Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Part Twenty

Ashen stared at the ceiling. She hadn't left her cabin in hours. Someone had sent dinner to her room. After eating, she laid in her bed and pretended to be asleep. She did not move until after midnight. It had taken everything in her not to rush to find George the second the moon came up. She kept reminding herself that Nikolai or Alena might still be awake.

Midnight, she thought. Surely no one will be up that late.

Hoping she was right, she sat up the second the clock chimed. She slid out of bed. Her boots—which she'd kept on—pressed down on a floorboard. It creaked loudly. Ashen winced. She would have to remember that for later. Groaning, she stood and cracked her knuckles. Why couldn't it have been Peder's ship that found them? At least that would have been a good fight.

After making sure she had both her glass sword and her spare, she opened her door slowly. No one was in the hall. Relieved, Ashen crept out of the cabin. She closed the door behind her so no one would realize she was gone. If someone found her, she could just say she had to use the privy.

She headed towards Nikolai and Alena's quarters as quickly as she could. After a lot of debate, she decided to find George and her crew before trying to wake Smiegal. If Smiegal was too weak to do anything, she would need her father or a crew member to carry him. She had to get onto the other ship, break them out, then come back.

At first, she hadn't remembered where she'd seen the stairs to the upper deck. The six hours she'd spent in bed had jogged her memory. Alena had been leaving her cabin when she spotted Ashen. That was where the stairs were. She prayed that her aunt and stepfather were heavy sleepers.

Ashen snuck past her stepfather's cabin and up the staircase. Spotting a guard, she ducked. The guard moved on—thankfully—and she crawled to the edge of the deck. Rain drizzled from above. Looking up, Ashen could hardly make out the outlines of the clouds in the nearly black sky. The water made the deck slippery. Getting to the second Azurian ship would be risky, but she had to get to her father. Even if they couldn't escape, she needed to see him.

A flash of lightning illuminated the other Azurian ship and The Jolly Roger. She didn't know who Nikolai had captaining her ship, but she would have to get past them to get it back. If there were too many guards, though, she might have to settle for one of the Azurian ships. So long as they were able to get away, it really didn't matter which ship used.

Holding her breath, Ashen rose to her feet. She grabbed one of the ropes dangling from the mast and gave it a good tug to make sure it wouldn't come undone. Then, praying the guards wouldn't catch her before she reached George, she swung across to the other ship.

She bent her knees as she landed on the other deck. A quick check of her surroundings told her she hadn't been noticed. Relieved, she dashed to the hatch and threw it open. Still, no one seemed to pay her any mind. The sailors were complaining about the rain and arguing about what direction East Sienna was in. Ashen paused, craning her head so she could hear them better. Eight days, they said. With Alena's speed spells, it would be eight days until they reached East Sienna. Ashen's eyes widened. Jonian! She could see him in eight days! Surely, her stepfamily wouldn't object to her seeing him. They would know that he was George's son, but they could hardly argue with who he had become. They had nothing to fear from him.

Ashen smiled slightly and lowered herself down the ladder to the lower deck. She wasn't sure how far down the brig was, but hopefully she could find it before she was caught.

To her delight, the brig was the level immediately beneath her. As she climbed down, the cells came into view. She didn't see her father, but she did see some of her crew—and the guards.

"Hey!" one of the guards exclaimed. Ashen tensed, then jumped off the ladder. She hit the ground and reached for her sword handle. Two guards hurried over. Scanning the deck, she didn't spot any more. Good. She could handle two without trouble.