melodiesoflife | (no subject)

Characters: Lady Ashelia...and you!
Where: At a dive bar/pub in one of the rougher districts of Aqures Ixen.
When: Post-Night of the Thirteen Moogles, pre-trip to Aqures Ixen.
Summary: After recent events, the Lady Ashe decides to see what she can find out the old fashioned way: people watching at a table in a dingy bar with a bad reputation.

Ashelia sat at the bar, sipping slowly on a flagon of ale. She blended in with the crowd well, despite the fact that she was one of very few women in the establishment. Her hair was tucked under her red mage hat, shoulders bared in a red peasant blouse, a welcome change from her usual white ones. She wore tight-fitted leather pants, the knee-high boots with what looked like uncomfortably high stilettos completing her look. A red sword belt hung loosely around her waist; she had opted for an epee this evening. She was confident in her ability to out-finesse any of the drunken curs in the establishment should they not take kindly to her rebuffs.

She narrowed her eyes as she took another sip of her ale. Dreadful stuff. But she wasn't about to be picky just then. There was every possibility she could hear something, or talk to someone that could give her a lead in how the Empire had infiltrated the city - or continued to, as the case may be. With the spies' ability to teleport, Ashelia didn't think it could have been that hard.

But the seeds. They had been using Baltoro's Seeds for the ceremony that fateful night. A large quantity of them, from the looks of things. Yeul had told her it was all connected, and the queen had a feeling she was starting to see just how that might be.

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Ashelia blinked at the young man for several seconds, mouth agape. What in the Father's name is he doing here?! There was no way he should be out of the hospital already.

"Luffy, I...echo your sentiments entirely, but I think it is not wise for you to be here. You must needs be resting in the hospital, regaining your strength." Ashelia leaned over to try and look the pirate in the eye. "I shall take you back myself if I must."

He doesn't turn away from her, matching her gaze as his lips barely part to usher words in question of his current state.

"Do you.."

It's only then that the shame really kicks in, the overbearing weight of his mistake and the chance he'd had to protect his friends lost to hesitation and stupidity. Fists clench as he rests them atop the bar, gritting his teeth as the sound of choked back tears replaces his voice momentarily.

"Do you think I'm weak?"

The tension of the bandages are all but ignored as the harm to his pride, the injury to his confidence, were far more unbearable than the most uncomfortable of sutures.

"Laying in a bed isn't going to do me any good. Zelda.. She.. She's-.."

"Already returned, I should think," Ashelia replied. "Luffy..." She trailed off, searching for the right words. She was the Queen of Dalmasca - she often gave her men words of encouragement, had supported them unshakably as they had rebuilt their kingdom together. There were times, though, that she still felt like that lost princess on the bridge in Jahara. Vaan had poured his heart out to her, an act she did not take light even at the time, but all she had been able to say was 'I wish I knew.'

"Luffy...you are many things, but you are not weak." Ashelia stopped for a moment, sighed, and then continued "What we faced that night in the wood is far beyond anything we've yet to face on Crystallis - I have battled gods, and what I saw there rivaled their power." This was all said very matter-of-factly. "You did all you could - 'twas inevitable that some of our number would fall in the face of such an onslaught."

While all of that was true, it didn't feel very genuine, even to Ashelia. She took a breath and changed tactics. "Lack of power does not always speak to weakness, Luffy. You were powerless to stop Zelda's death, but you stood and fought despite that. That is not weakness."

He wanted it to feel like a feat, an accomplishment, knowing that other lives were saved due to his actions. He hadn't done it out of valor, it hadn't been an act of heroism. No, Luffy fought the man with the long sword in order to protect what he considered to be his treasure; his friends.

Tears begin to stream from his eyes, wiping them along his arm as he tries to hide himself away from the gallant woman standing before him. There's confidence, a lot of it, hidden deep inside of his heart. Hearing the words from the noble soldier was helping to bring out that warmth, even if he felt like it was futile.

"Ahn.. A Captain isn't worth a damn if he can't protect his crew."

Shaking his head from side to side, as if the tears were nothing more than raindrops hitting his face, he brightens himself up by force and offers the Queen a reassuring smile, which despite his best efforts, does little to hide his sadness.

"From now on, I'll just make sure no one else dies. Even if it kills me."

"Luffy, the Heroes are not your crew. We are your comrades, your compatriots, but you cannot guarantee our protection. Nor should you. You set yourself up for failure." Ashelia's voice sounded harsher now. She had broken through Luffy's veil of sadness with words of encouragement. Now to follow it up with a dose of reality.

"You cannot claim captaincy over all the Heroes. Strive to protect others, of course; I plan to do just that. But claiming leadership and responsibility for the others can only end in tragedy. We have all been given the same power. We must stand alone on our own merits as well. I believe that only then shall we truly be a force to be reckoned with."

His eyes lose their focus as he stares back at her, gritting his teeth as fists clench to the point where bandages continue to give against the tension.

"Not all of the heroes here are my crew, I know that! But the few that are? They're my family! They're my nakama! Why doesn't anyone here get what that means?!"

He stands up quickly, pushing the stool out from under himself before hitting his hands at the counter-top to try and alleviate his frustration.

"I get what you're saying.. But this isn't about trying to be a hot shot or trying to bark out orders to people. I'm a pirate, Ashe. No matter what clothes I wear, or whatever the world here tries to tell me that I am with these "jobs"! I made a promise that I'm not about to break."

The straw hat atop his head is plucked off, resting on the bar as he sets it down to reveal the intensity in his eyes as he finally stares back at her.

"I promised that I'd become a great pirate, to gather a crew and find the legendary treasure the One Piece so I could become the Pirate King. The friends I've made here? They've got their own dreams. Promises to keep, worlds to go back to. Ales wants to do what he can, and Yuffie wants to be a great ninja some day. Zelda.. she wanted to help others like us..

You can call it stupid or you can say it's a waste of time.. But being a Captain means being there for your family. It means going on adventures, making bonds, helping others when they need you. I can't guarantee keeping them safe, you're right about that. Anyone worth their salt knows that they put their life on the line the moment they step out their front door or into a boat, but the least I can do is tip the odds in their favor."

For someone who seemingly isn't that wise or even that perceptive, the young pirate can see it in her eyes.

"Tell me.. Would you give your life to protect your 'family', even when you know it's foolish?"