Before we decided to venture back out into the world, we needed to test the limits of Marina's abilities. Her voice was a potent tool for her to hunt humans with, yet I was the first to accidentally fall prey to it. So far, all we knew is that I would constantly try to approach her. Once I get close, I remain still. The issue with that is, usually a siren stays in the water, and the victim will drown themselves. This makes a fuss-free snack.

  The hypnosis also had one other effect. If Marina instructed me to do something, or was actively addressing me, I could somewhat choose how to fulfill her needs. If she asked me to crawl down her throat, I would either do it slowly, or do it quickly. I could even dance on the way there. A pseudo-freedom, in a sense.

  The cavern Marina claimed as her own was massive. A hundred yards away, an entire galleon lie broken in a corner, landlocked and forgotten. How it got here was beyond the ken of Marina and myself, and she mentioned it was here before she arrived seventy years ago. As luck would have it, my test was a seemingly simple one.

  "Go investigate that ship," Marina requested, before following up with more etiquette. "Um... Please..."

  Marina made it clear that she didn't like the fact that she had stripped me of my free will. With this short quest, we could see the range of my freedom during a command.

  "I'll be happy to do that," I replied, and suddenly found myself able to move all of my body. I felt compelled to walk towards the ship, and trying to walk in a different direction felt impossible. Next, I wanted to see if my speech was limited as well.

  "If I take too long, would you call out to me and have me retreat?" I asked. I had no issues speaking, and this seemed like a good thing to ask.

  Marina smiled brightly. "Oh don't worry, I was planning on something like that anyway. Thank you for doing this, I'm too big to mess with that ship and didn't want to risk breaking anything important. It's been bugging me for a long time."

  I quickly nodded my head, and departed towards the ship. This part of the test would see how far I could get away from Marina, and whether or not the siren's curse would weaken.

  The further away from Marina I got, I couldn't really tell a difference. I was still unable to deviate from my path, and still felt an urgency to have a quick look inside the ship. On the way to the ship, I noticed something shiny on the ground, covered up with a bit of dirt. It was close enough to my target, so I decided to bend over and see what it was. 

  I rubbed my hand on the ground to knock away some debris, and uncovered a dusty tiara which appeared to be made of solid silver. I thought nothing of it and hung it halfway through my belt. Maybe we could sell it for some money if the need ever arose.

  Eventually, I did make my way to the top of the galleon. The craftsmanship was superb for it to have lasted this long. The ship looked positively ancient. I came across a trapdoor, and decided to tug on the latch.

  *pop*

  The trapdoor swung open, as the lock had rusted long ago.

  Peering down inside, it seemed dark, but I could still see fairly well. I turned to wave at Marina, who did a cutesy wave back at me from the shore. I then climbed down a creaky ladder, and found myself within what appeared to be a dormitory of some kind. Hammocks and beds were everywhere, but along the walls I located an unlit torch. A tinderbox had its contents spilled on the floor underneath a nearby bed and I was then able to get my torch lit without much trouble.

  I smiled at my crackling fire. I had already done so much on my own and it was refreshing to at least have some sense of self control again. Of course, Marina had quickly proven herself to be my ally, and I rather enjoyed her company even if it meant letting her have control over my actions. It was the strangest thing to befriend what was supposed to be a giant oceanic predator, but the level of safety she provided felt unmatched. I had no doubt she could punch a hole through this ship and pluck me out if she so desired. But at the end of the day, she had the heart and soul of a fellow human.

  The interior of the ship was incredibly quiet. Every step I took made a creak, and coupled with the relative silence of the ship... Well, after having recently been rescued from a bustling pirate ship, to be completely alone in an ancient empty vessel gave me an unnerving sense of kenopsia.

  The second floor of the ship, however, was a much different atmosphere than before. Corpses were scattered around, and the bloodstained floor of this level spoke of an untold tragedy long ago. I immediately felt uneasy, as if this was somewhere I shouldn't be. Still, my curiosity got the better of me, and I crept around the various skeletons, trying to look for anything of note. I explored this floor thoroughly, because there was only one more level below here and it was probably the cargo hold. After finding nothing of value, I descended once more.

