"The Duke had especially saved a room in his fort for Lorelei," Charlie continued, grabbing a handful of cheese crackers from Luhan who had also joined in on the story-telling session. "Her father couldn't be more happy --- the day she selects a groom for herself would be celebrated in a magnificent castle overlooking the ocean."

"Well, doesn't that mean the vassal--?"

Charlie grinned and shook his head at my question. Baekhyun had been quiet the whole time and I noticed that for the past few minutes, he had been leaning in and squinting his eyes, almost as if he was overstraining himself to listen to the tale. That was impossible though. The sound of the ocean was pretty much blocked by the soundproof walls and the only thing one could hear was the crunching of Charlie and Luhan's teeth against the crackers. 

"That's where the real story begins," Michael said. He looked out of into the ocean and widened his eyes. "Oh! There it is!"

We got up from our seats and crowded around the small circular windows on either side of the room. I looked up and found that the sky was clear, but the horizon we were heading towards was dark and eerie. What Michael had pointed out at was a massive rock jutting out, looking out of place but intimidating. 

"You see that rock?" Michael said. "That's where the axis of the story lies."

"That's where Lorelei stands," Chris murmured. Baekhyun seemed to have heard that for he instantly shot out of the room and ran up to the deck. We heard Shane calling out to him but his calls must have been ignored for the kid cursed and said something like, "Do whatever you want." A heartbeat later, the boy himself leaned against the door and looked at the crowd inside the room. 

"Am I missing a party?" he said. He glanced at the crackers but Luhan had already yawned and folded his arms over the packet. Shane snorted and looked at me. 

"Your friend is having a Titanic moment up there," he said. "Has he never seen the ocean? His old man must be proud."

I gave an awkward smile and turned to face Chris. "Please continue."

"Oh please do!" Luhan said, nodding his head fervently. "The exciting part is about to begin, isn't it?"

"Exciting isn't the word," Chris said, narrowing his eyes. He took Baekhyun's seat and sighed. "Where were we.... oh yes. The engagement day. No one was happier than Lorelei. For the same reason that you suggested, Lorelei thought she would openly announce the vassal as her groom and no one would say anything. The naive girl didn't know that 'self-selection' was just a name. The event was going to be a competition more than a mere announcement. Whoever wanted to win Lorelei's hand, and many wanted to, would have to go through a series of tests. The combination of these tests would decide if the groom had the credible amount of physical strength and intellect to be Lorelei's groom. Lorelei knew about these tests and she had offered her vassal the chance to know the trick to pass them, but he refused the help. He told Lorelei that he would only marry her if he thought he was deserving of her. And so the day arrived."

"Lorelei could count her stars lucky," Michael said, "or she could just be grateful for falling for a man who was as credible as any prince. Not only did the vassal pass the physical strength test but he also managed to stun the court with his wit. Unfortunately, just when Lorelei's father was rising from his chair with a satisfied smile on his face, someone from the audience called out, "This is uncalled for! That man is a mere slave!" The whole court shook up. Lorelei stood up from her seat and ran towards her lover to defend him but he stopped her. Her father looked at the two suspiciously and asked, "Is it true, young man? Are you really just a vassal?" And the man replied, "Yes my lord. As this common man has just said, I am merely a vassal. But will not the tests I have just passed be counted? After performing better than any king or prince in this court, should I not be raised to a pedestal equal, if not higher, to these men? Am I not worthy of Lorelei's hand? Tell me sir, is it fair that Lorelei should be wedded off to someone who is not the most suitable just because of his chancely birth?" The entire court was protesting but Lorelei's father didn't move. Even the Duke didn't say anything, simply leaned over his chair and whispered something to his friend. The father's eyes lit up. He looked at his daughter and said, "It seems like you have already given your heart to him?" And when Lorelei nodded, he nodded too. "Fine then," the father said. "But because your hidden identity has fooled us, there will be another test for you. Come this fortnight and join the royal crew that sets sail for the island of Margari. If you return with the unique black pearls that grow under the island, then I myself will walk my daughter down the aisle that ends at you. However, if you do not return before the next full moon or return without the pearls, then I'm afraid you would have lost her."

