BlackLynx17: Finally finding time to update all my works. Don't think I've forgotten about them. Thanks for loving Mendy.
Title: Love At First Sight
Secret Title: Pirate Love
Summary: Wendy is a princess forced to be married at the age of 18. It wouldn't be a problem for her if she had fallen in love with her fiance, but alas fate is not too kind. Determined to runaway to chose her own love, she runs into a nice man who rescues her from her guards. Thinking this man is her one true love, she decides to escape with him. She had no idea that her true love was a no good pirate.
Chapter Nine
Island Of Rare Animals
Mest digs his knife out of the table and throws it back in again, a scowl on his face as he glares at the wall. Erza and Mirajane look at him from the other side of the room before looking at each other, each of them motioning with their heads to go and talk to their sulking captain. Laxus, on the other hand, doesn't see these small motions and decides to go in himself.
"You're an idiot, you know that right?"
Erza and Mirajane stop bickering, eyes going wide as they stare at Laxus while Mest pauses, knife in his hands as he looks over.
"Excuse me?" He asks.
"That girl has been on a pirate's ship, A PIRATE'S SHIP, for months now. Months. And while you let her do whatever the hell she wants to help earn her keep, you have denied her what she really needs to know to survive here. Gods, I've never even seen her hold up a sword and the knives in Mira's kitchen don't count. She walks about here with nothing to defend herself and what, you actually believed that she was safe? On a pirate's ship? Defenseless? Last night would have went down differently is she could protect herself."
"If she would have listened to me and stayed in the back, last night wouldn't have even happened at all." Mest informs him calmly with a bite in his tone.
"That's not the point, Captain. We have a pirate that can't swim and can't fight. She's dead weight-"
"Alright, alright, alright, you were doing good there for a minute Laxus, but let me take over now," Erza runs over to cover his mouth.
Laxus glares ahead and Mest matches his glare, squeezing the knife in his hand waiting to see how he was going to finish the sentence. Mirajane scurries over and grabs Laxus' arm, pulling him back while Erza tries to finish what he started.
"Although the way he said it was a bit... blunt, Laxus does have a point Mest. Why haven't you taught Wendy how to use a sword? Or at least given her a knife? You don't really need training for that, just stab and twist."
"Because she doesn't need one. I can protect her."
"Well I protected her last night Captain, so maybe you can't." Laxus spits out.
"There, there you, we're leaving now," Mirajane growls dragging Laxus out by the ear.
Mest takes a deep breath and stabs his knife into the table, letting it stay there as he leans forward and squeezes his knees.
"Mest... you almost lost her yesterday-"
"I know, please don't remind me. I just... never wanted to see her covered in blood. She's too good for that, too pure for that! I never wanted to taint her. She wanted to come with pirates though, she wanted to earn her keep, she wanted to work hard, and I'm letting her, but I don't want to sully her. I don't want to ruin her. She was a princess Erza, she had everything she could ever want, and I took her away from that and gave her this! This is not what a princess should ever do! I just... I want to keep some part of her special still. I don't want her to become killers like us, I don't want her to hurt people. I need to protect that part of her, I swear that I will."
"Mest, we both know better now that Wendy never liked being a princess. I get that you're trying to protect her innocence... but you're also taking away her right to protect herself. Is that worth more to you? She almost vanished tonight. Is it worth risking that again just because you don't want her to pick up a sword? No one is saying she has to use it, just let her know how to."
Mest glares at the wall and runs his hands down his face.
"What are you even doing here right now? Why aren't you with your wife?"
"I'm scared to look at her. I keep thinking about when that beast had his hands around her and I was powerless. I don't like feeling that way."
"Did you ever stop to think how Wendy could be feeling right now though? She was the one who would have actually died. Has a princesss ever had a dance with death?"
Mest blinks and jumps to his feet, speeding out of the room. Erza sighs and shakes her head as he goes, glaring down at the knife he stabbed in her favorite table. She pulls it out with a scowl, looking at all the chips he made in the fine wood.
"Idiot." She grumbles throwing the knife into the wall.
