Princess of Luminous

Neo was sitting in her castle room, leaning back on her thick comfortable pillows. The lamp on the nightstand cast light over the room and her bed. She had her legs bent up slightly as her eyes skimmed over the pages of Bayan's journal. She had been reading it pretty much nonstop since they had left the hidden room behind the thrones. Half of her mind was on what she was reading while the other half was keeping track of Law, despite him never leaving his room when they had to temporarily part for bed.

She was reading over the last couple of entries Bayan had written before he and his bonded died. A low sigh passed through her lips over the depressing words she was reading just after Law warped into the room. "What's wrong, love?"

"Bayan just sounds so sad," Neo replied. She lowered the journal to her legs and rubbed the heel of her left hand in her eye. "I feel kind of…I don't know. This is just different from the other books that I have read."

"That's because this is a journal," Law said while leaning his sword up against the wall. He then sat down on the bed, took off his shoes, and then picked Neo up before sitting back down on the bed with her firmly on his lap. He kissed her temple and cheek, making her tense like always. "The books you've been reading are all fictional. Made up for entertainment. While reading them you knew that what was happening to the characters wasn't real. When your reading this journal, a book recording of real life events, you know that it's real and you're connecting to the one who wrote it because of all the similarities between Bayan's situation and ours."

"I didn't know that was possible," Neo said. She turned her eyes to Law's. "I really hope this doesn't happen to us."

"It won't," Law said reassuringly. He nuzzled his nose to her cheek before moving back to the sensitive skin behind her ear.

The combination of his gentle touch and his breath tickled her skin, sending tingles through her body and making her squeal loudly. She clamped her hand over her mouth to choke it off, but didn't move quick enough. The guards heard her.

"Princess?" one guard asked from the other side of the door. Both the guards shifted out in the hall.

Neo froze as Law tensed up under her when the guards' shadows moved closer to the door. Both wondering if the guards were going to bust in like they did when Neo yelled at her two maids. Luckily, the two shadows under the door stopped moving.

"Is everything all right in there, Princess?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I apologize for worrying you like that. I am going to sleep now," Neo called back.

"Very well, Princess. May you rest well tonight. We will see you in the morning," the guard said before they both moved back to their former positions.

Neo kept her eyes on the bottom of the door for several more seconds before looking back at Law. The man held a rather annoyed look in his eyes. She tilted her head. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Law huffed. "I'm just sick of all the interruptions."

Neo puffed her cheeks. She narrowed her eyebrows a bit. "True. But they wouldn't have interrupted if you didn't do…do whatever it is you just did to me."

Law chuckled. His eyes shimmered brightly, making her heart race and her breath hitch in her chest. He leaned back and took her in before speaking. "Okay. You're right on this one. I temporarily forgot that you're not use to being touched in certain ways. I promise to not make move on you like that when we're in bed together here. That way we won't arouse suspicious or get accidentally busted. But be prepared for me touching you more when we finally get back on the sub. Because…"

Neo tilted her head curiously when Law paused and got a mischievous look in his eyes and smile.

He leaned in close to her ear, making her tense at his breath on her skin. "…then I'm really going to make you squeal."

Neo's body tensed up even more at the unfamiliar sensual tone in his voice. Intense warmth spread out over her body and turned her cheeks blazing red.

Feeling satisfied in the reaction he elicited from her, Law plucked the book from her hands and his hat from her head. He placed the items on the nightstand, clicked off the lamp then lifted her off of him and placed her down on the bed. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over them both. He kissed her cheek. "Good night, love."

"You can't see him at all?" Neo asked. She twitched, nervous of the results. She and Law had decided to start testing their bond and see what all they could and couldn't do with it. Law thought it might be best if they both had someone with them in case something went wrong. So she was currently in the library with Penguin. Law was in another room down the hall with Bepo while the rest of the crew had left the castle shortly after lunch to train more with the elementals.

Since Neo was closest to Penguin, next to Law, he was the obvious choice. And since Law and Bepo were best friends he asked the bear to join him. If anything did go wrong, they were to immediately go get Healer Zinnia, which had been informed earlier by Law that they were going to be working on this. The healer agreed not to wander far from the ward until she received word that their training was over.

Neo had just pulled Law to her. He was standing beside her while Penguin looked around the room for his captain. "Nope. I don't see him anywhere."

Neo looked up at Law. He had his chin between his index finger and thumb in thought. He then walked over to Penguin and tried to poke the man on arm. His hand just went right through Penguin as if he were nothing but air. At this point and time, he could be for all they knew.

Neo asked, "He just tried to poke you. Did you feel anything?"

"Not a thing." Penguin shrugged. "I guess this means only you two can see and touch each other."

"Law, are you holding your sword?" Neo asked when he walked back over to her.

'Yes. Why?'

"I was just curious," Neo replied. "The first time I did this you didn't have your sword with you either."

'I wasn't holding it at the time. In fact, I think I left it in another room when I went to our bedroom,' Law replied noticing his sword was missing. He rubbed his goatee in thought. This meant that the one being projected couldn't help the other in attacks or defenses. 'Do you want to see if you can project yourself to me now?'

"Yes." Neo nodded. Soon Law had faded from her vision. She glanced at Penguin. He smiled at her with an encouraging nod. She nodded back then closed her eyes in concentration. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in some kind of meeting room. There was a long rectangular table with twelve chairs on each side and a thirteenth chair at the head of the table. She smiled when her eyes met Law's. 'I can project myself to you too.'

Law nodded with a smile of his own. Without taking his eyes off her, he asked, "Can you see, sense or smell her, Bepo?"

