· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"For me?" (Y/N) beamed up to the pirates as the rest of the crew stomped around on deck above them.

"It was trouble picking out something we thought you might like, dear," Leopoldo confessed.

"Do you like it or not?" Leven pressed, growing nervous.

"I love it! Thank you, everyone!" (Y/N) wanted to cry as she wrapped her arms around all the pirates at once or attempted to. Leven and Ivo mainly got a fingertip to shoulder grip.

(Y/N) released them to inspect her gift closer, her fingers ran over the fine threads and fabric. The four had decided to get her a gift she could decide how to use, an embroidery kit.

It was quite a sight to see four men without a clue in the world to examine the different stalls aimed at women with such serious expressions.

Their shopping trip was quite the adventure in itself.

"What about this?" Ivo held out floral lingerie set from a curtained stall with a cheesy grin. He only received death glares from the others, a slight blush from Leven.

"Perv...." Leven scoffed following his brother to a different stall.

-

Leopoldo's eyes sparkled at what he thought might be a great gift.

"This?" He held up a cosmetic palette that had a floral design on the case.

"Would it be rude to get her makeup as a gift?" Leven quizzed inspecting it closer.

"Our little dove does not need makeup." Ivo looked away from the object without another thought.

"Perhaps she likes makeup though." Leopoldo corrected.

"She never wears any..." Leven thought aloud.

"Because she is on a ship full of men and came aboard with nothing." Leopoldo defended his gift idea.

"No..." Kazumi simply disagreed.

"If I may..." The stall woman interrupted shyly; Leopoldo glanced down the small woman with disinterest. "What colors does she prefer? We could start there?"

Leopoldo felt an arrow pierce through his heart as he realized he did not have an answer and disregarded the palette.

He walked away sullenly without another word.

-

Leven found himself in a curtained tent ran by an eccentric older woman.

His eyes hovered over the odd objects she was selling, trying to figure out that they were exactly.

He picked up one of the glass items to inspect it closer, inside the glass was a painted flower design.

When the old woman saw him inspecting her craft so carefully, she felt a blush creep onto her wrinkled skin.

"Little brother—" Leopoldo opened the curtain to the stall after seeing his younger brother's boots under the curtains.

A blood vessel could have instantly ruptured in Leopoldo's temple as his jaw slacked open and his eyes went wide at the item his younger brother held.

"Do ya think she'd like this?" Leven innocently asked, waving the object around.

"Leven! Put that down!" Leopoldo scolded, grabbing hold of Leven's collar, but did not give him enough time to set the object back down.

"What's the big deal?" Leven snapped as Leopoldo pulled him out of the stall, pointing the glass object at his brother accusingly.

The noise caught Ivo and Kazumi's attention, who carelessly glanced over at the bickering but had to double-take when they saw the item in Leven's grasp. Their jaws dropped in unison as well.

"Leven!" Leopoldo pushed the item out of his face, trying to hide it from the crowd that was beginning to look their way.

"What is so wrong with a bracelet holder?" Leven shouted, embarrassed his brother thought so little of his idea.

Leopoldo's face turned to bewilderment. "A what?!"

"Levy," Ivo placed a hand on Leven's shoulder and leaned in to whisper the actual use of the item.

Leven's face instantly turned bright red, and he marched back into the stall to haphazardly drop the glass penis back onto the woman's table before fleeing from it.

As he passed through his comrades, he grew redder as Ivo's laughter bellowed through the streets, and Leopoldo clutched his hand over his chest trying to calm himself.

-

Kazumi held up a stuffed rabbit with yellow fur and a blue flower sewn onto the base of one of the long floppy ears.

The three examined it carefully, wondering if she would appreciate it or not. Anyone passing by would see a scarily expressionless man holding a child's toy out as three other intimidating men bent staring at it closely.

"Does she like rabbits?" Leven asked scratching his head.

"The flower." Kazumi pointed out.

"But does she enjoy rabbits?" Leopoldo repeated, tapping his chin.

"It has a flower," Kazumi explained.

"What if the little dove does not favor rabbits?" Ivo quizzed.

"She likes flowers..." Kazumi stated blankly.

"The flower is perhaps a little overshadowed by the rabbit." Leopoldo chuckled.

Kazumi glanced back down to the rabbit once more before tossing it back onto the table, startling the old man who ran the stall that was intrigued by the foursome.

"Perhaps..." Kazumi agreed walking away from the stall.

-

As the pirates were growing hopeless, not finding anything they think their precious woman might love, they passed by a fabric stall.

