Aea Primum

Aea Primum, or the "first Aea", as in Latin
 Alina DeMasque didn’t have the mask of the Cloaked Skull over her face, as she usually did at nights. Because, in fact, it wasn’t even night: the sky was blue and the sun could be seen through a few purely white clouds. Children played on the streets, their parents working or buying what they’d for the week need on the nearby stores.

 Oh, how simple and innocent was the life of a normal family in their way to the port – they couldn’t even know a pirate thief was walking among them. Still, Alina had her slender body covered in a dark blue coat of the same fashion the one she’d dress when exercising her job as a thief.

 Standing on a dark corner of the south port of Humeria, her blond hair was barely visible under the hood. As a shadow, she would not be noticed, exactly as planned. The families and merchants and travelers that there were would never be aware of her presence… With the distinctive exception of the one she was to choose. They would have be made aware of her presence on that island, but only after finding out their belongings – if not themselves – were not on the place they were supposed to be. For that was the job of that woman, the thief.

 … And thus her stomach growled: the sole necessity of the masked thief Cloaked Skull that night was that Alina had little money on her.

 “My last honest meal…” She thought, staring the few beli on her hand, knowing they were not acquired honestly. “Better make them worth!” Closing her fist with determination, she knew she had to enjoy that “last meal”.

 At the same time, Lucrecia Coshett saw a port for the first time of her life.

 On her expensive pink and black long dress and hat, she looked smaller than she actually was, being taller at the same time, with the big heels under her little shoes. The pale little girl saw wonders on that ordinary port, wonders where most would see but a fraction of ordinary lives.

 But she did not run and she did not talk – she would be reprehended even if she wanted to do them. After all, curious as she might’ve been, that girl of seventeen was the heir to a government, and as such, was afraid of the world she knew so little about. The world inside the protection formed by the bodyguards was one which was safe, and which she knew.

 What she did was exchange a brief eye contact with Alina DeMasque as she and her bodyguards walked through the market, walking close to where the thief stood on her spot. One of the bodyguards also exchanged eye contact – and he told the pirate to look somewhere else, but that was irrelevant: Alina still followed the figure with her eyes.

 She now knew who her target would be.

 Even considering its amounts of sand and outdoor markets, that island of Humeria could be easily called a developed, rich island. Not being the case, the aristocratic family Coshett of Dyuma would never consider stopping there, not even to visit the queen’s cousin who there lived.

 Although, saying that the Coshett family was there would not be the most right way of phrasing it.

 The moon was high over the sky and Lucrecia was alone on her hotel room, unaware of the whereabouts of her parents. And alone, in her casual clothes, she faced the mirror – seeing her reflection was her sadness and her sorrow, in knowing how pitiful her life was.

 Pale, thin and small… Did she look like she was seventeen?

 For the first time in a long set of years she was out of her mansion in Dyuma. Alone, on top of that. She knew it would come, she made plans, she had expectations… However, now, why all she could do was stay in her room and look sad at a mirror?

