I tried not to think about how long I must have been lying in this uncomfortable position. I couldn't find any position to sleep in with my arms still restrained behind my back. I constantly turned around, waiting for the next bodypart to be drained of it's blood, due to some other body part lying on top of it. Time just didn't mind advancing inside this torture chamber. The only thing changing was the state of my wrists. With all the twisting and turning I did, the rope chafed against my skin uncomfortably first, painfully later.
I must have fallen asleep at some point, though, as it was a lot brighter suddenly. I was lying strangely weird on my left side. My shoulder and hip hurt from the hard metal ground, the headache and nausea omnipresent. After taking a deep breath, I sat up groaning. My wrists burning.
"Der Stuhl stand gestern nicht da.", I suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling of having been watched in my sleep.
I stood up, groaning again "Gott, mir tut alles weh.", and went back to the porthole. I still couldn't see much, but the play between shadow and light under the surface, paired with the fishes swimming across was fascinating nevertheless. For a while I was just standing there, thinking how nice it would be to just dive into the water right now. That reminded me of the trip to the lake with my friends a few weeks ago. We had so much fun. A little smile found it's way onto my lips. Dragged along nostalgia let it fade again, though.
"Ob ich meine Freunde je wieder sehen werde?"166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjsSXTmu7g
I sat underneath the porthole with my back against the wall. My thoughts circling around my family and friends. "Es muss doch irgendeine Erklärung geben wie ich hier gelandet bin. Und einen Weg zurück!", "Bitte lass mich einen Weg finden.", I mumbled with closed eyes.
Right before I fell asleep once more, I noticed the smell of blood not being as intense anymore. Only a subtle touch remained. I woke up and fell asleep again multiple times. Either my subconciousness was still alarmed or the used up air in this small room was reason for that.
The first thing I noticed after waking up, was the bright light flooding the room. Still blinking, I happily realized: "Mir ist nicht mehr übel, endlich.", the headache was a lot better as well. Just everything else hurt more. I decided to stay put in my corner for now, hoping Law would come looking for me soon.
After what felt like eternity, Law finally opened the door. I jumped a little in surprise. The fast movement hurt my stiff muscles.
"You're finally awake.", Law said. He was standing in the door, his sword resting against his shoulder again.
"Endlich? Ich bin schon eine Ewigkeit wach! Überhaupt konnte ich kaum schlafen!", I thought irritated, while Law unhurriedly walked towards me. My eyes glued on the scalpel in his hand once again. My muscles tensed up on their own. I deliberately decided against pressing myself against the wall any further and making me smaller out of instinct. I didn't want to show him that much fear.
"I'm only going to cut your ties.", he said in a calm voice. His grin widened nevertheless. I relaxed only after he cut my ties and nothing else.
"What are you gonna do with me now?", I asked in a scratchy voice whilst finally inspecting the cut on my face with my fingers.
"First, I'm going to treat your wrists. Did you really think you could have torn those ropes apart?", he looked with a raised eyebrow into my confused face. Only for a short moment, though, as he soon inspected my wrists, turning them around as he liked. I used the moment to look at them too. They'd seen much better days, I concluded a little surprised. Never had I expected to see them in this bad a shape. The skin was chafed open nearly everwhere. Only single spots had not scabbed over. The reopened parts, due to the ropes taken off, bled again, some even festered already. Aside from bruises decorating the edges, the mark of the rope was still clearly visible as well.
"Like I'd try ripping those ropes apart. Who was the one tying these rough ropes around my wrists so tightly?", I thought, as I circled them around and put on a grimace.
"Don't move them around too much.", he warned me.
"What's the time?", I only asked. After looking at his wristwatch, hidden underneath his sleeve, he answered: "Quarter past 12. Lunch should be ready any moment. Come." He walked to the door, leaving behind my puzzled self.
"Where are we going?", I asked, now following him after a second warning not to dawdle.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWG2IDHHOai
"I told you. I'm going to treat your wounds."
The atmosphere was thick as Law lead me down the corridors again. This time walking up front. He didn't start a conversation and I was too exhausted. Needing to yawn multiple times started making me uncomfortable. I tried hiding every single one of them, but surely didn't succeed every time. I was never good at smalltalk with strangers anyway. So I followed the captain in a well-behaved way dreaming all the while.
