Tail of Maids [original story]

[missingkitsune]

TITLE: Tail of Maids
COMMENTS: Just something I felt like writing. I've been blocked on my regular writing so this was a little side idea that got into my head. Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine alone.

Women were said to be bad luck on ships and the sailors would throw them overboard. What would happen to them after that?

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Tail of Maids

 

They swam the seas on a daily basis. One never knew when the thoughtless humans would do the unthinkable and cast off another female from their floating devices. It was their bound duty to save as many of their fin-less sisters as they were able.

A shadow crossed the surface of the water and the maid cringed as she noticed the splash of something breaking the surface and slowly sinking to the depths.

[Sisters, I found one.] She called out to her kind.

[We're on our way.] Was the multiple reply. Soon the water was churning gently with many powerful fins and tails. [This makes me so angry.] Came from a blue tailed sister.

[Why do the human's do such horrible things?] A green tailed sister asked.

[I have no idea, they're just cruel. Let's get her back to Mother.]

They swam several leagues to their underwater home were all the other maids had gathered with their cast off foundlings. Everyone was waiting with great anticipation for the Great Mother to arrive and give her blessing so the foundlings may join their community.

There was a commotion from the Northern maids. The others watched in awe as the Great Mother swam over to find out what was going on.

[Children, what is the problem?]

[Mother....this one.] There was wild pointing going on. [This one, tis a boy.] There was a gasp of horror from those gathered around.

The Great Mother shook her head; her massive braids swaying slowly in the water. [Judge him not children. I believe he is kindred, a soul of our fin kind. He was cast off by those above so he might have been used as such. We will offer him the same chance.] Her word was absolute so no one say anything against her.

One by one the rescued women were offered the chance at redemption, a chance to live their life to it's fullest as one of the maids of the sea. They could choose any creature they wished; be it fish, mollusk, cephalopod., as long as it was some form of sea creature. There were a few that could not handle the magnitude of it all and chose death after all. It was granted. They were given a soft, easy sleep. Most decided to take on the standard fish like traits. One or two opted for the tentacles. For some strange reason the ones that did take that last option always ended up making trouble. They were vengeful and would go after the men on the ships; often strangling them with the long whip like tentacles.

After some time went by the maids finally found out the reason that the women were being thrown off the the floating piles........ because it was supposedly bad luck to have a woman on board their precious ship.

[We'll make them wish they never had those thoughts] The Grand mother was angry. [My children I know of a way to deceive them.]

Soon stories began to spread of ships crashing on jagged, rocky coastlines. The few surviving sailors would tell tales of hearing beautiful singing voices that they were not able to stop listening to. The ships were run aground trying to reach those heavenly voices. Many, many deaths happened over the years. Some said it was just a fantasy, that the men were just drunk. Others said that the ships were cursed. Then came the tales of the Sirens. Beautiful fish-women who would sit on rocks, brushing their long beautiful hair. The songs that these maids would sing were so enticing that no man could resist and would do anything to get to her, even drive his ship onto the jagged rocks.

The maids would swim away and frolic in a different part of the sea for a while.