"More to know did never meddle with my thoughts."

--- Miranda, Act I, Scene II, TheTempest

THE TEMPEST

--- Old Wives' Tales ---

Captain John Granger squinted up at the sun as he coiled the rope aboard The Olivia. Luminous white clouds billowed up across the sky, spurred onward by the gusty sea breezes.

He and Hector were at the harbor where his yacht was tied in, and sails dotted the horizon all along the water's edge, everywhere along the Channel. It truly was a fine afternoon for sailing.

What a day! he thought. What a day…

He glanced over his shoulder to where Hector stood near the tall, skinny mast, unfurling the jaunty sails. It took a lot of strength to keep them down tight while the wind was trying to tear them from his hands before he could thread the rest of the spare rope through them.

"You need help over there, lad?" he called out, grinning. "It looks like you've a mighty foe against you!"

His comrade grinned grimly, straining as he pulled the canvas tighter. "Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing! Do they always get in the way like that?" he asked, nodding his head towards the otter rambling around John's feet.

John Granger looked down to see that Ceres had just pulled down the rope from the hooks he'd twisted it around, and was now gnawing at the frayed ends jumbled all around her. "Hey!" he growled. "You little water demon! You're just a right nuisance, aren't ye?"

He reached down and wrenched the rope out of her mouth, then whacked her on the top of her flat skull when he finished disentangling her --- soft enough so that she barely felt it, but hard enough so that she knew he meant business.

"Now, go over there and play with your sisters like a good lass, and stay out of the way!" he finished.

He watched her as she ambled over to the boat's edge, almost contritely, he thought, and climbed clumsily over the railing, her long body plopping down into the harbor water five feet below.

"Oy," Hector said, coming up next to him, but staring in the opposite direction. "Looks like we've got company!"

John Granger swiveled around, then grabbed his back and swore at himself for turning too fast. "Oof! Go down below and get that pack out of the ice box, will ye, lad?"

Hector nodded and hurried below to do the old captain's bidding, while John Granger watched his son and daughter-in-law get out of their car and start up the docks, their small daughter trailing slowly after them…and behind her----

"Well, I'll be!" John Granger whispered, as he watched Will sauntering behind his brother's family, hands full with a large cooler.

Now, isn't he the last bloody wanker I would've expected to pop up today?

Neenie stared around at the hustle and bustle of the Brownsville Harbor, wide-eyed. All around her, boats and ships rocked up and down in the choppy waves, all lined up and tied securely at the docks.

She gasped as screechy birds fluttered from one high perch to another at the small crow's nests on the top of the tall masts, while men walked back and forth, calling out loudly to each other as they popped open bottles of whiskey.

Down near the harbor's opening, she could see a large fishing boat coming in with many men aboard, who were all wrestling with an enormous net filled to the brim with fish.

In fact, she was so overcome by the sight of the many slimy fish, all flopping and thrashing about wildly, that she wasn't looking where she was going and stepped right into a small puddle. She gave a single squeak of alarm as her feet flew out from under her, and she landed right on her little seat.

"Oh, Hermione!" Mummy turned back to look at her sprawled on the dock. "Could you please be more careful? You need to watch where you're going!"

"Yes, Mummy! I's try!"

"Now hurry up! We're almost there!"

But before Neenie could pick herself back up again, a large hand scooped her up from behind and set her on the cooler. She laughed happily as she and the cooler were lifted up into the air again, and looked up at her grinning Munkle Will. He gave her a wink before calling out to Cordelia in a high-pitched voice, "We're coming, Mummy!"

At long last, they reached dock seven and walked all the way to the very end, where Grandfather's new boat stood proud on the bouncy waves. Spotting her grandfather getting off of his boat, Hermione gave a squeal of delight and slid off the cooler, shouting, "Gampa! Gampa!"

"Why, look! It's my little scrub-muffin!" Grandfather roared, picking her up and swinging her high into the air.

David and Will chuckled at the little girl's shrilly happy screams as she was twirled around and around. Cordelia was torn between amusement and worry for the old man, afraid he would get too close to the edge of the dock and topple into the water with Neenie.

But John Granger seemed to forget all about the pain in his back earlier; he had eyes only for Hermione, the apple of his eye. She tottered a bit as he set her back down again, her face red and her hair tousled. When she finally got her bearings back, she crossed her arms and puckered up her face in a frown.

"I's not a muffin, Gampa! I's a Neenie!" she said, glowering at him.

Grandfather cleared his throat and knelt next to her, seriously. "Why, look at that!" he wheezed. "You're not a muffin at all! I was very confused for a moment there…good thing you caught that! Are you sure you're not a muffin?"

She wiped her curls away from her sweaty face, explaining, "'F's I was a muffin, I'd eat me a'ready, o'course!"

Gampa nodded. "Ah, yes, I see…but let me just check!"

Hermione shrieked as he grabbed her tummy and started gobbling her right up. "Hepps! Hepps me, pwease?"

