A Fairy's Tale (Eustass Kid & OC)

Chapter 30: The Consequence of Curiousity

She'd tentatively approached Heat about it as she settled on her pallet the second night. Like with so many other questions she asked, he paused for awhile before answering:

'Best if ya just ignore it, doll,' He had told her, a low note of warning and worry creeping into his raspy voice. 'There're consequences for curiosity here, 'specially for you.'

She couldn't just forget that presence, though, couldn't ignore the aura of pure fear she felt wafting up from the dungeons again on the second night, and yet again on the third. Curiosity could be fatal for a captive like her, she knew Heat was right... yet she couldn't stop herself. She never could, no matter how painful the consequences of her actions.

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It was on the fourth and final night that she broke, unable to bear the pain any longer.

She was out of time anyway; the ship was the closest to land it had been since her capture, scheduled to dock no later than the very next day. If she managed to take to the sky, she was certain she'd have enough strength to outmatch the ship's speed and make it to Sunnyway ahead of them. She'd have a little under a day to secure discreet passage to the next island over... but she needed to act soon, before this brief window of opportunity closed for good.

Late that night, Loklynn peeled back the covers and carefully rose from her pallet, keeping her eyes trained on Heat as he slept. By some miracle, he didn't stir in the slightest as she quietly opened the door and left it ajar to avoid making more noise than necessary. Creeping down the darkened hallway, she vehemently thanked the stars for her Haki; if it weren't for her inherent ability, she wouldn't have sensed when Killer returned to bed or been able to hide her presence as she made her way down the hall past all of their rooms.

The prickle of that foreign hysteria became almost physically painful as she entered the brig. The door creaked ever so slightly, and she could feel the person's spirit curl in on itself with the anticipation of pain. Her heart squeezed with sympathy at the sight she met with when she peered into the closest cage; past the bars that had trapped her just days before, a frightened young man was chain-bound to the ceiling by his wrists, his arms stretched taught above his head. He was straining on the tips of his toes in a bid to relieve the pressure put on his chest as a result of his twisted shoulders.

"What... do you want..."

Gods above, he sounded so broken. His clothing was so tattered and filthy that it took her several awful moments to recognize the frayed remains of what had once been a set of Marine fatigues in a style that denoted his status as a private. He couldn't have been older than sixteen, as green as they came.

"What have they done to you?" Loklynn whispered in a voice that shook with horror and sorrow as she gripped the bars. "I'm sorry, God, I'm... I should have come sooner-"

"Starling..." the boy interupted her, "You... the S-Starling. I saw you... i-in Duskwood..."

Her eyes widened with shock as she recognized the name: Duskwood, the town where she'd had her first terrifying encounter with the Kid Pirates.

"You were there," She breathed.

"B-Blacked out... ran... d-don't remember... I tried...!" his young eyes filled with bitter tears of guilt and regret at the memory of deserting his fellows.