The life of a pirate wasn't what Kanan hoped for, but her sense of adventure and curiosity led her to where she was today. Notorious for her reputation, Kanan badged her way into the ranks, granting her a position as Captain. She had gotten the chance to pick up her own crew, hand picking the best of the few and placed them on her crew. Each day was an adventure worth risking her life, skimming through town and stealing riches from the poor.
But what Kanan longed for was a true sense of adventure, one worth risking.
After a long day of traveling, Kanan tied the ship to the deck surface; stretching her arms out as she sighed softly when the dark sky greeted her with a warm gush of breeze.
She stopped by the docks and entered a bar, ordering the best wine they had available. Lighting a cigarette in her hands, she inhaled the sultry smoke, breathing in the relaxing tendrils of wasp smoke coming from her lips. When the wine had arrived, she took a slow sip, nodding at the exquisite taste. For a small town, they weren't half bad with wine.
"I'll just have water, please." the woman said, taking a seat beside Kanan. The veil covering her lower half face caught Kanan's curiosity and soon she found herself, gawking the purple haired woman. Kanan looked at her; the woman's face covered in a corset, draping her chest area and shielding her face, yet Kanan thought she saw the slightest of smiles playing on her lips.
"It's rude to stare, you know?" The woman chuckled faintly. Her eyes darted over to Kanan's, surveying her intently; Kanan's buttoned sleeved shirt wrinkling as she leaned on her hand. "It's not every day a pirate comes to this part of town. How might your travels benefit from this small port?"
"I'm only here looking for gold."
The woman nodded her head. "How would you like to profit from a little reward?"
"Go on." She waved her hand out and gestured for the woman to proceed.
The woman shuffled her cards carefully, placing each of them face down and began her story. The drinking of beverages and shouts echoed throughout the bar, but Kanan paid them no mind, listening keenly to the woman's story. She began her tale with a clap, eagerly informing Kanan of a beautiful young woman who lived in a mansion of splendid size, rumors circling around the woman's vast wealth the world had to offer. Just having was enough to ensure a war between thieves and the governor who would surely pay for a high ransom in exchange for his beloved daughter back.
It was rumored, the heiresses fetched a high price on her head, and those who had successfully obtained her would be granted a large random, the chaotic rumors had caused pirates scrambling to get their hands on the reward. Kanan never heard of rumors like this one, unlike the others, she'd paid it no mind' but something about this job was pulling her, telling her to accept it.
The fortune teller told her she'd be worth a catch; dead or alive.
Now that was something Kanan could do.
"I'm sure someone of your expertise will surely be capable of taking on this task, unlike the others who failed miserably."
"Is that a challenge, witch?" Kanan retorted.
"My, my how rude." The woman smiled coyly, placing her hand on her cheek. Tapping against on a particular card, she flipped it over, smiling when the blade the reaper clutched reflected in her eyes. It revealed the Death card; a symbol of grave demise and not something to take lightly of. "I am just informing you of easy prey, nothing else. Aren't you particularly curious about the price on her head?"
Kanan scoffed. "As if. She doesn't seem worth all that trouble." She flicked her cigarette onto the ashtray, dimming the light.
"Not even for a mere ten million?" The woman said, catching Kanan's attention immediately.
"Where can I find her?"
The fortune teller informed Kanan of her whereabouts and here she was, climbing a wall and sneaking past the burly guards and into the long hallway. She turned a corner and trod past the door behind the rooms, instantly entering a large room. She spotted the heiresses, trailing her fingers across the bookshelves, her attention glued to the books in front of her.
Huddled between the doorways, Kanan sneaked a peek in the room the girl was residing in, tiptoeing in without making a sound. She hastily covered the girl's mouth, muffling her cries.
"Shhh…" Kanan cooed. "Don't make a sound." Her left hand wandered to the window and opened the curtains; looking back she kicked the glass shards from the window and moved the girl on her shoulders, descending down the street and plopping herself on a boat.
The offending girl pushed Kanan away, angrily shooting a glare toward the pirate. "What in blazes do you think you're doing?"
"Isn't that obvious, Dia?" She chucked. "You're going to be my hostage."
"What?"
Kanan glanced over her shoulder and signaled to her crewmate. "Lead us back to the ship, You."
The ashen-haired saluted, a smirk donning her face. "Aye, aye Captain!" She wheeled the boat towards the ship, steering them closer to the offending panel.
Fuming, Dia growled lowly. Clenching her fists, she pointed her finger and jabbed it into Dia's chest. "You'll pay for this, you lowly Pirate! Mark my words, you'll have your head handed to you!" She spewed. Kanan looked thoroughly amused, a smile on her lips.
