More Confusion Added
Silence. She heard nothing. Not even her shoes pounding on the steps as she rushed down the stairs. Nor her heart that pounded in her head. Her body paused on the second floor. To her left was the galley. Her senses came back. The crew's laughter and the spicy smells of dinner came from the room. She knew she should go in there. She knew they were waiting for her. But there was no way she could face them. So she turned and headed to her right.
Her body wanted to slam the door behind her. She forced herself not to. The loud noise would bring the crew to see what was wrong. She couldn't face them right now. So she closed the door normally. Pressing her back against it her knees gave out on her. The steel door pushed up her shirt as she slid to the floor.
Her fingers tangled into her hair. She had kissed him. Of all people this planet she had kiss that man. Confusion was an understatement in the moment. And not just because she had kissed him.
Never before had she been kissed. And she had certainly never kissed a man before. Thanks to her being a royal most guys on Luminous were afraid of her. Others only wanted to use her. Then there was Raven. He was under the darkness crystal's influence so she had no idea if his reactions to her were solely because of that or if it was possible he really did like her. Though it didn't matter. She had felt nothing for him. And she didn't want her first kiss to be with someone she didn't like.
Kisses were meant to happen between a man and woman when they were attracted to each other. It was a symbol of their courtship. Or that's how it was on Luminous. At least it was when they kissed on the lips. She had gotten plenty of kisses from her parents, Kailen, and the crew, especially her godfather. Her relationships with them were crystal clear. Her relationship with this man, this pirate captain, was anything but clear now. So why did she do it? Why did she kiss him?
Allowing her mind to go back to the deck she tried to figure it all out. She was upset with him before she had grabbed him…the incident happened. But why? Never before had she done that. So what had changed between them now? Sure they were bonded, but that couldn't have been the cause. Being bonded with someone didn't mean they would end up together as a romantic pair.
With a deep breath she calmed her mind and her pounding heart. There had to be clues in their conversation they had leading up to the incident. Her mind went over the words he said to her today. Nothing out of the ordinary came to mind. Nothing new seemed to have been said, excluding the parts about their bond and all. His smirk and his calm reactions towards her flashed through his mind. There was something different in them, something she couldn't put her finger on. The kiss came to her mind. His eyes showed no sign of anger. His voice had been calmer when he had spoken to her. And the smirk he wore on his face was playful.
"Is…it couldn't be," Neo said. "It's not possible. How could his attitude towards me have changed? Is it our bond?"
She picked her lip. Restlessness settled into her body. She needed to move. Standing up she paced the length of the room and thought. Many times she had thought about getting her first kiss. It was an inevitable since Violet did nothing but talk about first kisses. Violet was adamant about guys kissing girls. A girl kissing a guy just wasn't in her reality. Neo wondered what her friend would think of her now. She had to admit that she wanted her first kiss to be given to her. Never did she think her first kiss would have been given away, especially to a guy she wasn't attracted to.
So why did it happen? Why did she kiss a man she wasn't attracted to? If she wasn't attracted to him…her thoughts trailed off when the memory of the time she had gone into his bathroom and envisioned him lying in the bathtub. Her mind added in the tattoo she had seen on his chest, the tattoo of a large heart, the smiley face being held by the heart, the six lines that wiggled up to his shoulders and the other odd lines at the bottom of the heart. She had no idea what they were.
Neo halted in her pacing. Her heart was racing so hard in her chest she thought it was going to jump through her skin. Was it possible she was starting to have feelings for the pirate captain? Or was it just a physical attraction? Biting her bottom lip she had to admit that the man did have some good looks. He was tall, tanned skinned, had decent smirk, his muscles were well sculpted, and he was loyal to his crew, and…and her heart sped up. He was loyal to his crew. She favored people who were loyal. The way the captain treated his injured men paraded through her head. The way the captain had spent that one night, if not more, sleeping by Bepo's side. Despite the harshness she had witnessed the captain do she had to admit that he looked so sweet and gentle during that moment. But he was a mean man. He didn't like her. He had taken her birth medallion and hidden it. He imprisoned her and her brother on his crew. He had put her on lock down. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere without someone from the crew going with her. He slammed her against the cell bars and threatened to lock her up. There was no way she could possible be falling for someone who would do all that to her.
Her heart raced on. His bare chest and the kiss refused to leave her mind.
Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. There was no way she was going to be able to figure this out on her own. She needed to talk to someone about this. Someone who had more experience in this sort of thing. But who could she talk to? Who would be the best one? Her brother? He had always been there when she needed him. However they had never really talked seriously about her kissing boys or her getting kissed. When the subject came up Kailen's protective side came out. And that was it. He didn't want her kissing any guys. Their dad was the same way. Their mom was more lenient but she had her moments as well. Then there were her friends back home. All three of them had kissed boys when they were teenagers. Most likely she would have gone to them in this situation. Or even Benn. Benn would have been a good person to talk to. He was the most level head of the crew. He would have been a good person to talk to. But he wasn't here. And neither were her girl friends. All she had was her brother and the pirates.
