Leila dropped off her bags at her room and let out a deep sigh, her heart still hammering in her chest from Law's light kiss. Despite the innocent touch, she couldn't calm herself down. She dressed into new pajamas that she had bought, as they were settled in a tropical island she wore silky shorts and a cropped top to let the cool breeze cool her body down. She lay in her bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to the heat and the thoughts clouding her mind.

'He didn't outright ask me to stay but he clearly didn't want me to leave, why am I disappointed at that?' She mulled over. 'If he did ask me…what would I say?'

Leila felt her heart tug at the thought and she sat up, resting her head in her hands. Her and Law's relationship wasn't a deep one. They enjoyed each other's company but they were still unsure of each other, not knowing enough about the other person to fully trust them. Despite that, they found themselves laughing in each other's presence – letting their guard down and enjoying the company that they seldom have. When their sensual needs arise, they could easily satisfy them with each other's bodies without it becoming an issue to discuss. They just lived out their days carefree, enjoying the moment. Seemingly.

'I don't think I want that anymore…' Leila thought to herself as she recalled the trouble she had caused the crew, and most importantly, the injuries to Law. As easy as it was for her to stay on the ship, she feared putting the crew in danger. 'I can't be selfish'

Leila turned onto her side, letting sleep eventually take ahold of her.

Leila sat on a small cardboard box as her little legs dangled, wearing some red fluffy boots to keep her warm from the cold sea breeze. She was aboard her father's ship with his crew who were happily bustling with their tasks. Leila's father bent down in front of her, fixing her coat so that she wouldn't get cold.

"Hey there sweetheart, are you cold?" He smiled at her warmly, rubbing the back of her head as his golden eyes shimmered with affection. Leila carefully got off the box and fell into her father's arms clumsily, nuzzling her face into his jacket. He smiled and kissed the top of her head as he easily hoisted her young body up into his arms. "Come here my little princess; let's get some hot chocolate, shall we?"

Leila nodded as she assessed her father's face, slight stubble was forming along his jaw as he neglected shaving and his hair had grown a lot more than normal. His eyes were still full of love and affection for his little girl but they were evidently tired. One of her father's men was bustling in the kitchen making drinks before he saw the captain and his young daughter.

"Ah, our little Leila! What would you like to drink honey?" The crewmate smiled at her, opening a jar of sugar cubes to pop into her mouth, which she sucked on happily. Her father set her down and she ran towards the cups of warm soothing cocoa and the crewmate turned to her father with a cautious look in his eye. "Sir, you should get some rest. You've been on night watch for the past two days - you need to sleep"

"Its fine, I don't feel tired" Her father replied dismissively to which his crewmate sighed.

"Sir…listen. I know it's been hard, Leila's only 4 and Evelyn's deat-"

"Don't go there right now Sam. My wife passing has nothing to do with me wanting to keep my crew safe" Leila's father replied tentatively before the deck erupted into chatter.

"Sir! We've found something odd in the water!" A crewmate shouted up to their captain, causing him to step out onto the deck to look down at 3 of his crewmates observing a strange barrel.

"What is that?" He asked cautiously, quickly making his way over to the situation. One of the men peeked inside the barrel, causing a red flare to shoot up and explode into the sky, knocking the man backwards in surprise. The crew watched in horror as the flare exploded, realizing the danger they had just put themselves in.

"You utter morons; you just gave away our position!" Leila's father roared, ripping his jacket off and picking up a large gun beside him.

"T-to who?!" A crewmate asked, utterly petrified by their cool captain who had erupted into anger.

"I don't' know…guess we'll find out soon" He replied seriously, looking back into the kitchen where his little girl watched wide eyed. "Leila, honey. Hide below deck until I come to get you okay?" He told her commandingly, his eyes trying to persuade her of the seriousness of their situation without scaring her. Leila nodded and scurried back into the ship, hiding underneath a large table.

Her father was right; soon they were overwhelmed by odd-looking pirates who were proving to be much stronger than the small pirate crew. Leila's father put up a strong fight as he clattered his gun against the side of one of the invader's head but he had let his guard down as a large sword plunged into his side from behind, making his drop his sword and cough up blood. He fell to his knees as he searched for one of his crewmates amongst the chaos, landing on Sam, the chef of the crew.

"S-sam….take her away from here" He spluttered.

"Sir!" Sam shot one of the invaders as he rushed over to his captain's side, helping him onto his feet.

"Sam s-stop" Their captain coughed up blood again as his face grew pale. "Take my daughter, just take my daughter"

"We're all getting out of this Sir, don't worry!" Sam reassured his captain as he ran into the ship; being covered by their remaining crew's efforts to fight.

"You idiot, jus-" Leila's father grew agitated as he wasn't being listened to before his gaze fell onto his young daughter, peeking round the doorway of the kitchen inside the ship. Her eyes welled up with tears as she saw her father's state and she couldn't help but drop her things and run towards her father, clinging onto his leg tightly.

"Daddy!" Leila cried, pulling on his jeans to be picked up like she usually does. "D-daadddy, are you hurt?" Leila's father's eyes wrinkled through his suffering as he shook his daughter of him roughly, forcing her onto the floor.

"I thought I told you to hide! You silly girl, run - why are you here?!" Her father hissed at her in desperation before falling onto his knees once more.