  This area of the ship actually had quite a few barrels that remained intact. There wasn't much else down here, so I decided to see if there was anything in the barrels. After tipping one around, I heard the sloshing of a liquid.

  "That's strange," I mutter to myself.

  I pop open the lids of one of the barrels and I am practically knocked back from how strong the contents smell. It is an extremely old wine, probably seventy-five barrels of the stuff down here. Holy shit. I should probably tell Marina about this, and we can party like there's no tomorrow. Well, I'm assuming she can still get drunk even in her current form.

  I make my way back up one floor, only to notice that all of the skeletons had disappeared except for one that stood beside a door I previously hadn't seen. Adrenaline started pumping through my veins. Of course this wouldn't be easy... Of course this ship had to be haunted...

  The skeleton turned away from me, and walked into the door. The door wasn't open, and as soon as it made contact, the skeleton crumbled into dust. I now had an important decision to make: get the hell out of here, or investigate the new door.

  Against my better judgement, I decided to try and see what the spirit had shown me. The door looked plain enough, and the bonemeal at my feet seemed relatively mundane now. I opened the door and stepped into a small room. It looked like an alternative version of what the Captain's quarters should have been... perhaps a small study. In the center of the room was a treasure chest, already open. I peeked inside to see two scrolls.

  I grabbed them out, and read them. My eyes went wide as I realized what they were. In certain cases, wizards could bind magic to a scroll for a one-time use. However, these particular scrolls were of the rarest variety. I triple checked what I was reading. They were both the same thing.

  "Scrolls of Wish..." I uttered aloud, stunned.

  I've heard enough horror stories to know not to use these in any large way. Things could become catastrophic if I wished for something stupid and it ended up backfiring on the whole world. I decided to try a small wish to test the authenticity of them. I held one scroll in front of myself and wished I was immune to the hypnotic effects of sirens. 

   The scroll burst into flames and immediately, the effects were noticeable. I now felt like I could run away from Marina if I so wished, but still felt no desire to. I didn't know where I was, and she seemed to be a good person. I wasn't alone, and that was a good thing. I stuffed the other scroll into my satchel, and began to exit the ship to tell Marina the good news.

  As I got closer to Marina, she began to smile and wave at me. Her raidant beauty was worth crashing a ship for even without her siren powers. I was almost too nervous to approach her... Almost.

  "Welcome back!" she practically sang. "You were gone for a bit longer than I expected... Maybe an hour? Anyway, did you find anything cool?" 

  ...An hour!? There's no way. It didn't feel that long. I'm almost afraid to return to the ship now. The thing was bloody haunted.

  I pulled the tiara out and handed it to Marina. "Well, I found this thing. Think we could sell it or something?"

  Marina studied it for a moment. "I have no idea where this is from, but it does look like a treasure. Yeah, we should hold on to this."

  "And I found something else, something I think you may like..." I mentioned, and reached for the other scroll.

  Marina brushed some of her hair out of her face and flashed a charming smile at me. The way her eyes squinted and dimples formed on her cheeks was practically magical. But I guess that's a woman's charm for you.

  "What did you find, Edwin?" Marina asked, with stars in her eyes.

  "A scroll of wish!" I announced giddily and held it in front of myself. "Isn't this great? We can fix your curse with this!"

  Marina's face went from joy to... something else. Nervousness? Shock? I wasn't sure. After a moment, she spoke. And her voice was shaky, like a child in trouble.

  "Erm... E-Edwin, I... I need to tell you s--" Marina began. Her face was fraught with fear.

  I suppose I acted too hastily. I should have let her finish, but I was just too excited to help this poor lass return to a normal body. I activated the scroll and wished aloud.

  "I wish you were back to your original form, Marina!" I announced excitedly, and my words echoed through the cavern. The scroll burst into flames, and I stared at Marina expected some divine miracle. I expected to the a beautiful human woman in front of me, ready to fling herself into my arms with gratitude. Seconds passed, and then, a quarter of a minute. My words hung in the air, but nothing was happening. The scroll was gone, meaning it had done its job. But...

