She had always known that at some point she was going to have to fight alone. Eventually, there would be a test she couldn't pass. There would be a man or woman in the higher classes that would send her away and make her crumble. There would come a day when she would lose a fight or even her own life. The reason for her loss was between God and who He chose to send as her challenger, or rather... would it be the devil himself testing her faith? She didn't reach for her father's cross to pray. She merely stretched her legs out comfortably and kept her cuffed hands on one of her knees. Looking at the sky, watching the clouds drift by as she lay on her back against the stone stairs of Figarland's main base, Nesi Llandala smirked at her failure. She wasn't mad at herself or anyone else for the trials she had to endure. She only failed one test. The rest she had passed. It's why Figarland was harsher to her as time went on. There was some discrimination in his voice and posture with each step she had taken in understanding his training, but she was familiar with the discrepancies of gender and the physical capabilities required for her job. Her mother's words echoed in her mind each time she heard something ridiculous, and perhaps truthful in certain areas, about how more men were needed to complete the duties Figarland was assigning his new execution group.
The old man had told her whenever she laid on the ground just like now that the marines were becoming more of a joke than he liked. He expected more out of them but could see they struggled with the threat of pirates. Though the warlords were coming under fire, Figarland had no faith in them from the start. They disrespected each other and limited their trust to themselves. They wouldn't obey orders. The privateers, however, intrigued him. Nesi and her comrades may not have gotten along totally, but they maintained a certain level of respect and honor first. Everything they did was under scrutiny. Rivalries were not permitted, only results. The law was their livelihood. Nesi supposed she understood the old man in a way. The marines were struggling with recruiting new members and the sheer number of pirates rising was shaking the foundations of the nobles and their delicate world. Her beloved mentor, Pieter, was right as well. Piracy was very limited in its benefits for others. Many look at it as a voucher for freedom and building a legacy, but it existed for desperate reasons. It was not a career path you could just take up. Eventually, piracy would present a problem for those trying to improve the states of the countries. It had already happened while she was on duty.
Supposedly, a pirate crew had stolen rations for the wars. It was such a major turning point for the troops that the privateers and bounty hunters were allowed to kill on sight. Nesi wasn't sure if it was an act of revenge or genuine punishment for the loss. She only remembered the general of the allied troops being furious to the point where he demanded any and all nearby pirate havens be seized. The number one rule amongst the privateer troops was to never kill. Pieter and Ulogon had forbade killing and/or harming crew members in their work. It was against the law and affected your bottom dollar. Damage to cargo and crew took away your earnings, so all privateers had to develop their haki and ability to move and capture prize ships with refined precision. It made the privateers the most lethal and the most elusive group on sea and coast. Clearly, things were serious for the kings of privateering to approve of death. That one turnover opened the door to choice soldiers for Figarland. Becoming a member of this Gallows troop was probably going to be the peak of it all.
Closing her eyes, Nesi took a deep breath and just waited for the guards to undo her chains and bring her to her prison for the night. Unless Figarland had other ideas for her, she wouldn't be escorted off the premises delicately. His smog ship was a freaky-looking vessel and required her to travel blindfolded so as not to remember how to get back. Honestly, it could go either way. Figarland reminded her of Whitebeard sometimes. She didn't particularly like Figarland either, but she caused light mischief when there was a break from training just to screw with him. Though she couldn't tell herself, he seemed to enjoy fussing with her. He brought up problems with women in the military and her playful nature often. She learned to take it in stride. Pity she didn't make the cut if that's what his arguing was about.
"You're not wearing makeup this time," a familiar voice said, taking a seat next to her.
Nesi didn't jolt up, but she did look to her side and rise up a bit. Shanks? She then asked, "Uh, was I supposed to?"
"You wore it on the elevator," Shanks reminded her as an answer.
"I was expecting to meet someone for a business proposal. Definitely not this crap," Nesi replied, lying back down.
"What'd he call you for?" Shanks asked, looking out into the landscape.
"Probably to watch me get beat up. I think that's his favorite part to be honest. Why are you here?" Nesi asked, closing her eyes again.
"I heard you were here."
"You said you wanted nothing more to do with me, though," Nesi replied, getting comfortable again. "There's no reason to make pleasantries with me anymore."
"This is more like trying to understand you. I didn't before," Shanks replied honestly, making Nesi open her eyes to look at him. "No matter what rank among pirates I've shown you, it didn't seem to appeal to you. This privateering troop you're in is the only thing you're willing to stick with. You don't want to be a warlord, but that's what your captain was offered as well and he rejected it. It doesn't seem like you want to be an emperor. We don't mind having you around, and I know you met Whitebeard because Ace is with him now. Did you want to be a Whitebeard?"
