Kiss
Neo exhaled her breath slow and steady. Her eyes here locked down on the book in her hands but her mind was locked onto Law. He was in the ward with Healer Zinnia while she was curled up in one corner of the library couches, her legs crossed over Penguin's lap. They had been in the library for two hours now. And during that time she barely read an entire page of the book. She was too busy following Law's moves over at the ward.
Law was currently in his second week of studying and visiting the ward as a student of Healer Zinnia. The first week Law only went for an hour before returning to her side. He only started going for two hours this week since she had told him she would be fine with him being gone for two hours. Though there were plenty of times when she second guessed her decision.
But the entire crew made sure to stay with her during the first week then started to wander off during the second week, but still stayed close to the castle just in case. Penguin was the one who never left her side while Law was busy with his ward visits. He would always sit with Neo in the library either reading or quietly observing the elementals through the darkened windows as they wandered around in front of the castle.
"You know, if you really want him to come back, he will. You can just call him," Penguin said.
Neo jumped at his unexpected voice.
"Sorry." Penguin squeezed her ankle. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay. And I know I could call him back." Neo sighed to herself. She stretched out her legs before sitting up and placing her bare feet down on the floor. "I just don't want to bother him. This is only his second week that he's been visiting the ward with Healer Zinnia. I know he wants to learn everything he can about their medical treatments so he can take care of me. He can't do that if I keep bugging him because I don't like that he's not near me."
"You're not bugging him," Penguin assured her. He moved closer to her. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to his side. "He knows that you're not comfortable when he's not with you, especially after what happened here. You haven't had enough time yet to adjust, but you're getting there. That's why Healer Zinnia is only having him see a couple patients at a time. So you can adjust to him taking time away from you. But he'll always come running back if you really need him. Besides, isn't his time about up today?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm adjusting to it a little bit." Neo nodded. "And, yes, he should be about done. So I can wait for him to return. I know he's not that far from me right now. And, if I really needed him, I could call him or even pull him to me. He would warp right to me if I asked."
"Speaking of which, when are you two going to start training with that bond thing of yours?" Penguin asked.
"I'm not sure. Even thought I'm getting stronger, and I can walk on my own longer, the captain still wants me to take it easy. Healer Zinnia's hasn't even taken these patches off yet. I'm not sure what she's waiting for." Neo looked down at her chest. The oval shape heart monitoring patches were still attached to her skin. Two of them were peaking out from the collar of her simple black tank top. She let her eyes drift down to the gray sweat pants she was also wear. She was glad that Bepo had brought her some of her own clothes. They were more comfortable than the dresses the elementals wanted her to wear and smelled of the sub. She adjusted her tank strap before looking back up at Penguin. "I don't think she wants me to train just yet either. She said that when I start training by body on how to turn into the elements I'll be drained of my magic and energy until I get use to the transforming and get stronger with doing it."
"Yeah, that's a good idea then. None of us will like it if our favorite girl gets hurt again." Penguin nodded. He draped his left arm over the back of the couch while keeping his other arm around Neo. "I'm just glad you've finally gotten a break from Prudence's incessant talk about the princess coronation."
"Princess!" Both pirates cringed when Prudence's voice rang through the castle library.
"Spoke to soon," Penguin grumbled. He slumped into the couch and glared at the woman when she entered into the library with a tail of maids and butlers carrying samples of fabric, candle holders, dishes and other various items that he figured was going to be use at Neo's 'suppose to be upcoming coronation'. "When are they going to get the hint that you're not staying here?"
"I'm surprised she hasn't come sooner since the captain isn't here right now," Neo whispered to her brother. A smile pulled over her lips at how nervous the woman was around him now. "She seems to be more wary of him since he warped her into that fountain the other night."
Penguin chuckled at the memory of Prudence disappearing from the dinning room. While they didn't see her for the rest of the evening, they could easy see how she looked all wet. He leaned closer to Neo. Whispering, he said, "The elementals do seem to be less pushy after he did that. But don't worry. I'll be more than happy to throw her back into that fountain since the captain isn't here to do it."
Neo giggled, her bells chiming in the otherwise quiet room. She was going to respond to him, but didn't get the chance as Prudence stepped over to the couch. She shifted uncomfortably when the woman bowed to her.
Prudence then straightened up and frowned at the clothes Neo was wearing. With forced tolerance, she said, "Princess, your ladies maids have informed me that you are refusing to wear your dresses. This is highly improper. You must…"
Prudence voice vanished from Neo's ears as her mind drifted back to this morning. Like every morning since they had moved into the castle, Neo's two maids always had a dress picked out before she even got up. For whatever reason they entered into her room every single morning. Luckily, Law always managed to be gone before they arrived. But it still made her nervous to have them so close.
