Serena's POV:

Even with the whistle, it was like trying to move a car-sized mound of sand with a teaspoon. Slow and frustrating. I paused as I quietly updated Darien, "I have never seen such a rust-resistant metal before. It is really slow, but it is working. It will take quite some time, possibly even an hour or more."

He nodded, "I will keep trying as well."

I went back to whistling. It actually wasn't that hard to run out of breath if you tried to whistle a certain pattern non-stop. I had to take a few breaks to catch my breath. Time passed so slowly and from how Darien occasionally glanced up, he could hear some of the crew above. What they thought of my whistling was beyond me. I could now feel the slight rocking of the ship and it felt like a clock pendulum telling me that time was of the essence.

Darien eventually gave up trying to reach the hatches and took a seat on the dry waterproof cover. I sat on his lap and closed my eyes as I tried to force the metal to do something that it didn't want to do. Darien waited patiently.

I didn't dare try singing. True song had a strong tendency to run away with me and carve its own path. Singing was like trying to ride an unbroken stallion - it tended to have a mind of its own. Besides, the high pitched tone required for this was too high for my voice in a song.

It definitely gave me a chance to work on my technique. Instead of trying to wear it away in layers, I was weakening a tiny half-circle, and once the border gave way, the rest of the chunk also fell down. It was less work and I could hear the small pea-sized pieces occasionally hitting the floor.

I sighed as I leaned against Darien during another breather. I was out of breath and all of this whistling was putting a dent in my energy levels. It felt like I had been on my feet and moving for hours without rest. "Any idea how long we have been in here?" I sounded out of breath and words felt odd after so much whistling.

"The ship left the dock as soon as the hatches were closed. We have been sailing for most of the night. I overheard some of the crew mentioning that the high winds are helping them make excellent time."

He lifted me as he stood up before putting me back down on the dry blanket. His eyes looked in the direction of the spot I had been working on, "I think I can find the hole you are making. Once you catch your breath, you can keep working on it."

I watched him as he walked over and eyed up the wall that my own eyes couldn't see. I followed his eyes as he crouched and jumped. His foot found the small foothold that I had been fighting with and he used it to push himself higher. A resounding bang and a glimpse of the very faint light of dawn came through for a second as the hatch lifted slightly.

Darien could now reach the hatch.

My ears picked up faint cries of alarm above. I hadn't caught my breath yet, but started whistling anyways. My magic roused once more with my voice. I could feel that Darien's foot kept slipping as he pushed off of the small rough patch in the wall. Deepening it became my main goal.

Darien's efforts were actually helping mine. If I loosened a piece sufficiently, his foot often applied enough force to knock it out. He was determined and his blows to the hatch were getting stronger as his foot had more of a purchase to push off of.

I was forced to stop and catch my breath as I started to pant. It wasn't possible to whistle and pant at the same time. Darien's unending assaults on the hatch had started to bend one corner up a bit and a tiny beam of light came in, which was a relief after so long in the dark.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Darien was relentless in his assault on the hatch cover. The second his feet hit the floor, he was launching himself back up. The crew members above were clearly beginning to panic as their prisoner started to damage his cell. The gap was starting to get wider. I could probably stick my hand through it at this point.

I could see movement outside of it and heard the sound of chains. They were trying to chain down the hatch! Not if I had any say in the matter. I started whistling again and pushed my senses further out. My magic really only worked on things like this when they were very close to me, so it wasn't easy.

The crew was desperately creating a series of interlinking chains to prevent the hatch from opening. They had made one fundamental error when designing this ship though, there were only a handful of hooks on the deck with which to attach the chains to. The hooks were not made of the same obstinate metal as the stuff that the hold was made of either.

This metal didn't rust, but a few explorative notes showed that it did corrode quite easily with a rather low whistle. I set about removing that obstacle before they could make good use of it.

Hopefully, the crew wouldn't connect us with the now-corroded hooks. As soon as they went to tighten the chains, those hooks would snap as if they had been slowly oxidizing for years unnoticed. My pitch climbed back up to attack Darien's foothold.

*    *    *

I was simply sitting on the blanket and watching Darien slowly inflict damage on the hatch. The foothold was deep enough and trying to deepen it further would only tire me. As it was, the long hours of whistling made me feel like I had been working flat-out all day at the café without a break.

Darien jumped up again, but this time grabbed onto the edge, and tried to pull himself up. I doubted that he would fit through the gap, so perhaps he had a different plan in mind. He dropped down just as I saw an arrow pass through the spot he had been in. Darien snarled before launching up to land another impressive blow on the hatch in his renewed anger. They had tried to shoot him!

My alarm and worry affected the bond as it tugged and twisted lightly. Darien glanced back at me in sudden concern before realizing that the bond was reacting to my worry for him. With a growl, he redoubled his efforts in breaking out. I continued watching him while keeping an eye out for anymore arrows.

