Chapter Text
Chapter 9
"We're here." Bepo announced, looking down at his map again.
Law had given him some coordinates and entrusted the mink to guide them to the right location. The coordinates led the Heart Pirates to a very well hidden small island that was part of an archipelago. After navigating and asking around at a nearby coastal village, their search has led them deep through the woods between a couple of mountains.
"Do you want to take a break, Sana?" Penguin asked thoughtfully.
"I can carry your sister if you want." Shaichi added.
Despite their rough meeting, Penguin and Shaichi had warmed up to Sana during their two week journey to the island indicated by the coordinates. Sana and Siah rarely came out of the room assigned to them, but nevertheless, the two felt pity towards her. She made the tough decision to go against her whole family who ruled over Khaso and despite having not much power of her own, she remained determined to liberate Khaso.
Bepo too enjoyed having the girls on the ship as it felt a nice shift from the usual rugged atmosphere created by the men on board. Not only that, Siah had also developed a liking to the polar bear mink always looking forward to him delivering their food.
"No, I'll carry her!"
"You heard her. Can't help those who won't ask."
Despite seeing Penguin and Shachi walk at Sana's pace and fuss over her, Law remained unchanged. Her stamina was unbelievably low and it felt like it would be faster if they just carried the girls. But to him, she was a new crew member and he wasn't going to show her any favourism over the other Heart Pirates. If she were to ask nicely, he would help but she stubbornly declined their offers.
Alabasta and Khaso had been in the news quite often over the past few weeks too, and both nations showed positive signs of growth towards the right direction. And after every new article providing updates on Khaso's situation, Sana's heart became lighter with the feeling of guilt slowly beginning to lift.
Sana eventually managed to catch up with Law and Bepo, seeing a small cottage in the distance surrounded by nothing but wilderness. Her brother was right, this place was so well hidden that no one would find it unless they intentionally searched for it. In the distance, a large built man could be seen exiting the cottage with what looked like a rifle in his hands. He made sure to slowly close the door behind him before facing in the direction of the Heart Pirates.
"Looks like there's a welcoming committee for us." Law muttered, loud enough for the others to hear. "You recognise the guy?"
Sana shook her head, disappointed at the thought that they might have come to the wrong house. It took them two weeks, and in the end those two weeks went to waste. Her heart sank at the thought of Siah having to stay by her side any longer. The bounty she was given was no joke, it was unreasonably high for someone like her who posed no harm. The longer Siah was by her side, the more chance there was for her to get caught up in danger too.
However, just a moment later the cottage door opened again and a women stepped out with urgency, putting her hand on the man's shoulder. This caused him to lower his weapon and stand down and listen to what she had to say to him. The pair then once again looked up at the Heart Pirates.
"We're here."
The men heard Sana sigh audibly in relief as she seemed to have recognised the women. From her tanned skin and jet black hair, it was pretty obvious to the others that they've arrived at the right place.
The couple waited patiently by the cottage for Sana, Siah and the Heart Pirates to make their way to them. Once the girls were close enough to properly identify, the woman moved closer. Her hurried steps wanted to close the distance between them sooner, and the moment she came face to face with the girls she cupped Sana's face.
"Oh Sana, thank god you're safe."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she took Sana into her arms into a tight hug.
"After I saw the news of what happened in Khaso, there wasn't a moment I didn't think of you."
She scanned the girl's body, trying to make sure that she wasn't hurt in any way before moving her eyes to the younger girl accompanying Sana.
"This is..."
Normally, it would be strange for someone to greet their stepdaughter before their own child but she only recognised Sana who she watched grow up before she fled from Khaso. Siah, her own flesh and blood was still an infant when she had to flee.
"This is Siah. Your Siah."
Upon hearing Sana's words, she lifted the younger girls up in her arms and held her as close as she possibly could. The years of abuse she suffered could never compare to the pain she felt when she had to flee and leave her children behind. If she had a choice, she would've taken Siah with her and escaped. But her son Kal showed a glimpse of mercy towards her that even she was surprised he had. The fact that he let her escape and covered it up by saying she was dead was already a lot more than she could bargain for.
"Siah, this is your mother."
Siah too felt this strange heaviness in her chest. It never crossed her mind that she could've had a mother. By the time she was old enough to remember, none of her siblings had maternal figures. No one told her stories of her mother, and neither did she have any memories of her.
