Smoke smoldered from Ajia's lips, the waves of the sea rocking her while she stared out over the misting waves. From the crow's nest she could see it all, her sister giving orders, the horizon, and the crew working at every bark and demand. This was her twin's domain, not her's, but she found solitude in perhaps the most private place on the ship, thus why she always volunteered for the one place she could think. It was moments like these, when her mind was lost, that she wished she had the device. If there was some way she'd know the answer to what troubled her, but she wasn't sure of it.

Aja's eyes looked over the ocean as they made their way home. Being at the helm of her ship was always a comfortable place for her to be. It was a relatively short trip since she had some modifications done to the Breeze. The trip now took them less than an hour or two now. A minor trip now to go home and see Ajay.

That thought led to the recent trip home to Ballentine. Aja thought over what Ajay had been told and how easy going he had been about it. She needed to learn how to be that calm. Not that she was a raving lunatic now, but Ajay just took things in stride. She was happy he wasn't too disappointed about the postponement of the wedding. She knew that he had been looking forward to it, and she hated to "take it away' from him. But the situation had changed since Tristan had returned home.

The more time she spent with him, the more she realized that she had been trying to hang on to something that was clearly long gone. They were no longer that young couple in love. They had both changed far too much for either to consider it a good match now. Aja looked up towards the crow's nest where Ajia had gone as soon as they set sail. She had a feeling Ajay had unsettled her more than anything else.

It was still enough time for Ajia to think over what bothered her. Every now and then she'd shift in the crow's nest, study the waters around them as a proper look out should, but her mind still wandered over the words that were said and the pressure that was implied. A glance now and then was sent towards her sister, but more often than not, she avoided looking at her twin for fear that she'd give away what was bothering her.

The proper princess bid, meant no sleeping with a man before marriage. Nothing but proper courting either. Yet, Ajia just couldn't pull the reins back and tell Rico that she wanted to do the proper courting thing, it would probably put him off more or less. And the thought of Ajay visiting Mami had her shuddering in her spot. What if he did go to Avalon and demand an alliance" What if Ajay pressed for a union with Mami's help and that scared Rico off" Ajia was quite consistent in looking at the bad side of things.

It was obvious to Ajia that she'd never live up to her brother's expectations. It was just not in her or her sister's nature to be a proper princes. However, one of them should at least try to be, and she didn't see Aja doing that, at all. She could feel a load of bricks being lowered onto her shoulders, painfully.

Both her hands combed through her hair as she shrank further into the privacy of the crows nest. Copper eyes closed and she let out a few choice curses. The thought of making her parents proud, living as they would have wanted her and her sister to do was something she couldn't exactly ignore. Ajay was right about that part, her parents would have expected better from her. Granted, she didn't understand why Mami had an easy time coping with Rico sleeping every night with Ajia. It was probably because she hid it well, knowing Ajia's luck.

Ajia's head turned towards the heavens and she sighed. "Can you do me a favor..." Her finger prodded right at the breast of her chest. "Right here. X marks the spot. One lightning bolt." She sighed. "Please?" But nothing came, forcing her to sigh miserably.

Aja spied Arcadian shores coming into view and glanced up. She'd leave her sister be a while longer, she'd eventually notice they were almost home.

She steered the large vessel as easily as she did Rico's motorboat, easing it into the slip and motioned for the boys to take up docking procedures.

"JiJi!" Aja yelled. "We're home!" She called up and stared up towards the crow's nest waiting.

Aja's call was faint to Ajia's preoccupied ears. Her hand waved in response, however, signaling that she'd be down eventually.

Aja chuckled seeing the hand over the side and wondered if her sister had been napping or if it was just another in a series of long thought sessions. Aja didn't have that sort of luxury, she had a crew to attend to and a yard to run. At least Ajia had heard her, sometimes Aja wondered just where her sister would go in her head, but she knew they were home now.

"Jist leave my sister be up there." She said to the crew. "She'll come down eventually." Aja chuckled and grabbed her bag, leaving Ajia's near the ramp and heading for the office rather than home right away.

Ajia's arms folded over the edge of the crows nest so her chin could rest on them. From here she had a view of everything they'd changed about Arcadia. It was strange to see it from this vantage point. She could see the lair in the distance, the dock where Rico fished, their home, and even Aja's home. A light sigh left her lips before her head turned, forcing her cheek to rest against her arms. Once again her mind sifted through the thoughts bouncing within her head.

