Thirteen years ago

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"Everyone ready your weapons, take your positions and don't fire until I say so!" All the sophisticated weapons readied in command and pointed towards the middle portion of the coastal sea. Helicopters swerved around the same spot, humans shrieking in high ridiculous tones while setting their youtube channels to 'live' to get on the hottest topic and hunters reloading nuclear dynamites enough to blow up the whole area.

Back on the ship, while the hunters were running to their different assigned spots, their beta suddenly placed his index finger against his lips, signaling his colleagues to remain silent. Something shifted in the water as all heads stirred to that direction, leaving behind bubbly ripples. The humans all got the clue and turned off any light or sound that could give away their identities and listened attentively for any strange sound or movements in the water. They needed to give the creatures of the sea a 'spectacular' surprise visit just like the good ol' days.

"They're here, King Newt, what's our next move?" A merman guard announced, swimming swiftly from behind the swarm of angered fishes to the King's front. This royal guard had been ordered urgently as one of the kingdom's watchmen to keep a very close eye on the hunters and find out their next plan of action.

What the humans didn't know is that just as they were stalking them, the creatures have also been stalking them too, right under their very noses.

Newt's face hardened. "We summon the sirens."

The kingdom gasped in disbelief and began to murmur among themselves, wondering why their King would think of such an abominable act. The word alone sent chills all over them. To them, it was like surrending themselves to a swarm of flesh eaters who wouldn't only feed on humans but that of the aqua-creatures. They were monsters. No one ever heard about their whereabouts ever since their last King, Triton, banished them. All they knew was that these monsters were locked in the deepest and darker crooks of the sea, the most dangerous place in the vast ocean, the seabed, never to be released in the broadsea.

"They'd kill us." Queen Isle gritted through her canines and stood up immediately. "I won't let my people die in the hands of those monsters, Eric. We've not even faced these foolish hunters and you're already bringing up t-these..." She paused and shook her head. "No, I don't support it a bit!"

King Newt frowned and turned his face away as she stroked his cheeks lightly. She knew that he was under pressure just like everyone else but she didn't want him to suffer because of that. The lingering smile on her face disappeared at once. She had wished so much for anything to be by his side forever but endangering their daughter was what she'd never stand for. The Queen turned his face back to her direction and made him look into her terrified rainbow eyes.

He needed to hear her out...just this once.

"It's for everyone's good, it's only a matter of time before these humans get to invade our Kingdom and kill us." The Sea King cupped her cheeks. "It's time we bring in the Sirens, don't you think? Arielle is no longer safe within the waters, these hunters after her and you know that. These sirens are the only ones that can scare them off for now."

Queen Isle gasped and slapped his fingers away from her, fuming with anger and determination. "No Eric, not on my watch." Was the last thing she said before turning her back against him and flapped her fluked tail, swimming away from the kingdom into another region of the sea, her this-is-so-fucked-up-emergency-hideout. She was perhaps just too stubborn to hear him out or maybe had some terrifying personal reasons?

King Newt sighed and stood up from his throne, the kingdom becoming terribly silent as he looked over each an everyone's face.

"Release those sirens." He declared, his long yellow hair floating around his shoulders as he struck his magical pitchfork into the seafloor. The sea creatures scattered around as the ground began to rumble and shake violently; the one sound of doubled trouble.

The hunters staggered backwards on the ship, almost losing their balance from the swelling waves that just emerged out of nowhere against the ships. It all happened within a range of seconds. The calm, beautiful, peaceful sky was immediately replaced with a heavy torrential pelting atmosphere, swirling storms slowly emerging from within the depths of the sea. "What the hell? Everyone grab something!" Someone cried out, his voice laced with visible fear. "The King of the Sea is upon us!"

Another lurching eventually sent them stumbling against each other as they make attempts to grab on to the nearest masts. Six hunters positioned themselves, each, at the ship's now - dampened railings to balance their momentum and stop the ship from reeling to a very dangerous angle.

