THE SAILS OF THE HIGH SEAS

- Chapter 54 -

As the gunpowder settled in the gleam of the moonlight, Sandokan knew with absolute certainty that his heart had been pierced by the pain of irreversible anguish. He also knew that the moment Aruna pressed her finger on the trigger of the pistol she held in her hand, he would have no choice but to pull the trigger himself. And he did...

The sound that registered next in Sandokan's mind was Marianna's gasp. It was a gasp of shock mixed with sorrow, because she too understood that what happened could never be undone. Especially, since it was all because of Aruna's betrayal.

Sandokan dropped to his knees and covered his eyes with his hand the moment Aruna's body fell to the ground. His heart ached for her, for the memory of his parents, and for the crippled legacy of his family from this moment forth.

"Aruna..." Sandokan whispered while his other hand still clutched the pistol. He held the gun down to the ground, and it was now covered with dust and his tears streaming down his bearded face.

"I'm sorry, she's gone," Yanez announced after rushing to Aruna's side to check if there was anything he could do to save her.

"Tremal Naik..." Ada said in a faint whisper as her knees buckled and she began to fall to the ground.

"Ada!" Tremal Naik shouted in shock at the top of his lungs.

"Ada!" Marianna rushed to her cousin as Sir William Fitzgerald just stood there, frozen with disbelief at the notion that Aruna did indeed fire the shot his way and intended to kill him.

"Ada! You're bleeding!" Marianna cried out when she saw Ada's white blouse covered with blood. The red hues covered more and more material as it spilled from Ada's wounded shoulder.

"Ada! Sandokan, I need Your help!" Tremal Naik shouted with fear.

"Move aside, please!" Yanez kneeled beside Marianna. "We have to stop the bleeding!"

"Tell me what to do!" Marianna asked as her throat began to lock up.

"Start tearing off pieces of Your skirt. We need as much of it as possible to bandage the wound. Sandokan, tear off the sleeve of Ada's blouse. We must see how bad it looks!" Yanez shouted off commands to the two of them.

"What about me?!?" Tremal Naik could barely hold back the tears, since the fury in his heart soon gave way to concern for his beloved.

"You make sure she does not lose consciousness! She cannot fall into sleep!" Yanez advised him without looking up at the man.

"How will I do that?!?" Tremal Naik felt hopeless because he could feel that Ada's body was becoming more and more placid in his arms.

"Hey..." Ada opened her eyes again and watched as Sandokan cut the sleeve and a sizable portion of her blouse. "That is no way to treat a Lady."

"Scold him for it later. You matter more than some piece of material," Tremal Naik tried his best to make Ada look up and not at her bleeding shoulder.

"You say that because... You wanted to rip off that sleeve Yourself... not long ago," Ada whispered and paused from time to time because of the pain.

"What?" Marianna looked up at Tremal Naik.

"Hey, can't blame a hunter for trying," Tremal Naik replied and moved his shoulders up and down. "And believe me, THIS is NOT what I had in mind."

"We will speak of this later," Marianna narrowed her eyes on him.

"Exactly," Yanez looked up at both of them. "Tremal Naik, we must move Ada into the moonlight. I must see the wound better. Sandokan, Sir William, we must help him with the least amount of discomfort to Ada."