Wait. All she could do was wait. Each minute passed at an agonizingly slow rate. Everything seemed to go at a crawl. With time going so slow, it was also going too fast. She shifted her position, causing the chains covering her to clang together, breaking her personal silence. Her breaths seemed to become strained, piquing the curiosity of her neighbors. She was so weak and pitiful. Vulnerable even. She bit her lip to restrain her quivering breaths.
Someone came into the large room to inform the guards of his order.
"Prepare number 13.", he said quietly, but not quietly enough.
The one to the girl's left began to panic. He pushed his back to the wall behind him in futile attempts to escape the two guards approaching him. He began to shriek as the pair got within arms length from him. They grabbed the man with great force and dragged him, kicking and screaming, out of the cage. He was soon silenced with a gag and whipped until he stopped struggling. He was then led to the door leading to the stage.
The girl tensed at sudden realization. Her heart sped up and she produced a few beads of sweat. She was next. She was about to be sold to a stranger who would do whatever they wanted with her. Nothing could comfort her now. Panic manifested her thoughts. Despair filled her expression. She bowed her head, letting her black hair fall off of her shoulders.
Applause was heard coming from the stage, signalling the end of the current bid. The same man came in to inform the guards.
"Prepare number 14.", he ordered.
The girl began to shake involuntarily. The guards came at her with grins plastered on their lips. She closed her eyes, trying to avoid the threat of tears in them. She didn't want to do it again. Not again. Years of slavery flooded her memories again. She was then guided out of the cage and soon to the backstage area. A woman came up to her and quickly combed her hair and wiped away any stray tears she had shed. She felt a tug on her chains, pulling her towards the bright stage. She took a quick sniffle and followed the guards.
Blinding lights met her green eyes, dilating them suddenly.
"Next up! We have number 14! She's 23 years old and very healthy! Her bright green eyes can enchant you if you look too long. She's known to be loyal and very obedient. Not only is she a beauty, but she is also a devil fruit user! A strong Paramecia type that allows her to control her blood as well as others! She is slightly used from her old owner but nevertheless she is a fantastic musician! Her name is Desarae and her starting bid will be 200,000 Beli!", the announcer boomed to the interested audience.
Voices chatted amongst each other, intrigued by her. She bit her lip to avoid speaking out. She fidgeted in her spot, feeling the sea stone chains still tightly around her. The feeling of them pressed against her deep gashes made her cringe silently. Her weakened state prevented her from helping her oozing wounds that spotted her back.
Soon enough, the bids began. There were more than she had expected. They were bidding over each other, raising the price slowly. It seemed as though none of them wanted to pay too much for the girl.
The price had raised to about 550,000 Beli. No one else seemed to try and go higher. The man with the current highest bid seemed to be relieved.
"700,000!", someone shouted.
Heads turned in the direction of the voice. Desarae as well wanted to know who would pay such a high price for her. She couldn't see the face of the man but she saw the small number plate being held up.
Everyone muttered to each other, curious as to why he would offer so much. The former highest bidder seemed frozen and defeated.
"Anyone going to go higher than 700,000? Going once!", the auctioneer announced. "Going twice? Sold! To number 42!", he said, slamming down a hammer to the small podium.
Desarae felt a pull on her chains, instructing her to move off of the stage to the 'sold' room. Various other slaves that were previously auctioned sat in the cage as well. Some seemed to be praying, others were panicking. Desarae kept her lips sealed as she was chained to her spot.
Waiting. Here it was again. This time she could only wait to slave over the highest bidder until she herself or her new master died. Her mind could not keep silent however. Her thoughts ran around the idea that someone had spent so much on her. This was her third time being sold and never had she sold for so much. She had both fears and hopes about her buyer. Maybe he wanted her for manipulative reasons. Maybe he only wanted her for occasional music. She had no idea and had no choice but to wait.
The auction came to a close soon enough, meaning that the sold slaves would be given to their new masters. Desarae swallowed hard, seeing the slaves go one by one, closer and closer to her.
"Number 14!", the collector called to the guards.
Her heart jumped in fear. She didn't want to do this again. She didn't want to be used. Despite her silent wishes, the guards pulled her chains and dragged her toward the room where she would be taken. She kept her head down and shielded her eyes that had tears threatening to spill. Desarae took a deep breath as the light changed, meaning she had entered the room.