The ship shuddered as the hull squealed against some object. I put my hands on the floor so I didn't fall to the side as the floor tilted slightly. The floor was at a noticeable angle now and the gentle rocking had stopped. I cautiously stood up in worry, had we run aground? Darien kept glancing at me, but didn't break off his attempts to get out.

It was awfully quiet on the deck above. No more voices or sounds were heard, other than Darien's unceasing torture of the thick hatch.

Roughly half an hour later, Darien had an opening large enough for him to squeeze through. Seconds after he disappeared, the hatches started to open. He wasted no time in returning and jumping back down to where I still waited nervously.

"The crew has fled to the shore. The ship is grounded and it takes a crew to manage the sails. We had best get to shore and head back north."

He picked me up and curled me up in his arms before planting a kiss on my forehead, "You may wish to close your eyes for a moment."

I immediately closed my eyes. The wind blew past me and Darien's arms held me secure as he rebounded off of the hole I had made.

"You can open your eyes now."

We were indeed on a ship with masts and folded sails. The cargo hold took up most of the space on the ship's decks. No one else was in sight. The blue sky held no clouds, although there was a brisk wind blowing across the open water.

Darien suddenly paused and tilted his head as he listened to something. He put me down and took my hand as he led me towards some doors on a raised section of decking at the helm. I looked around with curiosity and nerves. Why was Darien bringing me in here when he had wanted to get to shore? After several twists and turns down the hallway, we came to a room with a barred door.

I jumped as something banged on the other side of the door. The sound was quite muffled and Darien pushed me back lightly, "Alex, stand to the side of the door. I am going to kick it down."

I blinked in surprise as I took a second look at the door. Alex was in there? A solid kick from Darien broke the door off its hinges. A familiar face appeared around the edge of the doorframe. I gasped as I saw the bloodstains on his clothes. Several bandages were visible through holes in his shirt. His stilted movements showed that the blood came from injuries that still plagued him.

Alex looked relieved to see us, "Good to see you." His faint voice was oddly scratchy and broke in several places as he spoke. His eyes tracked to me, "Serena, are you okay?"

I nodded and he sighed, "I am relieved." He looked at Darien in sadness, "I am truly sorry, Darien. There is nothing I can say in my defense."

Darien intently watched Alex for a moment before relaxing. I wondered what he had read in Alex's mind. "You tried and it probably would have been sufficient in another situation. Still feel like trying to be a backup bodyguard?"

Alex looked depressed and dejected at his second failed attempt to protect me. "At this point, I would probably make the worst bodyguard out there."

Darien tilted his head as he considered Alex's comment, "That really depends on how you look at it. You are the only person who has not wanted to harm Serena yet and you have taken serious injuries in defense of her. I have yet to see another Tarulk with those qualifications. The fact that the odds are constantly stacked against us is a discussion for another day."

Alex relaxed and slowly nodded, "I can keep trying, but I won't be moving fast for a day or so."

Darien nodded before glancing back down the hallway, "You were unconscious in the room when I left to try to track down Serena. Did you see who brought you here? I did send some medics to the room to help you."

Alex shrugged, "I don't know. The last thing I remember is being shot with those arrows as half a dozen people jumped through the window. There must have been some sort of sedative on the arrows considering how fast I blacked out. I woke up in here."

Darien growled faintly in annoyance, "They must have put a lot of effort and organization into this plan. Pity they didn't put as much thought into it or they would have realized that they would pay for this."

Alex nodded, but seemed baffled, "I don't see why they would have put me on this ship though. If you saw me in the room, then they must have gone back for me, but that makes no sense."

Darien snorted faintly, "I actually overheard that conversation. Some dimwit realized that I would actually carry Serena instead of making her walk. That meant my hands would be full, so I would be focusing on running and not fighting. They were counting on someone's normal speed to slow us to a pace where I would be forced to fight. I didn't realize that you were the one they had brought onboard though."

Alex made a face, "They were right about that. I won't be up to full speed for a couple of days."

Darien turned to head back up the hallway, "I gathered that. Don't worry, old friend, I won't leave you behind after how you tried to protect Serena, but we can't stay on this ship for long since I don't know where we are. It is better if we eat now since I am not sure when we may get a chance later on."

Alex nodded and followed us. It didn't take Darien long to locate the galley. He let go of my hand, but I remained leaning on the counter behind him. I knew he wouldn't want me to go further than he could easily reach. There wasn't anything I could do to help make lunch either. I had no idea how to prepare this foreign food, although it looked as if everything had already been cooked.

Darien and Alex raided the pantry to make up plates for all of us. I watched and tried to take mental notes for the future. We quickly ate and went back outside. Most of the life rafts were gone, but I could see them on the shore.

I guess none of the crew wanted to be on board when Darien finally got out. I didn't blame them.