Chapter 65
Taming Attempt : Kidnapping

A warm breeze swept over her as the girl opened the door of the storage room. She took a step outside and lifted a hand to her face, shielding her green eyes from the blinding light cast by the daystar upon the white, immaculate scenery.

Gradually, Eli got accustomed to her blinding surroundings and walked on the deck. All around her, the youngest pirates' excitation pervaded as the Merry was now very near to the dream island. Luffy was yelling how fluffy-fluffy the beach looked, almost drooling at the dreamlike sight. The young captain ran to Eli as soon as he saw her to share his joy, telling that his nostrils could smell the 'adventure', but in her mind, one and only one thought echoed; she had to find Ace and tell him about her past. In her hand, as Etowaru's silver badge was digging in her skin, the faint pain resulting from the tight hold made sure that the girl wouldn't fail her purpose.

Lightly patting his head, she gave Luffy a grin before shifting her gaze around to find the flame user. Chopper's round and big eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm, Usopp wore face-splitting grin, and even Zoro's grumpy nature seemed to be softened by the enchanting scenery.

A loud gasp burst out of Eli's lips as a tight grip captured her waist. Her field of vision whirled and the girl found herself thrown over a large shoulder, his shoulder.

"Ace !" Eli wriggled around and tried to look at the young man's face. "Just what are you doing ?"

"You've been a really bad girl," he said quite mischievously. "I'll have to punish you."

The lewd threat caused a blush to redden Eli's face and Ace started walking, or rather dashing away. Atop of his shoulder the girl was barely keeping her balance, she grabbed his shirt with her free hand, the thing that was occupying the other reminding her of the thoughts that had previously dwelt in her mind.

"Ace..." Her grip on the fabric of his shirt tightened as a little sensation of distress stirred inside of her guts. "We need to talk."

"I don't think so."

Ace jumped on his raft, water splashing around them as the Striker sunk into the hazy sea before soaring up just as briskly.

"It's really important," Eli insisted.

There was a moment silence then. The girl was still on Ace's shoulder, her limbs brushing against his chest and back, and Eli had no idea what kind of expression the voiceless pirate was wearing. She could have started talking already, the silver badge lodged in the palm of her hand was urging her to do so, but the Sutan girl wanted to see him, she had to see his eyes when she would told him her story. Furthermore, the stupid position she was in came hardly in the list of the comfortable ones prescribed for such a difficult and serious discussion.

"What the hell..." Ace muttered, his hold on Eli's waist tightening.

Surprised, the abductee tried to adjust her body to look at him without success. With a sigh, she let herself slump heavily on his shoulder, her eyes falling on a rather mysterious sight; the flame user's boots planted in the main seat of the raft were very fireless.

Eli tilted her face to the side questioningly as she saw a faint flame appearing. For a few seconds, it flickered rapidly and vanished while Ace uttered a loud groan.

"Are you aware that you'd need a little more than this-"

"I know Eli !" Ace roared angrily. His large hands grabbed her waist and the flame user set the girl in front of him before shifting his gaze back to his feet. "Just wait for a bit," he said, annoyance sharpening the warmth of his voice.

For a moment, Eli watched the flameless flame user. He was still, very still, his head leaned downwards, Ace was observing his boots. As angry growls left his mouth, the girl thought that she wouldn't be so surprised if his orbs ignited before his feet.

Somehow, Eli could understand Ace's anger. Ever since they had reached the Sky Island, things did not really gone as expected for him. First, he was knocked out by the first sky-lander the pirates met, and now his powers seemed to escape his control. Not to mention that the pirate girl hadn't been showing extensive understanding toward him lately.

As a sting of guilt bit on her heart, Eli's full lips mowed thoughtfully. Maybe she could try to be nicer... Or at least let him sulk for a while.

Satisfied with her good resolution, the chronicler put her bag on the raft and motioned to walk past him. Yet, Ace was very large and the Striker very narrow. She came to a stop just in front of him and shifted her weight from a leg to an other, carefully analyzing the best route to chose.

"What ?" Ace asked, his eyes still focused on his boots, Eli saw the muscles of his arms tightening.

"I just..." The girl pursed her lips, the flesh going tender with the pressure, and lifted a hand to his shoulder. In a moment of hesitation that she decided very unnatural and quite annoying, Eli grabbed his arm, swayed slowly over the sea, and perched behind the young man. "Thank you."

