Beneath the Current

-1-

Dalis found herself to be tied up in a fowel smelling place. She had no recolation of what had happened but the longer she sat in the darkness the more aware of her surroundings she became. Everything seemed to be swaying back and forth which had to mean she was on a ship. Dalis soon came to realize she was cold. Freezing even. Her whole body shivered and her teeth began to chatter.

She was going to die. She knew she was going to die. These people obviously didn't want anything to do with her. After feeling around the box shaped room, Dalis came to the conclusion that they had given her nothing. No food, no water, no blankets. Nothing. She was all alone in a strange place. Waiting to die.
She propped herself against the wall farthest from the door and fell back asleep.

There was a sound. Then light. Then movement. Dalis' eyes flew open as she was being carried out of the small room. She began to fight back, screaming for her life that they not do anything to her. The men who grasped her arms were not going to let her go that easily and continued to haul her down a corridor of the creaky ship.

Dalis' head bobbed as she came in and out of consiousness. She became fully aware when she was dropped on the deck, surrounded by rough looking men in red uniforms and black war paint.

"Please," She cried, her voice dry and rhaspy. "just kill me now. What are you waiting for?" She gave up. She kept her face down as more men surrounded her, whispering comments about her to one another.

A black pair of boots appeared right in front of her. The man reached down and grasped her chin in his calloused hand, bringing her face up.

"I do not wish to kill you, little girl." The captain said, bending down in her face.

The smell of his fowel breath burned her nostrils. "Then what do you want with me?" Dalis asked. Her eyes drifted passed him to a young boy shoving his way through the crowed to see the new slave.

The captain shook his head and violently shoved her away, laughing quite loudly.
"Look at the state of her, gentlemen. She is weak and small. We need to build up some muscle on her if we want to a larger price on her." His words made his crew burst into laughter. They pointed at her and mocked her as she lay shivering on the damp deck, feeling as though she was helpless.

The captain turned to one of his crewmen. "Prepare her some bread and water, I want her strong enough to work." He watched as the pirate scurried through the two rows of men and descended below deck.

He looked at Dalis and let out a small chuckle before turning away, his men getting back to their work.

Dalis closed her eyes as she lay there, frightened more than she had ever been in her life. She had never been so humiliated, mocked, and mistreated.

As tears streamed down her pale cheeks, she felt a warmth come over her. Her eyes fluttered open and she found that the boy she saw a few moments ago was wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

He quickly let go of it when he noticed she was starring at him. "Can you stand?" he asked, his eyes searching her face.

Dalis nodded and he held out his hand. She grasped it and slowly brought herself to her feat. "Thank you." She said quietly.

The boy nodded and walked her to a crate full of ropes and helped her sit down on top of it. She pulled the blacket tighter around herself.

"I'm sorry they treated you like that." He said.

Dalis looked up and studied his face. He had fair skin and wintery eyes. His hair glistened with wetness from the mist that would occasionly spray up from the ocean and onto the decks.

"What do they want with me?" She asked, hoping for a understandable answer.

The boy sighed and bit his lip. "They want to sell you to a king in the west part of Anther. He's willing to pay high prices for descent servants."

"That's a bandit kingdom." Dalis commented.

He nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"Where's the girl?" A voice came from behind them.

"Here," Said the boy, pointing his thumb at her.

The pirate walked over to her with a plate of bread and set down beside her. "There," he said.

"Wait," The boy said, "does she not get anything to drink?"

The pirate looked at him through squinted eyes. "Mind your own business, Elias."

"Captain said bring her bread and water so I suggest you make sure she has water as well." Elias said, his nostrils flaring with frustration.

The pirate opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it when a loud voice rang out over the sound of waves crashing against the ship.

"Enough," The captain shouted, "Elias, Scrub, bring her to my cabin, now!"