Once Law opened a doubledoor by pressing a button on the wall, my full attention was back to the present. The room wasn't very big. I spotted two doors with each a button next to it on the wall. Above one was "[OP]" written. The other one had no labeling, but a lamp above it, just like the other one. The last third door I saw was a normal metal door without a button to open it.
"You may sit down.", Law said, while collecting everything he needed onto an empty tray.
He began inspecting the cut on my cheek, as well as my wrists, one more time with better lighting now. The light in the infirmary was extremely bright compared to the corridors and the torture chamber. It hurt my eyes.
"I'm going to disinfect your wounds. It will sting.", I nodded in understanding. Law disinfected the cut first. It stinged more than expected. I still tried not to pull a grimace, so he could continue working unbothered. A moment later, Law started to grin slightly.
"Trying to play tough?", he asked with amusement.
"Not really. Just trying not to disturb your treatment.", he looked at me a bit incredelous.
"What?", I asked, too tired to think about it any more.
"Nothing.", he answered with a newfound grin.
My eyes wandered through the room, while Law treated the cut. It was painted in a very light creme white. Not too strong, as to not have the light reflected in a yellow tone, but still remarkably easier to look at than pure white. I had to smile a little, reminded of another story I read not too long ago. The protagonist hated hospitals and wondered why the walls weren't painted with a more comfortable colour. Blue for example. Before my thoughts could follow that story any further, the whole ship started shaking accompanied by a loud thundering noise.
I would have fallen off the bed I was sitting on, If I hadn't held onto Law out of reflex. Law himself held onto the bed and tightly onto the needle he was sewing the cut on my face with at the time. "[What the hell was that?!]", he grumbled in the foreign language. He left right away, after telling me to wait here. Shortly after he left the infirmary an announcement was made.
"[Everyone to their positions! This is an enemy attack! I repeat. This is an enemy attack! We are going to the surface.]", red lights most likely signaled an alarm. Was this an attack? Or is there a technical problem? Whatever was happening, I would wait here.
It did not take long until I heard the sounds of people fighting, which chased away my fatigue. So it really was an attack. Well, the only thing I could hope for, was me being safe in the infirmary, since I had zero fighting experience. Not to speak of handling weapons or defending against them.
I thought the noise was getting louder after a while. It felt as though they were already fighting in the corridors. I looked around for a place to hide in fear they would actually get inside the infirmary. The only thing I saw hiding potential in, was the metal door without a button next to it. Without further ado, I jumped off the bed I was supposed to wait on and went through the door. The room behind it was a storage for medicine and medical equipment. A bad gut feeling made me search the boxes in the back hurriedly. None were empty. "Shit. What am I going to do if someone really comes inside?", though I tried trusting in Law's abilities, I couldn't be 100% sure. And I had a bad feeling. My last idea wasn't the best, but it was the last. I pulled a stack of boxes to the front. Just as much as needed for another box to fit behind it. There, I sat behind it and pulled another box halfway above me, hoping that whoever came looking inside here, thought at my place was just another box.
I sat there for a while behind the boxes. Even after I heard the fighting noise quieting down, I didn't want to get out of my hideout. Sitting on the hard metal ground for so long, my tailbone hurt again, but I decided to wait here until I heard no fighting noise at all for a while or Law came looking for me. Though with every minute nothing happening, I grew more and more anxious whether or not I should come out. Bad luck, that there was no alarm signal in the storage room here. I yawned.
I couldn't tell how much time passed until I heard the infirmary doors opening. Adrenaline shot through my veins. Those steps I heard were not Law's steps, they were too short. Whoever came through the doubledoors, opened the door to the storage room and went straight for me. Was my hiding place this obvious?
"[You don't have to hide anymore. I know you're there.]", the box from above me was put away and a young man, medium size, smiled at my frozen person. "[Oh what a sweet little lady we have here. Don't look so scared. I won't harm you. The pleasure will be the captain's.]"
While the man put away all the other boxes out of his way, I sat there frozen stiff. I didn't know what to do. Was I brought to the attacking ship now? I could never defend myself against this guy. Why did I never attend any self defense courses? As the man was putting away the last box, the adrenaline got to my head. I grabbed a nearby box, threw it at the man and made a run for the door.
