142 Cursed in Paradise

The full moon gave light to the stone path leading through the town. His eyes searched both directions until a faint shadow in the distance caught his attention. Running as fast as his bare feet would carry him, he closed in on her quickly. "Jos, what are you doing? Where do you think you're going this late and naked no less?"

She didn't respond, didn't turn to face him. Instead, she continued a nearly ethereal stride through the streets of the town, her eyes focused into the distance. The chill of the fall night should have been enough to cause a reaction as her feet stepped down onto the cool sand and shells of the beach, but there was no reaction. There was no reaction when strong hands gripped her arms stopping her from entering the chilled waters.

He struggled to keep up with her in his human form but feared transforming would make things even worse especially if she was to identify him. It took a good hour, but he finally caught up with her. He paused treading water as a ship came into view. Arei's eyes quickly scanned the small vessel. His eyes widened and he swam as fast as he could toward Jos. This vessel was anchored off what was sure to be the shores of Ogygia. His eyes counted numerous canons readied along port holes of the lower decks. At the helm of the ship was a large harpoon, big enough to take down a whale. "Jos! Listen to me, they are here to hunt YOU!" He let out a pained groan as a tentacle crashed down on him, slamming him down to the sea floor before retracting.

He was still contemplating his next move when a loud buzzing noise began to drown out the chaos of the ship. "FUCK!" Arei yelled as he began swimming as hard as he could for land. The sirens lull wouldn't work on him, but if he couldn't shift and more that a hand full were to attack, he would be in trouble. He had just made it to shore when the buzzing noises began to shift into the lull of the song Jos had emitted the night he'd asked her to show him the pull of the sirens. He scanned the moonlit waters. His eyes widened, hundreds of ripples could be seen making their way closer to the ship. He couldn't move, couldn't look away as the men began leaping from the vessel into the waters. Beautiful creatures leaped from the dark seas to meet the falling men, then drug them down to the depths of the waters. His eyes widened as several massive tentacles came together and crashed down on the center of the boat, splitting it in half. The loud screams of the men mingled with excited cries of the feeding sirens. The beautiful melody wafting through the air only caused the scene before him to be more haunting.

He was waist deep when the glow of white hair caught his eyes. "Jos!?!" He yelled. "Are you alright?" He hurried toward her but realized there was another head behind hers. She was being carried… by a siren. He shook away the worry and swam out to meet them. "Is she alright?" He asked holding his arms out.

The siren studied him for a long while before nodding and handing Jos's limp body over to him. "She be fine by 'morrow. She be need'n sleeps 'til 'den." The siren nodded toward the shore. "'Der be a cave not far. Rest there."

Arei shook his head. Reaching below the water he pulled off his pants. "After I shift put her on my back." He said and put the pants around his neck seconds before his body began to transform into a hybrid horse and sea creature resembling something close to a hippocampus. He waited patiently as the siren struggled to get Jos's limp body onto him. When she had finally managed, he nodded. "Thank you."

The siren's breath caught. "Ye talk in that form?" Her eyes ran over the sleek black horse. "Ye… ye be Areion, yes?"

He nodded as he glanced back at Jos's sleeping form. "Yes… but please keep it to yourself for now." He didn't wait for an answer, instead, he pushed forward making short work of the miles ahead, cutting the earlier trip down to a third of the time it had taken to get there.

Arei carefully shifted while still in the water, taking great care not to drop her into the shallow water. Once he had her tucked into his arms, he draped his pants over her body to hide as much of her as he could before making his way back to the inn. He pushed the doors open to come face to face with the curious eyes of the fisherman and the old inn keeper. He gave a playful laugh as he shrugged with her still in his arms. "My bride tends to sleepwalk when in new places." He let out a faux sigh. "Little thing nearly drowned this time."

The Innkeeper arched his brows in disbelief. "And it took you nearly two hours to find her?" The man shook his head. "We don't care for dishonesty around here. I'll have to ask you to find somewhere else to stay." The Innkeeper crossed his arms and began to turn away.

"Wait…" Arei called out. He nodded toward the stairs. "Show us to our room and I'll tell you all you need to know."

The Innkeeper narrowed his eyes studying Arei and Jos for a long moment. "Alright, but if I find your story lacking…" He grabbed his key ring from the counter and began climbing the stairs. He pushed the door open and stepped in, holding it open for Arei. The old man watched as Arei carefully lowered Jos to the center of the bed and covered her. "Well?" The old man prodded as Arei brushed stray strands of hair from her face.

