Far out to sea, a ship struck a giant reef, leaving it unable to move any further. In the air, a girl was plummeting towards the water, her blonde hair blowing in the wind—that unfortunate girl was me.
Everything was dark before my eyes; I kept my eyes tightly shut because I no longer had time to place cards inside my boots or freeze the water—that would only have broken my bones from such a great height.
Yet despite the great height, I still couldn't feel the water touching my skin—I should have drowned several seconds ago, yet even now I could still feel the cold air nipping at my skin.
I slowly opened my eyelids and immediately widened them in surprise when I realised that, right in front of me, I could see the blue of the sea. "Huh?" I remember clearly that I hadn't had time to conjure another card to make my body float.
That was when I noticed specks of golden light passing before my eyes; I turned and saw that I had become the sun for these golden specks, which were now surrounding my entire body. 'What's happened to me?' I looked up and saw my colleague—Robin, whose expression was a mixture of shock and relief. "Robin! You keep the crew from doing anything rash; I'll go find the captain!"
"Right!" He nodded and walked away.
I was slowly beginning to understand how it worked; I tried to focus my mind before finally soaring through the air. "Wohoo! This is much more straightforward than when I use my cards," I shouted happily. I glanced to the side and saw a bright ball of light that had approached me yesterday.
The light from the orb gradually began to fade, revealing a figure behind it. "...A fairy?" I muttered, as I looked at the tiny creature with wings as large as her body—golden blonde hair in twin tails, she was also wearing a dress made of light.
"Wow… she reminds me of that Goldie," I muttered, almost to myself, and the little fairy drew nearer, her golden eyes fixed on me. "Could it be you who did this to me?" I asked, and was answered by a nod and the tinkling of a bell coming from her.
"She doesn't speak human, does she…?" I then remembered the reason why I was able to fly in the air; I turned my head back towards a large rock formation behind which a group of sirens were hidden. "You haven't fallen under the sirens' spell, have you? Well then, come with me!" The fairy nodded again, and the two of us immediately flew off together in the direction Captain Hook had gone.
Once I'd passed the giant reef beside the ship, I came upon the shoreline of a piece of land. My mouth fell open slightly when I realised we were near the mainland now. "Where is she now…" My eyes scanned the shore and, faintly, I could see a woman sitting there with her hair flowing freely—but when my eyes glided downwards, I didn't see even the slightest hint of legs; what I found was a fish tail larger than that of an ordinary fish.
"I thought Sirens were half-bird women," I muttered, and the sound of a bell beside me continued to ring; yet the sound penetrated my mind and formed words. "Huh? Really? But here, are they half-fish?"
"So you mean there are two types of Sirens, depending on the region?" And at that very moment, realisation struck me—my face drew close to her tiny one; as I tilted her head, she did the same at the same time. "How come I can understand what you're saying?!"
She started making that bell-like sound again. "'Don't ask me'? Of course I'm asking you! You're the only creature I've ever met that makes a sound like that!" I retorted, and she gave an expression that screamed "That makes sense"
But this argument would only be a waste of time, whilst Captain Hook's life was at stake—I shook my head and glided down towards the shore, with the fairy following close behind.
As I got closer, I could finally see him: a man wearing a long red coat that reached down to his knees, kneeling on the sand with his sword lying beside him. He was growling and covering both his ears; I realised that if I got any closer, I'd end up just like him.
I began to analyse the situation—there were five sirens in front of us, and they were focused on pouring the emotions of their song towards Captain Hook. My hand began to emit a blue light and form a card, but just as I was about to throw it—my hand stopped abruptly.
"Huh?" I tried my hardest to move it, but it took an enormous amount of effort—all due to the Sirens' song, which was now much closer than before. "Come on…" I'd tried really hard, but I'd only managed to move it a few centimetres.
I glanced at the bewildered fairy; an idea flashed through my mind, and I began to whisper to her. "Take this card… and throw it at them." Hearing that, the fairy looked reluctant to do so; she turned away and folded her arms, letting out that bell-like sound again. "'You've helped enough?' Come on! Please, this is the last one."
She stole a glance but continued to act aloof and nonchalant; I was starting to get annoyed with this little fairy—I'd already planned to lock her in a jar once we reached the ship. "What's your favourite food?! If you're willing to do this—I'll give it to you!" She finally turned fully towards me with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
She flew straight over and grabbed the card pinned between my fingers; she needed to use both hands and almost all her strength to lift it—straining so hard that sweat dripped down her face, she flung it towards the sirens.
As the card stuck into the sand, a giant root emerged and began to spread its many branches—the root bound the sirens' bodies, silencing their mouths one by one until, in the end, their mouths were truly unable to utter any more song and could only scream in anger.
I was finally able to move my body as usual; heavy breaths escaped my mouth—SLASH—the sound of a sword slashing could be heard clearly, and as I looked up, I saw Captain Hook—the man who had previously been too weak to move was now spraying blood from a Siren's chest right down to her stomach.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and neither could the little fairy, whose jaw had dropped to the ground. I watched the slaughter of the Siren, who could no longer move at all; I wanted to stop him, but my body hesitated—was he doing this so that the other sailors wouldn't fall prey to the Siren's song?
Was he acting out of good intentions? I couldn't stop wondering, and before I realised it, Captain Hook had killed all the sirens; blood gushed from the neck as one of the sirens' heads was severed, and with pride and a smile—he grabbed the siren's hair and hoisted her into the air.
"I've done it!" he shouted; for a moment, he had completely forgotten about the person who had helped him—but eventually his dark eyes found me, staring at him in utter bewilderment. "And oh—thank you, Alice! You're a very capable crewmember!"
"From now on, you're my right-hand woman!" she declared before severing the roots binding the sirens' bodies and plunging the tip of her blade into their hearts to ensure they were truly dead.
"Yes, yes, I'll be—WHAT?!" I was completely taken aback when I heard him appoint me so easily and casually; no wonder he could kill his right-hand men without a second thought—because he hadn't even been serious when he'd promoted them. "It would be an honour, but are you sure?"
"Do I sound hesitant? Now help me carry this Siren's body," he said, pointing to one of the Sirens who was less badly wounded than the others. The fairy and I exchanged glances, as the captain had yet to notice or mention the fairy.
"What do you intend to do with this Siren's body, if I may ask, Captain?" I asked, walking closer; a pungent stench immediately stung my nostrils, causing me to take a few steps back—I already had a bad feeling about the answer this man was going to give.
"Hm? To add it to my collection and show it off to the others, of course!" he replied without the slightest hesitation; my unease was immediately confirmed—he was truly doing this solely for his own pride. "What other reason could there be?"
I let out a long sigh and shook my head slightly, realising I'd been far too optimistic about this man. "By the way, who's the fairy next to you?" He asked, not even sparing her a glance; it turned out he was aware of the fairy's presence but had simply chosen to ignore her.
"You're right," I turned to the side and my finger touched her tiny head, causing the fairy to be jolted and emit a loud, rapid ringing sound. "Do you have a name?"
At first, the fairy seemed reluctant to answer because I'd annoyed her, but even so, she let out a faint whisper. My ear—which was almost as big as my body—drew close; I fell silent and let only the waves make a sound—a soft tinkling sound could be heard.
"Tinkerbell"