Treasure of the sea |Lesbian story|

CHAPTER XII

"It'll be fine, you'll see. You'll be home before you know it."

I was eating a piece of beef jerky. We were in my cabin. Dinnington was in charge of bringing me my meals and would sometimes pause to talk with me. He would go out of his way to strike up a conversation, and only sometimes did I condescend to please him.

Dinnington sighed. "You should get out of here. It's not good for you to be cooped up in here every day. Get out, get some fresh air, take a walk along the ship."

I shook my head, staring at the void before me. "I'd rather not."

But Dinnington refused to see me locked up any longer. That evening he invited me to take a walk on deck. I looked at him hesitantly. Dinnington was being kind to me, but the situation I was in kept me from trusting him. His proposal, however, was apparently harmless, so I accepted. We walked side by side in perfect silence, for I refused to fill it with words. I looked at the black water of the sea, so thick and dark it looked like ink. Small ripples formed on the surface thanks to the light breeze coming from the east.

"I heard from the Captain that you have siblings," he said.

"Yes."

"What are their names?"

The anger bubbling up inside me prevented me from answering. I didn't want to talk about my family.

Not to them.

Dinnington didn't mind. He began to whistle a merry tune, enjoying the evening breeze. "Is there any betrothed waiting for you in Charlestown?" he then asked.

"No," I replied. "But I guess it doesn't matter now. You are stealing my family fortune, therefore also my dowry. No respectable man will want to take me for a wife, if poor."

"From your tone, you sound almost relieved."

I raised an eyebrow at those words, but said nothing.

"Look," he remarked, pointing to the sky. "How wonderful. The Big Dipper is so brilliant tonight. You know, I often wonder why beautiful things have to last so short, but then when I look up at the sky at night... Ah! At least there is something beautiful that lasts forever!"

"Mr. Dinnington, may I ask you a question?" I asked, interrupting him.

"Of course."

"Why are you leading this life of thuggery? Why are you a pirate?"

He smiled. "Quite by accident, actually. Arenis was the one who got me into piracy, and every day I thank God for it."

"Really?" I said, upset.

"Indeed. But mine is not a happy story, Miss Adler. If you really wish to know it, I will tell it. Not today, however, not on such a splendidly quiet evening."

As soon as our walk was over, he escorted me back to my cabin.

"Thank you for the pleasant company, Miss Adler. I bid you good night."

Four days had passed, days in which I had only seen Dinnington's face at mealtimes. There was something insane in what I felt. It was a feeling of revulsion and horror that chilled me and left nothing behind it but complete numbness. I was afraid, afraid of the future and what those men might do to me, afraid of that pirate woman and of her being in control of my life.

I could hardly fall asleep at night. In my sleep, my mind elaborated the most chilling images; I died continuously, torn apart by sabres and daggers or pierced by a thousand bullets. I died drowned, I died raped. Calloused, violent hands that touched me, smiles full of malice that mocked me as I called for help. I forced myself to stay awake, then, my heart pounding hard. Terror took over, and I trembled so much that I could hear the sound of my teeth chattering against each other. Still, I could not give up sleep. Weariness left me no escape. I could feel my head throbbing painfully, my body begging for mercy. I needed to sleep, and my eyelids were so heavy that I couldn't keep my eyes open. Finally, I gave up, letting myself fall into that darkness so full of horrors.