Elena felt concerned when the first mate of Levi's crew sat down at her bar and lifted a small pink pig onto the counter. In all honesty, the pig was adorable, but she had never seen such a bizarre situation in her life.

"What's with the pig?" she asked.

Alex looked up and shrugged. "It saved my life, I saved it, and now we're friends."

She looked over the tiny pink pig once again and frowned.

"Please don't tell me that's the sacrificial pig that escaped earlier this evening."

Alex smirked. "Would it help if I lied?"

"You pirates are as a mad as they say you are." Elena rubbed her temples. "This will only end badly."

He ordered a whiskey and started drinking when Elena returned with his drink. He looked back down at the pig. It was staring between him and the glass.

"What?" he grunted.

The pig nudged the glass with its snout and looked back up at him with its big round eyes.

"You want some?"

Alex frowned in surprise when the pig nodded its head. He blinked at the pig for a couple of seconds, comprehending the fact that the pig understood what he had said. That wasn't possible!

"Another whiskey and a bowl," he ordered.

Elena looked between them before disappearing and returning with his order. "I hope you're paying for this."

"Levi said Jess was paying today or something like that. Add it to her tab." He waved her off.

The pig grunted angrily.

"What's your problem now? I got you your drink!"

Alex poured the entirety of the drink into the bowl, and the pig lapped it up at an exceptional speed. He had to drink faster to compete with the small pink animal.

"So it's like that, is it?" He slammed his empty glass down with a smirk and ordered some more whiskey. "Let's see who wins!"

The pig looked at him with a determined look in its eyes, like it was telling him he was on.

Many drinks later, they were both still going, neither backing down. Alex had red, flustered cheeks and a big smirk on his face, impressed that the small animal was still conscious. However, he could see the drunken look in the pig's eyes. A couple more and the creature would pass out for the night. Alex felt tipsy himself, but he could handle his drink, and he could win this drinking contest.

Between drinks, Alex would talk to the pig like it was his very own therapist. He didn't usually talk to people about his feelings and thoughts, but the pig was different. It was an animal. It didn't judge. It didn't comment. It didn't care. It just listened.

"I don't know my family. I was abandoned on the doorstep of a monastery on Sunrise Island. All that was on me was a white blanket and my black katana, Kurome. The head monk of the monastery raised me, and he taught me the way of the sword. My entire life, I believed him to be my father. The day he told me he found me, I was angry, and I ran away from home in search of my true heritage. It's my dream to find my family, to find out why they abandoned me.

"I came across Levi a year ago at Halfway Point. He was in the middle of a dispute with the slave trade, who were trying to capture him because he has three cursed souls. Two cursed souls are rare as is, but three is unheard of. Levi is worth a fortune on the market.

"In all fairness, Levi could handle himself with his cursed souls, but the fight looked fun, so I joined him, gave him a helping hand. We defeated the scum together and have been friends ever since." He finished his story about his childhood.

The pig was listening intently. Both of them had paused their drinking. The pig looked sympathetic from Alex's story and did something unexpected. The animal approached him and nuzzled him under his arm and cuddled up to his chest.

Alex froze, not knowing how to react to the affectionate act. Nobody had ever been affectionate towards him before. The feeling was odd and made his heart feel warm. He liked the feeling, and eventually, he warmed up to the cuddling pig and wrapped his arm around the cute pink animal, stroking it. A small smile formed on his lips.

He liked this pig. He liked it a lot.

"So, who won?" Elena asked.

Alex looked up, a happy smile still evident on his face, which left a confused expression on Elena's. She had never seen Alex smile. It suited him. He should smile more often.

"We're calling it a draw."

"It? Haven't you worked out if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Elena frowned.

Alex shrugged. "Didn't ask."

Elena deadpanned. He didn't ask? He said it like the pig would understand him.

"Are you a boy?" Alex asked the pig.

Elena couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd been serious about asking the pig. Her jaw flew open when the pig responded to his question and shook its head.

"So you're a girl?"

The pig nodded.

"Alright, Miss Piggy. Let's go. It's getting late, and I'm on guard duty tonight on the Leo."

Alex helped the pig off the counter, and the two of them walked out together, Alex chatting away to it like they were the best of friends, and the pig would grunt and nod in response. Elena didn't know what to think of the situation other than to let her jaw hang wide open in shock.

