Chapter one
"It's not here..."
The dock was empty. Sana expected at least a small boat enough for two people if not a ship. But there was no sign of anything that would've led the two men onto the island.
"Sana..."
"Don't worry, we'll find it. If not here it must be somewhere around the coast."
Sana wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince with her younger peer, or whether she was trying to reason with herself. Siah was Sana's sister; her half sister to be precise. They shared the same father, but their mothers were different. On Khaso though, the pair resided with their father and their ten brothers. Sana and Siah were the only girls in the family.
"Let's go!"
As before, Sana took the lead and dragged her younger sister along the sandy beach in search for a way to escape the island. Though Siah had a difficult time to keep up, the fact that her sister had hope of a way out from Khaso kept her going. There was something about the abandoned seaside that seemed eerie. Though the neighbouring Kingdom of Alabasta was undergoing a power-struggle, the cities were colourful and bustling with liveliness. Marines and pirates travelling along the Grand line often visited along their journeys.
Khaso on the other hand became notorious for being hostile to foreigners over the past couple of decades. Droughts became much more common over the past 100 years, and along with that came disease and deaths. The people of Khaso suffered in silence as the World Government refused to offer a hand to aid the situation. In the end, several decades ago, a family of saints moved to the island and began to solve majority of the people's problems.
The family's women had a gift passed down from generations to generations, being able to cure the sick regardless of their illness. Out of desperation, the people of Khaso flocked to this family for aid in the hopes they could cure the sick. Citizens from all over the country visited hearing the news and from then onwards, the saints were worshipped by the masses. Thus, Khaso's rule was passed over to the High Priestess and their strict rule.
"Over there, I see a boat there!"
It was hidden from plain sight, but it Siah definitely managed to spot a wooden boat safely tucked away. A boat wasn't nearly enough to get someone to the next island, but the further they would row into the open sea, the more likely they were to encounter a navy ship. They were sure the men they encountered had their ship anchored somewhere nearby too.
However, they weren't sure how trustworthy those men were. To two girls who had never stepped a foot outside Khaso, there was nothing more frightening than outside with unknown intentions. Shachi aside, Law looked unapproachable with his stoic personality as well as his numerous tattoos and piercings.
Two paddles were enough for Sana to use to row slowly. The officers had not made it to the coast yet, but if they were to spot Law and Shachi, they would think to check the dock and the coastline next.
Siah held onto the sides as she watched her older sister heave and push the boat into the the water and go in further. There wasn't a concrete plan on what could happen after this. All they needed was to get away from Khaso first. For now, anywhere was safer than Khaso.
However, their moment of victory was short lived. The pair experienced a light feeling in their stomachs, and Sana's eyes who were on Siah suddenly were filled with the sight of the man they encountered before. The sudden sight startled her, but she began to panic more at the absence of her sister.
"Oh, hello again."
Shachi, who was now on the row boat was half surprised himself. His captain's actions were sudden and he himself had no prior warning, but having seen Law's devil fruit's ability numerous times in the past this came as to no surprise to him. Instead he took this moment of confusion as an opportunity to grab the boat thief by the arm.
"What do you think you're doing? Unhand me at once!" Sana barked back orders, and as she looked over her shoulders she saw her younger sister beside Law in a much more frightened state. "I asked you what you think you're doing. Let me go, now! And don't you dare hurt her!"
"Sorry, can't do that. Captain's orders."
Shachi was able to guide the girl back with ease despite her trying to fight back and get away from his grip. Once on land, they noticed that Law didn't even need to hold the younger girl in place. He didn't even budge when Siah decided to run towards her older sister.
"What did you do to us?"
Devil fruit powers weren't a common occurrence, and there was very little understanding about the range of devil fruit powers that existed. Law's ability was overpowering and difficult to comprehend which made them even more wary.
"You tried to steal our boat."
"We didn't know it was yours."
"That's hard to believe."
"We'll leave without causing you trouble. So, I'm begging you to let us go."
"Captain, we should just let them go," Shachi proposed, seeing the interaction between Sana and Law. "These runts probably didn't know any better, they'll be too scared to try anything again."
"You think I'd drag around two liabilities with me? Of course I'm going to let them go."
Shachi's grip around Sana's arm loosened, allowing her to put her arms around her younger sister protectively.
"Since we've let you go out of good will, why don't you hand over your cloak?"
"Shachi!"
"Never mind then!"
"You are to walk us back to the town centre so we can keep an eye on you. Shachi, move the boat back behind that rock formation."
Going back to the town was the worst thing Sana and Siah could do at that moment. They knew they could only remain hidden from the army for a very short period of time. If they were to remain on Khaso, they'd be found sooner or later.
Law's instruction were followed, and the girls were made to walk a few steps ahead of the men just so they could keep an eye on them. However as predicted, there was very little time before the armed guards caught up to them. Seeing two cloaked people, around the same height as the girls they were looking for they barked an order at them. It was just their faces that weren't visible due to their hoods obstructing the view. Their faces would serve as a confirmation.
"You there, stop and remove your hoods!"
All four of them simultaneously stopped in their tracks.
"You two outsiders, get the hell out of here. This doesn't concern you."
Law and Shachi returned the nasty glares they got from the group of men, huddled together and blocking their path. Nonetheless, as suggested this didn't concern the Heart Pirates. They took this as an opportunity to leave the boat thieves to their country's justice system.
Seeing Law and Shachi leave sent the two girls into a fit of panic. Once their hoods were removed, it was over for them. They knew the level of horrible torture they would be put through and it made their stomachs churn. Siah gripped onto the fabric of Sana's cloak, hoping to disperse her anxiety. Sana had to think quickly. Though she couldn't trust Law and Shachi, being left alone with the officers of Khaso seemed to be the worst fate imaginable.
Her eyes focused on Law and Shachi's backs as they were slowly moving away from them. Were these two her only last hope? With Law being the more intimidating of the two, she quickly gripped onto Shachi, who stopped walking out of sheer surprise to looked back at her. He wondered where in hell she gained this much strength all of the sudden. Out of pure desperation, she removed her hood, showing off her face to the world for the first time that day. This confirmed the officers' suspicion, she was the girl they were after.
"I'm Sana Zenndiqque," She announced to the whole world, taking a few steps forward to now stand beside the bewildered men. "This man promised to put his life on the line and protect me until his last breath. This man proposed to me and we are to be wed!"
This was how the Heart Pirates became entangled with the corrupt political state of Khaso.
The officers looked between Sana, who now had completely removed her cloak, and Shachi, who was obviously a good for nothing pirate. Shachi's disheveled clothing from a foreign land was a sheer contrast to her clothes which were made of expensive hand-woven silk.
The sound of sheer confusion echoed through the vast coastline at her declaration.
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"
