- POV General -

 

The sun had risen on a brand new day after the meeting between the two former slaves and the incognito pirates in the small wooden house. After the meal, the lost and confused mother had been unable to speak, and Hestia had also been silent the whole time. Fortunately, all had not been strange thanks to the others and Ulysses who, finding his childish soul, had started to become a bit more talkative.

 

Talkative because being surrounded by so many different people for the first time made him curious and excited to discover many new things. Very quickly the little boy had integrated himself into the group, which was not difficult given his cute, shy and endearing side. Thus, the day before, he had spent the afternoon following almost all the members of the crew in the house in spite of his injuries while his mother had remained in her room.

 

However, today after waking up, she and her son were back in the living room to do something very important and symbolic. In a few moments, the collars they wore around their necks indicating their existence as slaves would be broken. Sitting in a chair, the silver-haired woman and the blonde-haired child waited for the one they admired the most but also the one they had spoken to the least. 

 

Hestia stood behind them while everyone else stood around silently with their hearts pounding and eager to see the two of them get rid of those horrible things. Even though the Captain had never spoken to those she had saved before, completely lost, the others had become attached to the mother and son. It had only been a few days since they had met, but in their situation everything happened pretty quickly.

 

The two former slaves had not only melted Hestia's heart even if she didn't show it, but they had also touched all her companions. Everyone was now looking forward to them finally being freed from this miserable life that had lasted too long. Taking a deep breath, the mother nodded with her back to the Captain who was coming forward trying to hide her nervousness behind a cold look.

 

It was her turn to take a deep breath as she ran her hands around the collar brushing her fingers over the pure-eyed woman's neck. She had tossed her long hair to the side leaving her neck exposed and shivered at the touch of Hestia's skin. They didn't let it show, but both women had their hearts pounding, butterflies in their stomachs coupled with immense stress.

 

*CRACK*

 

Then suddenly, not thinking about it and pulling with a sharp blow, taking care not to hurt her, the young blonde woman finally broke the first collar. The next second the woman who had just been freed quickly put her hair back in place hoping that nobody had seen the marks. Hestia had seen them but remained silent before turning to Ulysses who had his mouth wide open with eyes full of stars. 

 

These collars that had rotted their lives could be removed so easily, so quickly, that in his eyes, the pirate captain was becoming a hero more and more each day. The little boy couldn't hide his excitement, so it wasn't long before Hestia slipped in behind him. He had managed to get a slight smirk out of her and as she ran her hands over the collar, he closed his eyes and with his heart pounding and his body shaking.

 

*CRACK*

 

"M-MOMMY !!!"

 

The moment his collar had come off, the little boy had thrown himself into his mother's arms unable to pull back his sobs of joy. Just as moved as him, his mother had fallen on her knees before catching him in her arms resting his head on her shoulders. The scene was touching, Kali, Mysie and Achi had tears in their eyes, Joe and Lucas were smiling, even Edward was watching everything with a genuine smile.

 

"T-Th...thank you."

 

The pregnant woman had turned to Hestia forgetting for a moment the conflicts in her heart, carried by the moment and the eternal gratitude she felt. As always, her smile was small and almost non-existent, but her tear-filled eyes spoke for her. Once again, the young blonde woman concentrated on remaining impassive, simply answering before turning on her heels to leave the house.

 

"It's nothing."

 

"I-..."

 

The woman on her knees and clutching her son had finally found the courage at that moment to speak to her, but the troubled Captain was already leaving quickly. Not wanting to insist, she watched her walk away and leave the house after having freed them from this horrible symbolic object that they could now leave behind. Once again the two women kept avoiding each other creating a growing misunderstanding between them.

 

"She hates me for what I said to her that night, that's for sure"

 

"She hates me for being too cold, that's for sure"

 

That was the conclusion Ulysses' mother had come to with a sad look turned to the door that had just closed as her heart clenched. It was also the conclusion that Hestia had come to, hiding behind the door from everyone's view, panicking without even knowing why. She had her right hand over her uncontrollable heart and her left hand over her mouth while her cheeks were slightly tinged with red.

 

In the living room, Lucas, Mysie, Achi, Edward, Joe and Kali had witnessed the whole scene and did not understand why the Captain was acting so coldly. For them, nobody loved women as much as the young blonde woman, so why was she like that ? Only the Cerberus Quartermaster seemed to have sensed something different, while on her side also her heart was clenched by an unpleasant feeling.