"700,000 Beli and she's all yours!", the collector said in an evidently fake pleasant tone.
The sound of a bag of money hit the desk beside her. The guards handed the chains to two men that must have been with the buyer. She still avoided eye contact but managed to notice that the chains were given to two men in white overalls with brown boots. The pair began to walk forward, ushering Desarae not too far behind them.
As she was led outside, she watched the grass that she walked on, seeing the occasional bubble arise from the ground. She liked to think of the ground of the Archipelago as a symbol of perseverance. People walked over the ground everyday, all day, but bubbles still rose to freedom in the sky. It didn't make sense to some, but the sheer thought of it made the corner of her mouth twitch into a weak smile.
Her small trance was broken by the change from grass under her feet, to a hollow dock, as she presumed by the sound of boots against it. The men escorting her had stopped, as did she in response. Another pair of boots, hidden under blue jeans with peculiar spots met the top of her lowered vision.
"Your name?", a deep voice asked.
The voice was the same that called out the large price for her. The only difference is that it wasn't a shout, it was a calm toned question. His voice soothed her some. The depth of it. The smooth serene way it was said.
"I believe you already know that, M-", she began, with a quiet tone.
"I asked you. What is your name?", he emphasized.
"Desarae, Master.", she responded weakly.
The man let out a sigh. The sound of a sword being unsheathed met her ears. She tensed as a glare of metal flashed by her vision for a mere second. She felt something different and looked down at her body.
Her chains were cut and laid on the ground around her feet. Her slave collar joined the metal links on the dock.
"I'll set two things straight. One, you aren't a slave anymore, you're going to be a part of my crew, not a human we use."
"Your crew…?", she asked, confusion filling her thoughts.
"And two, don't call me 'Master', 'Captain' will do just fine.", he finished. "Any questions?"
She gave a small nod, not finding words to say as millions of questions ran through her mind.
"I'm...not a slave?", she muttered, lifting her head slightly.
Her sight got up to the man's stomach. A yellow and black hoodie was spotted. One hand in his pocket, the other holding the previously used sword. Tanned hands were also covered in various tattoos. Letters on his knuckles, and odd symbols on his hands and forearms.
"Not anymore, you're a pirate now.", he responded plainly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Pirate…", she repeated, feeling the word on her tongue.
"Or you don't have to be. You're free now. You can choose to either go free and try to live a life on your own, or come with us and become a pirate. It's up to you, I won't stop you either way."
This made her finally look up at the man, befuddled by his words. She had a choice? Never had she ever been given the opportunity to do such a thing.
She studied his face to try and read him. His skin was the same tanned tone as his arms. His sideburns and goatee were jet black. Pairs of gold hoops decorated the bottoms of his ears. A bright white hat with spots that were similar to the ones that danced across his pants did the same on the bottom of the rim and just above that. His eyes were half-lidded and tired, but still pierced her being. Those cloudy gray eyes were just waiting for her to make a move.
Unfortunately, she gained no upper hand to what he could possibly be thinking. Was this a test of her loyalty? Was he planning to kill her if she chose against him? Or was he genuinely giving her a choice?
She looked down at her feet again, thinking of every scenario of both options. Being a pirate with them sounded fun. Living with others that she would learn to trust, seeing the world and all it has to offer. But pirates were criminals and brutal in every sense of the word. Danger would come around every corner. But if it was protecting people she could trust, would she mind?
Desarae looked at the man again, then down at her hand. She stood up straight and took a deep, slow breath.
"May I ask the name of my new captain?", she said calmly.
The man's straight lips slightly curved to a smile, revealing a small glint of teeth.
"My name is Trafalgar Law. Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Desarae."
She emitted a small smile. That was the first genuine smile caused by another person in a very long time.
Laughs and cheers sounded beside her. She turned her head to see the men that must have been holding her chains.
"What're you two howling about, Shachi, Penguin?", Law asked the two.
"We finally got a girl on the crew!", the one she presumed was Penguin by the word on his hat cheered.
"Captain must have a soft spot for you or something.", Shachi laughed, raising his palm.
