Skulls, Bones and Flowers 5

Nesrin stared at the Captain with disbelief. He had seen that, whatever Marguerite had had in mind, she had been a helpless victim of her deeds! Then, she realized with horror that her white lie was the reason for this: in his eyes, she and Marguerite were friends; obviously, good friends, or even more than that; friends who shared some kinky desires.

She looked at Fleur. The pirate who had pulled her onto his lap had put his arms around her, and his left hand had found a way into her cleavage. The man was large and bulky, and thus, his comrades seemed to respect that he had the girl for himself. Instead, they now demanded to see a show by Nesrin and Marguerite.

Nesrin took a deep breath; then, she took the hands of Marguerite who still stood like paralyzed. Now, the girl looked at her with a terrified expression on her eyes.

»Listen, Marguerite! They want to see what – what you wanted to do to me when-«

She had to lower her head, and her cheeks were aflame, but Marguerite seemed to understand. Nesrin still held her hands, and though her lips trembled, she forced herself to continue:

»W-we have t-o do it! The – the a-alternatives-«

She couldn’t finish, but as she now looked up, she could see that Marguerite, though pale as a sheet and looking as if she was about to faint, now nodded slightly. As on keyword, the pirates with instruments now started using them, and once the tambourines, flutes and bongos had grooved into each other, a fast melody could be heard. Obviously, it was a common tune, for soon, the others clapped in the rhythm.

Despite her shyness, Nesrin liked to dance, and though this was none of the dances she knew, she could move to the rhythm, and she forced Marguerite to join in, since she still held her hands. At first, the blonde staggered like a dancing bear, but then, her natural grace took over. Nesrin gulped when she heard the crowd demanding that they started; then, she led Marguerite’s hands to her breasts.

Even through the material of her bra, Nesrin could feel how cold Marguerite’s hands were, and she massaged them with her own, thus also kneading her boobs. At the same time, she moved her hips in the rhythm of the music, and then, she felt that Marguerite’s fingers moved on their own.

Seeing this pleased the pirates for a short while, but then, the crowd demanded more. Marguerite, who seemed to have accepted what she had to do for not having to suffer worse, now pulled Nesrin’s dress over her shoulders, and though she would have deliberately jumped into it if a gap had opened in the floor, Nesrin forced herself to raise her arms and clap to the rhythm of the music, shaking her boobs as she danced and reeled.

Nesrin could be called buxom, but the dress’s buttons were off, and so, she felt it would slide down her hips any second. Since she would lose the garment anyway, she jumped up and turned around her axis, landing on her crumpled dress in just her bra and panties. When she then grabbed the garment with her foot and threw it against some men in the first row, the crowd cheered and laughed.

»So far, it ain’t worse than dancing at the beach!«

She looked at Marguerite who had taken one of the men’s tambourines and was acting as a background dancer to her. The blonde also left little to imagination: one didn’t need to get too close to see her aureoles and the thatch of light brown hair between her legs, and the light silk of the nightgown fluttered from her dancing.

The men now started to chant something, and after a few moments, she could understand the one word they were shouting:

»Co-co-nuts! Co-co-nuts!«

Nesrin knew what that metaphor stood for, and she also knew that she wouldn’t get away with some dancing in her underwear. She turned to Marguerite, slung her arms around the blonde’s neck and, keeping on dancing, she asked:

»Do you understand, they say-«

»Noix de coco, oui!«

There was a strange expression in her eyes, and then, Nesrin felt Marguerite’s hands brush over her sides and wander to the small of her back. She had to admit that for someone who encountered a bra for the first time in her life, Marguerite was quite skilful in opening the clasp.

»Whatever it takes!«, she whispered and forced herself to relax when Marguerite now peeled the straps over her shoulders and arms. The cups came loose, and she could see a glance in Marguerite’s eyes as the bra fell.

»After all, it was what she wanted, even if the pirates hadn’t come!«

Marguerite took her right hand, and Nesrin did a pirouette, showing her breasts to all of the men. The musicians accelerated the tune, forcing her to dance faster, and Nesrin managed to do what they demanded. Then, she had an idea that would maybe spare them to get fully nude.