"Mm-mmm!" Munkle Will walked right past her to put the cooler down on the yacht. "She must be delicious, isn't she, Dad?"

Grandfather Granger lifted his face long enough to hold up his granddaughter's chubby arm and say, "Care for a limb?"

Hector was rummaging around the small kitchenette looking for an ice pack when he heard a little girl's screams, and froze.

I know those screams…I've heard them before.

His ears perked up and he soon heard a man's voice, shortly followed by a woman's.

I wonder…

"So, this is the legendary little boat you were talking about?" Will set down the cooler and looked around him.

Immediately, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.

"Legendary little boat?" Grandfather asked incredulously. "My son, this 'little boat' is one of the newest models! She's the pride of the harbor! The BCYA! Ye can't just go around calling a Milan 360 a 'little boat'!"

Will put his arms up in surrender. "Well, I never was the seagoing type!" he muttered.

His remark, however, fell on Cordelia's ears alone. David had immediately gone aboard the varnished white yacht with a look of awe in his face.

"What does she take?" he asked eagerly.

"Single diesel," was the proud answer. "Nearly sixty feet long, she is, with a skeg-protected rudder and full keel. State-of-the-art finishings, too!"

David whistled and ran his hand over the side, staring down fondly at the blue words scrawled high above the water.

The Olivia.

"And a name fit for a queen," David said softly.

The twinkle in his father's eye grew misty, and seemed to hold the very essence of sadness for a moment. Then John cleared his throat gruffly and asked, "Would you like a tour?"

Will joined Cordelia as the two men seemed to explore every inch of the gleaming yacht, all talk about maintenance, and maneuverability, and trawler speeds. "Makes you feel like you're in another world, doesn't it?" Will asked her in an undertone.

Cordelia chuckled. "Always has!"

Beside them, Hermione had plopped herself down on the dock, cooing and gurgling at the water, where she could faintly see three otters playing beneath the surface. Then, all of a sudden, Iris shot out of the water and slid across the planks, making Neenie shriek with delight. Not soon after, the two others followed and Neenie was immersed in whiskery kisses and sleek fur.

Iris, Juno, and Ceres were long-time friends of the little two-year-old, Will remembered. Neenie went to visit her grandfather at his cottage often, and was fast play-mates with the three otters. Iris, Juno, and Ceres, of course, seemed to adore her.

As Will watched Neenie stroke one of the otters --- he wasn't sure which one --- one of the other two put her front paws on Neenie's back (almost unbalancing the girl) and plucked that little brown hat right off her head.

Hermione shouted in indignation. "Hey! Give it backs, Juno! Give it backs to me, now, you bad odder!" Will was quite impressed that she knew the difference to discern between the three. They all looked the same to him.

Juno seemed to grin through the fabric that now filled her mouth. Her tail thumped the wooden planks, and Will could clearly see that this was the signal for "Come and play with me!"

Blimey, they're almost like dogs! Amazing…I didn't know they were so smart…

Hermione got up to get her hat, but right as she was about to snatch it from the otter's jaws, Juno gamboled off across the planks. She seemed to know not to go into the water, Will thought. That's what he thought the otter would do the first thing, but Juno somehow knew that if she did, Neenie couldn't come after her, so she stayed on the docks.

Hermione's face grew red as, again, she reached over to grab her durling hat, but Juno jumped away from her reach.

"'T'snot funny! Give it backs, you naughty Juno!" she shrieked, now chasing the mischievous otter around Will and Cordelia.

Will reached down to stop Juno, but just he did, she shot off the dock and onto the boat, finally disappearing down the opening that led to the galley. Straight as a flash, Neenie climbed over the railing and followed her, screeching, "Don't hurt my durling hat!"

Cordelia sighed wearily and unscrewed her water bottle, walking up to the yacht as well. "I'd better go make sure she doesn't get in the way. I sure hope she isn't too much trouble for you guys, today! I don't envy you, Will. Hermione Jane Granger is a handful!"

Aha! Found it!

Hector wrenched the ice pack out of the box. He turned around and walked the rest of the floor to get to the stairs.

Time to meet the rest of the family.

But just as he put his foot on the first narrow step, a brown blur shot past his ankle, and a split second later, a shrieking little girl came tearing after.

Blimey! he thought, slowly turning back and heading up the stairs again. If I didn't know better, I'd say that she looked an awful lot like----

"Aaaarrrgghhh!"

For Cordelia, there were some things in life that came in pleasant little surprises. Like suddenly finding someone she thought she was never going to see again.

On the other hand, when that finding came in such an unexpected way and an even more unexpected place, she found that it wasn't so much as pleasant as it was startling.

As she rounded the corner to follow her daughter into the galley, she came face to face with Hector. It didn't help that she was carrying an unscrewed water bottle; and it also didn't help that the minute she'd seen him, her hands had flown up, thus drenching him.

He gave a strangled yell, she gave a great gasp, and David and Grandfather's talk shut off instantly.

