Scarlet Song

Chapter 11

Voltair turns to me and locks eyes with me as I take in a sharp breath and sigh. "We are going to go before the Council, our Council to be specific and I mean I am. I have to appeal to them that this mass genocide of our race isn't right and needs to change. I can't live with the thought of us all having to slaughter each other anyways, even when this over. This could be horribly dangerous or this could the turning of the tides for our people but, I have to try. For my sisters and for us, Voltair. Whether I'm doing this with your help or completely alone, I am going to do this." Before I could continue, he grabbed my chin made me look up at him. "Whatever you choose, I am with you. Whether I'm by your side or here for you to run to, LaRue." I nod as Xoraya and Amsephone's arms go around us both. Xoraya puts a hand on Voltair's arm and nods. "We all are. We will never forsake you, no matter where we are." The goodbyes for the night were tender and emotional and we all agreed on where and when to meet the next night and Voltair and I returned to our quarters to hold each other for the night. When I woke I peeked up from the blankets to see the empty spot next to me. When I looked around the room, I found him sitting at his desk, books were strewn all over and a flask in his hand but, rather than alcohol, I smelled blood. I phased by his side and rubbed my hands down along his arms and read over his shoulder. "Are you doing alright, love?" He nods and reaches up to pet my cheek. "Yes, love. Just research on your kind and your abilities. That and your Council and how it works. I can tell thus far that it's not going to be an easy task to persuade them and it's gotten me thinking. Why not make it official and have our wedding when we get there and before you go. We can have your sisters there and be married completely before we even sail off again." He goes to say more but, I kiss him to silence him and nod. "Of course, I would love that. I can talk to Amsephone and Xoraya on getting help in setting it up and planning. For now, do you want to follow me out to the deck so you can get a closer look at me for studies?" He chuckles and grabs at my chin, smirking. "Oh, I do plenty of that, Moone. I'll do plenty more, too. But, yes, that would probably help a great deal. Care to practice your abilities while you're in the water, too?" I nod and fix the sleeve of the dress I was in before opening the doors and walking outside in the daylight. I turn to see him, shirt loosely open and his captain's hat on to block some of the sunlight as I balance along the railing. Once he is over by me and waiting, I dive into the water and do what I can to bring my full change out. It was a bit more difficult at this lack of depth but, it was still natural me in the water. We spent hours of him asking me questions, sketching me and me practicing my abilities along the water's surface. Towards the end, he tilted his head and smiled curiously. "I've noticed the difference in you and your sisters' patterns. Why is that?" I look at him, swirling a ball of water above me and smiles. "Our kind imitate what humans call the natural-born predators of the waters we reside. We tend to be the biggest and most diverse group when it comes to species but, each of us is a different animal. I, myself, am a blue angel sea slug, hence why you can't touch the mucus that lines my body when I'm this form. My mucus has the ability to paralyze most beings but, as I've said before, siren's blood is also a cure-all for our toxins, Xoraya is a cuttlefish and Amsephone is a stingray. Making Vera a lionfish and Lila was a box jellyfish. Zaira, on the other hand, is an angler fish. Our abilities when it comes to toxins are unique to each of our species while our magical abilities are a lottery as to what we will get. It can range from elemental abilities like Xoraya and I, to mental and instinctual abilities like Amsephone, Vera, and Lila. Zaira was just born with elemental magic to move earth but, never practiced with it to sharpen her skills because she was out to hate herself since she was little." Voltair straightened after the last part, looking concerned. "What exactly is Vera's ability?" I swim to the side of the ship right below him and sigh. "She has the ability to control and hypnotize people. Sometimes, if she uses it wisely, to the point where you can hallucinate an entire environment and situation around you. The only reason she doesn't use it more is that she was trained for a very long time under the pretense that she was born without any abilities. Mix that with her personality and you get someone who loves to fuck with people and is patient enough to make her hits devastating." I climb back up into the ship and take his hand, leading him back inside. "We need to start getting ready for dinner with Amsephone. I'll be sticking with you and not swimming there for the sake of staying nice and dry. Do you need any help?" He shakes his head and hands the notes over to me and I take them to his desk and set them there before I get myself