You had been a princess since you were born but, hated it. Ever since you were little all you wanted was to do what you wanted, to have fun and just be like any other kid. More then that, you wanted to explore and be a pirate! You had, had the dream since you first met Blackbeard, it was a surprising encounter because he wasn't quite as evil and cruel as he was portrayed by the law. He actually helped you to have a little bit of fun as a kid. But, after a while he had to leave.

Its been years since then, you had grown into a beautiful young woman, raised and trained to be a princess and eventually a queen. Your dream to be a pirate had by no means died, but it was in jeopardy. Not long after your seventeenth birthday your parents had told you that they were going to find a young prince and arrange a marriage. Luckily there weren't any princes on islands nearby so they had to expand their search which would take more time. By that time you were hoping that the boat you had been working on would be complete.

A few weeks later your parents had found a prince and decided to set out to meet both him and his parents. They left you behind to take care of the island while they were away. Nothin much ever happened on the island so you went down and continued to work on the boat when all of a sudden you heard a commotion. You ran to the center of town to see people running around, "Whats going on?!" You ask stopping one of them.

"PIRATES!" They yelled and ran off.

You ran to the beach and saw a boat in the harbor but couldn't really tell who's it was, the only pirates your little island knew about were ones that had been there. You looked around and didn't see anyone then noticed, it had gotten quiet. You ran back to town and...things were back to normal. You were more confused then before as you walked through town, "I thought there were pirates." You said approaching one of the civilians.

"They are but it turns out that their captain was a close friend of Shanks. And you know he was a good judge of personality." The woman said picking up a little girl who had scrapped her knee.

"True, could you tell me where they are?" You asked now curious to meet this pirate crew and their captain.

"They went to the ice cream parlor." The woman said rocking the little girl to calm her down.

"Thank you." You said with a bow as you headed over to the parlor. When you walked in there was a mountain of bowls and almost all of the ice cream was gone, "What happened here?"

"Boy, their captain is like a bottomless pit." The manager said taking some of the bowls to the back.

"Do you need any help?" You asked looking around.

"No need to worry about me Princess Ayame. I would be more worried about getting back to the palace." The manager said beginning to clean the counter top.

"I'm not that worried about the palace, could you give me a cone of the usual?" You asked laying money on the counter.

"You should be, cause those pirates went to see you." He said handing you the ice cream.

"OH GEEZ!" You yell turning to run out the door, "Oh, thank you!" You say turning and bowing before running out the door ice cream in hand.

You ran to the palace eating your ice cream along the way but by the time you got there they were gone.

"LOOK AT THAT BOAT!" You heard from the direction the boat you had been building was. You darted in the direction and began running as fast as you could finishing off your ice cream along the way.

"I wonder who built it. It looks like they have been working on it for a while." Another voice said as you got closer.

"A couple things could use work." You heard another voice say.

"What do I need to work on?" You ask pushing the last tree branches out of the way.

"You built it?" A man with green hair and three swords tired around his hip asked.

You nod, "I've been working on it for years." You say approaching the boat.

"ITS AMAZING!" A man with black hair wearing a straw hat exclaimed.

You blush slightly, "Thank you. Its almost done, then I can get off this island."

"Why would a princess want to leave her island?" A woman with black hair asked.

"Wait...shes the princess?" The woman with orange hair asked.

You looked down at yourself, it was no wonder why the others didn't know, you were a mess! "Oh, I better go get cleaned up, you can all come back to the palace if you want." You said with a smile.

"Will there be food?!" Three of them said in unison.

"Of course! Besides, its almost dinner time." You said with a sweet smile.

"THANK YOU!" The straw hated man exclaimed before hugging you.

You blushed a dark red, "Your welcome." You said returning the hug.