A light tap at the door pulled her attention. It opened, letting light from the hallway pour inside. Kailen stepped into the room. "Neo?
Neo turned to him. Her heart jumped. She hoped she wasn't blushing anymore. There was no way she could tell him right now that she kissed the captain and might have feelings for him.
"You okay? I thought you were coming back to the galley," Kailen said. "You've been gone for quiet a while now."
"I was. I just needed a minute alone," Neo said.
"Ah. Had another fight with the captain, huh?" Kailen said.
"Yeah." Neo nodded, averting her eyes. "Something like that." She could feel his eyes studying her. It wasn't normal for her to lie to him. Most likely he could tell she was. She forced herself to look at him and smile. "I'm okay. It was really nothing. More like a little tiff than an actual fight. Let's go. I'm hungry."
"All right then." Kailen followed her when she headed for the door.
"Wait." Neo turned back to him. "There is something you need to know. I ended up telling the captain that we're elementals and I have all four elements and I laughed for him."
Kailen frowned.
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "It just kind of happened. I didn't tell him that I'm our people's royal or that Shanks is our godfather or where our home is. You were right. Things are getting far to complicated to keep this a secret from them."
"Are you considering telling them the whole truth?" Kailen asked.
"I'm not sure about that." Neo wrapped her arms around herself. "Honestly, I don't really want them to know I'm a royal. I like the way they're treating me. I feel…"
"Normal?" Kailen offered.
Neo nodded.
"It's fine," Kailen said placing a hand on her shoulder. "But you should get mentally prepared to tell them the whole truth."
"I know." Neo nodded again. "I will be, at least as much as I can be. I think we should telling the others too."
"Would you like to tell them now?" Kailen asked.
"It might be best to do that and get it over with," Neo said.
"Then let's go. They're waiting for us." Kailen pushed the door open.
Neo lead the way out and down the hall. The crew was still chatting when they got to the galley door. She paused to take a deep, slow breath before stepping inside. Unable to stop herself, she glanced over at the captain. He looked up at her too. His expression was neutral. There were no signs of what he thought of the kiss. She hoped she was able to do the same. Heat was already starting to climb up her neck. Stepping to the end of the table, opposite of Law, she cleared her throat. The pirates turned their eyes to her. Her royal grace took over from all the formal announcements and ceremonies she had been through. She held her head high and addressed them. "There's something that I wish to tell you all." Pausing, she looked at Law. The gleam in his eyes was unmistakable. He was pondering what she was going to tell them. "As you all know my brother and I are different from you all."
"That's an understatement," Conner said.
"Hush." Archer elbowed his friend.
"It's the truth." Conner shrugged.
"That aside," Neo continued. "My brother and I are elementals."
"Elementals?" Shachi asked.
"That's right. We look human but we're not. We're creatures that are more in tuned with nature." Neo collapsed her hands in front of her. "All of our people can use nature. But we all don't have the use of all four elements."
"All four elements?" Bepo asked.
"Kailen here is an earth elemental. With his crystals he can use the ground and plants to do just about anything he wants." Neo gestured to her brother with her hand. Pausing she gulped. Her pulse hammered under her skin. "But there are others who can use more than one element. And…I am one of them. I can use all four elements."
The pirates stared at her.
Biting her cheek and dropped her eyes to the floor, Neo braced for rejection. After all, not many humans knew of their kind. And humans often hated what they didn't understand.
"That's so cool!" Archer said.
"What?" Neo looked up at him. The man's face was beaming.
"Being able to use the elements to your will sounds like an amazing ability," Archer said.
"So that's why you smell like nature," Bepo said.
"Yes." Neo nodded. "It is. We are nature." She glanced at Penguin. He had his eyes, like always, hidden. He wasn't looking at her. He was down staring at the table. "I'm sorry. Not many humans know about us. If they did…well, I'm sure you could guess what would happen."
"Painful experiments, loss of freedom, being treated like an animal." Conner ticked off the outcome on his fingers.
"Thanks a lot," Neo said.
Archer grabbed Conner by his boiler suit. "If you don't shut up with that kind of talk I'm going to ram my crutches down your throat!"
"Truth."
"Annoying!"
"That's some heavy stuff you've been carrying around," Shachi said.
"That's only part of it," Kailen said. "The real reason we left our home is because our parents were murdered by someone we trusted. He took over our island. We're looking for our godfather to help take back our home."
"I also have bells in my laughter." Neo twisted her shirt around her finger.
"You can't be serious," Conner said.
Neo closed her eyes and giggled. Her bells chimed around the room. The pirates gasped.
"You have…that's not possible." Conner looked at Law. "How is that possible?"
"I have no idea." Law shrugged.
"You don't seem surprised," Conner said.
"Miss Neo told me about this when we were up on the deck a few minutes ago," Law said.
"So you knew?" Archer asked.
