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[IrelandKiss]

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Nστʜɩɴɢ ɩs ɑɴ ɑϲϲɩɗεɴτ
Wε ɑʀε ғʀεε τσ ʜɑѵε ɩτ ɑʟʟ
Wε ɑʀε ѡʜɑτ ѡε ѡɑɴτ τσ ʙε
Iτ's ɩɴ συʀsεʟѵεs τσ ʀɩsε σʀ ғɑʟʟ
╚══════════════╝

When we stepped through the doors, escorted by two amused-looking guards and dripping wet like dogs, the first thing I was aware of was how inside this fort chamber didn't seem much... or actually, any better than it was outside. The fort was some twenty years old and had been built with resources and methods not as advanced as the newer parts of the colony were, so I supposed it made sense, but still. The roof was leaking in rain water and it was barely warmer in here than it was outside, despite the fire they had burning in the hearth nearby. And for all their laughter and joking that I heard as we were being led up here, I saw a look that had grown quite familiar to me. It was quite common amonst any and all members of a royal court. Everyone from a footman to the king himself had given me that look at some time or another while I was there. It was a look that usually boded ill. A look that usually meant they knew something bad was coming, but every effort to avoid it had failed and they were left to sit there and just wait for the explosion. Some dealt with it by running away as I had done. Others simply steeled themselves as best they could and prepared to ride it out. Most, as was the case with the English nobility and these men here, lost themselves in revelry and drink and sex. There was nothing to be done for avoiding a certain disaster? Drinks all around, then! I couldn't rightly blame them for it. I was sure the rest of the colony had that handled anyhow.

When a man in the middle of his life spoke first, asking if we had a reason for being here, I stepped forward readily. "Sir," I started, blinking as I remember to use his title for propriety's sake. True, propriety and I had never gone hand in hand, but the situation called for it now. "Captain Beaton... I am Derick Robertson, and this is Joseph Harrod. We are among the refugees here from Ireland, along with our wives and families. We've come about the current crises this colony faces. The rains have shown no sign of stopping, and based on what I see here, you and your men are... not exactly certain how to protect our crops from drowning and our river banks from flooding."

"Why do you tell us things we already know?" asked a man with dark hair and a scrutinizing gleam in his eyes. I fixed him with a firm but respectful look as I answered.

"Because," I replied, slowly turning my eyes back to Beaton, "I think I can help."

[Losing Our Very Existence]

The younger of the men took no hesitation in addressing me, first as “Sir”, and then as my proper title. Captain. Then he introduced himself as Derick Robertson and the other man as Joseph Harrod; they were among the refugees from Ireland with their wives and families, and they had come about the current crisis that the colony was facing. The rains still showed no signs of stopping, and from what he saw, my men were not exactly certain how to protect the crops from drowning and the river banks from flooding. Before I could say anything in reply, however, one of my men spoke first, asking Derick why he told us things we already knew. I waited by, my eyes turning back to Derick as he seemed to get a confident smirk on his face before his eyes fixed back to me. Because, he said, he thought he could help.

I said nothing for a long time, holding back my smart remarks that I normally would have said. “Why? Do you know a rain dance you can do in reverse for us?” “How can a simple villager like you help?” But...I couldn't bring myself to say anything to the young man, because he had a certain...attitude that I found in myself. Confident, but not too arrogant. Ambitious and passionate and really looking for the better of everyone.

Standing from my spot at the table, I slowly made my way around it and towards the two men. Joseph stepped back as I approached, but Derick stood firm and strong, meeting my challenging gaze with one of his own. “You really think you can help us come up with a plan?” I said, a small smile appearing on my face. Derick nodded, and after a momentary pause, I nodded my own head once. “Alright. Let's see what you've got to offer, Mr. Robertson. Gentlemen, bring two chairs to the table and some wine for Mr. Robertson and his...friend. We have a long afternoon on our hands.”