 She heard a knock on the door to her left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Your Majesty?” It was Sir Jeso Hamilton, the guard captain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lucrecia smiled. His voice always made her feel better.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ready to stand up and go open the door, Lucrecia did not notice when the glass door leading to the balcony silently opened. Nor when the Cloaked Skull entered the room… The masked thief put her hand over the princess’ mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton knocked once more.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina stood up. She looked to her right, to the mirror, and observed the body of Lucrecia Coshett, which she now possessed, had taken control of.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Must be fifteen?” Alina thought. “No… Seventeen!” She had poked through memories that did not belong to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Princess Lucrecia?” Hamilton knocked again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The sound of his voice brought to Alina’s mind memories belonging to Lucrecia Coshett.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hamilton…” She whispered. “They’re in love…” After recalling that last piece of information, she blushed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Princess, is everything fine?” Hamilton knocked two more times.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Y-Yes!” Alina answered. “I’m just c-changing clothes!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you want me to bring you dinner?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “In an hour, please.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, my lady.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina looked at the mirror. First embarrassed over the memories of the person she temporarily was, she suddenly started to feel sad for reasons unknown.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The powers of the Suwa Suwa no Mi wouldn’t allow Alina to possess someone for more than twelve hours. Her possession would be over, thus, in early dawn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Knowing that, she ate dinner – the nutrition would be shared with her actual body, laid on the bed – and put her “host” to sleep with a sleeping mask over her eyes. It was midnight at that point, and only the light of a candle lit the room.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Who would bother the princess in her sleep?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina, back to being herself, stretched – having the bones of her empty body laid down for so many hours was not healthy, even though she was used to it. On the mirror, she could barely see the skull mask and cloak she wore. Maybe due to that same darkness, the image of Lucrecia Coshett appeared on the mirror she stared.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Occasionally, her targets had such strong and distinct feelings that trying to be them caused impacts on her self-image, for periods of variable length. Depression was among these feelings… but what might she do to help those people? Nothing, was the answer, she was a thief.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Candle in hands, the Cloaked Skull looked through the room of the princess. She knew there was expensive jewelry somewhere in that place – she only had to find it. It was not a big room, but what it didn’t have in size it had in drawers and closets. Oh, so many possessions did that princess have... The clothes were impossible to take with her and sell, except maybe one or two expensive dresses. The jewels were what she had to aim.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But Alina DeMasque then heard a brief click, and covered the flame of the candle with her gloved fingers.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The glass door that led to the balcony opened from the outside. The room was on the third floor… to climb all the building until up there, one would require expert acrobatic skills, even if climbed from the room next door. They had to have skill on pair with Alina’s. As such, the thief knew the second invader was also a professional.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With the moonlight as a background, she saw the silhouette of a woman entering her target’s room.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thief or hired assassin?” Alina questioned in her mind, hidden on the dark corner to the right of Lucrecia’s bed, “Must be an assassin…”.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Soon enough the guess proved itself right. The pirate thief saw the silhouette of a pistol, silencer prolonging its size. The assassin approached the bed and pointed the gun to the sleeping princess.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In an impulse, Alina jumped from her place in the darkness. She held only a small dagger, as she usually did not face the need of using weapons — that was perhaps the first time. Even so, her speed luckily was enough to intercepet the pistol about to fire.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The gun had a silencer, meaning the shot did not make a sound. Although, it did hit the mirror in front of the bed when she deviated it from its target, which made a bit of noise along with the cracks on the glass.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When the gun escaped the assassin’s hand and fell on the white rug, no sound came.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin, having lost her gun, picked a smaller revolver in a movement Alina could barely see.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The thief and the assassin who just entered in conflict did not know, but the princess' beloved, the young guard Hamilton, always kept watch outside the young Coshett's room, no matter how safe the location, usually to no avail. The hotel clearly was not one of said secure places, thus the love and dedication the guard showed were rewarded at last... Not of the criminals, though.

<p class="MsoNormal"> So surprised Alina and her opponent were, when immediately after the trigger was pulled, barely having time to look at each other, they heard a knock on the door.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Your majesty?” Hamilton asked. “Is everything all right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> And all they could do was stare at each other's faces, as they pointed weapons to each other.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The girl in the bed moved only so slightly. The sleep that the targets of the Suwa Suwa no Mi were put after gaining their free will again was one deep enough to endure through knocks on doors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The dagger nearly touched the assassin’s throat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The revolver aimed for the thief’s mask.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The door was knocked again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The thief would not move her dagger… She would not move it from its threatening stance either, not until the one who she faced did the same.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin knew the capabilities of her opponent regarding agility, so without a silent shot, she would not risk pulling the trigger and running away, as she faced danger of being hurt and exposed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton knocked again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Behind her skull mask, Alina DeMasque sweated in barrels.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Jeso Hamilton finally opened the door.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The princess' room seemed as quiet as he had expected. Under the light of the candle he held, he could see the girl sleeping as calmly as ever.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The young guard then pulled a pistol and, pointing it forward, he examined the room, starting on the balcony, since the window was open. Not a sign of life there. Neither inside the closets.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Still, someone had obviously been there. The mirror was broken — a bullet hit, if he'd ever seen one. If that was not some kind of message, something or someone must have stopped the bullet from taking Lucrecia's life.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How stupid could I be?” Hamilton cursed himself. “It's the third floor, yet we are invaded?” He looked at his princess, so lovely and innocent on such a big bed...

<p class="MsoNormal"> He knew he would die before letting anything happen to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Tomorrow we live this unsafe space…” he thought, his blunt expression of anger never changing, “and I'll make sure myself those people will suffer.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> If they escaped through the window not leaving any sign behind, they were highly skilled professionals. They had a room on that same hotel, of course.

<p class="MsoNormal"> All to be investigated. Hamilton closed the doors to the balcony and called a nearby guard on the corridor. He kissed his beloved princess good night, and started doing his swore job.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina was lucky, if that word could even be used, she had met a sensible assassin. Right before the door was opened, the killer put back her gun, after which both of them left in a whim.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin had some sort of grappling hook, which she used to help on her climb down to the nearby room she was stationed at. Alina only had her bare hands, meaning she got on her own room later.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And now, while she possessed the body of a young receptionist in a nearly empty lobby, she saw no sign of that same assassin... Not even in that receptionist’s own memories.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Goddamn...” The hair of that boy, temporarily hers, ached, so she scratched it. “And I can't even know which room was hers!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> As she scratched the head and her conformation got lower and lower, she noticed she felt his fingernails wet. There was blood on them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This ache is almost supernatural, must be some kind of disease…” Disgusted and keeping the hand far from the head with effort, she signed the record book of the hotel. Now, technically, her debt for the room was paid.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In seconds, it was as if she was never there, only a receptionist slept on duty, his head bleeding from a superficial wound.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Should I just ignore the princess?” The thief wondered on the streets, dressing a coat and scarf. “I could simply steal from someone else and pretend nothing’s happened...”