Arei smiled down into her sleeping face. "My beautiful companion here is the unnamed daughter of your towns greatest hero and the goddess Calypso." He covered his private area with the pants as he straightened and turned toward the old man. Arei's smile widened when the old man's gaze fell to his chest and the old man's mouth dropped.

The Innkeeper cleared his throat as he studied Arei's face with a new interest before moving his gaze to the bed. "This girl… She is a child of Odysseus?" The old man asked as he moved slowly toward the bed. He smiled and his eyes began to moisten. "She does resemble him… The people of this island will be so glad to know one of his children have returned. She's the last living child after all… The oldest living heir…" The man's hand flew to his mouth as tears trailed down his cheeks in joy.

Arei shook his head. "Not now. This information can't leave this room. There are some complications to address first, then if she wants to return… it will be her choice. But for now she needs rest. It's been a very draining night for her."

The old man nodded. "I… I will send up some warm water for a bath and some hot portage." The old man all but bowed as he made his way from the room.

Arei let out a heavy sigh. He hadn't even considered such a possibility. Would the people be as excited that their long, lost divine princess had returned if they knew she was also the same creature that had been sinking their ships for generations? He ran a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do with you, Kitten?" He pulled out the drawer of the nightstand and took out a writing tablet, quill, and ink well before making his way to the table. He quickly drafted out a letter to Ry explaining what all had happened that night.

"Dearest brother, I have seen our little one in full shift forced to carry out the will of the curse and Calypso. I believe we have underestimated its hold on her and her ability to control any part of the shift once the curse takes over. I fear if word of tonight gets out, the council will never be willing to grant her true freedom. It's time, we have to tell her everything. If her freedom can't be achieved independently then it will be granted under our protection. I'm taking her to father's courts as soon as she recovers tomorrow. I shall meet you at the tavern on her home island in a fortnight. I want us both there when we tell her the truth. -In faith, Areion"

A light tap sounded at the door. "Come in." Arei called quietly. When the maid poked her head in, he nodded and she came in with a heaping plate and a pot of steaming soup.

"The Master wanted you to have this." She glanced at the sleeping form in the bed. "He said for your bride to eat well and recover. He is all the more eager to see her smiling face in the 'morrow." The maid repeated the Innkeepers words as a few other servants brought in pots of steaming water for the tub.

Arei nodded. "Thank you." He folded the letter and dug in his saddlebags until he found a chunk of wax and large golden ring. He held the wax over the candle, letting it drip on the folded paper until there was enough to seal it. Then he slid the ring onto the knuckle of his middle finger and pressed it down into the wax. He held the letter toward the maid. "Can you give this letter to your master and ask that it finds my brother in Milan. He'll know who I refer to." He waited until the girl nodded and took the letter. Her eyes widened then shot to his when she saw the wax seal of two stallion heads facing one another with a trident in the center. The girl gave a slight curtsey before leaving the room.

Arei let out a heavy sigh, "Well it was fun while it lasted… Might as well have that damn symbol branded onto my forehead…" He turned his attention to the now steaming water. "At least something good came of it." He dropped the towel he'd wrapped around his waist and walked toward the waiting tub. He paused right as he was about to step in. His eyes moved to the bed and the pale beauty laying there. He straightened and walked to her instead. Her skin was still ice cold against his touch. He sighed as he bent to scoop her into his arms. "What am I going to do with you, Kitten?" He carried her over and lowered them both into the warm waters of the tub. He let out a pleased moan as he held her still sleeping form to him. "This feels nice." His smile faltered when he realized she hadn't responded in the slightest. He cupped his hand into the water and poured the warm water over her hair and carefully over her face. "Come back to me, Kitten… Be alright…" He searched her body for wounds but didn't find any. Only pale icy blue skin that still held a faint tent of the inky blackness along her hands and in the silvery strands of her hair. "We will figure this out, I promise." He whispered.

Once he had her clean and warm he stood and wrapped her in a towel, then carried her back to the bed. He quickly dried himself off as well before climbing in and pulling her tightly against his chest. "Sleep well, Love." He said as he kissed the top of her head before tucking it under his chin.