Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin.

Timeline: Somewhere post-game. Lenna is queen of Tycoon because Faris went back to her crew. In-game, it only says something among the lines of ''Faris was worried about her pirate crew'', but she changes into her normal clothes and leaves through the window, so go figure.

x-x

Gigantic ornate chandeliers illuminated the great hall of Castle Karnak. Outside it was pitch black, the moon a sliver barely giving off any light. The city of Karnak was resting in preparation of the busy day to come. However, the halls of the castle were full of life.

Huge banquet tables were loaded with the finest of delicacies from all over the world, prepared by the most talented of Karnak's chefs, presented on the best of tableware.

And the smell! A million fragrances overlapping, combining, entwining. The resulting scent was overwhelming. Lenna amazedly savored it while she took in the scene of the hall.

The richest of the rich had gathered in the Castle of Karnak. It was a way for the host to present his or, as in this case, her wealth, strengthen their position and occasionally to do business. Nobles of all ages from near and far were present. Men in smart suits and women in ornate dresses talked, ate, drank or danced together to the melody of the musicians who were positioned in the background.

Lenna herself wore a light blue dress that had been especially tailored for the occasion.

It was the kind of party Lenna profoundly disliked. The food was excellent, and so was the wine, but the atmosphere was stiff and rather boring. Too many formalities, too many rules of courtesy. Considering every word carefully. To put it bluntly, too much ass licking.

Of course, not going wasn't an option. As the young queen of Tycoon, it was expected of her that she attended parties like these. Failing to do so would be seen as an insult by the host and might even get people wondering if something was going on in Tycoon. Nonetheless, she had considered sneaking out of the boring event more than once. The only thing that held her was her strong self-discipline.

Thus, she was still here, not starting any conversations out of own initiative, but ever politely replying to any noble that sought to talk to her. This included implicitly turning down any young males who made advances on her. Or somewhat less implicitly, proportional to how many glasses of wine the noble in question had consumed throughout evening.

It was no surprise so many men showed interest in her. Not only was she the sovereign of Tycoon, she had also saved the world from some great evil - of which few knew the exact extends, but it had been hard to miss the most obvious signs, like huge black warp holes in the skies. Nope, couldn't miss that. These things combined made her, quite literally, the world's first bachelorette. Apart from that, she had been told many times she was quite the striking woman.

So she was not surprised when a man approached her, bowed courtly and asked:

''Your Majesty, would you honor me with this dance?''

She had already begun to phrase a polite refusal when the man raised his head and looked the queen in the eyes, his long violet hair falling back. It was none other than the pirate captain Faris, an amused look on his – her face.

''Sarisa!'' Lenna exclaimed softly, requiring all of her self-control not to raise her voice. She stood perplexed for a few seconds until her surprising guest moved closer.

''I'll take that as a yes,'' the pirate said. The queen wanted to bring up and objection, but before she knew it, Faris had put Lenna's hand on her shoulder, her own on the queen's waist, their other hands entwined, and they were moving over the dance floor.

''W-wait, hold on! What are you doing?'' But Faris did not hold on, nor did Lenna back her command up with physical force.

''What am I doing? What does it look like to you? I'm dancing with you,'' the older stated matter-of-factly.

''Yes, but why are we dancing?'' The young queen blushed in confused embarassment.

''Why shouldn't we be?''

''Because we're sisters, for example?''

Her amused smile grew wider. ''That the gentleman you are dancing with is a pirate capt'n, and that this captain happpens to also be your older sister, is not an all too well known fact.''

''But still -'' not knowing what to say, Lenna left her sentence hanging, looking down at the patterns their feet made on the floor instead. So many questions had popped up in her head the instant she had recognized the her sister that it made her head spin, adding to her confusion. Not knowing where to start, she just started somewhere.

''Why did you leave again, just after returning to the castle with me?''

Faris' expression hardened. ''I thought I answered that just now when I called myself a pirate captain.''

''Why didn't you say goodbye, or at least leave a note or something?''

An eyebrow arched upwards. ''I did leave a note. Didn't you find it?''

Had she? She couldn't seem to remember. This was all too sudden! She raised her gaze, taking the sight of her sister in from bottom to top. With her fine leather boots and black trousers, she fit in perfectly with the male guests. The wide black suit enabled no distinction between an unimpressive female front and a muscular, manly chest. For a split second, there was indeed a man in front of her who had managed to drag her into a dance.

''How did you obtain that get-up?'' Lenna asked.

''How do pirates generally obtain things of value?'' The amused look on Faris' face returned.

''But why a suit? How long in advance did you plan this joke?''

The pirate's smile widened. ''My crew doesn't know I'm a woman, remember? It'd be slightly questionable, or more likely outright weird, would I go pilfering a woman's dress.''

Then, suddenly, the older woman's face was unsettlingly close to her sister's. ''Oh, and who said that this was all a joke?'' The pirate asked with a playfully mischievous undertone. Lenna felt heat rushing to her head and averted her gaze from the awkward situation. While she did so, she noticed that while she had been focussing on the conversation, they had not halted their dance.

''When did you learn how to dance? You were too young before you were lost, and it surely wasn't during your short stay after our battles.''

''Do ye really think this is the first time I've been at such a party?''

As the younger sister's face took on an expression of confusion and astonishment, the older's smile turned into a grin.

