Meet your doom around the gorge, be saved through it.

Rests there several lyrics, do not pay them heed.

Be wary of the enchantment, capture the talk and find the rock.

 

---

 

syreni | mermaid

 

 

Baekhyun locked Cirrus back in her room and made his way into his own. He needed space – and silence, if he was to think of a way out of their current predicament. The captain slumped into his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk. He was sure all the pieces were present, he just had to figure out how to place them all in order to complete the puzzle.

 

Meanwhile, a very upset Luhan was swimming circles around the ship.

 

“Where did she go?” he whined. He swam around the ship, tilting his head up and trying to spot her figure, but to no avail. When he concluded that she had been brought inside, he stopped swimming. He submerged the bottom half of his face into the water and blew bubbles using his mouth.

 

In his frustration, he flailed his tail around in the water. Large orbs of water rose, and connected with each other to form a long chain of spheres. The chain moved in a way that resembled the motion of Luhan’s tail. Eventually, he slapped the surface of the water, which caused the long chain of water spheres to impale itself onto Baekhyun’s ship.

 

The water landed right on Ardent, whose clothes had just finished drying. The first mate let out a groan and shook his hands to rid them of water. He blew the hair out of his face and started to wring the water out of his shirt when another wave of water orbs hit him. Without even trying to dry himself the second time, Ardent marched to the edge of the ship and stuck his head out.

 

“Hey!” he yelled at Luhan. The merman stopped his movements temporarily and glanced at the pirate. “Yeah, I’m talking to you. What’s the big deal? You specifically targeting me or something?”

 

Luhan huffed a breath of air and didn’t bother to respond. He wanted to see her, not him. He turned his back to Ardent and leapt up into the air before diving into the water.

 

Ardent scoffed and spat into the water. “Cheeky little bastard,” he muttered and began walking away. As soon as he spat into the water, orbs of water rose from the surface and flung themselves at Ardent. His body froze on impact, and he stayed perfectly still for a minute before he slammed his foot against the floor of the deck. He let out a cry of rage, and stomped his way to Baekhyun’s room.

 

Ardent didn’t bother knocking and let himself into the captain’s room. Baekhyun raised a brow at him before he mocked his appearance, “You could basically pass as a raincloud now.”

 

“Oh yeah, well it’s about to start thundering,” he growled and strode into the room. He looked at Baekhyun with a malicious look and said, “That siren’s crazy. I know we can’t move in our current situation, but do I have permission to at least try and move him away from us? As in, can I please just kill him already?”

 

“And how do you propose to do that? By jumping into the water?” Baekhyun asked with a hint of condescendence in his voice. “If you go into the water you’ll be in his element. You’ve seen what he can do with orbs of water, now imagine what he’d be able to do to you if you were in the water.”

 

His eyes widened in realization. That’s it! Baekhyun thought as he was having a silent eureka moment. The captain stood up from his chair and ran out of his room and onto the deck. Ardent ran after him, shouting, “So can I kill him or not? Because I really want to.”

 

“No! You absolutely cannot!” Baekhyun shouted back.

 

“Why not?” Ardent asked.

 

Baekhyun stopped running and turned around to face the first mate. In a hushed voice, he explained, “That merman is able to control water! Maybe we can get him to make some waves for us.”

 

Ardent’s eyes glimmered with hope and he let a smile escape his lips before his entire expression turned sour. “That guy’s as stubborn as a rock. He won’t budge. He just keeps swimming circles around our ship; the crazy little bastard. He’s not going to agree.”

 

“You forget who you’re dealing with,” Baekhyun smirked at his friend.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Luhan loved swimming, but he always wondered what running felt like. That thought pretty much summed up his entire character. For as long as he could remember, Luhan had always harboured a desire to explore what laid above the surface of the water. Merfolk were granted with the gift of manipulation, so it didn’t surprise him when he learned that they had the ability to morph their tails into legs.

 

No one was dumb enough to actually do it though.

 

The human world was different than that of the merfolk’s – or so he had been told. The wise leaders of Atlanta had informed them that the human world was built on many factors they were not used to.

 

What was “money”? What was a “job”? If you didn’t have one or the other, why did that make you “bad”?

 

Luhan wasn’t brave enough to explore the human world alone, but that didn’t stop him from dreaming about it. Unlike other merfolk, Luhan loved rising to the water’s surface where he could sing and be heard from miles away.

 

“It’s risky!” they told him.

 

“You could be hurt! Or killed!” they lectured.

