The Siren felt his eyes grow wide at the Captain's request. None of his Master's had ever offered to answer any of his questions before. In fact, he'd learned very quickly that it was always best not to ask questions as they were usually answered with a cuff round the head for being impertinent.
Raephier searched his mind looking for the perfect question. He could think of plenty of little things like what month it was, or whether he would get more food, or what the book was that the Captain was reading last night. Raephier didn't know how to read, and watching others do it always fascinated him.
He tore his mind away from such thoughts and tried to think of something of greater importance. Afterall, he had no idea if one question was all he would get.
An idea sprung to his mind and he looked up at Jacob.
"Why did you buy me?"
If Raephier hadn't been staring intensely at Jacob's features, he would have missed the slight tightening of the jaw.
He immediately looked away, silently chastising himself for asking a question that the Captain didn't like.
"That's a fair question," Jacob answered, and as there was no anger in his tone, Raephier found the courage to look up at him again.
Jacob gave Raephier a soft smile.
"I bought a weapon to help us get home. It's important that we get some supplies to the island where we live, but the waters there are patrolled by our enemies, so we needed something to guarantee us safe passage."
Raephier nodded at the answer. But although he felt like his question had been answered, he also realised that it had just led to more questions.
"Ok, so now it's my turn," Jacob said.
Raephier chewed on his bottom lip in nervous anticipation. He hoped he didn't bring up the shape shifting thing again.
"Now before I ask you a question, I need you to promise me something," Jacob said, staring intently into Raephier's eyes.
Raephier nodded in response. There was something about the Captain's stare that made him both nervous and excited in equal measure.
"I need you to promise that you'll tell me the truth," Jacob said. "I'll understand if you don't want to go into detail, or reveal anything too personal, but please don't tell any untruths. If you tell me even one lie and I find out, I won't be able to believe anything else that you've told me. And it's important that I can trust you, Raephier. It's important that you can trust me as well. If there is something you feel you can't tell me, I would rather you admit that you don't want to tell me, than make up an answer. Is that clear?"
Raephier tried hard to concentrate on what the Captain was telling him, but when he got overwhelmed his mind tended to drift off, and right now he was getting distracted with the way the Captain's lips moved when he spoke. But he heard enough to know that the Captain thought it was important that he always told the truth.
"Yes," Raephier answered, "I understand."
"Good lad," the Captain said, making Raephier feel warm inside.
"So, did your other Masters let you out of this cage?"
Raephier felt relief wash over him. He knew he could answer this question easily.
"Yes, some more than others. My first master kept me tied up in the hold, not in a cage. My second master kept me in a bigger cage than this one, but there was another Siren in there with me. He would let me out for a few hours each day. I've only been in this cage since I was traded on the main land where you bought me. I don't like this one. It's too small and my legs ache."
"Have you ever been left untied and unattended?" Jacob asked.
Raephier frowned, wanting to tell the Captain that it was his turn to ask a question, but he swallowed the words knowing it would be considered disrespectful.
"Hey Captain, it's not your turn!" James said, tapping Jacob on the arm. "Let Raephier have his question."
Raephier couldn't help the smile that crept on his face at James's words, and the Captain let out a small laugh and apologised to Raephier which gave him a fluttery feeling in his stomach.
Raephier searched his mind for another question.
"How far away is your home?" he asked.
The moment he asked it, he regretted it, and he tensed waiting for the answer.
"It'll take around 4 weeks to get there," Jacob replied, "and we have to make port once on the journey to stock up with supplies."
4 weeks wasn't a long time. Raephier wondered whether the Captain would be quite so willing to grant him his freedom once they arrived. If of course they made it.
But he didn't have time to dwell on that as another question came his way, this time from James.
"I believe that Sirens aren't actually a race but are created through a curse. Does that mean that you were once like us, before you were a Siren?"
Raephier swallowed, which should have been easy, but his throat was dry so it made him cough a little.
"Do you want a drink?" the Captain asked. "Water isn't in big supply, but you can have a small sip of mine," he said, pulling a small flask from his inside coat pocket. "If you want more than a sip, it'll have to be wine. We've plenty of that."
Raephier hesitantly took hold of the small flask that Jacob was offering and took a tentative sip. He knew that water was precious on a ship and did little more than wet his lips, but he appreciated the gesture. And at least it gave him time to think of an acceptable answer.
"Erm, you're right, it is a curse. Before I was cursed I was normal like you."
He figured it was more of an omission than a lie. He was considered normal where he came from, just maybe not normal to the Captain and James.
"So where are you from, originally?" the Captain asked.
Raephier paused to see if James would point out once again that it was his turn to ask the question, but when he didn't say anything, he decided it was probably best just to answer.
