Chapter 13: The way things are
Ace managed to get them to another smaller town on the other side of the Island, a town that had a tiny dock and no pirates because it was crawling with marines. He knew it was a huge risk to dock here but Blaise was still asleep, and he could not travel the whole ocean with her in his arms like this. So, he put to port and paid a young man to keep the boat hidden, luckily it was growing dark and the Marines were piling into the inns available. Ace found a cozy little bed and breakfast that was mostly ignored because the keeper an older woman with grey hair and kindly yet strong look in her eye put out a sign that said no beer.
"Oh, poor dear, she must be plum tuckered." The woman signed them in and took his berries before leading them to the room. "You are a good husband carrying your wife so she could rest. Is she with child? I remember being so tired the first few months before I got my energy kick at the end." She talked all the way.
Ace knew Blaise would not like being considered his wife or pregnant with his child as well, but it was easier than to tell the woman they were just traveling together and barely friends. Though, he kind of hoped she thought he was a friend by now. He had only met her a week ago or two? She was already clawing her way beneath his skin and getting to him. Inside the room the old woman clucked over Blaise and commented on the smell of fire and the dirty clothing.
"There was trouble at the other town, some pirates set fires." He informed the woman. "That's why we came here. I didn't want her hurt while we were there."
"What a good man you are, the bathroom is off to the side, you should wake her up and let her bathe, I will fetch a robe for her to rest in. You will be hungry too; expectant mothers are always hungry."
"I don't want to impose Miss." Ace smiled gently laying Blaise on the bed and shaking her a bit to wake her.
"Not at all, I will be right back." She was out of the room like a whirlwind.
"Mn, what happened? Where are we?" Blaise was up quickly her head spun for a second and her two-toned eyes landed on him.
"Don't worry, we are in a smaller town on the island, I got out of there quickly."
"My swords, my pack!" She looked around wildly to find them sitting on the floor by the bed where Ace had finally just dropped them.
"I made sure everything came with us, it was no easy task mind you, though these swords are magnificent. I didn't have to collect them, they just followed me." He was surprised that but, in the situation, there were other things to worry about.
"Yeah, I had to fish those gems out of the sea myself, Vincent said the stones of the sea would always follow me if I got them myself." She rubbed her head and looked at him confused. "How? What happened? I remember them grabbing me and you being shoved away but everything went red after that, I couldn't…think."
Ace wondered about that. "First off what kind of gems follow you around? I have never heard of these. Second, you completely lost control and sent flames all over the place, you cooked those twins into a crisp." He didn't mention that he had also cut off their screaming with the pressure of his Haki.
"They are called living stone, the two large green ones there, they are the ones that followed you or rather me. They were white when I pulled them from the ocean floor, not an easy task since I am not a fish." She sighed. "I did? Was anyone hurt? Any of the town destroyed?"
Ace stared at her for a few minutes, her heart sank in her chest, dread taking over her tired body. She had hurt innocent people. How could she lose her control like that? Blaise hated hurting people she should be protecting; how could she do this to them? Her hand came up shaking and she covered her eyes her heart breaking in her chest.
"Why are you upset? You didn't hurt anyone Blaise." He finally told her.
She looked up at him sharply her heart break fading away to anger. "Why didn't you just say that you butt head!" She shoved his chest which he kept perpetually nude.
"Did you just call me a butt head?" He laughed letting her silly weak push send him back onto his bottom.
"You are one!" She shouted less angry and more annoyed yet giddy.
"I cannot believe you called me that, no one talks to me like that." He shook his head.
"Not to your face." She grouched sliding her legs off the bed, her lips curved into a smile despite herself.
Ace started to really laugh then, his shoulders shook, and he pointed at her. The old lady returned with the robe she promised and an old man carrying a tray with two covered bowls on it.
"I see you are in a good mood. Oh, you poor dear, I will help you undress, you need to bathe that smell right off." She grasped Blaise's hand and the young woman looked at Ace suddenly terrified.
"Ace?!" She reached out but her mind screamed at her suddenly and she yanked it back. Why was she calling for Ace as if this old woman was dangerous?
"Got bathe, I will take my turn after you, dear wife." He stressed the wife part and she suddenly realized why they were allowed in a room together despite all else.
Ace watched the realization dawn on her face, and she turned several shades of white then red before the bathroom door was shut behind them. He knew he would be paying for this little lie later. Ace was looking forward to it. The old woman threw something out the door at him that he caught, it was the small bag she kept the artifacts in, it seemed Blaise at least trusted him somewhat. He stuffed the bag into his pocket before he stood up to take the tray from the old man and thank him for his hospitality.
"My wife's got a romantic bone in her, loves young couples. Don't you mind her too much, she talks a lot, but she will leave you two be as soon as she is satisfied the young lady is well cared for. You might want to give your lady love a kiss. The missus loves that, she'll rush off faster." He laughed leaving the room.
"I will do that, thank you." Ace grinned, oh how angry would Blaise be if he kissed her?
He investigated the bowls and found dinner would be warm and delicious smelling fish soup. He could hear Blaise protesting inside the bathroom and chuckled to himself. He picked up one of the swords and looked over it, he had been admiring them for a while now and with some time to kill he wanted to get a look at them. Dragon's teeth? Like one of those sea dragon things? Or an actual flying in the sky breathing fire dragon? A dragon would make sense, its teeth could handle the flames it belts out on a regular basis. The real question was how did she get a hold of dragon teeth, did she fight one? She seemed to like to do things on her own.