"[Hey! That's not nice at all little lady!]", he shouted at me from behind, as I ran out the storage door. Luckily, he left it open. But I didn't get very far. "[Hold it little lady. Where do you think you're running to?]", the man grabbed me before I even got out the infirmary. His grip hurt my arm. He pressed me against the closet, filled with medicine, and started talking to me again. I didn't understand a word. I noticed questions, but didn't say a thing. I didn't know how many spoke the 'forgotten language', as Law called it. This man most likely would not understand me anyway.
"[Are you mute? Hm. Fine, if you don't wanna talk, don't. But the captain will make you talk. Just saying.]", he said, before using the spock handle, making me loose consciousness.
This time I woke up in another dark room. Again with a headache. The ground underneath me was... wood. I was on a ship? Most likely. It was pitch black here. Wherever this was. My wrists still hurt, but thankfully they were free. I didn't know who kidnapped me. Neither did I know the reason. Maybe I was taken hostage to threaten Law. Maybe they took me as a trophy. Or they might have just taken me for their delight. I tried shutting away that last thought, but I was a realist. I couldn't say for sure, that I was abducted by pirates, but that was to be expected. And not every pirate crew was as humane as the Heart Pirates, let alone the Strawhats. Rather, they were the exception. So it was quite likely I was taken for their amusement, as much as I hated the idea.
After what must have been several hours, the door behind me suddenly opened and the ceilinglamp flooded the room with light. "[So you are awake indeed. Could have told us. Or are you really mute, as my mate said?]", the rough voice asked, while I still blinked against the blinding light. I slowly turned and through blinking eyes, was able to make out a small figure. He had the statue of a dwarf. Small but robust. Even the beard matched.
The man, who seemed to be the captain of this ship, talked insistently to me. Asking questions, screaming at me. I decided to not speak a word. I doubted they'd understand a single thing. I clinged to the thought of Law wanting me back, since I spoke the forgotten language. Besides, the dwarf captain had someone with him that wrote things down when ordered to.
"Is he not able to write? Then he'd never understand the forgotten laguage.", I concluded. After saying something, he suddenly got quite angry. He raised his arm in anger. In response, I closed my eyes and raised my arms protectively above me. It hurt. But I felt no hit coming. Instead, the man laughed out loud and left the room. I heard the door closing. The light remained lit.
As soon as I was left alone, I inspected my arm. In shock, I had to find a new tattoo on my left upper arm. It depicted a jolly roger. The skull wearing a chef's hat and a beard just as the dwarf captain wore one, must have been the jolly roger of this pirate crew. Did that mean I was made part of the crew?!
"It looks terrible.", I thought about how long I might had to live with this, considering that I needed to find someone who could erase that.
I looked around. There was nothing in this room. Just that lamp hanging from the ceiling. Not even a porthole. Questions formed in my mind.
"What is their intention? How long am I going to be trapped in here? And is Law going to rescue me?", laughter responded that last thought. Why should he save me? Why the effort? I could speak english. The 'forgotten language'. But besides that, what worth did I have for him? He knew me for only one day. Questioned me. On the other hand, though, he treated my wounds afterwards. So I had to have some worth for him.
I still couldn't quite believe I was kidnapped out of Law's submarine. Did they actually loose the fight? Then this must be a strong crew on this ship. Or maybe that man, that took me somehow slipped past the Heart Pirates. In spite of everything, all I could do was hoping my lucky angel followed me to this world.
Translations:
(1) "Der Stuhl stand gestern nicht da." - "That chair hadn't been standing there yesterday."
(2) "Gott, mir tut alles weh." - "God, everything hurts."
(3) "Ob ich meine Freunde je wieder sehen werde?" - "Will I ever see my friends again?"
(4) "Es muss doch irgendeine Erklärung geben wie ich hier gelandet bin. Und einen Weg zurück!" - "There has got to be an explanation how I got here. And a way back!"
(5) "Bitte lass mich einen Weg finden." - "Please let me find a way."
(6) "Mir ist nicht mehr übel, endlich." - "I don't feel sick anymore, finally."
(7) "Endlich? Ich bin schon eine Ewigkeit wach! Überhaupt konnte ich kaum schlafen!" - "Finally? I've been awake for ages! Besides, I could hardly sleep at all!"166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCrF5A04ft