Bepo carefully looked around the room. His black nose twitched as he sniffed the air. "I can't see her and I can't smell her, but I do sense that she's here. I think it might be because she's the one who's magic and I'm a bear who's grown use to how she feels."

"Probably." Law nodded. "Animals do have stronger senses than humans do."

'Is there anything else we're going to try?' Neo asked.

"Try touching Bepo. It didn't work for me, but it might work for you since it's your magic," Law said.

Neo nodded and walked over to Bepo. She tried poking him on the stomach. Her hand went right through him just like Law's did on Penguin. 'Can't touch him.'

"If you're touching me now, I can't feel anything either," Bepo said looking around the room. "But I do sense that you came closer."

"Neo, can you move your body in the library?" Law then asked.

'Uh..' Neo concentrated on her body back in the other room. Her projected image faded slightly. She stopped thinking of her body and her image came back into full transparent view. 'I don't think I can. When I tried to move my body, I was going back to it. I mean this, uh, projected image of me here started going back to my body.'

"I thought as much." Law frowned.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Bepo asked. "You thought what?"

"When Neo pulled me to her the first time I was able to move around in my own projected image, but when I returned to our room my body was in the exact same position as when I left it. This apparently means whichever one of us is being projected is going to be put in a very vulnerable position for being attacked," Law summoned up.

Neo's eyes widened in fear of that revelation.

Law walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her. "Don't worry about it, love. You'll only use this to project yourself to me if you think I'm in danger and you don't feel comfortable pulling me to you. We need to experiment a little more with this. Maybe we can't move, but someone else might be able to move us. But I want to be the one who's getting move. It might hurt in someway. Go back to your body now then pull me back to you. Bepo then will move me to another spot in this room."

'Okay,' Neo agreed with a pout. She didn't like thinking of hurting him, but knew they had to do this. It was obvious he wanted to do this because the pain would hurt more for him than it would her.

"It'll be fine, love. Go on now," Law ordered. He watched as Neo nodded and faded from his eyes. He looked up at Bepo. He raised an eyebrow at the odd expression the bear was wearing. "What?"

"It just looked really weird," Bepo said with a shiver.

"What did?" Law asked, confused.

"You hugging and kissing air," Bepo replied.

Law released an audible growl and jerked his flushed face away from the bear, silently glad he did pick Bepo, as the bear wouldn't hold this over his head in any kind of way.

Bepo snickered quietly to himself. Typically, Law always seemed to think of everything. This was a rare slip up that Bepo found adorable just because Neo was involved in it. He then waited for that calmed, eyes closed expression Law had on his face the first time he saw this happening. When he knew Law was being pulled to Neo, he slowly picked up his captain. Carefully watching Law's face for discomfort, Bepo moved him a few feet from where he was previously standing and waited for him to return. A minute later, his captain returned. "Well?"

Law looked around the room before answering. He observed how he was in a different position than before. "I didn't feel anything. Let's go to the library now."

"Aye aye!" Bepo chirped then followed behind Law.

When Law got two feet into the room, Neo plowed into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his toned chest before looking up at him with worried eyes. "Did it hurt you?! Are you hurt?! Did it hurt you at all?! Even just a little bit?!"

"Calm down, love." Law stroked her hair then kissed it. "It didn't hurt at all. You should know that. We'll be able to be moved by someone else when being projected."

Neo breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. She nodded in acceptance to his words. Before anything else could be said or asked, Neo's eyes widened slightly and she looked past Law's arm.

Law turned to see Bepo had stepped off to the side of the door and Topaz was standing there with an apologetic smile on her lips.

"I apologize for the interruption, Princess, but there are some elementals who wish to speak with you," Topaz said.

"Hm?" Neo blinked. She was so concerned about Law being hurt that she didn't even sense four elementals entering the castle. Now aware of it, she sensed them, one elemental for each of the elements. She pressed closer into Law's body. "What do they want?"

"I'm unsure of the details, but I believe they wish to speak to you about leaving Luminous," Topaz replied causing instant suspicions rippling through the pirates tense bodies.

"They better not be trying again to force her to stay here!" Penguin growled. He clenched his fists together, ready for a fight.

"I don't believe that is the case," Topaz said. She turned her eyes from Penguin to Neo. "If you wish, I could send them away, but it might be best if you at least listen to what they have to say."

Unsure of what to do, Neo looked up at Law. His jaw was set and his eyes glinted with a sharp light and caution. She saw his mind going over every possibility of what they might be up to.

Sensing her looking at him for an answer he looked down at her. He could easily see a small amount of fear of the memory of them trying to keep her here. This could be another attempted at doing just that. There had been no aggressive movements on the elementals part, but it was obvious that they were up to something. The pirates just didn't have a clue to what that was.

Neo asked, "Law?"

Law pondered carefully for another minute before finally answering her. He nodded. "If you are comfortable with seeing them, it might be best if we do hear them out."

Neo bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what they had to say or not. But she always trusted Law's judgment and she would always trust him. She nodded slowly then looked at Topaz. "Okay. We'll hear what they have to say."

"Very well, Princess. Please, come with me." Topaz turned and led them out of the library. They remain quiet and tense while following the maid down the long hall into the main entrance of the castle. After leading them to the four visitors, Topaz bowed then quietly excused herself to go preform whatever duties she was suppose to.

