The bar next to the seafood dealer’s chateau was alive with action and raucous, as it usually was on a Friday afternoon after most of the fishermen in Port Chalyse were back in the tavern, relaxing after a hard day’s work. Benjamin, usually the last to come in, cheerfully sauntered through the door, where a smile and cup of ale would be welcome tonight.

“Benny! Get in here and sit a spell,” a regular called to him, sliding a mug his way.

He caught it, smiling. “So what’re you landlubbers up to now?”

“The same thing we’re always up to, laddie,” he replied with a smile and lowered his voice. “Seeing who can outdo who with their tales of the high seas.”

Benjamin chuckled as he listened to them all, knowing there was more fiction than fact to any of them. He never participated just remained content to stay in the shadows and listen in. Still…He sipped his ale. They were entertaining.

“-the air was still as a dead fish in the water, every shipmate was asleep or drunk off their rump. I was at the helm and the fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I was sure we were gonna run aground like the night the old Hopmickcogan ship last year…” A few eyes widened and heads shook, remembering the terrible tragedy. “And then!” The old man jumped up from his seat. “A beautiful woman appeared dressed in blinding white garments. She pointed to the starboard, and I followed her, taking to the right.” He paused, standing taller. “I turned to look back and the woman disappeared.” He shrugged, taking a swig of the mead in front of him. “Before I knew it, I saw a lighthouse in the distance and I was headed right into port. To this day, I swear she was a siren.” The bar quieted in the usual awe after a story told as dramatically as his.

From the back, the scruffy loner called, “Doesn’t a siren lead you away from shore?”

The entire bar turned to stare at him who dared interrupt the eldest of the fishermen. Curious, Benjamin arched his neck to get a better view of the foreigner. He was a big guy, yet lean, probably not able to hold his own in a fight. Ben shook his head. He hoped the young man knew what he was getting himself into…challenging tales of the sea was serious business in this town.

“A siren chooses favor and then decides whether she will lead away or lead to shore.” He crossed his arms with a scoff. “Any proper seafarer knows that,” he snapped.

The stranger gave a smirk, obviously unimpressed. “Funny, all the stories I’ve ever heard had to siren using her melodious voice to distract sailors from their course, usually ending in their deaths.” Now that Benjamin paid more attention, he noticed that the young man’s voice had a British accent laced with Irish. He smiled slightly, fascinated.

“Then you haven’t heard enough,” the older man said an edge to his tone, taking a last long swig of his mead.

The newcomer rolled his eyes and returned to his small plate of food. “You don’t know me,” he muttered under his breath, someone accusingly.

Irritated, the now intoxicated man pointedly stomped over to his table. “Neither do you know me, yet you challenge me!”

“It wasn’t a challenge,” the gentleman continued conversationally, not breaking the spooning of food to his mouth. “It was merely a correction.”

With that, the older man brought back his hand flipping the foreigner’s hat backwards. “No, that was a correction…respect your superiors!” he shouted drunkenly.

Ben got up out of his seat to stop whatever quarrel he was sure was about to take place, but the young man shook his head, unmoving, though his ruffled hair still stood up after the insult. “I don’t want to fight,” he said.

“Then maybe you shouldn’ta opened your mouth, stranger.” Balling up a fist, the soused sea captain drew back and shot forward into the man’s stomach.

However, though the outsider may not have wanted to battle, he was not without defenses. Without a word, he resumed his composure, caught the man’s fist and brought back his own, slamming it into the man’s cheek. A crack was heard and the older seafarer fell to the ground, clutching his face as he groaned in extreme pain. Deadpan, the man picked up his coat and went to pay the bill.

Face red with embarrassment and rage brought on by alcohol, the elder scrambled to his feet. “You’ll PAY for that!” he screamed, charging straight for him.

The young man turned and with an open hand caught his head, held it there for a second, and dropped it backwards, causing the sailor to fall into a stupor before he fell on his face. Once again being careful not to show any emotion, he gave a sigh and went for the door.

However, a lone two hands applauding his performance caused him to measuredly turn around.

A chuckle was heard from the back of the room, and a massive man came from the shadows, a grin on his face. The man strode up to him, and he tensed, wondering if this one wanted to fight to.

The large sailor stopped a few feet in front of him.

“What’s your name?”

The stranger blinked, surprised by the question. “Noah. Noah Rixey.”

“Well, Noah Rixey I’m Peterson…” There was an anxious pause as everyone in the bar turned to see what the man was going to say next. He passed him a sideways smile as he patted him on the back.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Benjamin smiled and the crowd relaxed almost immediately returning to their shanties. But as Ben focused in on the larger man in front of him who had introduced himself as Pete…a frown grew where a smile had once been. He looked strangely familiar…

Before Ben could take time to try to place him, a finger tapped on his shoulder. “Yeah?” he asked, turning around.

“Hey, Benjamin.” The city sheriff took a seat next to him.

His smile returned. “G’evening, Jay, let me get you a drink…” he offered.

The sheriff shook his head. Ben’s brow furrowed in confusion and it dawned on him that Jay was still in his uniform. He was here on business, not pleasure. “What’s wrong?” he asked in a serious tone.

Jay took a deep breath. “We have to talk about your daughter…”

* * * * *

Pearl ran home as fast as her legs could carry her, desperately needing to get to her father before the law did. As she reached the top of the hill, Pearl’s heart raced and her eyes widened. Not a light was on in the house, which meant her father was sure to still be at the tavern. Scrambling down the valley, Pearl fell into a roll, leapt to her feet, and reached the door in record time, unlocking it and slamming it behind her, already trying to find the calmest way to explain to him what had happened, that was if he even knew about it yet. Her eyes attempted to adjust to the darkness, but she had to shut them for a second.

