Treasure of the sea |Lesbian story|

CHAPTER XLVIII

Five days later, the provisions that the Nanticoke had so generously given us ran out and we were forced to return to the land to replenishing supplies. It was a new experience for me, for we stole from the fields and kitchen gardens of the country houses everything we could find. Potatoes, carrots, chard, peppers and sweet corn. And then there were the orchards full of persimmons and walnuts and quinces. We would steal at night with only the moon to guide us through the darkness as we filled burlap bags. We were careful not to make the slightest noise, walking on tiptoe and moving through the fields as swiftly and quietly as foxes. Audrey and Louise also took part in the raids. Their steps were light as feathers in the wind and they always knew where to hide and how much to risk.

A dog suddenly barked. I drew my knees up and looked around, alarmed. The animal was a hundred yards away from me, penned in with the chickens and goats.

"What the devil is that imbecile doing!" blurted Stevenson, beside me.

I followed his gaze and that's when I saw Eddie come out from behind the chicken coop. He kicked the dog, which had taken to nipping at his leg, and hurled a thousand insults at him, groaning in pain. In his hand he held a hen that was wildly flapping its wings and clucking in fright. Eddie, once the dog relinquished his hold on him, hurried over the fence and ran limply toward our side. At that moment, a candlelight flashed in a window of the house.

"Run!" cried Naade.

I ran as fast as I could, the muscles in my legs so tight that they began to ache instantly.

"Damn bastards!" a man's voice shouted. It was the farmer, on the doorstep. "Scoundrels!"

A shot rang out. Then another one.

I went into the cornfield to hide. I ran in circles for a while, with my burlap sack over one shoulder and my sabre clutched in the other hand.

"Adler." Suddenly, Sabre came up behind me and I jumped with fright. "This way," he said.

We crossed the cornfield quickly, making our way through the stalks more than two meters high. Sabre had loaded his bag with so much stuff that it was beginning to tear from the exaggerated weight. He huffed, irritated, plugging the hole with his hands.

When we returned to the ship, I noticed that everyone had already arrived. Bones, panting, had thrown himself into the grass, one hand on his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Fuck you, Eddie," he muttered. "You want to get us killed?"

Eddie, who still had the squawking hen in his hands, lifted it in triumph. "Hey, you should thank me. You'll have fresh eggs for breakfast or a good piece of chicken for dinner, if you behave and I'll want to share it with you."

"Go to hell, you and your chicken."

"Listen to him, Ophelia!" said Eddie, stroking the hen to calm her down. "No eggs for him unless he apologizes properly first."

"Ophelia?"

"Yes, why? Can't she have a name?"

"Pff."

The chicken turned out to be useful. She made an egg a day and we ate by taking turns. Although it might not seem like much, the lucky person of the day was bubbling with joy and enjoying their egg cooked as desired. Harris could prepare eggs in all sorts of ways and when it was my turn, I asked him to make me a soft-boiled egg.

We kept the hen cooped up below deck, afraid she might fall overboard. She walked up and down all over the room, catching the bugs and woodworms that hid in the cracks of the furniture. Arenis, who, before we reached the fields, had advised us not to do any silliness, had scolded and punished Eddie duly, forcing him into longer shifts and the most abject tasks.

Because it was dangerous, Arenis did not trust taking the ship many miles off the coast. We sailed with the land visible to the naked eye, reassured by that view. Twice already it had happened that our ramshackle ship had begun to take on water. We had been forced to plug holes quickly and empty the water filling the hold with buckets. It was not smooth sailing; problems were arising all the time. We were moving slowly. Days passed and we were not even halfway through the journey, by which time we could have been at our destination with the Black Star. Every ship we saw coming over the horizon, we all stared at it with longing in our eyes. But Arenis refused to attack. Our ship had no cannons, no proper weapons, and it was almost a miracle she could float. Besides, we were too meager a crew to succeed.

"What is your real name?"

I asked her that question one morning, shortly after waking up. Arenis was sitting on the floor, tying her boots.

Her eyes met mine; they sparkled with astonishment. She simply stood there staring at me, speechless, as if I were the first to ask her such a question.

"Why do you care?" she spoke, doing so in a slightly different tone than normal.

"Because I would like to get to know you."

"What?"

Her gaze appeared so confused and astonished that I was embarrassed. I looked away from her. "I want to know who you are."

"You already know who I am."

"No, I don't. I don't know your name, I don't know where you come from, I don't know who you were."

"Isn't it what I am now that matters most? Is who I was really that important?"

"It's equally important. We all have a history that we drag around like a burden, inevitably. There are and always will be different versions of us. Don't you think that to really understand someone we also have to dig into their past?"

"And you want to... understand me?"

I soon realised that I was tormenting a lock of hair that was darting across my face. I hastily lowered my arm and brought my hands together, forcing them to stand still.

"Why not? You're my friend, aren't you?"

Arenis, then, rose from the floor and her face was so close to mine that I was forced to rest my gaze in hers.

"Friend." She pronounced that word extremely dispassionately.

"Yes...? Why? You don't... you don't consider me your friend?"

"Very few people have ever wanted to be my friend."

"I see, but if it doesn't bother you, may I consider you as such?"

Arenis took some time before replying. Finally, she nodded, not entirely convinced. "If that is what you wish." She made to leave, but suddenly her steps stopped, as if she had just remembered something. She turned her head to my side and studied me carefully. "My real name is Delise Shelley."

I parted my lips. I was so amazed that the words stuck in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I swallowed several times and then an open, radiant smile lit up my face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Delise Shelley."