Neo flittered her eyes from the floor to the four elementals before her. She was getting better at looking at people in the face, but still had trouble with it sometimes depending on the situation. Law gave her hand a comforting squeeze while keeping his eyes locked onto the four elementals. They all looked about Neo's age, which meant they also looked very young. Law had always knew that Neo looked very young, as did the old baker elemental despite her actual age, and while studying with Healer Zinnia he finally was told that elementals aged slower than humans. Neo would always look a bit like a child for several more years.

Two of the four were boys. One was an earth elemental while the other was a fire elemental. The other two were girls and wielded the wind and water crystals. The two boys were clean cut and shaved. The girls looked just as nice. The wind elemental had very long, straight hair that reached the back of her knees while the other had tight wavy, shoulder length hair. All four of them looked extremely nervous.

"So?" Law asked. All three of the other pirates instantly heard the straining in his voice. He was trying so hard not to snap at the young elementals. They obviously weren't a threat.

The four elementals exchanged glances. With their eyes they were saying things like 'You ask', 'No, you ask'. Being more soft-spoken than his captain, Penguin stepped closer to the frightened youth. He said, "It's okay. We're not going to attack you or anything. Just go ahead and say what it is you want to say."

Another exchange of looks passed through the group before the wind elemental stepped forward. He swallowed hard before speaking. "We are here as representatives for all of the elementals. We were chosen to come speak to you because we're the same age and everyone thought this would go smoother if you, Princess, heard this request from us rather than someone older."

The young man hesitated to continue.

Neo sensed Law's impatience growing. 'It's okay, Law. I don't think they're here to try and keep me on this island. I think they're just concerned because of the tension between them and us. And you can be quite the intimidating man to those who don't know you.' She then felt Law smile within their bond.

'Okay, love. I'll relax and let them speak. But they better speak soon. I don't like people beating around the bush like this.'

"You call can speak freely," Neo said. She looked them over and tried to give them a friendly, encouraging smile.

The long haired girl smiled back, but the others remained stiff lipped.

The fire elemental spoke up again. He said, "We, the elementals, have been talking about this whole situation. We've talked and talked and talked. And we have finally come to some terms we would like to pass on to you all."

Neo took a quick glance at Law when she felt his defenses go on the rise. She knew he was thinking the same thing that she was: What terms? She looked at Bepo and Penguin. She was sure they were thinking the same thing. Their bodies were tense, but not yet in defense mode. She turned her eyes back to the elementals and nodded. The young man continued, "We all…well, the majority of us, some still don't accept or tolerate the idea of our princess living off Luminous, decided it was fine for you to leave with your…family. But we would like you to be crowned our princess."

"What will that do?" Bepo asked curiously.

"Nothing much," the fire girl replied. She shifted on her feet. "Some just want this as a sign of good faith that you, Princess, haven't forsaken your heritage."

"Forsaken?" Neo blinked.

"Abandoned or deserted," Law replied. Neo tilted her head and pondered on Law's definition.

"We just want some assurance that you see yourself as an elemental and not as a human," the water girl said.

'I never thought much on how I felt about being an elemental. I just always felt like nothing until you and the crew came along.' Neo thought to Law.

'We can talk about that later if you want to. It never crossed my mind either.' Law gave her hand another comfortable squeeze.

"What would I have to do?" Neo asked.

"Just go through the ceremony of being crowned," the earth guy said. "We're willing to compromise on the ceremony to make you feel comfortable throughout it. But what usually takes place is the royal is dressed in ceremonial clothes, in your case a dress, they then present themselves to the entire population of Luminous and a crown will be placed on your head while you take vows to protect this island and your people. Like already stated, the ceremony will be adjusted and so will the vows."

"Also…" the wind wield started. He hesitated for several second before continuing, "All of you will be included in the ceremony. Our people want you all to take vows as well to ensure us that you are going to take care of our princess to the very best of your abilities. And they want at least one of us to go with you when you all leave Luminous."

"What?" Law asked flatly.

"They don't have to join your crew or even stay very long," the wind wielder clarified. "We all would just feel better if someone else from Luminous went with you. They can continue to teach you all about Luminous since you won't be able to learn everything about our culture without staying here for years."

"And they want you," the water girl said while pointing at Law, "and the princess to go through a commitment ceremony saying that you will honor her and her body and not take away her purity until you are married."

'What's a commitment ceremony?'

'It's basically just a ceremony where we say in front of people that we will be devoted to each other for the rest of our lives.'

'But aren't we already? We're bonded. We've kissed. We don't want to be separated.' Neo turned her eyes to Law.

He smiled. If they didn't have such a big audience at the time he'd lean down and kiss her. 'Very true, love. This ceremony will just show them that.'

'Are we going to do it then?'

'I think we should talk about this first before we say yes or no. The crew needs to be in on this conversation too.'

"Well, Princess?" the earth guy asked.

"Oh, um…I'm going to have to talk about this with my family," Neo replied. "Are you in a hurry for the answer?"

"No. You can take some time and discuss this," the fire elemental said. All four of the elementals then bowed to Neo and left the castle.

"That was…unexpected," Penguin said after the door was closed.

"I guess we should round everyone up," Bepo said.

"Would you like me to send some wind elementals to retrieve your family?" Topaz asked as she reappeared to the group.

"That would be faster than us trying to track them down on our own," Penguin stated.

"If you don't mind," Neo said looking at the fire elemental.

"Not a problem, Princess." Topaz smiled. "Shall I have them meet you four in the library then?"

"I guess that will be all right," Neo said. She then looked at Law. "Or should we talk else where?"

"The library will be fine," Law said to Neo. He then looked at Topaz. "Just spread the word to all the castle workers to leave that room alone until we're done."

