A/N:I just couldn't help it. Magi is like my thing right now. I was planning on writing one after I did the chapters of my current stories but oh well. We get this instead. It's mostly a random OC in the Magi universe and doesn't feature main characters. It occurs during Sinbad no Bouken's time frame, and contains spoilers (of sorts) of the manga. Enjoy!

She was tired.

So, so tired.

She honestly had no idea how she had got to the strange place, or how she had even allowed herself to get captured in the first place. She groggily opened her eyes and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the heck she was. However, the moment her eyes adjusted to the light, she knew she wasn't anywhere near Heliohapt anymore considering the lush greenery and the cobblestone roads. She also realized that her arms and feet were bound by chains, which wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling. She squirmed around, trying to get comfortable on the hard surface that she rested on. A cell, if the bars were any clue.

Finally deciding enough was enough, she removed her face from where it was firmly pressed into the bars and looked around. There were a few other children but it wasn't that packed. From the limited information she had about slaves, she was sure that it would have been filled to the point it was uncomfortable. It was actually not as bad as expected other than the fact that a blue haired boy was pressed against her side since the cage wasn't very big.

The other people in the cage quickly drew her attention. There was the blue haired kid who despite being bigger than her, was curled in on himself, crying like a small child. A few girls with hair of varying shades of orange were huddled together, utterly silent and right next to a sleeping boy with caramel skin that made him look like he could have been from Heliohapt if it wasn't for the mocha brown hair which was nothing like Heliohapt's native hair that as usually white or an incredibly light blonde. Separated from the rest of the children, and tied down with more chains that had heavy weights on them, were two identical boys. Their bright red hair and matching eyes startled her at first but afterwards, she ignored it and instead looked at the way one of them tried to hammer on the other one's dented restraints, even though he struggled to even move his arm with the weights that locked him in place.

She gazed out the bars again to see her surroundings. They were entering an underground pathway and she bounced every time the carriage hit a bump. It was now dark and humid, making her feel like the air was sticking to her skin. She shifted around, causing the boy who was next to her to jolt. Golden eyes darted to her as his sobs stopped abruptly and turned into quiet hiccups. They stared at each other for a while before she averted her gaze. Something about his cat-like eyes unnerved her, she didn't like it.

She was uncomfortable.

So, so uncomfortable.

"Oi, all of you!" How could she not have been focusing. Instead of staring at the other occupants, she should have focused on her surroundings. They've reached their destination and she still has no idea where they could even possibly be. "Get out of there."

As the girls and the boy with blue hair complied with the men, she was so happy she was on the far right corner so she had a little more time to prepare herself. One fair-haired man with a ponytail came and grabbed the sleeping boy and dragged him out of the cage before moving over to grab the red haired boys. Immediately, the boy who hadn't just been wasting energy trying to break the chains snarled at him. The man sneered at him before raising a whip. The other boy also hissed angrily at this but with less energy. He probably wasted it all when he was punching the chains.

"Who do you think you are?!" He brought the whip down but was stopped by a slender hand. He turned and paled at the sight of a woman with long hair and a terrifying smile. "Maader!"

"Fatima. You know better than to hurt them, since these ones are rare nowadays. Especially those two." Fatima nodded meekly before gesturing at the boys.

"But they refuse to exit the cart." Maader sighed, as if disappointed in Fatima's words.

"They have restraints on, they won't be a problem." Suddenly, the woman seemed to noticed her as Fatima managed to somehow drag the other children, kicking and biting, out of the cage. "Oh, you missed one. Come here little one."

She was hesitant but seeing how the others would have been treated when they disobeyed, she moved over and got out of the cage.

She was scared.

So, so scared.

"That's all of the ones from the special places. The rest are coming later." The driver of the carriage said before departing the way he came. She gazed around and gasped. So many children were in cages and the like around the room. It was almost frightening to see how afraid and sad they looked.

"Very good. I see we have gotten quite a few! There's children from Imuchakk, Atrixa, Heliohapt, Naybeth and even two Fanalis. Twins, maybe? They will sell well once they become more obedient. How did we even get all of them?"

"Well apparently, a man found the Imuchakk brat lying on a block of ice, injured and unconscious so he took him in. He sent the..." She didn't to the rest of what the teenage boy said while he was pulling out a vial of familiar green liquid and forcing the two red haired boys to drink it. It only took her a few seconds to realize it was a local medicine from her home. 'How did they get that?' After a short struggle, the boys' movements got slower and heavier until they eventually fell asleep. "We found the Fanalis and Heliohaptian kids. They were in the dark continent, looking for the Torrans again, when they found this little girl..."