 

Luhan was well aware of the image his species had in the human world. Merfolk, though usually mermaids, were notorious for “driving sailors to their death”. But it wasn’t their fault – people only experienced hallucinations when they were suppressing their romantic or ual desires. His species was evil in the humans’ eyes, but how could singing be a crime?

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard movement on the ship’s deck. He perked his head up, hoping for Cirrus to show herself, but was left disappointed when he saw Baekhyun’s figure leaning over the edge of the ship. Luhan his lip and submerged the lower half of his face into the water.

 

He had no interest in the males.

 

“Hey merman! Yoohoo!” Baekhyun sang and clucked his tongue like he was trying to get the attention of a bird.

 

Luhan rolled his eyes and snapped his tail once behind him. Orbs of water started to rise, and when he snapped his fingers they morphed into the shape of daggers. He aimed them towards Baekhyun, who was smiling cheekily at him.

 

“Your name’s Luhan, right?” Baekhyun asked. When Luhan didn’t respond, Baekhyun took that as a yes and continued, “My name’s Baekhyun Lux. I do believe we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, hm? Look, I have a little proposition for you.”

 

Luhan raised an eyebrow and lowered the water daggers, but he didn’t release the spell yet. “Go on,” Luhan said.

 

“Your control over water is incredible, and I’d like to ask you to use your powers to generate some waves for my ship so we can get out of this gorge,” Baekhyun said.

 

“Hmm, I could do that,” Luhan hummed while glancing upwards at the sky. Then, his lips curved into a subtle pout and he asked, “But what do I get?”

 

“Well,” Baekhyun smirked at him. “When I become King of Pirates, I shall forever remember your act of kindness and I’ll give you a portion of my riches.” Baekhyun thought his proposal would have worked, since he once read somewhere that merfolk enjoyed things that glistened.

 

There he goes, talking about “money”, Luhan shook his head and thought to himself. Humans are so predictable.

 

Luhan chuckled amusedly, which caused Baekhyun to think that the merman had fallen for his trap. He didn’t have any intention of sharing even a dime of his treasure with the merman, but it was satisfying for him to think that his plan had worked.

 

Luhan continued to chuckle and shook his head. He twirled his finger in the water, causing a rope-like structure made of water to form. Luhan pointed his finger upwards in Baekhyun’s direction, and the line of water sprayed him like a hose would.

 

“I don’t want your money,” Luhan started. “I’ll agree to help you, but on one condition.”

 

Baekhyun coughed and spat some water that had gotten into his mouth out. Then, he frowned at the merman, but kept his composure as he asked, “What’s the condition?”

 

“Let me spend one day with the fair maiden,” Luhan said.

 

“Wh-what?!” Baekhyun spat. “Absolutely n-“

 

He held his tongue back as he reconsidered the request. Simply letting the merman spend a couple of hours with Cirrus, and they were free. Upon closer inspection, the deal wasn’t half bad. In fact, it seemed to work in his favour.

 

But he still didn’t like the idea of the merman with the princess. What did he want from her?

 

“Also, when I am spending my time with her, none shall interfere,” Luhan added.

 

Now he really didn’t like the idea. What was he scheming? What would he do to her? Princess Cirrus was a necessity to him if he was to rise and become King of Pirates. If the merman did anything so as to harm her, he wouldn’t hesitate to end his life. But considering their current situation, getting out of the gorge took priority; nothing else mattered. It wasn’t supposed to have mattered, yet Baekhyun felt unsettled by it.

 

“Do we have a deal?” Luhan asked arrogantly. The merman already knew his answer; given their current situation, the captain wouldn’t be able to refuse.

 

“Deal,” Baekhyun muttered in defeat.

 

Luhan smiled brightly and brought his hands into the air as if he were reaching for something. Baekhyun cocked his head and wondered what the merman wanted now.

 

“Pass me a rope so I can get up,” Luhan said with a grin.

 

“I am not letting you on my ship,” Baekhyun growled defensively.

 

“Ok then,” Luhan shrugged. Then he glanced up at the captain and continued, “Then bring her down to me.”

 

“Fetch the rope,” Baekhyun mumbled. Ardent looked at the captain with a gaped mouth – he had never seen Baekhyun look so defeated before. When no one reacted, Baekhyun snapped, “I said get the damn merman a rope!”

 

The crew scrambled around the deck and searched for a long rope. They dropped one end of the rope down while a team of 5 men held onto the other side. Luhan grabbed hold of the end and tugged it gently to let the pirates know he was ready to be hoisted up. The merman rose slowly into the air until he reached the edge of the ship. He grabbed onto the wooden edge with both of his hands and lifted himself onto the deck. He landed on his tail, causing him to let out a groan.

