Beneath the Waves (Ocean Song Book 1)

Chapter 37: A Light in the Dark

She leans her head against the wall, staring into the vast emptiness of the dark. The sound of something being shuffled about and the occasional scraping of metal is the only sound to grace her ears aside from the natural oceanic sounds. Each time a sound came, the fins acting as her ears will twitch just the slightest bit.

Pelagios has been silent for the duration of the night. At least she's fairly certain that it's night considering a guard threw a rotting fish in a little while ago. He pretty much told her that it was her dinner, but the foul stench made her stomach churn. So when the guard left, she chucked the fish somewhere outside of her cell, but the smell remained. It just isn't as potent as when the fish was in the cell with her.

Her stomach growls. She hasn't had a decent meal since breakfast, and by now that was pretty much a good while ago. Pretty much makes her regret her ability to constantly forget to eat when she should. At most, she was down to one or two meals a day. Her doctor had consistently told her to stop that habit as it's not healthy, but what can she say? Food is usually the last thing on her mind. Especially nowadays when her family is being hunted by a homicidal ancient merman.

If only Pelagios had magic... A sigh slips past her lips as the thought flickers through her head. She shouldn't blame him for this mess. After all, he's been here for far longer than she and has yet to actually manage an escape.

"Lady Serena!" She rapidly blinks as she's forced from her thoughts.

She quickly replies, "What is it?"

His tone is serious, yet there's an underlying excitement that causes her to question the reason it's there. "Be ready. The time of our freedom draws near."

"And yet you still have not told me how this is to happen," she says blandly. Honestly, it isn't her intention to be mean, but being locked up in a dark space for nearly two days does little for her mood. And the little, pessimistic voice just does wonders for the thoughts running through her head throughout the entirety of this experience.

"Please relax. I assure you that help is coming very soon."

"But why can you not tell me who it is that is coming to save us?" She's rapidly growing frustrated now.

Pelagios releases his own sigh, and for a moment she feels guilty. Yet fear is deeply rooted within her, and it's taking every rational strength of mind from keep her from falling into hysterics.

"It is best I remain quiet. We know not who is listening, and I am fairly certain we are constantly being watched."

Well that's just a great thought. A sarcastic smile forms on her lips. Absentmindedly she begins tracing her fingers along the scales of her tail. Something of a nervous habit she's developed, that occurs only when she sits down for a good bit of time. The smooth texture of the scales and the little clip between each one serves to calm her nerves just a bit, but not enough to quell the raging fear coursing through her body.

When was the last time she slept? A groan slips past her lips then. The night before her kidnapping, that's when. She fists a hand in her hair as she angrily glares at the tail that used to be her human legs. Legs that she is sincerely missing right about now. They meant normalcy, and a promise that all of this shit was nothing more than myth.

Mermaids, magic, gods, and monsters? This is all supposed to be the childhood fantasy of a young child, but reality is a hell of a lot crueler than fantasy. And this situation is one of those moments where she wishes she could escape to that fictitious world in the recesses of her mind where safety is assured and danger far, far away. Although it's not a very good way to deal with her problems.