Shachi, in the midst of his laughter, patted the girl on her back with a firm hand. She yelped in pain suddenly, feeling him hit her swollen bruises and various gashes. The pair jumped a bit at her shriek.
"Oi Shachi! Don't hit a girl so hard! They're fragile!", Penguin scolded.
"No, I don't think it was him.", Law said, stepping closer to Desarae. "You're injured, aren't you?"
She took a small step away from him, not used to being too close to people, before giving a small nod.
"It's not too bad though, just some bruises and gashes.", she said quietly.
"Gashes?!", Penguin and Shachi yelled in shock.
"Lift up the back of your shirt.", Law ordered, gently turning her away from the two by her shoulders. "Shachi, Penguin, turn away."
The pair obeyed with small pouts, turning their backs to their new crew member. Desarae hesitantly pulled up the back of her worn shirt, still covering as much of her front as she could.
She could almost feel him observing her wounds. She imagined his eyes flickering from scars to bruises to gashes. Those piercing cloudy eyes.
"You're bleeding quite a lot, I'm surprised you don't seem faint.", he commented quietly.
"I can stop the bleeding.", she said, raising a hand over her shoulder.
Her hand rose up slowly, corresponding with the trails of blood rising back into the wounds. She then clinched her hand into a fist, making the oozing gashes turn to solid scabs.
"Fascinating.", Trafalgar said, rubbing his goatee in thought. "So that's the blood Paramecia they mentioned."
"Yes, it comes in handy now and then.", she said.
"Nonetheless, when we get back to the sub, I'll have Bepo stitch them up properly."
"Aww! Why does Bepo get to do that?" Penguin and Shachi asked in unison.
"Because he, unlike you two, won't be driven by physical attraction to do anything else.", he responded.
"Then, Captain, why don't you-", Penguin began.
"The sub is surfacing.", Law interrupted.
Not far off from the dock, a bright yellow vessel surfaced, bearing the same symbol that the captain wore on his hoodie. It soon made its way closer to the dock, bobbing along the waves.
"Welcome to your new home.", Law said, a small smile on his face.
The door on the deck opened with a figure running out. Desarae blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. It was a snow white bear in an orange overall and boots, similar to those Shachi and Penguin wore.
"Who are you?", the bear said in a low calm voice.
Her mouth gaped slightly. Not only was it a bear standing upright, he talked too. Her captain delicately tapped the bottom of her chin, telling her to close it, before he spoke.
"This is Desarae. I bought her and now she's a part of our crew.", he explained in place of the astonished girl.
"Bought her? So she's a slave?", the bear asked, tilting his head at her.
"She was, now she's a pirate with us."
"I see. Wait..aren't slaves expensive?!", he asked, his voice becoming louder and more pitched.
"I guess. She was 700,000 Beli so-", Law stated, a bit too casually.
"You mean over half of our budget for this island?!", the bear said in a distressed tone.
"Don't worry, Bepo, I'll take full responsibility for her. But I do need you to do me a favor."
"Huh? What is it?", Bepo asked in a calm tone again, his ears perking up slightly.
"Desarae has some gashes in her back and I need you to stitch her up and bandage her up, can you do that?"
"Aye aye, Captain!", he said with a salute.
Bepo pulled out a plank to connect the dock to the deck, allowing the four to get on. Bepo held the metal door open as they entered the submarine. Law led the way with Desarae slightly hiding behind him.
Various other crew members, whom were working on the ship, noticed Desarae and watched her intently. They tried to look her in the eye but she simply looked down at her captain's feet in front of her. The dim lit hallway connected to a brightly lit room, where her captain's steps stopped.
She raised her head and observed the room. It was a fairly large room, assorted types of medical equipment were scattered along the edges of the room. Monitors stood at the sides as well, silent in their unused states.
"Sit over there.", Law commanded, pointing a finger with a 'T' on it, in the direction of the single bed.
She gave a small nod and shuffled over to the pure white support. She sat on it gently, feeling the plush surface under her. Her fingers slid across the sheets and the blanket, savoring the softness.
Law walked in front of her and squatted to meet her lowered eyes. Her daze broke to meet his eyes.
"Y-yes?", she said, telling him that he had her attention.
"Bepo is going to tend to your gashes. I'm going to back with some clean clothes for you, understood?", he explained.
