A Siren at the Helm

Chapter XXV: Suddenly Notorious

Amina tipped the spoon, letting the honey fall back into the jar. It glinted against the sun. As the little stream landed, it created little patterns on the honey already trapped by the glass. They quickly faded though, sinking down to be level with the rest of the sticky liquid.

Honey had such a lovely colour. It was deep and rich and sweet. It was especially beautiful when it came to eyes. Amina remembered eyes the colour of honey...

"Amina!"
Amina was ripped from her daydreams to find the rest of the people around the breakfast table staring at her.
"Yes?" Came her answer as composed as she could manage. Which wasn't very composed at all.
"May I have some honey for my toast, or are you going to keep smiling at it like a dolt?"
"Johnathan!" Mrs Evans softly slapped her son on the arm. "We don't say things like that."

Johnathan huffed and stuck his tongue out at his grinning little sister. Those two were always looking to tease each other when one was in trouble. It was no wonder they faught so much. Mr Evans however, seeing the potential for a squabble, quickly drew Annie's attention away from her brother by asking her what she was to have on her toast.

"Sorry," Amina handed the jar to the boy, who proceeded to drown his bread in the golden substance.
Mrs Evans gave her son a disapproving look before shaking her head and focussing on Amina again.
"Are you sure you are feeling well, dear? You haven't quite been yourself since you came back from your trip."
"I'm fine. Really... there is nothing to worry about." Amina gave Mrs Evans a bright smile before starting on her own breakfast.

She could almost feel Mrs Evans's eyes on her as she ate. Assessing. Searching. Looking for anything that would give her a clue as to why Amina had become so distracted lately. Amina felt bad for worrying her, but she was not going to reveal anything. She was sure that Mrs Evans would eventually find something to divert her attention from Amina and her sudden lack of interest in the world around her.

Or at least she hoped Mrs Mrs Evans would. To be fair, that hope had remained unsatisfied for the last ten days. Ten days. For ten days she had been back on the island. She had been Amina again. She had tried to keep her mind away from ships and the sea and...
Well, not that her trying had done much to help anyway.

Amina sighed. She wondered if he had made it to Salé yet. Was he readying to make port? Was he buying supplies for The Vengaza? Or had he already set sail to Cornwall?
That was unlikely, she realised. The Vengaza would not have been ready to take off so quickly.

It was strange how keenly aware of Esteban's absence she had become recently. No one's voice sounded quite like his. There was not anybody else who spoke with an accent as musical as the one that belonged to him. Here, there was nobody who would argue with her, or whom she could throw out of bed in the mornings. She... well... she missed him.

She started with the realization and there was a loud clack as her knife came down onto her plate mercilessly. Amina looked down in surprise. Her hand (without her permission it seemed) was stabbing her toast as though she were trying to kill it. The Evans family was once again looking at her with wide eyes. Amina gave disoriented chuckle before putting some more butter on her bread. Perhaps that would serve as justification for whatever it was that her hand just did?

As Amina took another bite of toast, she could only wonder what in heaven's name she was going to do with herself.

*

Amina looked over her shoulder to make sure that the owner of the tavern was not watching, before opening the shutters of a window. Summer was quickly succumbing to autumn and a vengeful nip had found its way to the air. She closed her eyes and stuck her head outside, relishing the cool air that smelled of wood smoke and a warm supper cooking on a stove. It was a welcome relief of the beer infused air and stale breath of the tavern.

Amina smiled as she returned to her chore of wiping the tables clean. Her day had followed the same pattern as usual: sell fish and go to work at the tavern afterwards. Now, it was late. She could see the little flickers of starlight through the window.

Other than herself the owner and a group of scraggly looking fishermen by the stage, Amina was alone. Most of the other barmaids had already gone home, seeing as the number of customers had declined for the evening. Felipe had gone to the mainland for a few days due to some unknown reason. He would be back soon though. Or at least, that was what the owner had told her.

It was quiet but peaceful. On nights like these, when she could hear the sea in the distance, her mind sifted through her memories. Both the old and the new ones. She giggled to herself as she remembered a conversation she had had with Felipe after her return:

He had looked around the room, which had been full as it had still been early in the evening. "Look at this," he had clicked his tongue. "So many people and yet it's still so dull."
He had given her a mischievous smirk. "I bet you could change that."
"Oh, and pray tell how?" Amina had stared at him from behind the congregation of tankards she was removing from a table.
"Well, the stage is unoccupied at the moment."
"No."
"Oh come on," he had pouted, " everyone enjoyed your singing so much last time."
"Try anything like 'last time' again and I will tip you upside down, dip you in my bucket and use those pretty curls of yours to swab the floor," Amina had hissed.

Felipe hadn't known it, but she fully intended just that if he ever tried to trick her into singing again. Or perhaps she could get him to gut the mackerel Mr Evans sometimes caught. That would surely teach him a lesson.

Being a siren, her mind was somewhat indifferent to blood and gore at certain times. But she knew that most humans (especially Felipe) did not take well to such things. The question then, would be how she would get him to...

Suddenly the door bursted open. A gust of chilly wind filled the tavern as a figure marched inside. Amina immediately recognized the blond curls and straight posture; Felipe.
She knew he would have been back soon from the mainland, but not this early. Why was he here?

"Close that up will you?!" A shout came from the owner.
Felipe swirled around, grabbed the door and slammed it shut.
"Careful!" The owner cried.

Felipe however, paid no attention to the warning as his eyes searched the tavern. When they landed on Amina her blood ran cold. He looked furious. She was sure that if he could spit fire, the building would already have been burnt to the ground. He strode towards her, blond curls bobbing up and down with every enraged footstep.

"Well, you're back earlier than expected," Amina chirped, but her voice sounded unsure, even to her. What could she have done to anger him so?
Felipe said nothing as he reached into his pocket. When he withdrew his hand, a piece of paper came with it. He viciously unfolded it before plunking the paper down so forcefully that the tankards on the table rattled. Felipe waited for her reaction, breathing like an angry bull.

Amina did not notice the heads of everyone in the tavern turn towards them. She did not hear the owner scold Felipe once more, or that the fishermen's jokes started up again after a moment. No, the whole world narrowed to that poster laying on the table.

If she had thought that her blood was cold before, it was nothing compared to the ice that ran through her veins now. Though, it shouldn't have been possible as her heart had completely stopped. Something that wasn't even in her throat prevented her from breathing. She choked on it and yet it wouldn't leave her be.

For on the poster, in big block-like letters was written; "WANTED: Dead or Alive". It was accompanied by the picture of a face Amina knew all too well.

Her own.

A/N

Hi everyone!

I'm back! :)
A short little thing this one was, I know. Sorry. (Not really ;)) It was supposed to be longer, but I've decided to be evil and leave it here. Don't worry too much though, I've already started on the next one.

Buckle up. The fun is finally starting.
*Cue dramatic evil laughter*

Thank you for reading! Please vote and comment if you have enjoyed it so far. :)