OH, ME
two princesses, one a dragon and the other a siren cross paths by fate, not by choice.
chapter one
contains mythical creatures re-told by me. this is lesbian fiction. leave the homophobia at the door. words in italics are either thoughts or words in a different language. pronunciations: amamkele— ah-mum-gae-leh. lungalomndeni— loong-ah-lom-deh-knee. themes: loyalty, fate/destiny, status/rank, self-awareness. wc: 6.1k 🫧 link to chapter two 🫧
- The body of first girl born of the fourth generation of Qamatas will turn to water the day the moon leaks into the ocean.
"Mother, the Water is enraged." The young nymph signed, attempting a calm demeanour. "It rejects her. She is struggling." The urgency of his signing proved otherwise. "We must—"
The woman in front of him raised her hand to silence him and clenched her jaw indifferently as a front of strength, but she still gulped from anxiety. Her husband next to her was as worried as his son — if not, more — awaiting her judgement. "What do the Healers say?"
"We abandoned tradition and culture. It made the Water furious."
Her heart thumped against her chest. "Manipulation?" She asked.
"Useless, mother."
"Remedies?"
"Feeble."
She looked ahead above his head at the centrepiece of the throne room, a sculpted fist around a spear. It taunted her, asking how she expected it to protect her, her family and people without wanting anything in return. She silently asked for a hero, for mercy, for a miracle.
The surrounding audience of guards with spears and shields feigned inattentiveness, eyes hard as they stared ahead into the blue of the ocean. Such drama in this important family would bring about treason and death, so they prepared themselves to follow through with their oath: To stand for the crown in adversity, even if it means in death. "My Queen," said her husband. "It will take her. We must act."
This had been her worst fear ever since her firstborn entered the world. She'd always hoped for the prophecy never to come true, but deemed herself foolish for such optimism. She thought that perhaps her second born would be accepted, but she turned out to be a boy. Then the third was a boy too. And then the fourth, fifth, sixth and still no baby girl. Her bravest warriors carried an orca to the temple as a peace offering, and it simply rotted away, untouched.
I have even birthed a little girl from another man only for her to die in just a few days.
It was enough.
“I will never allow the Water to take my only daughter,” the Queen grumbled. “The ocean will burn to crisp before she participates in such "tradition".”
How many times had she stayed up to beg for mercy? Night after night she prayed and prayed and prayed, but her daughter only got worse. She was unable to swim alone, eat without help, or stay conscious for more than two hours at a time without her flourum; a rare and sacred substance used to maximise siren health. She was much weaker than a normal maid her age, and the light in the poor girl's eyes was dimmed. This Queen was tired of pleading and negotiating. It was enough. She was tired of seeing her weaken day by day, her brothers and father under so much strain and losing rest because of an unreasonable deity. It was enough.
It is enough.
"To land."
A deafening silence resounded in the throne room. Bodies were stiff, in shock and unmoving. Land? The father and son looked at each other in disbelief. They would try to change the matriarch's mind, but her word was as good as gold.
"Land, mother?"
She nodded once.
"Land, son."
~
"Dear, are you not excited?"
The young princess pouted from her seat, staring out the carriage from boredom. "No." she was curt in her answer, so obviously uninterested in the arrival of a group of people from another kingdom because they've met plenty of them before; unicorns, gryphons, fairies, centaurs, manticore — oh, she could go on — how were they any different?
The older woman hummed disapprovingly of her daughter’s attitude. "Why not? This must be exciting for you! Have you ever seen the Water nymphs?"
"No, and I do not wish to. How will this help my knowledge of our kingdom? I could have been focusing on my studies."
The Queen gave a large smile, petting the top of the girl’s head across the table in front of her. "You are only thirteen years old, my girl. Do not fret on matters that will only apply to you in eight years."
She shrugged, indifferent, eyes trained out the window. "Eight years or one month, I will have to lead our kingdom, and I will prepare for it with dignity."
"Do you ever allow yourself to rest? You will look like an old woman when you are an adolescent. Be a child, Hyunjin. And savour it."