She went to one of the men in the first row and bent over him. The pirate hooted and she could feel not only his hands on her boobs, but she just grabbed his rum bottle and jumped backwards. Then, she took a sip before she stepped behind Marguerite who had watched her action with a questioning look. Nesrin slung her arms around her from behind and whispered into her ear:

»Just keep on moving! Shake it, baby!«

The last three words didn’t make sense to Marguerite, but she continued to dance, even when Nesrin stepped backwards, forcing her to arch back her upper body. Now, Nesrin held the bottle to her neck, allowing her a sip, but deliberately spilling most of the liquid over Marguerite’s chest. The silk now got fully transparent, and it moulded to the shape of her boobs, and obviously, the pirates liked what they saw. It also worked in the desired way, for as she then took Marguerite’s hand and they both bowed, they all applauded, and nobody demanded that they went further.

Shielding her bare breasts with one arm, Nesrin looked for her discarded bra, only to see it had become the centre of interest of some of the men. One of them sniffed on the cups, whilst another, who obviously was literate, spelled the label:

»36D?«

»The number of boys who lost their virginity to her!«, his comrade supposed, and they laughed. The Captain, obviously also both amused and aroused, stepped towards them.

»Modest noble girls, eh? Well, for the time being, you may take one of the officers’ chambers!«

»Et Fleur?«, Marguerite, now also with one arm in front of her breasts, asked. The Captain looked at the girl who had either accepted the man’s caresses, or had given up her resistance, for she let him knead her breasts whilst he instilled her some more rum.

»We will send her to you once she has danced for us, too!«

Nesrin wanted to ask about some fresh clothes, but now, a pirate led them below deck where they were brought to a cabin much smaller than that of the Captain. It was just two and a half yards long, and one and a half yards wide, and only furnished with a bunk bed without sheets and a narrow cupboard.

There was no lock, and the pirate just left to not miss Fleur dancing, as the music had already started again. Nesrin wanted to say something about her concerns for the slave girl when she saw Marguerite was crying. Hesitating a bit because she was topless, Nesrin sat beside her, taking the blonde in her arms. She let her sob for a while; then, she whispered:

»Maybe, they will leave us alone now! After all, they are after the ransom!«

She remembered that there was no real Monsieur de Maine willing to pay for her, but she got distracted when Marguerite looked at her with a wild expression.

»What does it matter?«

Nesrin stared at her with disbelief. Marguerite seemed puzzled about her misunderstanding, and she continued:

»It will take some days before Papa pays! Days I will have to stay with all these men! No matter what they actually do to me, everyone will think that they did it! To society, I am damaged good!«

Nesrin’s jaw dropped. How could her reputation matter more to Marguerite than the fact whether or not she got raped? Then, however, she understood: this was a time in which things were seen the way Marguerite did. She took the blonde’s hands in her own and though she felt far from being confident, she looked directly into Marguerite’s eyes.

»You are no ›good‹, you are a human being! And none of this is your fault!«

Marguerite sniffled a few times; then, she bent forward and kissed Nesrin’s lips.

»Thank you!«

Nesrin, her lips still slightly tingling from the unexpected kiss, looked into the cupboard that contained nothing but an empty canteen. Marguerite, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, looked as Nesrin turned it around to show there was nothing in it.

»Some water would be nice, I am dying from thirst!«

Marguerite scoffed and plucked on her rum-soaked nightgown where it clung to her breasts.

»I only can offer some rum!«

Suddenly, Nesrin had to giggle.

»Coconut milk, hm?«

Marguerite stared at her. Then, her lips trembled, she chortled and then burst out laughing. Nesrin also laughed and they hugged, feeling some of the tension fall off their shoulders.

***

Lilly woke up with a shriek when someone touched her shoulder, but it was just Daisy waking her up. When Lilly yawned and stretched her limbs, she noticed that they were still in the small boat, and Sayana still was lying next to her, naked, bound and gagged.

