Chapter 15

"I found something." Aiden told Aurelia. "There is only one problem. It is in your cell, not mine." 

She was silent for a moment before she was able to use her voice again. "Where?" 

"It is to your left on the far side of your cell." He told her. With great effort, she attempted to lift herself into a sitting position, but even something as simple as that was too great of a struggle for her in her weakened state. "Are you able to reach it?" He was barely able to see her as the light surrounding her was even weaker now than before. But the faint light outlining her figure was enough for him to see that she was struggling to move. 

"Are you able to move?" He asked with concern. 

"Yes." She mumbled as she pushed herself up. Slowly she pulled herself across the floor of her cell. It took her several long minutes to drag herself across the floor with her weak limbs, the weight of her tail making it even harder. "Where is it?" 

"It is closer towards the back." He did his best to give her directions, though he could not even tell if they were right. 

"I… I think I got it." She said. 

"Really?" Hope surged through him as she slowly made her way as close to his cell as she could get before the bars of her own cell stopped her. 

"Here." She reached out to him, holding something long and white in her hand. Aiden reached as far as he could but could not grab it. 

"Do you think you can toss it to me?" He asked. She made a vague noise before gently tossing it to him. He was able to catch it and realized what it was. A femur bone. He was not sure if it would be of any use, but it was the only thing he had, so he had to make it work. 

Wedging the bone in between the door of the cell and the barred wall, he pushed with all his strength. The door struggled against him as it screeched like an angry hawk. For a moment it looked like it would give in, but before it did, the bone snapped in half. Aiden cursed under his breath. 

"What happened?" Aurelia asked. 

"It broke." Aiden pounded his fist against the door making it shake even more. He picked up the pieces of the bone, confirming that it was no longer big enough to use. One shard was so small that it fit in the palm of his hand. An idea popped into his mind. He was not sure if it would work, but he was ready to try anything. 

Using the small shard of bone, he reached outside of the cell and attempted to pick the lock. At first nothing happened but after trying for over a minute, there was a click. Aiden's heart seemed to jump when he heard the sudden small sound. Hope sparked inside of him as he pushed the cell door and it swung open. 

Aurelia perked up as he approached her cell. "You did it." She said weakly. Before Aiden could unlock the door to her cell, the blue light suddenly sparked out of her necklace again. Urgency surged through him as he quickly put the bone in the keyhole of the door. As he rushed to pick the lock, his hand kept slipping. It took him twice as long as before for him to finally unlock the cell.

Once the door finally swung open, he rushed inside and crouched next to Aurelia. His first instinct was to grab the necklace and try to pull it off of her. The electricity pulsing out of the shell on her necklace shot through his hand and up his arm. The pain made him want to let go, but he refused to. Instead, he grabbed onto it with his other hand as well and tried to remove or break the necklace.

Despite all of his efforts, the necklace did not come off. Though it looked extremely delicate and fragile, like it could fall to pieces with the gentlest caress, it appeared to be reinforced by magic, making it indestructible. When the light receded back into the shell, he pulled on the necklace one more time, but it still did not break. 

"Why won't this come off?" He asked. 

Once Aurelia caught her breath and steadied herself, she answered him. "The same magic that courses through it also serves to protect it." 

"Is there any way to take it off?"

"Perhaps, but I am not sure how." 

"Then I better at least get you back into the ocean." He said. 

"You would help me?" She asked, her unsteady voice filled with skepticism.

"You helped me get the bone to unlock the cell. Don't turn down my help now." 

"There is a problem." She said as she gestured to her tail. 

"No worries." Placing one arm around her waist and the other under her tail, he picked her up and carried her out of the cell. Approaching the door that led out of the small, cramped room, Aiden asked Aurelia if she could open it. She grabbed the doorknob and was glad to find that it was not locked. 

Before making their way out, Aiden carefully looked and listened to make sure that no pirates were there or anywhere nearby. From what he could tell, it appeared to be safe. Quietly he made his way down a dingy, dim corridor and found his way above deck. As it was now night, there were not any pirates on deck. But Aiden was certain that there were going to be at least a couple stationed around the ship on lookout. 

Cracking the door open ever so slightly, he peeked through the opening and peered out over the ship. He quickly hid as a pirate walked by and listened with his ear against the door for his footsteps to pass. Once it was safe, he stepped out onto the deck of the ship. 

The air was cold and damp with sea spray that soaked the soft breeze as it brushed against the sails. A full moon hung low in the sky, its gleaming reflection making the ocean shine with silvery shimmer. There was not a sound in the air but the soft lapping of water against the edge of the ship. 

Walking to the starboard side of the deck, he peered over the edge at the water below. Attached to the railing next to him was a rope ladder long enough to reach down to the face of the water. He knew his sailboat had to have been somewhere nearby but was not sure exactly where it was. "I need to find my boat, but before we leave, I must find Gale." He told Aurelia. 

"You mean your furry beast?" She asked. 

"Yes, my dog." 

"I can find your boat for you." She offered. 

"Really?"

"Yes. I will bring it to the ladder of rope for you." 

He thought about whether or not he could trust her. She was harmless on the ship or on land, but the ocean was her element. He did not get the feeling that she would try anything again, but there was also no way to tell if she was being honest with him. Especially since she did not like it when he went into her mind. He was not sure what she would do. She could easily just swim off and leave him.

Not knowing where Gale was, he was in a tough spot. What if he got caught by the pirates? He most likely would not have enough time to look around every side of the large ship for where his boat was, and he definitely would not have enough time to untie it. 

"Alright." He said. "I should not take too long." He sat her down on the railing and she gave him one last look before diving into the dark water below. He watched her come into contact with the ocean, causing a small splash, before turning to check his surroundings. He could hear footsteps approaching and quickly ran back down below deck. 

The air was silent as he walked down the corridor. The old wood creaked under his weight. He peeked into a few rooms, the ones that were not locked, but did not find Gale in any of them. Finally, behind one of the last doors he found Gale lying on the ground surrounded by sleeping drunken pirates. Aiden slowly approached his dog until he was finally able to get his attention. 

Springing to his feet, Gale rushed to his side. Together they quietly made their way back down the corridor, but before they could get too far a voice stopped them. "Just where do you think you're going?" Before Aiden could react, he was surrounded. He had been caught.