Authors NOTE: Please be aware that the song Aoife sings to Finn is "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkle, I found a pretty nice cover of the song done by Brooke Fraser - the song is available to listen to on youtube.

Chapter 39

Vatulele Island - Fiji

Saturday February 21, 1920

Ada POV

She'd thought Tommy wouldn't be leaving till evening, as it turned out another storm was set to come in and they wanted to leave early to keep ahead of it. So they'd said their fair wells after the breakfast meal. Eirnin had also suggested their outing to happen before the storm hit, which meant they headed out on their hike after they'd said good bye and watched the Bebinn fly off.

Michael had been happy to watch the kids for a few hours as he said it would help him take his mind off of Tommy's departure. She had the feeling that he would have liked to return to England with them. Not that he wasn't enjoying seeing different places and such but while his name was Grey he was still a Shelby. He'd only just turned eighteen but Ada knew he wanted to work for Shelby Limited, she could see it in his eyes.

She imagined he'd have one hell of a time convincing Aunt Pol to let him. She knew Tommy wouldn't hire him without Aunt Polly's consent. Not now that they'd just gotten back to no longer yelling at each other over business dealings. So Michael was going to have quite the fight on his hands with that.

Eirnin was just ahead of her whacking away at some flora that had started to encroach on the little used trail they were on. She had been concerned with the large machete he was carrying when they first met up. Wondering if there were dangerous wild animals that they'd need to defend themselves against if they came upon them. He'd laughed good naturedly and told her it was for clearing the path.

They spoke every so often, discussing where they'd been so far and where they'd be off to next. She'd enjoyed the Caribbean, and the ancient Meso American civilizations they'd gotten to wander around but so far her favorite had been the Hawaiian Islands. Fiji was great but Hawaii was still her favorite.

The heat wasn't intolerable as there was a light breeze blowing over the island from the storm that was on its way, but it was still humid and even wearing the lightest of her available clothing she was starting to get sticky. She wasn't sure how long they'd been trudging through the jungle, she hadn't wanted to sound like a petulant child by asking how much further it was. Thankfully Eirnin was kind enough to give updates every once in awhile, as in just a little further, and almost there.

The trail seemed to come to a sudden stop at a large vine covered rock, that seemed to create a natural wall in front of them as far as she could see in both directions. She was about to ask if they'd taken the wrong trail when Eirnin started to hack away at some plant growth and vines in front of him. After which he promptly disappeared from her view before sticking his head back out and beckoning her to follow.

They walked their way carefully through a passage in the rock. A faint constant rumbling sound could be heard that only seemed to get louder the further in they traveled. They came upon another section of vegetation that needed to be dealt with and then she could see sunlight streaming through the remaining vines and greenery. As they emerged her breath caught in her throat as she looked upon a beautiful waterfall with a crystal clear pond at its base surrounded by lush greenery and wild tropical flowers all enclosed by rock walls except from where they'd entered.

It was like a secret garden, absolutely magnificent and completely secluded. She could imagine sprites hiding in the trees. The whole aura of the place was just magical.

Eirnin POV

He studied Ada's face as she took in the grotto that he'd wanted to show her. She had always seemed to appreciate the natural beauty of the places they'd shown her so far and he'd known that she would enjoy this one as well. There were other places around the world that he'd found that were similar to this one but many of them had more perilous journeys to get to them.

Her voice was breathless when she spoke and it felt almost like a private caress, as it floated into his ears. "This is positively magical!"

He looked away from her and started to make his way down toward the flat rock he usually used to sun bathe on. He needed to get his head on straight and his hormones in check before trying to interact with Ada any further.

He could feel her presence as she followed him down picking her way carefully through the long grass and larger boulders until they reached the large flat rock that banked one side of the pond. He began putting his pack down and watched as Ada slipped her shoe off to test the water.

Her laughter was like the soft tinkling of fairy music, he could certainly see what she meant when she said it was magical.

"I would have thought the water would be colder but it feels nice."

"Yeah, perfect after sweating our way through the humid jungle, come on. Lets go for a swim, that is why we came after all."

Ada nodded and shucked her outerwear to reveal her cozzy underneath and then gently lowered herself into the water. She kept close to the sides as she wasn't the strongest swimmer just yet. He divulged himself of his outerwear as well and then dove into the water toward the middle of the pond.

