"Had they shown compassion, she may have given mercy,"

It was odd how a life could be shattered with little to no effort.

Disassembled with one sentence and irrevocably and irreversibly changed in its course forever.

For Effie, that was precisely what Ezra did with one sentence.

Delivering a slither of information that Effie would have happily gone throughout her life without knowing.

If the Brentwoods wanted her dead so badly, they would have come for her. Killed her with no explanation and left her in a blissful ignorance up until the last breath.

Except there Effie was, no longer wanting to get through her chores, to focus on how best to avoid conversation with Nyle while dodging Jean as she sipped warm ale with Prue and Kitty at the tavern.

Instead, Effie was flapping like a fish in the jowls of a bear, desperate to be free of the sensation that her lungs were about to explode like a bloated sheep's stomach.

Every inhale burned her throat and seared through her chest. All the while, her voice was lost in short and sharp sounds that reminded Effie of an out-of-tune music box.

With her voice replaced with pitching wails that stroked her vocal cords, Effie felt they were going through a warm-up exercise, but the muscles were cramping.

"Calm yourself, Effie." Ezra tried to soothe.

A hand reached out and moved in a gentle downward arc to represent his words; Ezra's hand halted mid-air as the fingers cut sharply back into the palm when his eyes closed with a wince.

Voicing objection in an elongated screech, Effie took a hand from her neck to wave in a wild and frantic circle.

Being told to calm down was of no help.

Seeing that words alone were not enough, Ezra turned in a slow circle before spotting something of apparent interest to him.

Far beyond her depth and out of her comfort zone, Effie staggered forward, reaching out for the man as he pilfered through the cupboards.

There was a soft clicking of metal and a rush of water from the tap. Effie turned to find the noise. Just as her head moved, an icy water slapped across her cheek.

Startled and trying to drag in a breath through the shock of cold, Effie's arms were suspended at her sides as panting breaths heaved through her chest.

It took only a few seconds for the sensation and temperature of the water to become homely.

Each droplet became like a warm kiss on her skin, and the icy chill it initially held evaporated. Almost like embracing a long-lost lover, the water made Effie feel safe.

Confused by the feeling, Effie sought the man who'd thrown the pan of water over her. The simple black iron pot spun between the palms of his hands as a slow smile crept across his mouth.

"Feels like home, doesn't it." He commented quietly, the faintest undertone of amusement entering his words as he returned the pan to the cupboard.

Mouth open, her words, or wailing, disappeared in a swallow of breath.

When the cold that captivated her lungs was released, she breathed easily and welcomed the taste of air.

Ezra ran a finger over his bottom lip, caressing the dip as the thumb pressed under his chin. "I assume you will not know this, as your mother looks to have kept you in the dark. You're a gift and a curse to the other world."

Able to breathe normally again, Effie was much more relaxed and ready to pay attention to Ezra. However, what Ezra had to say did not seem all too appealing.

The less Effie knew and understood, the better it would be. Or so Effie believed at that moment.

Gesturing to a seat at the old kitchen table, Ezra waited for Effie to sit first before taking the chair opposite.

Fingers steepled half of Ezra's face disappeared behind the hands, but his eyes remained intensively focused on her.

"Our world's run parallel to each other. We are aware of each other, we cohabitate, but we never touch."

Ezra was speaking of the nether realm, the land of magic and make-believe, as her mother called it. It was a mirror of their world but with added sparkles to pretty up the bloodshed.

"Your birth was an omen and a blessing," his voice rumbled with a seductive undertone, but the sharp edge of each word buried the handsomeness of his voice. "You spell the end of a centuries-long tradition, but you also symbolise the end of an era."

Holding the table's edge, Effie dug her nails into the wood, brows dropping to show that Ezra needed further explanation.

"Gwendolyn taught you nothing?" Again exasperated, Ezra looked ready to roll his eyes when Effie shrugged.

Gwendolyn, her mother, taught Effie the necessary life skills. Magic was not something Effie needed to know, not according to her mother, at least.

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Splitting his fingers to massage his temples, Ezra's shoulders sagged in defeat.

Taking a moment to compose, Ezra straightened up on the chair, sitting poker with a face to match.

"I will make this bite-size, so it's easier for you to digest until a point comes where I can explain it better." Trying to hide his slight frustration made his smile appear less relaxed, taught and clearly strained.

"The night the Siren cast the curse, she died. The child she was forced to have syphoned off her immortality." Ezra grimaced; it appeared that he very much disliked that part of the tale.

Rightly so. The tale was filled with horror from beginning to end.

"That night not only saw the last of a species die but one of the oldest forms of magic too."

Head cocked, Effie waved a hand for Ezra to continue when he paused.

Placing both hands palm down on the table, Ezra held Effie in a blazing stare.

Impassioned in such a way that it was charming, Effie met the otherworldly blue irises just as the pupils dilated.

Ezra owned a stare that told a thousand stories but revealed nothing.

Open but closed all in one.

There was no possible way of not being somewhat enchanted by his eyes, even if only a passing gaze was shared.

Blinking rapidly, Effie felt a heat colour on her cheeks as Ezra's mouth upturned into a knowing smile.

"As I was explaining." Making it uncomfortably apparent that he knew Effie was getting all daydreamy over his eyes, Ezra coughed to hide a laugh.

This man was wily and effortlessly calm over Effie's sudden rose-tinted view of him.

Ezra was probably accustomed to it. He seemed unruffled by it after all.

When returning to their discussion, the focus is on Effie's choice to look past Ezra and out the window behind him.

