Chapter three

The night before the festival passed uneventfully. Still at the abandoned temple, Sana huddled with her younger sister in one corner trying to keep each other warm in the cold desert night. Shachi managed to fall asleep with the heat of a small campfire keeping him warm. Law entered the small room, which was previously used as a prayer room after speaking to his other crew members via a transponder snail. Bepo and Penguin were particularly surprised after hearing that their captain decided to stay and help a stranger.

As he sat in an empty corner, he noticed Sana was still awake, her face illuminated by the fire. Although there was initially some relief in her after she managed to convince Law to stay, her face was once again clouded with worry as the dawn was slowly approaching. With Law and Shachi on their side, it was still four against a whole country.

"You worrying isn't going to help us," Law announced, bringing her attention from the flames onto him. He usually wasn't one to initiate a conversation, unless of course he got something out of it.

"Shachi will have to carry you around tomorrow if you don't get enough sleep tomorrow."

Despite his provocations, Sana remained quiet. It was uncharacteristic of her, he thought. Although she was cautious, she was also quite simple-minded. Her plans were on par to a childish prank as opposed to being crafty. She seemed quite sheltered and prideful, that if someone were to offend her she would get defensive immediately.

There was something about Law's calculating mannerisms that reminded her of Kai, and even Vasu, another one of the temple guards. Kai was slightly more impulsive than Law, making Law even more dangerous to deal with. Not to mention, Law's earlier announcement made a lasting impression on her. They were pirates; the scum of the sea. It wasn't just a matter of whether she is able to trust him and Shachi more than the temple anymore, she didn't know whether they were trustworthy at all.

"This spot has been quiet, I expected someone to storm in eventually."

"This isn't the first place they'll look. They'll get desperate and check this place eventually, but we'd have moved out by then. Kai and the others always underestimate my ability to think for myself."

As she predicted, the guards surrounded the coast of the island, making sure no one could get in or out. Additionally, some troops were sent to Sana's mothers and Siah's mother's old childhood homes in search of them. Kai thought that out of desperation and their emotional state they would've ran and hidden somewhere comforting to them.

"You seem to know that guard pretty well."

"It's a small island. Everyone's a familiar face."

Law noticed she was a bad liar. The familiarity she and her younger sister had with Kai and vice versa confirmed this. There was also Siah and Kai's facial features. Law safely assumed they could be related. That also explained how Sana knew about the poneglyph at the temple, and her and Siah's nicer than average clothing.

To stop him from asking any further questions, Sana shut her eyes and pretended to doze off, until she eventually did for real.

.

The next morning, the country was on high alert. Sana and Siah's disappearance wasn't publicised beyond the temple, so it had only been guards who were searching for them. With it being the day of a major festival, they had no other choice than to get the citizens involved.

Sana and Shachi froze in front of a brick wall covered in fresh wanted posters. On them were a rough drawing of Law and the other had a drawing of Shachi.

Shachi's drawing had a bounty of 30,000 Berries, whereas Law's drawing had a bounty of 25,000 Berries.

Shachi pulled on the hood of his cloak, trying to cover more of his face. The two men managed to get hold of something to blend in with everyone else. As Sana pointed out previously, although the pair were obviously foreigners and easy to pick out of the crowd, Law's array of tattoos and piercing made him stand out even more.

"Captain, this is bad!" Shachi whispered towards his captain, feeling on edge. He then pointed a sharp glare at Sana, knowing full well she was the reason for them to be the prime targets of Khaso. Sana just turned her head away, pretending not to have noticed.

"I agree," Law muttered in response. "Why is my bounty lower than yours?"

"Was it not your subordinate who announced that he would wed me?"

"That is true."

"I did no such thing!"

"You technically did."

"And he who agreed to wed the sinner of Khaso would bear the weight of his words."

"Shouldn't the sinner of Khaso also have her picture up for the people to scorn at?"

