The Three Muses of Bubbles

"So, Rebecca, where are you from?"

"I'm originally from a village near the great sea. I lived there with my parents and my younger brother."

"Oh my! You must have moved here because of your job, right? What is it that you do?"

"Actually, I was sold into slavery when pirates raided my village. I was bought by a rich merchant in this town and sent off to work." Nico Robin smiled as she looked at Rebecca in the eyes.

Nico Robin was an older woman with long black hair. She always dressed well and had smooth skin. She worked as one of the many servants in the palace of Bubbles. She made sure that everyone had food and drink during feasts and festivals.

Rebecca was a young girl. She had long brown hair and big green eyes. Her clothes were stained with some red liquid and she looked tired.

She worked as a waitress in one of the taverns in the city. She wanted to clean herself up before she went home for the day.

It was late afternoon on a Tuesday and the street was empty except for them. They were sitting next to each other on a bench in front of Nico's house.

The sun was setting down on the horizon and it looked like it would be another cold night. The warm city air passed by them as they sat in silence for a while longer before Rebecca finally said something again: "I think I need to go soon."

She stood up slowly and put her bag on her shoulder. The bag hung loosely around her neck and almost touched the floor as she leaned forward with heavy steps toward Nico Robin who still sat next to her on the bench.

"You know, Nico, sometimes I wish I didn't work there anymore." She said quietly as she looked down at her feet which never stopped moving back and forth while she walked over to where they sat together earlier that afternoon to talk about their lives outside of work. "Sometimes I wish I could just sit somewhere without having to worry about people ordering food or drinks. Sometimes I wish I could just sit somewhere without having to worry about how much money I can make today for my master or if someone will recognize me when I walk down the street or if someone will beat me up because they don't like me being there..." Rebecca's voice cracked as tears started flowing down from her eyes but she continued: "Sometimes... sometimes... I wish... Oh God, Nico! Sometimes I just want to sit somewhere.. anywhere... even here with you! And not have to worry about anything!"

She lowered her head so that her face was hidden by her hair but she didn't stop talking: "Even though this place is nice! It's amazing here! But sometimes... Sometimes... Sometimes..." She broke down crying loudly now as tears covered her dirty face: "Sometimes it just hurts too much!"

Nico stood up too now and approached Rebecca carefully so that she could put one hand gently on Rebecca's shoulder and another hand on hers so that she could touch their foreheads together after which Rebecca fell silent again: "We're lucky we don't have to worry about such things, aren't we?" She whispered softly into Rebecca's ear after which they embraced each other tightly: "We're really lucky!"