"No. Fact, I was pissed off that Ace joined him. I lost rank behind that crap!" Nesi complained, lifting up to see the beauty of Godland Valley. Despite how cold Figarland made the place, the sunsets were warm and wonderful. She didn't feel as empowered by it as the men did, but she did want to harvest things from the land. A simple fruit or two would have made her happy enough. She then continued, "But... I'm glad I lost to Ace that night. I was heartbroken at first because I thought my dream was never going to come true - that it was taken from me before I could see it through. I say it's by the grace of the High Father that I was able to return home for review of my court trial. My journey back to where I started was empowering to me. I got to see struggling villages and towns become bustling cities after working in them! I even went sailing on my dream voyage on my dream ship! Everything that I thought was just going to be a picture on the wall, never touched, never explored, never done became real! Really... I don't think anything you or Ace could've shown me was going to touch how beautiful the world looked to me... when everyone is free. I wasn't on the run or intimidating or oppressing when I was on active duty as an apprentice. I was just me. I earned my keep, budgeted my time and money well, shared it with who I wanted, and used what I learned to my advantage. I am grateful to all of you without a doubt, but I already knew where I belonged the moment I planned that heist and left the Spades. I'm a privateer through and through. I want the rank that I earned, not some title that others wanna throw at me."
"You do know that eventually you'll be an enemy to pirates everywhere if you stick with this new training," Shanks said, turning to her and pointing at her cuffs.
"Tch!" Nesi scoffed before chuckling. She said, "I failed already! I'm just waiting on Figarland to dump me in the middle of nowhere to kill me or something wild like that."
"And that excites you?" Shanks asked, shocked at Nesi's exuberant response.
"Nah, but it's inspiring!" Nesi replied, smiling brightly with a wink. "This was supposed to be one of the highest ranks obtainable for the privateers. After this, you get to train to be the noble among pirates. Instead of being born a noble, you can earn your place among them! You might not be the cream of the crop like them, but you're granted access to certain things like them. To go from a broke country girl to... well, I guess a broke noble is a huge jump! If nothing else, my failure is my success. Why would I look down on it?"
"Your optimism is cute," Shanks complimented, smiling at her.
"Why thank you!" Nesi replied, looking back out to the valley sunset. "You know, I kinda miss sailing on my ship. It was just as quiet, but it wasn't nearly as lonely as it is here. I wonder if Figarland started this group just to break up the silence."
"A good mug of ale will fix that," Shanks suggested, smirking mischievously.
"I'll have you know that I didn't need a single glass of ale on my trip home," Nesi said, pointing her nose upwards in a snooty manner. "Just mom and dad's book of memories to remind me that I'm not alone."
"You could've started your own privateering crew while you were out, couldn't you? Why didn't you just go independent?" Shanks asked.
"If I did, they would've sped up my execution," Nesi answered honestly. "But I wouldn't have done that anyway. I was happy to be home and have the courage to restore my childhood home to how I remembered it. I let it go after my parents died. Rebuilding it did me some good. The kids loved my playground! They couldn't wait to play with the old treasure trove dad built! Honestly, I needed that time off. I finally had a moment to really grieve and admit that I missed everyone. I didn't give myself that time before. Going through the letters left behind and reliving those precious memories again made me realize that no title was ever going to help my dream come true. What my parents saw in me had to be seen in myself. They went through some hell to raise the family we were able to have. I dishonor their wish by trying to take on titles and legacies that have nothing to do with my potential or vision for my future."
"... It's a pity you're part of the new generation and not mine," Shanks said quietly. "Your optimism would've been helpful. You did in a few days what I couldn't do in these many years..."
"Would you like to hear something interesting about you, Mr. Shanks?" Nesi asked through whispers. She leaned forward as if telling the man a secret and said behind her hand, "Gryphons hate ants."
"Huh?" Shanks questioned, wondering why the girl was choosing to ruin a perfectly good moment.
"Your sword. It's named after the gryphon, right? Do you know the mystery behind your sword's name? The gryphon is the guardian of the grand treasure. Its mortal enemy is the gold-stealing ants. I don't know anything about One Piece, and frankly I don't care, but I think you needed those years you're talking about to figure out whether you wanted One Piece for yourself like the others or wanted to protect it from people you believe don't deserve it. I've been a part of your crew for a short time, but your strength is obviously far greater than you were willing to show me. You've spent a lot of time helping others fulfill their dreams, but I've never heard you mention anything about yours. Dreams aren't restricted by generation. You do a greater dishonor to yourself by ignoring yours in favor of helping with someone else's. It's fine being a consult, not a ghost."
"Llandala. The hour to retire," a guard called, earning Nesi's attention. She stood up with a smirk, bowed with respect to Shanks, and marched up the stairs to be led away to her room.