She had not been listening to most of the conversation but had perked up when they began talking about her. Before she could finish listening to what they said about her, she was grabbed roughly and tugged along.

Cold.

It was so, so cold.

She hugged herself tightly, trying to lock in all the warmth that she could. The water swirled around her feet as she slid down the wall, curling into a small ball. Tears had already began to pool as she got colder and colder.

She didn't even understand why she had been locked in here. She had known better than to disobey when she knew that these people wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, seeing as she was just a mere slave. She knew better than to trust them either so the moment she had heard the order, she followed the instruction with a fake smile before bolting. However, this seemed to anger Maader and she had been sent to be punished.

Of course, at first she didn't really mind being in solitude. In fact, she enjoyed the quiet time so she could relax and try to remember what exactly happened for her to get into this situation.

She hadn't been able to trace much before she noticed water being poured into the room. Her mind had raced at the thought of them drowning her and she was immediately terrified. But then, the water had reached almost knee deep before it was cut off. She was about to sigh in relief before she suddenly remembered the medical knowledge that had been drilled into her since she was tiny.

'The water is going to sap my heat away.' She knew and thus, she was filled with even more terror than before because she knew how bad this was. It wasn't going to be like drowning at all. It was going to be a slow, painful death by lowering her body temperature until she wouldn't be able to function. THis scared her more than she could imagine.

She had pounded on the door, screamed as loud as she could, apologized, pleaded. But still, they refused to open the door.

Now here she was, sitting in the cold water, trying pathetically to warm herself up by moving body and keeping her head above the surface. She was still muttering apologies but not to have them forgive her anymore. Instead, it was so that she could keep her lips warm and possibly stop her teeth chattering. Her eyelids drooped and she began to sway. 'Why would they torture me?' She thought. 'I did nothing wrong.' She assured herself. ' What have I done to deserve this?' She didn't know. But she did know one thing.

She knew she wouldn't make it and it broke her.

And that was when her saviour came. Like a light in a never-ending darkness. Like an oasis in a desert.

Arms reached out to lift her out of her watery prison. She was covered in the warmest robes as she was seated in front of the fire in a woman's lap.

It was warm.

So, so warm.

She nuzzled into the arms of her hero as they embraced her, encasing her in the wings of an angel. She was babbling senselessly but the owner of the warmth didn't seem to mind in the slightest. The tears wouldn't stop flowing down her cheeks.

"Don't cry. Mother's here with you." The voice said and she melted at the sound feeling the heat of fingers brushing away her tears. It was filled with affection. With warmth. With... love. She gazed up into bright green eyes, reaching out to touch the woman's long white locks before retracting her hand to keep it in the warm blankets.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you." She kept thanking the woman, clinging to her like a lifeline. A part of her mind said she was being pathetic. Another part said she was being an idiot. But in the warmth, the loving warmth, she didn't even care.

"You don't have to be scare. You're safe with me." The love in her voice was so gentle but definitely there. It cradled her, embraced her. She felt the longing of a mother, yet and the same time, a dull ache in her chest. 'It's a lot like my mother's voice,' she mused, closing her eyes. 'Even though she never spoke to me like that.'

.

And that thought was enough to snap her out of her daze as she opened her eyes again. Those eyes weren't green, but a pale blue colour with dark sclera. The hairs on her head weren't her mother's straight white tresses but dark, purple curls. Her skin wasn't a scarred brown like the Heliohapt woman. Instead, it was doll-like and pale.

So, so pale.

This wasn't Miu Afrikaisi. This was Maader, a slave trader, and she had to get out of here before she fell under Maader's spell and never woke again. This woman was frightening. The woman had been yelling and even slapped the child away but now, Maader was acting as if she treasured her more than anything. She wasn't genuine. She was as fake as her smile looked.

"Tell me your name." Maader asked and briefly, she wondered how the woman was so stupid. How would you expect a child to believe you were their mother when you don't even know their name? Well, the sudden affection after torture did numb her mind to the fact this wasn't her real mother. Her mid was right, she was being stupid. She was tempted to spit at her or flee but, she didn't. Instead she smiled and continued to wrap herself up. She had no idea how to get out of here so she had to act for now. There was only so little a ten year old could do so, she had to wait and it wasn't too hard to get comfortable in the fluffy cloth. Her voice was barely over a whisper as she gave her name, averting her eyes so that Maader wouldn't see the resentment in them.

"Emuishere Afrikaisi."

A/N: What am I even doing? I was writing chapter 17 of Phoenix Wing, I swear. But then, I read the next chapter of Magi: Sinbad no Bouken and next thing I know, I just had to write something for it. So, I probably won't write more for this but I just had to get this idea out. I can't believe I wrote a whole chapter without saying the character's name until the end! XD