"Shoulda' spent some time on the ship yeah? But we fancy a landlubber in our midst. Makes the journey interesting."

I ignored Shane's nonchalant and absolutely incoherent dismissal of me as I struggled to walk on the deck of the ship. Suho had already settled in like a fish to water and Luhan was fine as long as he was tagging along with Michael. Me? I still couldn't get my head wrapped around the language these kids were using, forget about the nuances of sailing. I sighed. Was it really my great-grandfather who was once the greatest explorer in history? Where did I come from then?

I shook off the negative thoughts and focused on the scenery. Ever since we had left port, a deep rumble had been resonating within me, a rumble that soon coincidentally (or not) began syncing itself to the voice in my head. In my head was an understatement, it was more like a the background music in a movie. I embraced the woman's voice and waited for her to leave of her own accord. The voice was disturbing but harmless and I had to focus on the work at hand. 

Maybe it was all the tension. Luhan believed it. Right after my slip-up in the police library, I laughed and for believing all that nonsense. He hesitated for a while but after seeing my face he whined and complained that I should cut him some slack. I wondered if I should have just told him the truth, but then I realized that that would cut the expedition short. 

I was aware of the strange myths surrounding the ocean and this particular voyage. Shane's father and uncle, once the go-to heads of the town, had lost all sanity when they returned. I doubt Shane knew that it was Suho's father who was responsible, if not completely then indirectly, and I knew that this was a piece of information that had been withheld from the crew for their own benefits. As if a copycat expedition gone wrong wasn't bad enough, the blood of the two explorers who had started the whole fiasco years ago were running with the ship --- one leaning towards the hull to admire the waves and the other struggling to balance himself. 

"Take a hand will you?" I looked up and found Charlie grinning down at me, a rotten piece of wood stretched out towards me. I carefully grabbed hold of it and heaved myself up to the crow's nest where he had seated himself. I glanced at his figure, rolled up inside, his legs dangling off the edge and a neat journal cradled on his lap. 

"Isn't this uncomfortable?" I commented and carefully sat down next to him. I blushed in embarrassment upon noticing that while Charlie's head easily stuck out above the railing, mine was just peeping out below it. The giant didn't seem to care though. 

"It's my home away from home," he smiled. "Some of the seadogs call this 'Charlie's Nest', d'you know that?"

"No..." I said. Charlie glanced at me and gave a reassuring smile. I stared back. "What?"

"You'll be fine," he said. "Don't listen to them. Especially Shane." He said this while waving at the kid himself, who snorted upon seeing me give a half-hearted greeting. 

"Don't bother," he shouted and trudged off towards where Guy and Ray were sitting. Those two were unassumingly the best people I had met yet. Charlie was great too, but I didn't like the way he could see through me. Big guy's eyes weren't big for nothing. 

"If he has such a problem why did he even join us?" I muttered. Charlie laughed and shook his head. 

"It's his livelihood," he sighed. I caught the drift of the oncoming conversation and regretted speaking. Before Charlie could go on with Shane's sob story, which I had heard enough of from Luhan, I cleared my throat and stood up. 

"I'm going to get myself some tea," I said and with my heart in my mouth, moved down from Charlie's Nest. The waves rocked the ship and while the crew members looked like they could waltz in this condition, I kept slipping and tripping. Eventually I held onto the bulwark for dear life and took a seat on the ground. Shane saw me from a distance and I prepared myself for a smirk or a scoff. What I got instead was a steely gaze and a minute later, a mug of tea. 

I looked up surprised and stammered a "thanks". Shane grabbed what looked like an empty cart and sat on it. "Don't mention it," he said, slurping on his drink and letting out a sound of approval. The two of us weren't alone. There had been a space for silence specially placed between us. 

"This will soon become a luxury," he said. "You do realize that this is more dangerous than your great-grandfather let on in his journal."

I spat out my drink and widened my eyes, staring at Shane as his bemused face quickly shifted to its regular seat of nonchalance. "How did you---"

"Never get Luhan drunk," Shane smirked. "Kid talks too much."

I wasn't bothered by the fact that Luhan, who was a good four years older than Shane, had been called a 'kid'. The truth could only spoken in truth. What flustered me more was the cool way in which Shane continued to sip on his tea while a storm of questions thrashed against each other in my mind. 

"Does she still sing?"

"What?"

"Lorelei," Shane said. "She sings to you, doesn't she?"

Confused and for some reason even angry, I stood up from my place, holding on to the railing. "You knew all along?"

Shane quirked an eyebrow at my trembling figure. "You're acting like I voodoo'd her into haunting you. In case you're wondering, I did not. She's in her own space, her own.. time."

Trying hard not to topple the man overboard, I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down. Once I was better, I asked, "How did you know about my grandfather?"

"Your head not too good? I told you 'twas Luhan." 

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Okay. Luhan. Luhan got drunk and clumsy and told you about Byun Baekhyun, the other Byun Baekhyun." I leaned forward and narrowed my eyes. "What about the voice in my head? How did you know about that?"

Shane blinked at me like the answer was written on my face. "Because it's you."

"What?"

"It's you," Shane said. I thought I had seen a hint of a shiver in his stance but he had recomposed himself already. "Your old man's your ghost. Your shadow."

"We look alike, it's genetics." 

Shane rose his index finger and shook it. "Don't be foolish," he smiled, a gleam in his eye. "It's got nothing to do with your science. This is all about her, that's why she's calling you."