»Ready for some good news?«

Daisy had found a calabash in the boat. It contained some gallon of water, and though it was lukewarm and stale, to Lilly, it tasted like it came directly from heaven. After a few sips, Daisy withdrew the calabash from her, pointing at Sayana.

»We will need some for her, too!«

Again, they checked the Black’s bonds, but they still had no sharp objects. So, they only had one chance of freeing Sayana: moistening the leather, so they could open the knots with their fingers. Since the water in the calabash was precious, they soaked two rags that had been lying in the boat and started wetting the leather thongs with sea water. Sayana weakly moved and occasionally groaned, but obviously was too weakened to show more of a reaction.

Lilly had embedded Sayana’s head in her lap, moistening the knots of the leather that covered her face, whilst Daisy had studied how the Black was bound to work most efficiently. She guessed that the dreadful crotch rope was the worst, but by her involuntary ride on the mill’s sail, Sayana had pulled the knots deep between her legs, and Daisy thought that she should remove this rope by herself once she could. Instead, she decided to first remove the thong fixing her upper arms to her body.

Progress was slow, and the girls repeatedly interrupted their work to look around if there were any other boats, but finally, Lilly’s numb fingers managed to open the first knot in the leather mask, and Daisy had even managed to remove the rope around Sayana’s arms entirely. It had little effect, though, for her arms were still tied at wrists and elbows, and her wrists were fixed to her waist rope by the knotty thong between her legs. However, Daisy could now reach the knots of the waist rope and worked on these whilst Lilly fought with the second knot.

Now, with the leather getting more and more moist and thus more flexible, she could finally loosen the final knot, and carefully, she removed the leather mask that still felt hard as if it was made of iron. It didn’t cling to Sayana’s face, though, but only because underneath, she had a rag tied over her eyes, and another over her mouth.

»At least, no more leather! Phew, my fingers are falling off!«

»Lucky you!«, Daisy breathed, finally being able to remove the waist thong. Sayana groaned and moved, and with horrified fascination, Daisy watched as she stretched her arms, finally being able to remove the crotch rope.

Lilly had meanwhile removed the blindfold, and two pieces of cotton wool had fallen from the Black’s eyes. She blinked, and Lilly forced a smile on her lips.

»Almost done!«

»Uuhhmmmm!«

Sayana suddenly got unruly, and she even tried to sit up, but collapsed. Then, she shuddered and groaned again, and then, she peed onto the planks, just where she was sitting. She seemed embarrassed, and Lilly patted her shoulder.

»What a relief, hm?«, she giggled nervously, and Daisy poured a few handfuls of sea water over the planks. Then, she continued to pick on Sayana’s elbow tie whilst Lilly undid the cloth over her mouth, only to reveal a second one that was tied between her lips, holding a big wad of packing inside her mouth.

Again, the Black moaned, but this time, it was from relief as Daisy freed her elbows, allowing her to relax her shoulders. Lilly removed the cleave gag and then, seeing that Sayana was too weakened to help, reluctantly pulled on the damp packing. It turned out to be wool, rancid wool, and even after having been in Sayana’s mouth for hours, it smelled bad.

»Eww!«, Lilly commented and wiped her fingers after she had finally removed a giant woollen sock from Sayana’s mouth. The Black croaked, and Lilly sighed, helping her to remove a second sock from her oral cavity. Lilly threw the dreadful things overboard, and now, Daisy had also removed Sayana’s wrist ties.

Carefully, they instilled her some water, allowing her to rinse her mouth and spit out wool fibres before they allowed her a few sips of water. Sayana raised her head and looked at them.

»Ny-Nyala!«, she breathed before she once again fainted.

»I hope that’s ›Thank You!‹ in her language!«, Lilly commented. Then, she helped Daisy to set up the mast. None of them had the slightest idea where they were exactly, but they still could see Martinique at the horizon, and they had to get back to the island sooner or later.

