"Amara!" Mom yelled after me. I ignored my parents pleas and kept swimming swiftly. My ice blue tail flickered gracefully and I sped through the water. Tears threatened to pour as I swam through the clear water. The marriage was set. This friday at the Peace Ball, me and Jack's engagement will be announced. Afterward, I'm to go home with him and become Queen of the Witches. I don't know how I'm going to be Queen of the Witches when I'm a Siren. I didn't want to marry Jack. All I know about him was that he's very mysterious. I met him a few months ago, as well as Asena, Nesrin, Gabriel and Lukas. Me, Asena and Nesrin are all 15 now, or of age to be able to marry. Gabriel, Lukas and Jack are 19. Yeah its a huge age gap. In the human world, most girls don't marry until their 20s. Sometimes I really hate being a supernatural being. I swam down to the bottom of the lake we lived in and ripped up some kelp swirling up from the sand. Why were parents forcing me to marry a stranger, and an enemy?! My parents must've lost their minds. I saw the moon sparkling on the surface of the lake so I decided to go check it out. The water swished past me as I sped towards the surface. Water exploded around me and I broke the surface. I breathed in the cold night air. The water sparkled on the water and the stars dotted the sky. I loved coming up to the surface to clear my mind. It was calm underwater, but it was a different kind of calm up here. Fog was moving swiftly along the surface and I spotted a human stumbling along the rocks. I could use a midnight snack, I decided. I ducked under the water to get closer to the human. It was a male, maybe in his early twenties. Once I resurfaced, I opened my mouth a started to sing. At first I sang soft, and then my voice escalated in power. The water moved with my singing and swirled around me. The human stiffened and turned to see me fully. His eyes widened and He started dragging his feet towards the water's edge as if he was in a trance. I reached out my arms to him as He came closer. He reached out for me and grinned widely. But right before I could grab him, an ear splitting screech echoed through the forest to my right. The human snapped out of the spell and stumbled back. "Siren!" He whispered with fear. Before I could say anything, he turned and sprinted away. I groaned in annoyance at losing my catch and glared at the forest. Probably the Vampires or Werewolves fighting again. To be honest it's probably Demons attacking random people. They like to do that. I know I just almost attacked a random person, but that was hunting. I gingerly swam over to a huge rock that was offset to the shore and plopped myself on top of the rock. I tugged my tail up the rock so my whole body was on it. Once I was dry, my tail slowly turned into long, tan legs. I'm glad I'm a siren and not a mermaid. Mermaids can only live in saltwater, and they cant turn human. Sirens can live in freshwater and saltwater. We also can turn human if we stayed dry long enough. Once the transformation was finished, I stood up on wobbly legs. I raised my hand and some water dried up so I could walk down a path to the shore. When a Siren is in human form, if he or she is completely submerged in water, then they'll turn back. Mud squashed beneath my feet as I made my way to the shore. Another thing is, when I change to a human, I'm naked. But nobody ever comes out here other than a few adventurous humans. My dirty blonde hair was still wet and sticking to be neck. I wandered around aimlessly for a while before I stopped at the border between us and the Sorcerers and Witches. This is where I'm going to live for the rest of my life, I realized. Hot tears slipped down my cheeks as I stared into my new home. Soft grass was everywhere and willow trees seemed to common in their territory. I stifled a sob, I was going to have to leave my home forever. I'll never swim in that lake with my family ever again. "Are you alright?" Someone asked. I screamed and stumbled back. "Whos there?" I stuttered. I heard a soft laugh. "It's just Matt." I let out a sigh of relief. Matt is my older brother by 5 years. I turned around to see Matt standing there sheepishly while handing me one of his t-shirts. He already had basketball shorts on. "Thanks" I murmured "What are you doing here?" I slipped on the black t shirt over my head quickly. "I saw you leave the lake while I was hunting, so I thought I should make sure you're ok" He said. "I just can't believe that I have to marry our enemy and live in enemy territory" I said quietly. Matt sighed "It'll be ok, I'm sure Jack will let you visit." I looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm not so sure" I said "Jack is very strict with his borders. He never lets anyone come in, or anyone come out." Matt frowned "Then I'm just gonna lead a raid onto his territory so I can see you." I laughed "Don't you dare." Matt chuckled. "Let's go home" Matt said while setting an arm across my shoulders. "Ok" I nodded.