The princess chose not to reply and continued to watch the trees with her red ombré eyes, almost jumping at the sound of her father sarcastic chuckling next to her. Such a quiet man. She even forgot she was there with them. "Don't bother with the girl. She will suffer the brunt of her arrogance soon."
It was not rare to hear him speak like this to her, as the serious man was one of very few, stern words. His Queen always took delight in entertaining and encouraging him when she did, but he normally went back to being curt.
"My apologies to disturb, your majesties! We have arrived!" The rider chirped, enticing the Queen to squeal and clap her hands in excitement.
"This is thrilling! Hyunjin, did you know one of them will come work for the castle? Of course, not inside, but in the lake near the waterfall?"
"Oh."
The smile on her face twitched, but she still held the grin, quite embarrassed by her daughter’s sombre personality in contrast with her energetic one. What would become of her? She would ask herself.
The door opened for them and Hyunjin got out first, her father following and finally her mother, who was still crazed with energy that it looked abnormal. "They must be quite aggressive, so stay close to me, alright my girl?"
"Yes, mother."
They'd come with some extended family including her two cousins, aunt and uncle, who all shared the buzz her mother oozed.
They shared the ombré of the first family in their eyes, but instead of red, it was orange, proving their dragon blood.
The royal family was lead through the town, the inhabitants smiling big in their shops in hopes of being approached but were simply ignored and not even glanced at. All Hyunjin had on her mind was books. She had never completed her geography worksheet and was impossibly bored by walking through the sandy town for what seemed like forever. Why were they here again?
"Cousin, look!" Gasped Nabin, pointing to a tall, fit man with navy blue skin and thick, curly black hair that had stepped out of his house, mouth straight and jaw tensed. Next to him, stood another man in nice clothing who began to speak.
"Good afternoon, your highnesses. This midday I have the honour of translating and demonstrating the ways of these families from the southern tribe of the Pacific Ocean. Please, enquire about anything and I will answer. Follow me."
As everyone else followed, Hyunjin stayed put and her mother noticed, sending her a glare. "Not now. Do not be rude."
"Mother, I need to relieve myself."
The Queen sighed in annoyance. "You will go with a guard and come back immediately. Yes?"
"Yes."
"Your majesty, this way," a soldier said, and they left Hyunjin with a very young-looking soldier, who bowed a 90° angle in her direction.
"My princess! I have been bestowed with the duty of ensuring your safety outside of the castle! I wish to fulfil this task with utmost dignity, loyalty and respect! Please, allow me to guide you to somewhere private so you may take care of yourself!"
Upon receiving no response, the man looked up from the ground to the vacant space in front of him. Just like that, the princess had disappeared from the soldier's very eyes. His heart stopped as he whipped his head around looking for the young girl that vanished into thin air. He touched the skin around his neck, gulping and shivering at the thought of his fate to come.
Hyunjin strolled the streets of the town, oddly not drawing any attention to herself despite her bright, clean clothing and confident strut. She loved her mother and the rest of her family dearly, but sometimes being around them when they were unnecessarily excited evoked a flame of anger in her. For both of their comfort, she normally kept away as to resist snapping and ruining their day.
“They should be grateful, I’m doing them a favour,” she mumbled as she touched the trees she passed.
Upon turning a corner far from the busyness of the town, clouds of dust came to her nose, causing her to sneeze.
The sound of screaming and children yelling then fell onto her ears and she was overwhelmed by need to investigate. She couldn’t help but feel directly involved in the commotion, and the sensation unnerved her.
And, finally, when she was close enough, she saw her.
Granted, it was quite difficult to see her clearly, given she was surrounded by young boys and girls, kicking sand in her direction and shouting curses at her. A water nymph. She could tell by her skin alone. The navy-blue tone was unmissable.
"You are a curse!"
"You came here to kill us!"
"We won't let you!"
Her face was guilt-tripping; she was scared, but determined to fight, regardless of her body being covered in bruises and scars. She was kicked back down every time she tried to get up. With each kick to her body, she hissed at them, baring her sharp teeth, reaching out and scratching whatever was closest. She fought so hard.
"Your entire family are killers!"