"Only for a few minutes." Leaning forward Law laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd tell them so soon."
Neo looked at him.
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell them?" He smirked.
She flushed. Of course he was talking about the kiss. He clearly found it amusing. Her blood boiled. Looking him directly in the eye, she crossed her arms and said, "No. That's all I have to say right now. Nothing else is important."
"Very well then." Law sat back, his smirk remaining. "Let's eat."
Neo bit back a growl when she noticed the seat next to him was empty. Of course he wanted her to sit there. She was still his prisoner, kiss or no kiss. She marched over to the chair and sat down.
"So, if it's all right to ask, do you use your crystals to move the other elements?" Shachi asked.
"I have different color crystals that represent the elements," Neo said filling her plate. "Green for earth, red for fire, greyish blue for wind, and light blue for water. They crystals vary in shapes and sizes of course."
"So what do these crystals actually do?" Bepo asked.
"Well, they're basically conductors," Neo said. "Our magic is inside of us. We use the crystals to focus the magic through. It's been suggested that our crystals are kind of like leashes."
"Leashes?" Archer asked.
"Our actual beginning is some what shrouded in shadows. Some of our people believe that we would be too strong for the world to handle so we were born with these crystals to help keep ourselves under control," Neo said.
"So you don't have any other weaknesses?" Shachi asked.
"Not that I'm aware of," Neo said. "I mean our magic doesn't last forever. And it's connected to our physical strength. So the longer we use it the weaker we get."
"Magic." Conner huffed. "I find it all nonsense."
"Yet you've seen what they can do," Archer said.
Conner shrugged.
Neo lifted her eyes to Penguin. He was refusing to look at her as he picked at his food. She sighed. They were going to have to talk after dinner. With no other option but to wait, she turned her attention to her own food. Finally, after an hour went by the crew had left the room. She was left to clean things up with Penguin. The water turned on. Penguin was filling the sink. She gathered up some dishes and carrying them over to the counter where she sat them down. "I'm sorry. I know I should have told you sooner. Please don't hate me."
"Neo, I could never hate you." Penguin grabbed her hands. "I'm sorry I made you think that. I can understand why you kept it a secret. Honestly, I don't really know why I reacted the way I did. I was just shocked I guess."
"I'll understand if you are afraid of me now. I'll understand if you think I'm weird." Neo lowered her eyes. Her body tensed when he moved closer. Then his finger appeared under her chin, lifting her gaze back to his. He was smiling.
"I travel the seas with a sadistic captain with doctor like devil fruit powers and a mink polar bear," Penguin said. "I guarantee they are weirder than you'll ever be."
Neo laughed.
"It's amazing. I never thought I'd ever hear someone with actual bells in their laughter." Penguin walked over to the tables.
"Yeah." Neo followed and helped him gather up the rest of the dishes.
"So any other secrets you're keeping from us?" Penguin asked.
"I'm afraid so," Neo said.
"Oh?" Penguin glanced at her.
"I'd like to tell you about them, but I can't. At least not right now," Neo said.
"I understand." Penguin shut the water off.
"But there is something I'd like to talk to you about." Neo bit her bottom lip. Uncertainty of talking to him about the kiss rose inside of her.
"What about?" Penguin asked.
"It's about the captain," Neo said.
"You have another problem with him? Were you two fighting outside when I interrupted?"
"No. I mean, yes. Or we sort of were," Neo said. "He, I think, was actually teasing me. And then I…"
"You what?" Penguin picked up a plate. He dipped it into the steaming water before reaching for the scrub brush.
"I kissed him," Neo blurted out. Heat rushed over her cheeks.
The plate slipped from Penguin's hold. It splashed into the water. He screamed, "You kissed the captain?!"
"Shh!" Neo looked over to the door. No one appeared to have been close enough to hear him. She waited several seconds to make sure no one came in. Silence only greeted her. She turned back to Penguin. He was staring at her, shocked.
"But how…why did…you…him…" He tried to speak but it was impossible.
"Yeah. I know the feeling." Neo rubbed her neck. "It's so far beyond complicated."
"Why? I thought you couldn't stand him," Penguin said.
"So did I," Neo said.
"Well, what lead to the kiss?" Penguin asked.
"I'm not really sure. I thought the captain was being his usual self when we were outside, but now I noticed there was a playful, teasing tone to his words," Neo said. She paused, wondering if she should mention the bond.
"So it was something that just happened?" Penguin asked. "An accident?"
"I don't know." Neo sighed. "How can you just accidently kiss someone? It's not possible. There's no way to do that. Unless I accidently fell and his lips somehow broke my fall. But that's silly. It could never actually happen."
A pause. "You have feelings for him."
More heat rushed to Neo's face.
"Well, um, wow," Penguin said.
"This can't be happening." Neo covered her face with her hands. "I can't be. I can't develop feelings for him." She peaked over at him through her fingers. "Can I? It's stupid, right? I don't have feelings for him. Do I?"