Eli wrapped her arms around the small mast and stretched on her toes to scan the Merry's deck.

"Zoro !" she called out upon seeing the swordsman. "Release Southy please !"

"Southy..." the green-haired swordsman muttered while rolling his eyes before turning around.

Loud chirps, very unique to her bird, made the girl smile. The south bird flew in her direction and she reached out her hand for him to land.

"You came to say goodbye ?" The bird nodded vaguely while looking away and Eli kissed his beak. "Thank you for helping us."

Southy huffed and rolled his eyes further away as if he didn't care. However, the bright blush reddening his feathers was quite impossible to miss and it caused Eli to chuckle lightheartedly. Apart from Chopper, the south bird was the very first animal that seemed to accept her presence and affection. Having him leaving her so soon caused an embrace of grief to tighten on her heart.

"I hope you'll enjoy it here," she said, her smile weakening on her lips. "But if you want to go back on Jaya, you just need to tell us, okay ?"

A hint of emotion seemed to glimmer in his eyes, as the bird's orbs moistened rapidly. Southy rubbed his wings on his face and gave a loud and proud chirp that eased the girl's sorrow. Eli gave him, yet another kiss and the bird took off. As his flashy figure disappeared in the distance, the flapping sounds of his flight rapidly faded.

"Elisabeth~" Eli shifted her gaze back to the Merry, her eyes meeting with Sanji. "Why don't you stay with us ?" he asked.

"I have no idea." She shrugged.

"What's wrong cowboy ?" Sanji was now peeking at Ace from behind the girl. "Got a problem with your little raft ?"

Ace mumbled a few rash words that got Eli's attention. "Maybe it's because of the lack of oxygen..." she said quietly.

"I figured that out, thank you."

With the high altitude the air was scarce. This was a fact. It was also a fact that fire fed on oxygen, and so, without oxygen, the flame user's powers were evidently weakened.

Time passed and as the striker remained motionless, the Merry gradually grew distant. Eli told her crewmates that she and Ace were going to be exploring a bit, but this was apparently unnecessary since Luffy was already aware of the two pirates' elopement. A large grin plastered on his face he waved at the two pirates.

Eli sat in front of Ace and sighed as she watched the Merry docking on the shore in the distance. It was so close but, since the obstinate flame user refused categorically to use his raft's sail, the couple was stuck in the middle of the hazy sea while their crewmates were probably enjoying themselves on the dream beach.

With another sigh, Eli carefully opened her hand and gazed at the silver badge in her palm. The name of the man to whom it used to belong shone in her mind and squeezed around her heart. Maybe it wasn't the best time to talk... or maybe it was just an excuse for the girl to postpone the difficult discussion. In any case, her resolve had long dispersed. The Sutan girl put the badge in the pocket of her dungarees.

"Are you sure you-" Eli cut herself short as Ace's face snapped in her direction, the glare that was darkening his face making her feel very much unwanted. "I can leave if you want... I'll run to the beach," she said.

It wasn't a threat, nor an ultimatum, Eli just wanted to enjoy herself and being stuck with a very grumpy Ace wasn't what one could consider as a nice and relaxing vacation in the heavens.

"Just..." Ace took a deep intake of air and crouched in front of her. He breathed out and took the girl's hands in his. "Just wait," he said, and Eli wasn't quite sure if he was forcing the softness of his voice or not. "I'm getting the hang of it."

After giving her a quick peck on the forehead, the flame user returned to his previous position in the Striker's main seat and Eli smiled upon seeing little flames arising from his, now bare, feet.

Wearily, she slumped down and let her fingers caress the surface of the hazy sea. It was warm and felt a bit like the foam of a bath. Everything was so quiet around her, Ace's grumbles had died out and, on this wave-less sea, a soft and comfortable silence prevailed. Her green eyes gradually came to a close as Eli could only hear her soft breaths and her regular heartbeats. The skin of her fingertips soaking in the little bubbles of this heaven's sea, the girl felt herself floating, quietly growing distant from Ace, his Striker, and the Sky Island.

It was night outside and, as all the sounds in her house had finally died out, Eli reckoned that her father must have gone to bed, at last. The excitement that hadn't left her from the moment she had gone to bed, got her to throw her sheets aside briskly. She planted her feet on the floor and tiptoed toward her window.

