Chapter 21

The water filled the ship quickly and it started to tilt to the side. The water had already reached the lower steps of the stairs and Diego prayed that he wasn't to late. He rushed along the hallway, passing the empty cells where the other women had been held prisoner. The farther he went the higher was the level of water. At the end of the hallway, the cells were flooded almost completely except for a small area next to the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, he dived into the water below him.

Desperately, he swam forward, hoping that Victoria's cell wasn't flooded yet. In the dim light from the few bull eyes that lighted the area, something red caught his attention. Identifying Victoria's red scarf, he headed forward to her cell that was already under water. With the key Diego opened the heavy lock at her cell and swam inside where Victoria was floating in the water. Small bubbles of air escaped her mouth as she was drifting limply in the water with her eyes closed. Diego pressed his mouth on hers and exhaled his breath into her.

When the air flowed back into her body, Victoria opened her eyes and stared at him dreamily. Diego kept his mouth on hers for a moment longer, before he broke contact. Signing her to keep her breath, he took her hand and guided her outside, swimming back the hallway he had come in earlier. That area was still above the water and provided air to breathe.

With their mouths almost to the ceiling they surfaced and gasped for air. Diego tried to lift the trapdoor above the stairs, but he couldn't move it. "We have to get out through one of holes," Diego explained, "This exit is blocked."

Victoria only nodded while she tried to get air back into her lungs. "Try to keep your breath as long as you can." Victoria nodded again and following his example, she took a deep breath before they dove under water again.

Taking the lead, Diego dove through the ship to one of the larger holes where the ship had been hit by the cannons from the Santa Catalina. Though that area was deeper under water than the stairway he had come down earlier, it provided the fastest escape out of the ship.

Once they were outside the ship, Diego swam up, heading for the light above them, pulling Victoria upwards with him. Victoria struggled to swim after Diego, but then the effort became too great and she merely clung to his hand, letting him drag her behind.

Diego had been afraid, Victoria wouldn't make it when she stopped swimming, but to his relief Victoria inhaled deeply, gasping for air when they reached the surface again.

"Are you all right, Victoria?" Diego asked, concerned, after he had found his breath again.

"You saved me! You saved me!" she cried, clinging to him. "I thought I was going to die when I could no longer breathe. I tried to hold my breath as you taught me, but there was no more air!"

"We're not safe yet. We have to get away from the sinking ship or we will be pulled under water by it. Can you go on?" Diego asked concerned, noticing how exhausted she was.

"I will try," Victoria replied weakly.

"Lie on your back and don't struggle. I will pull you with me. Just hold on!" Victoria simply nodded and did as he asked. Lying on his back too, Diego wrapped his arms around Victoria, so that her head was lying on his chest, facing up. Pulling Victoria with him, Diego could only use his legs to swim away from the sinking ship, fighting the suction. With his last reserve Diego managed to escape to a safe distance where he could finally stop and take a break.

They looked back at the former slave ship as it toppled over to the side and quickly sank deeper and deeper into the sea. After some minutes the ship had completely vanished and all that was left was some debris floating on the water where the ship had been.

"What do we do now?" Victoria asked, looking at the Santa Catalina that was some distance away.

"The Santa Catalina is our only chance to survive. We have to get there," Diego stated, though he didn't know where he could find the strength to swim there when he had to pull Victoria too.

Swimming slowly, they headed towards the Santa Catalina that wasn't so far away, but in their exhausted state it appeared unreachable.

Diego managed to get hold of a piece of wood from the shipwreck that was large enough to provide some support. "Climb on the board, Victoria," Diego ordered. "I will take you with the board to our ship."

Climbing on the slippery board was easier said than done as it provided no hold and Victoria needed several tries until she was safely centered on the board without slipping down immediately again.

Diego pushed the board forward working mainly with his feet while Victoria tried to catch the attention from the ship, weakly waving her red scarf over her head.

Swimming for more than half an hour after the ship had sunk, they hadn't gotten much closer to their ship, but Victoria noticed a dinghy heading for them.

"Diego, I think they have spotted us. A boat is coming our way." She continued to wave, and Diego breathed out relieved when one of the sailors waved back, confirming that they had seen them. Holding onto the wooden plank, Diego continued to swim until the boat arrived. The sailors helped them into the boat and rowed back to the Santa Catalina.

Diego and Victoria wrapped themselves into the blankets the sailors handed them. Shivering from the cold water, they huddled together on the small bench on the dinghy, watching the Santa Catalina getting closer.

"I thought I'd drown and that I'd never see you again," Victoria sobbed, clinging to Diego, who had put his arm around her, holding her tight. "I held my breath as you taught me," Victoria coughed, "I wanted to hold on as long as I could and I prayed that you would come and save me."

"I was so afraid, Victoria. I thought you were already dead when I saw you floating in that cell," Diego held her in a firm embrace. "I don't know what I would have done if I had been too late." He caressed her face and kissed her cheek. "I promise I'll never leave you again."

Victoria continued to choke because the water she had swallowed was burning in her lungs. "Can I help you, Victoria?" Diego asked, concerned.

Victoria only shook her head, unable to speak as she continued to cough. She bent overboard as she coughed out some water from her lungs. Relieved, she breathed in again.

"Feeling better?" Diego asked sympathetically.

She shook her head and continued to cough, getting rid of the water she had swallowed.

When they reached the Santa Catalina, the boat was hauled up to the ship's deck, allowing them to step on board without having to climb up the ladder on the side of the ship.

Diego hadn't expected the reception on the moment they were safely on board. The sailors gathered on deck all looked at them and started to cheer. Captain Bazán stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome back on board, Don Diego. We all thought we'd never see you again when Captain de Aragón told me that you had gone under deck shortly before the ship sank. I could hardly believe it when my man told me that he spotted you and the señorita from the crow nest."

Standing straight with Victoria in his arm, Diego bowed and addressed the crowd with a smile.

"Captain de Bazán, Señores, I want to thank you all for saving me and all the other women today. Special thanks go to Private Fernandez who was able to spot me and my fiancée." Diego noticed the surprise of the private and his comrades that Diego had remembered his name and that he was on duty today.

"With the permission of Captain de Bazán I would like to express my gratitude by providing the crew with an extra barrel of rum for your next deployment."

When the captain nodded as agreement, Diego was cheered again. "If you excuse us now, we need to get dry." The crew laughed at this statement as Diego and Victoria were leaving puddles of water where they were standing. Diego saluted them with two fingers to his head, making Victoria smile at the familiar gesture, before he led Victoria below deck to the sick station.