He thought the stones were just fancy gems and that this whole sword was something she was given but she said she had it made. A living stone? Why had he never seen one before? Or heard of it? Though, there were many wonders in this world he had not seen yet.
The bathroom door opened to reveal a red faced and clean Blaise with a grinning old woman behind her. She walked into the room in a single white robe tied tightly around her waist. He saw a great deal of her legs, which were well muscled and quite pale. Her hair lay around her like a blanket of flames, the orange had darkened to nearly match the red it faded into naturally. He put the sword back and stood looking at her, the old woman nodding sagely behind the young woman, apparently his reaction was appropriate. His jaw fell slack as he looked her up and down, her face was red from something else now and she wrapped her arms around her waist, biting her lip shyly looking away from him.
"Your man worked hard to carry you all the way here, you be sure to thank him now." The hold woman had told her in the bath and Blaise had sputtered as she was scrubbed clean despite her attempts at scrubbing herself.
Now she was unsure of what to say to the man who looked her up and down and seemed to have no issue with what he saw. Growing up she never got compliments, no other boys liked to play with her choosing to chase after Akane and Hanabe. They were the classic beauties who were more like mother than Blaise was. But Ace looked at her the way the boys started to look at Akane when they were teenagers. As if he liked what he saw. She needed to chastise him, he let this nice woman think Blaise was his wife and pregnant! The audacity! She approached him then, the scathing lecture on her tongue.
Ace grasped her wrist in one hand and her hip in the other, before she could think or even speak his mouth was on hers. Her mind lit like fire, the small voice that screamed for her to push him away was drowned out by a much more powerful voice that washed over her and told her all was right. Her hands came up slowly, her mouth slanting beneath his. Fingers slid into his hair, her body moving on its own pressed to the length of him. He seemed surprised at first but then his passion took over and he was kissing her harder, he let go of her wrist to thrust his hand into her hair, spreading over the side of her head as if he would meld his hand there.
She was on fire; he was on fire. Somewhere they registered that the old woman had left without a sound, but they were far too into each other. Blaise wanted more, more of this heady feeling, more of this man against her. His head was light, and this felt amazing. He lowered her to the bed, and she went willingly enough, pulling back he looked down at her and found she was the most beautiful woman he had seen, that this woman was…. everything he could ever want in a woman. She was intelligent, funny, brave and independent. He could see her fighting to the end for what was right and what was just. Blaise was a woman who had more heart and strength than that of any he had ever seen.
Blaise longed for this moment to never end, desperately she wanted everything to stay this way, here in this room as it was. But guilt suddenly ripped through her stomach and up to her throat and the feelings Ace had ignited in her were extinguished. She pushed him away from her and sat up, her heart aching.
"We cannot." She said softly.
He saw the moment she remembered who she was, where they were and what he was. He sat back and shook his head, his mind whirled and he couldn't believe what a fool he had been. She was an innocent young woman, and she hated pirates.
"I'm sorry Blaise, I…I'll sleep in the hall." He stood and started forward.
She grasped his hand and yanked him back, Ace looked at her confused.
"Ace…I…have to finish my mission. I have to do what I need to do…" But I don't want to, please tell me I don't have to. She begged inside her mind, hating herself for feeling this way, torn between the passion he gave her and the shrine she was bound to.
"I understand Blaise." And the damned truth of it was, he really did.
In that moment he started to kiss her everything he had ever wanted was there, she was the only thing he could focus on and he even forgot about his promise to his captain, his father. He knew she probably felt torn like he did, that what they had done was wrong and couldn't happen again. He wanted her, he wanted to spend time with her and know all of her secrets. He wanted to see her put on that make up she kept hidden in her bag, and to hear her read her books aloud to him while he sat beside her, laid his head in her lap. She was a need he was not allowed to have; she was something he could never have. So, Ace understood why she pushed him away, because she felt the same way. Blaise had responded like a woman who also craved more than she allowed herself.
Blaise pulled him down next to her and he willingly sat beside her, those strong slender arms wrapped around his neck and her head rested on his shoulder for a long moment. He wasn't going to make her choose between them, he wasn't telling her she needed to be with him. He knew she had to do this, and it suddenly there was a weight around her neck she couldn't get rid of. In this time, this little time she had with him she wanted to take everything he had to offer, memories to fill her dreams when she returned to her home. Never to see Ace again. It terrified her.
"Who is the man they mentioned? They said one other, who?" Ace asked into the quiet, he needed to know. He wanted to know.
"He is the man who tricked me, the man who told me great adventures and wonderful stories. He made me feel so happy and…" She sighed deeply. "He lied to me about everything, his adventures were pillages, his stories were platitudes one told a child." She slid her arms off him and sat back.
When he looked into her eyes, he saw a depth of despair that he had been seeing in every action she took.
"He is the reason you were kicked out of your home?" He asked.
"Yes, he told me that he wanted to see them, that he had heard so much about them. He promised he would never do anything to hurt me or get me into trouble. And after I showed him where they were, he broke into the shrine at night and tried to steal them." She clasped her hands in her lap, slowly squeezing them until her knuckles turned red and the flesh of her palms were white.
Ace reached out and eased her hands open.
"You were not at fault; his villainy was there long before he met you."
With a heavy heart, she told him. "He told me he loved me, and fool that I was, I believed him."