Looking up at the stars, Eli let a little smirk brighten her childish face; even if they could see her, there was no way her ancestors could tell anyone what the mischievous girl was planning.

Carefully, she slipped out of the window, jumped down on the grass and started walking slowly toward the next-door house. Looking at the windows, the girl didn't see any light shed from the openings, but it wasn't like it mattered anyway.

With the great ease that could only result from long time experience, Eli climbed up a tree, and crept on the branch that was almost touching the window she was aiming for. Fortunately, it was open, but it wasn't unusual, the average temperature on Suta was rather elevated and, during summer nights like this one, everyone was to keep their windows open to welcome a fresh breeze inside.

"Towa," Eli called out in a whisper. "Are you asleep ?"

The girl chuckled as a little groan made its way to her ears. Her hands grabbed the window's sill and Eli slipped inside of the bedroom. For a few seconds she stood still, letting her memories recollect the furniture's' arrangement in the dark room and took a few steps in direction of the bed.

"Towaaaa..."

Light rustling sounds of stirring sheets were heard as she saw a shadow moving on the bed.

"Lizzie ?" Etowaru said groggily, sitting up as he spoke. "What..." He yawed. "What are you doing here ?"

Her orbs were gradually adapting to the darkness, and soon, Eli saw his figure with more clarity. The young man was rubbing his eyes as other yawn escaped his lips. A smile plastered on hers, the girl walked to the bed and dug a knee in the bedding, the mattress bending feebly under her feather weigh. Slowly, she lifted her other leg and sat on her feet next to the young man.

"You know you can't sleep here," he said, a hand in his raven hair. "You are too old now... and I'm even older."

His scold made the fourteen-year-old smile and she let herself fall on her side. Etowaru turned around rested a hand on the mattress. The moon cast its faint silver rays on his delicate figure causing the pale skin of his bare upper body to glow softly. The girl's green eyes couldn't leave this enchanting sight.

"You know what people-"

"When did I care about that ?" Eli interrupted. "Plus, I got their stupid tattoo already, I think I was obedient enough for a whooole century."

A soft smile appeared on his face and the young man fell on his back, happiness washing over the girl on the spot.

"You want to see it ?" she asked, causing Etowaru to roll his head in her direction. "It's hidden."

"I see, you got the tattoo but you hid it." A sigh. "So obedient of you."

"I only want you to see it," Eli said.

The young man's dark eyes widened upon those words and the fourteen-year-old didn't seem to understand why. He rolled his head upward and stared at the ceiling. Eli didn't make a sound when she saw him resting a hand on his forehead, but she would swear he looked rather annoyed.

"Lizzie..." he breathed quietly.

"What ?"

"I'm eighteen, you're thirteen-"

"Fourteen !" Eli said angrily, her muscles tensing up. "It was my birthday only a week ago, did you forget ?"

Etowaru covered his face with both his hands and let out, yet, another sigh.

"That's why I got the stupid tattoo in the first place," she pouted. "Come on, let me show you."

Not waiting for his approval, Eli rolled on her other side and grabbed her long and tousled mane. Pushing it aside, she revealed a little black star imprinted on the pale skin of her delicate nape.

It felt so intimate then. The warm summer breeze sweeping in the dark bedroom, the soft flutter on the dark curtains, and the gentle silvery light of the moon; Eli was aware of all of her surroundings much keener than ever before. She could hear the young man's every breath, her pounding heart and the rustle of cloth as Etowaru got closer.

"Can you see it ?" she asked.

Etowaru made a quiet affirmative sound, and a shiver raced under Eli's skin as she felt the sheets moving against her arm.

The fourteen-year-old did not understand what was making her so nervous. She couldn't grasp the reason why the atmosphere had became so heavy, nor could she explain why she felt that her body was burning. She had shared Etowaru's bed for years. Thousands times had she slipped under his sheets and never such a fiery sensation had taken over her.

He was right behind her, his breath caressing her nape, she could feel his body right behind her, closer than it had ever been in the past. She felt his fingers curling around her arm, while his other hand settled on her hair.

And then, unexpected, the soft contact of lips brushing against her skin sent thrills throughout her petrified body and Eli's eyes widened greatly.

"Eh...?"

That was all she managed to say. It wasn't even a sentence, barely a word but, somehow, it spoke her state of mind quite accurately.

The young man's grip on her arm tightened before vanishing entirely along with the soft contact of his lips on the girl's nape.

