So I have a cat and her name is Flan. This cat of mine keeps on bothering me. She loves to step and sit on my laptop! What a bother. But I love that cat, I hope she loves me too lol.
Beta'd by MerryAnchor16
disclaimer: ONE PIECE IS NOT MINE!
Chapter 9
Sweet Nightmare
Blades of grass pricked at the bare flesh of their arms, prodding the stubborn limbs to move. Sunlight came straight down from a bright blue sky, minute wisps of cloud crawling across like small snakes and landed on their faces, forcing them to close their eyes against it. A slight breeze played with the reeds at the bottom of the slope where a quaint little brook babbled softly, sounding as if it were whispering long kept secrets.
They lay quietly, in no rush to break the tranquil surroundings which were so rare to come by. Long white hair, like a streak of virgin snow, splayed out on the grass, weaving and mingling with a set of flint black strands. It was silent and beautiful. Ship duties were long forgotten, the shouts and orders of a far too boisterous crew nothing but a lingering memory that was slowly drifting away. Here they could forget all about the days, the chores, the routines they had grown so used to and just be together- even if it was only for a little while.
Stellar felt her fingers being encased by a strong, warm hand and she turned her head, opening her eyes to meet two dark brown orbs looking back from above freckled cheeks. Portgas D. Ace smiled with a warm crooked grin that made the poor girl blushed pink.
"Yes?" She blinked as Ace simply grinned at her. He turned his face back up to the sky above.
"Nothing," He replied.
They settled back into a warm, comfortable silence, Ace rubbing circles on her wrist with his thumb while she watched him curiously. Eventually he broke the silence.
"You're going away again, aren't you?"
Stellar almost winced at the visible pain in that sentence. She squeezed Ace's hand and softly replied, "Yes..."
He turned back and looked her straight in the eyes, "You'll write, won't you?"
"Of course- every week."
"I wish you had my Den Den Mushi line. It would be... easier that way."
"You know I can't, they'd track me down."
"I know but still-"
"But what, Ace?"
"I don't like reading," The pirate pouted.
Stellar laughed and he joined in. They moved a little closer, "Oh right, I forgot- Fire Fist Ace can't read sentences with more than three words in because he has to think about it," She giggled and covered her mouth with her free hand.
Ace nudged her, "Oi, don't be mean."
"Oh wow, Ace, a sentence with four words. Be careful you don't work yourself too hard!"
"That's it!" Ace said sitting up, "I don't like you anymore. You're horrible to me," There was still a smirk on his lips and he didn't let go of Stellar's hand. Stellar laughed as the pirate pretended to sulk and she sat up beside him and leaned against him, so that they were pressing shoulder to shoulder.
"You know I love you really, even if you don't like reading, have terrible table manners and a tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate times," She cooed, smiling sweetly. Ace rolled his eyes,
"Wow, you're making me sound like a great guy there, Stellar..."
"But it's everything I love about you," She softly said and laughed when Ace suddenly grabbed her, pulling her into his chest and they overbalanced, tumbling over so that Ace was propped up over her looking down and she was laid back on the grass underneath him, her face all flushed. He smiled, his brown eyes glinting.
"One day, when Whitebeard becomes the Pirate King, we'll leave together. We can leave all this, all the piracy, behind and run away somewhere the Marines would never find us. Then we'll be together forever, yeah?"
It was something they had discussed multiple times and fantasized over regularly. It was their dream and they would work and strive until it was accomplished. Deep down in her heart she knew she wanted nothing more than that- to give what they both wanted a chance to flourish- but it saddened her to know that they couldn't have it yet.
"Only when you make Whitebeard the Pirate King. I-I want you to reach your dream first, Ace."
"I know and it'll be soon, I promise. I'll do it as fast as I can."
She pouted, "And please avoid trouble."
"But I like doing stupid things. Makes life exciting!"
"B-b-but I mean it, Ace!"