"Where are my manners, please come in."
With Siah still in her arms, she pulled on Sana's hand to usher them inside the cottage. She then looked at the Heart Pirates.
"You are also very welcome to join us."
Law and the others looked at the man towering next to her with the rifle in his hand, before looking back at her friendly face. The man made no attempts at blocking them and remained silent.
Throughout the day, Sana managed to catch up with her stepmother on everything that had happened while they were apart. She was overcome with guilt and shame when she was allowed to flee Khaso by herself without her children or stepchildren. It felt wrong being allowed to live a peaceful life away from the chaos while the children were still suffering. Khaso was a relatively closed off nation that the World Government didn't meddle with, so there was never any news on the country's situation in the papers. It took her years to come to terms with the feeling of abandonment she was feeling towards her children. Her freedom was a parting gift from her son Kal, who she was surprised could show empathy. After all, he was a clone of his father who could only think about himself.
Once she's accepted that she should cherish what her son had given her, she eventually managed to trust a man enough to start a small family. This was her family, a small, quaint family with a man who would put her over himself without second thought. And her family was recently blessed with a daughter who she decided to protect and not let go no matter what she had to face.
Siah slowly warmed up to her mother throughout the day after seeing how much trust her sister placed in her. This cottage was tiny, barely enough to fit the Heart Pirates in it. But the sound of the dinner simmering on the stove, along with the baby cooing in her cot allowed her to feel at peace. After dinner, she fell asleep on the bed in the bedroom next to her new baby sister who was also fast asleep after playing her heart out.
The baby's father was sat in a rocking chair beside the bed, quietly watching over the two as if guarding them with his life.
Outside at the dinner table, Sana, her stepmother and the Heart Pirates were gathered around with their dinner places in front of them. Sana's stepmother was giggling while sipping on some red wine, telling some stories of when Sana was still a child.
Law, Penguin and Shachi joined her little wine celebration with glasses of their own. She was definitely in a celebratory mood, having finally reunited with her beloved daughters. As Penguin, Shachi and Bepo were laughing along with her, Sana noticed Law's gaze on her. She awkwardly cleared her throat, sensing what Law wanted.
"I was thinking that it might be a good time for us to leave."
The laughter stopped and a loud silence engulfed the dinner table. It looked like Law hadn't broke the news to his fellow crew members either as they looked visibly confused.
"Oh sorry, we didn't mean to impose."
Shachi was the first to put his wine glass down, looking like he just sobered up again. Penguin put his glass down too, and even Bepo put down the glass of juice he was drinking from.
"No don't worry, please feel free to leave in the morning. I know our house is small, but you're very welcome to stay and rest." Sana's stepmother said. She knew Law and the others were pirates, but they saved her daughters and brought them to her. The least she could do was allow them to rest before they left for the ocean again.
Sana stood up, "No, I think it's best for us to leave now."
"What do you mean, Sana? It's the middle of the night, where would you go? If you need anything from the town, we'll take you tomorrow morning."
"That's not what I meant. I meant I'm leaving for good."
"Sana, no! You just got here, what do you mean by leaving for good where would you go?"
She was starting to panic at the thought of her leaving. She felt as if the joy that was missing for the past years finally returned to her, she did not want to give it up again. Sana also had no where else to go, neither was she safe all on her own. She shakily reached out for Sana's hands and looked into her eyes. Sana gripped her hands back with determination.
"I'm leaving Siah with you."
"That's not what I mean. What about you?"
"If you read the newspapers, you would've seen the wanted posters. You need to be more selfish, it's not safe for Siah and the baby if I stayed here."
"I can protect you. We'll protect you Sana, just leave it to me. Please trust me, don't make me give you up again."
"I'm sorry but I'm not changing my decision. Please mother, allow me to make the choice for myself."
It was strange, Sana was barely a teenager when she last saw her. She was indecisive and would innocently listen to her father and older brothers, not wanting anything for herself. It was hard for her to believe that the same girl ran away with Siah and gave her father a hard time. She made it this far with her sister, accompanying a couple of pirates. Her grip slowly loosened, and her arms encircled the young girl.
Sana was right, it would've been selfish wanting her to stay. It wasn't just Siah, but she also had a newborn to protect. She couldn't protect Sana too.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for letting you down again."
"No, thank you for allowing me to say the word mother again."
