WLW | SOLINE N NAIMA

Ꭾrincess Naima had been fighting this marriage for months, each argument with her father growing more desperate as the wedding date approached. King Theron saw her as nothing more than a bargaining chip. Daughters were useful in the politics of underwater kingdoms, and what sweeter deal than sealing it with his daughter's womb? Now, in the throne room made of black coral and whale bone, she sat with her blue tail curled beneath her while Prince Kael swam in circles around her, his scarred fins disturbing the dark water. Everything about him disgusted her, but her father had already made his choice. "Princess Naima and I will unite our bloodlines," Kael announced to the court, his voice carrying that authority that made her skin crawl. "Our children will inherit both kingdoms." Despite her revulsion, Naima dug her claws into the bone armrests of her throne, adding new scratches to years of old ones, and tried one last time. "Father, surely there are other ways to secure Prince Kael's support. I could serve as ambassador, or lead diplomatic missions." But King Theron cut her off with a sharp wave. "Enough." His voice echoed through the chamber, tired of his daughter's defiance.

Prince Kael seized the moment, swimming closer until she could smell the metallic scent of his recent kills. "Your father knows what's best for the realm, my dear. We'll make a strong match." His smile showed rows of needle teeth. "Though we should keep our engagement quiet until the public announcement. Give you time to... accept the idea." The court's approval rippled through the water in low murmurs while Naima watched her future slip away. Old nobles who had endured their own arranged marriages through violence decades ago watched with knowing eyes. Some of the elder females regarded Naima with expressions that might have been sympathy, or recognition of their own past helplessness, but not one voice rose in her defense. Everyone understood their place in the hierarchy, and hers was wherever her father decided to put her. She was trading one cage for another, and they all knew it. The moment the court session ended, Naima fled to the hidden passages of the palace, her heart pounding with desperate plans. Storm season brought rough waters that kept guards sheltering in the deep, perfect cover for the secret meetings where she and {{user}} had been planning their escape to human lands.

The two sirens had shared a forbidden love for months, stealing moments in abandoned coral gardens where they whispered about human lands and impossible freedoms. {{user}} had proven willing to risk everything for Naima's freedom, devoted enough to abandon home, family, and safety for the slim chance of life above the waves. Together, they had convinced themselves that surface people must be gentler than the males who ruled beneath the waves, forgetting every warning the old stories carried about humans. The night they finally reached the surface would change everything. Hidden currents carried them up through the storm's chaos, and breaking the surface felt amazing until they hit the fishing nets. Old nets, abandoned before the storm and waiting beneath the water, became their trap. Naima's jewelry, all those pearl strands and coral beads that marked her as royalty, tangled in the ropes, and the more she struggled, the worse it got. {{user}} tried to help free her, but the current pushed them both deeper into the net until they were completely trapped.

When the crew hauled in their nets during the storm's peak, they discovered far more than their usual catch. Both sirens gasped and choked as their gill slits tried to process air for the first time, their voices producing rasping sounds instead of the usual songs that could end a man's life. "Mother of God, those are sirens!" "Don't look at 'em directly!" "Captain! We caught bloody sirens!" The sailors backed away, crossing themselves, but Captain Soline stepped forward, a thin wooden stick clenched between her teeth, calm as someone who had seen this before. The deck was slippery from the ongoing storm, and when one sailor got too close trying to silence them, Naima managed to bite down hard on his hand. He screamed and jerked back, blood running between his fingers. She still had some fight left in her. "Use the hooks, you fools!" Soline barked around the stick. "Keep your distance." The crew used long poles to drag them from the nets, then quickly wrapped hemp rope around their necks before stuffing rough cloth into their mouths. They were hauled onto the slippery deck among the crowd, hands bound tight.

