Cresting Waves

The Escape

They find the rest of the crew a few landings down the staircase, all gathered together with heavy bags and pale faces. Charlie is curled up between Calum's legs with his tail tucked in, cowering. Luke is hiding in his thick fur, his glow a sullen green.

"What happened here?" Harry calls out, hands on his hips. Everyone looks at each other and looks away, their hands tightening around the handles of their blades. When nobody deigns to answer, Louis kicks at Calum's foot.

"Why are you lot all sitting here looking like you've seen a-

He cuts himself off, the words dying in his throat, and glances over to Zayn and Liam.

"They were everywhere," Michael, one of Calum's boys says. "They just melted out of the walls, wailing about their curse and telling us to leave."

Ashton shakes his head as if trying to clear it, gripping at Michael's hand. "But then we all ran out and the waterfall is gone, and the sun hasn't moved. It's like we've become frozen in time, in a land that doesn't exist."

Zayn and Liam and the rest all look up at the sky. Ashton's right. They've been docked for a good few hours now, and the sun hasn't sunk any lower below the horizon. How strange.

There's nothing for them to do while they think of a solution. "We need to find that ghostly woman again," Liam insists. "She told us very clearly about the terms of the curse. She should be able to tell us how to leave."

"We could just sail out straight the way we came," Calum suggests, trying to coax Luke out of Charlie's fur so the dog can go curl up in Liam's arms. "If we sail due East it should take us directly back."

Niall and Louis both look hesitant at this suggestion. Niall shifts where he's sitting, good leg bent and the other pushed out straight. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. The falls act as a sort of veil-a barrier between the Island and the rest of the world. If we don't pass back through it on our way out, we may sail on forever and never actually leave these waters."

"How do you know about the veil of the waterfall but not the curse?" Zayn asks curiously.

Niall's blue eyes glint in the evening light. He shrugs. "The information my people have has been passed down for thousands of years. Many of the legends are merely embellished fragments, and others, as we've seen, are concrete fact."

Everyone agrees to return to the castle so search for the royal ghost, but first they make trips to the ship to deposit their treasures and pack provisions. Everyone hauls their own food and water up the side of the mountain, except for Louis, Harry, Liam, and Zayn, who also carry extra for Niall. They left him at the top with Charlie and Luke, the up and down trip on the stairs too much for his scarred leg.

The crew disperse into the rooms of the palace once they return. Liam and Zayn head back for the chamber they were in when she had appeared to them, Zayn blushing a bit at the memory of their activities before the appearance of the ghostly apparition. Such thoughts seem inappropriate now, with their current situation.

The day-night?-passes oddly. Zayn sleeps fitfully, tossing and turning in Liam's arms and dreaming of his sister's faces. He wakes after only a few hours, Liam in a sleepy haze. Zayn kisses his forehead and smooths Liam's hair back. "Go back to sleep darling."

Liam hums and lets his eyes flutter closed. Zayn retrieves his sketch pad and pencils and begins to write down everything he can remember the ghost woman telling them. He tries sketching her from memory. If only they knew her name. They could call out for her.

When Liam wakes they join the others for a communal meal in the city square.

Everything is odd. The sun moves in a circle close to the horizon, rather than overhead. The light never changes, only the shadows. And as the sun starts to creep towards the western sky, their fear grows.