PIRATES_(0)

The rising sun’s warming rays glinted off the ocean waves. Her eyes flickered open, squinting to see her surroundings. She lay upon what remained of the ship, bobbing lightly with the swells of the turquoise ocean. There was no land in sight. Something inside her clung to hope, like a newborn clings to its mother. Hope that she would see land or that a passing ship might see her. But part of her also knew that the sun and the lack of drinkable water would most likely get her first.

During the first couple days on her makeshift raft, she had been able to stay alert and awake. Now, it was nearly impossible to keep her eyes open. She drifted in and out of sleep, finding that each time she opened her eyes, the sun had crept higher into the sky. Her mind drifted and she dreamt of hearing voices. She laughed softly as she dreamt of being rescued and placed in a big feather bed. Men came to her and waited upon her, pampered her. She could almost taste the fresh water on her lips.

Her eyes flickered open, ending her dream and bringing her reality crashing back in. A wave slapped against her, filling her mouth with salt water and removing the dreamt taste of fresh water. Tears filled her eyes as her body shook with each sob.

Voices. She could hear the voices now. Did that mean she was dreaming. Or did the sirens come to take her away. Was she now to join the world of the unliving. She was ready. And she told them so with a croaky whisper. Then she drifted off again.

She suddenly became aware of the pain coursing through her body. Her heart sank as she realized that the pain could only mean that her aunt was right, and that she had gone to hell. Her eyes burned without even opening them, she could feel the heat on them. But she had to see her surroundings, she had to see this hell she had been sent to. Her eyes slowly blinked opened. Darkness surrounded her, but intense light seemed to stab at her. A large red human form approached her. Its hand felt like a huge weight upon her head, and she could feel the burning sensation it left on her skin.

The deep voice pierced her eardrums. “She’ll be okay. She’s dehydrated and sunburnt, but she should recover with a few days of bed rest and liquids.” She drifted off to sleep.

She awoke later to find that the pain in her body had subsided. As she opened her eyes, she was able to make out her surroundings. She was in a bed, aboard some form of ship. As she looked around the room, a young man smiled at her before he ran out of the room shouting, “Captain, Captain, she’s awake.”

She sat herself up a bit more in bed, noticing that she was wearing a man’s nightshirt. She peeked under the covers to look at the rest of herself. As the door opened, she quickly forced the covers back down.

The captain, a tall man in his late 50’s with wispy grey hair, smiled and laughed softly at her. “I hope you are comfortable. I figured a lady such as yourself should have the best quarters on the ship. The doctor should be here shortly. You’re quite safe now.”

“Thank you,” she croaked out in a hoarse voice.

The captain waved at the cabin boy, and he quickly fetched her a glass of water. She sipped slowly at it as it cooled her throat’s roughness. She was about to speak again when the doctor entered the room.

“How’s our young lady doing? Back in the land of the living I see.” He quickly sat down beside her. Unlike the captain, he didn’t wear the navy blues but rather the infantry red. Otherwise they could have been brothers. He placed his hand on her forehead. “Yes, the fever has passed. I think you’re now out of harm’s way.”

“Where am I?” she whispered.

“My dear, you are aboard the HMS Redemption. Her Majesty’s navy is here to help make these waters safe from pirates. I only wish we could have been there before you were harmed.” The doctor looked proud in his statement of the Navy’s capabilities.

The Captain asked, “Can you tell us who you are and what happened to you?”

Before she could answer, the doctor cut her off, “She should rest Captain. She needs to get some food in her belly and get some more sleep. We can ask her questions later, once she has her strength back.”

With that the two older men left. The cabin boy ran to fetch her some food. After eating her fill, she drifted off to sleep. She awoke later to use the lavatory with some assistance from the cabin boy to help her move from the bed to the head. She knew that the cabin boy was looking her over, and she figured that he probably had touched her while she slept and they were alone. She was too grateful to be alive to care.

The next day she awoke to find the captain and doctor waiting for her. She was feeling much better even though her body ached. Before either of them could ask her anything, she said, “I am the Lady Carolina of Barcelona.”

“M’lady,” the Captain said, bowing his head slightly. “Which vessel were you on when you were attacked?”

She requested some water and it was brought to her.

“It is a very long story. I think that maybe I should start at the beginning. About 5 years ago at the age of 19, I moved from Britain to marry Don Jose of Barcelona. Shortly after our marriage, he died while on business in Columbia. I sailed to Columbia about 3 years ago to pay my respects to his grave site in Columbia. While there, I decided to visit the country. My late husband had many friends, and they helped me travel and see their wonderful country.”

The doctor, captain and cabin boy all listened intently.

“After a year of visiting and traveling, I decided that I should return back to Barcelona. One of my husband’s business associates was able to secure me passage on a ship carrying coffee back to Spain. Or so I had been led to believe.

“Four days out at sea and we were attacked by pirates. It turned out that the ship was not hauling coffee, but instead was shipping emeralds and gold back to Spain. And the pirates knew this. I hid with my maid in our cabin. The first pirate to come through the door met the sting of my stiletto in his chest. The second one had his sword in motion to strike me when my maid stepped in the way. She dropped to the floor like a sack of flour. I dropped to her as I watched the life drain from her wound. He raised his sword to strike me down too, when a hand grabbed his wrist.”

She took another sip of water before continuing.

“The man that spared my life turned out to be the leader of this band of pirates. I thought that maybe there was a decent man on that ship. I was wrong. He said to his mate that I’d fetch a good price. My hope sank. The mate grabbed me by the hair and dragged me up on deck. I appeared to be the only survivor. As their crew sailed both ships, they tossed the dead bodies overboard.

“They took me up front and below to what appeared to be the gallows. There I was chained and shackled. Before he left me alone, he tore open my dress and bit my nipples. I groaned, and he slapped my face, knocking me down, as he left. About every hour a different one would come to me, tear off some piece of clothing and touch me or bite me. Eventually, they had stripped me bare of my clothes. I was then shackled with my hands over the beam, which forced me to stand on the tips of my toes.”

As she took a sip of water, she noticed that all three men had bulges in their pants.

“The first man to come down and find me in this position, took off his belt. I braced for the feeling of him trying to slide into my womanhood. His belt struck my ass. I screamed with the shock of it. The second strike I was able to stifle my scream. Each strike got harder and I fought hard not to give him the satisfaction of my scream. After about 10 strikes, he stopped and put his belt back on.