Star Crossed, chapter 2


"Bankiina! How could you do this? Look at this poor man!" Paolo chided, as he came out of the guest room, closing the door to let the invalid rest in peace.

"He was stealing my PIE, Papa! Don't you care?" She was pouting in the corner.

"A pie isn't worth taking a man's life over." Paolo sat at the table.

"I didn't take his life. I gave him a good bonk on the head. He'll get over it."

"I don't know how you turned out to be such a violent girl, Kiina. Your mother, God rest her soul, would be shocked at you." Paolo shook his head sadly.

Kiina shook a delicate finger at her father. "Papa, you are such a liar! If Mama were here to hear you say that, she'd hit you over the head with that frying pan of hers, and you know it."

Paolo ran his hand over the back of his head, as though remembering. "Well, maybe. But that doesn't mean that you couldn't behave yourself a little better." He sighed, looking out the window. "No wonder the village boys don't come around anymore! Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever see your wedding day."

His daughter looked mortified. "Papa! How could you say such a thing!"

"Well!" Paolo shrugged. "You're already an old maid!"

Kiina smacked her father with a wooden spoon. "EIGHTEEN is NOT an old maid!"

"It was in my day! Why, your mother, God rest her soul, and I, we were married at fifteen. No, twelve!"

"Right. And that's why you have gray hair in your wedding pictures, hmm?"

"That was the style back then. Folks wanted to look... distinguished. That's it."

"Sure, Papa. Sure."

"Aren't you concerned about it, Kiina-chan?"

"About what? My hair?"

"Don't joke with me, girl. About MARRIAGE."

Kiina covered her pale face as she giggled. "Oh, Papa. You never change. AND you never change... the subject."

Paolo folded his hands as if in prayer. "Please, daughter. I just want to see you happy before I pass on."

The girl gazed out the window. "I AM happy, Papa. I'm happy here." She sighed. "The right man will come along one day. You'll see."

"Oh!" Paolo cried. "How about Herman, the butcher?"

"No way!" Kiina laughed. "He smells like old meat!"

"There's Stuart, the shoemaker's apprentice..."

"Ew! He smells like old feet!"

"What about the mayor's son? He's handsome enough..."

"But he's so dull! He's dumb as a stump!" Kiina shook her head emphatically. "No... the one for me... he's going to be interesting, and fun. Brave and adventurous! He'll be well-traveled, educated... He'll never be boring."

"Well then," Paolo remarked, raising an eyebrow. "If you've got such a detailed description, why not get out there and find him already?"

"No." Bankiina shook her head again, looking off into the distance, where the ocean met the sky. "He'll find me. I'm sure of it."



******


Yasopp awoke to the sensation of a soft breeze stirring his hair. He snapped to attention, looking around frantically. Where was he? Where were the guys? Captain?

He found himself in a spare, simple little cottage room. He was laying in a comfortable bed, with clean white sheets. A rickety wooden table sat next to the bed, with an earthenware bowl and pitcher. A carved trunk lay at the foot of the bed, and a woven rag rug covered the floor.

He blinked. What was he doing here? He tried to remember.

His head throbbed, reminding him. Rosy cheeks and dark wavy hair flashed through his memory.

That girl...

He touched the lump on his head, which had been carefully bandaged while he was out.

That girl... she hit me with her broom. And then...

He heard voices from another room and strained to listen.

An old man was arguing with someone. "Bankiina, Bankiina, there are more important things in life than pies! Don't you see that?"

A girl, who must have been 'Bankiina', answered. "Like what, Papa?"

"Like LOVE!" 'Papa' kissed his fingers and spread them poetically. "Amore."

"Love doesn't win baking contests, Papa! And this was going to be my third win in a row! THIRD!" Bankiina protested. Her voice was soft and feathery, like a songbird's. "I can't believe it."

"So what. So bake another one!"

"I CAN'T! Don't you see?" He heard her footsteps, as she paced the floor. "That was a huckleberry pie! Huckleberries don't GROW near the village! I had to venture deep into the forest in search of the perfect ingredients... and when I found them, they were guarded by a bear! No, a pack of bears!"

Yasopp smiled to himself. She sounded like an interesting girl.

"Daughter, bears don't have packs. That would be wolves."

"Well, these were special bears! And I bravely fought them off. I fought them and emerged... victorious! With the huckleberries! The secret ingredient for my sure-fire Summer Festival Bake-Off Winning Pie!"

Now the young pirate chuckled. This girl... was really something else.

But the girl, Bankiina, now let her voice fall into a melodramatic sob. "And now... and now it's RUINED!"

A sob, another sob. And a hiccup.

Yasopp felt a lump of guilt growing in his throat. Was she... crying?

"Now, daughter! Don't cry!" the father was saying. "It'll be all right! We have strawberries in the garden... why not use those? Everyone loves your strawberry pies!"

The girl began to sound increasingly upset. "Papa, I made strawberry LAST year. Don't you see? This was so important to me!"

"Kiina, come now. It's just pie!"

"It's NOT just pie!" she cried. "I had to win! This is the only thing I have going for me! This is all I know how to do!"

She seemed to slam something down on the table. The sound made Yasopp jump.

"Look at me, Papa!" the girl raised her voice sharply. "Do you really think that I'm going to find a man who will marry me for my LOOKS?"

"BANKIINA!" The father sounded appalled. "How can you... how dare you say that?! You are just as beautiful as your mother was, when she was your age!"

"Except for this stupid nose! I hate it! Everyone makes fun of me behind my back! They don't think I know, but I do."

"What? Your nose is fine, dear, it's just like mine!"

"Oh...!" The young lady's voice shook with emotion. "You just don't understand!"

Yasopp heard her run, presumably out the front door, which slammed behind her.

Boy, do I feel like a big jerk. That poor girl...

He rubbed the bump on his head ruefully. Well, if she had only TOLD me that the damn pie was so important, I wouldn't have touched it. I'd never mess up a girl's whole future on purpose.

Even for the tastiest-smelling pie in the world...




The door opened suddenly, taking Yasopp completely by surprise.

"I-I didn't hear anything!" He threw up his arms in surrender. "Please, don't beat me anymore!"