"I like the sound of that."
The heiresses stared bewilderedly at her, shaking her head. "You're crazy!"
"Well, if you find yourself falling in love with me, I wouldn't blame you. I'm quite pleasant on the eyes," Kanan said.
"Oh, please." She retorted. "I'd rather drown than do that.
"Haha. You're funny."
The heiresses groaned painfully, kicking her feet. "God, help me."
"So…" Kanan muttered. "How'd you feel about boarding a pirate's ship?"
"What?"
They boarded the ship smoothly with the heiresses kicking her feet and screaming. Kanan pushed her into a room and locked her in, breathing out a sigh of relief. For the first few days, Dia sulked and raised her voice at everyone around her, stamping her feet like a child and turning her head; her fluttery crimson dress catching in the wind.
Eventually, Kanan finally got Dia say down with her to talk, so she decided to start right off the bat and asked her if she was the heiresses.
Dia looked slightly puzzled. So Kanan told her about the story of rich heiresses, with a vast beauty and wealth combined.
"I don't know where you got that idea from...but I am an heiress. Though... I've heard that story before numerous times and I'm sorry to tell you that you've got the wrong person." Dia informed, sighing.
"What?" Kanan furrowed her brows. But did you say you were heiresses?"
"I did but that story you were told…my friend was the one who started it. She wanted others to know about her (vast beauty and wealth.) Well, it's not a surprise she is wealthier than me but almost everyone knows her name."
"And her name…?"
"Is none other than Mari Ohara," Dia stated. "The person you kidnapped, she glared. "and standing before you is Dia Kurosawa."
The name rang a bell in Kanan's head and she cursed the fortune teller for not giving her the heiresses name. She had recalled the woman's annoying giggles and laughs. Had she expected Kanan to take the wrong girl? The nerve of that woman! I swear, once I get my hands on her I'm going to wring her little neck.
Dia shook her head. "I'm disappointed. You broke into Mari's room and kidnapped the first person you saw. And the wrong one at that."
"What were you even doing in her room?"
"Mari instructed me to go to her room and meet her there. I expect she's rather surprised by my disappearance once she learns of my disappearance." She grabbed a book on the table and flipped to its pages, surveying its contents.
"Kanan groaned. "How could I be so stupid and careless?"
"Don't be so nitpicky, it's better than nothing."
"You're not helping in the slightest you know that?"
Dia smiled. "I beg to differ."
Kanan was left reaping her mess as Dia walked around the dock, looking up and down excitedly. For a hostage, Dia looked pretty excited to be on the ship.
Should she really be excited at a time like this? She's not even scared...I'll give her credit for that.
"Hey...if you want...I can give you an inspection of the ship. That is, if you want."
Dia craned her neck back and jumped at the chance. "That sounds excellent."
What a Princess...
So the next day, Kanan showed her around the ship docks, leading her to every room on the deck and telling her of its story. Including the part about how she stole away a girl who turned out to be a Princess. Her crew got into a lot of trouble for that but Kanan reassured her they were okay now.
As a pirate, Kanan had many stories to tell, some of them thrilling and made Dia jump off her feet.
Dia looked genuine intrigued and Kanan was taken back by her forwardness. And as fast as it seemed, Kanan found herself enjoying Dia's presence, her crewmates often teasing her whenever she was with Dia. Something, Kanan couldn't shake off; that twinge of guilt she felt and the warm feeling she got whenever Dia laughed at her stories.
"Wow, Princess you're sure in a good mood today." Kanan ran her hands through her hair, breathing in the fresh air above the boat.
"I have a name you know, it's Dia."
"Yeah, yeah Dia." She waved Dia off, directing her gaze toward the sea. The waves rocked the ship gently, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
"You seem calmer these days." Kanan pointed out.
On the outside, Dia looked calm and Kanan couldn't fathom why she could remain like that instead of her usual panicky mood.
"I suppose. I'm just waiting for the day you're well, going to sell me off or threaten for random," Dia said, placing her hand on the ships wooden board. "It's nothing special."
"Do you miss them?"
Dia shrugged her shoulders. "My sister is probably worrying her head off and...my father may agree to your terms. After all, I am his precious heir."
"Do you want to go back to them?" Kanan inquired. "Would you be happier if that happened?"
Dia shook her head. "When I was home, I never got out much or had a chance to travel. Now that I have a chance to, I don't want to go back to that dull place. I'm happier where I am and I don't want to go anywhere else."