<p class="MsoNormal"> But, of course, she didn't.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> On the next day, Lucrecia Coshett and her personal guard left the unsafe hotel as soon as the sun rose.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jeso Hamilton led them, as he walked the closer to the girl.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Over the veil of her hat, Lucrecia blushed. Hamilton was the only one actually resembling a friend in her life, so staying close to him made her happy. Real love, she would say in her innocent youth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton, on the other hand, felt a more protective kind of love — if love at all, that was. He loved the girl with all his force, but that love was based all around the idea he had to protect her with his own life. He wouldn't even admit to that possibility, but he loved protecting her, not her herself, if those had any practical difference.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And that was precisely the reason behind his apparently lack of sleep. When not investigating, Hamilton spent hours next to the sleeping Lucrecia. But both actions were ultimately in vain — the investigation led only to the description of “a woman with golden hair”, the vigilance served nothing — and now he kept his eyes forcedly open in constant search, all the details on the more or less crowded street of six in the morning. Didn't help the amount of tall buildings...

<p class="MsoNormal"> What would he say if he ever knew how the assassin was on one of those very same tall buildings?

<p class="MsoNormal"> And she had already prepared the sniping rifle. She was inside a room of a building under construction. Platforms of wood and pulleys remained still in front of her. Her rifle was ready. Nobody would see her behind the walls and the wooden site adjacent to the tall structure…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Not even Jeso Hamilton, who had put his life into protecting his mistress.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina DeMasque, on the hand, was hidden in the shadows beneath the already-in-business merchants.

<p class="MsoNormal"> That part of Humeria could be the richer district, but the street shops would not cease to exist — the island was in fact known for its abundant street markets. It was the perfect scenario for stealth, amidst streets crowded with people and objects.

<p class="MsoNormal"> From the shadows, the pirate thief was able to look farther than the royal guard was able to, and she knew what to look for.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Only by knowing an assassin in person, one would know how they thought — and Alina had met her share.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Therefore, when the princess and her guards crossed the construction site, the hooded thief on the shadows behind them was a little less than surprised to see a rifle coming out of a window, as the purple haired assassin stepped onto the wood of the construction site’s structure.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She took the gun to its position and looked through the scope. With such efficacy, in a second she had her target’s head on aim. Her finger was ready to move.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Shit!” While she spotted the assassin on position, less than a second to act, Alina’s words reassured how unsure she was of her plan's efficacy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin would have already pulled the trigger, one more job done, but she didn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Up on that third floor, the lady-killer’s index finger stopped on the simplest movement of pulling the trigger. She felt her brain crushed and her vision blurred. What she saw through the scope changed all in a sudden, for she — although she didn't quite feel like herself that moment — raised the rifle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She didn't curse... The feeling of having her brain beaten up was too distracting. Later she would feel something close to the regret of losing a target, having seen the head perfectly placed on the middle of the cross that was the aim just seconds before.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Following the trajectory set by the sudden movement her arms made, the bullet hit the arm of a merchant to the right of the target. The gun was loud, so was the scream of the merchant... An assassin’s location was revealed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The briefest of moments followed with silence... Then, there was the confusion. People, the one there at such an hour, ran and shouted in fear or bravery.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton was possessed by an anger he'd never felt before.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Protect the princess!” He yelled as expressively as possible. The wrath, a personal wrath, drove his actions, drove his sole person at that moment.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The worst part to him was not even the audacity of that bastard killer... Hamilton knew he had failed again. He ran, and rushed through the current of sparse people on his way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And the assassin knew her job was lost for the day. The guards were smart, they’d taken the princess away, nowhere to be seen. Marines and guards alike went into the building she was on.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Out of the wooden platform, the assassin came, back to the empty building. On the few seconds she had, her mind had to work. “How to escape?” She questioned.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How am I going to be attacked?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “When is the best second to escape?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She could hear the hurried steps of the officers coming for her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> So sudden as before, she felt a needle piercing her mind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The agony forced her eyes to close, but as soon as they opened, she knew she had to go to the skull mask.

