A few years passed in the blink of an eye and Elishia was left to become a lady.

No longer did her father nor mother contact her as she was assigned to an estate near the far southern reaches of Meridiem region.

She was the lone Sojoa in a manor far away, only accompanied by a couple maids and butlers.

By now, she had mastered all sorts of skills that a lady is meant to have.

She could clean clothing in a flash, leaving them spotless and fragrant.

She was capable of cleaning multiple rooms at once, with fast speeds that surprised even the maids that taught her.

Additionally, she had various skills in taking care of plants, sewing, socializing, and much more!

And yet.. Her life was empty.

She had the money, the beauty, and the control over an entire estate! A commoner’s wildest dream could not even compare to the riches that she had.

But still, she missed a sense of purpose.

It’s as if her life was stagnant, waiting for a day that something happened.

The nearby village all admired her, men and women alike fell for her charm as a young lady.

In the days where she would head to the village to take a scroll, Elishia would be welcomed by various gazes.

Some lusted upon her figure despite still being young, whilst some just wanted to have her attention.

For the very few that were brave, they brought her gifts—ranging from shells picked in the nearby shores, to flowers that they grew themselves! It was.. Plenty, to say the least.

At times, there were even suitors hailing from distinct low-ranking families, coming to earn her hand at marriage. Many different kinds of men followed her just to catch a mere glimpse of her beauty.

Nevertheless, she turned them all down, gaining her the title of the Unreachable Pearl of Lang Village.

On normal days, Elishia would tend to her garden and grow her flowers dearly. At this hour, none had the authority to come close to her—she prohibited it.

She wanted to be alone in the vast field of an array of colors. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

This was one of the two moments where she felt at peace.

As for the other... it transpired in the kitchen.

Several thuds of a knife hitting a wooden board could be heard as the bustling noise of the cooks alike communicated frantically.

The pans above a fire sizzled, slowly cooking the delectable sauce made for today’s meal.

Various ingredients were being washed carefully so as to not let any microbes or contamination reach its consumers.

It seemed like a scene straight out of a market and yet.. it all functioned like clockwork.

After all, the cooks inside had a job to do..

It was to follow Elishia’s orders.

Elishia was situated near a chopping board, cutting vegetables with great precision and speed.

Consulting her, a woman wearing a cook’s attire came with a mini-bowl and a tasting spoon.

She leaned her hand forward, making Elishia judge the flavors that the woman had concocted.

After a second of touching her glossy lips repeatedly, Elishia nodded, "Perfect. Move on."

Delighted, the woman passed through and headed towards the boiling pots, continuing what she was doing.

A few minutes later, another individual came to Elishia.

This time, Elishia had a sour face, "Missing sun thyme, add just a bit."

Several more people came by, hoping to gain Elishia’s approval.

Once Elishia finished cutting, she headed towards the cooking stations, monitoring the temperature and state of each individual dish.

Sometimes she gave comments, and other times, she handled it herself—adding different flavors of spices.

Whatever she touched, turned into something great!

It was weird.

Several middle-aged cooks listened to a young lady who had only learned about culinary arts for a few years! To add to that, she was their boss—not just in the kitchen but in the entire estate!

To think that they were teaching her a few years prior and now.. They sought for her approval in the kitchen proved to show how much Elishia’s skills had grown due to her talent and hard work.

Some felt stingy, of course.. but others merely accepted it.

They were being paid well, naturally.

After all of it was over, Elishia changed her attire and dressed well.

Donning an orange linen gown whilst holding an orange parasol in her left hand. Meanwhile, her right hand was occupied by a basket filled with several cuts of the food that they had made.

Behind her, three handmaidens followed along, carrying the same basket as Elishia.

Soon, the four of them headed towards the village.

It wasn’t that far from the estate, so they decided to just walk.

For a while now, this has become a sort of routine for Elishia. At the end of every week, she wanted to come to the village and provide her cooking to its people.

As for its reason? Elishia didn’t know it herself, she simply had the will to aid the people in the nearby village.

Perhaps it was some sort of grace to gather the approval that she had always sought. Nevertheless, she didn’t think too much of it.

Slowly after, Elishia and her handmaidens made it to Lang Village.

The village itself was small in size, only housing around 30-40 individuals, about 15 families more or less.

Most of the people inside knew each other very well, so when there was an unknown face, they couldn’t help but be interested.

This was what happened the very first time Elishia visited the village..

News of a Sojoa family member moving towards the Sojoa estate uphill shocked the villagers.

Since the Sojoa estate has existed for as long as they remember, and its looming presence in the hills above, the villagers thought that some rich bloke would come and ruin the peace that they had.

Yet, they were surprised when they saw a fair young maiden move into the manor.

For a long while they grew curious about the little girl, wondering who she was and why she came to Lang village.

In the very first months, the girl never went outside so the villagers grew even more suspicious.

Some gossiped that she was an illegitimate child of the Head, others said that she was an adoptive daughter, while some speculated that she was meant to inherit the entire village itself.

So for the very long time that Elishia didn’t show up to the people, they deemed her a mystery.

But in the first year, the young lady herself took the initiative to take a stroll in the village, accompanied by her handmaidens, of course.