 

_______

 

A few hours had passed since Ulysses and his mother had removed their collar, and for the first time in three days, they had gone outside for some fresh air. The little boy was with Lucas, Edward and Joe who were practicing their combat skills while the pregnant woman was sitting in the grass a little further away with Achi, Kali and Mysie. As always, only Hestia was missing, being behind the house chopping wood.

 

"How are you ?"

 

"I-I'm...I'm fine thanks, the pain is disappearing more and more, my ankle can now support my weight but I still feel very weak."

 

"Yes, don't force it, especially since you are pregnant !"

 

The girls were making sure she felt good and relaxed a little more in their presence to ease the mental load she still had to carry. They couldn't imagine what the woman had gone through as a slave but were aware that psychological healing would take time. So it was with the idea of lightening the atmosphere that Kali mentioned Ulysses a little further, swinging a piece of wood like a sword.

 

"Still, your little one is very brave for his age, I think that's what pushed Hestia to act for a stranger. She even calls him 'little warrior' which believe me is quite unexpected coming from her !"

 

"While she calls me 'kiddo', hmpf !"

 

"I get cutie hehe~"

 

"Bleeeeeh~"

 

At the Quartermaster's statements, Ulysses' mother stopped moving while Achi and Mysie continued to comment without noticing anything. She found herself lost in her thoughts again while finally the three girls stopped talking to observe her. They were all admiring her beauty which was even more pronounced when she was pensive, her very light blue eyes shining with an endearing and sweet melancholy.

 

"That's...that's how I call him too...my little warrior..."

 

"I see."

 

As the wind began to blow, sweeping through her gray hair making it shine in the sun, Ulysses' mother raised her head to the sky. Closing her eyes, motionless, she looked like a work of art, a beautiful and perfect statue that could represent a Saint. At that moment, Achi, Kali and Mysie were hypnotized by the beauty of the scene, a divine light falling on the woman as she finally opened her eyes, continuing to give herself away a little more.

 

"Ulysses is my only family and I am sure he will grow up to be as strong as the greatest of men. No matter what happens I will always be proud of him. Y-You...you seem to be one big happy family...are you siblings ?"

 

"Yes yes, Hestia is my big sister hehehe~!"

 

*slap*

 

"Stop talking nonsense for a moment, you liar !"

 

"AOUCH !"

 

Achi had responded right away by placing both fists on her hips with a haughty sneering and smiling look trying to imitate the Captain. However, Kali had brought her back to reality with a little slap on the back of the head and a comment that was both excited and amused. The blonde girl glared at the Quartermaster who sighed and looked up to answer the woman seriously...well almost.

 

"In a way yes, we are like a big family but we are not related by blood but somehow our ties are even stronger. We travel here and there around the world looking for precious people. And this one we picked up on our journey hahaha~"

 

"You mean kidna...!"

 

*slap*

 

"HEY !"

 

"Pfffpfff~"

 

This time it was Mysie who had slammed the back of Achi's head who had been a little too tongue-tied regarding the origin of her presence in the group. For the boy's mother it was just a child's joke, their little cinema even made her giggle slightly. She had only been in the house with them for three days, but life here was so different, so simple, that she felt as if she were in the same place. 

 

"T-Thanks to you I have understood many things..."

 

In the heart of the wounded woman, the seven companions were the very example of a family, sure maybe weird and very mysterious but a family nevertheless. For her blood had nothing to do with people's feelings, you couldn't choose which family you were born into, but you could choose the people who mattered. The little boy's mother meant it sincerely as she touched her bulging belly.

 

Even if the child growing in her belly was the result of an assault by the one who had made their lives hell, it had nothing to do with the baby. No matter where it came from, no matter who its father was, she was going to love it with all her heart and protect it as best she could. The beautiful one had promised it to herself, she was going to do everything to offer a radiant future to the two rays of sunshine of her life, she was going to offer them a marvelous life, she had sworn it to herself.

 

_____

 

While the girls were busy chatting, the boys were practicing their swordsmanship with wooden sticks in quick and simple exchanges. Joe and Lucas were in the middle of a match watched by Ulysses and Edward under a tree a little further away. Next to the Viking-like pirate, the little boy looked so small and fragile, creating a frightening contrast but not enough to unsettle Ulysses.