Hyunjin's legs moved on their own, running to a nearby tree to hide behind. She had no plan. But her heart raced, and her limbs twitched. Something inside of her was telling her to do something to stop the commotion— anything. It was still so mysterious to her why, but only for a minute more.
Because then, a slow heat crept up and enveloped her chest. With wide eyes, her hand shot up to feel it, confirm it. “Oh, Gods,” she gasped. “Is that what it is?”
Think think think thi—her heart dropped to her feet when she saw one boy who couldn't be older than 12 pull out a bronze dagger.
Her eyes shot back to the nymph, and only then did she realise that her eyes were whitened over, irises only slightly darker. They were essentially two white marbles: like Agate. Hyunjin knew what this meant, and she couldn't stand back any longer.
She jumped out behind the tree and puffed out her chest, chin high like her mother taught her.
"Cease this!" she called.
They didn’t even hear her.
“Dammit!” She ran closer, grabbed one of their arms, and louder: “Yah, you! Cease this!”
“Yah, leave me alone, reptile!” they replied, snatching their arm back.
Hyunjin gaped in disbelief at the disrespect.
I need something. Her eyes searched around for a weapon, but all that she could see were branches. She picked up the biggest one she could find and ran up behind the boy who held the dagger in his hand and hit his back with a large stick.
The boy fell forward, yelling out in shock from the impact. The rest of the children finally directed their attention to her, eyes wide from seeing their leader attacked and in pain on the ground.
"I said cease this nonsense!" she growled at him, chest huffing.
The boy began to sob loudly, up into the sky and his little posse grew uncomfortable with the situation and began to run away.
Hyunjin zeroed on the girl with blue skin; she was less than two meters away. She hissed at anyone near her, and once all of them were far from reach, she crawled away while trying to get back onto her feet. It was clear she was running away too.
"No, wai—AH-“
Hyunjin's feet were jerked from beneath her.
THUD
She stumbled and knocked the back of her head on the ground.
“Dammit!” She cursed, arms sheathing her head in torture. At the yell, the nymph whipped around, coming face to face with the leader of the gang.
"You-You've summoned a victim to save you!" he aimed the dagger at her, his tear-filled eyes big and red. "I won't let you!" She caught sight of the sharp object in his hold and bared her teeth in warning. "I am not scared of you, siren! This will be the end of the terror your kind bring."
The princess was still able to get to her feet despite her pain and clumsily tackled the big boy to the ground. "I order you to stop!"
The boy's head spun for a couple of seconds before he could train his eyes on Hyunjin on top of him. He shouted in frustration. "Fool! She has blinded you!"
"No! You are a terrorist that deserves to lose his head!"
"She does not deserve to live and does not care for you! Watch how she runs away!"
And out of insecurity, Hyunjin lifted her head up in the nymph's direction, just to see trees upon trees with no girl. Distracted, she did not notice the boy huff, trying and succeeding to push her off by swiping his arm up in a backhanded punch.
Hyunjin screamed another loud cry, cupping her eye with both hands as her back surrendered to the ground a second time.
Again, the young girl’s pained sounds caused the nymph to freeze behind a big bush and grope her hair over her ears. This is not how I was raised. I cannot leave my saviour behind. Peaking over the shrub, she could faintly see the two on the ground, the bigger one frozen in shock with his gaze directed at the other. The smell of blood reached her nostrils, and the situation became clearer. The bigger boy already looked vulnerable, so she decided to take advantage of his fear.
A low rumble vibrated from her chest as she stalked towards him slowly, and he stumbled to his feet in false confidence. "I—I will return, siren!" And he ran away.
The girl made sure that he was a good distance away before dropping to her knees before her rescuer, watching her with furrowed eyebrows as she groaned and rocked from left to right to comfort herself.
She reached out to hold her pale, slim wrists, and moved her bloody hands away from her face.
A large, diagonal gash was fresh on her left eye.
Blood oozed from the eye as if it were tears, and she continued to sob from pain, her other eye shut tight. To the nymph, it all lacked definition, and for this she was grateful, because it seemed to be a traumatic wound that would take an immensely long time to heal. She did not know how she'd react to such a disturbing picture. The princess’s sniffing brought her back.
"It hurts..." she wept, whimpering.
