Section F: Fairy Tales & Physicists

Interlude

The singing had stopped, but Flavio wasn't too concerned. The island was small, and he was confident he would find her—or she him. Undeterred, he rowed on. Until, that is, he heard the splashing. Shipping his oars, he turned to look over his shoulder, and blinked in surprise at the sight of the other rowboat ploughing towards him through the sunlit swell, the rocky slopes of the island looming in its wake.

"Ahoy, there!" he hailed and, "Ahoy!" again when the rower showed no signs of having heard. Only when the boats were alongside did the other man notice his presence. Middle-aged and solidly built, the sailor gave him a curt nod but kept right on rowing.

"Avast, matey." Flavio backed water, trying to keep pace with the newcomer. "Avast, I say!"

With a surly look, the sailor stilled his oars. "What?" he growled.

"You've come from the island?" Given there was no other land as far as the eye could, Flavio's question was redundant, but the other man grunted his assent, nonetheless. "Grand. Ah, I don't suppose you happened to see a...um, a..."

"A siren?" The stranger's weathered features formed into a grim smile. "Indeed I did, lad."

"Right." Flavio swallowed. "Right, good. And, um, is she...?"

"Alluring? Seductive? Wanton?" With a shake of his head, the sailor gave a low whistle. "Oh, laddie. You have no idea."

Despite the warmth of the sun, the younger man felt the bloom of a cold sweat on his forehead. "Excellent. Good. Great. I'll, ah, just be going, then. I only ask, you see, because I'm off to the island to, uh...um...prove my virtue! Yeah, yeah, that's it. I'm off to prove my virtue by resisting her charms."

"Resisting her charms, is it?"

"Oh, yes." Flavio nodded vigorously. "I can't wait to resist them. I'll resist them all day. I can probably resist them twice. Maybe even three or four times. I'll resist them over and over and..." He trailed off, his eyes taking on a faraway, dreamy look.

"Lad, have you not heard the stories?"

"The stories?" Flavio murmured. "Oh, yes. I've definitely heard the stories." He gasped, as his risqué reverie was interrupted by the splash of cold seawater in his face.

"Not those stories, ya lubber." The sailor lowered the oar he'd used to flick the water. "The other stories."

Flavio shrugged. "Oh, those ones. They're just stories. Besides, I'm not afraid of a mere woman."

The stranger gave him a pitying look. "More fool you."

"Alright then," snapped the younger man, "if she's as dangerous as they say, how is it you're sitting there hale and hearty, in one piece and in possession of all your...ah, your faculties? I suppose you're going to tell me you resisted her charms."

"Oh, aye. Of course I did, laddie. Naturally, I only went to the island to prove my virtue, too. The stories, and the singing—oh, such singing—had nothing to do with it."

"Wait." Flavio frowned at him. "So, you mean to tell me you actually, really, truly did resist her charms? All of them? Truly, really?"

"Truly, really, laddie. See, the thing is, we were right in the middle of me resisting her charms—in fact I'd resisted all the way into her lair and out of my clothes—when her charms up and disappeared in a flash of green light. And the thing about charms that aren't there any more is that they're much easier to resist."

"Not there anymore?" echoed Flavio, expression stricken.

"Nope. All gone, boyo. Not a charm to be seen. Feel free to go and check for yourself, but you'll be wasting your time. But look on the bright side. At least your virtue's safe for a little while yet."

"My virtue?" Flavio shoulders slumped. "Huzzah."

"Yep, I reckon we're fortunate men," said the sailor. "Obviously we both have powers of resistance by the boatload but if she hadn't disappeared, who knows who long even paragons of virtue like us could have held out? I mean, that thing she did with...and the way she wiggled her...and...and...well, let's just thank our lucky stars that the next island with a siren is a good three days of rowing from here. If them other stories are true—and let's face it, there aren't too many who have been to that island and returned to tell the tale—I figure we've both had a lucky escape."

Flavio stared at him. "You know, if we go in one boat and take turns rowing, we could probably make it in two."

The sailor stared back. "Lad, I like the cut of your jib. Climb aboard."