<p class="MsoNormal"> That assassin jumped. She ran through the empty window to the wood platform and jumped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> All she had to save herself was a grappling hook and extremely accurate aim. That way, as she in midair aimed above her head and pulled a trigger, the hook and chain that left the sniping rifle broke a glass window on the other side of the street, and held to a wall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With all the momentum her body got, when following the path of an arc, the assassin, close to the ground, destroyed a window and ended inside of a restaurant, not yet open to costumers.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Not any marine patrolled the streets — all were inside the building she previously was — and no civilian there who came into view showed any signs of being a threat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The beautiful killer put the rifle in position and came to the broken window, and who was on the street ran upon its sight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With five shots, weak wood pillars that held the construction platform, from its first floor, were shattered in two. Seconds later, and the street was a pile of undistinguishable rubble.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Only at that moment, Hamilton got to the third floor. Thus, he was the first to be disappointed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> He bit his lip and closed his fists as the assassin he hunt with his angry soul escaped, and left no room for himself to go after, as the rubble and dust covered the outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> He could caught only the slightest glimpse of light on the clouds of smoke-like dust... He saw the pretty face of the assassin, and the dreadful face of a white skull mask.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> They did not need to say a word. Everything that needed to be said was understood on the two mental connections Alina performed earlier.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Her Suwa Suwa no Mi allowed her to impose her “conscious mind” into others, in different levels. Done at distance, she could not suppress and take control the other mind completely, which created between the two a mental bridge of thoughts and senses. That was what had happened twice earlier — and by the second time, information exchange had happened without words, which led them to meeting and escaping together. They now headed towards a safe house, the killer leading the way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The process also highly exhausted Alina, so much she considered not being able to finish the whole path. It was worth it, although. It was worth it for what she learned.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The thief tripped. Fallen on an alley, her breaths done with suffering, Alina DeMasque had in fact passed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina woke up on a bed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The room was dark, but from what she could see, it seemed dirty and simple enough. From the open window, she could see it was night.

<p class="MsoNormal"> What she immediately did then, was to leave the unknown room.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Outside of it, she could know she was inside a simple house. The corridor in which she stepped was small. The humble lights of a few candles she could see to her left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aea?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin looked to her guest on the sideways.

<p class="MsoNormal"> That kitchen was as dark as possible, with three simple lights illuminating it. For that time, it was enough: the host’s face could be seen as she stared the dark in solitude.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I appreciate your help earlier.” Aea said immediately, keeping a neutral expression. “For that, you can stay here until I go… we can even take the same ship if you wish so, three days from here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The offer was blunt and the face the assassin had revealed no emotion whatsoever. Because of that, Alina did not know how to answer properly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I…” Alina mumbled. “I appreciate your offer” was the best answer she had the capability to give. Other matters, after all, occupied her mind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But why were they so hard to voice?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can eat if you want…” Aea offered, never facing Alina directly, “and you can sleep in the bedroom when you feel like. There are only two rooms, so I’ll sleep in the sofa here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> In fact, Alina noticed, the living room and kitchen were the same.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Silence remained. The wind howled as it hit the windows outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina closed her fists.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aea, you…” She received but a sideways glance. “The reason I didn’t allow the Marines to arrest you, it was…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> In the darkness that revealed only her face, the assassin Aea glanced at the face of Alina DeMasque, who she could barely see.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re a thief.” Aea completed the sentence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, yes, but…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t care about your reasoning.” She closed her eyes for a second. “I would have accepted even the help of a marine officer at that moment.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She referred, the pirate knew, to the uncompleted assassination.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry.” Alina could say. “Actually, I’m not, exactly, but… It was me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Only now, the assassin turned to stare the face of her guest. Her red eyes were frozen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It was I who made you miss the shot. I peeked into your mind a bit and…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea closed her eyes once more. She turned her face to the fire of the candle, which she stared upon showing the red irises again. Alina stepped closer, until the small flame of the candle on the table also enlightened her face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ve eaten a Devil Fruit. With its powers I can…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I had figured that out already.” The way Aea interrupted, with her calm and stoic voice, did not come off as rude at all. “It explains a lot.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina swallowed and sweat, her eyes trembled with hesitation.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “… but I don’t mind”, naturally the assassin concluded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “W-What? You don’t…” Alina stopped for an instant. “Of course you don’t… You don’t exactly like your… job, do you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She did not answer.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s why I helped you to escape sending that message. When I looked into your mind, I could see nothing clear. No fears, dreams nor desires, I…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina knew exactly how intrusive and egoistical she was being. Looking into someone’s memories and questioning them for curiosity only? And the worst was that she could not even know how would they react, violently or not, putting her own safety in risk in an extremely stupid way… Impulsive acts were not her way, and especially not intrusive ones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maybe a certain friend had made influence into her heart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Suddenly, Aea stood up from her chair, her face becoming less visible as it was farther from the light. “I’m not like everybody else.” She said, dry and simply without emotion, not as angry as Alina would expect. “I don’t expect anyone to understand me, not even if you had a ‘peek’ about how I feel. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stepped away from the light. She never slept that night.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina knew how Aea was right in her affirmations… She had only given a simple peek after all…