Finn POV

He was sad when Tommy left early. Ada went on a hike with Eirnin and Michael was busy watching the others so Ada could go. He had just about accepted the fact that he'd be stuck with his nieces and nephews. Not that he didn't like hanging out and playing with them.

Thankfully Aoife had asked him if he'd like to spend the day exploring with her. She'd said she'd wanted to go on an adventure and thought some company would do her some good. She was sad Tommy had to leave early too. He was all for an adventure and being together should help keep both of them from being sad. Aoife had told him to pack a change of clothing and whatever he had needed for the night because they were going to spend the night out in the jungle.

**********0**********

They'd taken a small path that he didn't realize was there, leading off the beach and towards the center of the island. She'd brought a huge strange sword looking weapon with her and she hacked at certain vines and bushes and gigantic leaves to clear a path for them. They talked about anything and everything they could think of.

After they had been hiking for a bit, they stopped and sat down on a fallen log to snack on some fruit Aoife'd brought. She told him they still had a little ways to go before they got to the spot she thought would be good to settle down in for the evening. As they were packing up and getting ready to move on she'd asked him how good his imagination was. He really wasn't certain how to answer that.

"What do ya mean Aoife?"

"Well... as lovely as it is to have deep and meaning full conversations with you Finn. I did say we were going on an adventure."

"Are we not on our adventure?"

"Oh, we've started it but I really think we can do better."

"..."

"For instance... I am a survivor of a shipwreck. After I awoke, surprisingly alive, on the beach. I came to find that I've been marooned on an island that so far has shown no signs of life. Left only with the supplies I could scavenge from the wreck that had washed ashore with me. I am hoping against hope that I am wrong and if I search the island I will find civilization. So with my machete and what little supplies I found I am now traversing into the interior of the island in search of a way to be rescued and ultimately to survive."

"... I... was also... washed ashore from the same shipwreck and while searching for supplies met you and have joined to search for life. ... Knowing that the chances of our survival are... far, far greater if we stay and work together."

"Excellent, Finn! Now come, we can both smell the incoming storm and know that we must seek the perfect place for shelter if we wish to survive a night in the jungle, but beware... we must keep our eyes and ears sharp, lest we are surprised by whatever wild animals may inhabit this island."

*********0*********

The rest of their trek had been filled with wild stories of encounters and mock fights for survival while they made their way inland. Aoife even feigned an injury and had him gather sticks and use scraps of leather and twine from her pack to wrap her injured leg. He was enamored with how he saw the jungle and their adventure. His mind working to invent stories and events, perils that they had to face to continue on. It was the most fun he'd had in a good long while and he managed to forget that he was sad.

When they finally made it to their destination he became even more entranced at the huge tree house above them. Their imaginations continued on. Finding this could only mean one thing, the island was inhabited. Upon exploring and finding journals inside coming to learn that it was not inhabited but that a man had been marooned here sixty years before them and this was all that was left to show that he had once been.

They settled in, built a fire in the fire pit, made and ate their dinner and by the time the thunder started to rumble above them he was exhausted. Falling into a deep peaceful sleep in a hammock strung between two branches. Protected from the elements by the thatched roof and walls, listening to the quiet humming and low voiced words of Aoife singing a soothing song.

Aoife POV

She'd stoked the fire with some of the dry kindling and thicker branches she'd stocked from her last visit here. The crackling and slight whistle of dancing flame along with the beginnings of the pitter patter of rain drops as they began to come down and the occasional rumble of thunder the only sounds to be heard in the night.

Finn was fading into sleep, warm and comfortable. Staring out the glassless window into the dark Aoife listened to the natural rhythm created by nature and began to hum a melody that blended with the sounds around her.

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

Aoife turned to study Finn and noted that he was fast asleep and so continued to quietly hum a few more bars before leaning on the sill and breathing in the rainy calmness of the night.

Originally she had thought to come out here and spend a night by herself. She hadn't really been looking forward to staying in the hut tonight. Worried that she would be thinking of Tommy at every moment making her miss him more. Seeing him in the arm chair of the main room or in the chair in the bedroom staring out into the rain, napping on the bed in the heat of the day. Memories every which way she turned would surely do nothing but drive her slowly out of her mind.

