Lights and Shadows

The Telling

"Cyremala." Borsalino grabbed her shoulder and shook gently. She slowly woke and shifted under her blanket. Blinking up at him, she got up slowly and rubbed her eyes.
"You alright now?"
"W-what?" She tilted her head, then remembered last night and the event of her nightmare. She was unable to tell who it was that held her but she realised it must have been him.
"Oh... yeah. I'm fine now."
"That's good." He smiled at her warmly which in turn made her do the same.
"So it was you who sneaked into my room." Borsalino laughed, seeing her mood was up again and told her that the storm had passed.
"I smell food!"
"Now now Cyremala, don't eat all of it." Borsalino warned her she'd be thrown overboard jokingly if she did so and she mockingly put on her scared face. Later that morning Von had slipped and spilt one of the crews food leaving him cursing and muttering unheathen words that Cyremala had to hold her ears to. Borsalino was wrapped up in more paperwork. Luckily he was nearly finished and the rest of the crew were watching Von as he struggled through the morning. It was quite funny for her and she mocked his fall in a very exaggerated manner which had the crew head over heels, literally. But her fun time was cut short when Borsalino called for her. She entered the room and sat on the couch, waiting for Borsalino to finish what he was writing.
"Cyremala." He looked up, placing his pen on the desk. "I need to ask you something and this may bring back some bad times. It's about those pirates." She nodded and waited for a second.
"I can do it. I'll tell you."
"Alright. Just let me know when you want to take a break, ok?" His eyes were reassuring and she nodded, her face a little scared.
"Can you start from the beginning?"

Cyremala had taken a good few moments telling Borsalino of the dream she had, which was when her friend had betrayed her. After her friend gave away her house, she tried to make her way back home too, not bothering to even go to her friend.
"I ran as fast as possible. The whole town was ablaze now as pirates ransacked the place. I... I ran passed one building and saw a house with its owner collapsed under it. It had fallen. He was just, staring."
"It's alright."
"Uh huh... Sorry. Just remembering that... I... anyway. I, was too late. When I got to my home, the pirates were screaming at my parents, one of them in particular." She paused to catch her breath again.
"They were after something?"
"Yeah. A diamond. It's called the Sky Dragon's Eye, the rarest and most expensive diamond of them all. Worth, billions I think."
"Oh yes."
"My father swung at the man. My mother, I saw her manage to shoot one of them but... but..." shaking her head, she thought the world would cave in, but she managed the courage. "She was cut through her chest! My father, I heard his roar... but the same happened to him." Borsalino thought for a while, giving her time to compose herself. She had began to cry and just then, Von knocked.
"Kizaru-san... oh... I'm sorry. I'll leave."
"No!" Cyremala screamed suddenly.
"M-Mala?"
"I want you to hear this too! You're my friend!" Borsalino was utterly shocked by her bravery of wanting someone else to hear too. He thought that speaking of the topic would be too much for her already.
"Cyremala, I don't want too much pressure on you." She shook her head and forced a smile. She recapped what had happened to Von and managed to get through more bravely than the first.

"My friend's name is Lemmeny... or was. To be honest, I'm not even sure she made it out alive. I never saw her again after I left." She looked away, a sadness weighed her lips down.
"That's what you meant. When you asked if you could forgive her."
"Yeah. I... I think I can. She was just scared. The pirates would've found to my parents anyway."
"What happened next?" Von asked, holding her hand gently.
"Well, I managed to escape on a boat with some of the townspeople. But the pirates saw us and gave chase. It was a good few hours until they ran off due to a marine ship on the horizon." Borsalino looked up.
"Do you remember the ship? The Captain's name?" She looked at him then to the ground, her mind was in work.
"Captain... ahh... I can't remember."
"What did he look like?"
"One eye. He had an eyepatch. His voice was gruff yet he was as cheerful as a piper.
"Captain Borton Gale."
"Yes! That's him!" Borsalino smiled at her and made a note, stating he was still in service.
"I... still have the diamond on me." She took off her jacket. "My father could have sold it. I mean, it's worth billions." Borsalino and Von stared wide eyed at the shining beauty on her arm. It was emplaced on a silver necklace that wrapped around her upper arm.
"I hid it here. The jacket isn't tight so it made no impression."
"Never would've thought too look there. If I were looking for a diamond, I wouldn't be looking at all for any necklace." Von gazed at it in wonderment.
"Your father didn't sell it?"
"He said, along with my mother, that I was the most precious treasure in the whole world."
"That is very true." Borsalino smiled at her answer. Her tears were falling but she was still smiling. She was laughing and crying at the same time.
"I want to thank you, both. You've been so kind." Borsalino put his hand on her shoulder and Von gave her a smooch on the cheek. She sat there giggling through tears as the two exchanged warm glances at her. She was so happy to have met so wonderful people.