She didn't see Shanks follow her with his eyes or see him narrow them at the guards marching behind her. This place was a prison. It didn't have to be hers...
_________________________________________
"My lord. The girl requests time for prayer," the escort informed.
Figarland turned to him as acknowledgement before returning his attention to his view of the approaching night. He entertained the idea that the redheaded boy came to him out of concern instead of apprehension like before, but it was quickly put out of his mind from that humble request from the little girl. He decided to test Llandala once more if she confessed to a few things from her past. She worked quietly in public and lived a very private life. Only the people she worked with knew her extensively. Those she disliked or had little opinion of didn't even know of her existence. She was awfully black and white through this privateering business. Such a thing could be useful as his messenger.
"I've no temple here. What god must the heathen pray to in my valley? She is training under the only god of judgement on this land and across the entirety of the earth," Figarland boasted with an inelegant harrumph.
"She did not say. If his lordship denies, she will simply retire later," the escort added methodically.
He snapped to the man quickly at that and demanded, "Bring the little wench to the meeting hall! I'll have no pagan tradition sully my domain!"
"Oh, you are just a treat," Nesi joked, standing behind the doorframe patiently.
Figarland was ready to confront the little welp and stomped towards her. She was unmoved by his towering form and merely locked eyes with the elder until he stood maybe a few inches from her. When he suddenly snatched her up and lifted her off the floor, she let out a grunt and then a smirk. She wasn't sure what the man hated more: her amusement or the air she breathed. There was no reason to be so hard on his trainees, but Nesi had studied under the marines before this. They weren't the nicest of gents either.
"What is the meaning of this ridiculous request, whelp?" Figarland questioned.
Nesi was slow to answer, but she looked to her side first before turning her gaze back to the angered elder. She then said, "I merely request a moment of prayer before I retire. Your restraints can remain on my person."
"Why is it that none of your other men have requested such a thing but you seem to want to?" the elder asked, narrowing his eyes.
"This, I do not know, my lord," Nesi replied respectfully, shaking her head lightly. "My practices do not involve them. This is what I do to develop my relationship with a higher power or confess to my actions."
"You are a priestess then?" Figarland asked, lowering Nesi to the floor. His interest had been gained.
"No, just a girl who honors her father's traditions," Nesi replied honestly and rather humbly. "You are within your right to reject my request. I take no offense to it. I do, however, find it odd that the leader of the Holy Knights has no temple space for prayer."
"The meeting hall would serve as such," the elder answered calmly.
"I do not mix business with my devotional practices. It is distracting and was forbidden in my home. May I use a smaller or more intimate space, my lord? A closet will do," Nesi requested.
"As appealing as shoving you in a wardrobe trunk is, I'll have no maiden locked away in such an enclosed hole. The lounging room just outside of the gardens will suffice. Need you a text?" Figarland asked, raising a brow.
"No, I brought mine when you returned me to the harbor. If you have a hymnal, I may have use for it. A small bit of bread as well. Nothing more beyond these two small things," Nesi answered softly.
"... I will bring you to your requested space. Don't dawdle," Figarland said over his shoulder as he led the way.
Nesi and the escort followed him without another word.
___________________________________________
Figarland may have fibbed a bit at not having a temple space. The piratess was surprised by the intimate setting that she was allowed to use but said nothing. She expected the elder to flat-out say no to her in the beginning, yet here they were. She also expected the elder to be sitting on the pedestal in front of her, waiting for her to pray to him or something. If his suggestion of the meeting hall wasn't a clue to his god complex, Nesi didn't know what else would give it away. Regardless, she opened her large bible to her devotional for the night and lit candles to begin. Figarland observed what he would consider her service and silently prayed or sang with her. He didn't join her physically or verbally, just mentally. The elder would never admit it aloud, but her whispers and low tones were calming as she did communion. He didn't realize that an hour had passed once she was complete.
Just before she started confessions, he interrupted Nesi and asked, "How often do you perform this service?"
"Usually on slow or stressful days. Ideally, and maybe one day I'll commit to it, I would like to do this daily with exception to communion. Realistically, I am busy and can't always devote the time I'd like to prayer, but I make time when I can. I've prayed in the nights, though. Most people are asleep during the hours I choose. I think I've only been caught praying maybe three times," Nesi replied.
She closed her eyes and let herself be open and honest for the confessional. Figarland interrupted again with another question, "As a holy knight, should you pass these trials, you will be required to do much in your day to day. I expect you and the other men to be efficient executioners. Death violates the commandments. Do you see your actions as a will of God?"
