~ ... Suite of Spades ... ~
"So, how'd you get the marines to work for you, Miss Nesi?" Nami asked, interested in the coexistence of the land.
"It definitely wasn't easy, redhead," Nesi replied, leaning back in her chair to get comfortable.
She gave a handshake to a pirate as he was walking to a seat while snacking on some bacon. The Straw Hat boys were largely exploring the town while the girls and Chopper got to know Nesi more. They were able to take in the details of the woman as she relaxed in her personal restaurant. The place itself was just a step under high-class but quite cozy. Chandeliers did decorate the establishment, but the hanging gardens on the walls were the main focus of intrigue. The dining booths had warm or bright colors for the rugs but more neutral or contrasting shades for the leather benches. Outside had swings and hammocks with a lazy Suzan bar connecting to the kitchen. Robin thought Sanji would be most interested in the chefs, but he wanted to be at Luffy's side for a while. The captain wasn't happy about meeting Nesi. Not that he didn't like her. She was actually a chill woman. It had more to do with the woman not knowing about what happened to Ace at all. There was an entire war at the Marineford behind his brother's demise! How didn't she know about any of that? The girls felt it best to see how close Nesi and Ace really were before going to Luffy to see if he'd be ready or willing to tell her the truth.
Up close, Nesi was a pretty woman. Her hair was interesting to say the least. She had scales on the back of her neck that went up to the nape, but they seemed to disappear into her thick, dark purple hair that was styled into an updo with a loose, wavy lock dangling elegantly over her frilled frock and collar. The ends of her hair were brown like wood, and, aside from the hairstyle combing straight on the sides, the loose lock was a bit wavy to curly in texture. A pin and chain seemed to be holding her indigo blue linen shirt closed at the front. It was hard to tell if she had a pronounced bosom with the shirt being floaty and spacious. Her sleeves were just as elegant with the frills at the cuffs and another pin and chain acting as cuff links at the ends of her bell sleeves. It looked like the pin was more of a personal design to showcase her status as a privateer. She possessed a gun with the marine emblem on it, a knife with the Spades emblem on it, and a sword that might've been crafted as a gift or by personal request with her emblem on it. Her heeled boots were equally as fashionable with the frills wrapped around the length of the boot like shoelaces... or a growing flame.
"It took two wars and a deadly heist to convince them that life as a privateer was achievable. The pirates gave me just as many problems as the marines did, though!" Nesi admitted, holding up a gloved hand. She removed the glove to reveal two fingers that were no longer human but reptilian. She then said, "Don't be fooled into thinking anyone was innocent in my struggle. A finger lost to the marines, and another lost to the pirates. This was the price I had to pay. The second war was my turning point. Instead of a public execution, I was to be punished in a different way. One that satisfied the nobles had I been captured, but... Quistador Ingagoh, leader of the Red Marquessa Fleet, fought in the second war against me, personally. He chose a handful of marines to apprehend us. The nobles vouched for a particular group of men to serve under the marines to completely overwhelm us. Ace was with me in both wars. Part of me thinks that's the only reason why we won. Dude was the epitome of a loose, friggin cannon! But... I couldn't name you a better ally even if I wanted to. I was lucky that both men gave me a chance. Building this place was just as hard. You have no idea how hard it is to get any of those nobles to come down from their thrones to look at you as some semblance of a person versus a filthy, street rat. Those people were so ready to humiliate me! To go from that to being curious about me? Well... I'd say my work is a fraction of the way done."
"How'd you meet Ace exactly?" Robin asked with some reserve. "The Ace that we know didn't like the marines."
"Pfft! Bastard didn't like me at first either!" Nesi said with a chuckle, regality slipping away in that moment in favor of crude language. She sunk comfortably in her chair, eyes glimmering with warmth at the memories flooding her mind. "He was building up the Spades when I met him. He had a decent foothold as an upcoming captain. The marines had come to run my hometown and were beating people for no reason. I hated that! I tried to stop them peacefully, but you may as well be a fly on the wall with no powers or martial skills. I got roughed up pretty badly. Ace beat the living hell out of a good chunk of those ingrates! I guess he was just sailing by and disembarked on us. Must've heard the shouting like anybody else. I don't know. Something about the way he fought... called out to me. I practically begged him to train me, but he said I didn't have the moxie. Called me a friggin pansy princess! Tried to push me away and everything, but I was persistent in learning how to fight like him. I tried serving him food, offered to clean his ship, and even tried to wash everybody's clothes. Wouldn't have any of it. One of the crew members took pity on me. I think it was Corale, actually. He let me watch Ace train a couple of minutes at a time. I practiced his moves relentlessly. Now, I will say I shouldn't have gone in street fighting matches with what I learned, but I did... and lost every damn fight. I'm glad I did, though. It built up my moxie. Once I got tired of losing and being unheard, I started getting analytical. I watched different people fight and trained differently each time. Ace came to the one street fight I just so happened to win and started talking to me. He asked me why I wanted to learn how to fight so much, and, as they say, our heroes' stories began on that day. Welp! I need to show you all to the suites. You'll be taking Ace's lodging."