Absently, orange eyes stared through the bars of her cell. Bound to the wall, collared like a dog, she could just barely feel her legs and the brand that marked her less than human which singed her back.
She cursed herself for being so careless, staring ruefully at her dark wings and reveling in the feeling of her horns brushing against the wall. She'd known, of course she'd known, that a succubus - even a halfer like herself - was amongst the rarest of creatures which resided in the grand line. And, yet, she'd been so stupid as to let her guard down in an area abundant with bounty hunters and slave traders.
"Let me go! Oww!" Pulling out of her revere, the orange-eyed girl turned just slightly to look at the mermaid who struggled against her captors, "You horrible people! Hacchin's going to come and beat you all up, you hear me?"
"Ohoh! Now this is quite the rarity! This will fetch a good price!" Disco, the auction's host, said, eyes closed and holding the poor girls face in his hand, "A real feisty one, too! And in good shape! Who brought it in?"
"It's from Hound Pets," One man answered.
"Well, Peterman sure has proven himself this time! And to think, the Flying Fish Riders haven't brought us a single specimen..."
That man... everyone here, who worked here, refereed to them as nothing but mere objects. Something to sell. Something to bring in money. Here, they really were "less than human."
"Well, then, everyone, we apologize for keeping you waiting," She could hear the voice boom on the other side of the stage, "In just a few moments... this regular monthly event, the grand grove one human auction, will begin! And, of course, this man will be your host! It's the super bazaar-man himself... MISTER DISCO!"
There was a quick pause in which Disco had taken the microphone, "Hey, there, everyone! Boy, we have a quality selection of slaves for you today! You're all in luck! Because we have two, you heard me, two stunning centre pieces in store for you today! So you'd better start praying that you're the one who gets to take home the slave that catches your interest. Well, then, it's time to to begin the auction~!"
"Get numbers two and three ready!" A worker called as soon as the first slave had been sent out.
"Entry number one! From Toroa, in west blue... its an heir to a long line of musicians - a skilled user of any number of instruments, and a proud pirate to boot! Give him an instrument, and he's your BGM... give him a mop and he's your cleaner! And he can make some nice wine too! It's a human male, at the prime working age of twenty five! One hundred ninety two centimeters tall, weight in at one hundred thirty kilos! His name is Byron! Now, I'm going to start the bidding at the low price of forty eight hundred thousand Beli! Anybody who's interested raise your plates!" And, so, the bidding began, "Oh, and we have five hundred twenty thousand Beli! Yes, and five hundred fifty thousand over there!"
"Wow..." She murmured, staring out at the grove as they grew closer. She leaned forward on the bow of the ship, hand placed firmly against the bulwark to keep herself from falling overboard.
"Excited?" She turned to her captain when she felt him tug at her hair slightly, twirling the light brown strands around his fingers. Her orange eyes close in a smile and she nodded, earning herself an amused chuckle. Playfully, she punched him in the arm, laughing along with him.
They were finally here! They'd made it to the Sabaody Archipelago!
"Now, moving right along! Our next entry, number six! It's a working force of ten male humans!"
She sat on the ground, head resting against her captain's thigh, watching with mild interest at the "Mad Monk" Urouge engaged "Massacre Soldier" Killer. Their weapons clashed, creating a satisfyingly loud clang! Abruptly, their fight ended when Captain X-Drake intervened.
"And I was having such a nice time" her captain grinned as the former Marine Rear Admiral walked by, "Drake...! How many people have you killed?"
She would've hit her captain... but that would've meant that she'd have to move. So, she settled for simply chuckling a bit.
"Take number fifteen and sixteen from their cages!" A worker called.
"Aaaaghhh! Stop this, please...! I can't take this! I'd rather go to jail!" The man begged, struggling through his binds, "Somebody help me~~!"
"Give him a tranquilizer."
"Call the marines... call somebody! Just don't let me get sold!"
She bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, and clenched her hands into fists, trying her best not to listen as the man screamed in agony.
"No!" She screamed, struggling against her captors, "You're hurting me! Let me go!"
"Shut up!" On of them cried, foot coming in harsh contact with her leg. She hissed in pain, her leg giving out with a sickening crack! "Master Saint Charlos has ordered you become him new slave!" Two men grabbed her by the arms, forcing her face down on the cold cement floor and exposing her wings for all in the dark, dank room to see.
All around, she could hear the gasps and the murmurs.
"She's one of them?" One whispered to the one beside her.
"Such a rarity..." Another awed.
She had no time to even make sense of their words as the red hot branding iron was pressed into the skin of her back and she was quickly changed and pulled off to the chamber's Tenryuubito's eldest son, Saint Charlos. She was left with him and, soon bored with the disuse of her wings, her pushed her down and began beating her, breaking her legs and bruising as much skin as he could to force her to fly as soon as she arose.
Calling his escorts only hours after he'd all but forced her to use her wings, he ordered she be taken to the auction house where she could attain her collar and be bought just like all the other slaves, if only to publicly flaunt his ownership over her.
"This man's name is Lacueva!" Disco introduced slave number fifteen, "A fearsome pirate famed as a devious tactician! He holds a bounty of seventeen million Beli! And just look at his wonderfully honed body! He'd make a fine 'human horse', or put him to work at manual labor or as a sandbag! This guy has any number of uses!"
The orange-eyed girl flinched when she was pulled from her cage; her unfeeling and injured legs forcing her to support herself with her wings. The mermaid followed only moments afterward, and was thrown into a large, green, soundproof bowl.
"It's no good." One of the workers said, staring down at the partially dead man they'd dragged back stage.
"Ugh, damn it all! What did that idiot think he was playing at?" Disco cried, pacing and enraged, "How are we supposed to sell him now? Hurry up and get the mermaid and succubus ready!"
She swallowed, casting a fearful glance at the former pirate. She didn't want to be sold!
"Well, I'm sorry to inform you all... that the pirate Lacueva got a little nervous - he got a bit of a nosebleed and started choking!" Disco quickly covered up, "He collapsed back stage so we won't be selling him until a later date! However - ladies and gentlemen! The products I am about to reveal to you all should be enough to completely blast all thoughts of such minor issues right out of your minds~~! They're su~~~~per special items!"
A light was shone through the cloth the she and the mermaid were hidden beneath. All around, she could hear the gasps of the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes…! Upon these beasts that many try to capture, but few succeed! Without further ado, I think I'll let the goods do the talking! Direct from Fishman Island and the darkest parts of the Florian Triangle! It's 'mermaid' Caimie and 'succubus' Cai Quin Crikett!"