"So it shall be," Topaz said with a nod. With a quick bow, she walked away and started to talk to a couple of guards who just walked into the room.

Without another word the small group of pirates headed for the library to wait for the rest of their crew. About twenty minutes later the entire crew had finally assembled in the library. They told them what the elementals were asking for.

"So what are you going to do?" Conner asked.

"This doesn't seem like a trap or anything," Jean Bart said while going over the terms the elementals had set out for them in his head.

"I say go for it," Archer said. "If this is what will finally get them to back off completely."

"Doesn't matter what we think," Shachi said. "When it comes down to it, it's Neo's decision on whether or not she does this. Well, the commitment ceremony is hers and the captain's to make together."

"This is about all of us," Neo said. She was curled up against Law's side with his arm snugly around her shoulders. "And I don't want to make a decision if it's going to upset you all."

"We're not going to be upset if you want to do this," Penguin said. He was sitting on her free side. He smiled. "Kind of sounds like you've already made your mind up and want to do this."

Pink dusted across her cheeks.

Law gave her a squeeze. "Neo?"

She sighed. "Okay…I want to do this and not just because they want me to do it. I feel connected to this place now. I use to feel so empty inside because of everything that happened to me. You all, on your own, have been able to fill that emptiness, but some of it still remained. I feel better now that I know where I came from. I feel more…stable? And you all know that you will always come first to me. But in a way I can understand how they feel."

"What do you mean?" Bepo asked.

"Well, they're use to things going a certain way because that's how it always has been here. They're use to their royal growing up here, taking the throne and doing whatever else a royal is suppose to do. I wasn't and I'm not like that. I didn't grow up here. I lived among humans my entire life. You all became my family and raised me. I got use to being with you all. Then that was disrupted when they took me. It might not really be the same, but it feels the same to me. We all were use to our lives going a certain way then it was suddenly broken. I don't believe that they were ever bad or wanted to hurt me in any kind of way. They were just use to things happening in a certain way." Neo looked over her crew. Some were sitting, some were standing, but they all were listening intently to what she had to say. "I'm an elemental. I'm not human. I know and understand that now. I won't let my elemental heritage go. Ever. And I won't let you all go. Ever. I am, without a doubt, committed to you all. You all will always come first. This commitment ceremony and being crowned their princess just feel like the right thing to do."

"Then there's the answer," Law said.

Neo turned her eyes up to him. She instantly saw his support of her in his eyes.

"If it feels right to you, then it is the right thing to do. Any objections?" Law looked at his crew.

"Nope!" the crew shouted.

"I love you all," Neo said with a sweet, lovable pout and smile.

"We love you too!" the crew cheered.

Neo groaned when everything came up from her stomach. She was hunched over her new best friend, Mister Toilet. Law was right beside her, holding her hair and tenderly rubbing her back. She whimpered. Her stomach deciding it had nothing left to give. "I hate this."

"I know, love," Law replied. When she finally got up, he watched her carefully. She stepped over to the sink to clean her mouth. She rinsed it out with water before reaching for her toothbrush and toothpaste. Once her mouth was refreshed and tasted like spearmint rather than up chuck, she walked over to Law. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He put his left arm around her and stroked her hair with his right hand. "You're just nervous. We still have a couple hours before you have to get ready. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"I don't know," Neo mumbled. She turned her head and saw the dress she was destined to wear for her coronation and commitment ceremony hanging on a hook on the changing wall in the bathroom. The dress was way more fancy that she was use to wearing. But it was one of many agreements they had come to with the elementals.

The off the shoulder dress was, of course, white and was sparkling all over but for the sleeves. The bodice was going to hug her chest and stomach, and looked to Neo like it was going to be hard to breath in it, the skirt flowed down from the hips to look like an upside down flower. The sleeves, Neo thought, were ridiculously long, but Topaz showed her that the sleeves had slits in them so she wouldn't actually be lifting them when she lifted her arms. Topaz also told her the sleeves were done in a butterfly fashion. Neo wasn't sure what she meant by that. The sleeves didn't look like butterflies at all to her. There was a matching white choker with a diamond dangling from it and matching shoes, that she wasn't excited about at all but agreed to wear them at least for a while.

Neo pulled her eyes away from all the fanciness and turned them up to Law. "Can we just cuddle for a while? We haven't been able to do that much since we've been here."

"We haven't, have we?" Law said in agreement more than a question. Neo nodded before he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He sat down with her, kicked off his shoes and they got comfortable. Neo snuggled into his warm chest and nuzzled her nose in his neck. "Better?"

"Much better," Neo said while snuggling into him more.

Law chuckled and tightened his hold around her. "Have you giving any more thought to who you would like to join us on the sub?"

"A bit. I really would like it if Kailen would come, but I understand that he wants to stay here. Healer Zinnia would be nice," Neo said causing Law to snort at the idea of the healer joining them. She giggled at his reaction. "You like her. You just don't want to admit it. It doesn't matter thought. I know she'd be bored on the sub where her skills wouldn't be as usefully as they are here. The only other one I feel comfortable enough to let live in close quarters with my family for such a long time would be Topaz. But I don't know if she would like that. She's always lived here. And I don't want to order her to do it. And I don't want her to feel like she has to do it because I'm a royal."

"No harm in just asking. All you have to do is tell her that you're not going to order her to do it. Tell her it's just an idea and she would be choosing it on her own," Law said. He brushed his thumb over her arm making her shiver, tense, and sleepy. "You feel a bit tired."

"I am." Neo nodded.

