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Two times.

Layla had saved Laira two times.

Once centuries ago when Laira had been abducted while roaming in the woods and had been sold off to the slave establishment.

She'd been there for a day and it still was one of the worst memories of her life. She'd known she wouldn't survive if she stayed one second more.

So Laira had planned to escape the very same night she'd been sold. She wasn't kept in a guarded cell like Layla had been. Laira's ward was of the community cells. It was easier to escape from her ward and almost impossible to escape from Layla's.

But even then when Laira had managed to slip the keys from one of the guard's pockets and made it past her ward, she was stuck between Layla's ward corridor and the exit.

She'd prayed with hands clasped that no one in the ward along the heavily guarded one noticed her escaping.

But as she passed, she noticed how most of them were slumped on the floors looking in a state of semi-conciousness bruises covering them all over, many were muttering something in a daze as if they weren't in their right senses and the left few were. . .she didn't know they were just asleep or dead. All their conditions were beyond any repair and Laira knew she'd turn into one of them if she stayed any longer.

Once she had passed those arrays of captors, she was to walk through the most heavily guarded cell of the ward. The cell that seemed to have the 'masterpiece' of the establishment. If what she'd heard from the guards was right, then it was the cell where a royal siren was captured.

Laira had sneakily walked past the sleeping guards but when she passed right from front of Layla's cell, she'd frozen when she caught silver eyes staring at her.

Laira had never felt so terrified in her life. She knew if Layla just made a tiniest sound or informed the guards about her escaping, then she'd never be able to get out of here again and her life would be ruined.

Tears had welled Laira's eyes out of fear but Layla had just stared for what felt like minutes before leaning back against a wall in her sitting position and shutting her eyes pretending to be asleep.

Laira had blinked in surprise getting the message loud and clear. The siren wouldn't tell about her escapade. She'd pretend she was sleeping and didn't see any passerby.

And at that moment, Laira couldn't express how grateful she was. With murmuring a 'thank you' to Layla in her head even though she wouldn't hear, Laira had hoped the girl could make it out one day and then she'd escaped.

The second time when Laira had been saved, was when she was well on her trip to Helvon to live there until her brother came back from his century-long servitude to Hades.

She'd been on the ship enjoying the view of the ocean when a series of screams echoed around. Deadly silence had followed making Laira look for what was wrong on the ship only to find everyone slumped on the ground unconcious and a girl standing amidst them all.

That was when she'd come face-to-face with the same silver-haired siren who'd let her run away from the slave establishment years ago.

Layla had been equally surprised even if she hadn't showed anything on her face. Her task was to kill the second-in-command's sister and take her place to enter Helvon.

But she hadn't expected to find that one stupid girl who'd made it out of the same Hell Hole she was in, alive and well.

Except she'd die soon. . .

When Layla had forced Laira on her knees and bought the crystal dagger to the girl's throat, she had noticed the glassy hazel eyes of the girl staring at her with so much intensity.

"Don't do it." Laira had whispered a plea before sighing and looking away, "I'm glad you made it out of the establishment though. That place is worse than Hell."

Those last two lines. Those lines had struck something in Layla.

She'd felt that odd feeling as if someone understood her because she'd come from the same place as her.

Layla had kept the dagger to Laira's throat for a very long while contemplating what to do before she'd done something utterly unbelievable.

Despite her supposed mission, Layla had jerked Laira up on her feet and ushered her to do as told. Laira hadn't objected. For anything was better than being killed.

Not only Layla had spared Laira's life that day but also kept her hidden the whole time so that Charlotte wouldn't find the girl and kill her thinking she's a potential threat to her mission.

Layla had explained briefly that Laira couldn't be seen outside if she wanted to live and had to stay hidden for a while until she'd executed a plan. Laira hadn't known much about the supposed plan but agreed to do as told since she owed atleast her co-operation to the person who saved her life from getting ruined twice.

Laira had agreed that as long as there wasn't any innocent dying, she would be hiding and even helping if need be.

As years passed with Laira just lugging around Layla and doing her secret chores, Laira had come to grow fond of the siren to the point where she found herself falling for her.

And Laira knew even if the siren never expressed anything, Layla did consider her a friend too.

'Just a friend though' Laira thought with a mental roll of her eyes.

Laira's gaze then slid to Layla with the ever-present warmth. She was so beautiful. In and out.

Eighty percent of the people inside the slave establishment took their own lives, fifteen percent suffered from mental illness and from the rest five percent, most escaped and barely one percent made it out sane.

Laira wouldn't say Layla had made it out perfectly normal but after staying there for seven hundred years, she'd made it out better than many of them. That made her so strong. Did she ever notice that?