"Shh..." the other responded. She covered her eyes with her hands, bent down for them to touch foreheads, then took a deep breath before humming softly.
The young princess was alarmed: a water nymph was singing to her in a defenceless state. "I don't..." she slowly fell from consciousness, words slurring as she tried to stay awake but that proved to be useless. She experienced an irresistible drowsiness that made her pain dull, and she didn't want to actively stop it anymore.
Once the siren was sure that she was unconscious, she took the princess’s arms and hooked them around her neck over her shoulders. She then adjusted her position on her back and began her trek to town.
This seemed like a very rich girl and if she were caught carrying her unconscious with an injury... well she'd finally be united with her ancestors.
With her eyes squinted, she tried her best not to step on anything sharp as she had no shoes. At least the other was not too heavy for her— she was already weak and sore as it was, but the dragon’s weight was manageable.
She could hear her slow breathing near her ear, but underneath the inhale and exhale, she was trying to speak. "Hhh..." was all that came out.
"Ungazami uk'khuluma." Do not try to speak.
She went quiet after that and that seemed like the end of it, but it wasn't silent for long because she tried again. "Hhy...in...hy..."
The nymph ignored her, determined to just dump her in town and go back home. She could faintly remember her mom telling her to be there by noon, but it was already well over. A drop of blood fell onto her shoulder.
"Pl... mee..." the princess tried again.
The town was coming into view, bustling and chaotic with people calling out a name while looking around. Some were sobbing on their knees while some were more focused on finding whatever it was they were looking for.
"Hyunjin!" They called. "Hyunjin, where are you?!"
The nymph could understand the land people's language only to an extent, but what she could piece together she was very grateful for. A girl with very expensive-looking clothes was in this poor town, while people with equally as expensive-looking clothing called out for someone. The situation read like an open book.
She tried to not come too close as to be in the range of the searching party, being as gentle as she could when dismounting the girl from her back. She laid her on the dead leaves.
"Hyunjin?"
Receiving a faint nod at her suspicion, her legs went jelly from fear. She could not be found with her.
From the ground, Hyunjin watched her tear a piece of her long-sleeve shirt with her teeth and bring it to her head to measure it. In her drunkenness, all she could do was watch her face. Her hair... She thought hazily. It was strange. There was a small white patch in the middle of her hairline, contrasting both the rest of her head and her skin. Now that she was close, she could see another white patch, but below her chin. Another one underneath her arm. The tips of her ears were white too. How did she miss that?
Unbeknownst to her staring, the siren tore the cloth and tied it around the dragon’s head over her eye. She did not have the energy to keep the other one open either.
"Hyunjin..." she murmured, bringing her forehead down to touch his, the same way she did before. She held this touch for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "Thank you." She then stood up and took a couple of steps back. "Here! Hyunjin!" She yelled as loud as her voice could let her, and after getting the attention of some people, she fled the traumatic scene.
Hyunjin.
She would not forget her name.
~
Many, many moons later the girl was adolescent and waiting for her father to get home. She sat in the living room of the small house, playing with her charms. It was her favourite passing time since they stimulated her eyes so much.
A shiver coursed through her, and she looked to the fireplace. The wood inside was no longer red, and the fire would die out soon. She searched for wood around the sides, only to find a few sticks. Those would not even boil a pot of water. She couldn't let her father come back to such a cold house after working the entire day.
With her mother gone back to Pecia, there has been a strain on him to both work and hunt for food nutritional enough for her while she stayed in the house. Oh, how she hated being useless. "I'll just go to get some wood." She decided, taking one of the crates next to the door. "I'll just get wood to make fire," she murmured, and silently asked for a safe trip from the Water before stepping out of the house.
The town was the same as always: slow, but impossibly loud. There was a family of canaries nearby that absolutely loved to sing everyone good morning every single day and they helped her know of the time so she could get into a routine.
That day, she would show him that she was able to do things herself. Just because she was weak did not mean that she was incapable of making their house warm. And to prove a point she needed to act on it.