Just as though their minds were connected, they stopped in unison.

The floral fabrics caught their eye at first, but the large stall was quickly becoming overwhelming.

"Would you like any help?" A young woman asked with a service smile, she had black hair and plump rosy cheeks.

"A gift for a young woman," Kazumi stated bluntly as if that were enough to go off of.

"Oh? What is her taste?" The woman asked receiving no answer. "As in, what is she like?"

A loaded question if you asked the pirates.

"Annoying," Leven said.

"Lovelier than the sun itself." Leopoldo smiled.

"She has a beautiful smile," Ivo commented.

"She is gentle." Kazumi finished off the list.

The stall worker stood confused by their responses, unsure of what to do with the information.

"She likes flowers, as well," Leopoldo added a few moments later.

"Well..." The worker breathed, mustering up her best salesmanship. "She seems to be beautifully complex, perhaps she would enjoy crafting her very own works of art with our special embroidery kit, with the purchase of the kit you will receive a discount on the fabrics of your choosing from this side." She motioned to her right side.

"Does (Y/N) know how to embroider?" Leven mentioned.

"She can learn." Ivo quickly said.

"I am assuming these fabrics are the inferior ones if they are discounted with the kit?" Kazumi set on his negotiator tactics.

"Um... well, all of our beautiful fabrics are of high quality, though... yes, these are cheaper compared to our finer cloths." She stammered a bit at his question.

"Then we will buy the finest fabric and you will give us the kit for free, along with additional threads." Kazumi more so ordered than bargained.

"Uh... I-I," The woman was thrown by his confidence and his piercing stare, along with his beauty. "The finer fabric is around five golden pieces a yard, I am not sure—"

"Are you suggesting we cannot afford the best for our little dove?" Ivo tilted his head to the side at the worker.

"N-no, not at all!" She backpedaled.

"Then we have a deal, we will purchase the finest fabrics and you will give us the rest for free, do you understand?" Kazumi cut in.

The woman stammered again, looking between all the men before hesitantly nodding in agreement- fearing what would happen if she did not.

-

The pirates had the gift sent back to the ship and one of the lower crew members place it in her cabin. When they boarded the next day, (Y/N) was wondering why they were all pushing for her to return to her room quickly.

She was ecstatic with her gift, and luckily for them, it was not in vain as (Y/N) has been embroidering since she was a child.

Her nanny taught her how to manage simple embroidery, but (Y/N) quickly caught on and was doing more intricate designs soon enough. It was her favorite pastime when her sickness kept her from doing much other than lying in bed.

(Y/N) instantly thought of all the embroidery she has done for Silas, some failed attempts and some beautifully crafted.

Her guard would take them no matter what they looked like and would wear them as badges on the inside of his uniform jacket.

"Do you know how to embroider?" Leven bluntly asked and received a quick elbow check from his older brother who still kept his kind smile.

(Y/N) smiled brightly.

"Yes, I do, I have since I was young."

The pirates released a sigh of relief they did not realize they were holding.

"We are happy then," Ivo patted her head lovingly.

"It will be an activity for your downtime," Leopoldo added.

She nodded in response, delighted. I have so many ideas already.

"We will leave you to your gift," Kazumi looked to the others. "We will arrive in the kingdom of Kori in about a week and a half."

KORI?! (Y/N) tensed and forced a smile that passed as genuine.

"Okie Dokie." She waved as they left her cabin. When the door shut, she fell onto her bed holding in a frustrated scream.

First Bizia! Now Kori? I cannot catch a break!

Kori was not enemy land, just a large village, large enough to be considered a kingdom, with one of the largest populations.

The citizens that live there have a bad wrap for being 'wild' and 'savage'. Kori had many close communities, even the 'wild's royalty' lived amongst their people as neighbors.

(Y/N) was not worried about those monikers; she was more concerned with the fact the prince of Kori is one of her many suitors.

One she has met several times, one she did not have a good relationship with, and one she was sure could, and would, blow her cover right out of the water.

Her parents wanted Kori land, and marrying off her daughter to them would be the easiest way to get that land. (Y/N) and the prince of Kori have been courting- unwillingly- since she was twelve and he was thirteen.

He is sure to recognize me, and I know that boorish man would not hesitate to call me out.

She shoved her head in her pillow and released a scream of vexation so loud it hurt her throat.

"Did you hear something?" Leven looked to his brother as they sat in the meeting room.

"Sounded like a tea kettle being smothered." Ivo quipped.

"Focus." Kazumi snapped, going over the map again.