The courtyard froze. No one moved. No one even breathed. A strange girl had walked into the capital out of nowhere, and now she was talking like she feared nothing. Melusine stood in the middle of the guards as if she owned the ground under her feet.
Severin kept his blade half-lifted, his steps steady but tense. "If you take one more step, I will not hold back."
Melusine didn't look scared. She didn't even blink. Her teal eyes shone brighter, like the sun touched water inside them. "You want the truth," she said. "But you may not like the truth when you hear it."
Queen Morganna moved forward, raising a hand. "Enough. You will answer me, not my knight."
Melusine's gaze slid to the queen. "You demand answers from me, yet you do not even know what question to ask."
Morganna frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Melusine said, "you are asking the wrong things."
Whispers spread among the soldiers. Some stepped back. Others tried to act brave. Isolde felt her heart beating fast. Thalassa stood beside her, wings hidden but shoulders tight.
Severin kept his sword raised. "I asked you once. I will ask you again. What are you?"
Melusine sighed like she was tired of repeating herself. "Something you have never seen before. Something your walls cannot keep out."
The guards stepped closer, forming a circle. Morganna's expression darkened. "Girl, speak plainly."
Melusine tilted her head. "Plain enough? I am not human."
The courtyard erupted with noise. Shouts. Gasps. Steel scraping as soldiers drew weapons. Thalassa grabbed Isolde's sleeve. "Isolde… we should move back."
Isolde didn't move. "She doesn't look dangerous."
"Isolde," Severin said sharply without looking back, "stand behind me."
Melusine raised both hands slowly. "You have nothing to fear. If I wished to hurt your people, I would not walk through the front gate."
Morganna's voice rose. "If you are not human, then what kingdom do you come from? Speak truthfully, or I drag it out of you."
Melusine smiled at that. "Drag? You cannot drag me anywhere."
Before anyone reacted, she closed her eyes.
A thin wave of air moved around her, like a breath of wind. It wasn't loud, but it changed the whole courtyard. The air felt heavier. The ground almost hummed.
Isolde's skin prickled. "What… what is she doing?"
Thalassa whispered, "Be careful. This is not a human trick."
Melusine opened her eyes again, and the teal inside them glowed lightly. Not bright , but real enough to make everyone step back.
Severin tightened his grip but did not swing.
Melusine looked straight at Morganna. "You want to know what I am? Fine. But you asked for this."
She took one quiet breath.
Then she spoke.
"I am a siren."
Everything stopped. A cold wave fell over the courtyard. Even the birds on the nearby roof lifted into the sky like they sensed danger.
Morganna's face changed. The calm queen was gone. Something sharp and old flashed behind her eyes. "A siren," she repeated slowly. "You dare step into my kingdom?"
Melusine nodded once. "I do."
Guards moved in at once, forming a full ring. Some shook. Some whispered prayers. Sirens were stories told at night to scare children, not creatures expected to appear at the gate.
Morganna raised her hand. "Seize her."
The first guard stepped forward.
Melusine didn't move. She didn't run. She simply looked at the man, and he froze in place. His body stopped mid-step as if an invisible hand held him still.
Everyone stared.
"What did you do?" Severin barked.
"Nothing harmful," Melusine said. "He can move again in a moment. I only stopped him because he was foolish."
She turned her eyes toward the queen. "Your Majesty, you are making a mistake."
"And you are making a threat," Morganna shot back.
Melusine shook her head slowly. "Not a threat. A warning."
Severin stepped closer, blade inches from her arm. "Release him."
Melusine snapped her fingers gently. The guard stumbled backward, able to move again. He gasped, clutched his chest, then ran behind the line of soldiers.
Isolde stepped forward without thinking. "Stop! Everyone stop!"
Severin blocked her path with an arm. "My lady, stay back."
"Severin, she didn't hurt him," Isolde insisted. "She only stopped him for a moment. She could have done worse if she meant harm."
Morganna glared. "Isolde, silence."
