The sun had long since set upon the world, and everywhere one looked, all that could be seen was darkness. That, and the endless water constantly crashing around them. It was a perilous state for anyone to be in, even for those experienced at sea. But still they pressed on, with thoughts of home foremost in their minds. A small group of men, frantically moving about on the deck of their small wooden ship, doing everything they could to get through the terrible weather that surrounded them. On a good night, they could use the light from the moon, or perhaps the stars, to help guide them home. But not tonight. No, tonight there was nothing but storm. Black clouds, torrential rain and lightning strikes as far as anyone could see. It was the worst circumstances anyone could ever find themselves in when travelling on the waters of the Aegean. The strong winds struck their sails, threatening to tear them asunder. Many of the sailors scrambled to grab onto the ropes connecting it to the mast.
"Hold fast, men! We have to endure this storm if we want any chance of getting home!"
The words of their leader were loud and commanding, but they did little to alleviate their fears over their surroundings. Creaks in the wood of their ship, and the constant lashing of the waves around them, often filling their mouths with the vile salt waters of the sea, all of it was becoming too difficult to bear. It was a concern several of them were more than willing to voice.
"Captain! We don't even know where we're going! The stars are hidden! We've been turned around Zeus knows how many times! We'll never get back to Corinth in one piece!"
The Captain looked to his men with fire in his eyes.
"I'll have no talk of quitting on my ship! We will survive this, even if I have to drag each and every one of your lifeless bodies back to shore myself!"
Needless to say, none of the crew were willing to try and tempt fate by upsetting their commander any further, and so resumed their work, for all the good it did. So bad was the storm around them that most didn't even know if they'd moved forward an inch since this whole thing began. All they knew was that this was a watery Tartarus on earth, a place none of them would wish to be in if they had a choice in the matter. But they also knew that if they gave up now, they'd never get home, never see their families again. And so they worked as hard as they could, steering their ship as well as could be expected with visibility this bleak. One young man in particular was all over the place, looking out from the decks to try and see if he could spot anything that could give them hope. A sliver of night sky in-between the clouds, the silhouette of another ship, perhaps even a shoreline. Anything that would offer them something to get them out of this mess. However, what he got instead was a massive wave, slamming into the side of their ship and sending many of their crew, himself included, flying into the other side, banging his head against the wooden planks there.
Although dazed for a moment, not to mention now sporting a massive bleeding scrape on the side of his head, the young man got up, as did his cohorts. And for a brief moment, he felt the last embers of hope die out within him. But then, from out of nowhere, he began to hear something. It was a sound unlike anything a sailor could hope to expect in a place like this. Soft and melodic, carrying faintly across the wind. It was hard to make out, but eventually, the man began to realise that what he was hearing was, against all reason and logic, a song. Both he and the crew were both startled and curious about this, especially the Captain, who dropped his rope and looked out across the waters to see where this sound was coming from. As he did that, the rest of the crew carried on listening to it, and as they did, something began to change. The more they heard it, the less fearful they were of the storm around them. Instead, they began to feel content, more relaxed, and above all else, wanting to hear more and more of that song. Many of them stood alongside the Captain, trying to see where it was coming from. The youngest of them, though, had a different plan.
He walked over to the great wheel that steered the ship, no longer caring for the wind, the rain or the waves. Grabbing hold of it, he began to turn it in the direction of the song, which was growing louder and more beautiful to his ears the more he heard it. Only now did the other men take notice of what he was doing, but for some reason did nothing to stop him, which is quite unlike how he thought they'd be. Instead, they carried on listening to the sweet melodies, smiling and feeling safer just from listening to it. As the moments passed and their ship sailed on, they began to hear not just one, but three different voices, all mixed together in a beautiful harmony. It was a realisation that led many of them to double their efforts to watch out for whoever could be singing out there. The young man in particular wished for this more than anything he could remember. To Tartarus with home, he thought to himself. If I could simply sit beside such wondrous singers, I would want for nothing else. As that thought nestled in his mind, both he and the crew widened their eyes with surprise as they finally began to spot something ahead of their ship.
It took a while, but they finally managed to catch sight of the singers they so longed to find. There was a trio of girls, and the young man did not hesitate in thinking that they were the most beautiful creatures he'd ever laid eyes on. Sitting upon a jagged rock in the middle of the water, there were, as expected, three of them, one with blue hair, one with purple and one with orange. Clad only in the kind of short dress that was popular amongst the young of their Greek homeland, they looked utterly relaxed and unafraid despite the raging storm around them. Instead, they looked on, right at the man and the rest of his companions, letting out that same melody that they had so fallen in love with. As the man looked on, he saw the orange-haired one, presumably the leader, raise one hand and slowly beckoned to him with her finger. That and the look of desire in her eyes was all the permission he needed, and he steered the ship straight to them. The other men had begun clamouring for the young ladies ahead, with some even going so far as to fight each other, perhaps thinking to impress these new arrivals.
The young sailor didn't care. He just wanted to get to those beautiful girls, to hear them sing up close. So enthralled was he that he, much like his fellow sailors, failed to note that the girls' rock was not the only one about, and it was not long before their ship collided with many jagged and spikey rocks, all hidden just beneath the surface of the water. The impact shook many of them from their positions, some sent overboard immediately. Others were knocked onto the sides of the ship, rendering them unconscious. As for the young man himself, he was largely unharmed, but was nevertheless still desiring nothing but to reach that tiny rock and the three who lay upon it. That beautiful song was still heard, it's melody now drowning out the storm above. The man got to his feet and ran forward, oblivious to the splintering and sinking ship around him. He ran as fast as his tired legs would take him, and as his comrades dropped from the impact, one by one, it soon became him and him alone that the three girls focused their attention on.
Soon, he was at the foremost edge of the ship, and without even thinking of the danger, he took a great leap forward, landing into the freezing cold water below. A great pain shot through his leg as that happened, and it was not long before he realised that he must have broken it from another of the unseen rocks below the water. But he didn't care. He was only a few metres away now, and so put all of his remaining strength into a swim forward. The girls watched him approach, still bearing those welcoming smiles. The orange-haired one rose to her feet and stepped forward, stopping only as she reached the edge of their rock. Kneeling down, she looked on as the young man finally reached her, his strength starting to fail him. Raising both hands, the girl gently caressed the side of his face, lifting him up slightly as she brought her face closer to his. A feeling of desire and contentment ran through the youngster as he gazed upon her. In but a moment, her lips gently touched his own, and they were locked in a tender kiss. He wanted it to last forever, to stay with her, whoever she was, until the end of his days.
But that dream soon ended as he felt her lips art form him, causing him to look up at her. He saw the other two stand beside her, looking down at him with a mixture of both mockery and victory. The leader too began to look at him this way, still bearing that sultry smile as she did so, before letting go of him. The young man felt himself sinking, his strength finally gone, but never taking his eyes off the girls. He didn't know what was going on, or why, only that, as the water began to fill his vision, the last thing he heard in this world was that beautiful, enchanting voice, speaking to him.
"Always works...every single time."