They were scheduled to leave in two days time. If she found herself brooding she could always opt to sleep on the Adelisa the last night here. She'd taken one look at Finn's face and opted to ask him if he'd like to join her. She had noted him becoming slightly bored on the way in and remembered how much fun and trouble she'd gotten into as a child of his age with her siblings. Imagining all sorts of scenarios and acting out the mundane task of hiking through the jungle as though it were an adventure.

Back story was important, from there the adventure was limited only to what your own mind could dream up. She had no problem acting out being chased by wild boar and tripping at an in opportune time so that Finn would have to decide whether he would face the wild beast or run on. He'd bravely faced it down stabbing it with his sword, never mind that the sword was a long stick they'd found. The details were what brought things to life and he'd seemed to really catch on and dive into the fable that was their adventure. An adventure that they'd created and had together. One of her favorite sayings of all time being that time flies when you're having fun.

She used to pretend all the time as a child, especially whilst doing chores. She remembered having to put the clean dishes and cutlery away in the galley. She would pretend that each dish was actually a rare piece of treasure that she as a pirate was tucking away into her chest of jewels. Sometimes she'd even hum or sing a pirate song while she did it. The natural sway of the ship would just be the waves of the sea they were sailing on, bringing it to life all the more.

She hadn't used her imagination like that in a long time, she's fairly certain that she enjoyed it just as much as Finn did.

Aine POV

Aine sat out on the veranda in the chair that Alfie used the previous day, staring out into the rain, the crashing waves and darkness of the evening. She had considered returning to England with Alfie on the Bebinn but had decided that it was better if she kept to the original plan. Alfie needed to get things in order before she returned and she needed to enjoy the last bit of time that she would be spending on the Adelisa. She didn't know when or if she would return to her, at least not in the capacity and to the lengths that she was accustomed.

She may have thought about spending the evening with Aoife as she was certain her sister would be having a hard time adjusting to the absence of her man. It was always harder to stay in places where you had special memories, when the person you shared those memories with was no longer there. She knew this from experience herself. As it was always harder for her when they docked in Paris because she would see the memories she shared with Alfie on her one stay there with him. His ghostly visage would appear leaning up against a certain lamp post waiting for her. Or leaning against the doorway to the room they'd rented as he watched her drop her coat to the floor. Looking at her over the breakfast table with that boyish smile on his face and that heat in his eyes.

Memories could make places, they could also break them especially if one wanted a specific someone there with you. She knew however that Aoife had decided to spend the night in the tree house that was further inland. A private sanctuary that would hold no memories of Shelby for her. She'd be able to contemplate what it was she wanted in her future and what she was going to do about it. She had watched as her sister had started off with little Finn following her. Probably a good idea for the both of them, the boy seemed to really look up to Shelby. She wasn't certain if that was necessarily a good thing or not seeing as the man wasn't exactly what anyone would call a good role model.

She wouldn't cast stones though seeing as how she was living in a glass house, at least in that respect. She wasn't sure anyone would call Alfie a good role model either. There was both good and bad in everybody. Take the Shelby for example. She'd heard of his brutality and cunning, that he and his were feared. That the Peaky Blinders were called that because they wore peaked hats and would permanently blind their enemies. Step one foot out of line, hell, just look at Tommy Shelby the wrong way and you'd regret it.

What she didn't learn until very recently was that the man had his own set of morals and a sense of honor. That he loved and cared for his family deeply. That he could love someone outside his own family and show a depth of warmth that seemed to be missing from him when he dealt with anyone else. For a man that was touted as being a stone cold killer and a cold heartless man, he had shown a great deal of love and warmth towards Aoife. It had been the warmth she'd seen in him when he was dancing with Aoife that had put her mind at ease about him being her sisters choice.

