It seemed Regind’s call worked. Several of their neighbors showed up that evening to introduce themselves to Lynette, some even commenting on having seen her wandering the streets. They all gave her warm welcomes, a few lamenting the fact they hadn’t noticed earlier or had anything to give her. She wondered how obvious it was, in front of all these people, that this kind of kindness without a price was something she wasn’t used to.
She’d gone to bed as early as all the guests would let her, then woke up in the middle of the night. She heard something—a song, pleasant but with a sense of foreboding or mourning hidden in it. Of all the words that were spoken, she recognized none of them; yet, somehow, words still formed in her mind as if she did.
They were commands, like a kind voice asking something of a dear friend. She knew she didn’t know the owner of the voice or really understood the song. Despite it, however, she got up, only half of her caring about where she would go.
She almost got to the front door before she bumped into someone.
“Oh, hey! No going outside for you!” Regind had one hand gently on Lynette’s shoulder to keep her from continuing and used the other to pin something to the strap of her nightgown.
The song was still there—it was no less hauntingly beautiful, it still made no sense. But Lynette did feel herself truly “awake” until that moment.
“What was I…”
Regind let out a nervous but relieved laugh. Lynette noted that she was wearing a charm nearly identical to the one she gave her. “That was a close one. With all the fun we had today I forgot Loraena was going to talk with her mom. Are you alright?”
With the several questions that popped into Lynette’s mind, the first she actually asked was, “Why was I about to walk outside like this?”
“Sirens.”
“Sirens?”
Regind gestured towards the kitchen table, where they both sat down before she continued. “I guess if you’re confused then that means that you really don’t have sirens in Seothia. Sirens are Daphni’s daughters, almost always living near bodies of water—the coastal regions, like where we are, being the top one of them. They’re known for two things: being really pretty and having a tendency to lure people away with their songs. Regular mortals like us get pulled in by their songs and can sometimes drown accidentally or be killed intentionally. The sirens around here are nice, but they still have to sing—it’s like their way of communicating to their far away family.
“At first our priest just recommended keeping doors locked and someone immune—another siren usually volunteers—to be set on watch, to try to avoid an accident. But a little while ago, with the help of Loraena, I was able to make these charms. Some of them are pins but most of them can protect entire rooms. The pins are for the ones who won’t be in their bedroom—don’t tell Nana but I may or may not have been working—and the rest stay in their bedroom. They’re a kind of Truth magic. Isn’t that cool?”
“I still only understood about half of what you said,” Lynette admitted. “Who’s Loraena?” This conversation was the first time she’d heard the name; whoever it was, they hadn’t introduced themself with what felt like half the town earlier.
“Loraena’s our resident half-siren! She’s cool—she helps me out a lot! She even answered my weird questions when we first met.” Regind smiled when she thought of something. “You know what? Tomorrow morning, I’ll introduce the two of you. She must’ve been busy if she didn’t come over. Maybe she was helping Ragnis, he’s been running all over the place. Just keep that pin on all night and try to go back to sleep, alright? Nothing else should happen. It won’t easily come off. I’ll try digging around to see if we have another one of the charms we can put in your room.”
…
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Lynette almost would’ve believed what had happened had been a dream were it not for her hearing Regind recounting it to her grandparents. Lynette, knowing it to be morning and not hearing any more singing, assumed it was safe to keep the pin off after she got properly dressed.
Both Nana and Papa turned to her when she walked into the kitchen.
“I’m glad to hear you’re alright,” Nana remarked.
“And I apologize for letting it happen,” Papa said more solemnly.
“It’s not too big of a deal,” Lynette mumbled as she sat down. “Regind made it sound like it was something you dealt with a lot—it’s probably just a part of your life. Neither of us thought about it because neither of us have really been in this position before.”
He didn’t seem any more convinced.
“Aw, Papa, cheer up a little,” Regind said kindly. She helped Nana set their breakfast on the table. “The important part is that nothing bad happened, right? Everything’s okay in the end and that’s all that matters.”
He sighed. “For once, I suppose it was a good thing you decided to stay up late.”
“But you’ve got to get to bed sooner,” Nana interjected. “You’re not going to be helping anyone, working without a clear head.”
Regind let out a nervous chuckle. “I know. I just got excited! I couldn’t sleep, I had to write some of it down. And test a few things.” Perhaps after realizing that she wasn’t really convincing them, she shook her head. “But that’s not important! I’m going to show Lynette around town, she still hasn’t met everyone yet. I’m going to try to find Loraena and maybe Ragnis while I’m out there. Do you want me to get something else while we’re out?”
Nana shook her head. “No, I think we have everything for now. Tell Ragnis to get some sleep, too, though. I swear I’ve seen the boy running around more in the past few days than you have. I don’t know where either of you get the energy…”
“And don’t let Loraena get the wrong idea,” Papa added. “None of us want her thinking that what happened was because of her.”
Regind nodded. “I’ll make sure to keep her from overthinking it.”
They all ate breakfast and Lynette elected herself to help Nana wash the dishes. She felt like she needed to be helpful somehow… even if most of it was just following Nana’s example, with no real experience of her own. Regind had disappeared during that time but returned to the kitchen almost as soon as they were finishing up.
“Is it time for me to steal you yet?” she asked with a smile.
Nana nodded. “Nothing I can’t do on my own. You girls have fun, but don’t get in any trouble.”
“When have you ever known me for getting into trouble?” Regind then took Lynette’s hand and started leading her out of the house and into the street.
Lynette had spent most of the previous day helping Regind and never actually left the house. It seemed even busier than what it had been when she first came. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be comforted in that fact or be on edge that someone might recognize her.
Eventually, she dared to ask a question she’d been meaning to. “Who’s Ragnis? Everyone keeps mentioning him.”
“He’s a half-fairy! He helps out a lot around Yllvamel, even if I didn’t introduce the two of you soon, you’d probably see him eventually.”
“Are there a lot of… those kinds of people here?” Lynette realized as soon as she said it how wrong it sounded. “I don’t know what the general term to refer to all of them would be. I… got the impression they never mixed. At least not like that…”
“You mean fairies or sirens and humans? They’re a bit more common than you might think they are! Especially here in Qizar. You’re probably thinking of Idkor when you think they never interact with each other—they’re kind of similar to Qizar, but they’re a lot stricter, and they’re only goblins and fairies. Humans—not even children of Fleyw Bresh—are allowed there. But Qizar’s a lot more casual about it in most places.”
“I didn’t know that…”
“Well, it’s true! Especially around the coasts here, where there’s a lot of sirens, some of the benevolent ones might fall in love with a guy. There’s a few things Loraena can’t do since she doesn’t have full siren blood, but she’s still like any of their other sisters. Half-fairies and half-goblins are common enough in places like Rhodes or in larger Andrea Province cities. Not so much in the Goblin and Fairy Provinces in Elluin, though, since most of those families are usually stricter like Idkor. They fit right in with the rest of us! Sometimes you can barely tell the difference unless they tell you.” Regind glanced at her. “Is it really surprising enough that you’re giving me that look?”
Lynette shook her head. “I suppose not, it’s just… I’m not used to it. Acceptance regardless of bloodline isn’t exactly the kind of value Seothia as a whole upholds.” She knew plenty of people that only tolerated the Fleyw Bresh because one of their kings was Qizar’s prince.
“Welcome to Yllvamel, then! You’ll find all kinds of people from all different walks of life here, living together peacefully. Orestis instructs us to be kind to every stranger, no matter our differences, and that’s something that everyone here agrees on.”
Regind’s smile was wide enough that Lynette found herself managing one of her own, too.