No, he did not miss her snide comment as Sally took her leave of the room. He did not miss the flippant way in which Stelly responded to him either, upon further inquiry. If not so exhausted and injured, Ace would have pushed it more. However, adrenaline and stress weighed down on him heavily, finally pushing him to a seamless sense of exhaustion.He could investigate later. He needed to rest, now.Â
When the news was finally given to him, days later, Ace⌠fell into shock.Â
They were gone? All of them?Â
There was no Whitebeard fleet left. No family looking or waiting for him. Whatâs there for you to go back to? It was all his fault⌠Every bit of it. He was the one hunting down the usurper. He was the one hot on the trail of the monster who brought about the demise of his beloved family. He was charged with negligence in his own mind now, for failing to kill Teach when he had the chance.Â
None of this wouldâve happened, if only he had been stronger.
But like everything else in his life: He wasnât good enough, wasnât strong enough. The reality hit hard. Too hard for him to really cope with. âNoââ He gasped out, taking a step away from the girls. They didnât deserve his torment; they were so much better than he- who ruined everything he touched.Â
âNo..!â His voice raised, hands coming up to grab at messy black hair.
His body quacked from emotional agony, and the pain of his injuries still plaguing his body. After everything he survived already, now to learn that⌠there was no bright tomorrow awaiting him? No hope for a future.Â
His knees buckled, and Ace slumped to the floor. His head bowed, shoulders shaking with the effort to hold back his tears. It was a fruitless endeavor though, they fell with abandon, and he sobbed out choked breaths of anguish.Â
The girls tried in vain to comfort Ace. The looks shared between them though said they knew nothing would calm him. Ever since being here, heâd been focused, driven towards going back to his family, his father. Stories of pirates still frightened these poor girls and a man so terribly strong as Whitebeard had been? Some had figured it was better that he was dead.
They werenât aware of all the good that pirate crew had done though, being sheltered here.Â
If this kind pirate cared so deeply for the late emperor though-- he couldnât have been all that bad.
A few ran off to call the doctors while others stayed to help steady Ace. Heâd tear his stitches out like that!Â
With the doctors though, came Stelly. Such troubling news of Aceâs condition had him concerned for his newest servant. The whispering of his maids didnât go unnoticed either. Theyâd told Ace what the redhead had been so adamant for the pirate to never find out.
While the doctors at least tried to check over their patient, Stelly took one of the maids by her arm and slapped the poor girl across her face. He was angry, obviously--. His lie to keep Ace here and docile was ruined now! âYou daft girls! I should have you all thrown in the dungeon for this!â The one he had slapped was tossed aside without a care as he turned his attention back on Ace.
He cared more for the pirate it seemed, than his own staff who had been with him for years.
âIâll have you all punished later-- get out of my sight.â Disgust was in brown eyes until they turned to Ace. Maybe realizing he had no other place to go.. would convince the pirate to stay here and actually work for him. Even if it did work in his favor though, the redhead would still punish everyone involved.
âWell donât just stand there with him! Take him back to the medical room to treat him. Sedate him if you have to.â He might not seem like it at all, but the crying only made Stelly nervous. It would with anyone crying around him but.. Ace especially. He canât remember ever having seen the other boy cry. The doctors were helping the pirate up then, walking him-- carrying if they had to, to the large doctors office in the castle.Â