"LETS GO!" He then exclaimed grabbing your hand and running toward the palace, the others right behind him.

~~~~~A Couple Hours Later~~~~~

Dinner was ready and the blonde man had even helped and prepared some food as well. The trumpets sound to signal that dinner was ready, you heard the others rush into the dining room.

"PRESENTING HER HIGHNESS: PRINCESS AYAME NAKAHARA!" One of the servants yelled as the double doors in front of you opened.

The crew's attention turned to the doors and all their eyes went wide as you stepped forward into the light. You stood in a beautiful yellow dress with patters of your favorite flowers. Your mid back length brown hair up in a bun. Blush now appearing on your cheeks, "Is something wrong?" You ask looking down at yourself.

The blonde man was on one knee in front of you with a red rose, "My beautiful princess, I will be your servant forever!"

The orange haired woman punched the back of the blonde man's head, "Please excuse Sanji." She said with a smile.

"That reminds me, we forgot to do introductions earlier." You say with a smile, "As you heard, my name is Ayame Nakahara, you can call me Aya for short." You say with a small bow.

"I'm Nami." The girl who just hit Sanji said with a little bow of her own.

"My name is Robin." The woman with black hair said from the table with a wave.

You felt a tug on your dress and looked down, "Your so cute!" You say kneeling down and petting the small animal before you.

"My name is, Chopper. I'm a reindeer." He said with a smile.

"You talk?!" You ask a little wide eyed and shocked.

"Hes our doctor! Oh, I'm the great pirate Usoff!" The man with curly black hair and long nose said.

By this time the blonde was back on his feet again kneeling before you but this time he had taken your hand and kissed it, "My name is Sanji. I'm the cook, I'll make you anything your gorgeous heart desires." He said with a smile.

You stood back up, "Thank you." You said before walking over to the table.

"He is my swordsman Zolo, and I'm the captain, Monkey D. Luffy!" The man with black hair said.

You smiled, "Its wonderful to meet all of you, now lets eat before it gets cold." You say before walking to the head of the table.

"YAY!" Luffy exclaimed and instantly began eating. The others began to dive in as well.

You couldn't help but smile, it was nice to have guests even better that they were pirates.

A little while later the food was gone and everyone was leaning back in their chair with full bellies.

"How about you guys spend the night here tonight?" You asked with a smile.

"Wouldn't you get in trouble?" Nami asked.

"The people here don't mind since Luffy was friends with Shanks. He was a good man to us here and helped with our own little pirate problem." You explained, "Especially me and my family, we would all be dead if it weren't for him." You say a tear running down your cheek, "Its the only way I feel I can repay him now for what he did, other then becoming a pirate myself. And I want to but..." You say looking down another tear running down your cheek. "I'm sorry, don't worry about me. Rooms and baths are upstairs." You say wiping away the tears and smiling, soon everyone had left but Luffy.

"Did Shanks ever mention me?" He asked moving closer to you.

"I think that, it all happened before he met you. Thinking about it now, I can barely remember but I remember that straw hat..." You said standing as your hand reached out your fingers moving gently over the rim of the straw hat.

"Oh...hey, why did you go quiet earlier?" He asked looking up at you.

"Its nothing, don't worry about it." You said with a smile, "If you will excuse me, I need to get ready for bed." You said before you walked towards the double doors.

Suddenly you felt something grab your arm, you looked down to see a hand then followed it...all...the way...back to...Luffy's seat. Your jaw dropped, "Your not excused for two reasons: 1) Your going to tell me why you fell silent and began to cry. 2) We're going out for ice cream!" He said getting up and running towards you. Your jaw was still dropped as you just stared at him for a little bit longer, "Is something wrong?" He asked looking at you confused.

You finally regained your composure and cleared your throat., "Pardon me staring, I've just never met someone who had eaten a devil fruit before." You say as he began to pull you through the double doors and to the front doors.

"Yea, I ate the gum-gum fruit when I was little." He said with a grin as he pulled you out of the palace.

"My shoes..." You said then sighed, "Oh well..."

Suddenly you were picked up bridal style, "This'll get us there faster." Luffy said before he started running.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and hung on until he stopped, "Were here? Already?" You asked now looking up to see the ice cream parlor sign. "Wow, your fast."

Luffy just grinned and carried you inside, "I'm back!" He announced to the manager.

"I don't have enough made to feed you again!" The manager said from behind the counter.

"I just ate a bit ago, I'm just here to get a cone for me and the princess!" Luffy said with a grin approaching the counter.

You blush a dark red since he was still carrying you and your hair had come out of the bun it had been in.

"Alright, here's your usual Aya." The manager said handing you a cone, "I'll let this one be on the house." He said with a smile.

"Cool! Thanks!" Luffy said turning around and walking out the door.

"What about you?" You ask looking up at him.

"I'm sharing with you." He said with a grin as he began to head down to the beach.

You blushed at dark red.

~~~~~A Little Bit Later At The Beach~~~~~

You looked around a little confused, "Why are we here?" You asked holding up the last bit of the ice cream for him to have.

"I want to show you something." He said before taking the last bite. He suddenly jumped making you squeak slightly and close your eyes, he then landed on what you heard to be wood.

You opened your eyes and looked around in amazement, you were on his boat. He put you down and you instantly began exploring and even climbed up into the crows nest.

"So, what do you think?" Luffy said from behind you.

"I love it! I wish I could go out to sea with you! Get away from my family and the stupid arranged marriage." You gasped and covered your mouth.

"So that's what it was." Luffy said now beside you.

You look away from him, "Yes, that's the reason why I can't leave. My parents found a prince a few islands away and went to go meet him, that's why their not here right now."

"What if I said, that you could come with me and my crew?" Luffy said looking out to the sea.

You looked at him surprised but with hope glistening in your eyes, "Really?!"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it! But its your choice." Luffy said now turning to you, "You don't have to tell me now, since we're leaving tomorrow at noon, I'll know by if your there or not."

You shiver slightly because of the cold chill of the night then felt a pair of warm strong arms wrap around you, "Luffy?"

"Come on, lets get you home." He said with a grin before picking you up again and running you home.

~~~~~The Next Day Shortly Before Noon~~~~~

"Where is she?" Luffy mumbled pacing back and forth.

"She may have decided to stay, like Vivi." Nami said leaning again the side railing.

"She'll be here! I could tell she would!" Luffy said as he continued to pace.

"Luffy, its noon, we have to go." Zolo said putting a hand on his captains shoulder.

Luffy looked up at the palace and sighed, just as he turned he heard, "WAIT FOR ME!" He turned back to see you running toward the boat, "I'M COMING WITH YOU CAPTAIN!" You yelled.

Luffy grinned, stretched out one of his arms, grabbed you, and pulled you onto the ship, "I KNEW YOU'D COME!" He exclaimed.

Soon after you were on board you ran over and hugged him, "Thank you, so much."

He hugged you back and kissed your forehead, "Thank you for coming with me."