The Stolen Soul Key

An Unlikely Ally

Only two days had gone by and Amaya already felt like she was wasting away. Kai had been true to his word, and he had made sure she'd eaten nothing. Her bones felt weak, her hair felt brittle, and her stomach was so tight it almost felt like it was trying to eat itself. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.

It took all of her energy just to sit up. Mostly, she just laid on her back, careful not to let her face touch the nasty floor.

Every so often, pirates would come by her door and sneer at her through the peephole. They barked out laughter at her fragile state before walking away. It was dehumanizing.

Just when Amaya began to feel sleep gripping at her with its claws once again, a tapping on the window blinked her awake. She turned to see a dark figure crouching on the ledge, just barely hanging on to the side of the ship. Being in a cage, there was nothing she could do to help them get into the room. She watched as they brought out a small blade and started stabbing at the glass.

Small chips started to break through, landing in a pile on the floor of her room. The figure stabbed away at the glass for a while before tucking the blade back into their pocket and using their fist to fully punch the glass, causing the entire window to shatter. The sound is loud but the ship itself is loud, so Amaya doesn't worry about anyone hearing it.

Once the figure slips through the window and into the room, Amaya is easily able to see their features. A young boy stands in front of her, clad in a brown cloth shirt and ripped black pants. His clothes were soaked as if he had swam here. He had light brown skin that matched his hair, and his eyes showed green when he finally glanced at her.

She edged to the back of her cage, away from this new boy. It didn't work out too well the last time a boy had come in here and she didn't expect this time to be any different. He was probably sent here to gain her trust before betraying her for the pirates. Odd that Kai had wanted to try this scheme again, he must think her stupid.

Amaya spoke up before he could, "If you've come to gather information, I can tell you right now that I won't be telling you anything. If you hope to throw me to the pirates, I'm already there. There's no need to play with me first."

The boy tilted his head before raising his hands in surrender, "Have me all figured out, do you?"

"I do," she lifted her chin. "I won't be going anywhere with you."

"But I've come to rescue you." He inched towards her slowly, probably trying not to spook her. "You would rather stay in a blood covered cage?"

"Yes." Amaya turned away from him, "I've heard that before." She pictured River dangling the keys that would set her free in front of her, and she shuddered.

The boy frowned, "You're Amaya right? Amaya Marina?"

"Yes."

"I was sent to rescue one Amaya Marina from the hands of the pirates," he says slowly. "But if you're refusing service, I could always just leave. You seem like you're doing pretty well for yourself anyways."

At this, Amaya looks up. "You were sent here to rescue me? By who?"

"It was prophesied." He smiled, "Can't mess with fate, now can we?"

"No," she muttered. "We cannot." Everyone knew not to argue with a prophecy. The second an oracle mentioned you in something coming, you were basically tied to whatever they declared. Amaya didn't know exactly what would happen if you tried to get out of a prophecy that you were declared in, but she did not want to find out. "What did the prophecy say, exactly?"

"Our oracle declared that I would keep you safe, no matter what. Do you trust me now? Can we go, please? I don't exactly enjoy being on this infernal ship, either." He looked at her with pleading eyes and she knew she couldn't argue. If he really did come on this ship just to save her, she wouldn't risk him being hurt because of her.