Chapter Thirty-Two

Importance

Astounded was an understatement as to how Cana reacted upon seeing Bacchus board the ship merely moments before they weighed anchor. He was in his armor, with his hair tied back and covered by a white bonnet, and black dots beneath his eyes. He looked no different that the day she had met him. Even his wide grin had some of his old-self in it as he swayed up the gangplank.

She noticed one of his earrings was missing and the dents and scratches in his violet armor, but he looked otherwise unharmed. His arm even looked in better condition than before. The questions were on the tip of her tongue, but she thought better of it and decided to save them for another time.

"What are you doing here?" She blurted at him instead, getting his cheeky smile beamed at her in return.

"Once and exiled prince, always an exiled prince." He laughed and clapped the equally as stunned Aiguo on the shoulder.

They had set sail immediately after that.

He had not been enlisted to aid the crew their second time aboard Yan-Yan's ship. If asked, the huntress captain made light of it by complaining that he would do more harm than good with the state that he was in. It was not untrue, but Cana could not help but feel as if it might have been better for him so as to stave off his grief for just a little longer.

It was nearing two weeks into their returning trip and he had been sopping drunk the entire time. Mostly he drank with the crew and howled through the night with them all, though he never spoke in Yikani. Some nights he would stay in his cabin and welcomed her company. He seemed almost back to normal. So much so that it made her wary.

"He isn't himself, not truly." She told Yanti one night in confidence. They had shared the captain's cabin once again since the one she would have had to herself was now being occupied by Bacchus.

"Can you blame him?" The captain asked her as she swirled her drink in her hand.

"I suppose not." Cana twisted her mouth into a half-frown as she stared into her cup. "I only wonder why he is trying so hard."

"Why not find out for yourself?" Yan-Yan smiled wickedly as she pushed back from the small table. She stumbled her way out of the room and to the quarters Bacchus was staying in. Cana followed in attempt to stop her, but ended up being caught in the captain's trap when the shorter woman knocked. When it opened, she was into the room slamming into the hard bare torso of the inhabitant and cursed when she heard the wooden door shut behind her.

"Cana?" He looked down at her drunkenly with an unamused expression. Her hands pressed against his chest and his rough hands had caught her by the shoulders, holding her close. Bacchus released her when she looked up at him and let her take a step back.

She muttered something about getting Yan-Yan back after she was finished, confusing him further. When he tilted his head at her, she returned his expression and looked over his shoulder at the pile of empty bottles behind him.

"Had enough yet?" She quirked her brow at him. He scoffed and went to sit on the edge of the bed where he had likely been sitting before she disturbed him.

"Did you need something?" He picked up an already half-emptied bottle and drank deeply from it.

"No." She answered perhaps too quickly. He furrowed his brows at her as he lowered the bottle to the floor.

"You're lying." He leaned back onto his hands.

"Tch. Just figured you could use some company." She walked over to the little pile of unopened drinks on the table, helping herself to its contents and sat at the end of the bed. He watched her carefully in his drunken stupor, his eyes glancing her up and down.

"Explains why Yanti pushed you into my room." His smiled crept onto a corner of his lips.

They sat quietly for a moment after that, drinking and pretending to not look at the other.

"What made you change your mind?" She did not look at him as she asked her question quietly.

"The era of the Phoenix is over." He mused softly after taking another long drink. She made a face, pretending to be annoyed at him. His answer was cryptic, but it was an answer still and she was grateful that he was at least saying something.

"Couldn't handle the pressure?" She jested lightly, hoping to raise his spirits. It worked enough to get a small laugh from him.

"I suppose not." He smiled sadly at her. "But I guess not everyone can say that they have been a ruler of a kingdom. Even if it was for only a couple of months."

"I don't think anyone back in Fiore will actually believe you were an emperor." She tittered nervously. He shook his head, a lighter grin on his face now.

"I don't think so either. It's not part of my reputation to be so regal. I'm supposed to be a drunken womanizer, not some government lackey."

"I can hear it now, the Wild Emperor Bacchus of the wine kingdom. That's a more believable tale." They laughed together, the mood between them lightening up as they joked further.

"It will make for quite the tale indeed." He sipped his drink and leaned over to her. "A stubborn fortune teller, an exiled prince, pirates and booze, rebel armies," He hooted. "No one will ever believe any of it. They'll all think it's some drunken story we came up with."

