It was that time of night, and Ariel was growing nervous. She could not directly see the moon, but she could have sworn that it was overhead by now. She just sat and hoped, chewing on the seaweed that they had finally giver her. Then, just as she was about to give up hope, she heard a small click at the door. Not a second later, it swung inward, presenting the old frail captain in the doorway.
"Are you ready miss?"
"Yes."
The captain quickly, but quietly went over and picked Ariel up in his arms. He was much stronger than he looked, and upon getting close to him Ariel noticed a rope wrapped around his shoulder.
"What is the rope for"
"So that I may lower you down into the ocean, we need to make as little noise as possible, so I can't just throw you overboard. Now be quiet and say no more once we leave the cabin."
Ariel nodded her head and held tight to the captain as they left the cabin. The ship was rocking slowly side to side, and the moon was directly overhead. There was a small opening that seemed to lead off the ship, maybe a walkway. That is were the captain was headed. As he walked to the spot he whispered quietly in her ear.
"Hold tight to the rope when I let you down and don't let go for anything."
Ariel nodded her head, and became so relieved at the realization of her freedom. Then she grew scared. One of the crewmen had stumbled on deck, drunk most likely, and looked over at the captain holding on to their new catch. He didn't say anything at first, both him and the captain frozen in their places, then the crewman spoke.
"The captains a traitor, he has the mermaid!"
At that sound the whole ship awoke, crew men coming from the hull and other cabins scattered on board. The captain ran toward the spot he had been destined for before, but stopped short as someone grabbed his leg and tripped him, making Ariel fly from his arms and land hard on the wooden deck. He looked up and shouted.
"Run!"
If the air wasn't tense he would have seen the irony in his statement, but there was no time for that no time at all. The crew was coming toward Ariel, and she had to escape; had to. As fast as her arms would allow her she headed toward the side, ignoring the opening that they had headed for before, it was too far away. It was not a long trip until she finally came to the edge, then with one final push from her tailfin, she launched herself in the air and over the edge, she was free... almost. At the last moment that Ariel was over the edge and almost assured victory, a hardened hand clamped over her tailfin. She struggled and fought to no prevail, she was caught again.
Instead of being hauled over the side of the ship as she had been before, she was now slung up and over the rail, coming down hard on the wood floor, her face hitting first, letting blood flow from her nose. Everything was starting to get blurry, but she could still see. She had wished she didn't, for what she saw was nothing that she had wanted to see, but they made her watch, one of the sailors grabbing her by her hair and hoisting her up to his height.
"Would you like to see what happens to traitors my little fish?"
Ariel stared at the captain, he was smiling, but it soon ended. He was being held by two crewmen, arms behind his back, and a third stood in front of him, a knife in hand. Once, twice, three times he stabbed the captain in the stomach, each time his smile wavered as the blood flew from his wound. Then one more cut went to his neck, and all the color flowed out of him, being taken with the blood that now spilled on deck. The two men threw him on deck and laughed, looking to Ariel as she slowly started to loose consciousness.
