1 Millenium Later
June, 1821

A surge of roaring water rampaged against the seas as the winds whipped around Alena's body.

Her stomach rolled as she scanned her perimeter, her enhanced sight allowing her to scout for any ships that could be a new target.

Stalking her prey with the utmost accuracy and stealth, her ancient memory drifted back to a day when the clouds were dark, the waves were crashing and it felt as though Poseidon and Zeus' themselves were punishing her.

Her long black hair had caught the light of the fading moonlight beneath the surface and she had struggled to control her breathing in the salty water.

The muscles in her tail bunched as she shot through vibrant coral reefs, investigating the creatures and plants that lived leagues away from the sunlight and its gleam.

Forest green seaweed tangled itself around coral of all colors, dark purples mixed with oranges that created a painting in front of Alena's eyes.

Small fish swam past her in groups, their scales flashing along her tail as she swam past them with a vengeance, her laugh as sharp and brutal as ice.

She, however, couldn't tell the difference. Enjoying the moment in which she could watch the creatures in their natural habitats.

You're in your natural habitat now too.

The thought shot through her with the blunt intensity of a sharp knife, cutting her deep to the core and causing her to drift down to a large boulder.

This was her fate and she had fallen to it, she thought miserably, the beauty she possessed merely a ploy, a chest of treasures for the one man who thought he could claim it.

"You shall never know love or be loved in return," she muttered to herself, the burning behind her eyes another reminder that she would never shed another tear as long as she lived.

Black strands of hair floated lazily in front of her face, the pitch darkness contrasting deeply against her pale and fragile skin.

Darting her eyes back and forth, Alena cast away her thoughts when she noticed the faint curl of waves that moved when a ship's hull cut through the surface of the water.

Her heart froze over, an icy chill spreading through her limbs as something deep within her stirred, one that she had experienced before but hadn't been born with.

The light of the full moon dancing through the clouds caught her attention and when she breached the surface she felt its light caress washing over her like a soothing balm.

A sigh escaped her lips and she turned to follow the trail of the boat, its pace sluggish and sporadic as it bobbed like a rag doll in the monstrous symphony of waves.

Moving herself towards the anchor, she pulled herself from the bellowing sea, hooking her fingers through the water slickened chains to hoist herself to a proper sitting position.

When she had situated herself enough to be comfortable and comb her fingers through the strands of her hair, she realized she could hear fervent shouting.

"To the sails, men! The foremast must be brought up and the mainmast as well or we shall be meeting our deaths at the bottom of the sea!"A deep, sea roughened voice barked.

"But Sir, how are we to make it through this storm?" One sailor called out. "These waters are said to be filled with creatures beyond man's wildest dreams, those that would wish to have our meaty flesh in their mouths."

"You listen to too many old wives' tales, Sailor," the man growled. "Watch your place and pray to the gods you and your fellow crew make it through the night to see your families."

"But Sir," The young sailor interrupted again, "there are said to be deadly beauties with voices of angels that lure men such as ourselves to our death. If we do not take caution we could very well lose our lives!"

"I have had enough of your nonsense, lad." A loud crash reached Alena's ears followed by a muffled groan. "Report back to your duty or I shall have no other option but to hold you below deck, is that understood?"

There was a pregnant silence before a low whisper reached her ears. "Yes sir."

Footsteps pounded across the upperdeck while Alena inched up, increment by increment until she was braced against the railing. She tried listening to the men and searching for the man that had been arguing with the captain, but to no avail.

However, as her claws began to surface, she paused. The ice in her soul halted its overwhelming invasion, thawing slightly as a haunting melody reached her ears.

"T'was a long night at sea, and the stars shone above, as a maiden watched the moon.

Head held high, she stared at the stars and prayed to the gods for life."

Alena unconsciously moved along the wood to better hear the stranger's voice over the raucous sound of the other sailors.

"The Sailor's Wife, who guards at night, searching the seas that roar.

Sending her light, for her love at first sight, not leaving her post till dawn.

The years had gone by, and her love was so far, she wondered if he was alive.

She feared for her love, who drove in the night, to earn enough for his bride.

The Sailor's Wife, who guards at night, searching the seas that roar.

Sending her light, for her love at first sight, not leaving her post till dawn."

