Stage One, Part Four: Fraud
Mare walked along the shoreline, the salty breeze pushing his hair into his eyes. But he didn’t really mind that. He was just wandering for now; the day had been rather quiet, and he felt like exploring.
He left the shoreline and began to wander down a dirt path that led off the beach. The path had grass growing over it- must be an older path. He kept walking for some time, and when the path ended, he froze.
In front of him stood many old homes. The walls had been destroyed in many of them, and the rotting framework was all that remained. The thought of leaving crossed his mind- he wasn’t supposed to be here, he knew it. But curiosity pushed him forward.
Many of the homes were completely destroyed, save for a pile of rubble and rotting wood. Some of the houses seemed to be in a slightly better condition- one wall still standing, the framework still holding strong.
He stopped at one house that had caught his eye. Three of the walls still stood, and so did part of the roof. He stepped inside through the wall-less side and began poking through the trash and rubble.
It wasn’t a minute later when he stumbled upon a small wooden chest, the lock rusted shut. He picked up the box and shook it- he could hear something rustling inside. He set the box down and grabbed a nearby brick; he began to beat the top of the box, hoping to break the lid so he could access the contents inside.
With some effort, he was finally able to break the box open. He tossed aside all of the splinters of wood so he could see inside.
He had been expecting money, or even some important documents.
He hadn’t expected pictures.
Pictures of a family. One caught his eye. A woman, a man… and a young child sitting in between the two.
His hands began to shake as he studied the picture harder. He knew that face. He had seen it before. It was him.
Without a second thought, he stuffed the rest of the pictures in his pocket as he sprinted away from the rubble, away from the houses, away from that box.
—————————————————————
“Explain this.”
Mare slammed the picture onto the wooden table where his mothers sat, talking to each other. When he interrupted them, they looked up at him- his face was flushed and he was gasping for air.
“Explain this!” he demanded again, shoving the picture toward them before lifting his hand and placing it on his waist. “Who are those people? Why am I in that picture? How did I-“
One of the women raised her hand to silence him. “Nathaniel. Where did you find these?” She asked, her voice emotionless.
“I-I had been out on a walk, Mamá… I found a place with old homes, that was in a box…” his voice shook as he explained.
The woman looked to the other. “I thought…”
“You were wrong, Ythma,” the other said, her expression impossible to read.
The first woman, Ythma, stood and looked Mare in the eyes. “Dear, sit down, let me-“
“Just fucking tell me!!” he suddenly screamed as he slammed his fist down on the table- hard enough to leave a faint crack in the wood.
Silence filled the room. Ythma studied him for a long moment before standing back and walking behind him.
“We always told you that you had been left on our front doorstep,” Ythma said as she stood at the counter.
“Ythma, you-“
“Helana,” Ythma said, turning her head to face the other woman. Helena fell silent.
“We were… afraid to tell you the truth,” Ythma said as she stepped toward Mare. “Your parents, they died in a fire, I save you and brought you home. We never thought you would-“
“Why did you lie to me?” Mare muttered as he turned around, fury in his eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”
“The truth would have damaged you more,” Helena answered, her voice steady. “We didn’t-“
“You are not a true siren,” Ythma interrupted, her voice cold. “Your father was half siren, half demon, and your mother… she was a naga. You have blood that would have ruined you, and that’s why we didn’t tell you.”
Silence fell upon the room once again. Mare stood stone still, his hands shaking. He then stepped toward Ythma, his hands flat against his thighs. “So you didn’t tell me my parents died.. because I’m fucking UNCLEAN?” he cried, tears filling his eyes. “BECAUSE I’M NOT NORMAL? THAT’S IT? YOU TOLD ME THEY ABANDONED ME- THAT THEY DIDN’T WANT ME- JUST SO YOU COULD HAVE YOUR PERFECT CHILD?” He picked up a nearby glass and threw it, shattering it against the wall. His nostrils flared as a smoke-like fog gathering at his feet. “YOU JUST WANTED A FUCKING PURE-BLOOD CHILD SO FUCK MY FEELINGS I GUESS!!” He growled as he whipped his head toward Ythma, his face twisted in anger. “FUCK YOU! FUCK THIS PLACE!! DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING HARD IT IS FOR ME EVERY FUCKING DAY? I THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMETHING FUCKING WRONG WITH ME, I DIDN’T WANT TO BE AROUND OTHERS, I WAS SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL- I THOUGHT I WAS FUCKING BROKEN!!” The smoke began to cloud around him more. “FUCK YOU AND FUCK THIS ISLAND, DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!” He screamed before storming off, slamming the door behind him.
Helana and Ythma looked at each other. They knew they had made a huge mistake. And this was one they couldn’t easily fix.
Small child full of Bees 
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