Small Heath - Birmingham - England

The Garrison

Arthur POV

Arthur decided to pour himself a celebratory drink. Looking around him at the now finished and ready to open Garrison, he believed he deserved a small bit a juice. The floor and wainscoting were a rich mahogany wood that felt warm. The pale green and silver designed wallpaper contrasting nicely with the warmth of the floor. He'd opted for a copper tin tile ceiling. Felt like that had meshed nicely with the exposed polished brass pipes. His bar was a beautiful hand carved mahogany masterpiece with a gold plated topper. He had booths along the wall and a few tables with comfortable chairs filling up space on the floor. He'd had the same type of lighting put in that had been there before, a fake or as the architect put it, "faux" stained glass skylight. The shelving of booze behind the bar was very similar to the original Garrison as well. Though he'd had the stair railing and supporting columns painted gold to go with the bar.

He'd purchased a neon tube light sign for outside, he'd seen them in London and always liked the look of the colored lighting. The contractors had installed phone lines to each of the guestrooms and also air tube delivery systems for service requests from the bar and tea room as well.

The man that Johnny Dogs had brought by was turning out to be a right talented brew master. He'd made six small batches of different brews. He was expectin' John, Esme and Polly to come and test them with him this evenin' after the den closed. They needed to choose and agree on four of them. With Tommy not being back yet he figured as long as the four of them all agreed on the brews, Tommy would accept them as well. Once the brews were decided the man could brew the larger batches that would be needed to serve the public.

He didn't yet have a barman. He knew Grace wanted the job, she'd spoken to him about it already. He knew she could do the job, he just wasn't certain on giving it to her. He felt like she would be the easy answer but he didn't know that she could be trusted. None of the other business would be done there but they would be using the snug for meetings on occasion. He still had a bit of time before he'd need to hire one, perhaps he'd see if Devlin was interested in returning to the Garrison. If he was he could easily explain to Grace that he had to give the position to Devlin as he had been the one out a job when the Garrison blew up. Either way he wouldn't mind running the issue past Tommy. Could be just as simple as saying Tommy said no.

Polly POV

She'd always wondered at the silence an empty church held. It was peaceful, solemn and somber, she rarely saw anyone else in its pews when she came to entreat her wishes and thoughts to God. It seemed as though churches were the only buildings left alone by technology and invention, untouched by the changing times.

Somehow she always believed that if you prayed inside a church then God was more likely to take notice and listen to your prayers. she had no idea if that was true or not but her own conviction for the idea brought here more frequently in times of trouble. She'd come every evening after the den closed for four years when the boys were in France. Reciting the same prayers and requests of God as she did from her bedroom upon waking. They'd all made it home alive, regardless of whether they were actually among the living. That had to be some form of proof that the idea had merit, right?

Tommy would laugh at her if she told him. He no longer believed in God, the church, prayers or miracles. He let her pray for him but he didn't believe anything was achieved from it, aside from giving herself peace of mind, because she did believe.

She had her eyes closed and her head bent while she took a moment of silence. She could hear the quiet opening of the main door and the faint light footsteps of another parishioner coming to avail themselves of their woes. She paid close attention to the sound so she knew where the person was at all times. She looked up and saw Grace settling herself into the pew just in front of hers. Looks like it was time to head home. She gathered up her small bag and shawl.

Grace's voice was faint but she knew the girl was speaking to her and not God.

"Don't leave on my account Polly."

"Now why would I do such a thing? I've accomplished what I came here to do, no reason for me ta stay longer."

"When is Tommy going to be back?"

"When he's finished with what he's doing."

"But you know when, the date he's supposed to return on, don't you Polly?"

"Of course I know where he is, what he's doing and when he'll be back Grace. None of that information is any of your business. Once upon on a time it may have been your right ta ask and receive an answer. It's no longer that time and ya have no rights here one way or the other. Tommy is not interested in rekindlin' anything with you. As you're aware he's moved on... you should too. I would say go about your prayers but Tommy mentioned you weren't Catholic but a Protestant so you're not here to speak with God.

Polly stood up and wrapped her shawl around herself as she made her way to the aisle, turning back slightly to look at Grace over her shoulder.

"One more thing Grace. I'd stop going around asking questions, you won't find any answers. If you do it could be bad for your health."

"Threatening me Polly? Tommy may have moved on but I doubt he'd appreciate the way I'm being treated."

"Tommy's not here is he. He may have forgiven you, might even take ya in, no tellin' with men. But I should tell you something. I will never forgive you... or accept you... or take you in. It's me who runs the business of the heart in this family. And as far as I'm concerned you're a snitch and a thief from the parish. Have a good evenin'."