Law kept the same laid back tone when asking such a pointed question. Shachi hadn't thought of it yet, and began to wonder it himself. Sana on the other hand wondered whether Law already knew the answer to his own question. There was no telling how much he actually knew of their situation, and whether he was just coercing her into confessing.

"Let's move!"

Sana reluctantly pulled her younger sister along and led the group, not wanting to answer Law.

"Where are you taking us?" Shachi asked, following his captain, who was following the girl without question.

"Everyone's moving towards Hewe where the Priestess will be carried down. It would be strange for us not to travel with the rest."

"And what time will this Priestess be carried down?"

"The priestess will be carried down when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, and then Khaso will begin to descend into chaos once the sun starts to set."

A moment after her words, Law engulfed the nearby area in a sphere and transported them out, and away from people's sight. Sana and Shachi found themselves surprised by his action. Law was the last person out of their group to try and draw attention to themselves, but now they found themselves on the roof of a building. Law cautiously moved closer to the edge of the roof, trying to find a spot where he could have a full view of the street ahead. As expected, his action caused a lot of ruckus and people were sent into a frenzy.

"Why did you do that?!"

"Quiet!" Law ordered, his eyes still fixed on the street view. "We were being followed. Do your so called guards ever wear those around?"

He gestured towards a group of cloaked men, who frantically split into smaller group and dispersed into the nearby alleyways.

"Not that I know of."

"In that case, is anyone else after you two?"

"I don't know who else would want to catch us."

"Think carefully," Law continued to urge her. "You're the High Priestess, there are plenty of people wanting you."

"I-" Sana remained stuck on this word. She was careful enough, so how did he come to this conclusion so fast. Shachi too was surprised and stumbled on his own words.

Siah attempted to cover for her older sister. "You're wrong! Sana is innocent."

"Be quiet, kid!"

One look at her was enough to make her cower behind her older sister.

"Leave her out of this. I don't know how you came to that conclusion."

"Look, there's only so much I can figure out on my own in such a short time." Law explained patiently. "There's a lot of this country's dynamic I won't be able to figure out by noon time. If you aren't even able to help yourself, we won't be able to ensure your safety."

"You're right, I'm Khaso's High Priestess. Please just listen to me."

Shachi was still in shock as he sat beside his captain, his mouth agape as he began listening to her.

Sana and Siah's paternal grandmother was the previous High Priestess. However, she wasn't able to have any daughters and only had sons. The temple hesitated to strain her body to have any more children, and had her son's produce offsprings. Amongst those, Sana was the oldest girl, Siah followed years later and the rest were all boys. For a family whose women had the gift of performing miracles, it was ironic how they were cursed into bearing mostly male offspring.

A few years after her grandmother died, her father forced her to eat a strange fruit he had obtained from abroad. From then onwards, she manifested the same ability as her grandmother. She was presented to Khaso as the new High Priestess and asked to cure the sick. With nothing but devotion towards her, the people of Khaso gave away their livelihood to her.

"I am no High Priestess chosen by the gods. We are nothing but a family of swindlers with the misplaced trust from the people of Khaso."

"Whether it was due to a devil fruit or not, it doesn't change the fact that the women in your family served the country. But what were you trying to accomplish running away from today's ceremony?"

"I was hoping for the people to cause an uproar and question the temple if the High Priestess didn't appear."

"What a simpleminded plan! It'll take more than just a runaway Priestess for their hearts to waver."

"Then what can I do for them to stop following me so blindly? For them to start living for themselves again?"

Law turned to face her fully this time.

"Your demand this time is bigger, so the poneglyph will not suffice."

"Anything that belongs to the temple you can take. As long as you don't touch what belongs to the people."

"Then take me to the library of Taewe."

The ancient library of Taewe contained a collection of ancient scriptures as well as wide historical knowledge passed down by the people of Khaso. This vast amount of knowledge currently belonged to the southern temple.

"Once this is over, I will take you to Taewe. You have my word."

With her word of approval, Law handed over a transponder snail to Shachi.

"Tell Bepo and Penguin to meet us at the rendezvous point. I'll also need my sword."