~
Hyunjin was finally successful in creeping out of the castle. It took months for her to convince the Physicians that treated her eye that she was okay, and they could stop hawking her. She had a painfully slow recovery, but it was a recovery, nonetheless. The pain was soothed by the medication and ointments that she applied every night before sleeping. Or rather, attempted sleeping.
It was punishing; trying to forget what happened that day and fall asleep as if she didn't care. She laid awake, reliving the span of a few hours over, and over, and over again in her mind, until she gave up trying to rest. The trauma was one aspect, but why she got it was another one. Her thoughts raced constantly. I risked my own safety to save her. And fabricated a lie about it to my mother.
"It was a poor man. He wanted my clothing, but I refused. He tried to take it by force, but I fought back as well."
"You still have all of your clothes, my dear," the Queen said. "Why would she have fled without taking anything? And the cloth around your head? Who found you?"
Hyunjin had stayed silent and said she did not know, causing her mother to frown deeply. One eye searched for her father on the other side of the room, who looked out of a large window nonchalantly. He'd said nothing, but Hyunjin could feel the resentment directed towards her. Of course, he didn’t say anything. The way he looked at her was enough. He knows I am lying. But he does nothing.
He began to refer to her as Hanun, short for nun hana, which meant "one eye". That said enough about his reaction to her accident.
Hyunjin fiddled with her hands, letting out a shaky breath and a tear fell onto her palm. I met my person, she admitted to herself. She would have never done any of what she did for just anyone.
She was then allowed to roam the coven alone, but she never felt any less free. With every appearance she made in any part of the castle, the servants deliberately looked away from her eyes in pity, some shook their heads in sorrow, and she heard a few mumble "Shame, poor girl. She used to be so beautiful."
And she began to second-guess herself. Am I ugly? she was never insecure about how she looked, as she had always been praised ever since... well, as far back as she could remember. She’d been called a marvel, a spectacle, the most beautiful Hwang princess in her lineage.
Even her mother thought the same about her scar.
"I got a veil for you, my dear. It will cover your accident nicely," she'd said as she held up a shimmery, translucent cloth.
Hyunjin would've been lying if she said that she didn't want it and would've definitely been dishonest with herself if she said she did not care about how she looked. For hours, she sat in front of her mirror looking at the scar, wanting to see it fade in real-time.
She had no sight in that eye anymore.
Even she pitied herself. She wore the veil every day until she acquired a collection of custom-made cloths to cover her face. Some were long, some short, some shiny, some dull. She wore them depending on her mood and clothing of the day. She matched them, decorated some herself during free time and even made some herself when she felt creative. Not participating in conventions during her lockdown allowed her this creative outlet.
She found different methods of beauty. "Even if I'm not beautiful anymore, I can still be presentable." she decided to grow out her hair and groom it, pay close attention to her skin when bathing, use fragrances and be gentle with the skin of her face. She began to dress up only to read a book by herself in her garden. Her mirrors became one of the most important things to her.
But any thoughts of mirrors, her "accident" and her suffocating guards came to a stop when she reached the cliff near where her suffering began.
There she sat, at the edge. Knees to her chest as she looked out into the sea, absolutely hypnotised with her gaze fixed and zeroed on the waters ahead.
Hyunjin’s chest warmed up delightfully and she couldn't help but hold her hands to the warmth. There it was again. She couldn't get enough of the feeling, exhaling a contended sigh through her nostrils.
The nymph's endless thoughts of nothing were interrupted at the sound. Whoever was behind her, was not being subtle. It was difficult to determine the colour of a stranger, so her best option was to defend herself no matter what.
The princess’s weight crunched the leaves beneath her feet, and she was breathing too hard. But, instead of attacking, she just stood there. Maybe it was some sick game of letting the nymph notice her so she could try to run away and hunt her.
I am the predator. She echoed confidently in her mind. She waited for the other with her jaws hard against each other, anticipating another step. Another step and I kill her.
"H—"
She heard none of it, swiftly rising to her feet; spinning around and aimed her cupped hand for a neck. It wasn't too difficult to find, and once she had it in her grip, she scowled at the woman and pushed her to a nearby tree.
Her grip was tight.
Hyunjin gasped, hands flying to hers trying to tug them away. The force of the clutch only increased the more she struggled, she knew this, but her throat burned hotter with each second that passed until she lost her common sense.
