They were both dirty royalty, him and her; the pirate prince and the deposed princess. Maybe that was why he saved her from the hatred of the spectators. She could barely believe him, riding into the arena on a white horse, rose petals scattering in the wind as he rose to his feet on the stirrups and silenced the crowd. The screams of the people changed to love, and they cried his name with all the fervour of their former anger. He was beautiful, no doubt, though she wondered how anyone could faint over something as trivial as a handsome face. She thanked him for his aid with some hesitation, there were few strangers she had ever had reason to be grateful to. In his response she saw his conviction to win, and while there was no hatred there was no mercy.
Oddly, it made her feel better. Something about being rescued by a white knight as she stood in her battle gear had made her uncomfortable. But he wore his handsome face like she wore her armour, and her blade was as sharp as his. It wasn't dishonourable to be helped by an equal.
She lost track of him in the fight, and more than ever she was careful to not harm those who charged her. She had no wish to accidently bring him to grief in the melee. Once, she saw him a few metres in front of her, and she could have sworn he looked back at her, if only for a second. Hopefully his strength matched his audacity. She would not falter before him, but she would rather knock him into the water than see him run through. But she didn't see him again until the dust settled on what was left of the arena after the strange force whipped through her opponents and sliced through the metal visor of her helmet.
She didn't know what it really was that had annihilated the fighters of Block D, but as the blood ran down her face, she looked down upon his unmarked face. Peaceful in repose, he was again beautiful and there was no trace of the grinning face that she still wasn't sure she had seen. She was thankful to have won without having to see his reaction but a small part of her, as the crowd boiled with rage, wished he was awake so she could once again hear his voice defending her.
He was taken away as all the defeated were, and her last glimpse of him was obscured by personnel and stretchers. She wondered if she might see him again when the fight was through, and what he would think of her. She hoped he would not hate her. She had spent years being reviled, and yet two very different men in one day had given her respect and something close to kindness. She knew she would never forget either of them: the boy with the girl's name and the man with a woman's beauty.
The final round felt disconnected. Even though every fibre of her body was focused on winning the Mera Mera no Mi, a tiny treacherous part of her mind was still thinking about the men who weren't there. Soldier was always on her mind, but now someone else was leaving her flower petals on the windowsill too. She struck out at the chain on the fighting fish's back, but to no avail. She landed in the arena, and in her mind she opened the window wide.
To a toy soldier, exactly the way it always had been.
Why had she expected something else? She didn't know, but as she turned herself back to the bout at hand, she briefly wondered why the petals on the sill were those of roses.
A/N: I really like Rebecca's character so far, but it was someone's sketch of her with Cavendish that made me start thinking about the pairing, and this came to me. It's a bit vague, because honestly, we don't know much about these two yet, haha. Well, I had fun at least. Be encouraged to point out spelling/grammar mistakes~