And the dresses they chose looked heavy to Neo. And were far too fancy for her comfort. For a few days, she stuck with wearing the smaller, more comfortable sundresses like the one she worn after leaving the ward. But eventually got where she didn't even want to wear them. She was just to used to her comfortable commoner clothes. So she went back to wearing them instead. And if her maids tried to force her to wear a dress she just ran out into the hall or room where Law was always waiting for her. The maids immediately backed off then with a simple glare from him. She often wished to have his gift for glaring so she could get the elementals to back off.
"I don't want to wear those dresses," Neo replied under her breath when her ears registered Prudence continued rants about the rules of the castle. She slumped down into the couch and Penguin's hold, wishing she could turn into the wind and disappear.
"Princess, a proper lady does not slump," Prudence said with exasperation. "Up, up, now. Sit straight."
"No," Neo said flatly. She felt Penguin's curious eyes on her from the unusual rebellious tone in her voice. Her eyebrows were narrowed and her lips were tilted down in a slight frown. She was even a bit surprised but held her tone and facial expression. "The captain said I don't have to do anything I don't want to. And I don't want to."
"The captain is not a citizen of Luminous. And he is certainly not one who would know how a lady should act," Prudence replied in a matter of fact tone. "He is a pirate. He is one of the worst that the human race has to-"
"Stop it!" Neo shouted, catching everyone, even Penguin, off guard. She shot to her feet. The book she was holding fell to the floor with a thump. Her crystals appeared in the room. They began to glow, but didn't pulse with their element. The elementals took a few steps back. Prudence's eyes flickered back and forth between her and the crystals. Penguin didn't even flinch. "Don't you dare talk about him, or any of my family, like tha-uh."
"Neo?" Penguin asked. "What is it? Something wrong?"
"He's coming back to the castle, Penguin," Neo said. Her crystals and fury faded away. She turned her eyes to Penguin. "I want to see him."
"You go on then," Penguin said with an encouraging nod.
Neo nodded back while rubbing the heel of her right hand into her eye. She then ran out of the room without another word to anyone, leaving Penguin behind to pick up the book she dropped. Dashing through the door she found a few maids in the hall dusting again. They bowed to her. She ignored them and continued on towards the foyer. Her legs ached. She slowed down to a walk before her head spun. Stepping over to one of the tables, she placed her hand on it to steady herself. Her chest heaved up and down as she gathered her breath. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. She didn't want to give the healer any reason to come over here.
"Hey, are you okay?" Penguin asked coming to her side. "You're not sick, are you? Do I need to get the captain? Or maybe the healer?"
"I'm fine, Penguin," Neo replied. She tossed a look back over her shoulder, expecting to see Prudence following after her. "I'm just feeling a bit drained with all these elementals trying to tell me what I should do or not do and wear or not wear. And I'm not strong enough to run yet. I just over did it a bit, I guess. I was, or am, in a hurry to get to the captain."
"Yeah, I can tell that your energy drops when one of these elementals tries to tell you what to do. It's getting too much for you. You're stressed out. Do you need me to carry you?" Penguin asked. He offered her his arm.
"Could you just walk with me?" Neo asked. She gladly accepted his help.
"Sure thing." Penguin smiled. He then turned and escorted her down the hall. The closer they got to the main entrance of the castle, they could clearly make out Selene's voice talking to Law, but couldn't make out what she was saying yet. The two exchanged looks. "What's she doing here?"
"Maybe Healer Zinnia sent her to check on me?" Neo offered. A bubbling pool of heat appeared in her stomach. Unsure of why it was there, she ignored it.
"Maybe," Penguin replied. He narrowed his hidden eyebrows in doubt.
"You okay, Penguin?" Neo said. "The energy around you has changed."
"I'm fine," Penguin said. "Say, how are you feeling right now other than tired?"
"I'm feeling okay," Neo said.
"Any other emotions or anything that's unfamiliar to you?" Penguin asked.
"I felt a bit odd hearing Selene with the captain," Neo said.
"As I thought," Penguin said.
"What do you mean?" Neo tilted her head.
"Maybe we should wait until the captain comes to us," Penguin said.
"I don't want to wait," Neo said. "He's been gone long enough."
"Okay," Penguin said. He swallowed before they started walking down the hall again.
The bubbling heat reappeared when Neo heard Selene's giggle. Unaware, she gritted her teeth. The foyer came into view. And so did Law and Selene. Her eyes widened, her hands grasped onto Penguin's arm, her nails dug into his sleeve, when they finally reached the main entrance of the castle. Selene was standing close to Law, too close. The bubbling heat flared up into a blaze. Her head spun. Her heart clenched. Her confusion rose. She didn't want Selene near Law. "What…what's she doing? Why is she so close to the captain? Penguin, I don't understand."
