Identified
1010 Words
After my dark task is completed, I set about stealing some of the clothing from the pile of lifeless bodies around me. A linen shirt that hangs open just enough to draw the attention of any men I come across, as well as some brown pants and a leather belt. This will have to do for now.
Once I'm sufficiently covered up, I set sail for land again. I’ve become quite adept at operating ships over the years, though I’ll admit it was more of a chore without my companions to help. I haven't been apart from them in... decades.
For a few moments I wonder if I’ve been too selfish, taking all of those victims for myself.
But right now I’m so strong, I feel like an addict on a high. The drug of the life-forces of a dozen men is pulsing through every muscle in my body, and I’ll be able to walk on land for at least a week or so.
That should be plenty of time to find that strange human boy.
After an uneventful journey across the sea, I pull up to the docks and toss the rope to a man waiting nearby. “Can you tie her up for me?” I ask him with a seductive smile.
He gawks at me with an open mouth for a second before snapping back to reality. I hop off of the boat and watch him tie it up while he steals sideways glances at me. I could feed on him too…
But I can’t get distracted. I can’t get caught. I have a mission at hand.
I kiss the man on the cheek and plant a coin in his palm that I stole from one of the dead sailors. I wink at him flirtatiously before leaving him to finish tying up the boat in a drunken stupor.
Toying with men’s emotions is one of the greatest joys of my life. But now I’m off to search for the best toy I’ve ever encountered.
I walk across the docks and up to the village, quickly realizing I have no idea where to start looking. There are people milling about the streets, going about their daily lives and paying me no mind. But I don’t see the boy.
I pace the whole village anxiously, and every time a dark-haired man catches my eye my heart skips a beat. But none of them are him. I clench my fists in frustration, not wanting to waste any more time.
So I decide to go to the local tavern. My companions and I like to visit there after a successful conquest. It's pretty amusing to watch the unsuspecting victims make drunken fools of themselves.
Maybe someone there will know who he was.
When I open the door to the tavern, a few sets of eyes turn to look at me in curiosity. After all, my saltwater-cured hair is unkempt and I’m wearing men’s clothes.
But I'm not worried. All I have to do is flash them a seductive smile, and they all fall under my spell. Being a siren has its advantages. "Sorry to bother you all," I say, "Go back to your conversations."
Of course, they do as I say.
I take a seat at the bar, and it only takes a few seconds before a bearded man with a protruding belly takes a seat next to me.
Here we go.
“Hello there, beautiful,” He says in the gravely voice of a man who has smoked too many pipes. “It’s a shame to see someone like you in here… all alone…” He leans in a little closer. Just enough to make the hairs on my arm stand on end, and for me to be able to smell the ale on his breath.
“Well, It’s nice to know that there are big, strong men out there to look out for me,” I say in my musical voice, smiling at him. “I’m awfully thirsty, though.”
My well-rehearsed pout does the trick, and he calls the bartender over with a wave of his hand. “One for the pretty lady,” he orders.
“Thank you so much,” I sigh, looking up at him through my fluttering eyelashes.
“Anything for a girl as beautiful as you,” he says, getting even closer. His breath his hot and smelly on my skin, but I manage to hold back the gagging reflex in my throat.
“Well, if you wouldn't mind... I’m new in town,” I explain, “And I’m looking for someone.”
“I know everyone,” he says proudly, “Who are you looking for?”
I cough a little, trying to subtly wave away his stench.
“He’s a dark-haired boy,” I say, “Tall and slender with brown eyes.”
The man scoffs at me. “There are lots of boys around here that look like that. Anything more specific?”
At first, I can’t think of anything. I’m just about to say no when a vision of him flashes in front of my eyes.
I remember when his shirt blew open, there was a birthmark on his upper chest. It was shaped like…
I close my eyes for a second, trying to sharpen the image in my mind’s eye.
“He has a crescent-shaped birthmark on his chest,” I say.
The strange man sits back in shock for a second, studying me. I breathe a sigh of relief from not having to inhale his stench for a moment.
“Are you sure?” the stranger asks.
I nod. “Do you know him?”
“Everyone knows him,” he answers. “That’s the prince.”
- Writer