''Getting in without an invitation. The flawless dancing. The suit. Yeah Your Majesty, it's all well practiced.'' She savored the young queen's confusion for another few seconds until she continued: ''Events like these generally have a high concentration of rich people in 'em. I'd say it should be obvious why pirates are interested in a high concentration of rich people.''

Lenna wanted to ask more, but in that moment, the musicians had apparently finished their piece and the atmosphere changed as they moved on to the next. It was a sweet, slow piece. A romantic ballad of sorts. The dancers shifted and slowed down their pace to match the tune.

Before Lenna knew it, Faris placed her hand on the small of the queen's back, pulling her closer to the point where their chests touched. The pirate was a fair bit taller, adding to her all around masculine appearance and making the shorter woman's chin rest against her on heigth of her collarbone.

Suddenly Lenna became awkwardly aware again of the fact that she was dancing, and who she was dancing with.

''What will people think?'' she whispered, now close to the other's ear and also because the music had taken on a softer, less room-filling character. ''I mean, the queen of Tycoon dancing with another woman.'' She didn't try to hide the nervousness in her voice.

The pirate chuckled and Lenna felt the vibrations in her chest. ''Nobody knows I'm a woman, remember?''

''The chancellor of Tycoon is here. If he sees you, he will surely recognize you.''

''The chancellor. Don't worry about him, he's had his share of wine. Even if he still manages to make us out, chances are he won't remember much tomorrow.''

''But- but'' Lenna was flailing for arguments until Faris interrupted her.

''To everyone in this room, I am just another man taking a shot at the famed young queen of Tycoon. So what about you? Why not pretend I am a noble young man you met at a party in Castle Karnak, who managed to, against all odds, draw you into a dance?''

Lenna didn't hold much of it. But without the effort of even actively trying, she found it wasn't hard. She could indeed imagine Faris, without any trouble, as a young noble who had come to swipe her off her feet. Unless you knew he was a she, nothing gave him away. It was perfectly convincing. And he was handsome, too! Those fine features, the strong jawline... A tomboyish woman, or a finely drawn man?

Lenna noticed she was losing herself... To the music, to the rythm, to her own imagination... And she let it happen. She felt herself relax. Her thoughts became sluggish and dreamy. As she closed her eyes, she stated he even smelled like a man. The smell of salt and of sea wind left her an impression so profoundly masculine. And it was the smell of freedom, of adventure, of fearlessly diving into the unknown ahead. She could suddenly understand with her whole body why he longed for the sea so much, for his companions and for adventure... She thought she never would, but now she did. Some distant part of her mind noticed she was referring to him as a man in her thoughts. Why shouldn't she? She didn't seem to know. She folded her arm around his neck and concentrated on the music, stepping slowly with its rythm.

What she saw behind closed eyes was a picture of sea water clashing against rocky shores. And a ship. A ship with a black flag showing a skull. A man with a bandana and an eye patch stood next to the flag in the crown 'nest. Behind the steering wheel stood a man with long, violet hair. He wore a dark blue outfit, it's magnificence clearly defining him as the captain of the ship, and a black cape. One hand rested on the wheel, his other arm was wrapped around the waist of a girl. Was that... was that her?

She danced as a minute passed by, and another, and another. The musicians still gave off no sign of changing pieces anytime soon. The tune of the ballad was hypnotizing, entranceing, lulling her thoughts into the dreamy picture of the man behind the steering wheel, herself by his side. Her dress had made room for practical travel clothes. She was resting against his chest, looking up at him and smiling. He was looking straigth to the horizon, but his face mirrored her expression of happiness.

After another minute had passed, Lenna slowly opened her eyes. It was a slight shifting of weights, not much of a movement at all, that had pulled her away from the picture in her head. She stirred, slightly lifting her head which had been resting against him.

''How far are we going to take this?'' she whispered into his ear.

Her own voice surprised her. Nothing was to be found of her previous confusion and embarassment. Her words were soft and tender, full of desire. She asked because she wanted this dream to last, anxious for it to end along with the end of the music. She wanted to be surrounded by the smell of the sea and of freedom, if not forever, then for as long as possible. She took in her surroundings only hazily, the room and the chandeliers and the tables of food. The other dancers seemed further away than they should be. There were only her and the man, caught up in their dance.

He tilted his head back to look at her. She took in every line of his face. In that moment, she didn't see her long lost sister Sarisa. She saw the pirate captain Faris, and only that.

He smiled, his emerald eyes twinkling mischievously. Those eyes, oh those eyes! It was as if they were inviting her to a path full of adventures and dangers. They were pulling her out of reality, straight into that dream. And all the while the music played. She absently noticed how fingers rough from a life of adventure softly tilted her chin upwards. His mouth moved.

''How far indeed.''

Then, all her thoughts and senses left her, washed away by the force of the endless ocean itself, because next she knew, their lips met.

x-x

Okay, that went slightly out of hand. By which I mean it went extremely out of hand. I never intended it to turn out like this. I kinda went into a trance roughly the same time Lenna did. To be shaken out of it by the clock. It's late, let's reread and post this tomorrow. Btw, I intentionally referred to Faris as ''he'' in the later part, for one to match Lenna's imagination, but also because it's easier to distinguish when not all pronouns are ''she'' and ''her''.
Please give me your honest opinion, as long as it doesn't include killing me for this o.0