 

He watched attentively the movements of Lucas and Joe that he found, at the height of his 7 years, absolutely incredible and worthy of the best. Of course it was not really the case but all that he discovered it for the first time, marveling at all that he saw for three days. In his small hands he didn't have a stick but a small branch that he had used a little earlier to do as they did, to no avail.

 

"M-Mister ? You...you think I could ever get strong ?"

 

Suddenly, the little blue-eyed blond was asking Edward a question and for a few seconds he found himself nervous about how to respond. He wasn't very good with words and definitely didn't want to rush the kid or scare him, not sure how to act around such a fragile child. Yet Ulysses had brought up a subject that the young man knew well allowing him to answer sincerely.

 

"You already have the strength, kid. All you need is the physic."

 

"I already have it ?"

 

"Mmmh. The most important thing is the strength we hold here...and here."

 

Crouching down to his full height for the first time, Edward with gently touched the young boy's forehead before touching the spot where his heart was. He wanted to tell him in his own way that while someone's strong body was important, their soul was perhaps even more so. Having heard what his friend had said, Joe straightened up from his fighting stance before stepping forward and giving a slightly clearer explanation.

 

"Ed's right, little one. Muscles can always be worked on no matter what, but courage, determination, tenacity...that's what makes a warrior strong. The physical is not without the mental, a little shrimp like you filled with courage is worth in my opinion much more than a bunch of loose muscles."

 

Arriving at his height, the Sailing Master of Cerberus put his hand on his head with a big smile to give him courage, which worked. Ulysses may have been a little boy but he was very mature for his age, wanting to learn how to become strong enough to help his mother and protect her. Lucas, who saw in him a reflection of the one he considered his big sister, could not help but give him his own advice.

 

"Life is not always easy and you know it much better than we do, the important thing is to know what is important and what matters to our heart. Hang in there, grow up healthy, keep that steely mind and one day I promise you that you will be even stronger than you already are~"

 

"I-Is that true ?"

 

Ulysses' eyes were shining, he did have a dream besides the one involving the protection of his family and the statements of the long haired young man rekindled the flame. He had asked his last question with an air of determination, adorableness and naivety that was typical of his young age. Smiling both, Edward and Lucas looked at each other before answering, not without melting for this little boy so endearing.

 

"Of course ! Not to mention the two miracle ingredients: having people to protect."

 

"And having a role model to surpass, someone you look up to and who inspires you"

 

At these words, Ulysses immediately thought of three people which did not escape the three men who looked at him with tender eyes despite themselves. After all that had happened, it was not hard for them to imagine who the boy could be thinking of, in fact they knew it very well. The person he had come to admire, this person who inspired him to become stronger was exactly the same as they and the crew. 

 

"But I think you already found those people hahaha~"

 

Laughing with gusto, Joe returned to his position followed this time by Edward who cracked his neck, having remained far too long without action for his liking. Ulysses didn't add anything, simply nodding his head with clenched fists, thinking of the one behind the house alone. During three days they had learned a lot from each other, especially by observing, but he had so many questions to ask Hestia without ever finding the courage to do so.

 

However, the words of the three men that he was beginning to take as examples had motivated him knowing that if he did nothing he would regret it later. It was decided, from tomorrow he was going to talk to Hestia and have a real conversation with her. To the little boy she seemed unapproachable, different, and although the Captain frightened him a little, she also intrigued him enormously and he wanted to know more about her.

 

Ulysses was far from suspecting that it was exactly the same case for his mother, who was also beset by another wave of very different feelings. Three days had passed and still no one had spoken to the one who had brought them here, three days in which Hestia was distant. Her crew had noticed this but put it down to her not wanting to hurt them and scare them by being a crazy bitch.

 

And so, it was in this atmosphere that all these people were brought together by fate in a cruel and unforgiving world. In this small house lost in the forest, life and time seemed to have stopped with these two encounters much more impactful than expected. The days had become calm, joyful, simple, peaceful, so far from the life of slaves or even the dangers of life on the seas.

 

Without even realizing it, the group of pirates and the young noblewoman had become attached to the little family they had helped on a whim of their Captain. Touched by their struggle, their fears but also by the immense determination they had as well as the unconditional love impossible to ignore. Little by little, they got to know each other and trusted each other, almost forgetting that in two days time the time of departure would come.