Of the few people that knew the handmaidens, they asked about the identity of little Elishia.

The handmaidens revealed that she was studying in a remote place to become a refined lady, one that will soon be married to a high-ranking noble in the other continents.

The news of this spread like wildfire, almost encompassing the entire village in one night.

With that, the adults could only feel sorry for her status.

After all, she was a mere child.

The world of nobles never made sense to them.

And so, a few more years passed and Elishia grew into a fair young lady.

A young lady that earned the hearts of the people in Lang village. To them, it was if she was an important part of their community.

Back to the present, Elishia strolled through the village, heading towards the center where she usually gave free samples of her cooking.

But something was amiss..

By now, or several minutes past, at least one of the villagers would’ve greeted her or offered to carry the baskets that she held.

It was odd..

It seemed as if no one was at the village at the current time.

So, she continued to walk, hoping to find somebody and asked what was going on.

After a few minutes, she finally found somebody—a child wearing peasants garb with dirt and soot all over his place.

She knew this child well.

"Gregory!" She raised her voice.

The child turned around, startled by her sudden tone, "Oh! Miss Elishia!"

Elishia and her handmaidens walked towards the boy.

"Where is everyone?"

They pointed at the shores.

"Over at the pier!"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Yes!"

The boy’s eyes shone, an innocent radiance of youth permeating its depths.

"There are pirates!"

Elishia, as well as her handmaidens, looked surprised.

"Pirates?"

*

Guided by Gregory towards the shore, Elishia and her handmaidens hurried down to the beach.

Now finally coming into view, a medium-sized ship with several sails was docked in the pier.

A crowd of people watched over the ship, looking over to see who they were.

Additionally, Elishia noticed several individuals that aren’t familiar to her.

A woman with golden hair and sea-like blue eyes, wearing a black tricorn and black coat spoke to the residents. Additionally, a bulky red-haired man, a white-haired young man with a cold expression, and a brown-skinned man with black hair, stood behind her looking like her subordinates.

Or perhaps her lackeys..

Nevertheless, Elishia headed down to the pier, once arriving she studied the unfamiliar people closer and listened.

"The village head is out of town for some business that he needs to attend to at the moment." An old lady said to the golden-haired pirate.

"Then, is there someone else that we can speak with to negotiate?"

"I’m sorry, but we don’t have any Solis. We are a poor village, you see?"

"I understand."

The golden-haired lady looked upwards, studying the state above the hills.

"Then what about the master of that land, are they currently present?"

The old lady turned silent, so did the crowd around them.

She began to discuss among her peers.

After a few seconds, she replied with an apologetic tone, "I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that the estate has been left uninhabited for many years now.."

Elishia’s heart skipped a beat.

’Why would she lie?’

She didn’t understand the feeling.

Just then, the golden-haired pirate looked from behind the old lady’s head. She then noticed a sophisticated-looking young woman, her eyes suddenly losing focus.

After that, she raised her arm up and pointed towards Elishia, "Then who is that refined looking lady over in the back?"

Collectively, the villagers turned around and their eyes widened.

Some let out gasps in shock.

"Miss Elishia?"

"What is she doing here?"

A middle-aged woman walked towards her and whispered, "Miss Elishia, go home, it’s not safe here. We villagers will handle this for you.."

Elishia was confused as to how the villagers were currently acting.

Were they trying to protect her?

She didn’t understand at all!

The villagers looked at her with a worried expression, fearing that the pirates may plunder or steal the Sojoa family’s wealth.

Just as whispers arose amidst the crowd, the golden-haired woman raised her voice.

The winds around her seemed to blow, swaying everyone’s hair to the side.

"Fret not, villagers! We are not bad people, we are just here to negotiate and trade, that’s all!"

Whispers ensued once more..

"I understand your worries but we aren’t the kind of pirates to plunder your village. After all, we, ourselves, came from the same origins as you.. I wholly promise that after negotiating with the master of the estate, we would leave shortly after.."

It was hard to believe.

For many years now, centuries at least, pirates have developed the stigma of fear to people. Once someone mentioned pirate, they would think of those that killed and raped innocent people.

For many of the villagers, it was the first that they had met a pirate proclaiming that they were ’not bad people’.

Naturally, they couldn’t trust them.

"Do you promise not to hurt the people of the village?" Elishia’s voice suddenly rang in the pier.

"I do solemnly swear upon Helios’ name."

She then touched the tip of the 2nd joint of her fingers, marking the praying notion of Helios.

Elishia narrowed her eyes, "Alright.."

Elishia then shifted her focus to her handmaidens, "Salome and Sherry, distribute these food to the villagers as per usual, Esmeralda, come with me back to the estate."

"Yes, miss Elishia."

"Understood."

With that, Elishia raised her voice again, "Follow me pirates!"

The four made it out of the crowd and followed Elishia. Upon getting closer, bowed in a manner belonging to that of a Heliosian Noble, "My name is Elishia Sojoa, the lady of the Lang Village Estate. Pleasure to meet you."

Directed at the golden-haired woman, she softly answered, "It’s a delight to meet you.. Elishia."

She paused for a second.

"My name is Skadi.. Captain Skadi of the Aegir Pirates.