Leila got onto her feet and hesitated as she looked at her father, tears streaming down her face. She didn't listen to her father's urges and ran towards him once more, her small body leaping into his chest as she held onto his shirt tightly. Her father winced from the impact but didn't have it in him to push his daughter away. He gripped her head close to his neck as he took in his most treasured thing on this planet. "H-honey. Go with Sam"

Sam stood beside the pair and swallowed the lump in his throat as he realized the gravity of his captain's injuries and his last wish for his daughter safety. He tugged on Leila's arm but she cried loudly in protest, alerting some of the invaders on deck. Sam tugged her off her father with full force and pulled her into his arms before the dangerous pirates crashed into the kitchen. A large pirate with a nasty scar across his eye settled upon the three in the kitchen before smirking and raising his gun from his waistband. He shot Leila's father through his arm, causing him to collapse to the floor in agony as Leila watched the events unfold. A young girl watching her father be murdered cruelly before her eyes. She cried for her father as Sam was faced with another pirate much stronger than him and the dying wish of his commander to keep the grief-stricken girl safe.

Leila's father looked up at his young daughter who resembled him so much and felt his heart tear in two.

'Evelyn…I'm sorry I couldn't keep our little girl safe. I couldn't save you, and I don't… think I can save her either…' He spoke to his wife who had passed so many months before and rolled onto his back, his breath becoming shallow and ragged. He took in his daughter's appearance for what would be the last time as his life slipped away from him, his eyes streaming tears as he felt absolutely helpless.

Sam gritted his teeth as he ran through the ship and away from the pirates. He wasn't a broadly built man; he acted as the chef and had no place in fighting. He had a small measly body with weak legs but slightly toned arms from lifting up the kitchen supplies. He knew he couldn't fight the invaders off. He ran down the long hallway of the ship below deck as he heard two men follow him closely. The sound of the bullet ricocheting alerted him before he felt it sink into his back. He bit onto his lip to stop his scream as he continued running with Leila in his arms, refusing to let the young girl get hurt.

"I'll be a shield if I have to Captain. I promise she'll be okay" Sam spoke to himself, trying to concentrate on his mission.

"This guy's a fast runner isn't he" One of the invaders smirked before tucking his gun back into his belt, carrying out a different weapon that he aimed into the young man's head and released the trigger, confident in his shot. Sam felt a deep arrow penetrate the back of his neck and collapsed to the floor, on top of Leila.

"Tch, did I seriously miss?" The invader muttered as he walked towards the pair. "I hit his neck…damn brat".

The man who had shot Sam began to walk towards him and soon realized the young girl who was desperately trying to push the dead man off of her so she could make an attempt to run. But she couldn't. She was only 4 - a grown man was far too heavy for her to move. "Captain, come take a look at this" The invader called out, observing the young girl who was sobbing to herself, wide eyed and traumatized.

Heavy boots travelled through the ship above them and down the stairs before settling into the hallway. "Man, they put up a big fight considering they don't have anything of value on board", the captain of the invaders muttered in annoyance, making his way over to his two underlings. He was a tall man with broad shoulders but was not particularly impressive. He was nearing 30 – with facial creases forming and dark stubble lining his chin. The title of 'captain' was evidently impressive. "What were they trying to protect so badly?"

"I think we've found it Sir…" one of the men muttered, making way for their captain.

"Hm?" Their captain's interest was piqued before he moved between the two men and saw Leila on the floor. Sam's cold eyes were open as he lay lifeless on top of her and Leila couldn't even bring herself to cry anymore. His face was pressed up against hers, with blood oozing from his neck onto her small body. Leila's own eyes had lost the fight and she had accepted that she would not get out of the situation alive. "Well, she's a pretty little thing isn't she…."

The captain pushed Sam's body off of Leila with no concern as it thumped into the wall loudly and utterly lifeless. "What's your name?"

Leila stayed silent as she looked away from the tall man, causing his jaw to tense in annoyance. He pulled the girl up violently from the floor, causing her to flinch but not cry. Her emotions felt solid, like they were encapsulated in a block of ice. Her mind flashed to her father's desperation, his plea for his life.

"Oi, girly." The captain said sternly, causing Leila to meet his gaze with dead eyes. "You're pretty fucked up huh" He laughed at her, somewhat enjoying the unusual girls reactions, or lack thereof.

"Should we throw her overboard captain?" One of the underlings asked coldly.

"We could do…." The sharp eyed man mulled it over, lifting the girls arm to assess her. She still wore her warm coat but her clothes were stained red with blood and her face had a deep gash in it from where she had fallen. The captain flicked a knife open and grabbed ahold of her hand, pressing the blade against it but not penetrating. He observed the girls face to assess her reaction but Leila didn't move - she just stared at the dagger planted against her small palm. The man continued his test and pressed the dagger into her palm, what would make a young child cry out in pain Leila only flinched at. Her eyes watered, seemingly biologically, as her face remained unmoving and still. It seemed that at her young age, she had accepted death.

"Haaah, I kind of like this one" The captain smirked with a grin, making the two underlings look at each other warily. "Well, doesn't matter what your name is I suppose. I'm Xander". The man retracted his blade and held his hand out for a handshake towards the young girl, she was unmoving so he took her bleeding palm and shook it firmly in his, spreading her blood across his rough hand with disturbing enjoyment.