Bepo blew his nose watching the interactions and even Penguin and Shachi wiped away some stray tears. Law looked at her with a hint of impatience. He knew it was the longer they took, the harder it was going to be for them to part. It needed to be like pulling of a band-aid; quick and painful.
Sana walked into the bedroom with Sana and the baby asleep. She stared silently at her younger sister, careful not wanting to wake her up. It was painful not being able to say a proper goodbye to her. But Siah would've thrown a tantrum if she left. It will take her some time to get used to staying with her mother, but eventually she'll find happiness growing up in a small, normal family. She could go to school and grow up to become anything in the future. It pained her that she couldn't watch her sister grow up.
"Bye Siah, remember to be good. You're an older sister now, so don't be picky with your food. I wish that we'll run into each other again once you're older."
A couple of days later, the Heart Pirate's ship docked at a nearby island. Law handed out some gold coins equally split up into little coin purses. Bepo, Shachi and Penguin were ecstatic, jumping up and down in joy upon receiving their pocket money.
"You get some too," Law held out a little coin pouch towards Sana. "You're part of the crew after all."
"What do I do with this?"
"Whatever you want."
The group left the ship and eagerly hopped towards the town, listing all the things they could buy with the money. Although Bepo, Penguin and Shachi stayed together, Law disappeared into the crowd. Sana stayed a few steps behind and eventually stopped walking. She spotted a nearby bench and sat down, watching the busy sailors preparing to sail out.
There was nothing she wanted, if anything she would've ruined the others' cheery mood. On the ship, the men left her alone and were tactful enough to give her some time. Law seemed to have finally filled them in on her joining the crew, although she did tell him that it was only temporary. Although she wasn't the most talkative since leaving Khaso, the crew already felt like she was a valuable member of the crew after days of fighting together.
No matter how much she tried to not think about her sister, it always ended up Siah who occupied her thoughts. Having had to deal with her after she woke up wouldn't have been easy, and she knew first hand how stubborn her sister was. She wondered if Siah was hunger striking because she was left behind with her mother, and the thought of her younger sister pouting with her cheeks puffed made a small smile creep up on her face.
Sana took her time alone to reminisce. It wasn't anything materialistic she needed, though she was grateful to Law for treating her like he treated the others. Although the others fussed over her as she was the only girl on board, Law remained impartial. He expected her to do chores on the ship, and learn how to navigate through storms from Bepo and the others. They were pirates, but she felt safe with them.
"Sana, did you not go to the town?"
Bepo returned with some bags of snacks and found her sitting on the bench by herself.
"Did the captain not give you money?"
"No, he did give me money. I just didn't know what to buy with it."
Bepo handed her a warm white paper bags with some oil stains on them. Sana looked inside, only to find a piping hot pastry inside it.
"For you to eat. It's yummy."
"Thank you."
Not much later, Shachi and Penguin joined, easily spotting them due to Bepo's large physique.
"Bepo! Sana!" They called out to them. Again, the pair were excitedly carrying back a few shopping bags with them.
"Sana look!" Penguin handed her a plastic bag with random nick nacks inside. There was a hair brush, some feminine toiletries such as shampoo and body wash as well as a couple of makeup items and hair accessories. Law didn't give them a lot of money, so he must have used most of his gold coins to buy these with.
"Hah, you definitely don't know a woman's heart well." Shachi boasted proudly as he pulled some clothes out of his shopping bags. There were two midi dresses, just like the ones Sana wore back when they met in Khaso.
"You idiot, look at how low the neckline on that dress is. She can't wear that!"
"Oh damn, you're right! Can we return it?"
"Do you not have the receipt?"
"No, I threw it away."
Penguin and Shachi bickered back and forth, taking turns insulting each other. Bepo nervously tried to break the fight apart.
"What are you guys doing drawing attention towards yourselves?" Law returned, seemingly empty handed. "If we're done here, let's head back."
Penguin and Shachi continued arguing on the way to the ship, carrying the shopping bags filled with gifts with them. Bepo followed along, nibbling on his sugar covered donuts. Sana was tailing the Heart Pirates right behind their captain. However, Law stopped his tracks when the rest of the crew members were too busy to notice.
He held out a small, canvas pouch to her. Inside was a small incense burner, as well as some incense sticks.
"Your room smelled similar to those incense sticks. Use those on the ship when you feel homesick."