She was waiting for her to stop fighting and to go limp.
Tighter.
"Sto— plhh! I-"
What could possibly be so important to say to me? She wondered. She would've bid a silent goodbye to the world and closed her eyes in acceptance.
Her stance did not falter; feet at shoulder width with her dominant one forward, right arm outstretched and hand's claws digging into the flesh of her hunter. Not deep enough to draw blood, she didn't want that; just hard enough to scare her even further.
She was very clean, she noticed. Much cleaner than the people of this town normally were. Wore quality clothing too. She also wore a... veil? Is it for modesty? Her hair was so long... reached her hips... Odd...
But she had to snap out of it.
Even tighter.
Hyunjin was quickly growing weak and light in her head, her instincts telling her to use what she had against the other to keep herself alive, but she refused the mere thought of hurting her. Those cold, robotic, Agate eyes stared at her hard and she whined, desperate for this tragic moment to end.
She just wanted to be able to look into those eyes without fear.
There must be a way... She remembered almost too late but was able to use the little of her strength left over to pull the veil up from her face.
"Hyuhjih..."
THUD!
The nymph’s heart skipped a beat once it registered. The discolouration on her eye was unmissable, even by her, and her name rang in her head like a bell.
Hyunjin collapsed by her feet in a coughing fit, inhaling a century's worth of air all while holding the skin of her neck desperately. The siren also fell to her knees, not knowing what she could do other than stare in absolute shock.
Of course, she had thought about her after she was found and wondered how she was doing, but she never thought that she would ever see her again. Why would she be back?
“Hhmyghh...” Hyunjin heaved, beginning to calm down with her eye still wet from tears. She caught the other’s face, and for her safety, shuffled away from her reach. She wiped her mouth from saliva, partial relief calming her terror.
"I am sorry." The girl bowed her head; eyes closed from shame and regret. "I... cannot see well. I apologise."
Those were the most words Hyunjin has ever heard her say, and the fact that they were an apology made her unhappy. Her voice was deep and the tone reverent; Hyunjin wondered if she knew her status. Swallowing was still painful, and she wanted to reply, but a fit of coughing followed instead.
The nymph cringed at the sound.
"I—I am fine," her voice was still strained, but it was audible. "I ca—me to lo—ok for you."
She leaned against a tree, chest rising and falling rapidly, but gaze steady.
The girl’s head lifted, but only enough to stare at the ground in front of her. "The boy. It was him. I was on my way home."
Hyunjin was confused but only for a moment until she remembered the big boy: leader of the little terrorist gang. Her blood boiled at the thought of him, but she shook off the feeling to focus.
"I know that you are innocent."
A few moments later, the girl nodded. "I am." She fiddled on her lap, picking at her fingers with her sharp, dark nails in visible discomfort.
"What is your name?"
The siren hesitated before answering: "Amamkele Lithemba Qamata."
Hyunjin stayed silent, stunned at the pour that came from her mouth and wondered how long it would take for her to perfect the pronunciation of her name.
Noticing, the girl humbled herself. "Ama. Ama is my name."
"No, no,” Hyunjin adjusted herself on the ground. “I will learn your full name," she said with a determined nod to herself. "What does it mean?"
"To be welcomed," she used her hands as well to sign. "With hope."
The princess softened at the explanation and smiled softly. "That's beautiful," she shifted just a bit closer and kept her hands clasped on her lap, "My name means kind-hearted and truthful, yet I don't believe I'm either, especially not recently. But wow, I could not imagine learning a language only from speech. How old are you?"
"Why are you here?"
The smile fell and she swallowed. She did not know much about water nymphs, but since they were reptiles, they had to be similar to dragons in a set of ways, but the girl's obliviousness spurred disappointment in her. "I... I wanted to see you."
Ama tilted her head, frown deepening even further. "Why?"
"When I got injured," Hyunjin mimicked slicing her eye. "You helped me."
The nymph nodded slowly. "You helped me."
"Yes, we helped each other." Hyunjin crossed her legs to sit comfortably. "Are you okay? Were you hurt badly?"
