Long ago, in a kingdom which no longer exists, there ruled a cruel queen by the name of Nami. Her subjects feared her, for she was a powerful sorceress. Should they attempt a revolt, they would be transformed into animals, have their limbs taken away, or—if the queen was in a particularly awful mood—brought to execution on the castle grounds.
In addition, Queen Nami was very vain and often spent hours simply gazing upon her visage in mirrors. Despite her disposition towards tyranny, she was indeed very cute and beautiful. Her hair was orange and long, though she usually wore it in a bun or braid; her eyes were like fine copper; her lips were full; and her skin was pale and smooth. For a year, or perhaps two, she'd had a magic mirror through circumstances which eventually shall be explained. Every day she would approach the mirror, perhaps even twice or thrice, and ask the same thing:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the cutest of them all?"
And the mirror would respond:
"The cutest in the land is you, for speaking truth is all I can do."
Due to past events, she was also stepmother to a boy named Luffy, the prince. Although she was his legal guardian, he had been raised by the castle servants for the most part, with a few set rules from the queen, such as don't make messes, don't be loud, and don't leave the castle grounds. He had later become good friends with the court jester, who was a few years older than him, but at this time the jester had been missing for a year, or perhaps two. Insistent questioning on his whereabouts had only led to a slap on the face and no dinner for two days.
As Prince Luffy grew, his looks became cuter and cuter until they rivaled the queen's. She did not notice for many years, for she only paid attention to her own face. His skin was tan, unlike the queen's; his eyes were darker as well, like chocolate; his hair was black like his father's had been, and in a constant state of messiness, much to his stepmother's chagrin; and his smile was like a thousand suns.
One stormy evening, a knock on the castle doors brought Queen Nami to the entrance hall. Outside she found a peasant man wearing a cloak, dripping with rainwater, and shivering in the cold.
"Begging your pardon, meine Königin," he said through chattering teeth. "I'm seeking shelter from the rain. Would you permit me to stay for the night?"
"Absolutely not," Nami said frostily as she disdainfully eyed his shabby clothing.
"Please," the peasant begged, bowing low. "I will stay in the worst room with the most tattered blankets if I must, as long as there is a roof over my head."
Nami opened her mouth to refuse him again when from behind her came a voice.
"Let him in!"
She turned and the peasant looked up. Luffy stood there with his hands in his pockets.
"It's just one night, right?" Luffy asked, frowning at Nami. "If he can't afford a home of his own, this is the very least we can do."
"A proper ruler," Nami said with dignity, "does not simply allow whomever they please into the castle. They must be of good standing and—"
"That doesn't sound like a proper ruler at all, if you ask me," Luffy remarked. "Shouldn't we help our subjects whenever we can?"
Nami was struck speechless with indignance and Luffy took the opportunity to smile at the peasant. "Come in, Herr Pennbruder. You may stay in my room."
"Thank you, mein Prinz," the peasant said gratefully, and followed Luffy into the castle, leaving a fuming Nami behind. Luffy was sure to receive a punishment for this later.
"Would you like to bathe before bed?" Luffy asked, remembering his manners.
"I wouldn't want to impose," the peasant protested.
"Well, you smell terrible. Go take a bath anyway."
The man couldn't help but smile at this. "Thank you, mein Prinz."
"And drop that title, just call me Luffy," Luffy added cheerfully.
He led the peasant to the bathroom. "I'll leave a nightgown and drawers outside," he offered. "My room is the last door on the left side."
The peasant gave him a grateful bow. Luffy offered a smile in return and went off to his room.
Luffy was starting to get worried when there was finally a knock at his door and the peasant entered, wearing the clothes he'd been given. On one arm he held his folded cloak and undergarments.
"There you are," Luffy said in relief.
"I . . . may have entered the wrong door . . . two or three times," the peasant admitted, shutting the door. Luffy turned on the lamp and was delighted to finally see the face of his guest without the shadows of the cloak. It was now clear that his skin was tan with obvious muscles, his face had a slightly squared jaw, his eyes were narrow and dark gray like granite, and—perhaps most surprising of all—his hair looked like grass after the last winter snow melted.
"I love your hair," Luffy exclaimed happily. "It's such a wonderful shade of green!"
"I—thank you," the peasant said, startled, for no one had complimented his hair before.
"May I touch it?" Luffy jumped off his bed and went for the man expectantly.
"If . . . if you like."
Luffy proceeded to rub his hands all over the man's scalp. "It's so soft," he said in wonder.
Likewise, the peasant was struck by Luffy's bright smile. It was like the lamp wasn't even necessary.
"What's your name?" Luffy asked cheerfully, removing his hands and leaving a very red face behind.
"Zoro Roronoa."
"Herr Zoro, then," Luffy said decidedly.
"Just Zoro is fine."
"Zoro it is!"
There came another knock at the door.