***

The music continued for some time, and Nesrin wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad thing for Fleur. Marguerite sat beside her, suddenly asking her:

»What’s your name – I mean, your real name?«

»Nesrin!«

After a little pause, she added:

»It’s Persian – and it means ›wild rose‹!«

»Wild rose«, Marguerite repeated in a voice that made Nesrin blush slightly. Then, she frowned and looked at her with interest.

»And you really are from Persia?«

»Yes – but before we – first met, I had been at Fort-de-France, though at a different time!«

»You mean Fort-Royal«, Marguerite asked, reminding Nesrin that she had used the capital’s modern name. Before she could go into details, they heard a cacophony of sounds on the corridor. Steps, laughter, and singing. Nesrin had just noticed that the singing voice was female when the door was pushed open, hardly allowing her to cross her arms in front of her breasts before a grinning pirate looked inside, holding a rum bottle by its neck.

»Your maid is a good dancer – but she can’t stand a stiff grog!«

With his other hand, he pulled Fleur into the doorframe, and both Nesrin and Marguerite gasped. The black girl wore a pair of shabby, knee-length pants, a white, oversized shirt that was knotted at her belly, and had a bright red scarf tied over her hair. When she saw the other girls, she staggered in an attempt to stand straight.

»Ahoy, Ma-hick!-Mateys!«

The pirate chuckled and slapped Fleur’s butt, so the girl stumbled against Nesrin who now could smell the rum. Obviously, Fleur was completely wasted.

»The Evil, the Evil Eeeehhh!«

Fleur nearly poked Nesrin’s eye by pointing at it. Then, she staggered and landed on the bunk bed. The pirate stared on Nesrin’s bare boobs, and she blushed and covered them with one hand whilst she closed the door with the other.

»I should have her whipped!«

The tone of Marguerite’s voice reminded Nesrin that her companion still stuck to the norms of her time and social class. Nesrin shook her head.

»They filled her up! What should she have done? Just help me!«

After some hesitating, obviously not too willing to assist her own slave, Marguerite took Fleur’s legs, and together, they maneuvered her to the floor where Nesrin took care she was in a position she would not choke if she had to throw up.

»Just let her sleep! Tomorrow, she will regret every drop – and at least, we have the bed!«

The bed was indeed an improvement to the floor, but it was just two yards long and two feet wide – quite narrow for the two of them. Spontaneously, Nesrin loosened Fleur’s headscarf and tied the cloth over her breasts before she lay down on the bed, pressing herself against the wall as much as she could, so Marguerite would find some space. Nevertheless, the two girls had to cuddle to each other.

»Are you hiding them from me?«, Marguerite suddenly asked. Nesrin raised an eyebrow.

»Eh?«

»Your breasts! Are you hiding them from me?«

Her hand brushed over Nesrin’s back, where the knot of her breastband was. Nesrin blushed.

»You have seen them already!«

»And right now, you can feel them!«, she added in her thoughts, for she could feel Marguerite’s breasts press against hers, warm and still slightly damp from the rum. Marguerite sighed, and then, she murmured:

»They are beautiful!«

Nesrin stiffened, and she giggled insecurely.

»Well – thank you?«

»What does 36D mean?«

»Try to sleep now!«

Now, Marguerite giggled, and though her kiss was quick and soft, it was a kiss on Nesrin’s lips. Then, the blonde at least pretended to sleep, and Nesrin tried to relax. However, now, Fleur started to snore, and after a few minutes, Nesrin agreed with Marguerite that in this special situation, whipping would be a well-deserved punishment.

***

Neither Daisy nor Lilly had much experience in sailing a boat, but they soon came to one conclusion: just following the wind was quite easy, at least if the weather was as good as now. However, they did not know how to cross against the wind, and so, they were driven more and more to the South, away from Martinique.

»It won’t change too much!«, Daisy said, pointing at a shadow at the horizon, »we are approaching St. Lucia, and since we will have to hide anyway-«

Of course, it would bring them even more away from a chance of finding Nesrin. But Daisy was right: without any provisions, except for a last litre of water, they had to get to the land soon.