"Loving girls is so hard. Almost everyone is beautiful and admirable." Laira enunciated with an exagerated sigh.

Layla raised a brow at the topic that appeared out of nowhere before shaking her head at the overly dramatic girl.

Layla's sight caught Ursula glaring at her from inside her glass tube.

The rowan berries did a good job at burning the skin making the green-haired mermaid's skin appear as if it were frying.

Layla walked over to the woman, her head tilting to the side as she asked, "Are you ready to speak yet?"

Ursula cackled inside the flask, her burning skin making her appear ghostly, "I will never tell you!" She spat.

Layla just stared blankly in return before leaning down to turn a radial at the bottom of the flask. The moment she turned the radial, the water sizzled wildly inside the tube.

Ursula thrashed inside, her skin turning red as if burnt severely. She screamed ferociously before settling her angry gaze on Layla,

"Do whatever you want. I will not tell you! This is Mariane's karma! Her daughter suffered the same fate she inflicted on...." Ursula paused dead as if stopping herself from uttering the word.

Layla's hand paused on the radial as she lifted her gaze to the woman, "On?"

Ursula's eyes reddened from anger, "Someone close to her." She spat not giving anything else away.

Layla's eyes narrowed, "Who?"

"Why should I tell you?" Ursula laughed maniacally, "You deserved everything you got!"

Layla's other hand fisted, her mind rushing with nightmares of a memories in that hell of a slave establishment, "I didn't deserve any of it." She said icily, her hand twisting the radial to a higher degree before her eyes shifted to the woman again,

"I'd never done anything wrong to you. Did you even think once before ruining my life? Did you even think once before you threw me in there? You caused a bitterness in Marilla's heart lying to her I ran away and not that you sold me. You were contend sending your son to rape me. You were contend spewing venom in the merfolks heart for me since I was a kid. Don't tell me I deserved it when I never wished or did anything wrong to you." Layla's voice was on the brink of breaking but she held on forcing herself to feel nothing.

Ursula's face twisted, "You killed my son."

"He got paid for what he did." Layla said, her face void of any expression.

"It must suck, no?" Ursula cooed despite her skin burning and her head slightly spinning from the effects of rowan berries, "Everyone you fell for always ends up loving Marilla and betraying you. First, my son and then that Zander boy. Some terrible fate you have."

Layla's heart twisted at the words because wasn't it true? She loved Phillip since they were young teens but in his love for Marilla and falling for his mother's nasty stories, he'd ruined her already messy life.

She didn't even know why she'd felt hopeful that first time Phillip visited her at the establishment. How she'd hoped maybe he'd get her out of there. How horribly it had ended. . .

Him slapping her for stabbing Marilla and then him forcing himself on her to 'punish' her. . .

And now Zander. Although she knew Zander would never stoop down to Phillip's level, it still hurt.

That fresh pain of heartbeak blossomed again but she shook it away and focused her attention on the radial.

If Ursula wasn't going to tell her why she hated her so much then she didn't want to hear anything else anymore.

Layla turned the radial to its full extent. The water buzzed like current flowing inside it as it covered Ursula over her head. Hundreds of rowan berries whirled around the mermaid's form as she screamed at the scorching pain when the berries melted her skin.

Layla stared blankly at the woman in the glass tube, her eyes taking in the woman's torture as she felt numb as ever even when Ursula slipped to unconsciousness.

Laira watched Layla for a long moment before walking over to the siren and tucking a strand of her silver hair behind her ear, "She's a bitch. She deserves worst for what she did to you. You should also ditch those men away from your pretty little head. They don't deserve you either. And and...." Laira looked up through her lashes coyly, "I'm always an option. If only you were into girls, my life would've been all rainbows and unicorns." She murmured the last sentence dreamily.

Layla finally glanced away from Ursula to Laira and raised a brow at the hazel eyed girl before asking, "Don't you want to meet your brother? He's here."

"Derek?"

Layla nodded and Laira sighed.

"Well, I waited a decade. I could wait a few days more till you get done with whatever you plan, I guess. I'll sneak in at night and just check on his annoying sleeping face, maybe." Laira suggested with a wink.

Whatever she planned. . .

Layla didn't even know what her plan was anymore after the conversation she had with Marilla. Nevertheless,

"You love your brother a lot, don't you?" Layla asked conversationally to ward her mind away from any creeping thoughts.

Laira smiled, "As much as you love your sister, even if you won't admit it. Although Derek. . . He took my punishment for killing an abusive man from the underworld and went to serve in Hades' palace for a century instead of me. Even if I didn't like his annoying ass before, I sure would melt after that. And I still feel guilty about it."