<p class="MsoNormal"> The problem was that in her peek, she had felt loneliness, yet she didn’t see any loneliness. What she had seen were fragments impossible to understand, instead of usual smaller parts of a life…

<p class="MsoNormal"> She had felt Aea as an empty shell.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina did not sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> For two hours or more, all she would do was stare at the roof of the room.

<p class="MsoNormal"> What else would she do she did not know. Her host, after all, sent her away. She clearly had touched upon delicate issues.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But delicate issues needed to be touched, and clearly never Aea had anyone to help with that.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How much of a monster can I be?” Alina sighed and cursed herself. She referred to something she called intrusion – trying to involve herself into someone’s life based on what she would see from their minds. Aware she also was of how intrusive was invading someone’s body, hypocritically enough, but that was business only.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oh, the price of empathy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina got out of the bed and crossed the room.

<p class="MsoNormal"> On the other side of the door, a brief sunlight of the early down lighted the small corridor leading to the kitchen/living room. Alina could see how ruined the walls and the floor were, with dust and mold covering all the surfaces. The kitchen and its furniture followed the same pattern, limited size included.

<p class="MsoNormal"> There was Aea, sat on the same position as hours before. She cleaned, over the table, the sniper rifle known to the pirate. The vision of the intimidating weapon made her shiver and step back. Maybe it would be better if she…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know you’re there.” Aea stated coldly. She did not interrupt her work nor turned her head to Alina, who, herself, was uncertain on how to interpret the gesture – or lack of it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea said nothing more – she kept polishing the scope as if her guest was not there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> More than her social inability, Aea’s condition was fascinating. As such, Alina inspired and expired air in search for courage to touch in delicate matters.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aea, I…” She started.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea glanced sideways, but soon her eyes returned to face the scope.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina closed her fists. “If you’re not going to take me seriously…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> In heavy steps, she approached the assassin. Her black gloves feel to the ground when she took them off. The only time she was faced directly was when raising her hands to touch her host, when a semblance of confusion went through Aea’s face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina DeMasque two hands held Aea’s nude hand.

<p class="MsoNormal"> What remained on Aea’s face was not confusion as much as it was astonishment.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Both were one for a moment. Images never before mentioned in an assassin’s mind were revealed, played for both.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The gun’s scope fell on the floor as Aea faced exclusively the hands that held her own. The now-empty hand moved slowly, the eyes never changing, and touched the pair of hands belonging to the thief.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The red eyes rose, and now Aea faced Alina directly. Tears fell from the pirate’s eyes, where her eyes would present the same pale feeling those so buried memories carried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina could see the glimpse of light on the eyes of Aea, for wet they were. The assassin raised in a jump of her seat and hugged the woman with whom she shared those thoughts. The tears now fell freely through her face, wetting Alina’s shoulder.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And no words needed to be said.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> On long forgotten days, innocent and young Aea, at the time with other name, ate a fruit. The fruit gave her its power, not asking anything in return.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She had now the power of the memory fruit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Could they be happy or sad, ugly or pretty, all remembrance was under her control. She would touch a mind and see what they remembered, and by seeing the memories, they’d become hers, not any long they would take part of the owner’s mind. And when she wanted to forget, all she would do was touch a mind and the memories would belong to someone else.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Like that, young as she might have been, she enriched.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The rich and the poor, criminals and the law, as long as Aea kept neutral all the different kinds of people would request a service.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She would see for the law the location of a wanted criminal.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She would steal the secrets of a criminal and give them to their enemies.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She would plant memories of suffering, so the target would see the suffering her client requested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Memori Memori no Mi was the ideal for making a business – the clients wouldn’t stop coming. For that, Aea was probably happy for years to come... Until someday, she was not happy anymore.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Her earliest memory, she told Alina DeMasque, was being alone on a beach. No memories, no past, no name, no identity and no happiness.

