War of the Ocean

Chapter 20

It was impossible to tell how long she had been locked away for. Arelena lay on her back, staring up at the white painted ceiling. Despite the iciness of the floor beneath her, she wasn't cold. The room was unfurnished, consisting only of four walls and a small, rectangular window running along the top of the wall opposite the door she'd been dragged through by the guards. She could hear that door creak open and footsteps as someone entered the room, the door clicking closed behind them. She glanced up to see a pair of brown eyes staring down at her. The sandy-haired prince blinked, keeping his mouth shut. So the princess did not move and the silence remained.

What did he want? Was he here to remind her of the freedom she had lost? But she had no answers to her questions. Instead, she conjured them up, her mind creating hundreds of different ways this could go. He could kill her, starve her to death or perhaps he'd just stab her with a silver blade. Maybe he'd even wait out the days she had left with legs and watch as she slowly died, choking on the air. How long did she even have left? On the first day she'd met Reidan, the second had flown by before she met Kaiser on the third. The fourth day she'd discovered the Kaiser was Reidan's younger brother, she'd had lunch with the brothers on the fifth and the King had arrived on the sixth, making the day of the ball the seventh until Reidan had told her he knew her secret until the eighth. She knew she had spent only one night in this room from how dark the room had gotten up until mere hours ago. Which made that day the ninth, two days until her legs would fuse back into a tail. Two days to escape back to the ocean, with or without the help of the humans.

Still she did not move, their eyes still locked. The minutes passed and neither moved until finally, Reidan lowered himself to the ground. He pushed himself backwards so that his back was against the wall, all the while his eyes were trained on hers. As the silence stretched on, Arelena began to grow bored. She wanted to turn away, to study the walls instead but refused to back down from the challenge. She may be held captive but she had to prove she was strong.

'If you want to know why I'm here, you could just ask,' Reidan broke the silence, a smirk playing on his lips. She scowled at him, for it was all she could do. Oh, she wished she'd just let him drown that night. Then another thought came to mind; did he know that she was the one who had saved him? Or did he just believe he'd been lucky? If only she could get him to remember that night, then maybe he would let her go. But then, it might also give him more reason to keep her here. If only she could read minds.

'You know what, I'll just spare you the trouble and tell you anyway,' he said, breaking eye contact by tilting his head back and staring up at the ceiling. 'You see, at the ball the other night after my father met you, he pulled me aside and told me the most interesting thing. He told me that the king of the sea had come to him while he sailed home and told him of how his sister had run away. Or swam away, in her case. Anyway, he told my father to find his sister and return her to him. When my father met you, he recognised you instantly from the descriptions he'd been given. So he told me about you too and we devised a plan to return you to your brother. Only, I'm not going to follow it because I don't owe your brother anything.'

Arelena sat up, staring wide-eyed at him. This prince would dare deny her brother her return to the ocean? She began to wonder whether he had a death wish or if he really did not understand how much power Tristien had. Perhaps the golden-haired prince was incredibly stupid or perhaps he was the bravest creature alive. Either way, he was bolder than anyone she had ever met. Despite how much she disliked him, she could help but wish that he wasn't being stupid for if he was, Tristien would crush him and give him a fate not deserved by anyone.

'I know what you're probably thinking, Arelena dear,' Reidan told her. 'But a fish king can't do anything to me, he's a fish after all just as you are and fish die when on land. You're an exception of course, with your legs and all but I doubt your brother would go to the sea witch as you did. He, like everyone else, knows better than to go to a sea witch for help.'

That man truly was stupid, he was greatly underestimating Tristien. Her brother could do anything, he was that powerful. Shouldn't that be evidence enough if he could get a human king like Reidan's father to do his bidding? Also, how did the prince know about the sea witch? Had Tristien found out about it and told the human king who had then told him? It didn't matter she supposed, not when she was going to die in a few days anyway. She stared at Reidan who had moved again and was staring back at her. A question burned in her mind but she had no way of communicating it. So she closed her eyes and slumped her shoulders in defeat. She silently apologised to Soren, knowing that she had failed him and her kingdom.

'I'll be back tomorrow, I might even bring some food with me,' Reidan said as he slowly got to his feet and turned to exit the room. He paused, hand resting on the door handle as he turned back to her one last time. 'And Arelena, I do remember that night when my ship went down, I remember that it was you who saved me.' Without another word, he left the room and locked the door behind him. She collapsed back onto the floor, feeling the iciness of it beneath her. She shivered, the cold finally beginning to seep into her bones. Once more, she was a prisoner but this time she was physically locked away rather than a prisoner in her mind.

Sorry this is late. Just. So. Tired. School term's almost over though :)