The Endeavour

She led me by the hand to her tent of grass and let go to slip inside. I stood there, mindlessly as I watched her slide the pants down her legs. It seemed so erotic that my old pants had been so close to her naked hips. Now it was my turn. I slid in beside her and removed my pants, trying to keep my modesty. As I kissed her again, it felt so good to be unconfined as I brushed along her thighs. I lifted myself over her and looked into her hungry eyes. She spread her legs to accept me and I felt the slippery wetness at the tip of my manhood that ached to be inside her. I pushed slowly into her and her head pushed back as her mouth opened. Her hips pushed up to take me. When I was in all the way, it occurred to me what a proud fool I had been. Her body just writhed gently below me but she moaned more wantonly than any whore I had known. She seemed so tiny below me and I wanted to be gentle but as my passion rose, so did my force. Both she and the timbers of the hut shook. It didn’t take long after such a prolonged absence but I erupted like a volcano and convulsed repeatedly. It felt as though I had drained my soul and the weight of the world had been lifted off my back.

There was no going back nor did I want to but there was something that had been lost. Certainly it was not my purity. That had been sacrificed long ago. Perhaps it was my dignity. Without that burden, I was free. Between the more intimate times, we splashed in the water and played like children. In fact, I can not remember when I had so much fun, even as a child. We made love frequently and spontaneously, inside and out. Each time, Hinano became a bit more ambitious. I would get hard with only a touch or a twinkle in her eye and often before that. I enjoyed when she was on top so that I could see her. She would grind her hips on my full length while her breasts wouldn‘t move. It was as though she expanded and contracted on me. It was like she danced on me. I was surprised that oral sex was a part of the native vocabulary since I considered it a talent limited to whores. I had heard the crew teasing one of the men about his “French tongue” and I even made a brief attempt but felt embarrassed. 

I could have lived like that for the rest of my life but I have responsibilities. After two days and nights, it was time to retrieve the crew. I, also, wanted to show the chief my gratitude and allow Hinano to visit her family. Oddly, I had learned more of the native language in the last couple days than I had all month although I doubt that I could share any of it with the chief. 

We arrived in the village in mid-afternoon. I was wearing my best uniform and it felt uncomfortable in the heat. I had only been out of uniform for two days out of the last six months and now it weighed heavily on me. The village was busy preparing for another feast tonight. It seemed they were expecting us. The chief, for the first time, was happy to see me. Hinano left on her own activities and I searched for the crew. Most of the ones I found were caught in compromising positions. I did not scorn them. I just asked where the others could be found and asked for assistance to gather them for the feast. 

I sat beside the chief and enjoyed the spectacle as it grew into a frenzy. The natives had some sort of putrid alcoholic drink they made out of fermented fruit. I was pleased Mr. Banks had brought some of his Scotch. I knew he had some because I had smelled it on his breath at night but I never saw him drink since he had been on the island. I wondered how much he had us lug through to the camp. Again, the drums pounded furiously but now, they shook my heart. My pulse raced with the beat and my forehead beaded with sweat. I watched the erotic gyrations of the dancers and realized that I had become excited. I glared at Hinano as she danced just for me and I laughed along with the chief as the crew joined in. Hinano held her hand out to me as an invitation and I kissed it but declined again. I could not compromise my authority in front of the crew. The chief nodded in a way that was neither approval nor disapproval but, maybe, understanding. He, too, is laden with leadership. I tugged Hinano toward me and had her translate my gratitude for the feast and for their hospitality since we arrived. Of course, I had to phrase it more simply for her and I tried to decipher her words as she spoke in her language but both the chief and I beamed with pride in her.

The chief had an announcement of his own. When he stood and spoke, the whole village stopped and listened and when he stopped, they all shouted in approval. 

Hinano, with a wide smile, translated what he had said as, “I so happy. You brother now”.

It took me an embarrassing long time to understand that I had been paid quite an honour but before I would have insulted the chief, I stuck out my hand in the most appropriate gesture I could think of. He shook my hand and I swear I could have heard the crowd gasp as he did. 

Hinano explained, “taboo touch king”.

She had used the word, king, for her father before and I assumed that it was just her poor understanding of English but, I began to see the reverence they had for him. What was even more interesting was the concept of “taboo” and that these savages had some bizarre sense of values. I thought that they just did what they pleased with no sense of right or wrong. My mind reeled as I considered what they would consider as ethics. With just the local population in the thousands, they must have rules. For the first time, a revelation struck me that different may not be inferior. Certainly, they were primitives and pagans but, hundreds of years ago, so were my ancestors.

For the rest of the night, I observed and tried to understand these people. They were congregated into three distinct groups that were too large to be families but appeared to be divided by wealth or social status. The differences in the way they dressed, their jewellery and even their unusual tradition of marking their skin all represented a type of social hierarchy. They were subtle differences but I had been taught since childhood to recognize and to classify.

