- Prompt - Keime / Silvers Rayleigh / insomnia -
It was cold and dark in the holding cell. Full of strangers too, most were innocents, those who crossed the wrong person or couldn't afford to repay debts. but some were criminals, thieves and murders, pirates, some of which had even made a name for themselves before being sold into slavery.
This place was the human auction.
There, sitting on one of the crates lining the wall was a young mermaid, heavy restraints firmly secured around her writs and neck. The light pink scales that covered her tail reflected the small amount of light that emanated from the single lamp the room contained, making patterns on the walls and ceiling.
Her shoulder length hair hid her eyes as she sobbed quietly; she had long since run out of tears.
The old man that sat next to the girl, watched her through round spectacles. He had been keeping an eye on her for a long while and he wasn't the only one, mermaids were a rare sight even in the human markets.
Every sob she mad stabbed into him like a knife, he hated seeing children like this.
Eventually he spoke, trying to calm her.
"It's been many years since I've laid eyes on one such as yourself." He told her quietly. She fell silent the moment the words left his lips.
"You're a very petty girl, you shouldn't cry like that." He reached out and brushed her hair out of her face, the poor girl seemed terrified of him. She was afraid that if she were to speak he would hit her, like that slave traders did. She man saw the fear in her eyes.
"Don't be scared of me girl, I'm not going to harm you. I'm just trying to make your time here a little more tolerable." She seemed to relax slightly and the fear faded a little but she was still weary of the strange man.
"You should try to get some sleep, girl, you will have a long day tomorrow." He took out a flask of the sash around his waist and unscrewed the lid. The girl glanced to the side and watched the old man drink.
"I can't sleep." She whispered, still afraid that if she spoke louder something bad would happen. "I'm too scared." One of her hands came up to cover the ugly bruise on her cheek. The man sighed heavily at the site.
"I apologise for not stopping him sooner, I didn't know he was going to hit you like that." She looked up at the man, taking in the details of his face for the first time. He seemed strangle familiar to her.
"You were the one that stopped him?" the man nodded.
"I only regret I didn't do it sooner." He offered her the flask with a sad smile. The girl reached out to take it before stopping.
"Is … Is it alcohol?" the asked timidly.
"Indeed it is." The man watched the subtle movements of her scales, his mind locked in memories of better times.
"I'm sorry, Hacchin tells me not to drink alcohol." He nodded in acceptance and put the flask away.
After a time of silence the young mermaid spoke again.
"You said you'd see a mermaid before." he nodded.
"I've seen more then one. I used to travel the world on a pirate ship before my captain got executed and I retired." The girl suddenly looked away
"I'm sorry." He could barely hear the whispered words.
"Don't be, I'm not. That was a long time ago." Silence descended upon the pair.
"I'm Keime, what's your name?" The old man smiled.
"Nice to meat you Keime, you can call me Ray." He could see the fatigue finally setting in on the girl.
"That name sounds filmier." She said thoughtfully, rubbing her eyes.
Rayleigh took out the flask and for the second time offered it to Keime.
"Here, drink some, it will help you sleep." She took the flask and looked up at him.
"Are you sure It's ok?" The old man nodded.
Keime unscrewed the lid, took a large gulp and choked it down.
"This stuff tastes bad and it burns my throat." The girl complained, pulling a face.
Rayleigh couldn't help but chuckle.
"It does doesn't it? It may taste bad but it does its job." For some reason Keime felt as though she could trust the man completely.
"O- Ok." She whispered before taking another gulp from the flask. The girl screwed the top back on and handed it back the owner.
"My head's getting all spinney." She mumbled.
"That means its working, get some sleep, I'll protect you." The man said quietly.
"Don't you need to sleep too?" Keime asked as she made herself as comfortable as she could on the crate she was laying on.
"I wont be able to sleep even if I wanted too." He seemed to be looking off into the distance, far beyond the expanses of the walls.
"Goodnight Ray-san." She said quiet. After less then a minute the girl's breathing slowed and she drifted off to sleep. Rayleigh let himself smile at the site and marled at how something so innocent could get herself in such a situation.
He noticed the sleeping girl shiver in the cold so he unclipped his cape and lay it over her slender frame.
"Nice girl you've found there Hachi. Look after her." Rayleigh started to unscrew the cap of his flask but stopped. He lifted it to his ear and shook it, he could hear the small amount of liquid slosh around in the container. He pulled a face and looked down at the girl again.
"She's one hell of a drinker too." He mumbled before draining the flask.
~end~
A/N i was bored and i got a rather good prompt with Yaminoyume's random pairing generator (i would link it but its not on the net anymore)