<p class="MsoNormal"> What she had on her mind had no context at all – she could see both men and women that were not herself… Or maybe they were, how would she know?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who I was and what had happened to me I discovered speculating, from what memory I had.” She smoked a cigarette, her tone calm, as if she hadn’t burst into tears an hour earlier. “They weren’t many, and had no context whatsoever…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She could see confusion on Alina’s face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Human beings have a limited space to put memories inside their minds, which is why we forget what doesn’t matter or what happened on childhood. What we put there is what makes us who we are, how we perceive the world and ourselves.” Aea blew a fillet of smoke. “Now imagine that most of your limited space is filled with other people, almost more than yourself.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my…” Alina looked to the floor as she swallowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea’s red eyes remained framing her face, unstoppable and dry as they were.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “All I can assume is that I was forgetting who I was and remembering who I wasn’t, and that presumably not having recollection of anything was better than that… Although to be fair, I was probably as broken inside as an old shell, and if not that I’d probably have killed myself.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She blew more smoke. Her tone and expression were still stale despite such a delicate matter, and no signs of being sad remained on her – she spoke to Alina as she had talked hours before.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I gave most of my memories to someone. What remained was what you saw then.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What happened to the person you gave your memories to?” Alina asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The answer to come out of her lips was “He killed himself.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry…” Alina bit her lip.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You did nothing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “All that loneliness I saw, oh my…” She bit her lip again. “You’ve been an assassin ever since? All alone?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not been more than a year”, she threw the cigarette away, “and what else would I do? Most of what I have left in my mind is how to fight and shoot.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But alone… How do you expect to find anything being all by yourself? People need people.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> For seconds, not any answer was answered. Maybe the conversation was already over…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re the first person to whom I talk about that.” Aea broke the silence after a minute, and “I appreciate that…” was how she concluded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina smiled in response. “You’re welcome.” She said. “I hope we can talk some more while we’re together.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea only shrug. Her face displayed red embarrassment.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">

=
<p class="MsoNormal"> Lucrecia Coshett was finally allowed to leave her room. Two days had gone since the attempt, so Hamilton was actually surprised upon hearing the affirmative response of the princess to his request of going outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Missy, my mother’s cousin, came to visit me when she heard of…” Lucrecia didn’t complete her sentence, being hard to reference to the event two days earlier. “I was planning to ask you permission to go out anyway, she invited me to a ball tonight!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The smile on her face was gentle and pure. The smile reminded Hamilton of his failure, and as such only brought him pain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Didn’t take long to the smile turn into confusion. “But… why would you want me to go out, from all people?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jeso Hamilton kept his eyes closed when answering: “I have all taken care of, don’t worry.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The princess nodded, her mind calculating what the guard meant.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If I may, Your Highness…” Hamilton’s eyes open and faced Lucrecia directly – for what she blushed – “Why do you so easily want to go out after what happened? Aren’t you… afraid?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lucrecia smiled kindly. She held Hamilton’s hand between hers, a heart filled with love.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I feel safer when you’re with me”, she said.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And his heart was filled with sorrow… Never again, would he let anything happen to such that lovely smile. He would destroy his enemies in one blow.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">

=
<p class="MsoNormal"> “… Aea?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea turned her gaze at her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why are you filling this bag with weapons?” When asking, Alina was prepared to hear the worst.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And she did.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I have a job to complete”, the memory-thief answered cold.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We both know you don’t want to do that…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It doesn’t change a thing. I either complete it or someone will come after me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> What Alina had learnt about Aea was that, strong and cold as she looked, she had fragile and simplistic emotions and difficulty on expressing them – all she required to understand that was, after all, to spend a little more than a day on her company… To some degree, Aea’s sociability and empathy were nearly on the same level of those belonging to a child.

<p class="MsoNormal"> For that, while distracted with packing her weapons, Aea felt the thief’s hand on her shoulder. “I know you feel as if you need to do this”, Alina comforted, “but you don’t.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If I don’t complete the job my employers will…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can deal with them, you know someone with your skills is able to do that.” The pirate’s tone was determined yet not harsh. “I will help you… with them, and with yourself.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> No answer was given, and the conversation was there concluded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> For hours without end, thief and assassin didn’t exchange any more words.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina gave Aea time with her thoughts.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea felt conflicted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Before long, night was among them, the stars filled the blackness of the sky along with the moon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea was gone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Damn…” Alina cursed. “Why didn’t I try harder?” She feared for Aea, for more than one reason.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Outside, weapons were ready to be drawn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea did not know, but her contact, who rented the safe house, had leaked her. All Hamilton required to find him was contacts and the description of the two criminal he searched. Upon seeing the amount of royal money offered, the contact didn’t think twice on telling the location of the assassin.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Three days later, he would wake up in jail.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Convinced of victory as he was outside the hidden place, the guard captain hadn’t the faintest idea as to how his plans were leaked just in the same way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Both Alina DeMasque and Lucrecia Coshett were in danger in similar forms, and the next hour would be decisive for them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Eight men invaded the house. From the door they came, and in a second Alina had pistols pointed at her from all sides. Jeso Hamilton was among them, the last one to get inside the old house.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A rapier on his belt, left hand always over its hilt, Hamilton had the calmness of a devil.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sir Hamilton!” A subordinate approached the captain. “The assassin is not here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> All Hamilton did was look at a captured Alina DeMasque. “Where is she?” Those words came out of his mouth, cold and dry.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina had her arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t know.” She answered with scorn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The captain’s lips changed to a form that only slightly resembled a smile. His eyes presented the crimson color of wrath. “Hold her!” He ordered, taking off his coat and gloves. “I will not be humiliated again!”