"Not necessarily," Penguin said. "Sometimes a person's feelings towards another just chances over time. They get to know each other and stuff."
"But your captain is a jerk." Neo lowered her hands. "You know what he's done to us. Why…how could any girl fall for a guy who's done that?!"
"Well, there must be something you see in the captain," Penguin said. "Something that you find attractive."
"His chest is pretty attractive," Neo said before she could stop herself.
"His chest?" Penguin crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "With or without his shirt?
"Without," Neo mumbled. "I might have saw it after the attack." She lowered her eyes and fiddled with her fingers. "He took his hoodie off to take care of his arm. He thought everyone had left the room."
"I see." Penguin smiled. "So that's when it started."
"No," Neo murmured. "I might have had a thought about him sometime before that."
"What was that?"
"I had a thought about him."
"One more time. Loud enough so I can actually hear you."
"I imagined him naked in his tub!" Neo shouted. Her hands shot to her mouth. Her cheeks flared up. If it was possible to have the earth opened up and swallow her she would have made it happened.
Penguin busted up laughing.
"What's so funny?!" Neo snapped.
"You! You're so cute! And so innocent!" Penguin wrapped his arms around his body.
Neo growled, stomping her foot on the floor. "Stop laughing!"
"Okay, okay." Penguin straightened up but his smile remained. "But it's true. Your innocence about this subject is so cute."
Neo pouted. "You going to help me or tease me?"
"Well, I'm not sure what I can do for you," Penguin said.
"I just want to know if I'm really getting feelings for the captain or if I'm just…"
"Physically attracted to him?" Penguin added.
Neo nodded.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that right now," Penguin said.
Neo's shoulders slumped.
"Only you can really know the answer to that," Penguin said.
"But how?" Neo asked.
"You're not familiar with this sort of thing?"
"No." Neo shook her head. "Back home guys weren't really into me. I mean I'm different because of my crystals. I guess you could say most of the guys were intimidated by me while others would only want to use me for my status."
"I see." Penguin started washing the dishes. "I take it you never really had a connection to anyone before? A romantic one, I mean."
"No." Neo took the washed plate and dried it off. "And with Kailen being as protective as he is…"
"I get it. Big brother also caused intimidation," Penguin said.
"Yeah."
"This is complicated," Penguin said. "Like I said, I can't really answer how your feelings are going to be towards the captain. It's a good thing that you two are getting closer since we'll have more peace on the sub. But only time will tell if your feelings are just infatuation or more."
"Do you think it's possible I might fall in…?" Neo stopped herself. She didn't want to say it out loud. "Even if we're only here temporarily?"
"It's absolutely possible," Penguin said.
"Just great," Neo grumbled.
"Look, don't worry about it right now," Penguin said. "For all we know you're just infatuated with the captain. Believe me. I've seen plenty of women claimed they were in love with him. And they weren't. They were only attracted to his good looks or his infamy."
"It seems life is more complicated than I realized," Neo said.
"Sounds like you've lived a sheltered life," Penguin said.
"Well, I have," Neo said. "Our parents were very protective of me, as was Kailen, Godfather, and his crew. This is, after all, the first time I've been away from our home. And it's been quite the experience."
"I hope some of that has been good," Penguin said.
"Of course." She smiled at him. "No matter how it actually happened, I'm glad we got to meet you and the crew."
"And the captain?" Penguin probed.
"Well, I guess I like that we've met him too," Neo said. "He did save my life."
Penguin smiled.
"But that's it," Neo said.
"If you say so," Penguin said. "You know, the best way to figure out your feelings is to talk to him."
"Absolutely not!" Neo said. "There's no way I'm telling him anything about this!"
"But you'll have to talk about the kiss at some point," Penguin said.
"Not happening!"
"The sub's big but not that big," Penguin pointed out. "It's inevitable that you'll run into him."
Neo growled. The man was right. She still had to use his bathroom, there were health checkups, getting permission to go somewhere with the crew, meal times, passing in the halls, and so many other times they were going to cross paths. Avoiding him constantly wasn't going to be possible. They were going to have to talk about it at some point. "I'll think of something. Just promise not to tell anyone about the incident."
"I wont." Penguin drew and X over his heart with his finger. "I promise."
"Thanks, Penguin," Neo said. "I'm glad I could talk to you about this."
"I am too," Penguin said. "You going to tell Kailen about it?"
"At some point I will. Right now isn't the time," Neo said.
"Well, if another incident happens you can come talk to me about it," Penguin said.
"You're the best." Neo smiled.
…
Neo stared out at the island they were approaching. Many flags from the ships at the harbor flowed in the salty breeze. The majority of them were pirate flags. Nothing new there. Pirates had become almost a daily sight for her in her new life on the sea, excluding the ones she was sailing with. In the past six weeks they had been attacked by a total of seven pirate crews, dealt with three severe storms, four sea kings, and a lost ship of starving civilians who were overly grateful for the food the elementals had given them. It seemed the only thing that didn't happen in those weeks were her and the captain talking about the kiss. In fact it seemed like he was pretending it didn't even happen. Well, most of the time it felt that way. Sometimes she would catch him staring at her with a smirk on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. It only made her more confused about her own feelings for him. Part of her was upset that he didn't bring up the kiss. But the other part of her knew it was for the best. If he didn't bring it up then it would be almost like it didn't happen. They could move on and forget about it.