More crestless waves suddenly swelled from the four dimensions of the ocean's bank and headed towards the now - speeding ship. The humans screaming on the beach as they filmed the whole scene- like their lives depended on it. With the ship's incredible speed, the hunters had managed to bypass the slamming waves and sway the ship some feets away from the angry waves. The only problem now was that the ship was creaking loudly and tilting away from their marked spot, the very centre of the ocean.

"Dang it! Stay low everyone! Strike if you see anything, be it fish, fishess or fishers! Whatever - just fire! That's an order from the HQ." The helicopters responded by flashing their lights against the surface of the waters. The pilots communicating with the sea agencies on land about the current situation.

Queen Isle froze at the spot as she sighted the scene. She knew better and quickly returned back to the walls of the kingdom, clutching what was hidden underneath the weaved plants around her abdomen.

"My poor baby, I'd never let anything harm you...even if it means getting killed in your stead. I promised to be a very good mer-ther (mother) to keep you safe and sound." Queen Isle said sweetly, caressing the silent fingerling's soft cheeks like nothing wrong was going on. Maybe she didn't just want her baby to read the terrified expression on her.

Isle smiled sadly. "You took after my nature, so silent yet troublesome. How cute. Very soon, this war would be over and we'd live peacefully again like how we did back then. When it's over, you'd continue to be my first and last love, my beautiful and intoxicating angelfish. You'd get spoilt and nothing, no-one, would lay a single finger on you. All I've to do now is just—"

The Queen was instantly cut off by an earsplitting screech which was also followed by a thunderous choir of bloodcurdling howlings; a very familiar howl of warning, that very one that could lure you into an eternal darkness without you knowing it.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening!" Queen Isle whispered against her webbed finger and slowly walked backwards as the figures of the dreadful creatures swam past the hidden seaweeded windows. They have been freed from their bed of doom and can now roam into the depths of the ocean freely. This wasn't only danger whispering from the bed of the ocean but death calling to everything that happened to pass its paths. "You leave me no choice Eric.... but to flee for my life."

She looked down at the baby in her arms, in silent tears. "I'm sorry angelfish, I just...can't stand what happened to my parents to repeat itself again." She choked out and began unloosening the woven fabrics. She needed to hide her baby before it was just too late.

The hunters' leader, Major Huntsman squinted his eyes at the strange turbulence that was slowly forming at the surface of the waters. He spat out the cigarette from his chapped lips and slowly walked to the edge of the ship to make a closer look, the rifle in his other arm aiming at the water readily. Everyone became terrified and yet curious and excited about the kind of creatures they were going to face. Just as the hunter lowered his face towards the waters, the figures of strange looking mermaids swam to his direction with an unimaginable high speed, screeching loudly as they do so.

"Major! Look out!" A hunter cried out, alerting the other crewmates.

"Fire!" The major boomed and triggered his rifles at anything that moved on the surface of the waters.

"Attack!" King Newt followed.

****

"Those sounds..." Huntsman mused, his voice sharp with a hint of slight fear. He had known and seen people kill each other all because of these screeching sounds. Because of all these, he lost his god-damned brother to these evil sirens. He won't let that happen again. No - not under his watch. "Everyone close your freaking ears! Do not listen to their voices, it's a trap!" He pressed hands against his ears and froze for a second, glancing over the crow's nest, his face instantly turning pale.

It was already too late.

Some humans were already trapped under the trance before he had made that statement. Dozens of them looking abnormally wide-eyed into the ocean, their faces hollow and blank as they slowly walk into the sea to meet their doom.

"Fire!"

Gunshots filled the atmosphere and thousands of howls are being heard from these creatures. The cursed mermaid creatures occasionally leaped out of the water then all of a sudden, dives back into the waters, their screeches lessening gradually. Everyone stood alert and looked around the edges of where they stood carefully as no one knows what might happen next.