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">

=
<p class="MsoNormal"> The ball was held on what was almost a palace.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lucrecia was happy to be involved in an event of such magnitude, although sadness filled her heart when thinking the one dearest to her wasn’t there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll come back before the night ends.” Jeso had told her, but still she worried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With reason she worried, for Aea the assassin was in the very same room. She wore a suit, disguised as male, the bag of guns now summarized in a simple pistol. Underneath her hat, she could clearly see the princess who she had to kill.

<p class="MsoNormal"> What allowed her to stand unnoticed was not the guards’ incompetence, but the fact her Memori Memori no Mi was the perfect infiltration technique. Even so, guards still looked around, never once discretion was more required.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She touched the holster hidden under her jacket… The princess was close, her aim was flawless, and escaping was possible given the right time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> However, her mind stopped on those tracks. She recalled Alina’s words, Alina’s face…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lucrecia said a few words to her hosts and moved. She felt lonely as always – those conversations were futile, no matter how high the expectations. But an assassin does not know the reason for her absence. All she does is follow and execute.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Up the long set of stairs, Lucrecia Coshett looks to the stars. She was standing on a balcony, while about a dozen people walked and talked through the immense dark corridor behind her, Aea among them as a shade.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Only two of the royal guards she could see, as they distractedly talked in front of the curtains that preceded the open door to the balcony.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The assassin walked to them. Both were young, around twenty years each.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes? How can we help you?” One of them said, quickly noticing the shade who drew closer.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Before they knew it, the trained hands of an assassin grasped their mouths and they were pushed to the walls, the curtain absorbing any sound the impact might have caused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next instant, they were alone, no memory left of the meeting, which had just happened.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What were we talking again?” They asked each other at the same time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The figure of Lucrecia Coshett stood still on the darkness of night, her red dress visible on the lights of a full moon and stars. An aura of melancholy filled the air around her, one that could be felt without seeing her wet eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina DeMasque would have known what that melancholy was about, having looked inside the girl’s mind. Unlikely, Aea knew just from the weight on the air…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Loneliness.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Her finger hesitated and didn’t pull the trigger. All she had to do was to move her index finger one inch, all would be over. It was not the first time and it wouldn’t be the last… All she needed was that one movement…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Yet, Lucrecia Coshett remained alive. For Aea saw herself. She was alone as the girl in front of her was alone, thrown in a world hard to understand by herself. She was alone because…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea’s eyes widened.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She realized the reason why she could get so close to the princess… Where was Jeso Hamilton?

<p class="MsoNormal"> The two guards standing by on the corridor were surprised to see a woman in a suit bursting through the corridor, dropping a hat as result, as she left the balcony where their princess was supposed to be alone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, you, wait! Stop right there!” They warned and ran after her, but just as soon she was gone.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">