There was a groan, and then, Sayana weakly set up, her hand pulling on the railing to manage to get herself into a sitting position. Since Daisy was steering the boat, Lilly took the calabash and held it to her.

»Just leave some for us!«

However, when she saw how Sayana had difficulties in pulling the plug, Lilly sat beside her and assisted her in drinking. Sayana looked at her, as if she was seeing her for the first time.

»You – you helped me!«

»Pure egoism!«, Lilly scoffed, »we want to get back to our own time!«

She looked at Sayana, hoping that she would say something encouraging. However, the Black just looked around and asked:

»Where are we going?«

»St. Lucia, most likely!«, Daisy replied. Sayana now managed to get up, leaning against the mast, and she looked as if she was trying to get wind of something. Then, she pointed at the North with her trembling hand.

»We must go there! Nyala’s there!«

Lilly put her hands on her hips, though her impression was a bit lessened by the fact she was staggering when the boat hit a wave.

»Listen, Sayana, we risked our lives to free you, though you are one of the reasons we are here in the first place! And now, you are telling us where to go and what to do?«

Sayana now stared at the direction she had pointed at with eyes like saucers, and then, she stepped towards the railing, but staggered on the way and then, she started to sob. Lilly reluctantly put her hand on the Black’s shoulder.

»There, there-«, she began, not sure what to say. Daisy leaned forward and said in a more energetic tone:

»Pull yourself together! Lilly’s right, we saved you, so, you could at least tell us what this is all about! Who is Nyala?«

Sayana panted, and then, she wiped her eyes. She gulped, and then, almost inaudible, she croaked:

»She’s my little sister! All I wanted was trying to protect her – and I failed!«

»I need some more context!«, Lilly insisted. Both girls had to wait a while until Sayana was able to tell her story:

»I am born a long, long way from here, at a place you Whites call Guinea! When I was a little girl, our wise women saw that I had – special abilities, and I was sent to a – I think you would call it a witch. She taught me a lot of things, and it was her and my wish that once, I would take her place!«

Lilly and Daisy exchanged a look. This sounded like a fairy tale, but the fact that they had just escaped from an 18th century slave camp made them less certain about what was reality and what was superstition.

»My people were proud and mighty – mightier than our neighbours. But then, our neighbours found a powerful ally – the white men from the coast!«

She continued telling the girls that the neighbouring tribe had cooperated with white slavers, and that they had raided their village, taking some of their people hostage, including her little sister Nyala who had been a little girl back then.

»So, I went to the Whites and said that I had sworn to protect my little sister! They laughed, and then, they said that they would like it if I joined Nyala on her way to the West!«

The two sisters had been brought to the West Indies, together with a few dozen other slaves. Sayana didn’t go into details about the horrors of the trip, but both Lilly and Daisy knew enough about the terrible conditions aboard a slave ship. Finally, they had reached Martinique, where Sayana had managed to be sold together with Nyala. For a few years, their lives had been tolerable: being a witch, Sayana had been respected by the other slaves, though they had rather feared than loved her; and Nyala had been given to the Comte’s daughter. Technically, she had been a toy rather than a playmate, but she and Marguerite were of the same age, and Nyala had become her Lady’s maid.

»They gave her the name ›Fleur‹, and she hardly ever visited me, though we lived just a few hundred yards from each other. Perhaps, she felt that she belonged to the mansion now, no longer to the slave quarters. However, I never forgot about her, and as far as I could, I tried to protect her!«

The Comte had become a widower soon after Marguerite had been born, and for some years, he had kept one of his female slaves as a concubine. However, this woman had died from a fever the previous year, and the Comte had started to put his hungry eyes upon Fleur/Nyala.