"Towa ?" Eli turned around to peer at the young man's face, her ingenuous eyes filled with the questions her mouth couldn't form.

"I'm-I... I'm sorry," he said, despair glimmering his inky orbs in which reflected the jade of her own.

She was at loss for words. First, a kiss. It was a kiss wasn't it...? And now, seeing him nervous ! Etowaru was strong, smart, and fearless. Never had he shown the slightest iota of doubt. It was all so unfamiliar, so impossible for the mind of the fourteen-year-old girl. She sat on her feet, her nails digging into the bedding as she felt a fresh wrench of anxiousness on her guts.

"I- I... don't understand," she said desperately with a shaky voice. "Tell me, Towa... tell me... please..."

Etowaru's jaws gritted as he clenched his fists. All of the young man seemed so tensed that the tight grip soon took Eli in its claws as well. His face drooped and raven-haired warrior stood up silently.

"I'm sorry, please... forgive me," he said quietly, his back facing the girl. "You can stay here if you want."

Without another word, the young man walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. For a moment, Eli stared at the door hoping to see it opening and that Etowaru would come back, but Etowaru never came back...

A cold shiver ran up her spine, goose bumps appearing on her skin, and Eli let herself fall on the mattress. Her face buried in the sheets, the girl's mind was filled with the recollection of the soft touch on her skin and, as the memory shone in her heart, the girl wondered; if it was really a kiss given from the man she loved, why did she feel a sting on her heart...?

In the vast blackness surrounding her, the first thing that Eli became aware of was her breathing. Soft and regular, she felt warm air entering her mouth to fill her lungs. Her chest swelled up slowly before emptying, expelling the breath almost inaudibly through her lips. The second thing her mind perceived was a warm presence pressed against her back and around her waist.

"Eli..."

Things gradually became clearer. She felt a soft brush against her neck and her eyelids parted. Whiteness was all she could see at first, but with every slow flutter of her lashes, strokes of green surfaced on the blank canvas.

"Eli..."

Her whole body contracted and, with a loud, long-drawn yawn of deliverance, Eli stretched her limbs; she resembled very much a cat waking up from an afternoon nap. Her body went lax and the girl sluggishly turned around to look at Ace. A warm smile appeared on her face as she reckoned that his waking ups were the very best she had ever experienced.

"Are we there yet ?" she asked.

"Yup'," Ace said as he laid a soft kiss on her forehead.

The young man stood up and while she sat up groggily, Eli rubbed her heavy eyelids. With a last yawn, she observed her surroundings; the Striker was docked on a fluffy white beach. It was a few meters wide, bordered by a thick jungle and further, as Eli raised her face upward, she saw stairs trailing up the face of a hill-like cloud, houses scattered all over the hazy slope.

"Where are we ?" Eli stood up and was looking at Ace. "Hu ?" she uttered as she saw the young man shrug.

"Are you ready ?" he asked.

"For what exact-HEY !"

The young man grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her over to the beach. "Exploration of course !" Ace grinned

He was chuckling, very much like a mischievous little boy, and Eli wasn't quite sure if she should be joining his laughs or not. As soon they entered the jungle, darkness covered the couple on the spot. The scenery was scrolling rapidly around her as Ace was dragging her rather rushingly, and the girl observed the trees and bushes with a pouting face. The green-eyed pirate longed for an exciting day on the dreamy beach, not an exploration of some uninteresting jungle. The floor beneath her feet was soft, and looking at it, she wasn't s surprised to see that it was made of cloud as well.

After a minute, the flame user came to a stop and Eli looked around questioningly; trees, bushes, trees again... Really there was nothing-

A short moan escaped the girl's mouth as Ace's hot lips crashed on hers.

Oh... At that moment, Eli realized that, once more, she had been a bit dense. Of course, that was what Ace meant by exploration...

to be continued

Betaed by Fox MC.

The seven kisses chapter.

Two from Eli to Southy. The cute bird is leaving us and I will miss him :/
One from Ace on Eli's forehead. A flameless flame boy, I wonder is you expected that :)
One from Etowaru. What did you think of this flashback ?
Two from Ace again (neck and forehead) as she wakes up. Isn't he the sweetest ?
And the last one, to begin their 'exploration'.

I feel that I haven't updated in ages... I hope I'll be able to resume to the previous updating rate soon.

Review please ? I love reading (and replying) your reactions :)

See you on Thursday.