"Yes, Captain.", she said with a nod.
He nodded back before standing back up and leaving the room. She watched the metal door as it closed behind him. She shifted a bit in her spot, making her realize that he made her feel much more comfortable.
"Um, could you please remove your shirt and move your hair?", Bepo asked quietly.
Desarae looked back at him and noticed his small tray in his hands. It held a needle, black thread, a roll of bandages, and a few cotton balls.
She soon gave a small nod before obliging to his requests. She rested her elbows on her thighs, moving her hair over her the front of her shoulders. Bepo emitted a small noise of confusion, making her look back at him.
"Your gashes have scabbed over."
"Hm? Oh yeah, I did that to stop the bleeding, hold on.", she said.
She raised her hand over shoulder again in a fist, slowly opening her hand. The scabs appeared glossy as the hardened blood became loosened again.
"Strange power.", Bepo stated, fairly calmly.
She turned her head away again to let him begin his work. Desarae closed her eyes and focused on trying figure out what he was doing. She also focused on her breathing, helping her to calm down in the foreign situation.
"How did you get these?", Bepo asked curiously.
She tensed up slightly at the question.
"When...my last master died, his sister blamed me, simply because it was a major blood clot. She decided to 'teach me a lesson' before I was to be sold again. That lesson included a whip…", she trailed off.
"Death by blood clots are kinda rare. If they knew that then they would have no right to accuse you.", Bepo commented.
"As well as I was in sea stone chains when it happened, so how could I have done it?", she said quietly.
"Rich people aren't very smart, are they?", he said.
Desarae let out a small giggle at his words. It was cut short by pain poking in her back. She flinched slightly and bit her lip.
"I'm sorry, I should've warned you.", he said in a depressed tone.
"No no, it's alright! I should've been paying attention.", she reassured, not wanting him to be sad.
He returned to his stitching, sewing each wound closed with absolute diligence. When he finished, he wiped down her back to rid it of stray dried blood. He then wrapped the bandages around her torso, covering her back as well as her front.
"Finished.", Bepo said finally.
She let out a small sigh of relief and relaxed her muscles.
"Thank you, Bepo.", she said calmly with a small smile.
"Bepo.", a voice said from the door. "I'm coming in."
The heavy door creaked open to reveal the captain with clothes in his arms. He threw them towards Desarae.
"Those are the smallest clothes I could find. They'll have to work for now, until we can get more money. Since you're injured, you'll sleep in here for a little while.", he informed. "Hurry and get dressed so I can introduce you to the crew.", he said, pointing to the corner of the room with a curtain.
She simply nodded and shuffled over to the closed off area. The clothes consisted of a black A-shirt, that hung somewhat loosely on her, and baggy gray pants that luckily managed to rest on her hips. She still lacked shoes, as she did before.
Desarae peeked from behind the curtain before stepping out in front of the two.
"Good, they'll work.", he said before walking over to an odd looking pipe at the side of the room. "All crew members report to the deck for an announcement, I repeat. All crew members report to the deck."
Law began walking down the hall, waving his finger to beckon the two to follow him. She hurried and stayed close behind him as he led them back to the deck. Her eyes trying to focus on where they were going this time, so she could find her way back.
They came to a door where the light of the sun was peeking through. They passed through it and came to the familiar yellow deck.
Law held out the sword that he so commonly held, placing it into Bepo's hands. He then walked to the end of the deck and watched the Heart Pirates file in, giving various different glances to the unknown girl. Desarae shifted in her spot, moving her wandering gaze securely to her feet.
She risked a quick glance to her Captain. He was standing fairly close to her, she noticed. As a slave, she was cautious, if not scared, of being this close to someone; however, he had a calming effect on her with the minimal distance. She looked back up too see that many men in familiar white overalls were standing together, murmuring among each other.
"What's the announcement, Captain?", one of them asked.
"Who's the little beauty?", another asked with a flirtatious tone.
Desarae couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the second question. She stood a bit over 5'8", so it wasn't to common for her to be called 'little'. Although, surrounded by men around 6 feet tall, she supposed that the comment was relevant.