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"How could you run off like that? Your Father and I were so worried!" Mom said while franctically flicking her green tail back and forth. I sighed "I was fine, I stayed within the border and I was with Matt half the time." Mom scoffed "That doesn't make me feel better." Matt gasped "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my little sister" Mom rolled her eyes "Sure. We'll talk in the morning" Me and Matt nodded and hugged Mom goodnight. We left her cave and swam out. Suddenly Matt's navy blue tail whacked me. "What was that for?" I asked in shock. Matt laughed hysterically "You got me in trouble for something I didn't do!" I wiped fake tears from my eyes as I laughed loudly "Sorry big bro. Good night" I said while ruffling his black hair. He smiled "Night." I swam to my cave that was near Matt's. Kelp swayed around the entrance and I slipped in. Glow worms dotted the ceiling to light up my room. A soft shell bed with comfy sponges was set in the corner and a coral desk was on the other side of the cave. I don't know how I'm going to cope with being on land all the time and sleeping on land. Maybe Jack will let me at least sleep here, or maybe there's another pond or lake I could sleep in, I thought hopefully. He better or my life will be in danger. If a Siren spends 24 hours without being submerged in water for at least 1 to 2 hours, he or she will die immediately. One of our warriors died from water loss a few years ago on a mission in Demon Territory. She was captured and wasn't given any water. I feel bad for whoever has to marry Gabriel. It'll either be that werewolf, Asena, or Nesrin the vampire I met a while ago. I grabbed a shell comb and brushed my soft hair before settling into my bed. I sighed in content to finally be in bed and I slowly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of how my life would be like with Jake.
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Warm sunlight streamed in from the entrance of my cave as I blearily opened my eyes. Groaning, I rolled out of the bed and rubbed some black sand on my arms and face to keep my skin soft. After slipping on a small pearl necklace my Mom gave me and a long-sleeved grey shirt, I swam out of the cave to see Sirens bustling around doing their morning routines. Some freshwater mermaids were carrying sacks of kelp and crabs to the food cave. Sirens have always believed that they were superior to Mermaids since Sirens were stronger. Some Mermaids are freshwater mermaids but they aren't as pretty or clean as Saltwater mermaids. We use freshwater mermaids to do our housework and cooking our food. I found it very biased. I think that it would be cool if the Mermaids broke off and started their own clan, then there'd be 7 clans. I waved politely to all the passing Mermaids and bowed my head to the other Sirens. Even though I'm the princess, I still like to show respect to everyone in my clan. "Princess" "Your Majesty" "Good Morning Princess Amara" "Long live the Princess" These greetings followed me as I swam to my parents hut to ask if I could join a patrol. These formal greetings were pretty annoying after awhile. Once I swam into Mom's cave, Mom, Dad and Matt were deep in conversation. "Are sure about this?" Mom fretted. Dad sighed "It's the only way." Matt lit up like he had an idea "What if I went with her and stayed there for a couple weeks until she's settled?" Matt suggested. Mom and Dad exchanged a glance "That sounds like a good plan" Dad decided. Mom nodded in agreement before she noticed me standing there. "Good morning sweetie" Mom said cheerfully. I ignored her at first and kept my gaze on Matt. "Really? You'll come with me?" I asked hopefully. Matt smiled softly "Yup, but only for a few weeks." I felt a little deflated that he wasn't staying with me longer, but this was better than nothing. I turned back to my parents "Can I go shopping in one of the human towns with Julia for gowns?" I asked. Dad immediately frowned "Is it safe?" Mom glared at him "She'll be fine, besides she needs to buy a gown that she can wear on land since the ball is on land." Dad still looked worried but then Mom raised her eyebrow and he thought better than to argue. "Ok, but only if you bring Matt too" Dad concluded. Matt gaped at him "What?! You want me to go shopping with a couple of girls?" Dad's lips twitched upward at his outburst. "I'd rather kiss a sea slug" Matt groaned. We laughed loudly and I nudged Matt's shoulder. "I need someone to protect me!" I pouted. Matt eyed me and sighed "Fine, but only because I love ya." Mom and Dad made awed and Matt groaned in annoyance while dragging me out of the cave. "I'm gonna get Julia" I yelled to Matt as I sped away to her cave. Without even knocking, I burst into the cave and opened her curtains. "Wake up! We're going dress shopping for the ball!" I said while shaking Julia's shoulder repeatedly. Julia groaned and opened her sea green eyes. Her blonde hair was sticking up everywhere from sleep. "Come on, Matt's waiting" I said. Julia frantically jumped out of the bed "You could've just started with 'Matt'!" She said with exasperation. I snickered at Julia's weird crush on my brother. She's had a crush on him since we were little kids. Julia rushed to her vanity and brushed her hair until it was silky smooth and I helped her pick out an outfit, a mint green crop top with a black jewel necklace. She also grabbed black jeans to put on once we were in human form, while I chose light colored ripped jeans. Sirens and Mermaids really only wear shirts since we have tails instead of legs when they're in the water, and when they're in human form, they have to remember to bring clothes to wear on land. Julia's hair flowed down her back when we were finished and the mascara on her eyelashes made her sea green eyes pop. "Perfect" I said while grabbing her arm and swimming towards where Matt was waiting. "Finally!" Matt grumbled. I playfully glared at him and we swam away from our underwater village to the surface near the shore. Julia blushed a little as Matt swam next to her. Of course, knowing Matt, was completely oblivious to Julia's flustered state. Once we broke the surface of the cool water, Me and Julia hid behind some reeds to transform and change. Matt transformed behind a huge rock. Once we were finished we made our way towards the closest human town. "What kind of dress are you planning on getting?" Julia asked while glancing shyly at Matt who was walking next to her. "Probably a long dress with a blue color" I decided. Julia nodded in approval. "I'm gonna get a sea green dress that'll bring out my eyes" She told me. "Ooo! That'll look so good!" I exclaimed. Julia smiled and glanced at Matt. "Are you coming to the Ball?" She asked. Matt smiled "Of course."
