Out of nowhere, he seized my clothes, pushed me down, and delivered a powerful punch directly to my face. I coughed up blood.
He landed another punch before I opened my eyes, tearing my lips.
I groaned in pain, gritted my teeth, and held his fist to stop him from punching me again. Staring into his eyes, I shook my head with a soft chuckle.
“Hum nahi… to aage kataar lagi hui hai, bachke to nahi jaa paaoge,”“If not me, then there is an entire line; you won’t be able to escape.” My voice was hoarse, deep, and slightly raspy.
He punched me in the face with his other hand. He grabbed my collar and jerked me, lifting my face off the floor. I felt a rush of dizziness.
“Who the hell are you?” he yelled with his filthy mouth stinking like a gutter, and I chuckled slightly.
“I told you, just a soldier,” I said, then punched him in the eyes. He jerked back and pressed his hand to his eye, letting out a loud cry.
“Argh, bastard!”
I bit my lip, caressed the torn area, and shook my head.
“How will I kiss her now?” I muttered, sat up, held his collar, and pushed him back with all my strength.
His head banged into the metal of the cannon, and he started bleeding. He cried out louder, and I banged his head again on the cannon. Again and again.
“Kya socha tha… sab moorkh hai yahaan, bikau hai, ghaas charte hain hum?”“What did you think? That we’re a bunch of fools, easily traded, and that we eat trash?” I lost it and clenched my fist to punch him again.
But that bastard moved, and my fist slammed into the cannon’s wheel, making my knuckles bleed.
Fuck.It hurt like hell.
He laughed.“You’d never know,” he sputtered and held my collar to put me down under. He punched my face harder, one after the other.
My head spun with dizziness.
I looked at him through my bleeding, blurry eyes.
He picked up his sword from the ground and raised it high. He stumbled, blood flowing from his head.
Everything stopped. More than half of the ship sank. My head was right beneath the surface of the water.
“Will gift your body to your king,” he screamed louder.
I couldn’t stop laughing, moving my hand over my chest and midriff and taking my dagger out.
And before he could slice my head, I aimed my dagger right into his left eye.
An excruciating cry left him, and he stumbled back.
I shook my head and muttered.“Aaj tak koi humaara baal bhi baaka nahi kar paaya. Humaari Maa rehti hai humaare saath. Tum kis khet ki mooli ho,”“No one has ever done any fucking thing to me. My mother is with me. Who do you think you are?” I said, carrying myself straight.
He cried out in pain and lifted the sword again. I grasped the sword and took it from him, kicking at his chest.
He fell back and growled in pain.
I knelt beside his chest, seized his neck, and glared into his bleeding eyes. The dagger was deep in the handle.
“I don’t want to hurt you more, you know, but I need this dagger back… my wife enjoys it better,” I muttered and grabbed its hilt. Slowly, very slowly, I pulled it out.
He screamed in pain, and I rose to my feet. The boat had gone under the water, and I could feel the world spinning around me.
I could die at any moment. Putting the dagger back in the sheath and into my pocket, I lifted my sword.