Penguin glanced over at Neo at the same time Law sensed her rising confusion and anger.
Tears burned Neo's eyes when Selene placed her hand on Law's cheek, turning his eyes away from her. Her fingernails dug harder into Penguin's sleeve.
"Neo, calm down," Penguin said. "She's nothing to the captain."
Neo didn't hear him. Her eyes were locked onto Law and Selene. Her brain didn't register Law ripping Selene's hand off his face and his angry glare at the young healer. Selene moved closer to Law, her lips moving towards his as her eyelids fluttered closed. Neo snapped. Her wind crystals appeared, pushing a gale through the hall. "No! Don't touch him!"
The winds wrapped around Selene and flung her body down the other hall. Everyone paused when the woman's startled scream erupted through the air before she was silenced by hitting the hard floor. Her body rolled to a stop near a crystal statue.
While a couple maids ran over to check on the unconscious woman, Law pulled his eyes over to Neo and Penguin.
Neo was staring in shock, and in confusion, at what she had just done. Her hands dropped from Penguin's arm. She stumbled back a few steps. Her crystals and wind faded. She had attacked someone.
Penguin spoke to her softly. "It's okay, Neo. You didn't do anything wrong. It's all right."
"Neo," Law said. He quickly walked over to her. When close enough, he reached out for her.
"No! Stay away!" Neo shouted just before Law could touch her. Pulling her wind crystals back out, she wrapped her winds around herself. She flew up the stairs and disappeared down the hall towards her room. Law called out for her but she didn't slow down. Reaching her room, she threw open the doors, entered, slammed them shut, then curled up on bay window.
…
"Neo! Wait!" Law called for her when she flew towards the stairs. Deciding it would take to long to run up all the stairs and down the long hall, he formed a Room and warped to Neo's bedroom. Just as he appeared in the hall, Neo entered into the room and slammed the doors shut. He rushed over to the doors. He grabbed the handle, but paused. Her confusion was swirling around inside of her and inside of him. Releasing the door handle, he turned and he pressed his back against the door with a sigh. This moment could have been prevented if he had been paying more attention to her.
"Captain?" Penguin asked when he ran up to the black haired man a minute later. "Why haven't you gone inside yet? Neo needs you right now."
"I'm just giving her a minute to calm down. Remember, this is the first time she's seen me around another woman like that, especially one so persistent. She's just confused. And she knows I'm here," Law replied. He dropped his head back to the door with another sigh. "I should have known better than to let Selene follow me into the castle. I didn't think she was going to try and kiss me though. I should have put a stop to her advances when they first started."
"When they first started you were too focused on Neo," Penguin pointed out. "Now you're still focused on her. You've barely noticed Selene at all."
"I know." Law nodded. "And that was a mistake. I should have been more careful about this whole thing. But I didn't think she would actually attack that woman like this."
"Oh, well…she might not have if she wasn't all ready upset," Penguin said.
"What do you mean? I didn't feel her getting upset." Law looked over at his subordinate with a perplexed expression on his face. "I know she's feeling stressed out, but…"
"Well, she was starting to. Prudence came into the library a few minutes ago. She was bombarding Neo again with all the ridiculous rules they have here. And was going to start in on the coronation again. She brought a small army with her that were carrying a bunch of fabrics and junk. Neo was getting upset, but then she felt you coming back to the castle," Penguin explained. "She didn't have time to really get upset yet."
"Until she saw what that woman tried to do," Law concluded.
"I think all of this is finally getting too much for her. She's stressed out to the point that she actually yelled at the elementals in the library. It was amazing. But, on top of that, she now has to deal with being jealous of Selene. Two things she's never dealt with before," Penguin said.
"And it doesn't help that she's been inside for so long," Law added.
"What does being inside have to do with anything?" Penguin asked.
"It's something the healer woman has recently informed me of. You know how Neo and the elementals are connected to nature?" Law asked.
"Yeah." Penguin nodded.
"Well, it turns out that if elementals spend an excess amount of time indoors they'll start getting stressed out, use their crystals improperly, become irritable and, in extreme cases, develop skin irritations and indulge in over eating sugar. That's what happened to one of her patients today. She developed a skin irritations because she's been spending weeks inside working on a new clothing line or some such nonsense."
"Neo's been living in the sub!" Penguin shrieked.
"Calm down," Law ordered. "I all ready discussed her living in the sub with the healer. We've been keeping Neo in nature enough and have been preventing that from happening. And since Neo is a royal, if for some reason we can't spend time off the sub, she can just create a small forest inside the sub that will suffice until we can surface."
