Despair.

Balanced on a plank with a knife to her throat, Mila couldn’t help but feel despair. Sharks swam below, circling as buckets of chum were thrown overboard. Preparing for her to be tossed over. Her heart hammered as she stared into the eyes of the Captain. 

The one she loved. 

Though she could see the disappointment along the hardened lines of his face––handsome yet sea worn. Eyes a shade of green so vivid they reminded her of seagrass that grew in the shallows. Golden hoops sat in his ears––currency he called them. 

Tears shone, yet she held her chin high. 

“You’re just going to rid me, huh?” Mila whispered, salted hair blowing in the breeze. 

She had disguised herself the last few months, hiding that a woman was on deck with a crew of men. A superstition of bad luck, they’d said, but she just wanted passage.

Yet Demitri discovered her, and let her stay. Late night conversations in the Galley turned into a love she never wanted to fall in. But she did. And now he was tossing her as if she meant nothing. 

All because the men realized her presence.  

The crew gathered on the deck, hollering with their fists in the air. Some balanced on the mast. Others had their arms crossed, fish bones picking their teeth as if they watched the most fascinating performance.

“I have no use for ya here. You’re better suited for the sharks.” Demitri murmured. 

“I’m better suited for _you_.” Mila muttered, tears falling. “Don’t do this. Please. I love you.”

His face softened a little, staring down before clenching his jaw. It was what he did when he was trying to control himself. Seal whatever he had brewing in his chest. She loved every part of him.

“I have to.” Dark hair fell forward as he leaned in, the knife nicking her throat. She gasped at the blood coating her ruffled tunic. The crew shouted with joy. 

Only she didn’t miss the way his fingers grazed her pocket, slipping something inside. And if she didn’t know him the way she did, she might have missed it entirely. 

Was it a charm? Or perhaps something to protect her in the waters. She saw it then, the defiance in his eyes, and smiled slightly. 

“I trust you.” She whispered.

And then she was swimming in a sea of sharks.