"You're selling us.", said the redhead angrily. "You can't do that, we didn't agree to this."

"No, I'm giving you both a chance at a future that doesn't involve living on the streets and fighting just to get your next meal.", sighed Nojiko. "Nami, be realistic. We can't survive like this forever. Living in a rundown shack with a handful of orphaned, teenage girls, and trying to get enough money to just survive. This is what's best."

"You're my sister and you're just handing me over to the same kingdom that let Bellamere get killed and that destroyed Robin's home and you expect us to just go along with it! I'd rather die!", yelled the younger woman.

"Nami, plea-", tried the purple-haired woman again, placing her hand on her little sister's shoulder.

"No. We'll run away, we can survive without you if we have to. We, we...", said Nami angrily as tears leaked from her chocolate brown eyes, pulling away from the woman's touch. "Robin, say something.", begged the girl, turning her eyes to her best friend, hoping she could pull out one of the brilliant plans that had managed to keep them alive for years.

"When do we leave?", asked the raven-haired woman stoically.

"Robin.", said the redhead brokenly, the tears distorting her voice.

"Nami, Nojiko is right, this is the best way for us to survive.", she said quietly. "It will aid in helping the other girls to live nicely with the money that Their Majesties have offered for our hands in marriage to their heirs.", she added.

"But, Robin.", said Nami again, the hurt from the older girl's betrayal clear in her shaking voice.

"You should pack, Nami.", she said, turning and walking through the rundown house towards the bedroom she had shared with the redhead for years. "I'm sure the princes will want to meet us soon."

We'll die if we don't take this chance; that's unacceptable. I, I have to survive so that I can find out what my mother and all the other scholars were killed for trying to find. Yes, this is just another step to reaching that goal, and it'll will keep Nami safe., she thought as she continued walking. "We don't have any other option."

"So what's your name, you never told me?"

"They didn't tell you?", asked Robin venomously, giving the green-haired man a glare from her seat on the bench.

"They did, but names are important, so I'd rather hear you introduce yourself.", smirked the prince. "I'm Zoro, Roronoa Zoro.", he added confidently, offering his hand for her to shake.

She stared at the proffered hand for several beats before reluctantly shaking it. "Nico Robin.", she said in the same clipped tone she had been using since she had been brought there this morning. She had to admit that the man before her was a surprise if nothing else. Barely even in his twenties and not the least bit perturbed that she was nine years older than him as well as seemingly uninteresting in anything to do with inheriting a kingdom and politics, or really anything aside from swordsmanship she guessed judging by the threes shining katana hanging from his waist. He wasn't a pompous fool because of his status like most royals, more like, prideful in the skills he knew he possessed and confident in himself alone as opposed to his title. He also didn't seem the least but upset about her coldness, in fact he seemed unnaturally happy about it ever since he had first offered to take her to a quiet place for them to talk.

"Hehe."

"Would you mind telling me what's so amusing, Your Highness?", asked the raven-haired woman.

"You don't have to call me that.", said Zoro sternly as he tried to hide his blush by giving her a pointed look. "I mean, we're gonna be married so you should get used to calling me Zoro."

"Yes, Your Highness.", she answered sweetly, smirking as the young man's face reddened slightly at the title once again.

"You really are something you know that."

"I must be, since the opposite would be nothing and I clearly exist."

"Haha. Now that's definitely an improvement."

"Pardon?", she asked, confused by the prince's sentiment as he crouched down in front of her.

"I told those idiots that if they kept bringing these frightened maidens that were barely out of their childhood in front of me that I would make certain that no woman would ever want to marry me. They made me make a list of qualities I would want in my hypothetical future wife which just so happened to be as close to impossible as it gets, or so I thought.", said the green-haired man.

"And why's that so amusing?"

"Because they found you.", said Zoro simply, staring up at her. "I did my darnedest to make sure that they would never find me a woman to marry and yet, here you are; it's funny.", he said with slight chuckle.

"What specifications did I meet exactly?", she asked, curious despite herself

"You're older than me for one as opposed to barely in your teens, you're not a stuck-up noble's daughter, and despite what your life on the streets would have me believe, I can tell you're smarter and have way more knowledge than anyone in this freaking place.", said the man. "And despite me being a prince, it hasn't shaken you. In fact, you seem to not even want to be here even though you were given a choice on whether to except my offer or not."

"You must live, Robin!" "You never have a choice.", whispered the blue-eyed woman, rising from her seat and brushing past the young man. She walked across the rich grass of the secluded garden the swordsman had brought her to, trying to repress the memories of burning islands and a tear-stained face that looked remarkably similar to her own. She jerked her arm away when she felt the sudden grip from behind her. "Don't touch me.", she spat, stepping away from the green-haired teen who stared on stone-faced despite her outburst. "You know what would have happened if I hadn't agreed to this sham of a marriage, I would have died. That's what happened when you defy power, you have everything taken away from you by people who don't even understand why they're killing.", she said bitterly.

"What happened?", asked Zoro calmly.

"Ya know yer pretty cute when you laugh, you should do more often." "Happy Birthday, Robin!" "I'm so proud of you." "I had everything taken away from me twenty years ago by this kingdom's military force, your kingdom's military force.", she answered. "Anything that could threatened their rule is eradicated without a second thought to the lives they destroy and the damage they leave in their wake."

"You blame me for something that I wasn't even alive to witness, let alone prevent.", stated Zoro. "That seems a little unfair, don't you think?".

Robin turned away, she knew that he was right on some level, it wasn't fair of her to blame him for the sins of his predecessors. She didn't even know this man, boy practically, and she wasn't entirely sure what to make of the muscular, moss- headed prince in front of her in the first place."Ha, that's rich coming from you.", laughed Robin, smirking a the young man. "Please tell me all about how you know what's unjust and what's not. How unfair your life is when you have the power to do whatever you wish."