“Pearl.”

The voice was right next to her ear and made her jump up into the air. But it was all too recognizable. “Papa?” she asked in a small tone.

A match was struck and lantern lit, slowly illuminating the room. He walked into the radius of the light, and Pearl gulped. Her father’s face held a frightening glow, one Pearl had never seen before and one she’d thought unimaginable up until now.

“Papa, let me explain-”

“I think you’d better,” he said, his whisper twice as threatening as if he would have bellowed it.

Pearl paused, speechless. She hadn’t had enough time to come up with a good story. So she resorted to telling the truth. “I didn’t mean to destroy anything. I honestly didn't-” she began.

“So it’s true. You did explode the governor’s office,” he said in amazement, which quickly turned to accusation. He stepped closer and she backed up, looking up with scared eyes. “I told you NEVER, NEVER to step foot in that BUILDING! And you EXPLODE it?! Do you realize the consequences of this?!” Actually it had been the first time Pearl had thought beyond her own consequences. “DO YOU?!”

Pearl froze, terrified.

“I could go to jail for this!” he screamed. Pearl’s back hit the wall as she continued to move away from him. He now stared her down so close that the stench of whisky invaded her nostrils from his breath. “Because of YOUR actions, I have NO income for the next three shipment runs! Do you realize what that could do to us?! Financially? After all I’ve tried to do, and all for you?”

Pearl looked down, ashamed and angry tears coming to her eyes. “I did it for you-”

“Don’t lie to me on top of everything else, Pearl,” he ordered in a growl. “You did that for yourself. You’re a selfish, impetuous girl…who doesn’t know her PLACE in this world.”

Pearl crossed her arms, a disgusted look on her face as she spoke. “Oh Lord, here we go again…”

“You shame me! If I didn’t know any better-”

“You do know better, you know I would never hurt you-”

“You already have, Pearl! We are going to lose this house, all our possessions, and possibly my job as a fisherman - the only life we’ve ever known because of this rash, illegal, and furthermore….” Ben paused, flabbergasted as he searched for a word. “STUPID act!”

Tears filmed Pearl’s eyes. “It was not!” she demanded, her voice quivering. “I only wanted to make a difference!”

“Well, you DID make a difference,” he said coldly. “You made a difference in whether I trust you or not.” Her father’s eyes grew old in that second, tired and old - words Pearl had never associated with him before. And they relayed disappointment and hurt. “I thought I could trust you, Pearl. I thought you were old enough that I could stop watching you so heavily and put faith in you not to do anything rash.” He paused...and when he began again, a broken tone took the place of his angered one. “You’ve ruined us, Pearl. We will have no income for the rest of the month. None, and we’re in debt already…” He stopped yelling, but he was still upset. “So was it worth it? To watch us fall into the poorhouse?”

Pearl looked down in shame, tears slowly dripping helplessly from her chin. “I’m sorry,” she cried, her voice cracking.

“That won’t be enough this time!” he said, growing more upset as he watched his daughter grow more and more hysterical.

“I’m sorry, alright?!” she shrieked, balling now. “But they were going to steal all our money anyway! Look at them!” Pearl threw her hand to the window. “Have you seen them around town? Dressed in the finest linens? Cutting our profits in two to fund themselves? Who GAVE them that power? They’re richer than we will EVER be, and we’re the one breaking our backs to do it.”

“That does not justify your actions!” he stressed, though his anger seemed to have subsided. “Pearl, who do you think funds the fishermen? Gives us the ships? Provides us with the tools to do the fishing we do?” He stood, shaking his head. “We’re not in charge here, Pearl. Nor will we ever be, and that is a fact of life that you will HAVE to abide by. The rest of us have for years, and it’s never-”

“It’s never what?” Pearl challenged softly. “Never done us harm, right….well, we deserve better. YOU deserve better. I watch you everyday wake up at the crack of dawn and go to bed for no more than four or five hours a night to get up and do it again. And we do not have the money to show for it. And we should!”

“That doesn’t mean we destroy courthouses to do it,” her father snapped back. His body seemed to collapse into a chair out of despair. “But you did, and now we will pay the price…” Ben put his head into his hands. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, Pearl…”

Tears once again began to roll down Pearl’s cheeks as she approached her father. “I’m sorry,” she said again, her voice cracking as her voice gave way to whimpers. She sank down in front of him. “You’re right. All I ever do is shame you.”

Ben took a deep breath, cursing himself slightly. He had said many things out of anger…most of which he hadn’t meant. “You know that’s not true, Pearl…you make me proud everyday. How you keep your job at the dock, your schoolwork, and where you’re going in life. You’re going to make it…” His eyes were tired, more tired than Pearl had ever seen them before. “But this is going to set us back. Set us back a great deal.”

Pearl had never felt so ashamed in her life as she did at that moment, sitting in front of his father with nothing to say, nothing to do, but cry and realize that had it not been for her, her father would be receiving the pay he deserved. “I will make you proud,” she promised. “And I will pull us out of this - just as I got us into this.”

Ben didn’t give her words much credit. “We’ll make do. The corporate bay-scum will not bring us down now or ever, do you hear that? Never let them, Pearl…all we’ve got is each other. They may take our house and my job…but they can never take us away from each other.” With that, Pearl rose up and embraced her father in a tight hug. The both of them cried hot desperate tears, Ben hiding his. Her father held her all through the night, just as he had the day she was born and told himself he would forever.

Had Ben known that would be the last night that he was going to hold his daughter in his arms, he never would have let her go.