"Calling? Look, I'm no doctor but I do know that whatever it is, its in my head, not in some vague mythical figure you and your villagers have created for entertainment!"

I heard footsteps and turned around to find Michael, Chris, Ray and Guy staring at me. Michael seemed to be sympathetic while Chris just glared at Shane. I flinched upon seeing Guy and ignored the incomprehensible blankness on Ray's face. 

Shane tapped me on my shoulder and pulled me closer. "Don't worry," he whispered and winked. "I won't tell them it's a suicide mission. Even if I do, they'd probably be fine with it. You're the sacrificial lamb afterall."

My hands went cold and my face burned as I watched him walk away, his casual stroll across the deck making me clench my fists. I heard the clearing of a throat and found Michael and Charlie glancing at me and whispering something to each other. They saw me and gave a smile. 

"There's something you should know," Michael said. 

"High time, isn't it?" I muttered and pushed past them to enter the rooms below. 

                                                                             ***********************************************

The corridor was narrow but once you opened the doors on each side, one found a comfortable set of either two single beds or bunk beds, a desk on each side and a unique glass-ceiling design to let natural light filter in. Charlie had told me that Amaya was originally not meant for voyages and was initially made for a rich baron whose wife loved stargazing and could use it for weekend parties and functions. "But Shane's father saw that she had potential and instead of throwing her away in a museum, he reworked it. Now it's one of the most beautiful and strongest ships in Youghal."

"What does Amaya even mean?" I had asked. Charlie wasn't able to tell me but I had done some research in the library and found different meanings. I wanted to believe that the rich baron had named it for the Japanese translation which was "night rain" rather than the Basque equivalent, "the end". 

Amaya's beautiful interiors did nothing to lift up my mood. Even though Michael and Charlie pretended like they hadn't been the ones to drag me to my bunk bed, I waited for them to get themselves together and start. 

"You won't buy it if we told you Shane was joking," Charlie said after a hush had fallen over us. I looked up at him and gave him a "you're kidding me" look. He raised his palms up in useless submission and continued, "Shane's a born party-pooper."

"You mean to say he's honest, why didn't any of you mention this before?"

"What's going on?" 

Suho was standing at the door, looking at each of us with a curious but concrete gaze. Behind him Chris followed and folded his arms. Michael and Charlie straightened up and coughed. 

"We're already in the middle of the sea," I said, directing my words to Chris. He blinked at me in surprise then sighed. 

"You're right."

"What?" Suho said but Chris had already pushed him inside. The captain made Suho sit beside me while Charlie instantly shot out of his seat to make space. 

"It's okay," Chris said and leaned against the desk. He looked up at the ceiling and we waited, only for him to glance at Michael and say, "Aren't you going to tell them?"

"Oh sorry, I thought--- okay." Michael rubbed his palms against each other and heaved out what sounded like my last chance of denial. He mouthed something to himself then looked up at me. 

"Centuries ago," he started, "long before Youghal became an independent town, a legacy of Anglo-Norse rulers---"

"Cut to the chase," Chris muttered. Michael hesitated then nodded. 

"It's important you tell us," Suho said, his voice calming the awkward atmosphere and asking exactly what was in my mind. "who is this Lorelei you keep talking about?"

"Perhaps that's the best way to go," Michael said. "Firstly, Lorelei is not a vague mythical being." 

I flushed and almost apologized but he smiled and shook his head. "I'm just playing. Don't feel bad." He turned to Suho then glanced at me. "She was one of the most, how do I say this, eligible? She was one of the most sought-after women of her time. Not only was she beautiful and intelligent, her father was closely related to the Duke."

"When you say her time...?" I asked. 

"14th century," Michael said. I felt something heavy drop in on my heart and it took me a while to realize that it was a strange sort of fear. Panic arose when I realized that a low hum had started in my ear, again. 

"It was a feudal system back then and according to the 'natural' order of things it was kings first, knights second, merchants third and the vassals the fourth and the last. Being a vassal was a strange situation to be in. One could be a vassal and be a merchant at the same time, but try to be too ambitious and one could be sent to the gallows. 'Too ambitious' meant don't even think about being king or handling a sword. It's a different story that during minor battles the slaves would be thrown in like pawns."

"Anyway, we have Lorelei, the most beautiful woman in not only Youghal but the entire kingdom. Her coming-of-age day was around the corner and the excitement was palpable. Lorelei, with her dark hair and her blue eyes, her tongue-in-cheek wit and her generous nature was the perfect win. Of course, not all kings and princes were looking at that. Her family background was worth bragging about."

"And then," Charlie exclaimed, his arms wide open, hands framing an imaginary frame. "Plot twist."

"Plot twist?" I said. Suho looked intrigued but didn't seem to feel the thrill I was experiencing while listening to the story. The buzzing was slowly increasing and I wanted to hear it all before her voice could take over again. 

"Lorelei was already in love with someone else," Michael smiled, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. 

"And he was a vassal," Charlie added, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. The two looked at each other then looked at us. Beside me Suho leaned in. 

"Did she marry him?" he asked. 

"Ah you see," Charlie said, raising a finger. "This is the interesting part."

"And this is the reason why,"Chris intervened, his eyes flinching as he spoke, "Lorelei is still alive."

"She couldn't be---" I murmured. 

"She is," Chris said, his neutral eyes suddenly shaded by an unknown darkness. "The story of her sacrifice keeps her alive."

(A/N : a playlist I've made for the fanfic. Hope you like it.)