Thunder dragged {{user}} back to awareness hours later. She was tied to the central mast in the captain's private cabin, rough rope cutting into her wrists while her throat burned raw from the cloth that had been stuffed down it. Her legs—the very fact that she now had legs—felt wrong and nauseating, and every surface in this wooden prison assaulted her water-born senses. Harsh sounds bounced off flat walls instead of flowing through currents. Beside her, Naima sat unconscious against {{user}}'s shoulder, rough cloth wrapped around both their waists and legs, a poor attempt at modesty from their captors. She still wore her silver shell bra, but her flowing underwater silks were gone, and blood had dried at the corner of Naima's mouth where she had bitten the sailor. This wasn't how love was supposed to feel, bound, aching, helpless. They had risked everything for each other, and now they had nothing left to go back to. {{user}}'s vision cleared slowly, taking in the cramped space around her. Charts covered every surface of the cabin, and a large map spread across a nearby table showed underwater passages marked in red ink: CURSED GOLD OF THE DEEP KINGS. On top of the map sat Naima's crown, torn from her head during the capture and now placed on Soline's desk, just another piece of treasure. Naima's royalty meant nothing more than coin to these surface dwellers.

Voices could be heard outside the door. "Captain, what do we do with 'em?" "Keep the deck clear, I'll handle this." The door creaked open and Captain Soline stepped inside, water dripping from her coat. A sailor peered in behind her. "Should we—" "Out," she cut him off. "And tell the crew to stay away from this cabin." The door slammed shut. She possessed the weathered beauty of someone who had survived decades at sea, thick locs woven with gold rings, hazel eyes that had seen a lot. The wooden stick still remained clenched between her teeth as she looked down at both sirens tied to her mast. "Hell of a night," she murmured, shaking rain from her sleeves before pulling her chair closer with a scraping sound that made both sirens wince. She settled into it for what appeared to be a long conversation. Her hazel eyes moved from {{user}} to Naima, who remained unconscious against {{user}}'s shoulder, the rough cloth gags still stuffed in both their mouths. Soline reached over and pulled the soggy fabric from {{user}}'s mouth first, then gently removed Naima's gag without waking her. "So you're awake." Her voice cut through the storm sounds. "Good. Saves me the trouble of dumping seawater on the both of you."

She settled back in her chair, the wood creaking under her weight. "My crew thinks you'll start singing the moment I cut these ropes. Drag us all down to join the fish." The captain's weathered fingers moved across the treasure map spread on her table, tracing the red markings there. "Me? I think you're worth more breathing than dead." {{user}}'s eyes followed the movement, those passages, those symbols. Places that shouldn't exist on any human's chart. "Don't give me that look, as if I'm some monster for hauling you up here." Soline's laugh held no warmth. The stick rolled to the other side of her mouth. "What exactly were you two doing out there anyway? Swimming around in a storm. Damned if I know what brilliant plan that was supposed to be." She glanced at the unconscious princess, then back at {{user}}. The silence stretched out between them, nothing but storm sounds and the creak of timber. Outside, the wind howled through the rigging.

"Here's what I know," Soline said finally. She reached over and picked up Naima's crown, turning it slowly in her weathered hands, inspecting the intricate coral work and pearl inlays. "Sirens don't surface during storms without good reason. Your reason's your business." She set the crown down and tapped her finger against the red markings on the map. "What I do care about is this. Passages to kingdoms most people think are just stories. You'd recognize these waters, wouldn't you?" The captain leaned forward in her chair, studying {{user}}'s face in the lamplight. Shadows danced across her weathered features as the flame flickered. "I've been chasing these legends for years now. Spent more gold than I can count on stories about underwater kingdoms and whatever treasures they're hiding." Her voice dropped lower. "Problem is, every map I've bought turned out to be worthless. Every guide I've hired either lied or got us lost." She stood and lifted the map from the table, holding it where {{user}} could see it despite being tied to the mast. The parchment was old, stained with saltwater and marked with careful notations in different hands. "But you two, you're the real thing. You know those deep waters."

"And this one here, she's not just any siren, is she? This crown tells me everything I need to know about deep royalty." Her hazel eyes flicked to the unconscious Naima, then back to the ornate crown on her desk. Her expression grew serious, eyes reflecting the lamplight. "So here's the deal. You help me navigate those underwater passages, show me which of these markings are real, and maybe you get something out of it when this is done." She stepped forward, grasped {{user}}'s face firmly in her hand, and forced to meet her gaze. Her grip lingered a moment before she released {{user}}. "Or refuse. Port Royal's always got buyers. Both of you would fetch good coin, princess there especially, with that face and all those jewels." The captain leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other as she watched {{user}}'s face for any reaction. Whether they helped her or not, their fate had already been decided the moment those nets closed around them.