colors as my tail. The neck of the gown snuggly wrapped around my throat in various patterns and the dress in its entirety was a mix of sheen and silky fabrics. My hair was pinned up with various accents throughout it and my make up was a mix of whites, pearls and blues. In all the years I'd known him, it wasn't common to see him taken off guard. Voltair handed me a simple, white lace mask as a grin spanned across his lips, showing those accentuated canines of his and for some reason, that in itself gave me shivers. He cleaned up well from the day's events in the clothes he'd gotten himself and the mask he'd chose was equally impressive. He grabbed my hand and gently ran his thumb over the back of it before kissing it, locking eyes with me. "You look--divine, Captain Moone. Shall we? Your sister sent a carriage for us at the entrance to the docks." I nod and take his hand as we walk to the carriage and step inside, taking our seats. Once we arrive, we tie our masks on and Voltair steps out ahead of me to my size didn't phase him much as his arm went around my waist and he hoisted me down and I try to hide the flush of my cheeks and lace my arm with his. We traverse the stairs without a word and wander to the door. I look over everything until I see Zaira wander over and whisper to the guards at the door. They usher me inside and a servant comes wandering over with a small crown on a silken pillow. I groan under my breath as I look to Voltair, seeing the confusion in his eyes as I take it and place it on my head. We lock eyes and I sigh. "Sirens are a royal race, putting even mermaids and creatures beneath us. We can literally procreate with anything so we are the prized species. This is Vera making a scene of it all." He tucks a stray hair behind my ear, smiling tenderly. "That connects to the crown how?" I look at him for a moment before it clicks and he smirks. "Lemme guess. Making the current Crone the equivalent of Queen and you and your sisters princesses competeing for the title." I nod and wander to the balcony, looking over everyone dancing. "Precisely." He places his hand on my waist and surveys the room, gently squeezing and chuckling. "Leave it to me to be irking royalty. I won't treat you any differently unless you wish me to though." He gently kisses my temple before he leads me to the stairs and smiles nervously. "I-I was hoping you would dance with me just this once, Moone. As terrifying as the idea is because I don't dance, I want to at least once with you." I tilt my head and giggle as I nod and follow, "Follow my lead and we should be fine, love." For not knowing what he was doing, he kept up well with me and several dances passed with us in each other's arms. We were only shaken from our own little world when Vera taps on my shoulder and I turn to look at her. She's in a silken orange, yellow and black gown and her mask was black and very similar to my own. She smiles as she looks us over and curtsies. "I have a message I wanted to personally deliver to our mystery guest now that he's graced us with his presence. LaCrue, I suppose you'll be pleased to hear the news of your crew arriving to port. They will be awaiting you with gifts from myself when you leave tonight." He nods silently and looks to me to do the speaking for the both us. "Thank you, sister but, how is it that you know exactly who he is?" She touches my cheek and smirks, looking at him. "His name simply travels fast. I know enough to know that he's the last to a well-known name." I sigh and reluctantly and look to him as she wanders away to her other guests. We resumed our dancing but, I scanned the room around us, finally catching that this section was completely devoid of anything but the people dancing. "Please, be cautious with her gifts, Voltair. She never does anything to face value. I have a bad feeling about tonight and I need to know you will stay safe however tonight unfolds." He places one hand on the small of my back and whispers. "Of course, love. But, I need the same from you. I will protect you if that's what's called for." I smile weakly and look up at him. "I appreciate the sentiment but, we're in our element. Scary or not, sirens bring a whole new element to deception and danger. We may be on land but, Vera never leaves herself without an upper hand. For example--" before I could finish, I heard a heavy creaking from the walls next to us in the small area that everyone was dancing in. The faint smell of salt water filled the air and all I could do was seperate from Voltair as I watched what I'd assumed were artwork on the walls fall away to open up spillways. I throw my hands up, knowing Vera would take advantage of any wounded from this. Discreetly, of course but anyone hurt would never make it home. The water comes blasting out of the spillways but, twists and contorts away from the crowd and around me. I can see the room of people looking at me, including Voltair