Thinking always took time, more than minutes and usually hours, however she usually did it within the safety of her barn. When the clouds opened up, Ajia usually moved, but the cool sprinkles falling on the back of her neck felt good. A sigh left her and her head turned up towards the down pour, letting it soak her face, and everything else for that matter.

Aja watched from the office window, having a good view of the Breeze from there. She laughed seeing Ajia being rained on. Peanut, curious as to what his human pet was laughing about was even in the window looking. This caught Rico's attention from down the hall.

"What's so funny?" he asked while walking into Aja's office. Peanut hopped up on Aja's shoulder and chattered at him till he reached up and gave him some head scratches.

"Her." Aja pointed to the Breeze and waited for Rico to join her in the window. Rico peered out the window finally catching site of Ajia in the crow's nest.

"What's she doing in the crow's nest?"

"Getting soaked at the moment." Aja grinned. "I suspect she's up there thinking. But I didn't pry."

"Why not?"

"Cause," Aja said lightly. "She'll tell me when she's ready to."

"And if not?" Rico asked curious about the way the two sisters dealt with each other.

"Uh...." Aja grinned then. "Then she won't. Can't make people do things." Aja said and looked back out the window at Ajia. "Besides, it's sort of entertaining to watch her."

"You're evil." Rico smiled at her.

"Uh-huh." Aja grinned at Rico. "No one said I can't have fun with her being all weird."

"You should go out there and tell her to come down." Rico said looking out the window.

"But, then I'll get wet." Aja pouted and laughed. "I told her we were home. I think she knows it's rainin", Ricks. If she don't wanna come down, can't make her."

"She might catch a cold."

"Nah, it's warm enough." Aja waved a hand towards the window. "And, the sun will be out soon."

"I'm telling Parker on you." Rico nudged Aja playfully.

"Rat." Aja nudged him back. "Go ahead. But she's a grown woman. Whether or not we understand why she does what she does is irrelevant." Aja took her chair at her desk, still keeping an eye out on the Breeze for a hint that Ajia was going to come down.

"What happened at Ajay's?"

"Family conversation about putting the wedding on hold. Uh...bits about royal duties and all that. Might be why she's up there. I mean, both her and Ajay know I ain't pulling the princess bit. So I think she figures it's up ta her to do it." Aja related the information as if relating the weather report. "Not that Ajay insisted or even said anything about it." Rico took a seat at the corner of the desk watching Ajia for a moment. "She reacts so oddly to things." He said after a moment, Aja glanced up from her desk and nodded.

"Yeah. She does." Aja agreed simply, noticing that Rico was still staring out the window. She wasn't sure why, but he'd tell her if it bothered him enough.

"I saw him, Aja." He said finally.

"Who?" Aja tried to recall who Rico might be talking about but was coming up blank. It could be anybody, given the amount of information that tended to get lost about social things. Aja never did keep that sort of information straight.

"Him." Rico stressed and stared now at Aja, who finally got it. Rico's half brother Rafe.

"Ah. That him." she said knowingly. "And that would be the reason you were so freaked a couple days ago?"

"Ajia mentioned that?" Rico seemed surprised.

"She did."

"What did you say?"

"She didn't tell me, she was talking to Ajay." Aja said and looked up at him. "To me, she says very little...about you two. Only that she thinks it has more to do with our looks as to why you keep her at a distance."

"It isn't."

"I know that." Aja replied airly, indicating that he didn't need to convince her of that. "So. Him. Here in Arcadia." she said lightly. "Is this town big enough fer da two of you?"

"Not sure."

"Ya know, it ain't his fault." Aja reminded Rico. "What yer dad did."

"I know."

"Can't be hanging on ta that ferever, Ricks." Aja set down her pen. "I mean, yer both victims ta what he did..." she saw Rico about to protest. "Ok...ok...Victims was the wrong choice of word there, but ya know what I mean. Yer both having to deal with the fall out from his choices."

"I know."

"Far be it for me ta tell ya anything.." Aja started gently.

"But you're about to." Rico said trying to joke.