"Lorelei vehemently protested against this, called it unfair. But the vassal was a noble man and he promised to his love and her father that he would return with the black pearls. It was a dangerous gamble of course. The island of Margari was not distant but it had been abandoned by its tribe long ago due to the harsh conditions there. No man had ever returned from the island alive or sane and though several merchants had set sail for the pearls, they had either turned back due to fear or never returned."

"This island," I said. "Is it by any chance around the Bermuda Triangle? Maybe that's why it was so dangerous to go there."

"Your guess is right," Charlie replied. "But it doesn't exist anymore. After a massive storm 100 years ago, the island was officially wiped out of the geography of the world."

"Oh," I said, unknowingly disappointed. Chris quirked an eyebrow at my expression but I shrugged it off. "What happened next?"

"Every night," Charlie said, "Lorelei would stand at that rock." He pointed at the massive structure that was slowly getting closer and closer. "She would stand there and wait, looking out at the sea until dawn. She would sleep during the day, then rise during the night again, to wait. A fortnight passed, she grew restless. Princes began landing up at her doorstep, convinced that the vassal had failed. She turned them away and asked them to return only when the next full moon appeared. Finally, it did."

"That night, the seconds passed too slowly. Lorelei was pacing back and forth on the cliff, her heart full of hope. She had had a dream of a string of black pearls around her neck, her body adorned by a wedding gown. She thought it to be premonitive, but the night passed and the ship wasn't seen."

"The princes climbed up to the cliff. "Give up!" they told her. "The night has passed!" But Lorelei refused. Even her father was slowly regretting letting go of such a fine man and was also asking for the greedy men to wait. Suddenly a horn was blown. Lorelei looked towards the horizon and she almost soared into the sky. The ship was slowly but steadily floating towards them."

"As the sun grew closer to the sky, so did the ship to the port. The vassal's family were waiting by the bridge and Lorelei in excitement ran to her handmaids and asked for the wedding dress that she had prepared. She wore the veil and the gown and walked towards the cliff. She wanted her lover to see that she had believed in him, that she knew that he would return. Suddenly, she saw something. The ship had arrived and so had the vassal and his crew---but dead."

Charlie waited for my reaction. My palms had gone cold and my mouth had run dry. "Dead?" I merely stammered. 

"Dead," Michael said, the narrative tone in his voice now monotonous and ominous. "The ship bumped into the port and the only man alive was a young cleaning boy, tears streaming down his face, a foreign body's blood smeared all over his clothes. He looked up at Lorelei and threw something into the air. Lorelei caught it and she began howling. It was the string of black pearls, the ones she had dreamed of."

"The princes behind her were ecstatic and one of them began walking towards her. Even Lorelei's father couldn't stop them. But all of them had underestimated her love and when finally, the most ambitious of the princes reached out to grab her, she took a step forward and jumped off the cliff. No one heard the splash and though people had found the gown, no one found the body or those precious black pearls."

"But that was years ago," I murmured, almost as if a voice above such a whisper would disturb the grieved spirit. "You couldn't possibly believe she's still alive."

"Oh none of us want to," Michael said, his eyes widening in affirmation. "But all those sailors who have returned from this voyage and have heard Lorelei's voice singing near that rock would tell a different story."

I looked out towards the rock and for a moment thought I had seen something float above it. Suddenly we heard a splash. 

"What was that," Chris said and ran out of the room. I followed the group who were marching up the steps and running out towards the deck. Shock arrested us when we saw our friend Baekhyun sailing away from the ship. 

"Baekhyun what are you doing?!" I shouted. Luhan almost jumped in after him but Shane pulled him back. 

"Don't be stupid," Shane hissed. "Do you know how cold that water is? We can't risk one more life."

We watched as Baekhyun persistenly swam, even with all of us calling him back and questioning his sanity. 

"It's her," Shane murmured. The crew looked at him and he looked at them, then Luhan and me. The sad smile on his face made my heart drop. 

"She was calling out to him and now he's gone," he said. "We'll have to wait now."

"Don't bull me," Luhan muttered and walked towards the railing, his hands pointed out to the vast ocean. "He's right there! We can rescue him!"

I followed his fingers and my blood ran cold. "Luhan," I said.

"Suho explain this to them! We don't want him to die!"

"Luhan."

"What."

I gulped and made my friend turn around. "Baekhyun isn't there anymore."