as I lock eyes with Vera upstairs. The guests disperse and mutter as they wander away so that I can let the water fall and drain away. Vera dramatically claps and I growl beneath my breath as I wander back to Voltair. "So, manipulation of water? How did I never know you could do that?" I sigh and keep my eyes on Vera as she smirks at me. "It takes a lot out of me to do so, especially in big amounts because I'm so out of practice but, that's not the last of this that's going to happen tonight. She knows that and she's banking on that for whatever she has planned next." We wander up the stairs towards her and she giggles as she waves us along. "Wasn't that fun, little sister? I can't wait for you to see what else I have in store for you. The rest of tonight will unfold away from our guests so we can have our fun." I look to Voltair and we follow her reluctantly as everyone wanders through an ornate set of double doors. Through which was more of a lounge and an open hallway leading to more stairs where Vera waves me to go down the stairs, putting a hand on Voltair's chest. "Now, now, LaCrue. Your girl can handle herself better than you think." I growl and look at her as she stands between him and I. "What the hell is this, Vera?" She laughs and looks down at me, her eyes more of a golden color now and her stripes hinting across the rouge of her cheeks. "Merely keeping to tradition and seeing how much you've learned. You either do this, or I can make your life a living hell. Win this and I will let you go free and you'll never deal with me again. You lose, well, the vampire is mine and you're out of the running." I shake my head and my ow features show a bit more. "I'm not stupid, I know even if I win you won't leave us be. You know I don't even want to be Crone. Consider me dead and I will never challenge you." She sighs and shrugs. "Too easy and the new rules stipulate that I have to bring your head forth to prove you're no longer living. We had to deal with some of our sisters trying to fake their deaths. We can't let the weak dominate our species with their blood. Not to mention, if you resign Crone, you forsake any claim to any man or monster. For the sake of breeding, I can take whatever, whoever and however I want, willingly or not." I feel a sudden pain in my chest and look at Voltair longingly. This was no longer just a game within my own family. He was more involved than ever now and it was my responsiblity not to fail him, for both of our sakes now. I whimpered and bit back tears as I looked down the stairs and back to her. "Which one am I facing and do they know?" She smirks and giggles as she nods. "She knows she has to face you but, she thinks she's doing it for me. Though, I have no doubt Lila will be much of a challenge. Just know that even if you don't beat her, she dies anyways so, you can show mercy and make it quick or let me have my fun taking back what's mine." I remove my mask to reveal the tears rolling down my cheeks as I hand it to Voltair. "I-I am so sorry for whatever you see tonight." When he opens his mouth to respond, I've already phased to the bottom of the steps and I push the doors open and wander through. I can hear them lock behind me and I look around to see the bars above that make it so people could watch and moments later, Vera and Voltair appeared up there. I look in front of me to see Lila, giggling and smirking as she sees me, skipping over to dance around me. She seemed light and carefree but the puffiness of her eyes gave her away. I knew she had an affinity for speaking into someone else's mind so, I gave her the same look from when we were kids. "I know. I'm not stupid, Rue. She's going to kill me regardless. I kind of figured so after all this time. I don't want Crone either but, I wanted to live freely and happily while I could. Make it as painless as possible and live for me?" I nod and circle around her as well as she tilts her head, peeking up at Voltair then at me before pushing one last thing. "One more thing, make it believable. She wants blood everywhere so do what you need to after I'm dead." I choke a little in argument but, I look down in surrender to her request. She finally speaks out loud to remove suspicion. "Isn't he handsome? Be a shame when Vera get's to claim him as Crone but, I'll make sure to have a little fun while he watches you get your ass handed to you." She was putting up a massive front for all of this and it was working to Vera's amusement. As she asked, we wrestled and fought and left gashes in each other before she fell to me and I hesitated for a moment before wrapping my mouth around the front of her throat and tore as hard as I could, even as she clawed along my face and I bit back sobbing, even as I had to swallow her flesh and let her blood soak my dress and chin. I was in so much emotional agony that I only remembered seeing Voltair run in to catch me as I tipped over and blacked out.