Mest heads towards his quarters quickly, daybreak rising over the horizon. He opens the doors and walks in, finding his Wendy curled up in a ball with tears dried on her cheeks. Dammit, Erza was right. Mest groans and pulls up a chair, sitting by her side and watching her sleep. He brushes her hair away from her face and tries his best to rub away any signs of tears.
He knows she can fight. She's determined, she would probably be real good at it once she became experienced... but he doesn't want that for her. He's never wanted that for her. He just needs to do a better job. Next time she'll stay safe. Next time they'll be more prepared. She hasn't made him weaker, just... more dull to his surroundings.
Mest watches Wendy rest peacefully until a certain jerk alarms him. He leans over her, seeing her eyes tighten as she twitches again. Her fingers dig into the blankets and Mest places a hand on her shoulder, giving her a little shake.
"Wendy."
Her eyes burst open and she stares wide eyed at him, a soft scream on her lips as she jumps back. Mest freezes and Wendy takes a soft breath, recognizing this man beside her. Her shoulders relax and she casts her eyes down, gnawing on her bottom lip.
"Sorry."
"What's wrong? You look pale." Mest asks, placing his hand on her forehead.
It feels sweaty and burning hot. Wendy shakes his hand away and leans up on the bed, pulling the blankets up close as she rests her head against her knees.
"Nothing, I just had a few nightmares."
Mest sucks in a breath and narrows his eyes, "a few?"
She shrugs, "I kept waking up... where did you go?"
Definition, I kept waking up looking for you to be here with me, but you were never there. Mest bites his lips and lowers his head down, squeezing his knees tightly.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I know you're the captain. I'm not your only priority-"
"I wasn't even doing anything important though! I was wallowing in my own fears, leaving you to face yours alone. I'm sorry I left, but I'm here now. I'll stay here now Wendy, so just tell me what you need me to do and I'll do it!"
He failed her... once again. Wendy pulls her hair back from her face, wiping the sweat off with her sleeves. She reaches out after and grabs one of Mest's hand, falling back into bed as she settles in. She doesn't want to say it out loudly; she only wants him here with her. She closes her eyes and squeezes his hand, hoping he'll understand. Mest gets the picture and moves his chair closer to the mattress, holding onto her hand as he tries to find a comfortable position.
He doesn't let go until she wakes up in the high morning, a smile on her face as she slept peacefully without a nightmare in sight.
Wendy runs along the white, sandy beaches. She lets her toes feel the warm grains underneath her feet, too hot to stay still, so she keeps moving. She splashes against the wetter sands as she runs towards the ocean, squealing as she runs back trying to escape the waves that chase her. She could have never done this back in her kingdom, despite wanting to every time she saw the tides. She could have never done this in a dress either, which is why she's so happy to be wearing pants.
"Wendy! Wendy don't go out too far! Do you hear me?!" Mest calls out, shaking his head at her.
"She's fine Mest, this island is supposed to be inhabited except for all the animals." Erza sighs patting his shoulder.
"Yeah, supposed to, not actually is," Mest grunts and then begins to glare when he sees Natsu run out and join Wendy.
She squeals when he kicks water at her and Natsu laughs as she returns the favor. While Mest helps the crew get the supplies off of the ship he sees Juvia join them next, and then Gray right after.
"They should be working," he growls.
"Nah, I bet you just wish you could be playing with her," Mirajane giggles as she passes him by.
Mest turns his head and glares at her, "what was that?"
Wendy spreads her arms wide open as she feels the wind brush against her. The waves rise to her ankles and tickle her feet, cooling her down in this hot weather. They've finally arrived at the Island Of Rare Animals, supposedly where their treasure lies waiting to be dug up. She looks back towards the ship and sees the exploration team gathering around with shovels and supplies. Less than half the crew on the ship is coming with them; she hears looking for treasure is a tiring thing and most don't like doing it. Wendy can't see it their way at all. All of this is so exciting! Exploring a new land! Looking for buried treasure! It doesn't get better than this! She runs her way back over to the greens of the island, brushing off all the sand caught between her toes before pulling her boots back on. She joins Mest at his side and listens to him finish giving out orders before handing Erza the map. He looks down at her and smiles gently.
"Good timing, we're going to explore now. Erza's our navigator, so she'll lead the way." Mest tells her.