"Would you like to take a nap? We have a couple hours before you have to get ready." Law felt her nodding against him again. They fell into silence after that. They enjoyed each others company while he gently rubbed her back in aiding her to fall asleep. Eventually, the couple had fallen into peaceful slumber to the sound of each others steady breathing and heartbeats.

Law had no idea how long he had slept for. He didn't even plan on taking a nap himself, but being curled up with his love, he couldn't help it. It was a couple taps on the door that broke him out of his slumber. He glanced around the room then down at the young woman still sleeping against his chest. A light smile was on her lips. He could only guess what she was dreaming about. He hoped it was himself. Unable to resist, he carefully tilted her lips up to him and kissed them. He knew he wouldn't be able to kiss her until after the ceremonies were completed. She was too nervous as it was. And while she was getting use to him kissing her, she still tensed up and entered into a catatonic state even though she had finally kissed him back.

A couple more taps at the door forced him to break the kiss. His disappointment flooded his chest, but he answered whoever was calling. "Yes? Come in."

The doors opened and revealed Topaz.

Another condition to the ceremonies was Topaz was the one who was to help Neo get dressed and do whatever she was going to have to do to prepare for it. Neo had told Law she wouldn't be able to handle her typical maids bossing her around. She wanted Topaz's more gentle touch and tone.

Back in the moment, Law noticed that Topaz had quickly taken in the scene before her with a smile. He wondered if she realized he was sleeping as well and also noticed that she would fit in just fine with his crew. She was always more quiet than others, but Law sensed a burning wildfire hidden under that calm façade. Plus it would be very beneficial for Neo to have another woman around to talk to instead of all men no matter how close Neo was to the crew.

Topaz said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for the princess to get ready."

"Oh," Law said with a touch of surprise. They had slept longer than he thought they would. Gently, he started to wake Neo up. "Neo, time to get up."

"I don't wanna," Neo whined. She snuggled more into his warmth.

"Neo," Law called again. He stroked her hair. "Come on. Up now."

"Hn." Neo shifted before finally opening her eyes. She looked sleepily up at Law before sensing the elemental in the vicinity. She jumped in surprise at the extra body in the room with them. She sat up on Law's lap but didn't move away from him. "Uh, sorry! We weren't doing anything! We were just sleeping!"

"No need to explain, Princess," Topaz replied with a shining smile. "If you are ready, we need to get you dressed. It's almost time for the ceremonies to begin."

"Oh…okay." Neo shifted off Law's lap. She was sitting on the edge of the bed when she paused.

"If you wish for you bonded to join us, that would be just fine. I won't tell anyone," Topaz said, noticing Neo's hesitation.

"Uh…" Neo bit her bottom lip and thought about it. She glanced over at the bathroom doors then at Law who was patiently waiting for her answer. "No, it's okay. I'll just be in the bathroom and he's not going anywhere. Right?"

"Right." Law nodded. "I'm staying right here."

"If you don't mind me asking, Princess, what's on your mind?" Topaz asked while she was fixing Neo's hair.

Reluctantly, Neo agreed to let her hair be put up. She figured she could handle it for a few hours. She was sitting on the cushioned stool in front of the vanity in the bathroom quietly fiddling with her fingers while lost in thought. She was dressed in her fancy dress and found it to be more comfortable than she thought it was going to be. There was no tight, breath sucking away, areas anywhere on the dress. She wondered how it was possible for a dress to fit so perfectly against her body. The dress had been newly made for her. The woman, who had come to take her measurements while she was still in the ward, had made the dress and had it made within days of the ceremony announcements. She had no clue how anyone could put together such an elaborate dress and have it fit so well in such a short amount of time.

Neo glanced up at Topaz through the vanity mirror. The orange haired elemental was busy with her hair so she didn't see Neo looking at her. She studied her and what Law had said on asking her to join the crew. Fiddling with her fingers more, Neo took a relaxing breath and talked herself into just asking. "I was thinking about one of the conditions that the elementals want me to consider. The one where they want one of you to come with us when we leave."

"And you have an idea of who you want to ask?" Topaz surmised.

"Yes." Neo nodded. She fiddled with her fingers more. "I would like my brother to come, but he wishes to stay here and continue his healer training. He might join us later. I'm a bit sad about that, but I understand his decision. I also thought about Healer Zinnia, but she would be so bored on the sub. And her and Law would do nothing but argue, especially over me."

"They do seem to butt heads a lot when it comes to you," Topaz replied with a light hearted giggled that made Neo smiled and feel more at ease with what she was about to ask.

"And there's only one other elemental that I trust at this point to live in such close quarters with my family," Neo said. She bit her bottom lip.

Topaz paused, but quickly resumed curling up Neo's hair on her head. "And that would be?"

"You," Neo blurted out without thought. Her cheeks flushed. She didn't intend to just shout it out like that. She dropped her eyes down to the vanity desk. She could sense Law carefully keeping an eye on her through their bond. She could also sense he was holding himself back so she could do this on her own. "I mean I would like you to come with us. But I understand if you were to say no. This is your home after all. And your family is here. You have a family, right? I'm sorry. Of course you have a family. I didn't mean to…you don't have to come. I was just…"

"Please, calm yourself, Princess," Topaz said with such gentleness that it made Neo calm down immediately. "I actually don't have a family. I am one of the orphans that was raised by Ortzi."

"You're an orphan?" Neo blink. Suddenly, she felt bad about never having an actual conversation with this woman. She had ordered Medina and Lyra away from her yet never took any time to get to know Topaz better. That was going to change. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that. I never have asked you about your family before. I didn't mean to be rude and not ask. I should have. And I shouldn't have asked you to come along with us. I'm sorry."