"Oh…thank goodness." Penguin sighed with relief as his shoulders slumped. "I was worried there for a second that we did something that would hurt her. By the way, Captain."
"What is it?" Law asked.
"When we were in the library and Neo was starting to get upset, I couldn't help but noticed that the elementals were scared of her," Penguin said. He continued when Law raised a confused eyebrow at him. "I know. It seems unlikely considering how gentle she is, but she is a royal after all. She has all the elements and the solar crystal. I think the reason, or my theory is, they are being so pushy to get her to accept and stay here is because she's as meek as she is. They're trying to influence her before she really realizes that she has the power to put a stop to them. They clearly were backing off when she got upset and started to summon her crystals just now in the library. And they do remember what she did when they were under the influence of the darkness crystal. All of them combined can't stop her."
"I'm not surprised considering they haven't tried to kick us off this island yet," Law said. He shoved his sword free hand into his pocket. "It's obvious that would be the solution to get them to back off. I really don't want to put Neo through that thought, but I might have to if they keep pushing her like this."
"There might not be another choice, Captain. You know she'll pick us over them. It's really only a matter of time before that happens anyway. And, right now, you can control when that happens," Penguin said. "Wouldn't that be better than just letting the elementals continue with their ideas that she's going to stay here?"
Law tapped his finger on his sword in consideration. He then pushed off the door and turned to it. "All right. I'm going to prepare Neo to confront the elementals about this. It's time they realize and accept that she's not staying here."
"And how are you going to do that, Captain? Neo doesn't like confrontation. And she'll have to do this to practically the entire population of Luminous," Penguin pointed out.
"Don't worry about that." Law shot his subordinate a mischievous grin. "I know exactly what needs to be done here. It's time I put my plan into action. I'm going to take Neo outside for a while. Try to keep everyone away from us for as long as you can."
"What?! How the heck am I supposed to do that?! And what plan?! What are you planning?!" Penguin shrieked.
Law didn't reply to his ranting subordinate as he opened the door and entered into the room.
"Hey! Don't ignore me here! Captain!"
Law quietly closed the door, muffling out the rants of Penguin. His eyes automatically went to the bay window since that where he sensed she was. He sighed when he saw her. She was hugging her legs to her chest and hiding her face in her knees. She now had her wings out and they were drooping flat against her back. He could feel her heart aching and the confusion of what happened downstairs that was plaguing her mind. Walking over to her, he tied his sword onto his back. He didn't feel secure enough on this island yet to leave it behind, especially if Neo was going to be with him.
Once close enough, Law sat down on the edge of the window bed with her. He waited a few seconds before reaching out and placing his hand on her hair. She lightly flinched at his touch, but didn't pull away from him. After a few comforting strokes, he beckoned her. "Come here."
Obediently, Neo released her legs. With her bang covering her eyes, she moved over to Law and curled up on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hit her wings, while she laid her head on his shoulder and clenched a hold of his hoodie. They sat there a few minutes before he finally spoke up. "You know, you've been inside for quiet a while now. I think some fresh air would do you some good. Would you like for me to take you outside?"
A short paused passed between the two again before Neo nodded against him. "I want to go outside. I just don't feel like being around anyone outside of the crew yet."
"That's fine. They won't bother you. I won't let them," Law replied. He stood up with her in his arms before forming a Room. He warped them to the backside of the castle then quickly warped them again into the forest. The pirate captain stood still for a moment to see if anyone had followed them. When he concluded that they weren't being followed, he proceeded to walk Neo into the forest.
As he walked through the foliage, he carefully looked and listened for any signs of the elementals following them. There didn't appear to be anyone following them. All he could hear and see were the wildlife. Most of them stopped and looked at them. With the sun starting to set, he figured the elementals might be getting ready for supper or settling their kids down for the night or other such business. Even if they were being followed, Neo would be able to sense them easily enough. She would inform him and he would warp them away to another part of the island.
Law glanced down at her. She had finally let her eyes be seen again by him. He quickly noted that she was growing tired. Things got a bit too emotional for her today. He needed to enact his plan before she decided she wanted to take a nap and fall asleep on him. Plus, if she took a nap now she might not sleep later tonight. And he didn't want her staying up all night.
…
"Oh man," Penguin grumbled to himself as he walked down the steps of the castle porch. "How am I supposed to stop anyone from going after them? What's the captain thinking? What are the plans that he was talking about anyway?"
"Hey, Penguin, what's up?" Shachi called.
Penguin looked up to see his crewmates had returned from their explorations of the day.
