Bound by Blood and Sea || Sanji || Zoro

Nightmares

TW: death, abuse, violence, corporal punishment, blood, slavery, mention of rape (only 1 sentence)

I woke up from another nightmare, drenched in sweat and with my heart racing as if I'd just run a marathon. Sitting up in bed I leaned my head against the cool wall behind me. Taking some deep breaths, I managed to calm down a little, though my heart was still beating fast. 

I lay back down, resting my head on the soft pillow. Closing my eyes, I tried my best to fall back asleep, but it was no use. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears and my whole body trembled.

With a sigh, I folded back my blanket and slipped into my shoes. Maybe some fresh air would help me to relax.

I slowly opened my bedroom door, trying not to make a sound. I cringed at the creak it made. After closing it behind me, I stepped out and got on deck.

It was a tranquil night, the stars visible in their full glory, twinkling like scattered diamonds across the sky. I leaned against the railing and my gaze fell on the city before me; only a few lights were still on. Tomorrow morning we would leave this place and my adventures with the Straw Hat Pirates would begin. The thought brought a small smile to my face.

But then my mind drifted back to the nightmares that plagued me. Some nights I could sleep peacefully, but most of the time, I was tormented by those bad dreams. There was one in particular that repeated over and over, disturbing my sleep almost every night.

~♡~

In that bad dream, I found myself on the island, I had fled from. I was in shackles, bound against the wall. Continuously a whip hit me all over my body, which was already covered in the crimson of my own blood. I begged them to stop, but they didn't listen. They told me it was my own fault. After all, I hadn't behaved properly like a good little slave should, so I had to face my punishment.

That morning I had stolen a slice of bread from my "master's"  plate because I couldn't withstand my hunger any longer. My stomach had growled as it finally received something proper to eat. All the slaves here were malnourished. We received food from those pirates, as we had to work after all, but the rations were really small, just enough to keep you alive and do your job.

Since no one had seen me take the bread, I believed I was safe when I returned to work, scrubbing the throne of the bastard who called himself my master until it shone. Confident that no one had witnessed me taking or eating the bread, I overlooked the few crumbs left on my shirt.

However, as soon as one of the pirates noticed them, they informed the captain, my master, who then decided on my punishment. He had told me that I could count myself lucky since he was being really generous. In comparison to some others, I might have actually been lucky. 

Another woman, who was seen, stealing a chicken leg, had faced far worse. She was gang raped, while I was forced to watch, not being able to do anything since I was still chained up. It was at that moment that I decided I needed to flee. I couldn't take it anymore. It was a true miracle I had survived for two full years in this hell.

After being brought back to our cell, where that woman and I spent our nights, we started to plan our escape. On a foggy day, the two of us got ready, to set our plan into action. Somehow she was able to contact an outsider and secure us a small boat. All we needed to do was get to the harbour. Easier said than done. All the exits were guarded and we didn't have any weapons. But this was the best chance we had. 

We stormed to the gate, the guard standing there was frozen in place, surprised at our action. Not wanting to risk him going after us, we knocked him down with a rock we found on the ground.