"I was hurt, but I healed," she watched the other nod in understanding. Her eyes fell on the scar on her face again and then came with a question of her own. "Did you heal?"
Hyunjin's mouth formed an o, not having had expected the question. "Hmm! I healed, yes, thank you for asking."
"Mmm..." She moved from the injured eye to the more intimidating one reminiscent of a snake's eye. She was undoubtedly suspicious of her real intentions; did not believe that she told her her full story. So she decided on using her gift to help her.
Her breathing slowed and she lowered her head slightly, focusing all of her energy on her. She could feel spirit moving in the soil beneath her to the dragon, and for the first time ever doing this, it felt so divine.
Soft clouds of lavender ghosted the princess’s torso, slowly consuming her being entirely. She even began to smell like it too. No, that's not right. Ama refused, concentrating even more and expecting the colour to turn into something else, but it only seemed to darken.
Hyunjin finally felt as if she was allowed to look at the other girl, and her breath was taken away. She looked the same as she did four years ago, but at the same time completely different. Firstly, she was sure the siren now stood above her a few centimetres. She was dressed in dried deer skin made into a skirt with a similar strapless top. She also wore white beads as a necklace, which stood out in contrast of her skin. There were more of those white patches, she noticed. She had them patterned on her like cow skin.
There was a particularly big stripe down the middle of her big hair that was tied low on the base of her neck. For some reason she wanted to see it free— like how it was when they'd first met. She had a big forehead, broad nose and very full lips with a prominent Cupid's bow. Then the glorious agate in her eye sockets. To someone else they would seem cold and emotionless, but Hyunjin felt Eden when she looked at them.
Hyunjin took a breath in, almost hesitating, but finally; "You are a wonder to look at, Ama."
It was her turn to go speechless. What in the world... She thought back to the day they met and the memory of her singing to her stuck out. No, it was not the enchantment song. She couldn't have made such a grave mistake. She didn't. But then why was she acting this way? "You must go to a healer," she finally said. "And she must fix your head."
Hyunjin frowned. "A healer? My head?"
"Amamkele!" A voice boomed from the other side of the forest.
"Tixho..." Ama cursed, rushing to her feet and remembering that she went out with the intention of gathering some wood. She'd gotten distracted.
Hyunjin watched as she frantically collected wood and threw it into a crate nearby. "Who is that?"
"My father."
She stood up in alarm, motivated by fear. "Your father? Wait, please explain what you mean! Why should I go to a healer?"
"You are sick."
She did not pay her much attention at all after this, grabbing a group of the wood and breaking it with her knee to make sure that it would fit. She is very strong. She noticed how instead of walking, she shuffled as to not step in anything sharp and made a mental note to herself to get her a pair of shoes. And looking glass. Maybe she enjoyed delicacies?
"Could you meet me again soon?"
Confused, a frown formed between Ama's eyes from failing to understand her. She spoke too fast.
"I'm sorry— Here? Tomorrow? Can you come?"
Appalled, the girl made sounds of disapproval. "No, no." She shook her head, then brought the crate to her head and balanced it accordingly. She collected the extra that could not fit in the crate in her arms.
Hyunjin stood up too, pulling her veil on for comfort. How she carried the crate with such ease and grace would be something she could ponder about later, because she was leaving. "No? But—"
"Cha. Udidekile, ntomabazane. Angazi yindaba uzizwa ngalendlela, kodwa yingozi kakhulu." No. You are confused, girl. I don't know why you feel this way, but it is dangerous. "Do not come back."
"But why? We have a lot to talk about! What happened those years ago was an immensely important part of my life. It w—" she stopped herself from continuing her speech at the look the siren gave her. It reminded her of the look a mother would give to her naughty child, and it worked in keeping her humbled.
She cowered, averting her eyes.
"Khuzeka." Be reprimandable.
"Amamkele Lithemba!"
The voice travelled through the thick trees of the forest, loud and piercing.
"Ngiyeza, baba!"I'm coming, father!
Her voice also travelled, so thunderous that Hyunjin had to cover her ears. It must've been how they were able to hear each other over the sounds of the ocean. Which reminded her... Why is she on land in the first place?