"You look a bit frazzle. Where are Neo and the captain?" Archer said.
"I'm not sure," Penguin replied. He looked up at the castle. Neo's room was on the right side when facing it. Knowing they weren't there, he dropped his eyes back to his friends. "There was a bit of an incident with Prudence and then Selene tried to kiss the captain."
"What?!" the crew shouted.
"Don't worry about it." Penguin waved his hands at them. "The captain is handling everything right now. He took Neo outside. I'm not sure where they went, but I'm sure everything's going to be fine."
"Well, that's good. The captain always knows how to handle Neo correctly," Bepo said with a smile and nod. "Everything will be just fine."
"Hey, there's Kailen!" Shachi cried when Kailen rounded the castle. He waved to their elemental friend while rushing over to him. "We haven't seen you in a while. What's up, man? Where have you been?"
"Sorry." Kailen chuckled. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been busy with trying to get the elementals to understand that Neo's not going to stay here. It's not going very well as you might be able to guess. I've also been trying to find an elder elemental who can give you all more information on the bond-"
"He's a dead man!" The pirates and elemental turned towards the ward when they hear Healer Zinnia's scream pierce through the crystal walls. Two seconds later, the irate woman was stomping over to them. "That's it! Where is she?!"
"Where's who?" Kailen asked.
"The princess! I've told you pirates a thousand times that the princess needs to remain calm!" Healer Zinnia said. She pointed at the earth crystal hovering beside her. A line bounced over it wildly. "She's remained calm until now! Her heart rate is off the charts! Where is she?! What's is that despicable pirate captain of yours doing to her?! I know he's with her! She's not in the castle either!"
"Why don't you just sense out where she is?" Conner asked.
"Maybe she's too upset to do that," Archer said.
"Just tell me!" Healer Zinnia said.
"Penguin?" Shachi asked as the entire crew turned their accusing eyes to him.
"What are you looking at me like that for?! I don't know where they went! Or what the captain is doing to her!" Penguin shrieked waving his hands.
"Wait," Jean Bart said. "If he took her somewhere alone, does that mean he's going to-"
"Oh, you better not be saying what I think you're saying! He better not be desecrating her virtue! Where did he go?! Never mind! I can sense her easily enough now!" Healer Zinnia growled. She turned her eyes to the forest. She scanned over it until she found the direction Neo and Law were in. When she found it, she bolted in that direction without another word to the pirates.
"I was just going to ask if he was planning on kissing her," Jean Bart finished with complete confusion lacing his tone and expression.
"We better go after her," Kailen said while he started to follow after the woman. "We might need to play buffers to them."
"What's going on?" Shachi asked as they followed after Kailen and the healer. "What did she mean about Neo's virtue? You've mentioned something similar about that before as well."
"Yeah, well, let's not jump to conclusions just yet. But it might be time to tell you all anyway," Kailen said.
The crew exchanged confused glances.
…
"I'm sorry, Law," Neo whispered.
"Sorry for what?" Law questioned even though he all ready knew the answer.
"I attacked Selene." Neo tightened her hold on his hoodie. Her body began to tremble against his. Tears bubbled up in the corner of her eyes before falling down her cheeks. "I…I didn't mean to do it. It just happened. There was this new feeling in my chest. I don't know why. I was a bit upset because of Prudence, but when I saw Selene touch you I just…I don't know. I didn't like it. I don't want her to touch you. I don't want her anywhere near you. I wanted to hurt her. I don't understand. I'm just so confused. What's wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you. You were just jealous," Law said.
"Jealous?" Neo lifted up from his chest. She looked directly into his eyes. Her confusion was easy to spot. "What do you mean?"
"Well…" Law stopped walking when they came to a small clearing in the forest. He lowered her feet to the ground. She kept her eyes locked with his while he changed her position. He reached up and brushed away her tears. "You were envious of how close she was to me. You didn't like it because of the feelings you have for me."
"I still don't understand." Neo lowered her eyes from him in an attempt to process his words. When she couldn't, she lifted her gaze back to his. "I know you said before I was attracted to you, but I have feelings for you all. I love you and the crew."
"Yes, you do have feelings for us all," Law said. He ran his fingers through her hair before brushing them against her bare arms. He smirked when she tensed and shivered under his touch. "But the love you feel for the crew is different from the love you feel for me."
"It's different?" Neo asked. She narrowed her eyebrows slightly.
Law nodded in response to her. He continued to run his fingers over her arms then slid them down and laced them through hers. Her fingers automatically curled around his in response. Both their heartbeats increased slightly. He pressed his forehead to hers with a low sigh.