"Finally." Penguin came up beside her. Crossing his arms over the railing he joined her in watching the island come closer. "It's been so long since we've docked at an island. We're lucky we haven't ran out of food."
"That will never happen with us here," Neo said.
Penguin nodded.
Neo and Kailen had made sure they had enough vegetables and fruits to eat. The crew had managed to catch enough fish to satisfy their meat cravings. Still it would be good to finally restock on supplies. She knew they were low on a lot of stuff. The most important was medical supplies. Kailen did his best to keep them supplied with herbs that would help with wounds. It was something the captain had become fascinated with. So much so the two had started spending a lot of time studying together. Something that got on her nerves. In fact, the two were currently studying in the rec. room. That was the main reason she was outside. They had come in there a couple hours ago. She was reading, but excused herself when it was obvious they were having a lot of fun together.
"Still feeling a bit jealous about the captain and Kailen?" Penguin asked.
"I really need to learn how to stop being so easy to read," Neo grumbled.
"It's normal to feel that way," Penguin said. "You're use to having your brother to yourself."
"Not that much," Neo said. "He had a job and was interested in a woman back home."
"Still, he's your brother," Penguin said.
"True." Neo sighed. "I'm not use to seeing him having so much fun with someone else. But it's good. I'm glad that he's getting along so well with the captain since they have the medical field in common. It's helping him keep busy."
"At least you have the rest of us," Penguin said. "You still going shopping with me?"
"Of course. I love spending time with you." Neo slipped her arm around his. Ten minutes later the sub pulled into the bustling harbor.
"Yes!" Archer screamed out.
Neo and Penguin turned in time to see the man run out of the sub.
"This is great!" Archer threw his hands into the air.
"I don't think I've ever seen him so excited," Neo said.
"He's still glad to have his cast off," Penguin said. "He was so bored having to sit around while the rest of us had all the fun."
Neo chuckled. Archer did get bored in the last week he had to wear the cast. At one point she started thinking he was turning into Conner with how moody and pessimistic he had become. Then the cast came off. Archer was back to his normal self. And this was the first time they had stopped at an island since the cast was removed a few days ago.
"I'm so ready for this! I hope we get to fight!" Archer bounced around, looking the island over. "I want to fight!"
"Geez. You're so annoying." Conner passed his friend. Opening the railing, he descended down to the island.
Archer was the next to leave the sub. He all but jumped down the ladder. And the second his boots hit the dock he ran off into the town.
"He's so full of energy," Neo said as the man disappeared into the crowd.
"Good thing we're taking a few days off here," Shachi said walking over to them. "Maybe he'll use up that energy before we leave."
Neo turned and leaned back against the railing. Kailen and the captain walked out of the sub. They were talking, barely aware of where they were. Ignoring them, she asked, "So what are we going to do first? Get the food?"
"We won't get that until we're ready to leave," Penguin said. "It'll be fresher that way. We can do whatever we want until then. We're staying for four days."
"I hope there're a lot of pretty women here." Shachi scanned the town, a drop of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth.
Neo rolled her eyes. Women were always on his mind. A whap came to the back of her head. Turning, she found Kailen smiling at her. "What?"
"Don't get into trouble now," he said.
Neo puffed out her cheeks. "I never get into trouble."
Law scoffed.
Turning her eyes to him, she found he was smiling as well. With a huff she marched to the ladder.
"One moment, Miss Neo," Law said.
Neo flinched.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Like what?" Neo turned back to him.
"Like asking for permission to leave the sub?" A spark flashed in his eyes.
"Fine." Neo put on a sweet smile, batting her eyelashes. "If it would be all right with you, dear sweet Captain, I would like permission, if it pleases you, to go off the sub with Penguin."
Kailen and Penguin snickered.
Law lifted his sword and bopped her on the head. "Keep up that kind of sarcasm and I'll never let you off the sub again."
"Well, what do you expect?" Neo crossed her arms. "How long do I have to ask your permission to do what everyone else does freely?"
"When you can prove you can stay out of trouble," Law said.
Neo bristled, but quickly released her frustration. "Fine. Can we go now? We'd like to look around."
"It's fine." Law nodded. He looked to Penguin then. "Keep a close eye on her."
"Aye, Captain," Penguin said.
Neo climbed down. Penguin followed her. "Geez. I'm more guarded here than I was on Luminous."
"Luminous?" Penguin asked as he joined her on the dock.
"Oh, that's our home island's name," Neo said. "I guess we never mentioned it before."
"So what's it like?" They headed for the town.
