When The Heart Sings

Chapter 34

Serena's POV:

Even with the whistle, it was like trying to move a car-sized mound of sand with a teaspoon. Slow and frustrating. I paused as I quietly updated Darien, "I have never seen such a rust-resistant metal before. It is really slow, but it is working. It will take quite some time, possibly even an hour or more."

He nodded, "I will keep trying as well."

I went back to whistling. It actually wasn't that hard to run out of breath if you tried to whistle a certain pattern non-stop. I had to take a few breaks to catch my breath. Time passed so slowly and from how Darien occasionally glanced up, he could hear some of the crew above. What they thought of my whistling was beyond me. I could now feel the slight rocking of the ship and it felt like a clock pendulum telling me that time was of the essence.

Darien eventually gave up trying to reach the hatches and took a seat on the dry waterproof cover. I sat on his lap and closed my eyes as I tried to force the metal to do something that it didn't want to do. Darien waited patiently.

I didn't dare try singing. True song had a strong tendency to run away with me and carve its own path. Singing was like trying to ride an unbroken stallion - it tended to have a mind of its own. Besides, the high pitched tone required for this was too high for my voice in a song.

It definitely gave me a chance to work on my technique. Instead of trying to wear it away in layers, I was weakening a tiny half-circle, and once the border gave way, the rest of the chunk also fell down. It was less work and I could hear the small pea-sized pieces occasionally hitting the floor.

I sighed as I leaned against Darien during another breather. I was out of breath and all of this whistling was putting a dent in my energy levels. It felt like I had been on my feet and moving for hours without rest. "Any idea how long we have been in here?" I sounded out of breath and words felt odd after so much whistling.

"The ship left the dock as soon as the hatches were closed. We have been sailing for most of the night. I overheard some of the crew mentioning that the high winds are helping them make excellent time."

He lifted me as he stood up before putting me back down on the dry blanket. His eyes looked in the direction of the spot I had been working on, "I think I can find the hole you are making. Once you catch your breath, you can keep working on it."

I watched him as he walked over and eyed up the wall that my own eyes couldn't see. I followed his eyes as he crouched and jumped. His foot found the small foothold that I had been fighting with and he used it to push himself higher. A resounding bang and a glimpse of the very faint light of dawn came through for a second as the hatch lifted slightly.

Darien could now reach the hatch.

My ears picked up faint cries of alarm above. I hadn't caught my breath yet, but started whistling anyways. My magic roused once more with my voice. I could feel that Darien's foot kept slipping as he pushed off of the small rough patch in the wall. Deepening it became my main goal.

Darien's efforts were actually helping mine. If I loosened a piece sufficiently, his foot often applied enough force to knock it out. He was determined and his blows to the hatch were getting stronger as his foot had more of a purchase to push off of.

I was forced to stop and catch my breath as I started to pant. It wasn't possible to whistle and pant at the same time. Darien's unending assaults on the hatch had started to bend one corner up a bit and a tiny beam of light came in, which was a relief after so long in the dark.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Darien was relentless in his assault on the hatch cover. The second his feet hit the floor, he was launching himself back up. The crew members above were clearly beginning to panic as their prisoner started to damage his cell. The gap was starting to get wider. I could probably stick my hand through it at this point.