"I heard serving for Hades wasn't really a bad thing except for endless boredom by staying in the palace doing nothing. Zander used to tell me when...." Layla's words trailed, when he loved her due to the love spell and told her everything.

Laira caught on to Layla's train of thoughts and sighed, "Hey hey, stop thinking now. It's sleep time. Go sleep. Shoo shoo."

With a big warm hug, Laira ushered Layla towards the door knowing the more she stayed around Ursula and her bad energy, the more she'd feel gloomy.

And sure enough, after a little urging from Laira, Layla shut her eyes winnowing herself to her room.

The moment she was in the empty confines of her room though, Layla sat at the edge of her bed and held her head as a frustrated tear ran down her cheek. Her mind fussed with a thousand different voices and images as she tried her best to keep the voidness away. . .

'It sucks, no? Everyone you fall for ends up loving Marilla and betraying you.' Ursula cackled, her tone full of mockery.

'I looked for you every single day.' Marilla's tear strained face flashed in front of her eyes.

'You deserved what happened to you.' It was Ursula laughing again.

'Did you try to kill Marilla?' Zander's accusing gaze cut through her heart.

'Let me test you,' Images of several men touching her tortured her mind.

'This is what you get for defying me.' Sounds of whips hitting her skin and her pleas buzzed in her head.

Layla felt her ears drum as a stinging pain shot through her head.

When a hand gently touched her shoulder, she flinched back with a harsh scream which got muffled as the person placed a hand over her mouth.

Layla's heart galloped to her throat, the action terrifying her as she trashed around pushing away at the hand without looking at who it was.

The person blinked in shock at her behavior and her panic he clearly felt himself emitting from her. With wide eyes, Apollo didn't know what to do.

Dead man as he was to the people here now made his researching about finding the feud between Marilla and Layla more tricky. So after sneakily checking whether Marilla had actually used the herb he'd slipped into her closet yesterday night and finding the sachet gone from its place today, Apollo had come in search of Layla to check her emotions and see if it would reveal something to him.

But she'd winnowed into her room out of nowhere while he stood hidden and then she started feeling a dozen things together.

He'd just approached her because.....well because he was a fool and her emotions had clouded him again making him do equally foolish things.

But he hadn't thought she'd be so terrified without even looking at his face and thinking him to be a dead man's ghost.

Her confusingly wild reaction to his touch and the fear and panic she felt made his head spin and so to calm her down, Apollo took his hand off her mouth praying to the fates she wouldn't bring the whole house down with her screams and then wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Hush, you're okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly, stroking her hair as comfortingly as he could.

Layla froze, her head spinning. She felt like she'd heard the voice before and it was more scary than anything.

What if he was one of the men from the establishment. . . .

What if he'd sell her back there. . . .

How did he even make it here. . . .

Was he going to. . . .

Apollo sighed sensing her raging emotions as if it was his own. He cursed himself internally for doing what he was about to without asking her consent but he just wanted her to calm the fuck down before she lost herself to such high emotions of panic. It never ended well.

So shutting his eyes, Apollo called to his unearthy magic before pulling back from Layla.

Before Layla could properly register who he was despite her panic, Apollo held her face and stared into her eyes with his own glinting a bright gold, "Sleep." He said in a voice that was too melodic, soothing Layla's mind.

She blinked rapidly as if trying to fight off an enchantment but the God's magic was stronger and ancient.

Layla found her eyelids grow heavy and her limbs loosen relaxingly. As her eyes shut and her body fell backwards, Apollo caught her before she could fall harshly on the bed.

Gently placing her head down on a pillow, he pulled the blankets up to tuck Layla in.

Compulsion was one of his abilities he hated to use knowing how it made the person abide to his sayings, robbed off any freewill. But if he hadn't used it to make her sleep, she wouldn't have calmned down at all. She could have a panic attack. And Apollo didn't know where her thoughts and emotions would lead her to. She had to rest her emotions down for now and then think with a clear mind later. It was the only choice he had.

Muttering a silent apology to Layla for compulsing her, Apollo got off the bed. His eyes remained trained on the now sleeping girl's face.

He noticed the dried tears on her cheek, the various tiny scars on her arms — some at the side of her face following down her neck — and how exhausted she looked even as she slept.

Sighing, he leant in to tuck away a strand of silver hair from her face, "Rest well, pretty girl." He murmured to her before inching back and disappearing into nothingness.

Any guesses on who Ursula's "someone close" is?👀

Your views on Laira?