The hunters each put on their telescopes, darting their eyes to and fro like hungry but panic-stricken beasts. These sirens couldn't be far from here, could they?

As if on a clue, another sound was heard, only this time it was a small feminine melodious singing. It was ridiculously soothing and dangerously tuneful to the ears but just one attention to it could lead to one's very doom. The worst part's that the victim clearly becomes hypnotized and dumb as hell - completely zoned out from his body, mind and soul. Exactly what they want. "The motherfuckers are trying to spell us, everyone sing in a jumbled voice and pay no attention to the voice, no matter how beautiful and jolly it sounds!"

Everyone began to sing in different keynotes; both high, low, soprano, bass, whatever—just to keep themselves distracted from the siren's song. A sudden cackle from the unseen siren sent chills all over them. There's no way they could understand what's going on...right?

Like a dreamy nightmare, the female siren raised her head out of the water, grinning mischievously at her enemies. Her silver eyes suddenly flickering to a red colour and her ocean blue hair turning to that of the dark green. Without warning, she began to approach them, very slowly.

"F-fire!"

The siren cackled in response and dived back into the ocean, her spiked tail following her from behind.

"So... she's gone?" The sound of water splashing at the other end of the ship made them all turn sharply to the noise's direction. "Fuck, this is not good." Looks like they were trapped big time. There wasn't one of them. How could they think that? Twelve pod of female sirens resting their chins against the floorboards caught their attention.

They were doomed for sure.

One by one, the sirens began to let out an oddly irritating cry, not song this time. A cry of warning, no... death sentence. "A-aim a-at her...the...the middle one's voice is....so beautiful! As elevating as the clouds in the sky!"

One by one each of them, as far as they listened to it, began to fall under the mysterious sirens' irresistible spell and slowly approached them. The blue tinted sirens licking the edge of their bloodied canines happily as they stretch out their long clawed fingers impatiently.

Thousands of sirens soon emerged from the waters and turned towards the ship. They sure have heard the females' call. "Holy Neptune! W-what are these? These aren't mermaids!" A random human cried out. Rushing right at them were the alluring creatures of the sea, with the disturbing splatter of blood around the corner of their lips. Some of them even had raw bleeding fishes hanging at the corner of their retracted fangs.

"Forget the firing - just stir this ship as far as you can! Go! Even if it means throwing off the captain!"

******

Meanwhile, under the sea, the sound of cries filled the atmosphere. Queen Isle had successfully made it out of the kingdom even though she had spent almost an hour shedding tears on her only child.

She needed to face these humans on her own and return back to her child.

The ocean depended on her queen.

I mean - how hard could that be?

Just as she began to summon her powers, a sharp clawing pain suddenly pierced through her abdomen, the surging burn spreading throughout her entire muscles. The feeling was that of a thousand blokin digging through her flesh. The feeling of her body dissolving - as if being ripped apart. Pain was the human description for this feeling.

She gasped when her eyes fell on a dark rusty hook pulling dangerously at the edge of her waistline. How did they find her? Was she being stalked or something? This was certainly not good! Especially as she was far away from the help of her people. Maybe she should have listened to her lover after all.

"Well, it's a good thing they missed my ears or they're dead. My ears are so precious to me! Okay, okay, this isn't time to joke around, Isle. This is between life and death."

Isle groaned in pain as she forced her way through the crestless musky water, trying her best not to look down at her nightmare. Suddenly, an idea pops into her mind. Why didn't she think about this before?

It's time to activate one of her powers.

Telepathy.

"E-Eric...can you hear me? Eric!"

She waited a little while for a response but hears none. Just when she was about to give up, an unfamiliar cold voice rolls in, from a distance unknown.

"The MerQueen."

Her eyes widened.

"My love! Evacuate that area right now! It's too—"

"Eric!"

Another incisive hook dashed into the musty water, this time pulling her forcefully by the ends of her floating hair. She tugged more and more but nothing happened.