"And then we'll find treasure?!" Wendy's eyes sparkle as she leans up on her toes.
He chuckles and pats her head, "yes dear, and then we'll find treasure. I'm sure you've seen treasure before."
"Hardly!"
"What did you call your jewels back when you were a princess? Most pirates would think of those as treasures."
"But I didn't go looking for them and dig them up! This is actually real pirate treasure! What do you think we'll find? Gold? Diamonds? Riches beyond our wildest dreams?"
"Hopefully something, half these maps are phony," Gray interrupts squeezing the water out of his shirt.
"Aw... well I hope it's something too then." Wendy presses her lips together in a pout.
Mest chuckles and shakes his head, "come on buckos we have a long journey ahead of us. Let's try to find what we're looking for before the sun sets and if we do, I see a large banquet waiting for us on these shores."
Everyone cheers, Wendy jumping up in the air as she runs ahead and stays by Erza's side. This is interesting stuff, reading a treasure map, so she wants to be there and learn the ways. Of course it doesn't catch her attention forever. When they enter the island's forest Wendy is shocked by all the greenery she sees. She finds herself wandering off, still near the trail with her friends, admiring the plants, staring up at the trees, laughing when she finds a little animal or two scurrying around.
Natsu climbs a tree for her and shares the native fruits, juice running down her chin as she squeals from the flavors. Mest watches for a minute before looking ahead, thinking he could have done the same thing if she would have only asked. They keep treading across the island, it seeming a lot larger than what Wendy had thought when she first saw it. A lot more bugs than what she first thought as well; she finds herself more than once smacking at her arms whenever she feels something crawling on it. She finally gives up and rolls her sleeves back down, rather dealing with the heat than the bug bites. About an hour or so in she walks by Mest's side now at a slow pace, raising her hand over her head to keep the sun from blinding her. Mest looks down at her and takes his hat off, plopping it on top of her head. He takes his canteen off next and presses it against her lips.
"Drink, you'll faint from heat stroke before we find any treasures if you don't."
Wendy takes it from his hands and takes a sip, smiling up at Mest as the water cools her.
"Thanks. Are you sure I should be wearing this though? It is the captain's hat after all," she teases.
Mest smacks his hat down to cover her eyes and laughs, quickening his pace. Wendy pouts as she pulls it back up and chases after him. Erza stops in the middle of the road and stares at her compass. She looks down at the map and then looks around her surroundings.
"I think this is it. Boys, get to digging somewhere in this general area." Erza orders waving her hand around.
The men all grunt as they grab their shovels and do just that, digging them into the ground and tossing the dirt behind them. Wendy goes to grab a shovel as well, but Mirajane holds her back and pulls her into the shade where Erza and Juvia are already resting.
"Aren't we supposed to help?" She asks.
"That's more of a man's type of work; trust me, they're going to be doing that for a while. You don't want to work up a sweat, do you?" Mirajane asks her softly.
Wendy sticks out her bottom lip and looks back towards them. It does look like hard work and there's hardly any shade covering their backs; they're doing this with the sunlight heating them up. Still, she looks at the shovel on the ground and picks it up.
"I at least want to try it once," Wendy says and then digs it into the ground.
It doesn't go in the dirt and she wiggles it with a frown on her face. Juvia giggles behind her palm while Erza shakes her head. Sometimes she truly forgets that this girl was a princess once upon a time.
"Here, dig in, step there, and pull out. If you want to help at least know how to help." Erza explains, showing her the motions before passing it to her.
"Yes Erza," Wendy responds positioning the shovel correctly.
She digs it in, steps on it with all her might, smiles when it actually goes under the dirt, and grunts as she tries wiggling it back up. She stares at her finished product, a small hole in the ground, and the girls cheer for her as she looks up at them with a grand smile on her face.
"I did it!" She cheers.
"You sure did, now relax and let the boys finish the rest."
"Hello? She didn't even dig in the right spot! Cheer for us at least!" Gray calls out.
"Just keep digging Gray," Mest mumbles, shoulders shaking in laughter at his little princess.