dressed. Once I was ready, I left him to finish up and I went out to sit on the railing and stared at the water's surface below. The Council is the least of my worries. No one knows how short-lived this marriage is going to be if I can't come out on top.If it goes that way, I have to send him away, no matter how much it hurts. Maybe then he'll have something to hate me for when I break my promise to him. I just couldn't go out of this world knowing he'd suffer by falling not far behind me. I'm startled out of my thinking when I feel his hand on my waist and I take his hand, smiling warmly. We load up on one of our smaller boats and set off towards Amsephone's ship. It was illuminated by candles and Xoraya and Amsephone we're both on deck, talking. I squeezed his hand gently as they pulled us up and you could smell the brandy on Xoraya's breath, as if the incessant hiccups didn't give her away. Dinner started rather quietly until Amsephone broke the silence. "So, have you two discussed the specifics of your wedding?" I nodded and Voltair continued on for a bit on what our plan was going to be. Before I could snap out of the fog in my head, Xoraya was stumbling to pull me to my feet. I left Voltair for a moment with Amsephone as I followed her. "I have this darling black dress you can wear for the wedding we can do your hair up. You can even layer a blue corset over it." I giggle and smile as she dances around. "Of course, thank you, Xoey. I'm glad I have you guys here with me." When we wander back out, I see that Marcus has gotten Voltair to stand from his place at the table and was showing him different tricks he'd taken on to work in the tavern with Xoraya. I go to join them when Amsephone grabs my arm and nudges me. "Hey, what's up with Voltair? I brought up trying to get Lila on our side from Vera and he just froze and wouldn't speak. I had Marcus try to get him away for a minute but, I don't understand what's going on." I looked to her and handed the dress back to Xoraya as I sigh to bite back the tears flooding and stared down at my hands. "L-Lila's dead. Not only that but, I did it. V-Vera made me do it, threatening to slaughter her anyways and then take Voltair, too. She even made Voltair watch me do it." Xoraya seizes my arm and at first, I look to Voltair as I flinch, thinking they were about slaughter me for what I'd done. "R-Rue, you're gonna take this dress. You are going to marry that man over there and you are going to take your ass in front of the Council and you are gonna string her up for what she's done, or I will." The tears start rolling down my face as the both hug me tightly. "If I see her again, I will end her. She took my family and she took Voltair's but, I'm scared. I'm not half as good as I used to be with my abilities." Amsephone turns to cross her arms, facing me. "Are you sure about that? LaRue not have some of the sharpest elemental skills I know?" I clench my fists and nod. "Yes, I've spent so long hiding who I was I stopped using them for the longest time. I don't know how much damage I can do when it comes time." She goes quiet and wanders away as Xoraya dotes on me and tries to find out the details of what happened. At first, it was out of denial but, Vera made sure I knew it wasn't. Not long after, we heard a splash that we assumed was Amsephone diving into the water, not long after, she came up in her siren form and wrapped herself around Voltair, pointing the spine of her tail at his chest and she tightens as he squirms. "Dear, LaRue, you're grown weak. You've become a complacent coward. I see you now and wonder if you'll even fight for the man you love." I lock eyes with Voltair in panic and I know he can fight more but, won't. He wouldn't hurt her for my sake. Xoraya raises a hand to start casting but, I throw a hand up to stop her without thinking. I raise my own hand but rather than just a ball of water, I have a full length spear of it hovering in front of Amsephone. She starts to lean towards his neck, her teeth growing and I send the spear flying past her head. The ties holding her ribbon to her face cut clean and the ribbon drops from her face, revealing just how identical we were. I was so focused to protecting him that I nearly didn't notice her giggling and loosening up. I snapped out of it to see her change back, her hands loosely on his shoulders as she nods to me. "Good girl, you're not as rusty as you thought you might be. Focus like that with Vera, remember what she made you do and make her pay for it. My apologies, Captain LaCrue, I had to motivate your future wife to be herself again." He places his hand on hers and nods, smiling warmly to me. "No, no, I understand." He walks over to wrap his arms around me as I sigh and shake a little, coming down from what happened. "T-thank you, Amsephone. I think I would my head if it weren't attached if it weren't for you two." We all giggle and Voltair pets my hair back until I calm down. I spent the next few days honing in on those skills and bringing them back up to what they were before, before we made it to the Council.