She was stuck.

Reddened bubbles erupted from her lips as the hook slashed deeply through her pale skin upwards to her neck region - pulling her dangerously to the ocean's surface.

More screams of agony left her tortured body, her body shaking uncontrollably by two different stimulus; defense and fear.

Her rainbow eyes instantly flickered to a bright intense colour of blue and a dark shade of red, her beautiful webbed fingers turning to long hunting claws and her ocean blue hair slowly losing it's colourful nature to that of a blondie—almost similar to fleshy parts.

The forbidden and unspeakable side of her was slowly manifesting. A side not too far from that of the Sirenians.

She let out a cry of pain as more dagger-like hooks strikes into her body mercilessly. Her cries instantly becoming sharp hollers, and the ocean recognizing it's very queen by letting out a thunderous thunderbolt of anger. She began to chew through the lines, poking her clawed fingers through the surface of the ocean as she struggled to breathe. Her gills were badly ripped off.

No matter how she struggled, it was perhaps just too useless. Gradually, a dull blue color overtakes her, her light blonde hair now wavering into fleshy seadweeds as she began to cough out blood repeatedly.

Her powers had failed her.

She had failed her lover, Eric - King Newt.

She had failed her Kingdom.

And most of all, she had failed... Arielle.

The only thing she could make of the troubled waters was the dark red color that was gradually blending in with the blue waters. There was no doubt that this was her own blood.

"M-My daughter...My daughter... A-arielle, N-no."

Then her weak bloodshot eyes shut close as the blurry image of two-legged creatures came into the view.

Is this her end?

Back at the coven, Arielle's eyes snapped open, roaming around the corners of the abandoned undercave. She had felt what her mother had felt, fear. Every mermaid had a bond with their merthers, even from birth. But instead of locking eyes with Queen Isle, her lovely merther, her eyes fell on someone else - or maybe even something else.

Unlike the other mermaids, this woman had five colourful and powerful fins attached to the end of her tails, and even scarier, she had orange seaweeds on her head instead of a real mermaid hair. Tilting her head to the right, she immediately notices that it wasn't a fin... but tails.

Seven unusual tails.

The more she looked into this mysterious merwoman's eyes, the more her small innocent blue eyes became brighter and more intense. Her steady breaths matching with the bombarded environment.

Was this woman danger or was she her mother?

The very one who sings her sweet luring songs?

Certainly danger.

Arielle snarled at the woman, showing off her barely grown canines.

Suddenly, the woman's lips twisted into a smile. The only scary thing about this smile was the bloodstained fangs protruding out of her pale meaty lips and the dark look settling in her eyes.

"Trying to trigger your powers, are we? I see you can scent my presence. Very impressive, child." She chuckled, resting her tails on the seaweeds as though she was sitting. "Even as you're little, you react instantly, how strange of you," She started, a dark wicked look settling in her crimson eyes, "It's no surprise, I mean, you're the heir to the Goddess' throne. But don't worry, I'd take good care of you just like I did to your mother."

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-What do you think about Queen Isle?

-Did the humans and hunters even make it after the storm? :').

-Who's to blame for Isle's death...King Eric or the Queen herself?

-Any comments on the sirens? :')

-What do you think would be the Queen's powers?

-What do you think happened to Princess Arielle?

-Did you enjoy little Arielle's past? Tell me which part touches you the most!

Thank you!

{C/N: Thanks for reading The Mermaid's Secret, it means a lot to me as this is my first-original-mermaid-not-fanfiction-story-ever ❤️. Credits to the owner of the soundtrack, Mermaid's Attack. Please PLAY the youtube soundtrack pasted above, pretty please! As you're reading make sure the music's playing on the background too. The best part is listening to it with headsets or playing it on a speaker as you read!
Wanna know why?
Because, this chapter is meant to give you the chills and not the smiling look :). I gave someone this chapter to try that out and she hella loved it}.

Word Count: 3251