=
<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton punched Alina’s face for the seventh time that night. She spat blood on the floor once more, her face bruised and bloodied. Two guards held her arms.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where is the assassin?” The captain asked for the seventh time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And Alina didn’t answer for the seventh time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The possibility of having been betrayed by one of his subordinates was too humiliating for the captain to accept, in such a way that he didn’t even consider the possibility of Aea going to that mansion as a possibility.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, I’m getting tired of asking…” He said in a provocative tone. “I don’t want to use the nasty methods.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lemme guess… Tickles?” The thief smiled, showing her red teeth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You could call that if you want… I just don’t guarantee you’ll laugh as much.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton closed his fist once more, ready to give another blow. However, as his arm nearly completed the arc, a scream was heard and the fist stopped in the air.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next instant, one guard flew into the house through the window. Unconscious, his face was hurt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The second guard came in as he was kicked along with the door. Shut wide open, the door received the fall of that young man a second before the arrival of the assassin.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea held two guns, both pointed to her opponents. “Alina!” The assassin yelled in call.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The guards who held Alina DeMasque simply let her go, as that figure in a suit presented herself intimidatingly. Alina ran to Aea and thanked her with one word.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m leaving this island.” Aea announced. “You can go back to your princess. I’m not coming for her any longer.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> That way she concluded, and proceeded to run away, guiding the pirate thief who held her left hand.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The guard captain bit his lip and closed his fists… Both bled from the strength he applied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Someone give me a gun.” He ordered without moving a muscle. “I’ll settle this now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Both Aea and Alina wished to say any word to each other while they ran. However, their steps was all the sound made by them. Words would come later.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Under the lights on the street, a shot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The nearby wall had suddenly a hole in its stone structure, just as about as they were ready to turn a corner.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea didn’t think twice to throw Alina to the ground as she turned around. Her assassination pistol pointed forward as she…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jeso Hamilton was already in close range, a rapier on the right hand and a pistol on the left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea’s rough expression didn’t change, though. Not even when her pistol was thrown to the ground with a blow of the thin sword.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hamilton pointed the blade to the assassin’s throat, and the gun to the thief who was nearly standing up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So I’ll finish you two in the same second, huh?” Hamilton’s face remained neutral. “It’ll be a reminder to get things done effectively… For the three of us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Despite the speech in triumph, he did not move a muscle to execute the women.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What… I-I…” The captain suddenly grew paler and sweaty, his arms shaking from some kind of effort. “My head… What are you even doing?” He yelled, his mind pierced by inexistent needles.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The fact was, if Hamilton had the slightest idea of what Alina DeMasque’s raised hand meant, he would have pulled the trigger earlier. Now, his efforts were made useless by the thief’s mental influence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Upon noticing what was happening, Aea stole the pistol from the left hand and pushed his body to the ground. Free from the possession in that same second, Hamilton jumped, rapier pointing forward, ready to hurt, ready to kill his enemies…

<p class="MsoNormal"> But there was no possibility of dodging Aea with a gun.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A perfect red spot on the shoulder, and the rapier was on the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea blew the smoke going off the gun’s cane, and as Alina stood on her feet next to her, she unassembled the pistol in matter of seconds – piece by piece, until all of it had fallen to the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Crouching, Hamilton had his face locked on a permanent look of disgust.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re a strong man.” Aea started on an unexpected way, her face an emotionless pit. “If you get this wound treated soon enough, you still might be able to have a dance with that girl… She needs one right now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> If Hamilton followed the advice, Aea and Alina would never know. But seeing the two leave, hands held as one guided the other, the captain knew there was truth in the assassin’s words.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In fact, Lucrecia Coshett had her dance that night.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea and Alina sat by a rock on a beach. There, on that far away desolate and natural port was where Aea had to wait for her ship.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’ll have to wait some hours.” She stated, not seeming worried herself.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I could wait…” Alina said, staring at the night sky.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Then, there was only the sound of the waves hitting the shore. For a minute, only the sound of nature.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina turned her head surprised by the apology. After all, she didn’t expect for the first words to come out of Aea’s mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s… fine.” She tenderly answered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, you were right.” Aea looked straight to her companion’s eyes. “I don’t want to do what I do and I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The certainty and coldness with which she spoke made the pirate turn her eyes to the sand. She could notice, despite that, how was hard for Aea to be expressing herself in such a way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Then, the sound of the sea.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll make my pirate crewmates accept you even if they don’t want to.” Alina smiled. “That is, if you accept my proposal.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I do.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I promise we’ll help to find who you were before. If not them, I will.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I… appreciate.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Their voices faded, the sea remained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was at a party of some kind earlier.” Surprisingly, the memory-thief broke the silence for the second time, but now a spark similar to nostalgia was in her voice. “It reminded me… I have memories of dancing. They are…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alina held her hand, not to look into her thoughts, but because her face revealed all she wanted to say.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “ … They’re beautiful, Aea.” The thief completed the sentence. “Those are beautiful memories. Not lonely, not at all. They’re…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “… Happy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, very happy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Looking to the bright moon, Alina smiled gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stood from her seat on the rock, standing directly in front of her new companion.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Shall we?” She offered a hand. “Just don’t expect me to keep up with you, I’m kinda rusty… and literally beaten up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> For a second, Aea could only stare at the empty hand. Her eyes then shifted to the face above the hand, to the friendly smile of the one who invited her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Aea held the inviting hand.

<p class="MsoNormal"> To rewind to happier times, Aea and Alina danced under the moonlight, the stars as their only witnesses. Their feet moved smoothly but perfectly, conducting movements recorded by the footprints left on the white sand. It didn’t matter the precision of the steps, as much as what they conveyed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Their song were the eternal waves hitting the shore.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The moon, the stars, the sea and the rocks, and even the blackness of night itself… Among that nature, performing such movements away from all gazes, it didn’t matter who those two were, how much harm they had done in their lives.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Under the lone light of the moon, away from judgement and concern, away from a world hard to understand, what mattered was who they wanted to be.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"> END