"Well, like any other island, I guess." Neo glanced around at the other people at the harbor. Leaning closer to Penguin, she added, "With a very special exceptions." She stood straight and raised her voice. "It's pretty much covered by trees. We have a lot of bushes and flowers too. Plenty of animals."
"What about the people? What are they like?"
"They're nice. More so than humans."
"How so?"
"Well, my people are more pure than humans. We don't fight much against each other. And we've never had a war before."
"You never had a war?" Penguin paused.
Neo walked a few more feet before turning back to him. "Yeah. I know it might sound weird, but that's just who we are."
"I'd really like to see this place." Penguin started walking again.
"That might be a bit tricky." Neo twisted a strain of her hair.
"They won't welcome us?" Penguin asked.
"Well, no, not really," Neo said. "They're pretty open to people who do come to the island. In fact, Godfather and the crew came there because of a storm. They were in the middle of a fight when this severe storm blew up. The storm threw their ship around and they landed on Luminous by accident. It's not an easy island to find. And there are our crystals to think about."
"So it doesn't have a log pose?"
"Apparently not." Neo looked up at the sky. Lazy clouds floated over their heads, peppering the bright blue sky. "Godfather never uses one to get there."
"So how does he get there then?" They stepped into the town. The loud harbor gave way to the chatter of shoppers and vendors.
"Some of my people sail with him. I guess you could say our instincts guide us home. So they led him there when they're with him. And he had his navigator make a map to the place. But since then he and the older crewmates have developed their own instincts on where to go to get there. So he had the map destroyed so no one else would find us."
"He really is protective of you all."
"Yeah." Neo smiled. "He is." Several of the other crewmembers rushed by them. "They're in a hurry."
"Yeah." Penguin shrugged.
Neo glanced at him, expecting more from him. But that was all he said. Only an unexplainable smile was spread across his lips. "Is something going on?"
"Of course not." He tilted his head towards her. "Why do you ask?"
Neo hummed. "No reason I guess. So what should we do first?"
"I'm not sure." Penguin looked around at all the stores. "They seem to have a lot of shops here."
"A bookstore!" Neo gasped when her eyes landed on the wooden sign above the door. Without waiting for his reply she dashed towards the building. Dashing up the two steps she grabbed the door handle and jerked it open. Entering she breathed in the familiar smell of books, ignoring the odd looks she gotten from others, before running down an isle. Book after book, title after title flew in front of her eyes before she found one that really caught her eye. Grabbing the book she opened it and devoured the words with her eyes.
"Find something that interesting?" Penguin asked, breaking into her world of words.
"Yes! This book is about a dolphin going on a journey to find a magical kingdom in a hidden under sea cave!" Neo's eyes ran over the page. "It's amazing! I wish I could get it!"
"Don't you have enough money?"
"I might." Neo closed the book. "But there might be something else that I need to buy." Reluctantly, she pushed the book back into its slot. "I still don't have clothes that would be wearable on winter islands yet. Those need to come first."
"Oh," Penguin drawled. "Well, let's go see what we can find. If you're lucky maybe we can find a sale."
"That would be nice," Neo said. "But this island is warm. Obviously their in summer time. They might not have any winter clothes. If they even have winter here."
"Then we better go look." Penguin slipped his arm around hers and pulled her towards the door.
Neo pouted as the bookstore shrank before her eyes before they rounded a corner. "Fine. Let's get this over with."
"Not a fan of shopping?" Penguin asked.
"I guess so," Neo said thinking about how a lot of her clothes were hand made for her and only her. There weren't many times when she actually went shopping on Luminous.
One by one they looked into the stores until they found one that had some warmer clothes and on sale. Neo's preference was to look over the clothes as quickly as possible so she could see if she had any money left to buy her book. Penguin, however, had other plans. Two minutes hadn't past before he started picking clothes off the racks and shelves, holding them up to her and saying how cute she would be in them. Rolling her eyes, she said, "You're so goofy."
"I can't help to." Penguin smiled. "I guess somewhere deep inside of me I always wanted a little sister. Someone to take care of and all."
"Really?"
Penguin shrugged. "Who knows?"
"Well, in any case, I could use your advice on what to get," Neo admitted. "Snow isn't a common occurrence on Luminous. So I'm not sure what to get."
"You should get something for freezing cold temperatures and for warmer temperatures," Penguin said. His attention turned back to the clothes.
Neo followed along closely, taking his advice to heart before deciding which clothes she should pick up. She ended up with an off white puffy coat, a pair of fuzzy boots, a couple pairs of thick socks, and pants suitable for winter. After paying for her clothes, she and Penguin took them back to the sub. Dropping them off just inside of the door, they headed back into town.
"Want to go back to the bookstore? You have enough to get the book," Penguin said.
"In a little while. I'd like to go check that place out." Neo pointed to a jewelry store. "Or would you prefer not to?"
"I don't mind," Penguin said. "I like looking around at artistic stuff. You never know what you might find."