"There's no need for you to apologize, Princess." Topaz smiled. "I understand that things have been very hectic since you arrived here. You are just recently opening up to all of us. And we haven't made that any easier for you."

"But you have done just fine. I like you. You, somehow, was able to see what I needed and did it," Neo said.

"I actually would love to see the world outside of Luminous," Topaz said. She twisted up another layer of hair on Neo's head. "I wouldn't mind leaving here. Even if it is just for a while."

"I don't want you to say yes because I am your royal," Neo mumbled with worry. Her eyebrows turned up. "If you come, I want it to be of your own decision to. Not because I'm asking you to come. I don't want to force you into this in any kind of way. I would like for you to take a few days and consider it, if that's okay with you. Living on the sub will be a lot different from living here in the open. Sometimes we go weeks without contact with other people."

"I understand, Princess." Topaz smiled again. "And I will gladly consider coming along with you all. And I would be honored to join you. There. Your hair is finally finished."

Neo blinked. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Topaz had put her hair up in a loose bun. A few curls were handing down from around the bun while a couple curls were hanging down in front of her ears, perfectly framing her face along with her fluffed up bangs. Neo blinked again. She almost didn't recognize herself.

"You look very beautiful, Princess," Topaz said. She giggled at the curious look Neo was giving herself through the mirror. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"O-okay." Neo slipped her feet back into the shoes hidden under her dress. She had put them on shortly after Topaz had helped her into the dress, but quickly took them off when she sat down at the vanity. They didn't have the same amount of heel as the shoes she saw in the ward, but they had an inch and a half heel. That was still a heel she wasn't use to. She was very thankful when Topaz held out her hand in assistance.

After exiting the bathroom, Neo was once again face to face with a stunned Law. His cheeks flushed as his chin dropped open. Neo shifted under his gaze and felt her own cheeks grow hot, both their hearts racing.

Topaz swallowed her giggles at the flushing man. "I hear you have that effect on him, a lot, Princess."

"Uh." Neo tilted her head in thought. "Y-yeah…I guess I do."

"Well, we shouldn't stare too long," Topaz said. She released Neo's hand and walked over to Law. Raising her hand up to his face, she snapped her fingers a couple times to snap him out of his frozen stare.

Law blinked several times before frowning at the elemental.

"My apologizes. It's time for the ceremonies to begin," Topaz said.

"Right." Law's hat dropped over his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked over to Neo. He paused to look her over again. His cheeks heated up once more. He took her left hand, pausing to take in his ring on her finger, before placing a kiss on her soft skin. He smirked when he felt her heart rate speed up even more. "You look beautiful."

Neo smiled brightly. "Th-thank you."

"Let's be off then," Topaz said. She walked over to the doors of the bedroom.

Neo and Law turned to follow her. Forgetting that she had on shoes, and with her racing heartbeat, she stumbled slightly. She managed to keep up right even though Law shot his arm out to grab her. She lifted up the skirt of her dress and kicked the shoes off just as Law ordered her out of them. "Take those stupid things off. Right now!"

"Gladly," Neo mutter while giving the shoes a glare.

"Well, at least you tried," Topaz said while trying to suppress a grin at Neo's rare glare.

Feeling better with now being shoeless and now with her wings out, Neo walked along, hand in hand with Law. Topaz was guiding them through the halls of the castle. Neo did her best to ignore the gawking elementals. Soon they were standing in the ballroom with thirty other elementals and the crew.

Law quickly guided her over to the crew, who was standing in a line on the throne platform.

The entire crew had showered and put on a clean boiler suit. The elementals had suggested the crew wear formal attire for the ceremony, but Neo wanted them in what she was familiar with. She couldn't imagine them in something other than their boiler suits. Now standing with the crew in front of everyone, it was a lot harder for Neo to ignore the elementals staring at her. She didn't know who they all were. Most of them were older, probably in their seventies. She was told that they were important figureheads on Luminous, but didn't bother asking exactly who and what they did. They were very polished looking in their clean suits and dresses, decorated in jewelry. She was glad she didn't have to do this in front of the entire population. She wouldn't have been able to handle it. She was barely able to handle it now. Her body trembled uncontrollable. Her stomach threatened to release again despite nothing inside it.

But she had the crew right beside her, most importantly Law. And she had the few elementals who stood up for her when she finally told them all she wasn't going to stay on Luminous. She timidly glanced out over the gathered crowd. Kailen, Healer Zinnia, Tao, and Topaz were all lined up in front. She was glad she could easily see them. It gave her more comfort that they were there. She smiled and waved at them. They waved back with smiles of their own.

Soon after that their coronation part of the ceremonies had started. Neo and Law were standing in the middle of their lined up crew. A dignitary wind elemental, wearing ceremonial robes that were trimmed with colors representing the four elements and solar crystal stepped forward. Beside him was another elemental dressed in a blue suit, which Neo thought clashed with his dark green hair, holding a silver box with a lid. They both remained at the bottom of the few stairs between them and the pirate crew, another compromise was for no one to get too close.

The dignitary then started talking outwards the crowd. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in witness to our princess's ascension. This coronation is not like other coronations held on Luminous. In this coronation our princess will be accepting her birthright and her heritage of being an elemental, but will not be taking the throne or living on Luminous. In taking these vows that we have prepared for this occasion, our princess with not ever forsake her heritage and will always remain our princess despite not living in our company."