The day only gets harsher and the girls relax and fan themselves, laughing as they swap stories about nothing. The men sweat harder as their digging persists, Natsu cursing as he drops his shovel and takes his shirt off. Suddenly Wendy watches as Juvia, Mirajane, and Erza all begin to whistle. Natsu rolls his eyes at them as he resumes working.
"You're going to get a pretty nasty burn Natsu," Gray warns him.
"I don't care, that thing wasn't help me in the slightest." Natsu grunts.
Gray rolls his eyes, but soon finds himself doing the same after a couple of minutes. Wendy watches with wide eyes and tries to cover them (but not really) as Mest pulls his shirt off and tosses it on the ground. She's never seen him naked before- er- well, shirtless. A lady isn't really supposed to look at those things, but her friends are all teasing and ogling, so she guesses for a pirate it's... acceptable?
"Wendy? You okay there? Your face is kind of red." Mirajane frowns.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm just feeling hot I guess." Wendy says.
"Don't get heat stroke!" Mest calls out from behind.
Erza starts fanning her face while Juvia passes her some water. Wendy is now even more embarrassed for getting caught thinking such a thing. She doesn't know why, but her heart races as she watches him work. She never knew his back was so wide, or how muscular. There are little white stripes here and there, maybe scars from old adventures? Her eyes narrow to his shoulder when she spies something standing out again his skin... what is that-... it looks like the fairy they have on their flag. Is that a tattoo? Mest has a tattoo?! She didn't know that! Well of course she didn't, she's never seen him shirtless before, but still. She stares at it intensity despite already memorizing the shape. When the sun begins to set the guys sigh out in a bit in relief as the day cools off. Natsu slams his shovel into the ground one more time, everyone freezing when they hear it hit something.
"I think I found it!" He sings.
Wendy gasps as she gathers around with the others, watching Natsu and Gray shovel their way with a new found speed. They brush the sands away from the top of what looks to be a chest, grunting as they reach for it and heave it up. They throw it out of the hole and it lands in front of Wendy's feet.
It doesn't look sparkling and magical like the chests she's seen in books. It's made out of old wood that seems faded and rusted iron. It's larger than she what imagined and she watches as the lock falls off in one small swoop as Mest smacks his shovel against it. He kicks it open with his foot and all of a sudden everything seems to sparkly as gold and jewels reveal itself.
Everyone breaks out and cheers, their adventure being a success, a chestful of gold for everybody. Wendy smiles as she walks a little closer. It's just gold. She's seen tons of it before back in her castle. She's held dozens of jewels and riches in her hands. This little chest is nothing compared to the riches she had back home, but everyone's so happy, and she's happy too. It had been an adventure. She hadn't woken up in her bed and walked into the other room, letting her servants decorate her with treasures. No, she sailed the sea for weeks, surviving on rations and staring out looking for this island, scaled it for hours and worked hard (not at all) to dig up the fortune. They deserved this, everyone did. The trip was adventurous and the rewards were plenty.
Mest walks over and runs his hands through the treasures, digging around until he spies something that catches his fancy. A gold chain with a small jewel no bigger than his thumb nail hanging off it. It looks to be a peridot, or maybe a jade, emerald, something green with value. This small necklace could easily get a dozen gold coins. It's actually going to be priceless instead though. He dangles it over Wendy's face and drops it when she reaches out her hands.
"Mest?"
"Take it. Sadly I don't see any tiaras in here, you do prefer necklaces better though, don't you?" He asks with a raised brow.
"But it's everyone's-"
"Consider it from my share then. A gift, so no give-backs."
Wendy stares at the small necklace and smiles brightly. She undoes the clasp and puts in on, looking up at Mest.
"How does it look?" She smiles.
Mest swallows. Each day he doesn't think she'll get more beautiful, but he's sadly mistaken as each day she gives him a smile or a look that heats up his entire body. He just nods his head curtly, patting his hat back over her eyes as he tries to swallow his blush down.
"Good, lets start heading back to the ship everyone. Ladies, lead the way. Men, we'll switch off carrying the chest."
Her first adventure, her first successful adventure, and as for her treasure? Wendy fiddles with the necklace around her neck with a smile.
Beyond her wildest dreams.
