A/N - The Second of two chapters for you today! I've been busy!!!



As Raephier lay in the darkness, he began to wonder if it had all been a dream. He'd been through so many emotions in the last 24 hours, that he was sure it couldn't be real.

But if it was all a dream, how could he feel the warmth of Jacob pressed up against his back?

Just to test his theory, he tried to edge away from the warmth, but as always happened, the arm that was rested over his waist, just pulled him closer.

No, it definitely wasn't a dream. But that meant that Jacob came back for him in the night. Why would he do that? Raephier wanted to believe that it was because he was missing him as much as Raephier was missing Jacob. But he knew that was just a silly fantasy.

Maybe it had something to do with this Sally woman. Reaphier had sensed it as soon as he got near her. There was something off about the woman. And that meant she had something to do with magic. That was another side effect of the curse. He could sense when other people had magic. It took him a while to realise what the feeling was, but now he was certain. Sally had magic. But having magic didn't automatically make someone bad. Right? He wasn't a bad person, was he?

Suddenly he began to feel incredibly claustrophobic in Jacob's arms. He took a deep breath, then moved swiftly away from Jacob, sliding out of the bed.

In the faint light that was coming in through the window, he watched as Jacob's arm reached out to try to grab something, but in the end, just grabbed a handful of the blankets and pulled them in close to his body.

Raephier let out a sigh of relief and wandered over to the window. There was a small cushioned window seat, so Raephier crawled behind the curtains onto it. He leaned back against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest.

There wasn't much of a view out of the window. He couldn't see the sea, but there were a few fields and a small wooded area to look at.

Raephier didn't even remember falling asleep but when he heard his name being called in a rather urgent manner, he realised that the sun was just coming up over the horizon.

"I'm here!" he quickly said, emerging from behind the curtain to see a rather frantic looking Jacob standing next to the empty bed.

"Oh thank god," he said, coming over and pulling Raephier into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Raephier said, feeling rather guilty. "I couldn't sleep so I sat by the window, but must have dozed off."

Jacob chuckled.

"That's ok," he said, "I just got worried when I woke up and you weren't there."

Raephier couldn't remember the last time someone had worried about him like this. The cynical voice in his head kept reminding him that he was only worried because he needed Raephier to get him home, but that voice was being drowned out by the feeling of Jacob's arms, which were still wrapped firmly around Raephier's body.

Eventually, much to Raephier's disappointment, Jacob pulled away.

"I'm going to get dressed, then I'm going to get you the biggest breakfast you've ever eaten in your life," Jacob said with a grin.

Reaphier tipped his head on one side but didn't voice any of his questions for the fear of sounding ungrateful.

Jacob seemed to read his mind anyway.

"I'm not sure I'll be back for lunch so I don't want you going hungry. Plus Barny makes the best breakfast you'll ever see."

"Barny?" Raephier questioned.

"Sally's brother. Scary looking man, but as gentle as a lamb. You don't need to be worried about him."

Raephier gave Jacob what he hoped was a reassuring smile, whereas on the inside he was panicking. There were two of them now???? One magical being was alarming enough, but if she also had a brother, it was likely that he had magic too.

About half an hour later, Raephier did have to concede that Barny did in fact make the best breakfast ever. He'd never seen so much food! He had sausage and egg and mushrooms and bacon, and fried potatoes and bread. He felt like he wouldn't need to eat again for a week!

After breakfast Jacob told Raephier that he would be gone for most of the day.

"I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I'll be back just before nightfall and then I promise I'll take you out to have a look around the town."

"That sounds great, thank you," Raephier said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Clearly it wasn't enough because Jacob frowned and put his hands on Raepheir's shoulders.

"I wish I could take you out with me during the day but it's very busy and I'm afraid you might get lost, or even worse, stolen from me."

"It's alright, I understand," Raephier said. And he really did. It was more than enough that Jacob was going to take him out that evening. The only reason he was struggling to look enthusiastic was because his mind was too preoccupied with him having to stay in this room with goodness knows what kind of creature just beyond the door.

Jacob said his farewell and left, locking Raephier in the room.

Raephier tried to stay alert, just in case, but at some point he must have fallen asleep because a knock at the door jolted him awake.

He sat bolt upright on the bed, frozen in place. What should he do? It's not like he had a key to open the door anyway.

The person knocked again.

Still he remained quiet, not moving an inch.

Just when he thought they must have given up and walked away. He heard a key slide into the lock, and then the door was opening.

