Adriana groaned. She had landed in the most uncomfortable place imaginable. The surface beneath her was very uneven and very hard. Something was digging into her lower back. She rolled over, only to discover that more painful entities were now poking her in the side. Very slowly, she opened her eyes. To her absolute astonishment, she could see. On each and every one of her five tours that day, the guide had shut off the lights to demonstrate the complete blackness inside a cave. Each time, Adriana waved her hand millimeters from her face, and saw utter darkness. The light gave her hope.
"Mike!" She called out, "I'm over here!"
Her cry echoed off the walls, mocking her. It was as she feared; she was alone.
Despite the light, the cavern was still very dim. She groped aimlessly around for the flashlight she had been clutching as she fell. Sure enough, it was just inches from her right hand. However, the wretched thing had broken in the fall, and Adriana threw it away in disgust.
Immediately to her left was her purse. She rummaged through it, and pulled out her cigarette lighter and a cigarette. She nearly choked to death when she lit the cigarette; the cave was brimming with gold!
Using her lighter as a torch, Adriana stumbled around the cave. She had never seen so much wealth in her entire life. Slowly, she navigated through the maze of treasure, inching her way towards the faint light. The lighter burned her thumb, and she dropped it, cursing. It landed next to a jeweled tiara. Adriana stooped to pick both items up, and noticed the faint crash of waves. She perched her new-found tiara atop her black hair which snaked down her back in a braid. She frowned again. Mike promised there wasn't any water, and she distinctly heard water.
"Bastard!" She muttered to herself. "Eight-foot drop my ass! He's not getting any tonight." During her outburst she tripped over a massive candelabrum which prompted her to shut up and pay more attention to where she was going.
Unexpectedly, the whole cave brightened. Shafts of moonlight penetrated the roof of an immense chamber directly opposite from where Adriana was standing. There was an even greater horde of silver, gold, jewels, and extravagant tapestries in this new found space. Her jaw dropped as she surveyed the room. The treasure was heaped in mountains throughout the room. She saw no trace of the cave's floor. In the center of the cavern, there was an island of gold, upon which an intricately carved chest sat bathed in moonlight. This cave was partially flooded. Through a dark passage in one wall, the roaring of water could be heard.
There are no oceans in Kentucky, she thought, but that sounds distinctly like the crashing of waves on rock. She also became aware that it was significantly warmer in this cave than it had been in the caves she frequented earlier. Her sweatshirt seemed rather superfluous. She took it off, and draped it over her bag. She took a seat on a rococo gold leaf throne-looking chair.
The cave perplexed Adriana. She absent-mindedly chewed on her tongue ring while she pondered the situation. The facts just didn't add up: there was no sign of Mike, there was way too much water, it was pretty balmy, and there were gobs and gobs of treasure. It was impossible for her to climb back up the way she came in. The walls were too smooth for her to climb up to one of the skylights in the ceiling. If at all possible, she didn't want to get wet. Who knew how deep the water got? There could be all sorts of creepy crawlies in it. Leaches, parasites, blind albino crustaceans could all be lurking just under the surface of the cave water. She shuddered at the thought. She couldn't resign herself to rotting away in here for eternity; somehow, she had to get out of this cave.
Intermittently, the cave would darken a bit; presumably from clouds drifting past the moon. Her stomach growled; its sound strangely magnified by the vast emptiness of the chamber. She got bored with sitting on her throne, and decided to go jewelry shopping.
Her first find was a stack of gold bangles. She clad her left arm nearly to her elbow in them. As she carefully flitted among the treasure heaps, she picked up rings that caught her fancy. In no time at all, every one of her fingers was decked out in jeweled goodness. The moon broke free of the clouds, and one pure shaft sliced through the heavens to puddle at Adriana's feet. There, inches from her toes, was a pearl necklace. It was the most startling thing she had ever seen. It had to have been over three feet long, and was made up of black pearls the size of marbles. Adriana was instantly in love. She snatched it up and draped it around her neck. Underneath there was a matching ring. Adriana promptly threw off one of her lesser baubles and jammed the pearl ring on her finger. The set must have cost a king's ransom. She felt so decadent.
Just then, a rhythmic splashing caught her attention. To her ears it sounded like oars from a boat. Adriana instantly focused all her attention on the sound. Nothing moved in the main cavern just yet. Her ice-blue eyes widened as she searched for the source of the approaching sound. It seemed ridiculous, but maybe it was Mike come to rescue her. If that was the case, then there was still hope that she would get laid tonight. She sprinted back to her throne, as best she could, given the nature of the terrain. She had barely arranged herself in her throne when a rowboat emerged from the mouth of the dark passage.
At the bow sat a man carrying a lantern. He held it aloft on a pole, and its shadows danced across his face. He looked a little odd. Adriana leaned forward and squinted a little to get a better look at him. On his head he wore a battered tricorner hat. Beneath its brim, his eyes smoldered like two black coals. She noticed he was wearing eyeliner. Forget Mike; guys that wore eyeliner drove Adriana wild. He had a goatee, which developed into twin braids at his chin; each terminated with a little bead. He wore a rather elegant white shirt, and some pants that looked like they had seen better days. A tattered sash was tied around his waist, and he wore a coat that seemed to Adriana to be a little excessive for the current temperature. She could barely make out the tops of his well-worn boots as his boat drew ever closer. Behind him rowed two men. Their backs were turned, but Adriana could see one of them had the most impressive mutton-chop sideburns she had ever seen this side of a Civil War re-enactment.
The sexy man's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Adriana sprawled on the throne, adorned with treasure.
"Hey! Hey you! Jus' wha' d'you think you're doin'!?" He yelled, visibly flustered.
The heads of both men swung 'round to face the bow.
"Stealin' my swag, are you missy?" He dropped the lantern, and drew a sword that Adriana failed to notice earlier.
Her eyes widened in horror. She was petrified. All she could do was stammer out "N-n-no."
He sprang from the boat and nimbly navigated his way to Adriana. He pointed the sword at her throat.
"Unhand me riches you treacherous wench!"
Made clumsy by fear, she pulled off all the rings, the bangles, and finally the tiara. She could not look at him, for fear of the fury in his eyes. A foothill of jewelry had accumulated at the base of the throne.
"And me necklace." With his sword, he deftly picked up a strand; she could feel the blade brush against her left breast, just over her heart.
She pulled back; her hand leapt to her chest to grasp the necklace. She looked up at him, and cringed when she saw the ferocity in his face. His once sensuous lips were drawn into a thin line and his eyes were narrowed in suspicion. She pulled the necklace over her head and flung it at his feet. She then drew her knees to her chest and curled up in a little ball.
"Tie her up! We're taking her back to The Pearl with us." A devious grin flashed across his face, revealing several gold teeth.
"Yes Cap'n," the one with the sideburns replied.
Adriana didn't put up a fight. The Captain still had his sword pointed in her direction. They bound her hands and feet with coarse rope, and unceremoniously tossed her in the dingy they had arrived in.