"It's you!" Hector sputtered.

"I'm sorry!" Cordelia managed to gasp out, horrified at what she'd just done. "It's just that I-I-I didn't think I'd see you here!"

David, Will, and Grandfather rounded the corner, curious as to what was going on. Seeing the new boat-hand drenched with bottled water, Grandfather gave a wide grin, Will guffawed, and David cast an appraising eye over his wife. "Twice in one morning! You certainly are getting around, aren't you, water goddess?" he smirked.

"Huh?" Will said, as Cordelia reached around him to slug her husband. Then----

"It's who?" he asked, changing tactics and turning to Hector.

Hector apparently didn't seem to hear him as he suddenly looked back in the galley, where Neenie was sitting on the small bed, tugging furiously at her hat, still in Juno's mouth. "I thought she sounded familiar," he muttered.

"How?" Will asked, confused.

"Do you…know him from somewhere, Cordelia?" David said with a small frown.

"Know him?" Cordelia repeated incredulously. "He only saved our daughter's life this morning, David! I barely know him…but this…this is Hector!"

"What?" Will nearly snapped his neck turning to look at the boat-hand again.

"You know, you don't sound very intelligent, Will," Cordelia remarked.

"Oh," Will said. Then realization sunk in. "Hey!"

Grandfather snapped his fingers in sudden inspiration, ignoring Will. "So that's why you took so long!" he said to Hector, moving past his boat-hand to climb the stairs.

Cordelia laughed, following him. "Sent him on some errands, did you, Dad? You haven't finished that enormous bag of fish-and-chips I sent you last week already, did you?"

"Oy! Now see here…" Grandfather growled, then started off on a long tangent.

David shook his head and turned to the young man he had wanted to meet since that morning. "So…you're Hector, eh?" he asked, extending his hand. "Honored to meet you. I've been wanting to ever since I heard my wife's tale on your actions this morning."

Hector clasped the man's hand and shook it heartily. "Old wives' tales," he said, grinning. "I guess she made it into this grand adventure where I come out the victor, eh? Quite the opposite, really…in fact, I was told later that I was so out of it, I couldn't even tell male from female!"

"Cordelia doesn't exaggerate," David said slowly, turning away to start up the stairs after his father and wife. "By the way, how's that leg of yours?"

To his surprise, Hector took a few moments to answer. "Fit as a fiddle," he finally said as the two men came out into the sunlight again. "I've never felt better in my life."

David grunted and looked out over the harbor, where everything was a bustle of motion. "Well…I guess 'magic' is a term that can be used loosely when it wants to be, and strongly when it doesn't!" he said.

Hector looked oddly at him, but said nothing. After a minute's silence, David smiled. "Again, thanks, Hector. Not every man would have sacrificed what you did to save a stranger…no matter how little she might be."

Hector's ears grew red underneath his thick, brown hair. "Yeah, I kind of realized that when I noticed I was the only one racing out there," he muttered. "I didn't even think about it, really…my feet carried themselves."

David turned to his father, grinning. "Well! Looks like you've found yourself a pretty good boat-hand, Dad!"

Will and John Granger chuckled, shooting appraised glances over at Hector.

"Yep…what a small world this is!" Grandfather mused. "So how about her, son? Is she ready to ride?"

David caught the glint in his father's eye and knew how proud he was of this fine boat. He heard a satisfied grunt near his feet and saw Neenie emerge from the stairs, fixing her 'durling' hat back on her head, her tongue out at the chagrined otter, who slipped between the girl's feet and back into the water.

He looked over at the other two men beside him --- from Will, who kept looking between him and Dad with a "What have I gotten myself into?" sort of look on his face --- all the way over to Hector, the new boat-hand, who was staring at John Granger with an expression that David couldn't quite place. It puzzled him for all of the two seconds he was looking at the younger man, but when David turned around to face his wife, the musings were immediately forgotten.

Cordelia looked back at her husband with the biggest grin he had ever seen on her. She raised her eyebrow at him, as if to say, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

He looked up at the wide, blue sky, where the sails of The Olivia billowed in the breeze, before turning back to his father. He grinned.

"Yessir, she is! Let's take 'er out!"

Author's Note: Aaaaannnndd, their off! Things are all starting to fall into place, aren't they? Such a nice, homely bunch. Makes me wish I were a part of them...but I guess, as the writer, I really am, aren't I? There are times when certain characters just seem to write themselves, and these people really have.

I thought that I should just take this little moment to say that I know everything. (Fabulous me, I know).

I know that "The Tempest" has had 1,696 hits. I know that this story is on the Favorites list of fifteen of you, nine of whom haven't even paid me a visit yet. I know that this story is also on the Story Alert for eighteen of you, thirteen of whom I've never even heard of.

I know who you lurkers are...believe me, I know everything!

And it is with this unsurpassable, superior knowledge that I also choose to reveal unto you the title of chapter seven...

"Ye Mariners of England"