Mermaid's curse

Bolt of freedom and death

A young girl was hugging her knees. Her face was hidden behind her long curls. She was sitting on her ragged bed. The room looked old but still neat and clean. 

*whimper*

*Shush* Mother brought her index finger up to her mouth, indicating her daughter to be silent. She cast a glance behind her and was met with a stillness of the dark corridor. Signing in a relief, she hugged her already adult daughter. 16 years was such a tender yet too old age for her to live with her parents. In this rotten small village, surrounded by deep sea and harsh endless forest, ruled violence and pirates. She was widowed at a young age and with a child on her hands, it wasn't easy to survive. Her second husband had a bad temper, and wanted to lessen the mouth to feed. He found a "good" man who can buy Lilith, her daughter. She could only hope that her life will be better than hers. 

Lilith was a good girl, timid and shy, she lived all her life with bowed head. This was the way women lived on this god forgotten land. She was raised like that, she didn't question anything that was happening around her. She didn't know how. But her refusal to the marriage angered her stepfather. His fury was short and sharp, often directed to her mother, to which she has become quite numb. But this time his wrath fell upon her. Hard. Since that night something in her changed. Her numb gaze has become sharp as her blue and purple bruises healed. 

---

Lilith sneaked around her room on tiptoes. It was a deep night, and she collected her miserable possessions into a little bag. It was night before her marriage. She was forced into wearing her mother's wedding attire - a simple long white dress. Forcing back the tears, she run from this house without looking back. 

Fate somehow brought her to the dock. And she saw a lonely trading ship there. Not thinking much, she climbed into it and hid in the lower deck behind the barrels. Her heart beat hard against her chest. She was drunk on sweet taste of freedom, and closed her eyes with a smile on her lips. Gust of sudden wind blowed and the flacid flag showed that it was black and with a white skull...

---

a: "A Female on the ship! "

b: "Fuck! She'll bring death to us!"

c: "Get her out!"

She immediately woke up. Confusion didn't last lang. Lilith was yanked from her safe place to the main deck and thrown to the hard wooden floor. A pang of fear and pain woke her up from her stupor. There were men. Pirates. A lot of them.

d: "I want to taste her"

 A lustful laughter and cheering of the crowd chilled her to the bone. Some began unbuckling their belts. She could run to nowhere. The ship was surrounded by the vast sea. She wasn't a clueless woman, she knew what will most likely to happen in this situation. 

d: "I want to taste her"

As hands reached her, she closed her eyes as tears wetted her cheeks. Her white dress was torn as she was tossed around in circle. She had to deal with it. 

all: "Captain?"

Only a tall man with an eye cap didn't touch her. He was clearly not interested, still, he didn't help her either, just silently watched. When all of his men were somewhat satisfied, he rose his arm up.

Captain: "Enough! To the plank!"

Crowd cheered and once again she was held into the air and groped under. 

Blood drained from her already pale face as she stood behind the wooden plank. The sea roared under it. She could barely stand. Stream of light red blood dripped from between her legs, soaking already dried up dark red patches on her tender skin. It burned with pain, her body was once again bruised, bite marks resting her and there. 

She was pushed behind and nearly fell off from the ship. Once again, fate decided for her. She walked on the plank and slipped. 

As she fell, once more she saw the captain. He was smiling. 

*Splash*

The hard surface of the sea kicked her breath out of her. Then she slowly succumbed into the dark as air slowly yet surely left her.