"I'm no-", he started, taken aback by his 'fiancee's' sudden anger. He understood that this wasn't the ideal situation, that she didn't want to be here with him, but he would change that. He would do everything he could to make sure she was happy, even if it took some time and more than a little effort. He wanted the chance to find out who the stranger was that had met all of his wildest demands for a partner.

"Tell me about how everyone you ever loved was taken away from you and your home burned, leaving you all alone.", she yelled, the words pouring out despite herself. "Tell me about how you were forced to live on the streets, not knowing if you'd survive to the next day." She had only spoken of her home of Ohara on a couple occasions back when she had joined up with Nami and her older sister when she was twenty-four. The redhead had confided in her late one night about how her foster mother had been gunned down by a group of criminals that wanted to make a base of her home village as she and Nojiko watched from the sidelines and then subsequently asked how Robin had ended up on the streets as well, but that was it.

The tragedy never left her mind, it was always there, haunting her no matter how much she wanted to be rid of it, and then eating at her for daring to want peace by forgetting the mother and friends that had died while she escaped. She had survived, and now she had to keep them in her mind so that she wouldn't forget her purpose; to find out what the scholars had been on the verge of completing, the Poneglyphs. That's why she had to accept the proposal, she couldn't die without completing the work that her mother, the Professor, and every other archaeologist has died for daring to search for. She was all that remained, she had to find the answers. "You don't understand anything.", she whispered.

"Then freaking explain it.", he said harshly. "You're right, I don't know anything about what happened in the past or anything about you, Robin. I'm listening, so tell me, I'd love to hear it."

"Like you'd care."

"You know for someone so fixated on the past you sure assume you know a lot about mine.", he bit out. "You know I didn't become a 'prince' until I tried to kill Mihawk and he decided to adopt me as his son and train me despite me still wanting to overthrow him and become the best swordsman. And up until he decided to take Shanks' offer of an alliance, I had nothing to do with this kingdom or anything it had done or allowed to happen, or whatever in the past; I still don't."

"So you want nothing to do with succeeding you father and becoming king?", asked the archaeologist.

"They could let that pink-haired brat be ruler for all I care."

"Why agree to cooperate with this arrangement then if you don't want to rule?"

"Same as you, it gets me closer to my goal of beating that jerk if I cooperate.", answered the swordsman, stepping closer to her. "And it's a nice thought isn't it, finding someone to have beside you when you reach that goal? All I've had was Luffy to really depend on."

"One of the Four Great Kings', Shanks', heir, correct?"

"Yeah.", agreed Zoro with a gentle smile as he thought of the rambunctious teen. "We met two years ago when Mihawk agreed to combine his territory and forces with Shanks' and he decided that we would be oath brothers back then. We've been together ever since. I never knew who my real parents were or if I had any siblings or a home and then Koshiro took me in as a kid and let me train at the dojo he ran, but I couldn't stay there after...the accident. When I finally hunted down the supposed greatest swordsman in the world, Mihawk, who happened to be the king of a pretty small territory compared to Shanks' like the other Seven Lesser Rulers. He sliced my chest open when I attacked him and almost killed me.", said Zoro, his hand absently moving to his chest, feeling the jagged mark beneath his shirt. "He said he'd let me live though because of the potential he saw and when I asked for him to teach me, he didn't turn me away even when I admitted to still wanting to defeat him and claim his title."

"Why are you telling me this?", asked Robin, not understanding how the green-haired swordsman was still wanting to talk with her after she shamelessly accused him of being the cause of her life's tragedy.

"I still fully intend on you being my wife, so I have nothing to hide from you, Robin. It's fine if you're not ready to tell me everything about what happened to you, but I will make you trust me no matter what and I promise right now that I won't keep anything from you. No secrets."

"Why do you even care if I trust you, I already agreed to marry you."

"That's not really my style.", answered the young prince, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he spoke. "I guess a part of me wants to get to know you, too."

"This is just a stepping stone to my goal, Zoro. I'm not changing my mind about what this marriage is or this kingdom.", stated Robin firmly.

"Fine, marry me and after I've defeated Mihawk and it's been a few years so you can avoid suspicion, kill me in my sleep and change this world if you still think it's so terrible.", said the swordsman, turning and heading back towards the castle entrance.

"You're offering to let me kill you?", asked the historian, incredulously.

"Yeah, if that's what you want."

"Why would yo-"

"Because that gives me a few years to convince you that I'm worth keeping around, which I'm planning on.", said the swordsman, smirking over his shoulder at her. "And worst case scenario I reach my dream and get to have a couple happy years with you, that doesn't sound like a terrible way to go if you ask me.", he added before turning back around. "You're room's the one adjoining mine; just ask someone if you can't find it."

Robin watched as the one-eyed man walked back towards the dark castle she now called home curiously. She had accused him of crimes he didn't commit, rejected his attempts to get closer to her, and then not even objected when he suggested she kill him. She still had no idea what to make of the man she thought as she took a seat on the bench once again. I wonder if Nami's faring any better with Luffy.

A/N: Okay, so this is the first chapter to BloodyME's requested arranged marriage fic. This is obviously an AU since there has to be someone or some power that can arrange a marriage which I couldn't see happening with Zoro and Robin in the cannon O.P. world, although I tried to keep as many details as possible from their pasts and what not the same. Sorry this took so long to get up, I wrestled with exactly how I wanted to handle this fic and just now got the plot ironed out, so I hope you enjoyed this start.