 

I can’t believe I’m letting this fish boy on my ship, Baekhyun thought. He studied the merman and felt a sense of irritation. He couldn’t stand the sight of Luhan, and no doubt hated him. The captain clicked his tongue and retreated to his room.

 

Once Baekhyun reached his room, he let out a sigh and massaged his temples. You have the merman, just let him do what he wants for a while and you’ll be out of here. You have better things to be doing right now, Baekhyun Lux, like figuring out the second part of the first riddle. Just drop it. Don’t let his airheaded ways get to the better of you, Baekhyun told himself as he forced himself to make his way to his desk and pick up the paper with the map’s translations on it.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

When Baekhyun left the crew alone with the merman, Ardent was left appalled. The first mate cautiously inched himself closer to the merman. “H-how-“ he started but was interrupted abruptly.

 

“Oh don’t be so scared,” Luhan laughed.

 

“I am not scared!” Ardent exclaimed. He wasn’t scared of the merman, but he didn’t want to be drenched by water again. “So umm, you want to see the princess, right? How do you plan on doing that?”

 

Luhan’s ears perked up at the mention of “princess”. He tried to hide his surprise behind a smile that he flashed at Ardent. He knew she was as beautiful as a princess, but he didn’t actually think she was one. “Oh that won’t be a problem.”

 

Luhan hovered his hands over his tail and concentrated his energy. The crew watched in awe as the droplets of water on his teal tail vanished. A thick steam emerged from his tail, and when it cleared, the merman’s tail had been replaced by a pair of legs.

 

Ardent covered his eyes at the sight of the now fully merman before him. Luhan wiggled his toes and giggled at the action. He giddily stood up, losing his balance a couple of times, before he stabilized himself by grabbing hold of the edge of the ship. He had never morphed his tail into legs before, and was excited to test them out.

 

Luhan scanned the deck and spotted the location of the cabins on the other side. He started to walk slowly, all the while holding onto the ship, but after a few moments he quickly adjusted to the feeling of his new legs and started running. “She’s in there, right?” he shouted in excitement.

 

Ardent quickly uncovered his eyes and ran after the merman. “Wait! You can’t see the princess like that!”

 

“Why not?” Luhan stopped in his tracks and asked the first mate. Ardent avoided looking at the merman’s eyes (or anywhere lower) and focused his eyes on the sky.

 

“You need clothes,” Ardent replied. When Luhan shot him a confused look, Ardent cleared his throat and pointed to the clothes he was wearing.

 

“I don’t want those,” Luhan replied in disgust. The merman always wondered why humans liked to cover themselves up in rags. Wouldn’t it be so much simpler if they didn’t have to go through the hassle?

 

“The princess won’t talk to people who don’t at least wear pants,” Ardent said.

 

Luhan huffed a breath of air and crossed his arms. “Fine,” he muttered. Then, in an inquisitive voice he asked, “What are pants?”

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Cirrus had been in the middle of reading “Hamlet” when she heard a knock at her door. Ardent slipped a key in and unlocked the door. He slowly poked his head into her room and flashed her a nervous grin. Cirrus set the book down and walked towards the first mate.

 

Before Cirrus had the chance to ask why Ardent seemed so nervous, the door burst open and Luhan ran into her room. Cirrus’s eyes widened in shock as the half-dressed merman flung himself at her and enveloped her into an embrace. She tensed at the sudden skin-ship and tried to pull away.

 

“The merman promised to help us out of the gorge if he got the chance to spend some time with you,” Ardent explained.

 

Cirrus looked at Luhan with shock, and when she noticed that his tail had been replaced by a pair of legs, the shock became even more evident on her face. Luhan removed himself from her and flashed her a charming smile.

 

Cirrus was about to speak when Ardent added, “He also wishes for you two to be alone, so Baekyun has agreed to let him stay in your room with you for a day.”

 

“T-the pants,” Cirrus sputtered, unable to think of anything else to say at the moment.

 

“Mine,” Ardent sighed and glanced at the brown trousers that Luhan was wearing. I am burning those after all of this is done.

 

Luhan tugged at the fabric of the pants curiously when he caught her staring at him. He looked up and beamed at the princess, revealing his set of pearly white teeth. Ardent slowly backed out of the room. Before he closed the door, he shot Cirrus an apologetic look and mouthed the words “I’m sorry.”

 

It was just her and him now. Alone. Cirrus gulped nervously as Luhan examined her, then her room. “Is this where you sleep?” he asked as he pointed to the desk.

 

“No,” Cirrus replied quietly, still trying to get used to the sound of his voice. She walked over to her hammock and added, “This is where I sleep.”

