The Siren's Flute

Chapter Five

The shackles around my wrists were the cause of the blood trailing down my hands. They were latched on so tight and began to dig into my flesh, but I couldn't complain, compared to Chun-Hei they treated me like a royal guest. Her shackles weren't normal chains, they wrapped the entirety of her hand, and were shackled so they lifted her hands above the ground. Her feet were shackled the same way and her cell was particularly bad, with rats and rodents running amok. Not to mention, she wasn't given food yet.

I didn't know how long we were in here, it felt like hours, maybe days but the impending sense of doom hovered over me like a thick, suffocating blanket. I looked to the large stone wall next to me, blocking Chun-Hei's cell from mine. I hadn't seen her since we came down and I watched them chain her up, but I could hear her ragged breathing as the time passed.

I had questions though, and I needed answers. "Chun-Hei," I spoke into the silence. Her breathing stopped for a moment, still quiet.

"What?" Her response held a bite to it, but her voice was tired.

"Why did you drink his blood?" I moved closer to the wall, my chains clanking loudly and my movements awkward. It's better to start with some easier questions.

"I hadn't eaten in a bit. Besides, they capture people like me for a living. It's not as if I'm supposed to feel bad for them, in fact even if I wasn't hungry I still would've feasted on him." She groaned and the subtle sounds of bones cracking rang throughout the dungeon before she sighed.

My brow creased, two more questions sprouted in my mind. "You feed on human blood? And capture people like you? What do you mean by-"

"Common misconception, we don't eat just human blood. We eat in general raw meat and blood. It's how we sustain ourselves. I just hadn't eaten in a bit and I felt vengeful." She interrupted, matter-of-fact.

"..We?" I paused and held in a sharp laugh. I was nothing like her, nothing at all like her.

"We're predators, we're sirens. What's with all the questions?"

"I'm just curious."

"Turn that curiousity onto how to convince them you're a stupid mermaid."

"Why do you hate mermaids?"

"I don't hate them," Chun-Hei paused before adding. "In fact, we need them, we need each other to survive. You just need to pretend you're a mermaid, that's stupid. A stupid mermaid."

I let that sink in my head. "Hmm." I murmured, although I was certain she had a distaste towards mermaids though.

"Pan hates sirens. He has a soft spot for mermaids, however." Chun-Hei yawned slightly and her chains rattled. "The mermaids love him too. He finds the ones that got taken to the mortal world and brings them back."

"How come?"

"His first love was one."

"Wendy?"

"No," Chun-Hei snorted. "You really don't know anything do you?"

"I'm not a fan of fairy tales." I balked, sarcasm adding an edge to my voice.

"Respectable- it's only that you'll find some are true."

"You said Pan had a first love," I pressed. "Who was she."

"Mariam. Mariam of Kensington Gardens."

The salmon stared back at me, it's cold, dead unflinching eyes assessing me. "Am I supposed to eat this?" I called to the retreating back of the golden-eyed boy who offered me no response. Perhaps that was his response. Chun-Hei's breathing was rough and she seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. She couldn't focus on answering my questions if she even wanted too.