Romance with the Cursed Siren

CHAPTER 7. Fairy Tale

Christian plunged into the darkening sea once again, his body slicing through the restless waves as he searched desperately beneath the surface. The ocean had already begun to lose its daylight glow, turning into a shadowy blue abyss where visibility grew weaker with every passing second.

Moments later, he burst back above the water, gasping harshly for air. Wet strands of hair clung to his forehead while seawater streamed down his exhausted face.

“f**k!” he cursed furiously, wiping the saltwater from his eyes. “I still can’t find my daughter!”

The panic in his voice sent a sharp uneasiness through Gabriel’s chest.

The younger man gripped the edge of the wooden boat tightly as the waves rocked them from side to side beneath the darkening sky. His brown eyes scanned the waters anxiously, confusion and fear twisting inside him.

“I don’t understand,” Gabriel breathed. “How could she stay underwater for this long without coming up for air?”

Christian looked at him sharply, breathing heavily.

“I don’t have time to explain, young man,” he snapped.

“The sun is almost gone, and if I don’t find Crystal soon…” His voice faltered with dread. “She’ll drown.”

Without another word, Christian prepared to dive again, but Gabriel immediately caught his arm.

“Wait,” he said firmly. “Let me try.”

Christian hesitated.

Gabriel did not fully understand what was happening. Nothing made sense anymore, not Crystal’s strange behavior, not the way her parents feared the sunset, not the mysterious “sickness” they kept hiding from the world.

But one thing was clear to him.

Crystal was in danger.

And he could not sit still while something terrible happened to her.

Before Christian could protest, Gabriel pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the boat. The cool night air brushed against his skin as he grabbed the small waterproof torch beside the oar. Then he dove into the ocean.

The seawater swallowed him whole. Cold darkness surrounded him instantly, wrapping around his body like heavy silk. The deeper he went, the dimmer the world became. Only the weak beam from his tiny torch cut through the endless blue-black depths.

Gabriel pushed himself farther underwater, kicking strongly despite the pressure building in his lungs. His heart pounded violently. The ocean felt different at night—vast, ancient, almost alive.

Small silver fish darted away from the light while the currents tugged at his body from every direction. He searched desperately between drifting seaweed, jagged rocks, and shadowy coral formations, but there was still no sign of Crystal.

His lungs burned.

He quickly swam back up and emerged above the surface with a sharp inhale.

Christian was already looking at him anxiously.

“Did you see her?”

Gabriel shook his head, breathing hard. But before Christian could dive again, Gabriel took another deep breath and disappeared beneath the waves once more.

This time, he forced himself deeper.

The water grew colder. His torch flickered slightly as the currents strengthened below. Then suddenly, something shimmered in the darkness.

Gabriel froze.

At first, he thought it was moonlight reflecting underwater, but the golden glow moved.

His brows furrowed as he swam closer.

The beam cut through the dark water until it landed on a tiny glimmer of gold tangled between drifting ropes and seaweed.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Then his entire body stiffened. His eyes widened in complete shock.

Crystal.

Her body was trapped inside a discarded fishing net tangled around a large rock beneath the sea.

Gabriel's eyes wandered and his breath vanished with his eyes widened in shock when he darted below her waist. Instead of legs, a massive shimmering tail struggled helplessly beneath the water.

Silver, blue and green scales reflected the light like diamonds beneath the ocean. The elegant tail fin fluttered weakly as she fought to free herself, but the more she moved, the tighter the net wrapped around her.

Gabriel accidentally swallowed seawater in shock. His mind spun violently.

A tail.

Crystal had a tail.

Gabriel froze beneath the water, his entire body turning rigid with disbelief as his eyes traveled down her trapped form.

A long shiny tail shimmered beneath the beam of his flashlight, its scales reflecting light like scattered diamonds across the dark ocean floor.

His brows furrowed deeply.

‘A costume?’ he thought in utter confusion.

The idea sounded ridiculous even inside his own head, yet his mind desperately searched for a logical explanation.

Hesitantly, he reached forward.

The moment his trembling hand touched the tail, a strange warmth spread across his palm despite the freezing seawater surrounding them. The scales were smooth yet edged with delicate sharpness, hard enough to feel real but not enough to wound his skin.

Gabriel’s breath caught. It wasn’t rubber. It wasn’t fabric. It was alive.