It looked like Julia would burst with happiness. I tried to hold in my snicker while we finally arrived at a small town that the humans called, Moon Hollow. I heard once that the lake that we lived in was called Star Lake. The sun was out with a few clouds and a bunch of humans were bustling up and down the streets. Some cars drove by and I tried not to cower back. Car's really freak me out. Julia spotted a dress shop down the street and started walking towards it. "Do we have to" Matt whined while catching up to us. "Yup" I giggled. Matt rolled his eyes and we entered the shop. I gasped when I saw two girls already in the store picking out dresses. "Asena! Nesrin!" I said happily. Asena and Nesrin turned and smiled when they saw me. Two other girls were standing with them, cautiously eyeing us up. Asena placed a hand on another werewolf girl with brown hair and soft blue eyes. "This is Kylie" Asena introduced. Kylie smiled shyly "Hi." Nesrin turned to the other girl that I could tell was a vampire. "This is Cath" She said while gesturing to a girl with red hair in a braid and big, brown eyes. "Hey" Cath said with a smile. I gestured to Julia and Matt. "This is Julia and my brother Matt" I introduced. "Nice to meet you" Kylie said. "Likewise" Julia said. "So youre dress shopping here too?" I asked them. Nesrin raised an eyebrow "Obviously." I rolled my eyes are her and turned to Asena. "Did you pick out a dress yet?" I asked. She nodded "This one." She held up a flowing pine green dress with one strap. "That's so pretty!" I said with awe. "Which one did you pick?" I asked Nesirn. Nesrin held up a backless, tight black lace dress with a flowing bottom. "I love that!" I said. Asena checked a clock behind her. "We better get going before my brothers start freaking out" She muttered. "Bye, see ya at the Ball" Asena said while her and Kylie walked out. "Bye!" I said. "I better go too" Nesrin said while leading Cath out the door. "Ok, bye" I said. Once they were gone, me and Julia started hunting for the perfect dress. After about two hours of searching, Julia settled on a sea green dress with a tight waist and a sweetheart neckline. I decided on a flowy blue dress that dragged on the floor that had one strap around my neck. "Are you done??" Matt asked for the millionth time. "Yes Matt, we're done" I said with annoyance. Matt grinned and pumped his fist into the air "Finally!!!" He yelled with triumph. Julia giggled uncontrollably in response. "Let's go" I said while dragging them out the door with our dresses. Once we got back home, my parents rushed over to me. I could tell they were anxious about something. "What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for bad news. Julia tapped me on the shoulder. "I better go" Julia said. "Ok, thanks for coming with me" I said while hugging her tightly. Once she was gone, Mom looked me right in the eye, her blue eyes were full of worry. "King Jack has demanded that he sees you again" She said. I gasped and lifted a hand up to my mouth. "But He'll see me at the Ball! How impatient is this guy?" I asked with shock. "He wants some time alone with you tomorrow, we just received a letter" Dad explained. Matt growled lowly "And you actually agreed to this?" Mom nodded numbly. Dad placed a hand on Mom's shoulder. "We have no other choice. We have to stay on Jacks good side, besides he is our future Son-in-law" Dad said. Matt's eyes blazed "He's not part of our family." Horror rose in my chest. If Matt didn't consider Jack part of the family, would I still be part of this family? I will be his wife in a few days. I slowly backed away as Matt realizes what he said. "Amara, you'll always be part of this family" He said with a pained expression. I shook my head repeatedly "I'm fine, I think I'll just lie down" I mumbled. Matt went to follow me but I heard Mom stop him. "Leave her, she needs time to think" Mom murmured. I heard Matt sigh and I swam as fast as I could to my cave.