"Not always," Nesi replied honestly. "That's why I pray and confess. I don't like having to kill because I ethically see no benefit to it. It's not a matter of honor. I never set out to be honorable. I set out to do what was best for the people. If I must kill, I would want it to be because I genuinely had no other choice. Looking through all of my options and calculating when or where my resources could be exhausted are details that I look at when making that decision. I believe serving in the military on battlefronts has shaped me for this belief in a proper manner, whereas piracy has its flaws in such refinement. The moral compass can shift drastically on the seas. The coasts have a more finite direction because the laws are firmer on land."
"I have read through your records, Llandala. There are accounts of you going against authoritative figures while on active duty such as your so-called kings and ship captains. Of all the candidates for the position of holy knight, you I trust the least," Figarland admitted, narrowing his eyes at her. "Under what pretext was such rebellion justified?"
"Slavery is punishable by death, according to the book of law, Deuteronomy 24:7, and such a mode of income is inefficient for the economy as long as machinery is able to perform the same amount of labor. I went against Lord Hawkins and the corsairs led by Redbeard because I found that there was a way for a town to be more productive and lucrative without the use of slaves. I was not aware that the war I participated in was for abolishment. I only wished to share my knowledge of a better life and to show that it was achievable. I knew full well just how lucrative slavery was. I couldn't argue against it through words or presentation of ethics. Slave masters don't see slaves as humans and have built laws surrounding this philosophe. They can't give such mercies to laborers; otherwise, there is an emotional investment that interferes with the income meant to circulate throughout the country. I had to fight that battle with numbers and results. That's what a privateer does. That's how we function. Our voices are not strong because of our abilities in combat or our reputation. We are strong because we have substantial evidence backing us," Nesi explained. "That's why I went against my own people."
"And the red-haired boy?" Figarland asked.
"A misunderstanding. He employed me to apprehend another crew planning to attack the Red Force. The privateers use sleeper bullets, or slumps, to attack prize ships. We are not allowed to harm opposing crews during an enemy ship capture mission, but he didn't know that. He just saw me shooting a bunch of people in what would've been 'cold blood'. That pissed him off, so he dismissed me from the mission. To prove that the crew was fine, I forcibly took control of the ship to steer it closer for him to see. My actions further angered him, so he dismissed me from the ship entirely. I was hurt by that, but I understood where he was coming from so I didn't argue my point anymore. The uninformed man can easily mistake me for a killer," Nesi explained. "I dunno if he would believe me or not, but I do miss hearing him and his crew laugh sometimes. I just don't trust them around ale anymore... or really big rat traps. They will break them."
"That's filthy! Your former captain, Portgas D. Ace? You both created the sea floor spread pirates are calling the Ends of the Earth," the elder said, raising a brow at Nesi's sudden silence.
Nesi smirked before saying softly, "That was just me expressing my feelings for him, I guess. The only reason why I'm next to you at all is because that bright, troublemaking boy gave me a chance. I hauled ass to prove myself to him and to earn my status as a pirate of his crew. He never gave me a rank. I was only ever his deckhand! I told him that I'd follow him to the ends of the earth until I was officially a Spade pirate, but... he lied to me. He became a Whitebeard without telling me, so, the next time I saw him, he had a brand-new crew of men I didn't recognize at all. They were after the privateer ships. I treated him kindly and let him board my ship, but he still didn't tell me the truth. So, I gave him a choice. Either he turned over the Spades to me since I built a base at my harbor for them already, or he dismisses me from the crew because I had no intention of being a Whitebeard. That was the roughest fight I had ever been in! I cried like a girl! Truly! Hehehe! I would've never fought him like that before, but I wanted to know how badly he wanted to stay with Whitebeard. What made that opportunity so much better than him being our captain? He befriended some amazing people. He had his own fleet! I didn't understand it, but...! He was clinging onto the fact that he was Gol D. Roger's son so much I... I was just never going to understand it, so I accepted my loss. I was never a Spade. I served my captain until the ends of the earth as promised. I didn't know other people called our bit of destruction that. I was dismissed from my post within a few weeks on the grounds that my relationship with a pirate crew was rendered invalid because I was never a pirate."
"Tch! Should've known you'd fall for a pirate!" Figarland remarked, rising to stand. "You can't be trusted with this role."
"He doesn't feel anything for me," Nesi said quietly. She scoffed before chuckling, "It doesn't matter. He's better off with someone else anyway. Didn't I fail your test, though? You weren't going to give me this role anyway!"
"Are you quite done here?" Figarland responded with a snippy tone.
"I'll be another thirty minutes. Confession is half the time of the devotional," Nesi answered, sighing with a smile. Guess the nice side of the elder left the building.
"Guards! Escort the whelp to her chambers when she is through."
"Sir!" the guards acknowledged, waiting at a distance while Nesi returned to her bible.