It was still sunny, and it seemed time stood still.

No one was moving about their business, though there should have been many. It was a rare sunny day, and many would usually take the opportunity to do more frivolous things.

There was no one.

Almost like the whole village suddenly became a ghost town, there were no faint sounds of conversation or a lowing cow to be heard.

Ezra tapped once on the table, "Effie, this is not the time for daydreaming." Reprimanding her caused her to scowl.

Ezra was right; whether time stopped, he was still spouting information.

This information was something that Effie knew she could not entirely trust, as Ezra was not a reliable source.

Still, they were perfect strangers; it would be easy for him to fill her head with nonsense that would benefit him and his cause.

In truth, that's how the whole conversation felt thus far. Like Ezra was trying to steer it to his advantage.

Whatever it was he'd done to her body only added weight to her theory. Effie was rendered mute or instead reduced to squawking like a baby gull.

Had water tossed over her that strangely calmed her down, and now Ezra was giving her a history lesson?

Suspicious was too kind a word for the man and his motives.

"I am not your enemy, Effie. What I am telling you is for your benefit, not mine." Ezra's interruption cut dead Effie's thoughts, his burning and too-invasive eye on her. Again, she felt she understood a bit of his power.

"I can't read your mind entirely, so don't worry." Ezra laughed, the sound soft but deep. It made Effie's stomach flip flop.

"You have a solid defence up there. Bravo." Tapping the centre of her head, Ezra muttered the last word in some grievance, like he was not pleased that Effie could keep him out of her head.

The idea that Ezra could read some of her thoughts was unnerving. It left her feeling naked beneath his watchful eye.

Lips parting, it started as a warbling mess of screeching and off-pitch wailing, only calming to a melodic tinkle when Ezra apologised for invading her privacy.

Did he understand the strange replacement of Effie's speech?

Or was he purely guessing by its tone?

Neither question was answered, and she thought, on some strange spur of the moment, that she didn't want them answered.

"We are getting off track," Ezra mentioned, trying to bring their attention back to his original point of conversation "The original four destroyed all knowledge of magic and power ascertaining to water that night."

Making a squealing sound, Effie ducked her head.

It was embarrassing to be reduced to noises to express herself.

"A Siren's source of power lies in three things," Ezra said in his history lesson, ignoring Effie's discomfort: "Her body, her voice, and her ability to manipulate any body of water, no matter how small."

Delivering the last part urgently so that Effie could understand its importance, Ezra took a sharp breath.

Eyes more comprehensive than an owl, Effie sat up straighter as she leaned closer to Ezra when he appeared troubled by whatever he wanted to say next.

For some time, they lingered in a static silence, neither moving nor making a sound as they waited for the final piece of the puzzle to be slotted in place.

"Effie, you have the power to end us all."

Announcing what troubled Ezra deeply, the furrow of his brow increased.

Was Ezra trying to suggest that Effie would end magic as they knew it?

"That is exactly what I am saying." Speaking with a graveness, Ezra's worry evaporated to be replaced with blankness.

Expressing nothing, Ezra steepled his fingers again. "As a Siren, your ability to control water is ingrained within you." Blunt and almost like he accused Effie of playing an unfair and cheating hand in a game she didn't know she was dealt into, Ezra voiced his thoughts bitterly.

"With the eradication of water magic, and its outlawing of being practised, we have no defence against you, should you choose to turn a vengeful eye on more than the Brentwood's."

Effie's chest squeezed painfully at the second -this time spoken- accusation.

Already, Ezra believed that Effie was going to be a threat to a group of people she didn't even know, but she also deemed her some kind of monster that would turn her eyes on innocents.

Hurtful was the only way to describe Ezra's words. Knowing nothing about her—curse or supposed destiny aside—Ezra had already decided her fate and future.

It was angering and made Effie want to reach across the table to slap him.

Who did this man think he was to enter her home and shatter her quiet and mundane life. Only to then decide that she was going to kill and murder people, all for the sake of a curse in a story.

Much more controlled than the first time Effie wailed her displeasure at his words, her eyes meeting his defiantly.

They kept staring at each other until Ezra surprisingly broke eye contact. Showing the slightest sign of a smile, he stood up, patting down his suit before hooking up the staff he'd balanced against the table.

"I'm sorry if my thoughts upset you," soft and soothing Ezra moved around the table until he stood beside Effie. "But we must be cautious of you. Your birth has been long awaited but never fully prepared for." Using two fingers, Ezra tucked back some of the still-damp hair behind Effie's ear, the tips of his fingers brushing against her cheek.

From her cheek, Ezra's fingers smoothed down her jawline before the pad of his thumb pushed gently into the curve under her bottom lip. "I wish it were not so," whispered somewhat coyly. Ezra leant down slightly, bringing his face a little too close for Effie's liking.

With the bodily contact, a little flustering, Effie seized up in a panic.

Quite wary of Ezra and his intentions, Effie's body jolted in fright when something that sounded like cogs and chains turning broke the silence.

Withdrawing from Effie's personal space, Ezra stood smartly, his face coming over with a sly but mildly bored smile.

"I wish our time did not have to be cut short, but I can only stop it for so long." Ezra sighed in some distress as he eyed the pocket watch in the palm of his hand.

She was only able to catch a glimpse of the clock face, and she watched the hands whir around at an alarming rate.

Catching each other's eyes, Ezra smiled, "Time is catching up with itself." With a gentle laugh, he snapped the pocket watch closed before returning it to his pocket. "And you have a visitor."