Ocean Song Beneath the Waves
Chapter 37: A Light in the Dark

Another Bonus for the holidays!

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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.

Finally she asks, "Pelagios what is to become of us? If this rescuer does not show, what then?"

For a moment he's silent, and it's that silence that causes a nervous shiver to run up her spine. Either that or the chill of the room they're in she's not quite certain.

The silence continues until he quietly mutters, "Hallmar will kill me, and you will be offered to Proteus." He goes quiet again as the realization that this is actually happening hits her. But Pelagios's voice cuts into her panic with a tone filled with promise. "I will not let any harm befall you. I will do everything I can to free you. This, I swear on my life."

A small smile tugs at her lips as she releases a quiet breath and leans against the wall once more. She hugs herself as she replies, "Thank you Pelagios..."

Yes, that's just something that she has to believe in. There's no doubt that Pelagios will do all that he can to ensure that she gets out of this, and it offers her just the tiniest bit of comfort. Enough for her to lean back against the cold stone wall and close her eyes. For just a little bit. And exhaustion immediately sets in to run its course to carry her off to the sleep she's been needing.

He's been locked up here for quite a bit of time. Lady Serena's presence and manner of speaking spoke of that much. She sounded so distraught when she heard his voice, and expressed her worry when she mentioned that he hadn't been heard from in days. He figured that he had been imprisoned for at least a week at most.

However, after becoming privy to Hallmar's plans, he's something if not a little desperate to get her out of here. He doesn't mind that he'd have been killed, but he cannot allow her to be given over to Proteus. He'd get stronger, and she hardly deserves a fate such as that one. Yet it was already hard enough coming up with a plan to free himself. How is he supposed to free her as well?

He bites back a growl. His hand slips after another failed attempt at crafting a makeshift weapon out of a pair of rocks. He glances up into the darkness, but all he can hear is soft, steady breathing.

He sighs. She must have finally fallen asleep. It's a comfort to him. He's well aware of how long she has been awake. He's only feels peace at knowing his words served to comfort her to some extent. He hadn't meant to be so blunt with her when she had asked about their fates, but he also felt that he shouldn't lie to her either. The least he could do was provide some assurances, however impossible they may be.

So he sets to work once more. Resuming his scraping rocks together. The rock being used as a weapon has sharpened to some degree, but it's still not sharp enough for its intended purpose.

Just a little longer, I suppose. He hums. Their savior is probably pretty fed up with him right about now. And that thought causes an amused smile to settle over his face as he continues scraping away.

Honestly. What manner of mess has he gotten himself into this time? Storm releases a tired sigh. Of course when that man calls him it’s to bail him out of whatever trouble it is he’s landed himself in. So why is he even surprised that he did it this time?

Storm’s grey eyes stare out upon the extravagant piece of architecture standing before him. Armored guards patrol the perimeter, and he’s left to sit and contemplate on how he’s supposed to get inside undetected.

He’s been sitting here for nearly two days and has yet to find a solid schedule for the patrolling guards. Their switch outs are random, and they spend at least a good several damn hours before that ever occurs. To say this is tedious would be the understatement of the year. After all, he has many other things that he should be doing that he’s not doing. And all because a certain someone had to go looking for trouble as usual.

After another solid thirty minutes of watching and waiting, he’s finally reached the conclusion that he should just skip in after they pass. Granted, it’s going to be difficult, but when has anything ever been easy for him. Especially with this idiot he’s trying to rescue. He had one job. One job that he’s managed fine up until this point. Then again, there have been many an anomaly appearing in the ocean, and with the biggest threat looming on the horizon things are only bound to get that much harder for him.

He sighs. Such is the way of life, I suppose...

Suddenly he goes alert and places his hands on the rock he’s been hiding behind. He prepares to launch himself straight at the nearest entryway. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

One more patrol round and...he shoots off. The force of his push sends him darting towards the entrance like a speeding bullet. Briefly does the green scales of his tail catch the light, causing the patrolmen to briefly glance behind.