"Oi! Lad! Shut yer trap! Yer ruining the mood!" One drunkard shouted, the ale from his tin cup spilling over the top and onto his salt dried pants.

Alena's mouth curled in disgust. She would have great pleasure in drowning these wretched men, but for now, she couldn't bring herself to turn away from the gentle music springing forth from the sailor's mouth.

"On one fateful night, through storm and strife, the Sailor found his light.

Through a plight of his own, he'd found his way home, to a son and his beloved wife.

His son had grown, with no thought of his own and before him stood a man.

His wife so dear, remained with him still, and would stay till death did them part.

The Sailor's Wife, Oh the Sailor's Wife, searching the seas that roar.

Sending her light, to her love at first sight, not leaving her post till dawn."

His voice faded away as the blonde curls that plastered themselves to his chilled skin gave way to the anguished expression that lay on his face.

Reaching into his back pocket he withdrew a black rectangular slab of metal. The object puzzled Alena, yet she couldn't take her eyes off the alluring man.

She lifted her head further above the wood than she had intended, catching not only a glimpse of a fair haired lady, but the attention of another sailor sitting by the group of drunken singers. At the sight of Alena, the man sprang to his feet, lust and apprehension battling in his gaze.

The full moon smoothed itself over her like satiny silk and she could feel the animal inside her move, spilling through her with a vengeance. Her eyes clicked, a ghost of a smile dusting itself across her face, the kind a predator would use when luring its prey.

"Would you look at what we have here, men?" The sailor roared, his eyes taking in the parts of her body that were exposed above the railing.

When the other men's eyes landed on her beautiful form, they scrambled to their feet like young lads who had just found their sea legs.

"Hello there," she purred, curling her tail just high enough for the men to catch a glimpse of her golden scales.

"What could a beauty like you be doing in this part of the seas?" The man questioned. "We hardly wish to be out here willingly and yet here you are."

"Indeed sir, I am," Alena murmured huskily, relishing in the way he leaned forward as she moved towards the crisp beat of the waves. "But you see, I am on a search," she whispered.

The men around her stirred as if they had awoken from a nightmare and fallen straight into their dreams, all straining to hear one word that fell from her delectable lips.

"And what search would that be milady?" Another one shouted.

She paused briefly, staring intently as the words rolled of her tongue. "A search--for love."

Many pairs of stunned eyes met hers, darkening with an emotion that Alena herself could no longer identify. But before any of the others could reach her, the ornery captain stepped in front of the crew.

"What are you bloody idiots doing!" he shouted, scanning their faces for some type of reasonable explanation. "You're supposed to be working to keep your lives! If you're that invaluable to yourself and this crew then I suggest you sacrifice yourself before the crew does it for you!"

"I don't think they'd want to do that, Captain," Alena's sultry voice replied.

The man tripped as her words caught him off guard, nearly sending him into the nearest man on the wooden planks.

"A bit skittish there are we?" she criticized, taking in his weathered form. "I'd have expected better than that from a Captain."

His glare should have seared her to the bone, but she returned his gaze with an equally fiery stare before smiling and batting her eyelashes bashfully.

The Captain's eyes gentled and instead watched her curiously, almost falling again when the sailor who had sang rushed forward to prevent him from swaying into her awaiting arms.

"Captain, I warned you once, creatures such as this wish to see us dead, there is no way to escape their clutches once you fall into them."

Alena listened intently to the sailor, pleased but also disheartened at how close to the truth he was at stealing her meal.

The Captain gave the man a powerful shove, "Watch your place sailor. I determine what is dangerous to this crew, and a harmless young woman couldn't possibly do anything to our ship."

Her eyebrows cocked up at this statement, her kind nature slipping before she allowed her innocent smile to take over once more. Better to let him find out himself what she was capable of.

"Now, what do you need for assistance madam?" The Captain asked, his eyes captivated by her beauty.

Alena pretended to put some thought into her mind, allowing her hair to move forward so they could smell her sweet scent before retreating just as quickly.

"I wish not to plague you poor strangers, kind sir, but if I could pardon you for one thing I would be eternally grateful."

"And what would that be, Miss?"

Her teeth shined brightly in the moonlight, "If you would listen to my song, and tell a poor woman like myself if it's alright."

The Captain adjusted his sweat drenched hat and leaned forward on his haunches, "Well I can tell you already by the looks of you, your singing must be a gift from the gods themselves."