»It was the first time in months that we spoke when she told me! She was afraid, frightened – and so, I went to the Comte, begging him to spare my sister. He listened to me; then, he laughed and told me that I had to offer him something in exchange!«

Desperate, Sayana had shared the bed with the Comte, tried to make him forget about Nyala. Now, Sayana showed a bitter smile:

»I had learned to brew a drink that makes you forget about your sorrows, and if you take it before you make love, it makes you – wild!«

Sayana’s hope had been that the Comte would forget about her little sister if she offered him a night of wild passion. However,  the effect had been quite the opposite. After just one night, the Comte had told her:

»You showed – effort, but that’s not what I am looking for! I want something – fresh! Something tender, and innocent!«

So, Sayana had made things even worse, and in her desperation, she had offered to use another powerful magic to get the Comte what he desired. It was a powerful, difficult ritual, and her teacher had warned Sayana about it, but she had offered the Comte to get him another girl.

»He finally agreed, and I made him swear that if I managed to get him a beautiful girl, he would leave Nyala alone for a year; if I got him a new concubine, he would spare her until he got bored with her! Well, his last concubine had her position for over ten years, and by then, Nyala would also no longer be an innocent girl!«

She apologetically looked at Daisy who stared at her with trembling lips, trying to cope with what she just had heard.

»You – you sent these men to kidnap me, to-, to – protect your sister?«

Daisy’s voice sounded a bit shrill, and she shook her head. She would have done quite a few things to protect her brother, but this woman had decided to make her a sex slave!

»These men are from your time! I could just – contact them! In their heads! I could tell them what to do, could also tell them that they would get lots of gold – and I could even assure that they would believe me!«

»So, Nesrin and I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time!«

Lilly also had severe problems in accepting this story about magical mind control over the centuries. Sayana sadly shook her head.

»I made them prepare the boat with the right herbs, and to put you«, she pointed at Daisy, but avoided eye contact, »in it! It seems that they thought they could make even more gold by sending you and your friend, too!«

Now, tears ran down her cheeks, and she sighed:

»And now, pirates have taken Nyala, and all was in vain!«

She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Close to her, Daisy also cried. The tiller had slipped from her hand, and the sail was flapping, but she didn’t notice. Lilly also felt the urge to cry, but then, she said:

»These pirates kidnapped Nesrin, Nyala, and Marguerite! So, if we find one of them, we find the other two, too!«

Sayana raised her head, and daisy also seemed to recover from her paralysis. Lilly now grabbed Sayana’s shoulder:

»You said that you can feel where Nyala is?«

Sayana nodded, wiping her eyes. Then, she once again pointed to the North, like she had done before. The spot was somewhere in the water, to the left of the shadow that marked Martinique.

»So, let’s say we find your sister and Nesrin – can you work your ritual again, to send us home? I mean, do you know how to do it?«

»It would require several herbs«, Sayana answered, but now, Lilly could hear another emotion in the Black’s voice – a glimpse of hope. Daisy now also wiped the tears from her eyes and joined the conversation:

»Forget about herbs – can you control the wind, too?«

It was meant sarcastically, but there was a little hope in her voice, too. After all, Sayana had proved she was a veritable witch. The naked Black shook her head; then, she got up.

»No! But I grew up near the coast, and I know how to steer a boat against the wind – if you leave me your place!«

Daisy got up, and Sayana sat down, taking the tiller. Then, she handed the rope to handle the sail to Lilly and told her to do as she said. It seemed easy, but soon, the boat accelerated, and its bow turned on a course West to Northwest.

Lilly had to admit that sailing against the wind was surprisingly easy: they were just following a zigzag line that would slowly, but surely get them back to Martinique – or rather to the place where Nesrin, Nyala and the Comte’s daughter were held captive.

»What a rescue mission! We have barely no water, no provision, and we don’t have any weapons! Hell, we just have our bras and panties – and Sayana doesn’t even have these! To say we are ill-prepared would be an understatement!«

And yet, Lilly felt excited as the boat ploughed through the waves, with Sayana repeatedly looking at a point at the North where none of them could see anything but water. She moved closer to Daisy, put an arm around her friend and whispered:

»I so much hope that we are doing the right thing! I mean, do you think we can trust her?«

She pointed at Sayana. Daisy scoffed and replied:

»I could still kill her slowly and painful, but I think she’s telling the truth! At least, I hope so!«

***