"I'm from a far away land known as Aldern."
"I've never heard of it, have you?" the Captain asked James.
"No I haven't," he said, shaking his head.
It was no surprise that they hadn't heard of it, seen as it was under the sea. But they didn't need to know that.
"We're quite a private race. We tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. Ok, now my turn," Raephier said before they could ask him another question, and also to try to get onto a different subject.
The Captain nodded indicating Raephier should continue.
"What's that?" Raephier said, nodding towards the funny looking metal implement that the Captain had walked in with. It looked too much like devices he'd seen used as torture implements and it made him feel uneasy.
Jacob turned to face the object Raephier was looking at, and looked surprised, almost like he'd forgotten it was there.
"Oh, this?" he said, picking it up.
Raephier unconsciously moved a little further back in his cage.
"This is to cut the padlock on your cage so you can come out."
"Really?" Reaphier gasped in surprise. "You're letting me out?"
He knelt up at the front of the cage, clinging to the bars, now desperate to get out so he could stand straight.
Jacob exchanged a look with James, and Raephier could have almost sworn they were having a silent conversation.
"Ok, then," Jacob said, standing up. "I'll let you out on one condition. You need to swear that you are not a threat to me or my men."
Raephier frowned. He could never understand why people always treated him like a villain.
"I promise that I will not harm anyone on this ship. You have my word that I will only use my powers on those you instruct me to, or in a situation where my life is in danger. I am not the enemy."
The Captain nodded, and handed the metal object to James who wasted no time in using it to snap the lock.
James pulled the cage door open.
"Come on then," he said with a grin on his face.
Reaphier got up slowly, inching towards the open door. He didn't want to move quickly in case any movement was interpreted incorrectly as being aggressive.
Once he'd shuffled free of the cage, he couldn't help but stretch his arms above his head and revel in the lovely feeling of all his bones straightening out.
"There's not much to you, is there?" Jacob asked, while scanning over Raephier's body.
For the first time in a long while, Raephier actually felt insecure about his appearance under the gaze of the Captain. He didn't know how to reply to that, so he didn't.
"Did they feed you properly, the other Masters?"
Raephier looked down at his body. He was rather thin. He knew that if he pulled up his shirt, he would be able to see the outlines of his ribs.
"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Sometimes they would not let me eat as a form of punishment, but I think most of the time, there was just not much food to go around."
"Well, I'll make sure you're fed properly while on board my ship. We don't tend to sail for long before we make port somewhere, so we often have fresh supplies. I've always believed that my men should be well fed if I am expecting them to work hard for me."
Reaphier smiled. At least his question about whether he was getting any more food had been answered.
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and Pete walked in.
Raephier shrunk back a little at seeing the previously angry man.
"You're wanted in the navigation room Captain," Pete said. "You too," he said nodding at James.
"Fine, tell them I'll be there in 2 minutes."
Pete left with James, and Jacob swung back round to face Raephier.
Raephier felt his shoulder's sag, knowing he was going to be asked to go back inside the cage.
"Can I trust you if I leave you out of your cage?" Jacob asked.
"Of course!" Reaphier replied, as relief washed over him.
"Ok," Jacob said, scanning round the room. "You can sit on the seat at my desk if you want, but don't touch anything on there. Don't sit on my bed."
Jacob went to the big trunk in the corner and opened it, pulling out a thick blanket.
"If you want to sleep, you can find somewhere on the floor and sleep on this."
Raephier took the blanket off Jacob. It was slightly scratchy, but he didn't care. It was more than he'd ever been offered before.
He lifted his head to say thank you, but Jacob was already moving towards the door.
"Someone will bring your food in for you. I should be back by nightfall," he said. Before he shut the door, he turned to look at Raephier.
"I'm going to be locking this door. There's a bucket in the corner if you need to go. Is there anything else you need?"
Reaphier was too overwhelmed to think straight, so he just shook his head.
"Ok, I'll see you later," Jacob said, before the door shut behind him and Raephier heard the lock click.
Raephier must have stood still for well over 5 minutes, not quite sure what to do with himself. Someone shouted something outside. That was quite normal on board. Sailers mainly communicated by shouting. But that didn't stop the pit of anxiety that began forming in Raephier's chest.
What if this was a test? What if he accidentally knocked something over? What if he touched something he shouldn't? Would the Captain punish him? What if he was just pretending to be kind? What if he would be locked in here for days and no one would give him any food? What if someone else had a key? Someone who was not as kind as the Captain.
More shouts made Raephier start to tremble slightly. So he did the only thing he could think of. He crawled back into the cage and buried himself under the thick blanket, hoping sleep would eventually claim him.
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