"Especially the part about you having a wife." Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for his reaction. "Bachhus. I'm… I didn't mean to…" He snorted much to her surprise and even chuckled somewhat.

"Two wives." He said as he tilted his head back to drink.

"Two?" She stared at him in perplexity. "Did you marry both of them?"

"No." He snorted again and drank down the last few drops of his drink. "You were my wife once as well, if I recall correctly." He looked at her smugly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"That was your idea." Cana narrowed her eyes in return, feeling the heat in her face glowing.

"But you went along with it anyway." He teased.

"Like I had a choice!" She nudged him in the side and drank.

"I also seem to recall sharing a bed with you more often than not, too." He laughed.

"Only because you'd fall asleep before I could take it for myself."

"And it was your idea to crawl in after me." He snickered. "Even when I had a bed of my own. I believe it was this very one as well."

"I was drunk." She rolled her eyes, but she could not stop the hinted smile playing on her lips.

"But you aren't this time." The suggestive look he gave her dropped a weight into her gut, releasing an annoying fluttering in it. "And yet here you are. Again."

"You didn't seem to mind it much then." She elbowed him in his side trying to recover her confidence. Cana had expected him to try to maneuver out of the way, but instead grabbed her elbow and pulled her to him.

"Because I didn't." He leaned in closer to her, his eyes burning into hers.

She realized how little the distance was between them at that point when he reached a hand up and began caressing her cheek while brushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. There was eagerness in his expression that she was no stranger to.

"Bacchus. What are you-" Before she could say any more, he had pulled her face to his by her chin and gently kissed her. The alcohol in her system combined with his abrupt action made her dizzy and her knees weak. Bacchus' arms that were wrapping around her had likely been the only reason she had not pulled back. At least that was what she told herself.

"Cana." He whispered with his lips still touching hers and loosening his embrace. When he did draw back from her, it was only enough so that she could see his half-lidded gaze look from her eyes to her lips. His breath stank of as much of alcohol as hers did, but in that moment she found she didn't care. Taking the chance, she pulled him back to her, locking her mouth to his, and awakening something in them both.

His lips were less gentle this time, impatient and nearly desperate in the way he deepened the kiss. She dropped her drink to the floor so that she might return the passion he expressed, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilting her head to the side, giving him access to hers. He dove into it, nipping at her earlobe and pressing his lips up and down the exposed skin. A hunger became clear as he grabbed her hips and leaned back, pulling her on top of him. She could feel his hardened member pressed against her through their thin clothes where she straddled him, leaving her wanting more. He held her sides, and she eagerly began to slide herself back and forth, letting him press himself even closer. As he rocked against her, she could feel herself getting more and more wild, her hips grinding seemingly on their own.

One of his hands went from her waist to her shoulder as he sat up to kiss her again. She tugged at cloth on his head, pulling it off and letting his hair spill down to his shoulders. One of her hands rose to sink itself into the silky stands as she pulled his face from her tender neck back to her face for another fiery kiss. Her flesh burned wherever his lips touched, getting hotter as he moved lower again. She had worn one of her less modest tops and found that she was thankful for her unknowingly well-planned attire. As he grazed over her collarbone and down to the soft skin of her chest, she placed a hand on either one of his shoulders. His mouth did not move as his hands reached around to slide up and down her exposed back.

Upon feeling how her body shuddered, his gentle kiss turned wild again as he began to tease her over her top with his teeth and tongue. She inhaled sharply when his hungry mouth found her nipple and captured it while his fingers teased the other.

She moaned and reared her head back, letting herself be encased by the ecstasy that he embodied. With a strong but not forceful push, he turned her back so that he was on top of her now. Her heels almost instinctually wrapped around his waist and dug into his back. He began to grind his hips against hers, letting them feel each other through their clothes.

In her passion, she began to tug at the edge of his pants and teased something into his ear. She had not been fully aware of what she had said exactly, but his kisses on her neck softened suddenly, sobering her from her stupor to look at him as he drew back. He stopped his movements and reached up to caress her face with his fingers, pushing back some of her hair from her face.

"Something wrong?" Cana asked, her voice husky from the moans.

"You're important." He sighed and bowed his head down to touch his forehead to hers. Uncertain of what he meant, she remained quiet. When he climbed off of her and shifted to sit on the side of the bed, she paused a moment before she moved to sit up beside him. She had started to ask him what was wrong when he interrupted softly.