Sucking her breath, Kanan gritted her teeth and laughed. "Don't you think you're a little selfish? Your sister might be crying her eyes out and that's all you can say?" Kanan hadn't expected to sound bitter about Dia's circumstances yet she couldn't help second-guessing Dia's words. She felt flattered Dia wanted to remain at her side but she had to face reality.
"You know I don't mean that," she whispered.
"Then what do you mean, Dia?"
"I mean what I said." Her hands grasped her violet dress, as her body shook. "I... I want to stay with you Kanan."
"But you won't be happy." Clicking her tongue, she scratched her head, huffing. "Dia, you won't be happy staying with someone like me!"
Dia swallowed hard. "I lo-"
"Don't!" Kanan argued. "Don't say it! I don't want to hear it. I'm taking you back first thing in the morning, no question." She turned her head and stalked towards the lower area until Dia wrapped her hands around her back, hugging her.
"I love you!" Dia confessed. "I love you so much, Kanan."
Kanan turned her back and faced Dia, her face scrunched in pain. Dia wasn't any better, her face streaming with tears. "You deserve better, not some lowly Pirate." She muttered. Dia kept shaking her head, looking Kanan right in the eye.
"I want you, Kanan. I need you. I love you so much."
"Damn it," Kanan mumbled. Dia wasn't making this easier and she blamed herself for getting sucked into her world. "Just stop it."
I know...I know I can't leave things like this. I know I should just tell her the truth. But I'm scared. Confessing my feelings... knowing I'm going to get rejected...get hurt…
Kanan sighed heavily, raking her hands through her hair messily. Why couldn't Dia make things easier for her and accept her terms?
"I love you, I love you, I love you!"
Kanan sighed and bared her teeth. She grabbed Dia's hand and yanked her forward, their lips meeting in a desperate kiss. Kanan hungrily kissed Dia, reeling the girl closer than necessary and tasting Dia's lips. For a while, Kanan wanted to forget about Dia's worry's and relish in her warm touch. She couldn't bear to whisk Dia from her home and beloved family, something Kanan didn't have.
It was selfish to want Dia all to herself, wasn't it? Those lingering thoughts continued to haunt Kanan through countless nights of sleep. She didn't feel inclined to return Dia and she felt frustrated for having such absurd desires but, somehow Kanan knew. She wasn't going to let go of Dia, not when the Dia had confessed her love so fervently like that in front of her, refusing to move.
"I love you too, Dia," Kanan whispered, pushing Dia near a wall and kissing her intensely. "I'm not going to let you go, now that you're mine," she promised, before dropping down to attack Dia's lips once again.
Dia rested her hand on Kanan's chest, panting when Kanan withdrew her lips; and took Dia's hand, intertwining their fingers, slacked against the wall.
"Even if you hate me, I won't ever let you leave. Never," Kanan whispered harshly. "So don't think of escaping. From here on out, you belong to me."
Dia blushed. Nodding her head happily in return. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"But be warned, Captain. You can't move forward unless you face your fears. The rest is up to you. It won't be easy once you're enraptured." The woman spoke, her eyes boring into Kanan's own. "At the end of the crossroad, should you come across a choice, don't run away. At best, you'll lose your treasure and never see 'it' again. It may not ever return." She wouldn't tell more than that. "However accept your fate there will be more hardships to come." The last card revealed itself and Kanan stared at the two figures huddled close together. "But I doubt that will be a problem for you."
The lover's card glanced back at Kanan, almost as if taunting her.
"Nonetheless, I hope the best for you." Her smile was warm as Kanan shivered. "So what will you choose?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Kanan chucked brightly, slamming the hilt of her blade on the table. "I'll just take what's rightfully mine and fight anyone that gets in my way!" She unsheathed her sword, it's deadly blade reflecting the woman's smug grin.
"Interesting." She mused. "I do hope you will entertain me, Kanan."
"So what will you choose? Gold? Or perhaps 'her'?" The woman playfully whispered, reaching out to stroke Kanan's cheek. "You will find out eventually. By then, can you still say you want her?" She grasped the lover's card in her fingers, mirroring another card. In the corner of her eye, Kanan caught a glimpse of the view; The Judgement card.
Kanan finally understood the meaning of the woman words and clicked her tongue angrily. Isn't it obvious? I chose Dia. No amount of gold could ever weight my love or her.
This outcome was for the best, Kanan hoped. She wanted to keep feeling Dia's touch, her hushed whisper whenever their lips met and the smile gracing her lips whenever their eyes met. She didn't know what else to think, but for now, Kanan wanted to focus all of her attention on Dia.
In that moment, nothing else mattered in the world.