The Queen of Vepoion

Searidden

25 years ago 748 B.C.E

“Zienna??” Says a woman as she roams the halls with a quilled pen in her hands, lurking from room to room.

“Mother” I say as I walk up to her and see her angry face, once again I made her worry the second she couldn’t find me. “I’m here, what is it?” I ask as she takes a deep breath and looks up at me as I wait.

“You must see the oracle, I don’t want this , Deola has already found a man to marry and it’s about time you do to.” She says as it feels like a knife twisted into my heart from my own mother’s mouth. “I want you to be safe, I want the royal legacy of Zienna to live on. I don’t want it to stop, you must see the oracle. He holds the answers you need lovely” she says as I look down at the floor.

“No! He holds the answers you need! Who I’ll marry? When I’ll be just another useless housewife? I don’t want that life for myself, I already told you what I want!” I say, amazed at her ignorance of me and my dreams.

“You write cute little posies but thats all they are!” She says the words are knocked out of me and my mouth hangs open in awe. “I want you to be..................handled, marriage is the only way my lovely” she mumbles solomly as I nod.

“I’ll see the oracle right away, hopefully it’ll be the answers you’ve been praying to the gods for” I say as I storm out of the castle.

Angry and frustrated but still complying with orders. I shouldn’t blame her because I knew every word that came out of her mouth was the truth, the truth that I needed to face soon. What I called poetry only sold because it was under a pen name of a man, something I couldn’t keep up for long. Working as a bar maid to keep my passion out of the way of my father made things harder. The only thing that seemed to work to my advantage was that I was unknown. The king and queens second was speculated to be dead, unseen to any man eyes because she was forgotten.

As I walk into the the temple and my footsteps are echoed as they meet the granite floor. “PUT THE COINS ON THE SCALE DEAR ONE” I hear as I look up to see a shadow, sitting on the floor. As I lay the bag of coins amount the scale and walk over to the man, it sit across from him and he stares into my soul. “My dearest Zienna, why so sad?” He ask as I perk my hung head up at his words.

“What do you mean?” I ask as he shushes me.

“My dearest you still love the ocean? It’s unsolved riddles, it’s treacherous way? It’s song?” He ask as I nod yes and grip onto my seashell necklace . “You want to know what’s to come for your future, your poetry? Your life? A unhappy marriage?” He ask as I’m taken aback by the truth he speaks, I cannot spot a single lie, every bit the truth. “Your future is not what you want, it’s something you fear, something you loved turned dark. Gods will present you with gifts and people will fear where you lurk. Your song will strike fear in those who dare test you, a spell to be broken, many fallen. You’ll be described as a monster, but yet to be given a name. The first of your kind, the Queen of those who lurk, those who the gods respect in fear. One who holds powers to gain the throne, power will rain in your life my dear, don’t forget this”

Now 763 B.C.E

“I promised Celena, I promised. I’ll keep it this time” I say under my breath as I hold the locket to my heart as I whisper my words to it as my door breaks open.

“They must be lying, tell me they are lying Zienna!” Allah says as I smile at her through my vanity mirror. “YOUR NOT GOING!” Allah screams as I stand up from my vanity, ready to combat her bad attitude.

“I’m going, end of story Allah” I tell her as she sighs, “This is what my people need, on shore and off. This is what Celena deserves” I tell her as she nods her head at me, disagreeing with every word that slips off my tongue.

“Why???Don’t give me that Celena this and Celena that, your people need you. Your people are in the water now, not on shore. Did you forget what they describe you as? Celena would want you to be safe, not taking a leap of faith and hoping that you don’t get killed or your kingdom doesn’t crumble the second you step away from it!” She says as I grit my teeth at her words.

“Stop right now Allah, I’m going because I can” I say as I walk towards her as she clenches her fist, “Now be a good advisor and keep Celena’s name out of your mouth. I’m not leaving because I want to, I’m leaving because I have to” I say as I open my closet and throw out a satchel I found in the water off a dead sailor.

“I just don’t understand why you want to leave? You have everything anyone could dream of. Gifts from the gods, a kingdom, the final piece of Celena that lies within your kingdom, so why leave it? Why throw it all away to go with a stupid sailor?” Allah ask as I pack my few things into the bag along with a few gifts from the gods. “You shouldn’t go, and you know it!” Allah says with anger as her way of begging one last time.

“I’m not abandoning my people, I’m doing this for them” I say as I close my satchel, “The Kingdom of Celena will not have to hide much longer, but the Kingdom of Vepoion should quiver. Their days are numbered, Celena will rise and Vepoion will have a new ruler of I can help it!” I say as she tenses up as I throw the satchel over my shoulder and walk over to her. “I’m trusting you, watch over my people for me, will you?” I ask her as she nods and I pull her in for a hug.

“Come back to Celena” she whispers as I pull away from her arms.

“I will” I tell her as I walk out of my bedroom and into the sailors room.

As I barge into the room I catch him off guard as he takes out a dagger and points it towards me as he ducks behind a chair.

“It’s just me” I say as I put my hands up as he slowly stands up from his crouch.

“I knew who it was. Why do you think there is a dagger in my hands?” He ask me as I snicker at the holes in his plans. Men, so irrational, so easy to disappoint but so much easier to be disappointed at.

“Put the dagger down” I say as he nods. “Fine!! I didn’t want to do it this way” I say as I look at the dagger, “Porgatto” I whisper as it flies into the wall of the the room.

“How??” He ask as I sigh at his amazement and wild confusion that lurked in his eyes.

Many woman might find this men handsome, swooning over him at his every step but I found him suitable to say the least. His deep blue eyes that seemed destined for the sea, muscles that were hard to conceal through his long, white t-shirts. And lastly but the most admired quality was his glacier white hair that was tossed to the side, messy but yet so mysterious. Some thing that lured even the most astounding creatures of beauty in.

“Let’s go!” I order as he yanks his satchel over his chest and I lead him to the the shore.

My kingdom was ocean ridden but I lived on the land. I wasn’t like the rest of the sirens, I was the first and only of my kind. A magic containing siren, whose voice was said to capture the waves strength and feet were able to crumble lands. Sometimes breathing in the saltwater was too much for me, sometimes even I needed to feel human again, how I felt twenty three years ago.

“Where is the ship?” He ask me as I nod at his stupid question.

“Don’t worry, I have a family heirloom” I say as I see the ship part from the long stands of weeds covering it and slowly sailing to us.

Two Hours Later

As I stand at the deck of the ship, feeling ever ripple, wave and splashes carried by the water I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could ever have abandoned this so long ago.

“So?” I hear behind me as I open my eyes and see the sailor. “What is the story behind sirens?” He ask as I smile, “It may take a while.”