CHAPTER 1: BEINGS OF TWO WORLDS

Since unmemorable times, the ocean has been a place full of mysteries that mankind has always tried to understand. Mysteries that lie far beyond the surface of the water, where the sunlight does not shine anymore and no human being can go. One of these mysteries is about a strange creature whose mere existence has captivated thousands of people, but at the same time has been put on doubt, as the idea of a living being half human half fish seemed impossible. We are talking about the sirens.

Just like humans, there were many different types of sirens: males and females who took pride in their fish tails of different shapes and colours; and among all of them, there was one that stood out the most, thanks to her beauty, pale skin, bright aquamarine tail and vibrant pink hair. Her name was Marina.

Marina was a happy, joyful siren, with a great love for singing. In her free time, she loved to go and play with the animals of the ocean, and she was always willing to help those creatures who were in trouble. In all these aspects she was like any other siren in the ocean, but her charms came with an important detail that made her different to others: she was naïve and innocent, so she was unaware of the risks that existed beyond the surface of the ocean. Risks that only a reduced amount of sirens have lived in their flesh and have barely made it to escape from them.

The main risk that laid beyond the surface of the ocean was the humans, who were the dominant species of the land. The humans were pretty different between each other, but probably the most important difference between them was the way they decided to live their lives: some people lived with honesty and humility, working hard to earn their daily sustenance and take care of their families of themselves. But then some people lived the opposite lifestyle, looking to abuse of those who lived by hard-working just to get an easy life. And the best example of these abusive people were the pirates: fierce sailors who made a living by assaulting ships that got on their way and robbing the ports they attacked. Among the many pirates that sailed around the world, there was a young girl who had a job as the shipmaster of the most fearsome pirate ship of them all. The girl’s name was Charlotte.

This young pirate girl had a great sense of adventure and since she was a little girl always had a great interest in the ocean. When she was 15, she had the chance to meet the daughter of a famous pirate captain, and after that encounter, she decided on run away from her home to go around the world with that girl. But the life as a pirate was not an easy one: there were frequent clashes against the ships that belonged to a Royal fleet, and robbery was not as easy as people from assaulted towns described the raids. But even with those difficulties, Charlotte was happy to be a pirate along with her friend.

But then, one year after the start of her new life, the disgrace came to her when her captain and father of her friend was murdered during a raid, and they had no option but escape, ending the attack with a very damaged ship and only half of the crew. After this disaster, the captain’s daughter took control over the ship and named Charlotte as her shipmaster.

Now, it has been one year since that massacre, and Charlotte was looking to the horizon on the ship’s deck, awaiting for her captain to give her an order.

“Have you seen anything interesting, shipmaster Charlotte?” Captain Anna asked while coming closer to her.

“Not yet, captain,” Charlotte answered keeping her sight on the horizon.

“Keep your eyes open. We cannot let them run away,” Anna ordered.

”Are you sure we will find them this time?” Charlotte asked looking worried at her captain.

“Of course I am sure”, the captain replied. “According to the stories, we are on the correct route, so we must be able to see one sooner or later.” After saying that, Captain Anna left the deck, leaving Charlotte alone with her thoughts.

Months before, the ship had to do a landing on a small, remote island to resupply, and during the stop Captain Anna talked with a group of men who claimed had seen beings that were half human and half fish during a trip to India and how hard they tried to capture one only to fail. Charlotte had heard those stories, and she remembered how Anna’s father used to tell them similar stories when they were younger, and how he claimed one day he would capture one and exhibit to the people in towns around the world to earn a lot of money and never having to raid ports or ships ever again.

After listening to those men, Anna decided to go and look for those creatures, willing to accomplish her father’s wish to capture one to show it around the world. With her crew and Charlotte’s company, Captain Anna was sure she would accomplish her objective and be rich forever.

But now, Charlotte was worried. They had spent a lot of time in the ocean and had not found anything, and although the ship was supplied with enough food and water to survive for a few months without another landing, the shipmaster was worried that the crew would start a riot because of the lack of results. But she would not let it happen, even if it costs her life. Charlotte was secretly in love with her captain, and it was because of this love that she was willing to support her in her latest ordeal, and also willing to give her life to protect her.