"Come in," Luffy said, and the door swung open to reveal a blond man. His hair was swept in front of his left eye, which must have been blue like his right. Oddly enough, his visible eyebrow curled into a spiral upwards on the outside. He held a lamp in one hand as he stood in the doorway.
"'Lo, Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Prinz Luffy," he greeted with a smile. He turned to Zoro with a frown, eyeing his hair disdainfully. "And you are?"
"Zoro Roronoa," Zoro replied.
Sanji grunted in response and turned back to Luffy. "Mein Prinz, Königin Nami has asked me to inform you that you will go without dinner tomorrow night for letting 'the peasant' stay in the castle."
"What?! Not again," Luffy groaned.
Sanji sighed. "You know I would not disobey her. On a completely unrelated topic, I'm going to leave a plate of leftovers out back after dinner. It's meant to feed the wild animals, but . . . well, it's hardly my fault if someone happened upon it and took the food for themselves, right?"
Luffy grinned. "Sanji, you're the best."
Sanji grinned in response.
"Oh, by the by—would you have these washed?" Luffy grabbed Zoro's dirty clothes and held them out.
"Of course, mein Prinz," Sanji replied, taking the bundle with a faintly disgusted expression. "Good night, and sleep well." He glanced at Zoro again with narrowed eyes before stepping out.
"That was . . . ?"
"Sanji," Luffy said cheerfully. "He's really nice. He loves stepmother for whatever reason, so he always listens to her, but he hardly ever lets me go hungry, even if she tells him not to feed me for a night or two."
He looked at Zoro in wonder. "You must be awfully brave to ask shelter from her. Isn't everyone afraid of her?"
"I was desperate," Zoro admitted. "I hadn't had a roof over my head for many days."
"That sounds terrible," Luffy said, and quite unexpectedly he hugged Zoro around the middle. "We should get to sleep. Stepmother gets mad at me if I'm awake for too long."
"Right," Zoro said, a bit embarrassed. Unsure of what to do, he considered hugging Luffy back, but then Luffy released him and hopped backwards onto the bed.
Zoro began to lay on the floor, but Luffy leaned over and said, "What are you doing?"
"Wasn't I meant to sleep here?" Zoro asked in confusion.
Luffy frowned in surprise. "I won't let you sleep on the floor!"
"But there is only one bed, where shall I—?"
"Get up here. It's big enough." Luffy rolled over and waited.
Zoro slowly straightened up and climbed onto the bed, feeling rather awkward. "Are you sure, mei—Luffy?"
Luffy grinned. "Yeah, it's fine."
Zoro got under the covers and laid his head on the soft pillow. He felt warmer and safer than he had in a long while.
He was just becoming drowsy when Luffy said suddenly, "Stepmother once told me that only people married to each other share a bed."
Zoro's eyes flew open and he stared at Luffy in embarrassment.
"Why did you feel the need to bring that up?" he muttered.
Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. It just popped into my head. Anyway, good night, Zoro."
And he was asleep within minutes. Zoro stared at him in disbelief and stared at the ceiling again. Soon, he too entered the land of nod and enjoyed the most peaceful sleep he'd had in many moons.
When dawn broke, Luffy and Zoro were awoken suddenly by a fierce knocking.
"Come in," Luffy said sleepily.
Nami opened the door and her eyes fell upon Zoro, sitting up in the bed. Her eyes flashed.
"What is going on here?" she asked sweetly.
Zoro glanced between the queen and the prince nervously, realizing immediately what the situation looked like.
"I didn't want Zoro to sleep on the floor, so I let him sleep in my bed," Luffy said, looking at Nami defiantly. "I know we're not married, but sleeping next to each other for one night shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Nami sighed. "Of course, you are too foolish to even think of that," she muttered. She glared at Zoro. "Herr Zoro, was it?"
"Yes, meine Königin," Zoro murmured, not wishing to upset her.
"Get back into your own clothes and leave. I expect you out of this castle within the hour."
He nodded respectfully and she left with a swoosh of her dress.
"I don't want you to leave," Luffy admitted as Zoro got out of the bed.
Zoro chuckled. "That's very kind of you, but Königin Nami is known for her cruelty. A terrible fate may await me if I don't leave soon."
"I'll go get your clothes," Luffy offered, climbing out of bed. "They should be clean by now."
Before Zoro could even thank him, he was out the door.
"Here—"
As Zoro was leaving, he turned and was startled to see Luffy shoving a small bag into his hands.
"Food for your travels," he explained. "I convinced Sanji to give up some leftovers."
"Thank you," Zoro said in surprise.
Luffy hugged him again. This time, he whispered into Zoro's ear, "Come back tomorrow. I'll meet you on the lawn behind the castle."
"Okay," Zoro whispered back.
Luffy pulled back and grinned. "Goodbye," he said cheerfully.
Zoro waved, smiled back, and was on his way—for the time being.
From her window, the queen watched them disdainfully.
"Disgraceful."
Come back Thursday for a new chapter!