The festivities broke up slowly as men and women paired off and discretely left. Eventually, Hinano escorted me to a one of their huts. I watched her hips sway as I followed her and was reminded of the dancing, the naked breasts and the pounding drums. If this were to be incest with my new sister, then let me be damned. Inside, there were a over a dozen grass mats used as beds and they were full. The men slept on one side of the room and the women and children on the other. I tried to return her smile as I felt my heart drop.

May 27, 1769

I divided the crew into two groups. One group to build a barrier around the barracks. The barrier would consist of a four foot ditch and a four foot burm, reinforced by stones. Perhaps it was more of a token than a fortress but it was more than necessary. The other group continued building more barracks but I ordered them to build them elevated of the ground, like the natives. I have become more involved in the fort but still made time to teach Hinano English

Actually, I was spending more of the time learning about her and her people. I learned of an ordered society and a religion that reminded me of Roman mythology. I learned the names of the their carved statues which they called “tiki”. The families were centred around the mothers and grandmothers and they were the real power. There were marriages arranged by the parents and infidelity would be the exception rather than the rule. Jealousy was one of their taboos and discretion was highly valued. That, I learned all too well.

Every night, I would sneak into her hut and make love so quietly that the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore seemed loud. Her moans were barely more that breaths while we ravished each other like an octopus on a clam. Every morning, before anyone else had awoke, I would return to my own bed. I protested this false modesty but she insisted on our privacy. It struck me that if she was unfaithful with anyone else, I probably would not know of it. I never gave her the opportunity. During the day, I watched over her and protected her. Almost all of the men had their own girlfriends but none compared to the prize of my princess. In particular, I kept my eye on Mr. Banks and hadn’t forgotten that other day.

June 6, 1769

I can’t remember a time when I have been more content. The warmth of the tropic sun has penetrated deep into me and, in turn, radiates from me. I feel healed and whole and I see the world in a new light. It will be difficult to leave this place. There are moments that I feel I must tell her but they are followed by moments that I know she shouldn’t know. I have my orders and there should be no doubt but, when I look into her eyes, the truth is a shadow between us. 

June 15, 1769

The quiet peace of those days came to an abrupt end with the sound of gunfire. At first, I thought, that the natives were attacking and ordered the men behind the barricade. We waited with guns at the ready for the wave of angry natives but they did not come. Two of the men were unaccounted for as were two gunshots. Eventually, Mr Banks came stumbling through the woods. He was bloodied and wavering and, soon, fell on his face. This could have been was a trap set by the natives so we waited. When the sun went down, I led half of the men to retrieve his body. We turned him over and he was still breathing. He stunk of that noxious native alcohol and his wound was just a scratch on his shoulder. 

“Banks, Where’s Monkhouse?”, I asked.

“Dead”, he slurred, “I killed him”.

“Where!” I barked impatiently.

He merely pointed before his eyes rolled back . I had three of the crew follow me back into the woods. We found Mr. Monkhouse lying on the ground, unconscious and with a quite a bump on his noggin. He had the same stench of fermented fruit. A few shakes and a couple slaps, which helped me more than him, brought him around. He was a bit more coherent than Mr. Banks and he told me that they had a gentlemen’s duel over one of the native girls.

What nonsense. The girls give their affection freely, if somewhat quietly and there was a lot more of them than there was of us. Still, I might have done the same for Hinano, particularly with Mr. Banks. 

June 16, 1769

I gathered the men to talk of yesterday’s events. I told them that it was completely unnecessary.

“After all”, I concluded, “We are only here for one more month”.

The only good side of this is that Hinano had left for her village and did not witness this humiliation. She returned with news of another feast. I was torn about allowing the crew to attend. Would it be better to confine them from temptation and force them to fester with their obsessions or should they have another taste of native inhibitions? They had been infected by affection and their judgement had been compromised but, perhaps, the cure is the same as the disease. Then again, we could always go back to drinking vinegar. 

June 18, 1769

This time, I led the men back to the village in what came to look like a parade. I had the men dress in their best and armed. We entered the village in proper a military line and the natives came to watch. We may have looked threatening from a distance but our smiles gave us away. Our arrival was timely and I kept the men together for the hour until the festivities. Their girlfriends tried to pull them away but there will be plenty of time for that later. We sat as a group on the right side of the chief and I think he was impressed by my authority over them. He took pride in the way a father would.

As before, the food and drink were abundant and the more formal dancers were a prologue for the raunchier proceedings as the sun went down. With Hinano translating, the chief asked about England and I watched both their eyes grow wide as I attempted to describe London. I talked of buildings taller than trees and wider than this entire village. I mentioned bridges and paved roads and drew a picture of a horse in the sand. It was difficult to describe how many people lived there in numbers that were beyond their comprehension but they were shocked as they began to understand. Hinano had an interesting question that I did not have an answer for. She asked if a single life is less important when there are so many.