Sirene (Wattys 2014 Entrant)

I'm sorry I'm so late with this. My internet was behaving all yucky yesterday and I couldn't upload the story :)

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Chapter 9

It was a cloudy, misty day; not unusual weather for London in the middle of November. The streets were covered in puddles from the rain of last night and as the carriages rolled past they sprayed the mud everywhere. After another such spray of mud and water, a stranger waved his fist at the carriage responsible for the muddy splash. He did this not because he thought it would do any good, but because he didn’t know how else to vent his frustration.

“It is awful in the city, isn’t it?” A childish voice spoke out. “All this mud, all this fog, dirt everywhere. Why anyone would ever want to live in the city is beyond me.”

The man looked down in surprise at a little girl, roughly nine/ten years of age in a dark green dress looking up at him with her large emerald eyes.

“I beg your pardon?” He asked.

“I was just saying that I don’t understand why anyone would want to live in a city.” Oceana repeated, licking her finger and rubbing a mud spot on her dress. “Perhaps you could tell me, sir, how to get to Newgate prison?”

“To where?” The man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Newgate Prison.”

“Good heavens, child, people usually seek to get out of Newgate. What on earth could put it into your head to try and get in it?”

“Love.”

The man shook his head in bewilderment.

“Perhaps I should explain myself. There is a man in that prison who rescued me as an infant from certain death. He brought me up and now he is in prison and I am determined to go and visit him.”

“What got him in that prison to start with?”

“He is a smuggler.”

“A smuggler? An actual smuggler?”

“Why else would he be sitting in Newgate if he weren’t smuggler? He was caught in flagrante delicto.”

“Was that…Latin?”

 Oceana blinked a yes.

“Where are your parents?” He was still trying to figure the strange little creature out.

 “Both dead. Now if you will only point me in the right direction. This isn’t the first time I’m in a city, but it is the first time I’m trying to find my way on my own.”

“What is the name of this prisoner whom you so wish to see?” He was obviously getting very interested in Oceana and her strange mission.

Oceana eyed the man for couple of seconds before saying. “Chandler.”

“And the rest of his name?”

“There is no rest of his name, it’s just Chandler.”

A smile broke out on the man’s face as his the fog in his eyes cleared up.

“Come with me, little Miss, I’ll take you to Newgate.” He offered her his hand and she took it. "So, you say he rescued you from certain death? How did that come about?”

“He pulled me out of a boat that was adrift in the Irish Sea.”

“You don’t say. Ever find out how you got in that boat?”

“My mother put me in it to save me from my grandfather.” And before Oceana knew it she was telling her guide the story she had told the orphans at the asylum.

***

“So?”

“So what?” Callum growled at Chandler.

“So we are getting nowhere! Come on, it’s been two days already.”

“I said I wasn’t gonnae go back there until after at leest a week.”

Chandler frowned and leaned back against the wall. “Tell me, Callum, why won’t that lady let us have her?”

“Yoo’re askin' me?”

“Of course I’m asking you, who else would I ask? Him?” He nodded in the direction of his cellmate. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Coz ye ne'er ask me anythin'.”

Chandler rolled his eyes. “Callum, you have this amazing ability to jump completely off topic and I have no idea how you do it. My only conclusion is your thoughts are not organized in your brain.”

 Callum frowned at Chandler and knit his eyebrows together. “Chandler, any other man would have knocked ye doon an' walked off.”

“I would not have taken such liberty with ‘any other man’.”

“Och aye ye would, I’ve seen ye do it plenty ay times. I’ve protected ye from bein' knocked doon more than once.”

“Chandler.” The opening of the cell door put the argument to a pause. “There’s another visitor for you.”

“A what?” Chandler looked over at Callum who only shrugged his shoulders. Both men half rose from their seats, wondering who this mysterious visitor could be. Other than Callum there was no one who could come visiting. At the half way mark between standing and sitting Chandler and Callum froze, their eyes widening with surprise and wonder. Callum’s jaw even dropped open. Standing at the doorway, with a grin of satisfaction, was Oceana.

“Chandler.” The girl said in a half whisper and ran over to the man, flinging her arms around his neck. Chandler stumbled back a bit from the force with which Oceana had thrown herself at him and plopped down in his chair. At last he pulled the girl away and gazed at her wide eyes.

“Where did you come from?”

“From the orphanage, where else.” Oceana replied. “Hello Callum. How are you?” She reached over and placed a kiss on the rugged cheek. Callum had not yet regained his gift of speech and continued to stare at her.

“How did you get out?”

“I snuck out. They would never let me come here if I asked, so I didn’t. It took a bit of planning, but here I am.” And she gave another grin of satisfaction. “Though from the looks it, one would think you were not happy to see me.”

“Of course we’re happy to see you.” Chandler sputtered. “You just gave us the surprise of our life. Callum here is still getting over it. Ah, but what have they done with your hair?” He reached out and touched the cropped locks much in the same manner as Callum had done before.

“They cut it.” Oceana sighed. “I begged them not to, but they did it anyway. You’re not angry with me, are you?” Her voice grew timid.