But Isolde didn't stop. "Mother, wait. Look at her. She walked in alone. If she was planning something terrible, she would not come empty-handed."
Melusine watched her with a strange expression. Not cold. Not warm. Curious.
Morganna turned to the guards. "Take Isolde inside."
Thalassa held Isolde's hand quickly. "No, wait..."
Two guards approached.
Severin blocked them. "Touch the princess and you go through me first."
"Severin," Morganna warned, "stand down."
"With respect, Your Majesty," he said, not moving, "I do not trust this. But I also do not trust those men dragging her away when she has done nothing wrong."
Melusine slowly lowered her hands. "I came only to walk among humans. I came in peace. But you greet peace with swords."
"You expect trust?" Morganna hissed. "When your kind has dragged sailors to their graves? When entire ships vanished on your shores?"
Melusine's eyes darkened. "You hear stories of my kind, and you think you know us."
"We know enough," Morganna said.
Melusine shook her head. "You know nothing."
The air thickened again, not dangerous, but heavy with emotion.
Isolde stepped around Severin, ignoring the guards. "Tell us why you came here. Truly."
Melusine looked at her for a long moment. "Because I am tired."
"Tired?"
"Tired of the water. Tired of hiding. Tired of running from people who attack first and ask questions later." Her gaze shifted to Morganna. "I came because I want to live like you. To walk like you. To breathe the air you breathe."
Silence settled over the courtyard again. Some guards lowered their swords. Others watched with confusion.
Morganna did not soften. "You expect me to believe that a siren simply wishes to live peacefully among humans?"
Melusine shrugged. "Believe what you like."
Thalassa stepped forward. "If she wanted to harm us, she would not be standing here talking."
Morganna looked sharply at the fairy. "You defend her?"
"I defend fairness," Thalassa said. "This girl has not done anything wrong."
"Not yet," Morganna muttered.
Isolde moved closer to Melusine, though Severin tried to pull her back. "If she wanted to cause harm, she would not reveal what she is."
Melusine gave a faint smile at that. "Wise."
Morganna looked over the courtyard. The guards waited for her order. The tension held like a rope about to snap.
Finally, the queen spoke. "If you truly came in peace, then you will stay under watch until I decide what to do with you."
Melusine lifted an eyebrow. "A cage?"
"A guest room," Morganna said. "Locked."
"A cage," Melusine repeated.
Morganna didn't deny it.
Melusine sighed. "Fine. If that is the only way to stop the screaming."
Isolde tugged Severin's sleeve. "At least this keeps her safe."
Severin whispered, "Or keeps us safe from her."
As the guards approached, Melusine didn't resist. She walked calmly, her steps soft, her head held high. Like none of this bothered her at all.
But her eyes met Isolde's for a moment.
And something unspoken passed between them.
Thalassa leaned close to Isolde. "Why do I feel like this girl is going to change everything?"
Isolde didn't answer. Because she felt it too.
As the guards led Melusine toward the castle halls, Morganna turned to Severin.
"Follow her. Do not let her out of your sight."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He stepped forward.
But as he passed Isolde, she grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Be careful."
He nodded. "Always."
Then he walked after Melusine.
Thalassa leaned toward Isolde. "So… your morning peace is gone."
Isolde sighed. "Peace never stays long here."
They turned to leave, but before they could exit the courtyard, two guards rushed in from the north gate, breathing hard.
"Your Majesty!" one shouted. "We found something by the riverbank!"
Morganna narrowed her eyes. "What now?"
The guard swallowed. "A body… or something close to it."
The courtyard froze for the second time that morning.
Thalassa whispered, "What do you mean something close to it?"
The guard shifted shakily. "It is alive. Barely. But it is not human. And it keeps saying one word."
Morganna stepped forward. "And what word is that?"
The guard glanced at the queen, then at Isolde, then at Thalassa.
Then he said, voice shaking
"It keeps saying 'Siren.'"