But they're met with nothing, and continue about their business while Storm conceals himself within the shadow of a pillar inside the building. He peeks around the pillar and glances back, quickly darting back into place as another guard passes by near him. He utters a curse. Of all the places for this foolish man to get himself trapped in, it had to be the place with the most security.

And he hasn’t even breached the interior of the large house. At most he’s just loitering about the gardens, hidden behind a pillar until an opportunity to enter presents itself. He sits, starting to drum his fingers against the pillar lightly. A guard armored in silver with brown hair comes to a halt beside it, spear in hand.

He takes a breath in and breathes out, "Find the servant entrance, take a left in the hallways and go all the way to the end." He pauses, looks around and then continues, "Locate the hidden switch on the right pillar. That will take you where you need to go." With that said he continues on his way as Storm utters a quiet thank you. He makes sure that the coast is clear before swimming out from his hiding spot in favor of moving along the shadow of the building's walls.

He grits his teeth together when yet another pair of guards swim by. Well this is going to take some time...

Maneuvering around the guards was hardly easy, and even harder still was finding the entrance to the main building. He sighs tiredly. The least the guard could've done was point out where the servant entrance was.

The hallways are dimly lit. So clearly the inhabitants have long since retired to their chambers for the evening. That works out well for him. Maybe they could even slip out just as he had slipped in. Though as lovely as that idea sounds, it's just wishful thinking that he really shouldn't rely upon.

His eyes skim the hall, making sure that there aren't any uninvited guests that could potentially blow this whole thing to hell. "Now I believe he said that I should go to the end of this hall?" Dammit. He should've paid a little more attention to the directions.

But surely enough, there is a dead end at the end of this hall. He quickly darts behind a nearby pillar as a guard enters from the hallway to his left. He appears to be humming a tune, and does a rather meticulous once-over of the area around him before turning around and swimming off back whence he came.

Storm smiles. If he wasn't sure about this corridor before then he definitely is now. Though now comes the hard part. His gaze flickers between the two pillars closest to the wall.

"Which one has the switch again?" He really should've paid closer attention. He glances between the two before cursing. "Search this one first," he mutters as he approaches the left pillar and begins to feel all over it. He pokes and pushes, running his hands all over the pillar. Yet he finds no switch, and already he can hear the guard coming back. He rolls his eyes. Idiot. It's a wonder the place hasn't been plundered yet. The guards all but give away their positions.

Once again, he hides himself behind the nearest pillar as the guard approaches the wall. He repeats all of his earlier actions before disappearing down the hall once more, but not before taking a sudden glance back. His gaze is suspicious and Storm tenses. He checks around a few of the pillars and stops at his. He begins to dig his fingers into the pillar as the guard continues to stare, but that's all he does. He shakes his head, turns, and swims off back down the hall. Storm releases a breath as he glances around the pillar to make sure that the guard is really gone.

"Idiot or not, that was close," he exhales as he moves over to the right pillar opposite the one he checked. Again, he runs his hands along the pillar. After some pushing and prodding, he's beginning to wonder if that guard that helped him knew what he was talking about. There is no switch, and just as he's about to release an aggravated sigh, his hand sides against a particularly rough piece of stone on the back of the pillar. He comes around to study it. Surely this is the switch that he's supposed to find. At least, he hopes this is it.

Already, he can hear the guard coming back down here. He presses against the odd piece of stone, causing it to go inward towards the pillar. Behind him, the wall begins to move apart with a grating sound. He prepares himself for a fight. It'd be a miracle if that guard doesn't hear all the noise this damn wall is making.

Once the opening is large enough, he slips inside, only for the wall to close back. He waits, and waits, and continues to wait. Nothing happens. He suddenly feels very much inclined to groan. This lot truly is made up of a bunch of idiots.

But he doesn't dwell on that for long. He turns back towards the long corridor. It's bathed in the light of the floating orbs above his head. At least he won't be swimming in darkness. He glances back at the wall once more, before turning and swimming off further into the corridor.

At the end of the hall is a rusted door. Not much longer now...

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