"You interested in the arts?" Neo asked as they walked towards the building.
"A little bit," Penguin said. "Some of the art that's been made is so amazing. I'm not a collector of the stuff or anything. I just like looking. There are some very skillful people in the world."
Neo nodded. Images of the paintings and crystal sculptures back on Luminous came into her mind. "Yeah. It would be great to see what other people have done."
"Then this should be a real treat for you," Penguin said. A bell jingled upon him opening the door for her.
Neo stepped inside. A wave of tiredness washed over her. Her legs trembled, forcing her to slump against the wall.
"Neo, what's wrong?" Penguin stepped beside her.
The tiredness vanished. "I don't know. I just suddenly got tired."
"Do you need to sit down?" Penguin asked, his face twisted with concern.
"No. It's gone now." Neo straightened up.
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." Neo nodded. When his worried face didn't change, she cupped his cheek. "Really, Penguin. I'm fine."
"Okay." Penguin turned his attention to the room. A few people were peppered around the building, looking at the displays.
With the tiredness gone, Neo noticed the room was full of all kinds of jewelry. Necklaces hung from hooks, earrings were lined up in display boxes, shimmering in the light above them. Bracelets were carved with elaborate designs or gems embedded in there thin cuffs or rings. Then her eye caught a sculpture of a dolphin arching out of a light blue crystal wave. She leaned closer to it. "Wow. It's so beautiful. I thought this was just a jewelry store."
"It use to be," a man said.
"What do you mean?" Penguin asked.
Neo looked up at the man. Her eyes drew to his hands. They were aged by several years of work. They matched the wrinkles on his face.
"This store has been in my family for about fifteen generations," he said. "For years my family worked with jewelry. It wasn't until I married did my wife bring sculptures like this into the merchandise. She's in the back at the moment."
"Well, she clearly has some amazing talents. I'm impressed," Neo said.
"Oh, you better not be trying to put me on a pedestal again," a woman said crossed the room.
Tiredness settled into Neo's body. Placing her hand on the counter, she steadied herself. With her blurring vision she watched a short woman with white curly hair walk over to them.
"It's true, dear. You have some wonderful talents," the man said.
Neo placed her free hand on her face. Her body screamed for sleep as her knees buckled under her. She heard Penguin's frantic voice calling her name through the haze dancing around her head. Her eyes landed on the green gem embedded in the woman's necklace. A halo of green fog was surrounding it. Her eyelids fell closed.
…
Law leaned back in his chair, legs stretched out with his ankles crossed. The room was thick with booze and laughter from drunk men, a few his own crewmembers. Scanning the room he found her again. Like she had been for the second he walked into the door, the long black haired woman was staring at him again. A few other women were with her, but they didn't care about him at all. Only she kept looking in his direction. And she wasn't trying to hide it at all. The looks had long become annoying. He wished she would come over already so he could reject her and get it over with. The only thing he came in here for was a relaxing beer. Then he was heading out to find the bookstore to see if anything new in the medical field had come out yet.
Finally, after fifteen minutes, the woman slid off her stool and walked over to him, putting extra sway in her hips. She sat down with a smile. "Hello."
Law grunted.
"I couldn't help but notice you were all alone over here." She smiled.
"There's a reason for that," Law said. His eyes dipped low when she leaned forward to reveal more of her cleavage. A low sigh escaped his lips.
She giggled. "I'm Rosa. I'd ask for yours but I've seen you in the newspaper before. I find pirates rather attractive, Trafalgar Law."
"You don't say." Law smirked.
"I'd like to get to know you a little better." Rosa stretched out her leg, brushing it across his knee. "How about you buy me a drink?"
Law parted his lips to answer. Before he could utter a single word, Penguin's frantic voice rang out over the merriment.
"Captain! Captain!"
Law glanced over to the door. His eyebrows drew together to find Neo passed out in his arms. "What did she do now?"
"She who?" Rosa followed Law's gaze, ultimately falling upon Neo. "Who's she?"
Ignoring her, Law stood up, grabbed his sword, and walked over to his subordinate. "Penguin."
"Captain! I'm so glad I found you!" Relief rushed over his face. "Something's wrong with Neo! She just passed out on me! I didn't know what to do!"
"It's fine." Law pressed his hand to her forehead to check for a fever. Her skin was cool. "Let's get her back to the sub."
"Right! Yes!" Penguin rushed back out the door.
Law followed, asking questions as they went. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Penguin said. "She just passed out. We were looking around a jewelry store about two blocks west of here. She was fine, admiring a dolphin statue. Then she just suddenly collapsed. I'm so glad I found you so quickly!"
"Did she show any other symptoms?" Law asked.
"No. That was it. She got tired and went down. Well, she did feel tired when we first went into the building," Penguin said. "But nothing else happened. She was fine. It was like any other day."
Reaching the sub, Law held out his hand. "Room. Shambles." The harbor disappeared, giving way to the medical bay. "Lay her down."
Penguin laid her down on the operating table.
