Quite the Conundrum

Jack has a plan...

The waves began to hit our vessel with more strength as the wind began to pick up. My brother-in-law Murphy Van Buren holds the helm tightly as my Father Almonzo and I pull the almost baron nets from the sea below us. I see the look of utter disappointment in his eyes as he sits on a step and wipes his face clean of the water. He looks at me and gives a quiet smile. 

“Let’s bring her home Murph. There’s nothing out here son.”

“Aye sir.”

My Father is a good man and treats his in-laws as his own children. Murphy himself is a good man as well though we all have our suspicions that he may have been involved in shady dealings beforehand. Possibly piracy? He won’t say but that would explain his talents in sailing. As grand a sailor as Murphy is, my other Brother-in-law Anto O’Leary is by far superior. He was a naval officer and I believe was even a captain before losing his leg. The story is one of great intrigue. He says that his ship The Intrepid came under fire from pirates and during the battle a cannon ball hit him directly on his right leg. According to him, he stepped up and continued to direct his men and fought them off. That kind of thing does wonders for your record but, when looking for a job in the average world, it does no good to be uniped for most trades. When my grandfather met Anto, he overlooked his situation and hired him to captain one of the vessels. In time he was given command of the main vessel, The Genevieve. With him commanding the boats and Murphy as the captain of The Ichika, My Father and Grandfather handling the overall business, the Slade company was booming… until about two years when my Grandfather Allen passed away. My Father took control, however not long after, the nets came up empty more often than not. No matter where we fished, the results remained the same. We still brought in enough to survive but survive is all. Then to top it all off, Anto heard rumors about the great Captain De Reeves seeing a mythical beast in the ocean which led to him setting off on his own as well. My Sister Ellen still holds on hope that he’ll return despite what we all believe. I sit next to my Father as our vessel returns to shore. 

“Ugh Jack… Allen would be… very disappointed in me.”

“This isn’t your fault. I’m sure wherever he is… well he knows.”

“I hope so, son.”

I hate to see him so defeated. I would love to think that our troubles here would end soon but, I guess I’m slowly becoming pessimistic. I look ahead and see land approaching and my Mother Chelsea Slade and Sister Thomasita who is with child awaits us at the dock. We tie her up and give warm embraces to our loved ones. My Mother kisses my cheek and walks with us home and cooks us a fantastic meal. 

“Two days home then back again!” My Fathers exclaims.

“Yes and then we’ll be swimming in fish!” Murphy adds.

I don’t say much as my mind is on more interesting subjects. Tonight’s the night I reveal my plan to Murphy. Our days of baroness will end when I set off.

“A week out and nothing to show for it.” My Mother says in the midst.

“Not for lack of trying my love.”

“It must be a lack of something.”

The room falls silent with tension as my Father glares at her.

“Mom please. It’s been a trying time for all of us.” Murphy tries to ease the tension.

“Yes. Let’s not say something we’ll regret love.”

“It just seems strange to me that suddenly, my Father dies and the sea happens to be baron. He would be disappointed for sure.”

Suddenly my Father’s eyes became angry.

“Mother please!” Thomasita says loudly.

“All I’m saying is that there’s a lack of competence when it comes…”

My Father then angrily slams his fist against the table.

“Hold your tongue woman! I work my fingers to the bone trying to keep this business alive! You have no right to condemn me.”

“I have every right! If my Father was here…

“I am not your Father God d****t!”

“Damn right!”

Thomasita grips her stomach in pain. And leaves the room, followed by Murphy. My Mother glares angrily at my Father and then follows them. My Father says nothing and then proceeds to leave the home entirely. I watch him as he heads to the boat and sits there looking out into the dark ocean before him. Some time passes and Murphy returns to the table. 

“Consider yourself lucky you’re not married, Jack. Hell hath no fury!”

“Is that why we don’t let the women on the boats?”

“We don’t let them on the boats because there are plenty of places to dump a body in a vast sea.”

“For us or them?”

“Hell hath no fury my friend.”

We share a bit of laughter and continue our dinner. A long strange silence then accompanies us as I consider telling him my plan.

“Murph… I have a plan…”

“...The last person to tell me that was Anto. He was an accomplished naval officer and you're only 25. Are you going on a fool's errand to find the great beast?.”

“No, of course not... I want to find a siren.”

“You’re daft! There is no point in going after a myth! You want to end up like Anto?”

“Think about it Murph! Anto and the rest simply went to one place, but… my Grandmother Selene… she was… you know.”

“How does that… I don’t follow.”

“As far as most of the world is concerned, they still don’t exist. If she didn’t show us her fangs first hand, would we believe it? I doubt it. What I’m saying is that if they exist then who’s to say sirens don’t. If I can catch one, bring it back then our family would be rich!”

“Do you know why your Grandfather named his boat Genevieve?”

“She was a dear friend of theirs.”

“A bit more complicated. Yes she was a dear friend of theirs but… Genevieve was his first love. She broke his heart and he stabbed hers.”

“Lies.”

“These are his words. He told me this when I sought his counsel once. He told me how much he loved her and that before Selene, he would have taken back in a moment. In order to kill Demetri, he had to kill her first for whatever reason.”

“What does this have to do with anything Murph? You’ve been drinking rum again?”

“What I mean is that you may have to sacrifice some things in order to reach an endgame. Like a game of chess, you have to give up those good pieces to get to the king. Allen had to sacrifice someone he loved dearly in order to accomplish his goal. Understand that if you do this, you may lose some things along the way. Savvy?” 

“In the end… did he not say that after everything, he found more than what he was looking for?”

“True. You’ll have to convince your Father to let you take a vessel alone. He didn’t react well when Xavier left for school, did he?”

“I’ll just tell him what you told me.”

“You have my support Jack. Good luck.”

He shook my hand and rejoined his wife in the other room. It’s true that I may lose some things and maybe even some people along the way. Potentially my own life. Is that a risk I’m willing to take? My Sister Ellen currently lives in the home once occupied by my Grandparents. I wonder if she would allow me to look for some guidance there? While I walk over I think of my parents and their conflict earlier. Maybe it’s not the right time, but I still feel like this is the right thing to do. There has to be other mythical creatures out there, I can feel it! If I stay knowing I could have done something to help our situation than that would be worse at failing at this venture. I knock on the all too familiar door that my Grandparents would happily open whenever we would visit. This time My eldest Sister Ellen answers. 

“Little Brother!”

She says almost sarcastically but it is good to hear joy coming from her words. They are surely few and far between. 

“Evening Sis. I have some things on my mind and I was wondering if I could see Grandfather’s trophy room?” 

“Would he have said no?”

Of course not. I follow her to the room of sacred treasures and watch in anticipation as she unlocks the door. She lights a few candles and leaves me to my enjoyment. All around are his trophies. Blades collected from undead elders amongst many things. The famous Homicida and the others. I take it and remove the sheath to reveal the finely crafted blade now clean of the blood that it has shed. I maneuver it as if I’m battling my enemy. Suddenly my eyes catch the portrait of them. My Grandmother in all her beauty and a slight smile that seems so mysterious to me and of course my Grandfather and his intense eyes staring into my soul. The hunter with the cursed name, and the unknown child of his own, looking into each other. To stay here and not write my own story would not only be an insult to him but to my own children and to my family. The damned cursed your name… but the world shall know mine!