"Yes." she chuckled. "Maybe he ain't what ya think he is." Aja held his eyes for a moment. "And ya won't know till ya talk ta da lad."

"I don't know if I can." Rico said as he scrubbed his head for a second.

"Whatever you decide. We're here fer ya." she gently reminded him and glanced out the window. "Even if one of us is hangin out in da crow's nest fer reasons passing understanding."

"Back at you." Rico smiled at her and then looked out the window. "Seriously, the two of you have the strangest habits."

"I know." Aja grinned. "It's partly why we're so darn adorable."

"Only partly, right?"

"Yes." Aja beamed a bright smile at him. ?"We're also hot." she laughed then and Rico shook his head as he chuckled at her.

"Seriously. One of us might have to go get her. She's like you, she may not notice it's raining."

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Aja protested but he wasn't completely wrong. There were times underway that she stood on the deck in the middle of a storm and not really notice the rain. "She's flakey." Aja grinned. "Yeah...I nominate you fer da job. I have these files ta finish up and then I gotta head over ta Arcasa. Check in. I ain't got time ta deal with crazy too."

"You're so sweet to her." Rico grinned at her.

"Jist catchin up on childhood pranks." Aja smiled and flipped a file closed.

"Suuuure. I believe you."

"I rescued ya from da gag sheepies, didn't I?"

"Not sure ya didn't plant them." he grinned while heading towards the office door.

"I ain't got that kind of time, Boo Boo." she smiled at him and he went out. Aja shook her head and got back to work. She glanced out when she had mentally calculated Rico would be at the ship.

Ajia hadn't noticed the rain, what with all her thinking. She didn't even notice the speck coming closer and getting larger. It was a wonder that the ship arrived safe to port with how much she had noticed things. Sure, she was aware that they were home, but she wasn't sure if she was quite ready to step foot on land and get on with things. Not with how much thinking she was doing. If it wasn't worry about Rico and him not telling her things, it was worry about what Ajay had said, neither were quite comforting.

"Ajia!" Rico called up from deck, as he didn't really want to climb all the way up there. "Ya coming down from there today or what?"

Rico's voice mustered some attention, and she looked down to the deck. Her eyes stared down at him, an owlish look about their thought glazed hues. "Huh?" She shifted, leaning over the side a little to call out to him. "What"!" As with anyone who was thinking would agree, some can't think and listen at the same time.

"Are. You." Rico pointed at her with a grin. "Coming down here?"

Ajia found herself smiling slightly, her head bobbed in response. After a minute or two to gather her things, she was making her way down in a wet pair of jeans, boots, and a tank top, nothing special. When she hopped the rest of the way to the deck and stood before him, she simply murmured. "Hey."

"And hey to you." he smiled. "We're gonna have to go to the house, get you in some drier clothes." He glanced up as the rain let up and the clouds broke, revealing blue sky. Life in the tropics, it never rained for long. "Unless you were going for the wet look?"

"Don't like me wet?" She teased half heartily before looking over herself. "I suppose dry would be a wise idea."

"Dry is better. You won't feel so uncomfortable at dinner." Rico smiled as he led them towards the ramp off the Breeze. "So. How was Ajay?"

"I'd rather not talk about that right now, if that's alright?" It sounded like she was still deliberating about that, or the chat with Ajay had still kept her as unsettled as it had when he said what he said.

"Perfectly fine." he nodded understanding not wanting to talk about things until you had thought about them for a while.

She gave him another weak smile, moving with him every step of the way. "Was everything okay while we were gone?"

"Smooth as silk. Most of the crew had the weekend off. Wasn't much due in the way of cargo." he related as they walked down the dock towards the parking lot of the yards office. "Nothing that can't wait till Monday to deal with."

"Any big plans for this weekend?" There was always usually something that kept them busy, and most of the time it was work or Aja.

"No. It's going to be quiet in Arcadia this weekend for a change." Rico smiled. "Rare for this place really."

A gentle sigh left her," About time." She couldn't help but smile. "Do you think that everyone will be alright if we sorta hide from them this weekend?"

"Hide?" He raised a brow at Ajia then. "And we would want to do that because...?"

"I just want time with you is all, just time without having Aja tormenting either of us or making us work." She muttered," Also, I kinda want to get away from the family for a little bit." She looked to him a bit nervously. "Have something on my mind and I'd appreciate it if you were near while I thought about it."