[IrelandKiss]

╔══════════════╗
Nστʜɩɴɢ ɩs ɑɴ ɑϲϲɩɗεɴτ
Wε ɑʀε ғʀεε τσ ʜɑѵε ɩτ ɑʟʟ
Wε ɑʀε ѡʜɑτ ѡε ѡɑɴτ τσ ʙε
Iτ's ɩɴ συʀsεʟѵεs τσ ʀɩsε σʀ ғɑʟʟ
╚══════════════╝

I was nervous. I knew everyone could tell. Joseph glanced over at me every few seconds, as if telling me to stop quivering like a frightened milkmaid and act the role I had fought so hard for. The men sitting around the table seemed to recognize my face from around the settlement, but now they were starting to smirk. I didn't even want to look at the Captain to see his expression, but even as I felt that resistance in me, I knew I had to work through it. This was no time to have a confidence crises, damn it. I had gone up against men both greater and more intimidating than Beaton, and I had not only come out unscathed, but I had come out the winner. If I could handle them, I could certainly handle Captain Frederick Beaton. I took a breath and blinked, hardening my gaze on the older man as a silence fell. And then, without much of a warning, he stepped forward. Joseph stepped back in equal measure to Beaton's advance. I did not. I don't know if my refusal to back down, even where it would have been respectful, is what served to sway Beaton's final decision. But after one more second, he nodded to me, and then called for two chairs to be brought, one for me and the other for "my friend".

Everyone noticed the slight. Both Joseph and I had been introduced to the Captain. The fact that Beaton either had forgotten or had simply not felt the need to address Joseph by his name... It was a clear mark of having already selected who he respected most. It was my turn to glance over at Joseph as we both sat in the chairs that had been brought for us. I searched his face, and while I saw obvious confusion and embarrassment shining in his eyes, he was hiding it well. Whether it was to preserve my efforts here or to save his own face, I didn't care. I was grateful to him regardless. Beaton asked me what I had in mind to help stop the flooding and save the crops, so I looked back to him and licked my lips to answer him. "Well, sir... One spring when I was a child in Ireland, we saw something similar to this, although not as severe. It was found that part of the reason the rivers nearby were flooding was because the land around them had been disturbed to construct some new houses. If I'm not mistaken, the houses for those of us who came on the refugee ships are being built near to the river... are they not?"

Silence met my question, and I took it as a sign to just keep going until I was stopped for whatever reason. "We should try to add support back to that soil. Stop construction entirely, remove anything that can be so the ground can reshape itself. And, and further along down the river, disrupt that land. Dig trenches and diversions for the water to flood further down where our colony can't be harmed by it."

"If we do that we risk angering the natives, and they're dangerous at the best of times. You would have us risk an attack?" one of the men cut in, giving me a borderline scathing look. I just shrugged a shoulder at him.

"I can gaurantee you that if the natives are as close to the colony as you imply, it would be best to treat them as assets. They've probably gone through all of this before. They can help us."

[Losing Our Very Existence]

I remained standing until the two men sat down in the chairs brought for them, and then sat down in my own seat, keeping my eyes on Derick Robertson. The man had a certain presence that I couldn't draw myself away from. So when I asked him to explain how exactly we could stop the flooding and save the crops, I listened to his ideas with great interest. He said that one spring when he was a child in Ireland, they had had a situation similar to our current problem. Part of the reason the rivers nearby were flooding was because the land around them had been disturbed. Then he brought up that the houses for the refugees from Ireland were being built on the river. He paused, and while he apparently was looking for a confirmation of the information, no one said a word. After a moment, I curtly nodded my head once, as a sign for him to continue. He did, sayint that we should try and add support back to the soil. Stop construction entirely, and remove anything that can be so that the ground could reshape itself. Further along the river, dig trenches and diversions for the water to flood so that the colony wouldn't be harmed by it.

Before I could open my mouth to ask anything, one of my men did, asking if the young man would have us risk an attack; the natives were dangerous at the best of times. I wasn't sure what I expected Derick to say or do. After all, most men feared the natives and the thought of an attack from them. We'd had several incidents already, and it was something that none of us wanted to deal with, especially with a crisis like this on our hands. So when Derick simply shrugged and said that it would be best to treat the natives as assets, and that they had probably gone through this before and they could help us, I couldn't help but smile. The boy had a point. If we could get the natives on our side, and use them as allies rather than enemies, half of our problems would be solved right then and there. There was only one problem:

“Would you be willing to go and deal with them, Mr. Robertson? With me, of course, and a few other volunteers if we can find any. I'm interested in your idea...to make the natives our friends and allies, rather than fight pointlessly over the land...I'm surprised no one had thought of it before. I think if we can work with the natives, they can help us solve our problems with the flooding. We'll stop construction immediately, and begin work on bringing back support into the banks of the river. That should help relieve us of a little flooding until we can get the natives on our side, using any means needed.”