"I'm sorry." He apologized as he absently rubbed a hand over his face. "I… I can't do this."

"Can't do what?" Cana felt a flash of offence as she furrowed her brow at him and glanced down at his still obviously hardened bulge. He caught where she looked and gave her an annoyed glower.

"Use you." He corrected as he rubbed at his face again with both of his hands and looked down at the floor beneath his feet. Cana could not find the words to soothe him.

"You don't have to-"

"I want to. That's the problem." He interrupted again.

"I'm not following." Cana spoke frankly, but not harshly.

Bacchus stood and went to grab up the last bottle of wine from the table and leaned against it.

"I can't get close to anyone just yet." He drank, looking off at something she could not see. "I've… it's just… I've lost too much and I don't want to use you to as a temporary filler." His mouth twitched as he frowned. "You're too important to be reduced to that."

It took a moment, but eventually he came back to sit beside her and told her what happened at the palace. She was surprised to find out about Qi Peng's relationship with Fei Shi, how she killed her own mother, her sister's and eventually her own death. She was even more shocked to hear how Bacchus explained how he felt he failed her by not being a good enough husband to save her. His guilt had been apparent; making her feel even guiltier that it was because of her that he left the palace in the first place.

"It's not easy losing a loved one." She tried to soothe him.

"I didn't love her." He said not unkindly.

"You cared for her." Cana suggested, but he shrugged and drank again. He shifted his eyes from hers to somewhere else in the room and with a sigh he rubbed at one of his temples absently.

"Even if it was only for a few weeks, she was still my wife, so I supposed I did." He looked off at nothing and put the bottle to his lips again, drinking. Cana couldn't think of anything more to say to him.

"And Mei…?" He shifted uncomfortably and looked off at something beyond the walls in front of him again when she said the woman's name. She had not meant to, knowing how raw the subject might still be.

"We were going to get married." Bacchus said under his breath. Cana looked at him, unsurprised by his statement. He continued without looking at her. "I asked her before I left if she would and she said yes." His had a contemplative gleam in his glazed eyes as if seeing a memory play out directly in front of him.

"Did Shan know?" Cana asked softly.

"He did, not that it mattered. Our engagement only lasted a week anyway. When we told Master, he did not approve. It was later that night when he told me that I was being sent to Fiore with a friend of his. I originally thought it was punishment because I had asked Mei to marry me. When I asked him why, he said that the rebels were looking for me because I was an escaped slave and that to protect everyone and myself that meant I had to go where they couldn't reach me. I didn't believe him at first and said that I could fight them off easily. But he said that I had no chance at winning and that it would be better for everyone if I left. Goldmine had come the next night to take me with him. Mei was heartbroken when I told her that I was leaving. She wanted to come with me, but I told her to stay behind because she'd be safe with Shan and Master." Bacchus' shoulders slumped forward even more as he choked out a breath. "Look how well that turned out."

"Don't torture yourself. You couldn't have known." Cana felt something fierce bubble in her at the memory of seeing how frightened Mei and her son had looked that night during dinner. Her anger simmered as she thought of the man. There weren't many times she was glad that someone met their end, but she would make an exception for him.

Bacchus did not answer her, but Cana understood his silence. She tentatively placed a hand on his arm, meeting his eyes when he looked at her. His whole body was trembling under her touch. She had never seen a man so broken and it pained her deep within her whole being to know it was some one she had come to care so deeply for. She wanted to be angrier. She wanted to hate Shan and his father, Zi Yu and Fei Shi, and Lady Lang, all of them for what they had done. She wanted them to suffer endlessly. But what good is it to curse and damn the dead? As much as she wished it, she could not find the strength to be angry in that moment. Her focus had been lent to compassion instead. She reached her other arm around him, allowing him to slide closer to her. His head rested on her chest as he let himself break in her embrace. She could not recall exactly how long it had taken or when he actually had, but eventually his sobs and shaking slowed and stopped as he slipped into an exhausted slumber in her arms. She laid him down and joined in beside him. Her eyes were heavy as she watched him a moment, feeling herself beginning to fade as well.

"You've become important to me, too." She kissed his forehead and whispered, succumbing to her own body's call for rest shortly after.