Ariel glanced at the clock again. Half past two, it read, meaning that it had been almost twenty four hours since Warren had locked she and Cory in A11. She had heard him come and go plenty of times since then, but he had never once checked in on them, nor brought them anything to eat.
The lack of food was causing Cory more discomfort than it was Ariel; she had no appetite, whereas he was a growing boy.
She had called out only once, softly, begging Warren to release them, and been ignored. She daren't call out any louder, for Warren had made his intentions painfully obvious should either of them make their predicament known to anyone else on board.
The ensuite bathroom meant that they still had water, but food was a necessity, and Cory was growing ever more restless.
Ariel had tried to distract him with games and stories, and by singing to him, but often found herself too overwhelmed by her own thoughts to come up with anything original.
Surely somebody would notice their absence... wouldn't they? And, even if they didn't, the room would be cleaned once they reached America, someone would find them then, if Warren hadn't already freed them. This would all be over in a few days, and when it was, Ariel was determined to have people see Warren for what he really was... a monster. And then they'd be free.
Eric found himself almost gagging, as a dense cloud of tobacco settled around him, the aroma choking his lungs of fresh air. He didn't smoke, nor did he understand the desire to do so; in fact, if his associates weren't so demanding he wouldn't have set foot in the smoke room at all, but it seemed that none of the men could go five minutes without a cigar between his lips.
Eric sat stiffly at a low circular table, surrounded by over half a dozen older men, struggling to suppress the coughs that tickled his dry throat, and wondering how many years had been taken off his life whilst he'd been sat there. He was the only one of the nine men who wasn't smoking, and wasn't entirely sure why he needed to be in the headache-inducing room at all.
He had joined in with the conversation to begin with, but each man was merely boasting about how much profit their respective business had gained over the past month, and how they expected that figure to rise after obtaining American partners.
Deciding that there were a hundred more enjoyable things to be doing, Eric sighed, and rose to his feet.
"Excuse me" he said, turning away before anyone could stop him, although not quickly enough that he missed the mutters of disapproval which followed his departure.
Eric didn't have to pay attention to know what they were saying, for he had heard it a before. They all regarded him as nothing more than an child, because that is exactly what he seemed to them, being at least thirty years younger. He was growing up in his father's generation, and with Ariel the only real friend he had ever had, his life was becoming lonelier than he ever thought possible.
The young man returned to his room, and sat heavily upon the edge of his bed, dropping his head into his hands.
The situation that Ariel was in continued to haunt him.
From what he could tell, and given what little Ariel had shared with him yesterday, she wanted desperately to escape Warren, but hadn't the courage to do so, out of fear that harm may come to her and her son.
Eric knew that if he wanted to help in any way, he would have to tread carefully, lest her fears come to fruition. He needed to find a way of restraining Warren in the knowing mind that there was no way for him to hurt either of them; but, in order to have him restrained, Eric would have to prove Warren a threat to others, which was likely to be a problem. From what little he knew of the man, he was certain that he made an effort to keep any abusive behaviour behind closed doors, and out of sight.
Eric shuddered, not wanting to imagine what was going on when nobody else was around.
Perhaps he should have been more stubborn when the ship docked in Ireland. Perhaps he should have stood up to Warren when he demanded the tickets. Perhaps he should have been braver and proposed to Ariel sooner, maybe then they'd be together and wouldn't be in this situation, and he'd be able to protect her without the fear that Warren would retaliate.
It was in that moment that realisation slammed into Eric.
This was entirely his fault.
It was because of his cowardice that Ariel was in danger.
He could've ended this before it started; the opportunity to do so had presented itself on more than one occasion, and he'd never taken it. Instead, he'd simply waited until it was too late.
Eric remembered their wedding day, a ceremony which Warren of all people had insisted he attend, an act of spite more than anything else. Eric had caught Ariel's eye as the couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife, and, looking back, it had been obvious even then how frightened she was.
They had exchanged similar glances throughout the ceremony, and afterwards, even with Warren keeping her at his side, leading her away whenever Eric had looked to be approaching. It had been almost as thought he were dangling her in front of him, taunting him, making him acutely aware that she was out of his reach now.
Since then, Eric hadn't experienced such feelings towards any other woman, despite Grimsby's best efforts to set up a courtship. On more than one occasion, Eric had returned home to find a young lady—usually the daughter of a business associate—sat drinking tea in his living room, having been invited to dinner by his guardian.
So far they had only ever been interested in one thing: money.
Eric hadn't yet met a girl, other than Ariel, with whom he'd actually enjoyed himself. She was the only one who had ever taken an interest in something other than his bank account, or the fact that his business was one of the most profitable in the south of England.
Eric had spent time with these women, out of politeness more than anything; after all, he couldn't very well send them away after they'd made the effort to visit him. But he'd never clicked with any of them, and deep down he knew he never would.
Grimsby had called him childish, most men his age had settled down by now, and Eric knew that if his father were still alive, he would've arranged a marriage years ago, perhaps without ever consulting him at all.
Eric realised his mistake, he had fallen so hard for Ariel, and been so certain that she was the one he was destined to spend his life with, that he hadn't left room in his heart for somebody else.
Perhaps there was hope still.
Over the next several hours, Eric remained in his cabin, pacing slow, thoughtful circles, as he considered the possibility of freeing Ariel from Warren's clutches.
Eventually he formed a vague plan, albeit a risky one, and came to the conclusion that if Warren was to be restrained, somebody would have to get hurt, and it certainly wasn't going to be Ariel or Cory.