  Marina was still a huge, enormous siren. Granted, she was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but I was completely confused on why she hadn't returned to her human self yet. Marina's cheeks were flushed red, and she looked incredibly guilty for some reason. I couldn't understand.

  "... I'm sorry..." Marina finally spoke up after what seemed like an eternity.

  Finally, it clicked in my head. The scroll worked. Nothing changed, because this is Marina's original form. She wasn't a cursed human. She was a legitimate siren. An enormous huntress of the seas, and her eyes focused on me, full of fear.

  She had lied about being a human.

  Feelings of dread threatened to dredge themselves up, grasping at my heart with icy tendrils. But, the rational part of my mind fought to make sense of it all.

  "W... Why?" I asked.

  "I... just wanted to make you feel safe around me. I was being honest when I said I wanted to go exploring with you, perhaps on an adventure. I figured you'd trust me more if you thought I was a human at heart," Marina explained. She was becoming teary eyed.

  I shook my head. This was so stupid.

  "Marina, you already have a human's heart. You've had God knows how many chances to devour me already. I trust you regardless of the fact that you're a siren. You've been sweet to me so far, and--" I was interrupted as Marina quickly snatched me up off the ground with one hand. It didn't hurt, it just shocked me.

  She lifted me to her lips, and for a brief moment, I was afraid I'd be made a fool. I was lunch after all, and this was all just some sick joke. She was going to eat me and there wasn't shit I could do about it. Well, fortunately that fear lasted only a second or two. The minute I was pressed flush against her supple, plush lips, I knew I was wrapt in a kiss I'd never forget. It was one of those memories that would last a lifetime. Seconds later, a loud pop happened, and her sloppy kiss left me lightly covered in her saliva. I made a mental note to delay my next shower.

  Marina was blushing and averted her gaze. "Sorry that I misled you. You wasted such a powerful scroll on me..."

  "Actually, I had two. I already used the first one to break free of that pesky hypnosis that you can't control," I replied with a slight chuckle.

  Marina turned back to me in surprise. "And you chose to come back to me!?" she looked... Well, ecstatic.

  I nodded. "Well of course! It's hard to go on an adventure alone!"

  Tears trickled down Marina's face. I got the gut feeling that she had been abandoned by humans before.

  She wiped her eyes with her arm, and put on a new, resolute expression. I didn't know where we would go, but I felt my heart pumping. I was present, in the moment. Sound, clear. I decided I could see myself marrying this woman, despite having briefly known her. My personal mission was simple... I'd make sure she would have more human friends. Perhaps some local beach village somewhere. Somewhere with an officiant for us in the future.

  "Okay, Edwin," Marina looked embarrassed. "I'll have to carry you through the ocean again, so..."

  Once again, that was a concerning statement. "In your stomach again!?" I took a slight step backwards in her palm.

  "No, no, no, no!" she quickly and gently secured her fingers around me. "Just in my mouth, with a bit of air. It won't take long..."

  "Oh... Oh, that makes more sense," I relented.

  "Okay, then climb in!" Marina opened wide, and laid her tongue on her palm for me to climb on to. I'll admit, the sight before me was indeed one to remember. If anyone were watching us right now, they'd think I was just another poor victim ready to fill her stomach. Her big, pink tongue was moist with saliva, and her throat loomed menacingly a short distance away. I knew I'd never be going down there again, though. She'd already proven she didn't want to eat me.

  Just before I was about to climb in, I remembered something important.

  "Aah, hold on. Have you ever had wine?" I asked. I found myself wondering how we would get along if we were drunk. I doubted she had enough before to get drunk, but now we had an enormous supply. We could probably sell a few barrels somewhere, and I'd give Marina a truly human experience.

  "Um... no," Marina answered.

  "Well," I looked back at the ship, "I'd like to celebrate. Today is a special occasion, my friend."

  "What's the occasion?" Marina replied, and blinked twice, with a tilted head.

  I laughed aloud.

  "Because I met you today!" I answered, grinning from ear to ear. Was I really flirting with a siren?

  From the look upon Marina's face... yes. Yes I was.