The dignitary lifted open the box that the other young elemental beside him was holding. He pulled out a silver crown with five peaks on it. The tallest one was in the middle and embedded in it was a round piece of yellow crystal representing the solar crystal. The peaks to the left held representation crystals for the wind and fire elements while the ones on the right held representations of the water and earth elements. The dignitary then turned to Neo. "Princess, please, repeat after me…I, Princess Neo of Luminous, hereby decree…"

Neo swallowed. Law gave her trembling hand a squeeze. She breathed outward, stilling her shakes, and started copying the man's words. "I, Princess Neo of Luminous, hereby decree…"

The dignitary continued, "That I shall never forsake my heritage as princess and as an elemental. I shall, from this day onward, always remember where I come from and who I am and honor and respect that until the day I die."

"That I shall never forsake my heritage as princess and as an elemental. I shall, from this day onward, always remember where I come from and who I am and honor and respect that until the day I die." Neo then, a previously instructed, summoned one of each of her crystals. They started to glow.

"By the placement of this crown, filter your crystals magic glowing into the representative crystals on the crown. This will seal the deal that you will keep your word," the dignitary said. Summoning a crystal of his own, he used his winds to lift the crown and place it on Neo's head. She then filtered her crystals glow into the crystals on the crown. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all, Princess Neo of Luminous."

Neo jumped when all of the elementals summoned two crystals each and lit them up with their respective elements. She had forgotten that was a part of the ceremony. Law brushed circles over her skin, calming her down. The elementals then bowed before their princess. Once everyone was standing straight up again, the dignitary moved on to the next part of the ceremony. Using his wind, he pulled out several round disks. Looking over the crew, he said, "Heart Pirates, you all have decided to take our princess into your home, under your care and on all of your journeys. This isn't a light heart commitment. By accepting these medallions, you accept the terms of what it means to take care of our princess. You will forever be devoted to her and will ensure the safety of her body and mind where ever you shall go. Do you accept this?"

"We do," they all said.

"Then by taking these medallions in your hands, you are committed to her for the rest of your lives." The dignitary flew the medallions over to the pirates.

They gladly took them with smiles.

Neo looked at them with a smile of her own. She couldn't help but glance at the medallion Law was holding. It was similar to her birth medallion only round, all the crystals were along the circle with the solar crystal at the top and with their names on it instead of hers. She wondered if the design was done like that on purpose. She was brought out of her thoughts when a clear crystal floated up to her and Law.

The dignitary had pulled it out of the box where the crown and medallions were. He said, "Please, Princess Neo and Trafalgar Law, take the crystal in your hands as you were previously instructed to."

Law pocketed the medallion and turned to Neo. She placed her left hand on the crystal first. He then placed his left hand on the crystal and tucked his fingers under the heel of her hand while the heel of his hand pressed against her fingertips. They then took their other hands under the crystal and held firmly onto each other. She smiled at him with tears glistening in her electric blue eyes. 'Last chance to bail out of this.'

'Not a change, love. I'm with you until death.' Law smiled back at her. He tried hard to hide the fact that tears wanted to gather in his eyes as well. He couldn't. She easily sensed it from him. He didn't even bother trying to hide it from her. After this night, he was going to be an open book to her.

'Cry baby.' Neo thought playfully at him. He cracked a smirk at her in response.

"This crystal is the marriage crystal. Usually it is used to bond two elementals through their magic. However, as it is, one of them here today is not of magic. So he is not able to give her a piece of his magic. So this crystal is a representation of the devotion he has decided to give her here today before all of us," the dignitary said. "Trafalgar Law, as a man who has become our princess's bonded, do you hereby pledge your love and loyalty to Princess Neo of Luminous? Do you pledge that you will always protect her? Do you pledge that you will honor and respect her? Do you pledge to not take her purity away until you are bound by marriage?"

"I do solemnly pledge my love and loyalty to Princess Neo of Luminous. I pledge that I will always protect her. I pledge that I will honor and respect her. I pledge that I will not take her purity away until we are bound by marriage," Law said without hesitation.

Neo's smile grew as a tear slid down her tan skin.

"Then I hereby pronounce your pledge as a solid devotion to Princess Neo of Luminous," the dignitary announced. "Your bond is now sacred under the marriage crystal of Luminous. And no one here will ever try to separate you again. The ceremonies have now been completely. You all have witness this joyous occasion. Let us now celebrate their union and our princess!"

Releasing the crystal, which the dignitary took back with his winds, Law cupped Neo's cheek, dipped in, and kissed her. She squeaked at the sudden kiss and tensed up as the crew cheered at the open display of affection from their captain. Some of the elementals were taking by surprised at the display while others found it cute. Kailen, Topaz, Tao and Healer Zinnia laughed and cheered along with the crew before rushing up to congratulate all on what just took place.

Once Neo had come back to her senses, the pirate group with their elemental friends, went outside to join the large feast that the castle, and several others establishments, had prepared. While all the elementals didn't get to see the ceremonies taken place, Neo did agree to share in the after party. The celebration was held over the entire island. There was no way the entire population was going to be able to see the princess at the castle, so Neo and the crew agreed to visit each section of Luminous where the over sized party was being held. And since there were so many places to visit, they were accompanied by a couple wind guards who helped fly the crew around so she wouldn't have to do it all herself.

Neo was now standing at another town, what number this one was she couldn't remember. There were just too many and people were just too excited. The elementals were a lot more relaxed now that they knew Neo wasn't going to abandon her heritage. And they were a lot friendlier. They showered her and the crew with tons of gifts that they would have loved to keep, but knew they couldn't take with them all on the sub. Neo asked the crew if they would mind passing off the gifts to the orphans that Ortzi once took care of. They gladly agreed.