Portgas stuck his tongue out at her childishly, "I know, I know. I can't promise to stop doing stupid things but I can promise to cut back on them."
"You're impossible, you know that?"
"And you love me for it," Ace said and leaned down, nuzzling into her neck where his hair tickled her and she started to giggled, trying to push him off as he hugged her.
"A-Ace, hahaha! S-stop it! L-Let go- hahaha!"
The pirate moved up so that his face was level with hers, "Never!" He snickered, his beautiful grey eyes smiling as well.
Wait.
Grey?!
Ace chuckled, "Fascinating, truly fascinating."
Stellar screamed at the man who was Ace yet not Ace. The pirate's silvery eyes observed her intensely and a wicked smirk graced his lips as strong hands gripped her shoulders and pinned her to the ground and powerful hips straddled her waist, making it impossible to break free. Ace's face warped, flickering between two identities before settling on the one she had no desire to ever see again. Trafalgar Law's eyes bore into her from above a surgical mask that covered the lower part of his face, the material smeared and stained with red. He held her arms above her head with one hand whilst the other wielded a sharp scalpel. He held it poised over her chest as his wild eyes glared into hers. Stellar screamed, over and over as Law laughed mercilessly. Somewhere in the distance she heard Ace crying her name.
"Now let's see what you look like, Stellar-ya," He growled and the scalpel plunged down.
Stellar woke up with a strangled cry. Sweat fell down on her chin as she panted harshly, hands instinctively gripping at the soft fabric that lay across her lower body. A sudden bolt of pain struck her as if a bullet had cracked through her skull and her left hand grasped her throbbing head, groaning at the feeling. She closed her eyes tightly and started to pant heavily again, feeling the pain wrack through her whole body when she tried to move and a burning feeling made its way under her skin. She tried to move again but stopped dead still when she felt something piercing inside of her. An ice cold feeling washed over her.
'Now let's see what you look like, Stellar-ya.'
She felt the growl tear through her a second time and she began to shake, trembling as the wild eyes of Trafalgar Law burned into her brain. She took calming breaths.
'A dream,' she thought, 'Just a dream.'
When she had calmed enough, she brushed her hand tentatively up her side feeling her way around her thoroughly bandaged chest and pushing the scarring memory of the scalpel hovering over her far away. She pressed gently and hissed as the broken ribs cried out in protest. She remembered Kizaru kicking at her relentlessly, remembered every break and every crack. She moved her hand away, not even bothering to try and heal it. With all of her thoughts scattered everywhere there was no way she could summon her powers, especially considering Ace-
Ace.
She bit her lip as her eyes began to burn. She wouldn't cry- crying had never helped anybody.
"You're awake."
Stellar's head snapped up at the voice but instantly regretted it groaning when her head throbbed painfully again. Next to her Rayleigh sighed wearily, "You can't move yet. You're badly injured."
Stellar's eyes brightened at the sight of her old friend. "Rayleigh! Thank goodness! Are you okay?" she asked as she surveyed his body with worried eyes. His head was precisely bandaged just like hers and he looked exhausted but, all that aside, he seemed to be fine.
Rayleigh laughed, "Do not worry about me. You rest more, Stellar."
Stellar shook her head and ignored everything he had said- injuries could wait, "Ace is in danger… I have to go. I can't- I can't just lie here while he's in a place like that. He needs me."
"Better get your ass moving then, he will be executed one week from now."
The familiar face of Shakki joined in from behind her counter, a cigarette dangling loosely between her fingers. She gave Stellar a bored look and puffed out the smoke through her mouth, seemingly oblivious to Stellar's horrified expression. Silvers glowered at her and Shakki returned the look, "What? It's not like you could have hidden it from her anyways."
"That's beside the point, Shakki-"
Shakki snorted at him and looked back at Stellar, "I'll tell you because the old man won't. Ace will be killed one week from today... Oh, and the Marines are making it public."
"Shakki!" Silvers warned.