After getting lost multiple times and dodging a couple of the temple guards, the unlikely pair managed to find their way back to the Leo. It was about midnight when Alex arrived, and everyone was asleep, except for a light coming from the navigation window. He presumed Mirella was still awake, reading like she usually did.

Placing the small pig on to his shoulder, he climbed up the ladder onto the deck of the ship. He leaned back against the mainmast and picked up a pair of dumbbells he had left there earlier that day and started lifting. The pig sat on the deck next to him, watching him intently.

Alex looked towards the pig while lifting the weight, a contorted expression on his face as he thought to himself. Looking now at the animal felt like deja vu with Jessica back up in the crow's nest earlier that day, when she had been watching him.

Guilt weighed down on his heart. He still felt terrible for what he had said to Jessica. The hurt look in her eyes had penetrated his heart.

"Don't look at me like that." He clicked his tongue at the pig, who was giving him the same look.

The pig's head tilted.

"With those judging eyes of yours, I mean." He continued to lift his weights.

The pig grunted, frowning at him. Alex dropped the weights onto the deck with a loud clang and sighed, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Fine."

He gestured for the pig to sit with him, and the animal jumped onto his lap, her head resting on his hand. A small smile appeared on Alex's face, and he started stroking her.

"Alright, Miss Piggy, I'm going to tell you something you can't tell anyone else."

The pig grunted for him to continue.

"When Levi knocked into Jess, and I caught her, I felt this weird sensation in my stomach when I looked into her eyes, even more so when I heard her giggle in the tavern. She has a cute laugh. She's pretty, I admit, but that's the problem, I have a dream I need to accomplish, and I can't have her in my head distracting me. It was why I was so harsh to her earlier. I was scaring her away. Yet, deep down inside of me I want her to stay."

He continued to stroke the pig.

"I've only met the girl today, and already she's messing with my emotions."

He sighed.

"I don't know what to do. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Jessica left a note saying she didn't want to join us. Levi's upset, and it's all my fault. What sort of first mate am I?"

It felt comforting talking to the pig. It was like a weight had lifted from his chest, and he felt freer than he had ever felt before in his life. Of course, he would never reveal his emotions or thoughts to another human being. The pig was an exception. The only exception.

The pig nuzzled his hand in comfort, and Alex smiled at the animal's kind gestures. He looked around the deck, making sure the coast was clear. With no one about, he continued talking to the pig.

"You're kind of cute as well, you know." Alex started to rub the pig's belly, and it squirmed in delight.

A joyful laugh erupted from Alex. His whole body trembled all over with the warm feeling of happiness. He hadn't laughed like that in a long time, not since he was a child.

"Who's a good little piggy?"

The pig continued to squirm in delight when he rubbed her belly once again.

Alex's eyes shot wide open in horror when someone stood behind him and cleared their throat. His cheeks immediately flushed pink. He turned around to find Mirella on the deck, her mouth covered with her left hand as she laughed silently to herself.

Alex noticed the wedding ring on her finger. He had always been curious about it. Marriage was an unbreakable magical bond in Aqua. As soon as a couple were wed, the rings would appear on the fingers and could never be taken off until one were to die. It was clearly evident that Mirella's partner was still alive. Otherwise, the ring would have disappeared from her finger.

Alex had never asked, but he suspected Mirella to be a runaway bride. Why else would someone as sweet and kind-natured as her become a pirate?

"Cute." Mirella smiled, taking him out of his thoughts. "I don't think I've ever seen you look so... vulnerable before."

Alex's entire aura darkened. "A word of this to anyone, and I will kill you."

His eyes glared sharply towards her like he was burning through her soul.

"Your secret is safe with me." Mirella gently laughed. "By the way, you should laugh more often. It suits you."

She walked back into the cabin. A frown placed itself on Alex's face. He looked down at the pig.

"This is your fault, Miss Piggy." His tone was harsh.

The pig blinked, flashing her innocent eyes to him. He sighed in defeat and scooped the pig up into his arms.

"I can't be mad at you." He leaned back against the deck, the two of them snoozing away under the light of the stars.

PLEASE READ THE SERIES CROWN OF GODS FOR FREE