The powerful fin twitched weakly beneath his touch, sending ripples through the water as Crystal struggled inside the net.

His brown eyes widened further, shock crashing through him like a violent wave.

‘Is this… real?’

The legends were real and Crystal is real.

The beautiful girl with silver-blue eyes and soft laughter was one of the creatures people only spoke about in myths.

Gabriel immediately resurfaced, coughing hard.

“Sir!” he shouted breathlessly toward Christian. “Down there!”

Christian wasted no time.

The older man instantly dove beneath the water in the direction Gabriel pointed.

Gabriel followed again, his heart hammering wildly against his chest.

Together, they reached Crystal.

Even trapped and exhausted, she looked breathtaking beneath the sea. Her long black hair drifted around her like dark silk.

The sight shattered something inside Gabriel.

Crystal looked at him weakly.

And despite everything, despite the fear and confusion flooding his mind she still smiled at him gently.

As though she trusted him. As though she knew he would help her.

Christian struggled to untangle the heavy fishing net, but his movements were slowing. He badly needed air.

He motioned urgently toward Gabriel.

Gabriel immediately understood.

Without hesitation, he swam closer and wrapped one arm carefully around Crystal’s shoulders to support her while Christian surfaced briefly to breathe.

The moment Gabriel touched her, another strange sensation rushed through him. An electrifying warm.

Crystal’s delicate fingers instinctively gripped his arm tightly as though she feared sinking forever into the dark ocean below.

Gabriel’s chest tightened painfully.

‘Hold on,’ he whispered in his mind.

Christian returned quickly, and together they finally managed to free the net from Crystal’s tail. Then three of them swam upward.

Until they finally broke through the surface.

Crystal gasped softly while Christian immediately held her against him.

But before they could fully reach the boat the last ray of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

The transformation began.

Gabriel stared in stunned silence.

Crystal suddenly cried out softly and clutched both him and her father tightly.

Beneath the water, her tail started to change.

The scales shimmered violently beneath the moonlight as the powerful tail split slowly into two slender legs.

Gabriel watched in absolute disbelief.

Light danced across her wet skin. The ocean around them rippled strangely as though even the sea itself acknowledged the transformation.

Gabriel could barely breathe.

Nothing in his life could have prepared him for witnessing something so impossible… and so beautiful.

Christian quickly pulled Crystal onto the boat before exhaustion consumed her completely. Gabriel climbed aboard after them, still dazed by what he had seen.

The older man immediately removed the remaining net wrapped around Crystal’s body. Angry red marks and shallow cuts covered parts of her skin where the rough ropes had tightened around her.

Christian’s jaw clenched furiously.

He pulled off his own shirt and wrapped it over Crystal’s damp dress to keep her warm before grabbing Gabriel’s discarded shirt and gently drying her wet hair.

“May the Spirits punish whoever abandoned that net,” Christian growled angrily. “And every fool who throws their garbage into the sea!”

Gabriel remained silent.

Again, they spoke of Spirits instead of God.

Ocean Spirits. Moon Spirits. Punishments. Prayers.

Their world suddenly felt so different from everything he had ever known.

“Da,” Crystal whispered weakly, “stop cursing them. Maybe they didn’t mean to leave it there.”

Christian exhaled sharply in frustration but said nothing more.

Even injured and exhausted, Crystal still defended others.

Gabriel stared at her quietly, unable to stop himself.

She caught his gaze and offered him a faint smile.

Immediately, Crystal looked away again, clearly trying not to glance at his bare chest for too long. The sight nearly made Gabriel laugh despite the tension. Even after everything that happened, she was still shy around him.

The boat drifted quietly toward shore.

Then Christian suddenly noticed the gold bracelet around Crystal’s wrist.

“Where did you get that?”

Crystal froze for half a second before smiling casually.

“I found it underwater,” she lied smoothly. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Gabriel hid his reaction and focused on rowing.

Christian merely nodded distractedly.

Silence settled between them as the waves carried the boat toward the beach where Aya waited anxiously. The moment the boat reached shallow water, Aya rushed forward in panic.

“Crystal!”

Christian carried their daughter carefully onto the sand while Aya immediately cupped Crystal’s cold face in trembling hands.

“Thank goodness…” Aya whispered shakily before noticing the wounds on her daughter’s skin. “Oh, my dear… what happened to you?”

Crystal leaned weakly against her mother.

“Mom,” she mumbled softly, “I’m hungry.”