"Public?!" Stellar exclaimed, "Wh- what- why?!"
"Dunno, maybe to make some sort of half-assed statement about pirates and all that... But if you want a chance of saving him, you better get out that door pronto; you've been lying there for three days already."
"Three days?!"
"Uh-huh, so go grab a boat and make up for that time you spent laying around."
"Shakki, you can't be serious, the poor girl's just woken up from sur-" Rayleigh started. Shakki took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in the old pirate's face.
"If you want to save his ass, get moving. You've a hell of a lot of ground to cover."
Stellar nodded, "Yes!" She sat up, blanking out the pain and Rayleigh's worried fretting as she got to her feet, wobbling slightly.
Shakki grunted, "Good. Now get some clothes on and get out."
Stellar paused, "Clothes?" She looked down at herself and turned pale at the sight. Short shorts barely covered the tops of her legs and her shirt was completely gone, the twists of bandages acting as support on her injuries and as a bra.
"You're wasting your beautiful body, my dear. I wish I had a figure like that again... Trafalgar Law even complimented it," Shakki winked, delighting in the way that Stellar's face immediately turned deep red.
"He... He didn't..." She squeaked, finding no comfort in the amused smiles the pair was giving her. She brought her arms around her chest.
Shakki dropped the amused grin and raised an eyebrow pointedly, "You should be grateful. That man saved your life... Bit of a strange character though- mumbling and cursing at himself as he worked. Kinda... creepy looking. I mean who'd trust a surgeon with 'DEATH' tattooed on them? I know I wouldn't."
"He is...different," Stellar commented, remembering how he had yelled at her for getting hurt, "I honestly do not know his intentions, but he is kind...in his own way. I think," she said and she felt her face getting a little hotter as she adjusted her arms to cover more of her chest.
Silvers shrugged, "I don't know how much he saw- he kicked us out after ten minutes,"
"Apparently our breathing was 'putting him off'," Shakki chimed in sarcastically as she grabbed a bundle and threw it at Stellar who just about caught it, "Now, go get yourself dressed," She pointed at the doors to the left of her and Stellar set off, moving stiffly.
The second she vanished into the other room, Silvers spoke, "You can't be serious, right? She's injured. She can't save Ace by herself."
"She's got friends who can help her."
"What if she gets caught?"
"She won't."
"How do you know that?"
"Dammit, Rayleigh! She's not a child! She's a woman now, she can take care of herself," Shakki hissed.
"But the laws concerning witches are corrupt- they don't class as humans or people. If she gets caught by Marines or thrown into Impel itself there's no telling what they would do to her."
"She's strong, Rayleigh. Give her some credit, she's been in this world far longer than you have."
"But-"
"Love can overcome a lot of things Rayleigh. She will save Ace," Shakki said, determined. Rayleigh said nothing after that and the pair waited until Stellar stepped out, fully clothed and ready. Shakki passed her a brown leather bag, "Here, that's everything you'll need. Now get going. I've a good feeling you'll meet up with Strawhat-san," She began guiding Stellar to the door and onto the front step where she turned around frowning,
"Luffy-san? Why would he be there?"
"Because he's Ace's little brother."
"Wait, brother-?"
But Shakki had already shut the door. She pressed her back against it and waited for the footsteps to start, signaling Stellar's departure. She smiled to herself and walked across to the counter, fumbling a moment with some cups before sliding a beer across to Silvers who sat staring at the door longingly, "She'll be fine, Ray-san," She assured, taking another drag before stubbing the cigarette butt out.
Rayleigh sighed and turned back to face her with a worried look in his eyes, "Yeah..." He sighed ruefully, "Yeah, she will."
I want to dream of Ace and Law too! But not the scary kind where Law pokes and stabs my flesh. Nope nope.
Stellar is on the move! Oh yeah! And yes, darlings. Stellar is older than Rayleigh. You read it right! She's a witch, what can I say~
Thank you for all the reviews! You're all my motivation to write! Mwa!