“Angry? Why on earth would I be angry? Poor child, if you thought I would be angry because some random people cut your hair then that is quite a distress to me. What did they do with your cut hair? Did they return the locks to you?”

Oceana shook her head. “No, they threw it all away.”

Chandler set his lips in a firm, displeased line and decided to drop the subject. “How are you getting along, Oceana?” He asked.

“Well enough, I guess.” Oceana looked down and heaved a sigh.

Chandler and Callum exchanged glances.

“What about you?” Oceana asked Chandler. “How are you getting along? Callum said you were MISERABLE here.”

“I am nothing of the sort.” Chandler stated with an annoyed glance at Callum. Callum tried to hide his smile, but did not succeed.

“I will admit this is not my preferred living style, but I’ll just have to make the best of it. After all, there is no getting out.”

“Who’s that?” Oceana motioned to the cellmate who was eyeing the little group with great curiosity.

“Ah, he’s just my cellmate. Don’t mind him, Oceana, he won’t bother us, he knows his place.”

“Coz Chandler put him in it,” Callum leaned over and whispered to Oceana. Chandler became annoyed at this statement, but both Oceana and Callum were very amused. They always liked to tease when Chandler would demand people to submit to his 'authority'.

“How did you get in here, anyway?” Chandler asked.

“I met a stranger along the way and he brought me all the way here. It’s thanks to him that the warden agreed to take me to you.”

“Did you catch his name?”

Oceana shook her head.

“Ah, Oceana, remember what I have taught you; always catch the name, it may prove to be of further use to you.”

Oceana looked down rather ashamed.

“But never mind,” Chandler waved the subject away. “Better tell me about your friends at the orphanage. Callum mentioned you had quite a few.”

“Yes, I am friends with a lot of girls, but I like Beth most of all. She’s nothing like me though. She’s a very good girl. I’m a very bad girl. I keep getting into trouble. I don’t know how to follow all those rules, and there are so many of them.”

“Blame Chandler fur that. He's th' one that taught ye to ne'er obey th' rules.” Callum cast a sideways glance at his partner, who only grinned.

“Beth does her best to help me, which is very nice of her. I think I should be quite lost in that orphanage without her.”

The door of the orphanage suddenly flung open and Miss Morgan, Miss Grey and a policeman rushed in.

“There she is.” Miss Morgan stated in a desperate voice. She rushed up to the girl and grabbing her arm, slapped her across the face.

“You wicked, wicked child!” She stated, tears in her eyes.

Oceana, who had never been hit in her life, widened her eyes from the shock of it. It had not been a hard slap, or a very strong one. Miss Morgan hadn’t done it in cruel anger, but in total frustration. For the past couple of hours they had been searching for the little runaway and now she was at the very end of her rope.

Chandler and Callum however, were horrified by the act. Callum rose from his seat in wrath, while Chandler set his eyes in a dark gaze at the woman.

“Good heavens Miss, how dare ye?” Callum demanded.

“You stay out of it!” Miss Morgan snapped. “Oceana, wicked, wicked Oceana, how could you do this? You’ve put the whole orphanage in an uproar! For shame, Oceana, for shame. We’ve been searching all over for you. What was more; you had Beth keep the secret for you, that is double wickedness. Come, we’re going home.”

Oceana turned and clung to Chandler. “No, I don’t want to go.” She stated.

“Oceana, please, Oceana, let’s go back.” Miss Grey pleaded, her eyes puffy and red. “To think of you coming to this wretched place. Let’s go back where it is safe.”

“No, I don’t want to go back!” Oceana’s fingers dug into Chandler’s shoulder. “Oh Chandler, Callum, don’t them take me away. I don’t’ want to go back!”

Miss Morgan reached out and took Oceana’s arm and began pulling her while Oceana clung to Chandler with all her might. It was a tug of war between them and finally with some help from the policeman, they managed to release her grasp from Chandler. Miss Morgan began leading Oceana to the cell door, but Oceana broke loose and ran back. They went back and forth for a while, until at last Miss Morgan led the struggling and sobbing Oceana away. Callum and Chandler had stood helplessly by, knowing better than to intervene.

“Well, I’ll be jiggered.” Chandler’s cellmate spoke out with a low whistle.

“My sentiments exactly.” Callum muttered.

“You don’t suppose they’ll beat her?” Chandler asked.

Callum shook his head. “Nope, it’s not th' sort of place where they beat children. Actually, they’ve got a nice set up there.”

“But that woman...”

“That woman happens to be Miss Morgan. She is in charge of Oceana an' no doobt she was worried to tears an' didn’t ken how to express all th' emotions she felt any other way. She’s not usually like this.”

“That’s Miss Morgan?”

“*Aye.”

“You were right, Callum!” Chandler shook his head as he resumed his seat. He put his right hand to his forehead, something he did when he was deep in thought.

“Excuse me?”

“We do have quite a blockade to try and get past; quite a blockade indeed.”

“Did ye jist tell me I was right?”

“Callum!" Chandler burst out in frustration. "For goodness sake, can't you ever learn to stick to the topic and not go wandering off on a tangent?”