The Siren Queen

Once upon a time, even before you were born, there were kingdoms of fantastical creatures, two of which were the Fairies and Sirens. The fairy prince was having a ball to choose a bride. He was tired of the usual fairy maidens presented to him. They were beautiful, yet had no other redeeming qualities. The prince went outside of the palace for a breath of air. That’s when he saw the most spectacular woman he had ever seen. She was a siren with golden hair and luminescent light blue skin. She was trying to release her dress from a stubborn rock. “Here.”, said the prince, “Let me help you.”. The prince removed the rock and dropped it into the lake. The siren thanked him and gazed into his eyes. When they looked into each other’s eyes, they both felt a spark that they never felt before. “I’m Marina, princess of the Sirens.”, the siren said. The prince greeted himself as Phillipe and said goodbye to Marina. Only, he didn’t want to say goodbye. He wanted to stay longer and continue the conversation.

That night, Phillipe couldn’t sleep. He was aching with a great desire. And when he did sleep, all he dreamed about was Marina. He decided to bring her flowers the next day. Marina gladly accepted the flowers and blushed. No one had ever brought her flowers, except for the men who admired her. But those men were insanely misogynistic and conceited. Phillipe was not like those men. He was kind and honest. Marina couldn’t sleep until she returned the favor, so she brought him flowers, and then the two talked about their troubles. “In all of my days on Earth, I’ve never met someone just like you, Marina.”, Phillipe said. Marina blushed and replied, “And I’ve never met anyone like you before. All of the men of my kingdom are horrible people who only want to marry me so they can be king. Nobody truly loves me.” Phillipe held her hand and softly said, “I do.” The two walked across the bay, having a dialogue and collecting shells. They went on little dates like this for several months, until one special day, while they were walking along the beach. Phillipe knelt down on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring. Marina gasped, holding back tears. Phillipe began to speak, “My dearest, I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of months, yet I have nothing but a burning passion for you. When you aren’t here, all I want is for you to be near me. Will you marry me?”. Marina tearfully agreed, and the next week, they had a big, joyful wedding, and a week later, they were crowned and their kingdoms were joined together as one.

A couple of years later, the couple had a beautiful daughter named Narissa, for she would be next in line for the throne. Phillipe always told Narissa, “Be strong, my little angel, for life will bring you many challenges.”. Her father taught her to be brave and ready for anything, while her mother taught her to be demure and lady-like, as a young princess should be. But by the time Narissa turns five years old, the story will take a dark turn, for you see, Phillipe had been drafted into the war of the Sirens and the Selkies. As Phillipe packed his armor, he hugged his family, as if it would be the last time he would see them ever again. He rode his hippocamp into battle, slaying selkies left and right. But a selkie managed to capture him and behead him. As a sign of victory against the Sirens, the Selkies delivered Phillipe’s head to Marina. She fell to the ground and burst into tears in heartbreak. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”, said Narissa. “Your father,”sobbed Marina, “is not coming back.”. Narissa hugged her mother and cried with her. Later that night, Marina’s melancholy had turned into rage, and her rage turned into a thirst for revenge. Revenge against the Selkies, revenge against love, revenge against everything that made her upset. She was slowly turning into a cruel and monstrous ruler. The next day, she laid siege against the Selkie kingdom, destroying everything, taking so many lives. And over the years, she forbade her own daughter from love.

About twenty years later, while Narissa was on her way back from college, Marina was sitting at her throne. She was pale and gaunt. Her hair had turned green from hatred and envy, so she wore it back, unusual for a siren. Marina waited for her young daughter to come home from her studies. When Narissa returned, however, she was not alone. She had brought a scrawny boy from the Cadejo kingdom. “Mother,”she said, “This is my boyfriend, Teku Volcano.”. Her mother scoffed and said, “Boyfriend? Narissa, I’ve told you to never fall in love.”. Narissa nervously chuckled and said, “ He’s been my boyfriend for three years. I’ve been hiding our love because I knew you wouldn’t agree with it. But I do love him.”. Rage made Marina burst into flames as she yelled to her guards, “Take the boy to the dungeon! That will teach him to fall in love with my daughter!”. Narissa shouted back, “Mom, this is not fair! I’m in love with this boy!”. Marina said to her daughter, “Love only leads to heartbreak, my dear.”. Narissa fell down in tears and sobbed, “Don’t you understand? My heart is breaking. I feel nothing but a burning passion for Teku. Every single minute he’s not here, I want to be near him.”. Marina was flooded with memories of her and Phillipe’s love. Suddenly, she realized what she was doing was not right. She said to her guards, “ Release the boy.”. The guards let go of Teku, who ran to Narissa. “I’m so sorry. I thought that love will only lead to heartbreak, but heartbreak only comes when you take someone you love away. Please forgive me.”, Marina apologized. Narissa ran over and hugged her mother. Marina felt her frozen heart begin to thaw as she said, “I love you, Narissa.”