 

Luhan sat on the floor and crossed his legs. “Do all princesses sleep like that?” he asked.

 

“Wha-“

 

“I heard the blond guy call you a princess,” Luhan said as he played with the pants he was wearing. “Strange, I always thought princesses slept in castles, not ships.”

 

I’m a prisoner, she wanted to tell him.

 

“No matter if you’re a princess or not. You’re beautiful enough that you already are one,” he said sheepishly. Cirrus’s face flushed at the compliment. The being in front of her was the definition of beauty; his milky skin didn’t have a single blemish, his strawberry blonde hair the most unique shade she had ever laid eyes on, and his heavenly smile which seemed too good to be true.

 

She wore no jewels, her dress was simple and tattered, and her hair desperately needed a good combing. And yet, here he sat, looking up at her with admiration in his eyes and calling her beautiful. Her heart filled with warmth and she sat down in front of him.

 

“Thank you,” she said politely. Then, in a questioning voice she asked, “Why are you so fixated on me? I’m sure there are others, mermaids even, who are far more beautiful than I am.”

 

“No!” Luhan said in protest and waved his hands in the air. “You are beautiful, more so than any mermaid.”

 

Cirrus felt shy at his words and tried her best to supress the blush that was forming on her cheeks. She wasn’t quite sure if it was the effect of his voice or his words anymore that caused her heart to race. They stayed in silence for a while, her looking down at the ground and him studying her face with a loving look in his eyes.

 

“You really do look like her,” he mumbled quietly, breaking the silence between them. When she met his gaze, Cirrus saw for the first time the hurt and loneliness that clouded his eyes.

 

“Who?”

 

Realizing what he had said, Luhan tried to laugh it off and said, “Nothing, I was just rambling.” Then, his laughter diminished and he sighed. Luhan backed himself up against the wall and hugged his legs.  Cirrus imitated his actions and positioned herself next to him.

 

She didn’t ask because it seemed like Luhan was ready to cry, but her eyes revealed her curiosity. Luhan glanced at her and forced a smile. “Her name was Sora,” he finally said. “I was in love with her.”

 

Cirrus didn’t speak; she let him continue with his story. “It was 64 years ago when I met her for the first time. You kind of look like her,” Luhan said painfully as he reminded himself of the time that had passed. He didn’t know why he was telling her this. He had never told anyone about it, but when he saw the resemblance in Cirrus’s face, he couldn’t contain it.

 

64 years? Cirrus asked herself. She knew merfolk had a much longer lifespan than humans did, but she wondered how old Luhan was.

 

“What happened to her?” she asked him carefully.

 

“She died,” he replied, almost robotically.

 

“Oh,” Cirrus mumbled, silently scolding herself for asking the question. She glanced at the merman, expecting him to cry, but he remained perfectly silent. 64 years was a long time, so Cirrus was sure that time had healed majority of his wounds.

 

“Did you two have a happy life?”

 

“No,” he chuckled. “She wasn’t mine. She already had a husband.”

 

“Oh,” Cirrus said, once again scolding herself for asking. I should probably stop talking now, she thought.

 

“I was happy watching her from afar,” Luhan said painfully. Then, through a cracked smile he lied, “She was happy.”

 

That’s how he wanted to remember her.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

The young merman knew he’d get into trouble for sneaking out late at night, but when he saw her staring up at the starry sky from the ship she was on, he knew he had made the right decision. When the moonlight reflected off her face, Luhan held his breath in awe. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as she, and he slowly swam closer to the boat to get a better glimpse of her.

 

Her chocolate coloured hair hung neatly behind her back, and her curious brown eyes stared at the moon. Luhan hid behind a rock and sighed at the sight of her. From the darkness however, he couldn’t see the cuts and bruises on her arms.

 

A man called her inside, and she quickly disappeared from his sight. He had been too far away to hear her name. Luhan sighed in disappointment as he retreated under the ocean’s surface.

 

---            ---            ---

 

Luhan followed the ship closely so he wouldn’t lose track of her. It was too dangerous to reveal himself during the day, so he always did it at nighttime. Every night, she emerged and stared at the moon. So, when the moon was hidden by the clouds one night, the woman didn’t know where to look so she studied the calm waters.

 

Luhan inched himself closer to the boat, thinking that she was distracted by the night sky. He whipped his tail a little too hard, causing a splash. “Who’s there?” she asked fearfully.

 

Oh, how her voice sounded like a song to him.

 

Luhan tried hiding behind a rock, but the woman had already caught a glimpse of his movement. “Have you been thrown overboard? Do you need help?” she shouted.

