The air in the room, once filled with the easy camaraderie of shared time, had grown thick with unspoken tension. They had all returned from their individual excursions, the usual light banter replaced by a collective unease. It was Raven who finally broke the silence, his voice deeper, more serious than they were accustomed to.
"I have something to tell you," he began, his eyes scanning their faces. "I… I learned a lot of things from my father." A beat of silence descended, punctuated by the subtle creak of the old house. Raven seemed lost in thought, his brow furrowed before he finally spoke again, his tone grave. "Could there be a siren's behind this conspiracy?"
Fang's head snapped up, surprise evident on his features. "How do you know that, Raven? How do you know there could be sirens involved?"
Raven took a deep breath, the air whistling slightly through his teeth. "My father said so."
"The Vampire King?" Jihu asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Raven nodded, his gaze fixed on some distant point. "My father said that two hundred years ago, there were two very powerful sirens. They were sisters. Two hundred years ago, the Fox Prince and the Vampire King were very good friends." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "They decided to travel on a ship. While they were sailing, they encountered these two sirens." A flicker of something akin to pain crossed his features. "You could say the two siren sisters were instantly infatuated with the Fox Prince and the Vampire King. But… the Fox Prince was deeply in love with someone else, and my father, the Vampire King, was already married and devoted to his wife. They couldn't accept the sirens' affections."
He continued, "The siren sisters tried and tried, but their love wasn't returned. Sirens are… possessive when it comes to love. If they can't have what they want, they'll make sure no one else does. My father believes they began orchestrating all sorts of conspiracies; it's the origin of the enmity between Freedonia and Sealandia. The terrible conflict that continues to this day… maybe it's their doing?"
Fang, ever the pragmatist, interrupted, "Do you know the names of those two sisters, Raven?"
"Yes," Raven replied, his gaze hardening. "Their names were Melody and Melissa. And the Fox Prince's name was Jing Li. My father, as you know, was Max." He looked at Jihu directly. "Jihu, you must have heard of Jing Li?"
"Yes," Jihu confirmed, a hint of recognition in his voice.
Ri, his brow furrowed in thought, spoke up, "So, after all these years of enmity… they didn't do anything to correct it? They just let it fester?"
Raven shook his head. "They did try. They were trapped in a magical bond in the sirens' world. But… maybe someone has broken that bond. The attack on our world twenty years ago," he said, his voice almost a whisper, "we never imagined sirens could have been behind it. But now… it seems likely they're responsible for that, and for anything coming. Maybe even for what's going to happen."
Shu, usually quiet, spoke up with a hint of fear, "So, what do we do now?"
"We wait," Raven declared, his voice firm despite the dread in his eyes, "My father said that they're searching for a solution, trying to determine how to fight this. He told me to wait, and he'll let us know. For now, we wait and continue searching for answers ourselves."
Suddenly, Fang interjected, "But why us? Why are they after fairies? Fairies live in Freedonia, too."
Raven sighed, a heavy sound that seemed to fill the room. "They're after our world because you've been allies to vampires and foxes all your lives. They are targeting us all. They want to destroy the Fox Clan and the Vampire Clan, along with all our friends. That, I believe, is their real intention. And they know our ideals. We would never kill innocent people. That's the rule of our beloved Freedonia. They've understood this. They know we wouldn't strike first."
Jihu nodded slowly. "So, we just… wait for what the Vampire King said. We wait and see what happens."
As the group discussed the unsettling revelations, a commotion erupted outside. The sounds of running feet and panicked shouts reached their ears, growing louder by the second. They rushed to the windows, peering out onto the street. Trolls and Minotaurs, their faces contorted in rage, were rampaging through the town, attacking the fleeing citizens. Panic filled the room, and they knew that if they were to intervene, it would reveal their true nature.
Just then, a delicate, honeyed voice filled the room, so sweet it was almost intoxicating. It pulsed with a subtle siren's call. Everyone found themselves drawn to it, a feeling like a moth to a flame.
"Everyone, close your ears!" Raven shouted, jolting them from their trance. His voice was strained, desperate. "It's the sound of a siren. If you listen to it, you won't be able to break free." He knew that if they stayed here, they would fall under the siren's control. They had to get out.
Acting quickly, Raven threw open a portal, shimmering with an otherworldly light. He shoved Ri, Ash, Shu, Jihu, and Fang through it, one after the other, and then launched himself through as well, collapsing the portal behind him. They were gone, leaving behind the chaos and the siren's insidious song. Where they would end up, and how they would face this new threat, was still a desperate unknown, but they were safe for now. And in the face of such peril, their unity was their only true strength.
The iridescent swirl of the portal deposited them unceremoniously into the living room of a rather grand, gothic-style house in Freedonia. Raven stumbled out, followed by Fang, Jihu, and the rest of their unlikely crew. The abrupt change from the chaos of their escape to the quiet normalcy of a domestic setting was jarring, but nothing could have prepared them for the sight that greeted them. Raven's father, a figure of imposing stature and regal bearing, stood there, his dark eyes widened in a way that suggested genuine surprise.
But Raven's gaze was fixed on another figure, a woman who seemed to materialize from the shadows by the fireplace. She was beautiful, with the same raven-black hair as him, and eyes that held a warmth he had never dared to hope for. He blinked, trying to reconcile the ethereal figure with the hazy memories of childhood. Then, recognition dawned, sharp and sudden – his mother. After so many years, she was standing right in front of him.
A choked sob escaped Raven's lips. He surged forward, pulling her into a fierce embrace, tears streaming down his face. For the first time, he allowed himself to be vulnerable, the hardened shell he had so carefully cultivated cracking. He buried his face in her shoulder, the weight of years of pain and longing finally finding release.
The sight stunned Jihu and Fang. They had seen Raven as a brooding, often aggressive youth, but this raw display of emotion was something completely alien. Jihu and Shu also in particular, couldn't help but reflect on the day when Raven had pushed her away so brutally. She wondered now if the rage had been born of this unspoken grief, this deep-seated understanding of loss, and wondered if she had misjudged him. Raven wasn't a bad person. It was just pain, manifested in a way she didn't understand.
Before anyone could process the emotional upheaval, Raven's father stepped forward, his surprise turning to a sharp, observant gaze. "Jihu," he began, his voice deep and resonant, "Why are you here, now?"
Jihu swallowed, suddenly feeling small under the Vampire King's scrutiny. "We… we had to leave. Trolls and Minotaurs attacked our village," he explained, "and then… sirens started singing. If we had stayed, we would've been under their control. So, we… we ran." He finished, a tinge of shame colouring his cheeks.
Raven's mother pulled away from him, her hands cupping his face. "Why are you crying, son?" she said, her voice soft, like a mother's lullaby. "I'm okay, see? I'm perfectly fine, don't worry, my baby."
After a long time, Raven finally calmed himself . Looking at his mother, he forced a smile. Then, turning to his father, he said, "What you said was right, there is a secret behind all this."