"The answers are one in the same. Listen up!", Law said sternly, snapping the others into attention. "Her name is Desarae. I recruited her, and as you can imply, she is now one of your crewmates. I expect you to treat her with respect. Treat her just as you do with each other, despite her sex. That being said, if any of you are forward with her in any way that even makes me think she's uncomfortable, I will personally castrate you in a more tortuous way than you imagine."
All of them physically cringed at his last sentence. Desarae's eyes widened a bit, looking to him. That seemed awfully protective of someone he'd only known for maybe an hour or so.
"That's all I think I'll need to say about that. Anything you'd like to say?", he said, looking to the girl beside him.
She flinched a bit as she felt all of the eyes shift to her. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.
"I look forward to knowing each of you. I apologize if I'm a bit shy off the bat, but I will warm up to all of this eventually. I'm happy I get to have this opportunity.", she said quickly, bowing her head slightly.
She heard her captain emit a small laugh before he spoke.
"As you all were.", he said with a small wave, dismissing the group.
They all relaxed a little and made small talk with others as they filtered back into the sub. Bepo handed Law back his sword.
"Um, Captain?", she called quietly, catching his attention. "What should I do now?"
"That should be obvious. Go back to your room and rest so you can heal. Do you remember your way back?", he asked plainly.
Her gaze faltered and she made a slight face along the lines of a so-so response.
"I figured. Follow me and try to pay attention this time.", he said before walking.
She paused for a moment, just watching him as he walked. She quickly snapped out of her slight daze, noticing he was more than a few feet away from her.
Desarae shuffled hurriedly, trying to catch up to him. Her hand subconsciously reached out and lightly pinched the sleeve of his hoodie as she caught up. She yelped quietly as she released her delicate grip. He looked back at her with a small look of confusion. She silently hoped that he didn't see her grab his sleeve.
She did as asked and memorized how to get back to her room. When they arrived, she timidly sat on the bed, criss-crossing her legs comfortably. She found it to be the best option, since she couldn't comfortably lay on her back.
"I'll be right back. I don't think you're planning on going anywhere though.", Law said before leaving the room again.
Her eyes met Bepo who stayed in the room. She tilted her head slightly because he was just watching her. He soon began to walk over to her and pull out something from his pocket.
"What's that?", she asked, cautious of what it could possibly be.
"A tape measure. Can I have your foot?", he said as if it was obvious.
She nodded as he knelt down, holding out one of his hands. She uncrossed her legs and gently put her foot in his paw. The bear began to wrap the measure around it and along its lengths.
"May I ask why you're measuring my foot?"
"You need shoes. None of the ones we have would work for you."
Desarae gave a silent nod, despite that he wasn't looking at her.
"Desarae~!", two voices sang.
She looked over to see Penguin, Shachi, and Law standing at the door with many things in hand.
"We brought you some food and water.", Shachi said, setting a plate of rice balls on the small table next to the bed.
Penguin followed suit by setting a large mug of water near the plate.
"Thank you, you two.", she said happily to the beaming pair.
"Anytime~", they both said merrily as they left the room.
"Do you like to read?", Law asked.
Her attention snapped to him. She noticed a small group of books under one of his arms. She gave a gentle nod.
"Good. That'll give you something to do while you're healing.", he said, dropping the books on the side table.
"Am I not supposed to do anything while I'm healing?"
"As for right now, no. We have to do a few things on this island before we go. When we do, I'll tell you what you should do and all. Also, if you work too hard, Bepo's stitches will open, which would make them pointless, and you won't heal."
"I see.", she said simply.
"Today's probably been one hell of a day, so rest.", Law said, turning to leave again.
"C-captain!", she stuttered.
Law looked back, seeing something that made his eyes widen. She was bowing. Not just a simple arch of her back. She was on her knees, her hands pressed to the ground, and her head lowered.
"Thank you! For all of this", she said shyly, but with a bold tone.
Words sounded caught in his throat. He quickly cleared it and turned back around to face the door.
"G-get some rest.", he said before nearly rushing out of the room.
She raised her head as soon as Bepo left as well. She looked at the door with a slightly confused glance, as if it could give her answers.
Desarae shrugged to herself and sat back on the bed. She picked up one of the rice balls left for her and smiled at it before biting into it.
'One hell of a day, indeed.', she thought.