He pulled the blanket up to his chin on instinct. There was no reason why. He was fully dressed and it clearly wouldn't act as protection against anything, but it smelt slightly of Jacob, and that was enough to keep him from passing out in fright.

"Oh, I was wondering if you were in here," said Sally as she bustled into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"A-are you allowed to b-be in here?" Raephier said, cursing himself for the pathetic stutter.

Sally just chuckled and sat down on the small wooden chair that was next to the bed.

"Oh sweetheart, I can go anywhere. But you know that right?"

Raephier felt his blood run cold. Of course, if he could sense she was a magical being, it made sense that she could sense him too. Raephier decided it was best to say as little as possible.

"So you're a Siren, am I right?" Sally asked.

Raephier just gave one slight nod of the head.

"Do you know what I am?" she asked.

This time Raephier shook his head. He knew she had magic, but he didn't know what type.

His eyes widened as she began to unbutton the back of her dress.

"W-wait! I-I don't.....you need to.....I can't-"

Rapehier stopped mid ramble when Sally pulled down the back of her dress, just far enough to reveal a marking on her right shoulder blade. A black entanglement of tentacles. The marking of a sea witch.

Raephier gasped.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked. He'd never seen one on land before.

Sally shrugged as she tugged her dress back up and began to fasten the buttons.

"I sometimes come onto land just to get away from the voices."

Raephier didn't realise that coming onto land was an option for sea witches, but he could see why they would. All magical creatures and merpeople in the ocean used a form of telepathy. You just needed to think of what you wanted to say and who you were saying it to. Only sea witches could hear everything, whether you wanted them to or not. Even if you were miles away. Not that they always listened. Apparently there were so many conversations going on at any one time that it just became like background noise to them, although they could single out an individual conversation if they so wished. As Raephier had discovered to his detriment.

"So, do you want to tell me how you've ended up with the lovely Captain then?" she asked.

Raephier looked down and tried not to blush.

"I....er....I...well.....he bought me, I guess."

Sally looked surprised.

"Hmmm, he never struck me as the type," she said, and Raephier immediately began to panic at the obvious look of disappointment on her face.

He couldn't stand the fact that someone would feel anything but positive emotions towards Jacob. He was too good of a man.

"N-No! It's not like that. He didn't know what I was. He just thought he was buying a weapon. H-He didn't expect it to be a living, breathing one."

"Oh!" Sally said, looking relieved, and Raephier immediately relaxed a little.

His relief didn't last long though as he felt Sally's penetrating gaze scrutinising him.

"So.....how many souls have you taken then?" she asked.

There was no point in lying to her.

"Only one."

"Hmmm," she said, nodding at him. "And are you aware of what happens to you, the more souls you devour?"

"Yes," Raephier said quietly.

It was something that Hermoine, the other Siren, had taught him. Every time you took a soul, you lost a part of your own. And the more souls you took, the more you craved. Until eventually you turned into the monster that all the folk stories spoke of.

"Ok then," she said, with her stare still fixed on Raephier. "Because I wouldn't want anything to happen to that Captain's soul. I happen to be a little fond of it."

"N-No, I would never!" Raephier said with as much conviction as he could.

Finally he felt a change in the gaze upon him, so he slowly lifted his head to look at her.

She was still looking at him, but the cold hard stare had gone, and now she was smiling.

"I think I'm going to like you, little Raephier. Now, would you like me to get you something to eat or drink?"

"A glass of water would be nice," he replied, honestly just glad for an excuse to get her out of the room. Even if it was only for a couple of minutes.

"Sure thing sweetheart, I'll be right back," she said, then left him to stew over what had just discovered.

Raephier let out a long breath. Sea witches were complicated creatures. No two were alike, but they all had one thing in common. Cross one and you'd regret it.

He suddenly realised that she'd left the door open. He felt his breath catch a little. This was the first time in a long while that he wasn't actually locked in somewhere. He could just get up and walk out of the door.

The temptation was there, just because he could. It was a bit like the call to the void, an itch to know what it was like, the feeling of being free. But he never would, for two reasons. Firstly the sea witch would catch him in seconds. But more importantly, why would he want to move from the spot where Jacob could find him?

Sally was back too quickly, and Raephier had to bite back a groan when she shut the door behind her and made herself comfortable on the chair again.

But the water she handed him was cool and fresh and tasted delicious.

"So do you mind telling me how you became a Siren?" she asked.

It wasn't his favourite story to tell, but he doubted she'd judge him for it. And it was actually nice to have someone to talk to who knew about life under the sea.

Raephier settled back onto the bed, getting himself comfy.

"I was just 16 when it happened......."