[IrelandKiss]

╔══════════════╗
Nστʜɩɴɢ ɩs ɑɴ ɑϲϲɩɗεɴτ
Wε ɑʀε ғʀεε τσ ʜɑѵε ɩτ ɑʟʟ
Wε ɑʀε ѡʜɑτ ѡε ѡɑɴτ τσ ʙε
Iτ's ɩɴ συʀsεʟѵεs τσ ʀɩsε σʀ ғɑʟʟ
╚══════════════╝

I blinked and looked up at Beaton when he agreed to my suggestion so readily. I hadn't expected that. Resistence, opposition, laughter maybe, but never agreement. Not right away. But as I looked up at him, meeting his eyes, I saw that he was serious. Sincere. He genuinely thought what I had said... had merit. For a moment I still didn't believe him. Perhaps he was humoring me or trying to save face in front of his men... But that wouldn't make any sense would it? He wasn't the one who had to be concerned about maintaining appearances. He was the acting ruler of this entire colony, endorsed by the man who had just taken over England, King James. He had united England with Scotland after centuries of the two lands fighting over every little thing. It was a war I had never been interested in dealing with... thank God I didn't have to now... But Beaton went on, saying that he was interested in my idea to work with the natives and become allies with them. He agreed to stop construction completely, per my suggestion, and even offered to accompany me into the native's territory to seek out some sort of alliegence with them. I blinked up at him again, obviously surprised at how easily he had accepted what I said, but after a moment I thought to myself... He must really be desperate for some sort of solution. His men, as relaxed as they looked, probably had knots in their stomachs just like the rest of the colony did, and if there was one thing that irked a leader, I know it had to be when those closest to that leader are nervous. Even if they aren't showing it. It was just one of those things were everyone could just... feel it.

After a moment of silence, I nodded mutely to him, looking back at Joseph and all the others sitting around the table. "I'm pleased you find merit in what I've said, Captain, sir," I said, licking my lips a little before adressing everyone else, "But I would like to hear the word of your council and my companion... Even the King of England must seek his advisor's opinions before acting. We should hold the same respect for everyone here as well..."

[Losing Our Very Existence]

I expected the young man, Derick, to be pleased that I accepted his idea so readily. Truth was, as much as I wanted to think that everything was okay, it wasn’t. I was scared half to death that the rains would wash away everything that I had put my life’s work to. That everything I had accomplished would be forgotten. So when he said that though he was pleased that I found merit in what he’d said, he wanted to hear the word of my council and his companion. I licked my lips before looking around at the table of men, who had sat up in this hall for weeks with no solution. I could tell that David Birch was getting upset, and I stared at him for a long time before clearing my throat and saying, “Does anyone have something to say?”

At first, no one said anything, obviously afraid to go against what I’ve said and accepted. But then, just as I looked back at the young man to tell him that clearly everyone thought it was best, Birch spoke, his ears growing red with anger. “You mean to tell me that you are taking advice from some boy you don’t even know?! This could be a trap, Captain. A way of diverging us from something big…and you’re just going to take it?”

“And what else am I supposed to do? Wait around until the town is washed away by the rain? Wait in here until we starve to death, because my council is a bunch of morons who don’t know how to stop a damn flood from occurring? Silence yourself unless you have something else better to suggest, David.” My dark eyes were focused once more on the older man, and I wished that I could just send him away before he started his babble about just relocating.

“Move to higher ground! Send the bloody natives away from here—or better yet, kill them—before they come and kill us all. I’ve told you a million times—!” The old man stood from his chair, and I soon followed, standing and slamming my fists down on the table before speaking, cutting him off.

“And I’ve already told you a million times why that won’t work. We don’t have the resources nor the power to start this entire colony over, and pushing the natives away is only more reason for them to attack. Just because you don’t want the help from a young man doesn’t mean that I don’t. At this point, I’ll take whatever I can get. Swallow your pride and admit it’s a great idea, or get out.”

“Not to interrupt, Captain…but the longer we sit here and argue, the less likely we’re going to be able to save ourselves from starvation. I agree with my companion’s suggestion, and I also agree that it should be put to action as soon as possible.” The voice of Derick’s companion—whatever his name was—startled me, and I looked over at him for a moment before sitting down. He was right. Time was of the essence, and I had no more time to fool around.

“I don’t have time to discuss this anymore, Derick. I need the plan to be put to action immediately. But first, I would like to speak to you privately, if you don’t mind.”