"I figure Aja's going to be in Arcasa for the night given the time. And I didn't have any plans." he opened the truck door for her. "Work or otherwise. Maybe watching the football game on the TV and enjoying a new vintage of wine I found."

"A new vintage?" That distracted her for a moment while she climbed into the truck. She smiled softly to him, shut the door, and buckled herself in.

Rico went around and got into the truck picking up the conversation. "Yeah. One of the new suppliers send it along as a gift. I thought I'd open it this weekend, see if it's any good and maybe worth ordering for the liquor store next to the market."

"Okay, so wine and football then." She moved some wet hair from her face. "Sounds like a relaxing weekend."

"And cheese. I have cheese." he announced with a grin. "The Sexy Minion Stud drinks no wine without cheese." it was a joke but he found it amusing judging by the look on his face.

She eyed his look and shook her head lightly. "No night would be complete without it." A small grin formed on her lips. "Rico..?" Apparently she was ready to talk about a little of it."Why did you leave Avalon and Arcadia back then?"

"Before meeting Aja you mean?" he asked curious where she was going with that question. It's not as if the story of him meeting up with Aja and Tanner was much of a secret, but a lot of what led to that moment had been, at least to most people.

"Yeah. Why?" Her eyes fell on him, hardly able to contain her curiosity within them. "Just curious what made you ask." he said driving them the short distance to his new house. They had set it back along the cliff, through a small patch of wooded area, lending to more privacy than his previous house afforded.

"Ajay has made it clear that he had hoped to make our parents proud, and that Aja and—err...well more me I guess, would fill the role of a proper princess..." She paused, biting her tongue for a moment," To make our parents proud as well." Her eyes turned to the window and she sighed. "I was wondering if you left because of your duties to your home, or because of something else."

"Mother was more about the royal duties, given that it's her family that has held the crown for centuries." Rico smiled. "But she always allowed me to choose. I suppose I left to see the world more than anything."

"Is it wrong of me to be thinking that maybe I owe it to our parents to be a proper princess?" Her hair was in her face again as she spoke," Ajay was quite displeased with me when I mentioned that you and I had been sleeping together, said he hoped there would be a proper princess in the family. I would have been able to brush it off, if he hadn't brought my parents into the situation."

"Owe it to your parents?" Rico repeated as he put the truck in park. "I supposed if you're talking about family debt and duty, then we all owe a small measure to our families." He paused then and shook his head. "Some of us do, anyway."

Ajia turned to look to him once again. "Part of me is thinking that being responsible, honoring my parents and my family is right, down to me letting Ajay turn me into some prim, proper, courtly snot of a girl." She sighed," But another part of me is afraid, because if I let Ajay get his hands on me, I may lose myself....may lose you....I don't know. I don't know what to do, I want to make my parents proud, but I don't know what they'd want me to do." She hated that, not being sure of anything. "If this were different, if they had never died, you would have met me in the royal court along side my sister and not on a ship or on a dock." Once again she paused. "And chances are your mother and father would have arranged something with my mother and father, and you would have been betrothed to either Aja or myself, but in all honesty....Would you even be interested in either of us if we were prim and proper little princesses that giggled and swooned at the simplest smile or wink?"

There was something funny about the image of Aja being a princess and Rico started laughing loudly about it. It wasn't something his brain could compute very well.

Once he settled down he smiled at Ajia. "I don't even know how to answer that. I know you both as different people. Not as any sort of royalty." he smiled. "I don't even see myself as royalty."

"But you are....and someday you're mother is going to want to hand the crown over to you." She paused," And she'll want you to be with someone proper too."

"Aye. She will." He conceded that point about the crown. "As for being with anyone, mother's stated that sometimes, it's best to rule alone than to entrust anyone else with the honor." Of course, Mami had said it mostly after Richard had died. So he wondered if she was just saying it for her own benefit. He never had asked her.

"I don't think your mother quite likes me." She couldn't help but point out. "I don't think she expected me of all personalities to be someone you'd go steady with. Maybe she was half hoping you'd find yourself someone pretty with no brains, or someone who knew better than to speak up about things." She simply sighed. "The last time your mother and I spoke it wasn't quite the fondest of conversations.?