Unfortunately her luck didn't hold.
As the captain and Vitalis spoke her eyes scanned the men and the beach behind them. Her eyes shot back as she noticed a dead mermaid body on the sand and another with blood flowing from her mouth.
Cicely gasped as she realized they were the sirens that lived off the shore of their tiny island. What happened she thought to herself, unable to fully comprehend.
The captain and Vitalis looked over at Cicely, her hand covered her mouth and her her eyebrows rested high upon her forehead, surprised. Vitalis followed her line of sight and noticed the dead and captured mermaid.
Vitalis didn't say anything but he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her in close and she was grateful for the act.
The captain noticed her gasp as well and realized that she had been staring at the sirens. He misunderstood her gasp for fear and spoke in calming voice to the young woman. "You needn't fear, we killed the one siren when she wouldn't submit. The other siren we removed her tongue so she can no longer lure men to their deaths. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Currently, I have men searching the island for the family of gorgons that live on the island. We intend to capture or kill as necessary."
Cicely sucked in air as she struggled to breathe. "No." Cicely cried out. Her mother, her sister.
Again, the captain mistook her behavior for fear, "Why don't I escort you and your husband to the ship. You will be safe there."
Cicely couldn't find the voice to respond and she allowed the captain to escort her to a boat.
As she hopped in the boat, the captain instructed the man to take her to the ship and return. As she sat in the boat, that rocked with the movement of the sea and it's waves, she was feeling dizzy. Partly due to the fact that she had never been in a boat before and second because by pure dumb luck was she able to survive the eventual attack on her family. With the number of men and their preparation, she knew the men would be victorious. She wanted to cry out for her mother and sister. They may be terrible, but they were still her family and she began to mourn for their eventual end.
Vitalis all the while looked at Cicely and he could visibly see her pain. She was keeping herself from calling out in sadness because to all she appeared to be a normal human being, not a gorgon. Vitalis pulled her in close and had her rest her head on his shoulder as he stroked her back in an attempt to comfort her.
***
Six months later and beyond...
Her mother and sister were dead, their eyes gouged and their head cut clean off. The captain took them as souvenirs. The siren was enslaved and taken to some high ranking government official, she never knew what happened exactly. Cicely was sure it was nothing good.
Cicely put her hand on her bulging stomach, stroking it gently. "I hope you are a boy." she whispered to her unborn child. For if you are a girl, I fear the worst." She sat in the courtyard away from the world with the occasional interaction with the head servant.
The sun was shining brightly and quickly warmed her cool body. Vitalis was right, married woman were kept hidden from society, she had no fears of being discovered. Again she whispered to her unborn child, "unless you are a girl, then we will have to run. Because you will not be a human girl. But rather, a gorgon."
She was happy to be here and to be with Vitalis, but he was busy with his government work. She spent her days walking around aimlessly and speaking with the head servant to make sure the house was running smoothly, but even that was mostly handled by Vitalis. Cicely had spent the majority of her life on an uninhabited island, she was still learning the culture and customs of her new life.
There were times, when she was left alone when her thoughts drifted back to the island. What would she be doing now?
She would be dead along with her mother and sister. Tears would fall down her face as she recalled her family and she would have to wrap her arms around herself in order to be comforted again.
Eventually Cicely gave birth to twin boys, Faustus and Tomaso and she thanked her lucky stars and praised the gods for her blessings. Vitalis agreed that they would be their only children, because if they had a gorgon, it would only cause problems.
Cicely and Vitalis remained happy for many years. Faustus and Tomaso grew to young men and left the house to make their own way in the world. What Cicely failed to fully comprehend was that while Vitalis would continue to age, she continued to be youthful and hadn't aged a day.
The day did eventually come where she had to bury her husband and she cried. Part of her wanted to join him in the afterlife, but she didn't. Instead she took what she had and she became the 'daughter'. She moved in with Faustus (he was aware of what his mother was) and his young family. She lived with them and her grand children until the death of both of her sons. She realized there was nothing left for her in the town and departed. She took what possessions she could carry and headed West.