Neo glanced around at her surrounds while Law openly talked with some elemental men. She noticed a small group of kids, three boys and two girls, were practicing with their crystals. They had round targets with a bullseye hanging from a couple of trees. One of the boys said, "Come on! Just try it!"

"I don't want to," one of the girls said.

Neo sensed she was a fire wielder. She was hunkered down, hugging her knees. Her dark red hair was like a curtain hiding her face.

"Don't bother with her," the other girl said. "She's a baby. She can't handle her fire crystals at all."

"So true. She should just give up on her crystals and never use them again," one of the boys said. They all then laughed and ran off.

Neo's heart sank when she heard the little girl sniffle. Without realizing it, she tugged on Law's arm and pulled him over to the girl. She blinked in confusion and looked up at Law.

He smiled at her. "I think you know why you came over here. Go on. Follow your instincts."

Neo nodded. She then bent down to the girl with Law following her movements. The girl sensed Neo and lifted her head up. She jumped in surprise then ducked into a bow. "P-Princess! F-forgive me! I-I did not know you were there."

Neo glanced at Law again. He gave her an encouraging nod. She swallowed and turned back to the girl. With a sweet smile, she said, "Do not apologize. It is all right. What were you doing over here with those other kids?"

"W-we were practicing with our crystals." The girl pointed to the targets hanging from the trees. "I-I can't hit them. I-I can't control my fire very well."

"And why is that?" Neo asked.

"I-I'm afraid of fire," the girl admitted. She ducked her head in shame.

"There's nothing for you to be ashamed about." Neo placed her fingertips under the girl's chin and lifted her eyes up to her own. She then brushed away the girl's tears. "Fire is a very scary element. And sometimes it can be hard to control. What's your name?"

"T-Tandy." The girl sniffed.

"Well, Tandy, why don't you try this? Summon one crystal," Neo ordered softly. She watched the girl hesitate, but then summoned a crystal. "Go ahead and light it."

Tandy hesitated again.

Neo and Law waited patiently for the little girl to light up the crystal. A couple minutes passed before she did. Neo waited until she saw the girl's eyes fill up with comfort of the flame before instructing her on how to manipulate the flame just like Law had taught her. Within another few minutes, the girl was moving the flame with confidence. Neo nodded approvingly. "Now, go ahead and try hitting a target."

Tandy hesitated for a second before turning to the targets. After a swallow, she fired a shot at the target and hit the bottom of the bullseye. Her dark red eyes lit up. She squealed and threw her arms around Neo's neck. "I did it!"

Neo tightened up and almost jerked the girl off of her. She was stopped when Law placed his hand on her back. 'Easy, love. She's just a child. She's excited. She's not going to hurt you.'

'R-right.' Neo forced herself to relax. When calm enough, she patted the girl on her back.

"Thank you, Princess! Thank you! I can do it! I can do it!" Tandy squealed happily before running off to her parents who were nearby watching with smiles on their faces. "Mama! Papa! I did it! I did it!"

Law pecked Neo's temple. Teasingly, he said, "You did very well, Princess."

"Oh! Hush!" Neo hissed quietly, but playfully at his teasing of him calling her princess.

Law chuckled and helped her stand up again. He glanced out at their surroundings. He was getting a little tired of sharing Neo with so many people. 'How about we disappear for a while?'

'They can sense me.'

'True. But they're more focused on the party. You've done enough flaunting around for now.'

'I don't flaunt!' Neo wrinkled her nose at him. 'Fine. I'm a bit worn out from greeting everyone anyway. Where are we going? Are we going to tell the crew?'

'We can tell Penguin since he's right there.' Leading her by the hand, Law walked them over to Penguin. He quickly told his subordinate they were slipping off before actually doing it. Neo lifted them both into the air and ended up on the beach where the sub was anchored. They were about a fourth of a mile from it, but easily saw it with the full moon above.

"We can go there if you want," Law said.

"If I go in there now, I will never come out ever again," Neo replied. They laughed then turned and headed down the beach in the opposite direction of their home, hand in hand. As they walked along, Neo pulled him closer to the waves slipping upon the beach. She smiled and giggled at the cold water rushing over her bare feet. "It's cold, but feel so good."

Law chuckled at the pleasant smile gracing her lips. His eyes then wandered up to her pinned up hair. A frown tugged at the corner of his lips.

Neo noticed. "What's wrong, Law? You don't look very happy."

"Sorry." Law quickly replaced his frown with a smile for her. His free hand lifted to her hair. He started working it out, somehow, while keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "It's just…I think I prefer you with you hair down. You are beautiful with your hair up, but you just don't really look like you."

Neo smiled as her heart pounded against her chest. "I think you are doing well in fixing that little problem."

"Indeed I am." Law smile. His heart sped up as he worked on her hair. Reluctantly he released his hand from hers so he could undo the bun quicker. With in a minute her blue hair was fanning over her shoulders and folded down wings. He then cupped her cheeks in his hands while leaning in towards her. "There…that's much better."

She felt his warm breath on her lips for a split second before his lips were on hers. She automatically tensed up at the tender kiss. Slowly she recovered from the touch and kissed him back. When he felt her lips press against his own, Law trailed his hands down her arms, earning a satisfying shiver from her. Taking her hands in his, he guided her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He then took a hold of her hips and slid his hands around her back until she was firmly and forever in his hold.