Her narrowed eyebrows loosened up as her chest tightened when he brushed his nose against her. "My chest is hurting again. And it's hard to breath. Why? Why does this keep happening when I'm with you? Why doesn't this happen when I'm with one of the crew? Why is my love for you different? Why do you always make me feel so…so funny?"
Law smiled. She had finally asked him what he has been waiting for her to. Sighing contently, he closed his eyes and tightened his hold on her hands. "You feel this way because our love for each other is a romantic love."
"Romantic love? I don't understand," Neo whispered.
"I know you don't. And I think I have a way of making this a bit more clearer for you to understand. Think about how you feel when Penguin or one of the other crew kisses you," Law said.
She nodded and did as she was told.
"How does that make you feel?"
"Well, I feel good. I guess. Why? What does-" Neo's body stiffened and her wings shot straight out when Law pressed his lips to her cheek. Her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped wildly inside of her at the unexpected kiss.
"Do you feel like you are now?" Law pulled back to see her reaction. She was staring blankly at him with wide eyes. He smiled when all she could do was shake her head ever so slightly. "That's because you don't have romantic feelings for them. Do you understand now?"
Law waited patiently for her to regain her senses and her voice. He watched as her chin bobbed up and down slightly while she tried to form words.
"S-sort of…n-not really…k-kinda…I'm not sure."
Law hummed. "That's okay. It'll take a little more time for you to completely understand what you're feeling. A lot of people have trouble with these feelings. I'll help you the best I can while you're learning about your feelings for me. But, for now, I want you to close your eyes for me."
"Why?"
Law chuckled when Neo gave him a cute but confused look at his odd request. He rubbed his thumbs in nervous circles over her hands while his eyes dropped to her lips. Heart pounding, stomach spinning, he forced himself to lift his eyes back to hers. "There's something that I want to give you."
"You got me a present?" Neo asked. A cool breeze weaved through the trees, making the leaves shuffle at the disruption. She shivered. A couple strands of her hair drifted carelessly over her face before lying back down on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I got you a present. Close your eyes for me now." Law nodded with a smile. He pulled his right hand from hers. Placing his fingertips just over her eyebrows, he gently brushed his fingers over her eyelids, guiding them closed. With a calming deep breath, he then placed both hands on her hips, earning another tense from her. "Now, this might be a little scary for you, but I promise it's not going to hurt you at all. Okay?"
"Okay." Neo nodded and obediently kept her eyes closed. She felt him move closer to her, but kept her eyes closed like he wanted. She twitched when she felt his warm breath flow over face. She felt him pause for some reason before he moved even closer to her.
Suddenly, unfamiliar warmth and tingle entered her body. It started at both her lips and her chest then spread out over her entire body and soul. Her eyes shot open. She found Law had his lips pressed to hers. Her wings started to flitter wildly at the strange action her captain was preforming on her. They created a light breeze around the two pirates, shifting the loose ends of their clothing and hair.
Law pulled back at that point. He didn't want to terrify her with their first kiss. He chuckled and smiled at her wide-eyed expression and when her wings lifted her feet off the ground an inch. Tightening his hold on her hips, he pulled her feet back to the ground. "Well, if I get this kind of reaction from a basic kiss, I can't wait to see what you do when I start giving you other types of kisses."
Neo's eyelids blinked rapidly in response.
He watched in amusement as she started to come back to reality and processed what he had just said.
Her squeaky voice asked, "O-other kisses?"
"Mhmm. There are many different types of kisses, my sweet, naive, little princess." Law nodded, taking hold of her left hand and lifting it to his face. He smiled at the sight of his ring on her finger before placing a kiss on it and her fingers. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her arm while speaking to her. "And, in time, I will teach you each and every single one of them."
Law placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder before placing one on her neck, hitting a sensitive spot without even trying.
Neo squeaked and tensed at another unfamiliar sensation washing through her body caused by his lips. Her wings flittered fast and started to lift her off the ground again. He placed his hands back on her hips, anchoring her to the ground.
He said, "You are my love now, Neo. That means I am the only man who's allowed to kiss your lips. And that's an order, love. I order you to never let another man kiss you on the lips. That includes the crew. Do you understand me?"
He pulled away slightly so he could see her response since she wasn't going to be able to voice it at this point. He smiled when she nodded. His smile faded and his eyebrows rose when he heard an unfortunate ruckus coming towards them. He huffed, "It seems we are about to get interrupted. I was hoping to talk to you some more about this and the elementals. But I guess that can wait until a little later. For now, let's have a little fun with them, shall we?"
Law didn't give her the time to process or respond to his words. He pressed his lips to hers again just before they busted through the forest.
Healer Zinnia gasped sharply. She pointed accusingly at Law, but couldn't get her words to come out of her mouth.