 

“Sora!” an angry voice yelled. The woman immediately flinched, and Luhan noticed the change in her behaviour as a tall man entered the scene. “What have I told you about yelling?! I’m trying to sleep!”

 

“I thought I saw something in the waters – a person. I thought they needed help,” she muttered. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Well, does there look like there’s anyone out there?” he asked sarcastically, waving his arm towards the ocean.

 

“No…”

 

“Exactly. Now shut up before your hysteria starts affecting me too,” he spat. He grabbed hold of her arm and forcefully tugged her away from the scene. “Get inside, you .”

 

Luhan wondered why the man treated her like that. Something in his cheat pained at the sight, and he told himself that if she were with him, he would never do that to her.

 

---            ---            ---

 

He was hopelessly in love with her. He felt like singing whenever he saw her, so one night Luhan did exactly that. He sang, hoping that his song would be able to convey a fraction of the feelings he held for her. Sora looked around confusedly, wondering where the source of the singing came from. When she looked down at the waters, she gasped.

 

Luhan flashed her a charming smile, but shyly. He waved to her, and she waved back, not believing the sight before her. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever laid her eyes on.

 

“Have you been thrown overboard?” she asked, trying to keep her voice low. He shook his head and used his magic to bend the water upwards. He floated on top of the rising water until his head was just below the edge of the ship. She covered when she saw his teal tail.

 

“Hi,” he said sheepishly. “My name’s Luhan.”

 

Luhan knew he was breaking every rule in the book. The leaders of Atlanta had told them to (a) never reveal yourself to a human, (b) never let a human know your name, and (c) never fall in love with a human.

 

“Hi Luhan,” she said in awe. “I’m Sora.”

 

He nodded cutely at her, already knowing her name but relishing the fact that she was willing to share it with him.

 

“Are you a mermaid?” she asked.

 

“A merman,” he corrected her.

 

“Amazing,” she said as her eyes lit up with admiration. “You’re absolutely beautiful.” She brought her hand close to his face but stopped right before it made contact with him. She was scared of how he might react. Her husband never let her touch things without his permission, and sadly, he had drilled that concept into her using violence.

 

Luhan took hold of her hand softly and brought it to his cheek. When her fingers made contact with his soft skin, she let out a subtle smile. “No,” he said. “You’re beautiful.”

 

---            ---            ---

 

Luhan didn’t know why it happened, or how it happened. All he knew was that her body was floating on the water, and the ship she had been on was sailing away. He swam as fast as he could towards her, and turned her body around. Her lips didn’t move, in fact, nothing about her moved.

 

Sora fell limp in his arms, and it was then that he realized she wasn’t breathing. Luhan started to cry, and his heart felt like it had broken into a million pieces. He would never be able to put it back together because she had taken half of his heart that night when she told him her name.

 

He examined her body for wounds, but with the exception of some bruising and cuts that had already closed, he found no new ones. She had drowned. He knew something wasn’t normal about her relationship with her husband, but he didn’t know it would have led to this. As he embraced her cold body for the first time, he wept.

 

Luhan was a merman; he lived in the water and he loved it. It was his world, and the only thing he understood. Even though it was her broken relationship with her husband that drove Sora to her death, it was ultimately the ocean that had stopped her breathing.

 

Luhan couldn’t ever hate his home, but in that moment, he wished he could. He wanted to transform his tail into a pair of legs and walk away from the ocean forever. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, and like a curse Luhan knew he would stay in the ocean for however long eternity truly was.

 

---

 

A/N: omfg this chapter's almot 4.5k words. So yeah, that's Lulu's backstory + more merman loveliness. I had actually planned on releasing this chapter a few days back, but I suddenly got really scared though??? Me and my low self-esteem ;-;

 

On a side note, I pulled up the brainstorming document I have for PYP and was expecting none of the points to make sense since I thought of PYP at 3 am in the morning one day lol, but it ended up as:

"OC is a princess; in their kingdom the royal family is taught to be literate in a dead language (only females, if there is no daughter then the son learns. It is meant to be able to able to read the stars and correlate the readings with findings from their ancestors aka trying to predict the future)"

 

Honestly, I was expecting something along the lines of: (ty zan8901 for the crack)

"Beakhyun is this piratet and is really mean and laikes shakpeseawe but it good cu zthe main chatrafcer girl lieks it to adn tey talk about it together oh and she wasdf kdinapped by him to but chanyeol did it first and stufgf and they got this reivally together and yaeh srgnklaeng,mmmmmmm "

 

\\ xoxo