Law propped his sword against the sink, grabbed needed medical tools, and set to check Neo's vital signs.
"What's wrong with her, Captain?" Penguin asked after a few minutes of restrained silence.
"I don't know," Law said. "Everything's normal. Her heart and lungs sound good. Her pulse is good. She's breathing normally."
Neo shifted.
"She's waking up," Penguin said.
Neo's eyes opened. "What…?" She looked around. "Where am I?"
"Neo, we're back on the sub." Penguin took her hand in his. "You passed out while in the jewelry shop."
"I did?" Neo's eyebrows knitted.
"Have you had past experiences with passing out?" Law asked.
"If I had I would have told you during my first check up here." Neo sat up.
"Hey! Take it easy! You shouldn't get up!" Penguin said.
"I'm fine," Neo insisted.
"You said that before and passed out on me." Penguin frowned. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when you collapsed?"
Neo turned to him and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it. It just happened."
"What exactly did happen?" Law asked pulling a small light off his tray.
"Nothing really. I just got tired and everything went dark." When Neo glanced at the captain he shown the light into her eyes. "The only thing out of the ordinary was a glowing green gem."
"Glowing green gem?" Law cocked an eyebrow.
"I think so. I saw it before I blacked out. It was on the shop owner's wife's necklace." Neo tapped her chest where the gem would have lain.
Law rubbed his chin. Gems didn't typically glow. "You must have been seeing things."
"I wasn't seeing things." Neo frowned.
"Crystals don't glow," Law said.
A green crystal appeared beside Neo. She smirked.
"With the exception of you and your people," Law said. "Was she one of them?"
"No," Neo said. "But it was glowing. I know I wasn't dreaming."
"Then you were hallucinating." Law gave her a challenging smile when she frowned.
Neo opened her mouth to reply.
"Okay," Penguin said before a fight could break out. "How about Neo stays here and we go check the store out again?"
"I don't need to stay here," Neo said.
"Yes. You do," Law said.
"I do not!" Neo glared.
"People don't pass out for no reason, Miss Neo," Law said. "I'm going to monitor you for a while to see if anything comes up."
"That isn't necessary."
"Captain's orders." Law waited for her to object. She didn't. "Good. Now lets get you into a room so I can hook you up to the heart monitor."
"Fine." Neo slid off the table and followed him out of the room.
Law led her into one of the recovery rooms. While she crawled up on the bed, she pulled the heart monitor over to her. With the patches in hand he reached below the neckline of her shirt, placing the patches on her chest. Her body tensed when his fingers brushed across her chest. Sneaking a glance at her he found her cheeks red. "There. Do not move from this room."
"Whatever." Neo crossed her arms. "I'm telling you this is unnecessary."
Law turned on the machine. Beeps of her heartbeat filled the room.
"Come on, Neo," Penguin said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."
"I know." Neo sighed. "I promise I won't go anywhere. But I'm going to get really bored in here. Would you bring me up some books?"
"Sure thing." Penguin nodded.
"After that go find Kailen," Law said. "He'll want to know about this. He headed off with Conner towards the clothing shops."
"Aye, Captain." Penguin headed out of the room.
"What are you going to do?" Neo asked.
"I'm going to go to the jewelry store to look at this supposed glowing gem." Law headed for the door.
"Oh? And how are you going to do that? Tell her that her necklace caused this? There's no proof," Neo said.
"I never said that it did cause this. But there's no harm in checking things out. There might be some form of material you're allergic to in there," Law said.
"You're not going to be able to find it that quick. And what difference does it make? It's not like we're moving to this place," Neo said.
"I'm still going." Law disappeared out the door. Neo was right. He had no proof and wouldn't have any without extensive tests. Still, he wanted to go look around for future references. Its possible humans might have materials that aren't used on her home island. She could have just had some allergic reaction to it. Though he's never hear of an allergic reaction causing someone to fall asleep.
Back outside he made his way back to the bar then headed two blocks west like Penguin had said. The store came into view. Without hesitation he went inside. Some people paused and looked at him, obviously nervous because he was a pirate. He paid them no mind as he looked around. The dolphin came into view. He paused to take it in, wondering why something like this would have drawn Neo's attention before the woman came into view. She was talking with another customer but her necklace was in plan view. And it wasn't glowing. Wanting a closer look, he spread out his Room and warped the item to his hand. With his back towards everyone, he examined the green gem. It looked as normal as any other gem he had ever seem, with the expectation of Neo and Kailen's crystals of course.
A scream erupted in the building. "It's gone! My necklace is gone!"
"What? It was just here."
"That pirate must have taken it!"
"Someone call the navy!"
Law warped the necklace back onto the woman and left the building.
"Hold on. Your necklace is right there. You're still wearing it."
"But how did…?"
Law smirked, the door closing behind him.
Bluu6293: Thanks. Glad to hear you like it so much and that you think I've improved. I can't really see it myself but it's good to hear some say I have. :)