The rest of the group then stepped out of the bushes. Kailen just smiled in acceptance to the tender scene before them while the crew cheered and whistled sharply when they saw their captain kissing Neo.
"Yeah!"
"About time!"
"The captain and Neo are officially a couple!"
"So, ya finally put the moves on her, eh, Captain?" Shachi asked when the crew cheers finally died down.
Law broke the kiss and smirked at the group while Neo remained staring wide-eyed, unaware, and unresponsive to the newly arrived group.
"How dare you!" Healer Zinnia then shrieked upon finding her voice. She marched up to Neo and Law. Pointing her finger accusingly at the pirate captain. "How dare you kiss her?! Only a man who is betrothed to a woman should kiss her!"
"Well," Law said with a devilish grin. He lifted Neo's left hand up and flashed the woman his ring. "She is wearing my ring."
Healer Zinnia gasped again. Her face turned white. "Y-you didn't! Tell me you haven't had sex with her!"
"What is with you people? All I said was she is wearing my ring." Law lowered Neo's hand back down. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, and possessively, and pulled her into his chest. "That's the second time it's been brought up. I haven't slept with her like that. And I don't plan on sleeping with her like that for a while still. She's not ready for such a relationship."
"Fine! Then you give me your word on your life that you haven't had sexual relations with her!" Healer Zinnia demanded.
Law growled impatiently at the woman.
"The captain would never treat Neo like that," Penguin answered. He walked closer to the captain and Neo. "The captain really does love her. He would never ever take advantage of her naivety like that."
"He didn't seem to have issues with using her naivety in giving her that ring!" Healer Zinnia hissed. She glared daggers at the pirate captain. "I'm not blind to the fact that she's as naive as she is. It's understandable with how she has grown up. But, she doesn't have a clue what that ring means, does she?! Did you propose to her without her knowing it?! Are you two engaged?!"
"This ring can mean whatever she wants it to," Law said with a deep frown. "Like I said, I will never take advantage of her. I will always explain something if she doesn't understand it. And I will explain the meaning of a ring when she asks me about it. Right now, it's just a present I got for her. And, yes, I also got it for her to protect her from the advances of other men. If they see her wearing my ring, they would assume that she was off limits and leave her alone."
"I suppose that makes sense," Healer Zinnia slightly agreed with him on that last part. She then glared at him again. "But that still doesn't excuse your bad manners in giving her such an intimate gift! You are a grown man! You have experience in the world! The princess does not! How dare you?!"
"Hush up, woman," Law snapped back. "Everything I have done for her was to protect her. I will not feel guilty just because your culture is different from ours."
"It's not that different!" Healer Zinnia snapped. "No civilized living being would approve of this!"
"Well, I'm a pirate." Law smirked. "I do what I want."
"Grr! You really are a cad!" Healer Zinnia growled. Her crystals then appeared. They began to glow brightly, like they were hissing at the captain as well. Around them, the forest began to shift in response to the irate elemental. The pirates looked at the forest, but remained calm. They knew she wouldn't hurt them, especially with Neo right there. She was just venting anger. "So help me! If you impregnate the princess out of wedlock, I'll hunt you down and castrate you myself!"
"I guess that means it's possible for the captain to get Neo pregnant. I never thought that the captain and Neo might not be able to have se-Ouch!" Shachi noted before Penguin's fist slammed down on his head. "What the heck was that for?!"
"You better not have thought about them doing that!" Penguin ranted. His arms and legs flailing wildly as Bepo grabbed him and pulled him a few steps away from Shachi. "The rest of you better not have been thinking about that either!"
"Easy, Penguin. We all probably thought about it at some point," Bepo said.
"Not you too!" Penguin snapped at the bear.
"I'm sorry." Bepo dropped his paws to his side in a depressed slump.
"Will you stop shouting?!" Shachi demanded. "It's only natural for us to be curious! Neo's not human after all! Elementals might not reproduce like humans do! Especially with a human! The captain and Neo might not be able to have kids!"
"That doesn't give any of you the right to think about such an act!" Penguin screeched.
"Oh boy. This could go on for hours," Jean Bart said with a sweat drop running down his head. He turned from the two arguing pairs and looked to Kailen. "You wanna tell us now what the big deal is with whether or not the captain is having intimate relations with Neo?"
Kailen ran his eyes over the two arguing pairs before turning his eyes back to the rest of the crew. He said, "For the record, we elementals reproduce just like humans do. So he can technically have intimate relations with her if he wanted. Is just that, well, a royal's purity is linked to the solar crystal. If your captain was to take away her purity before they were married, she would lose over half of her magic and be severely weakened."