Aya nearly cried in relief hearing her daughter complain normally again.

“I know, sweetheart,” she whispered, kissing her forehead repeatedly. “We’re going home.”

Crystal tried standing on her own, but her legs trembled violently from exhaustion and numbness. Gabriel instinctively stepped forward to help her but Christian caught her first.

Gabriel slowly lowered his hand.

Everything still felt unreal. Sirens existed and Crystal was one of them. And somehow… none of it frightened him as much as it probably should have.

As they walked back toward the cabin beneath the moonlit trees, Christian and Aya exchanged heavy glances filled with silent conversation and worry.

Meanwhile, Crystal secretly smiled to herself. Gabriel had seen her true form. And he still stayed.

Halfway through the forest path, Christian suddenly stopped walking.

He turned sharply toward Gabriel.

“So,” he said seriously, “what’s going through your mind now after seeing my daughter’s siren form?”

Gabriel hesitated.

Honestly, his thoughts were chaos.

“I…” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know.”

He glanced ahead toward Crystal.

“How is she even able to do that?”

Christian’s expression hardened slightly.

“That’s a very long story,” he replied. “And I have no intention of sitting down over coffee to discuss my daughter’s condition.”

Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“So this is why you didn’t want me staying on the island?”

Before Christian could answer, Crystal suddenly turned around.

“Da!” she shouted angrily. “Stop interrogating him!”

Christian looked offended.

“I’m not interrogating anyone, sweetheart,” he argued. “I’m simply talking.”

Gabriel secretly smirked.

Christian sighed heavily, clearly exhausted by the entire situation.

Once they reached the cabin, Aya immediately helped Crystal bathe and clean her wounds while Christian remained unusually quiet.

Dinner that night felt awkward.

The warm cabin was filled only with the sounds of utensils against plates and the crackling lantern nearby. No one mentioned anything, about the ocean nor sirens.

Except Crystal, who looked oddly happy.

Gabriel noticed she never removed the bracelet.

Then Christian finally broke the silence.

“Crystal,” he began carefully, “we’ll have to postpone visiting your grandfather tomorrow night.”

Crystal’s head snapped upward immediately.

“What?” she cried. “Why?”

“Your father is right,” Aya added gently. “How are we supposed to explain your injuries to everyone?”

Crystal’s shoulders slumped dramatically.

“But you promised me…”

She pushed away from the table with a frustrated sigh and walked outside before anyone could stop her.

Gabriel watched her leave but a few seconds later, he quietly followed.

Outside, the cool night breeze drifted through the trees while Crystal angrily kicked a small rock across the ground.

“Poor little rock,” Gabriel teased softly behind her. “Why don’t you try kicking the bigger ones near my yacht instead?”

Crystal turned toward him with a pout.

Instead of answering, she suddenly grabbed his hand and started pulling him through the forest.

“Where are we going?” Gabriel laughed.

“You told me to kick bigger rocks,” she replied stubbornly.

They walked beneath the moonlight in silence for a moment before Gabriel finally spoke again.

“So… that was the sickness you told me about?”

Crystal stopped walking and turned toward him slowly.

“What do you think?”

Gabriel looked at her carefully. Moonlight illuminated her olive skin softly while her silver-blue eyes shimmered like the sea itself.

“I think,” he said honestly, “it’s beautiful.”

Crystal blinked. Then a small smile spread across her lips.

“I knew it,” she whispered proudly.

“You knew what?”

“That my father is wrong for hiding me away from everyone.”

Gabriel’s smile faded slightly and gently held her hand.

“Crystal,” he said quietly, “your father is protecting you.”

Her expression fell.

“I don’t understand.”

“He’s afraid of what people might do if they discovered you.”

Crystal pulled her hand away.

“But you saw me.”

Gabriel sighed softly.

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Because not everyone will react the same way.”

Crystal’s eyes clouded with confusion.

“Would you hurt me, Gabe?”

Gabriel looked horrified.

“No,” he answered immediately. “Never.”

He stepped closer carefully.

“But your existence changes everything people believe about the world. Some would fear you. Others would try to use you. You're like a fairy tale and not everyone is prepared to understand it.”

Crystal frowned.

“But fairy tales aren’t real,” she whispered. “And I am.”

Gabriel stared at her for several seconds before smiling faintly.

“That,” he murmured softly, “is exactly the problem.”