"So I've been told." Alena smiled, keeping the edges of her teeth hidden behind her lips.

And so she sang. No lyrics were needed for she only used the enticing mystery of her tune to draw the men in.

She began to lower herself from the railing with the nature of a readied harpoon, moving down the anchor and back into the waters as she went.

She stroked her hair and watched with psychotic glee as one man gradually made his way to the wheel of the ship, turning it with force so that it was traveling in her direction.

The ship came so close to her that she could nearly reach out and touch it, but instead she glided her way over and climbed again to make her way towards her mark.

The Captain.

She sang louder, adding just a bit of anguish that had been within her since she had lost the Goddess of Spring.

The emotion saturated her harmonies, her past invading too quickly for her future to handle, and in turn causing the Captain to lean right into her hands.

Her wet and nimble fingers drifted across the man's face, her lips caressing his in the briefest and lightest of kisses.

As soon as she tasted the heat and salt on his lips, her nails tightened as she pulled the upper portion of the captain's body into the sea. He spluttered and widened his eyes in shock as he began to choke.

An unrecognizable hiss sprang forth from Alena, surprising both her and the Captain before she sank her fangs into him.

His scream of pain was short as he squirmed and kicked in the water, but Alena's grip was too strong for him as she dragged him down into the depths and held him in place. His legs kicked in fury, but the attempt was futile as the light soon faded from his eyes and his body stilled.

Snapping back for a moment, Alena watched as the ship crashed into the waiting rocks above, and her body flinched at the overwhelming smell of blood.

She broke the surface and searched for more men, finding to her surprise that one of them still remained alive, trapped under a large piece of the broken helm. Upon looking closer, his breathing was long and slow, seemingly uninjured, yet he struggled to pull himself free.

Alena made her way to the poor man, hoping to put him out of his misery. Making sure her teeth were sharp enough to allow for a cleaner kill, she prepared to spring when a gleam of silver caught her eye.

The small pistol caught the moon's light and gave Alena pause, the face of the man who sang looking into hers with undeniable fear as she swam closer.

Tears streaked down his face and he held onto the same piece of metal he'd had earlier, directly over his heart.

Alena felt hers stop, the creature within her halting its hunt in puzzlement and something in her twisted, like a sword being buried deep in her gut, wrenching painfully through her muscles.

How could someone be so overwhelmed with emotion yet want to kill a person all at the same time?

That was the question Alena asked herself as she watched the man closely.

Unsuspected knots formed in her stomach and she almost let out a sigh of unconscious relief when he dropped the gun into the water with a soft splash, his body slumping in defeat while her instinct took over and forced her to move closer.

"Kill me if you must," he whispered, shivering at the icy water soaking his clothes, "but I shall not kill you. I will not kill you as so many have trained me to do."

Alena swallowed the contempt that rose in her throat, but as the creature pushed her to moved forward, she felt another sharp twist in her stomach, struggling to stop herself from the madness of it all.

She could see the fear clearly in his eyes, but that wasn't what caused her to try and withdraw from the monster.

It was the pity.

That was what she read in his eyes. The undeniable pity that made bile rise in the back of her throat at the mere thought of

Against her will, she swam over to him warily, still twitching with indecision as the fins of different creatures began to circle underneath her.

She moved her body closer to the wreckage and watched the man screw his eyes shut. He flinched away when her hand wrapped around his ankle, but instead of pulling him under the blistering waves like her hand craved to do, she hoisted the chunk of the wood off of his legs to throw into the deep.

Alena looked up to find the sailor was watching her movements, staring at her vaguely until he finally came to life once more. He became more alert, his movements more sure and less aware of her presence anymore than she was of his.

She dove under the water and grabbed a hold of one of the bodies that the others had left untouched in the increasing frenzy, but before she submerged she could heard mirthless laughter as the sailor grabbed a floating piece of wreckage.

"I told you I'd survive for you, Kaiya," he spat angrily, beginning to paddle in the sea, "and by the gods I will be there for you and our son!"

Alena couldn't describe what had caused her to so willingly let the sailor go free, despite his pity, but as she continued her relentless killing for weeks after that, she knew with a defining clarity that as it was the man's fate to spare her life, it was her fate to kill others.

And it would be until the day the gods told her to stop.

~*~*~*~*~