The crew gasped in shock. Those arguing, somehow, managed to hear what the earth elemental had said and looked at him. Penguin said, "So that's why you freaked out like you did on the sub."
"Yes." Kailen nodded. "I was worried that it might have all ready happened. I was so relieved that it didn't. If it had, Neo might not have been able to defeated the darkness crystal."
"Why? Has that happened before?" Conner asked.
"Yes, it has happened before. It was after the darkness was purified, but still, the royal of the time lost over half of his magic. We're not sure exactly why it happens. Some have theorized it has something to do with the fact that light is pure and an elemental, or human, is considered pure until their innocence is taken away through marital intercourse. No one has ever tested this theory because it would weaken a royal and Luminous's defenses," Kailen explained with a shrug. "That's just how it is for royals. I suppose it's just one of those 'We all have our crosses to bear' kind of things. That's also why all of Neo's clothes here are white. It's a symbolic representation of her purity. Once she married her wardrobe would have different colors added to it. I'm kind of surprised no one has explained this to you all yet."
"Yeah, well, we've all been kinda distracted lately. Is that also why you were so concerned and shocked about the captain and Neo bonding?" Bepo asked.
Law looked at his bear subordinate then at the elemental.
"That was part of it. But mostly I was concerned about how the rest of the elementals would react to it," Kailen replied.
"Bonding? What bonding?" Healer Zinnia questioned.
"Uh, oops," Shachi and Penguin said at the same time. They looked at each other.
"We never did mention that when we were telling her and Selene of Neo's past, did we?" Shachi asked.
"I guess we didn't," Penguin replied while recalling that time in the ward.
"Kailen?!" Healer Zinnia whipped her eyes to him. "What are they talking about?!"
"Neo is bonded with Trafalgar Law," Kailen replied simply. "They've bonded three times."
Healer Zinnia's arms went slack by her sides. Her eyes ricocheted from Kailen then to Neo and Law. She did this several times before stopping her eyes on the bonded couple. Neo was still stiff against Law's chest with his arms still protective and possessively around her. The healer crossed her arms and said, "Well, that explains a lot then. I knew something was different with your relationship, but I never would have guessed it was possible to bond with a human, let alone bond three times."
"What's the big deal with you people being so shocked at the bonding thing?" Conner asked.
Kailen and Healer Zinnia exchanged looks. She shrugged. "Might as well tell them."
Kailen nodded. He then answered the question. "Well, no one has really been able to confirm it, but the royal that I mentioned to you all before, the one who bonded with another elemental? They died when they were separated for too long. I didn't tell you this earlier because no one ever knew for sure what happened or if it's actually true. But the story says the two families didn't approve of their relationship. The girl's family took her and left Luminous. After she died they came back to Luminous to find he, her bonded, had died as well. They told everyone that she had gotten a human illness and died therefore ending the life of her bonded at the same time, but some doubt that as true. They believed it was the separation is what killed them."
The crew gasped. Law tightened his hold on Neo even more. He looked down to see if she had come back to her sense yet. She hadn't. At the moment, he was thankful she was still in a catatonic state. He didn't want to stress her out even more with this news.
"You mentioned something about an elder elemental who can give you more information on the bond before we all ran out here," Bepo said looking at Kailen.
"I was looking for someone who could give us some clarity on this story and the bonding process. Someone who could tell us if it was true or if the story had gotten twisted around as it passed down the generations. I think I found someone who can do that," Kailen replied. "But he's not very well. He's one of the oldest living elementals. I was hoping to set up a meeting between you all when both he and the princess were feeling better."
"Then do it," Law said. They all turned their eyes to him. A look of determination was in his eyes. "I want to know if it's true or not."
"Right." Kailen nodded.
Healer Zinnia took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as possible. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at each and every one of the pirates. "So, any more surprises you all have hidden that you'd like to share?"
"Well, I don't know if you'd consider this as a surprise, but Red Hair Shanks is Neo's godfather," Archer said with a childlike smile.
"You have got to be kidding me." Healer Zinnia's arms once again hung limp at her sides.
"It's true," Kailen replied. "I was there. He was looking out for both of us during the attack. And when we were separated, he kept looking for us both."
"Okay…I'm going home. I can't take anymore surprises today," Healer Zinnia announced. She waded her way back through the bushes. She paused to glare back at Law. "Just no more getting her excited like that until I take off the patches. I don't want to have a heart attack again. After they're off, you can kiss her to your heart's content. And you better keep your word on keeping the princess pure until you wed. Or it's snip, snip for you, pirate!"
"I will keep my word." Law nodded. He tangled his hand in Neo's hair and lightly clenched it. "I won't do anything that will intentionally hurt her like that."
