Full Summary: Luffy ends up becoming the maid for a mysterious man. While it means she won't be living poorly anymore, she soon discovers her employer's dark desires and his even darker background. Will she survive serving for the man known as Sir Crocodile? Fem!Luffy Early 1900s AU

Rating: Mostly rated T, but also M for trash chapters. So much trash. Crocodile deserves as much smutty trash as he can get. M rated chapters for upcoming sexual content. I will mark a warning in the chapters that contain as such, so that readers who only want to stick to "T" rated material can skip over.

To serve at his Command| Pickpocketing the Wrong Man

1905

Dearest Grandfather,

I just received your letter—yes, everything is alright. How many times must I stress this? Do not worry for my sake for it won't fair well for your health. Everything is perfectly fine.

I'm happy to share that since last writing to you, I managed to find employment as a baker's apprentice. It requires little on my part—nothing that you need to worry about. My employer is kind and even though the pay is minimal, I will send as much as I can. Please do not worry: I'm alright, Grandfather.

Upon your request, I will state I'm in good health. I manage to eat twice a day—sometimes thrice if it's a profitable day at work.

Nothing important has happened in my life besides my state of employment since last writing you. The city life proves interesting as always, and I manage to befriend somebody new every week.

How is your health? And Ace? Has there been any word from him? I do worry about him, but I will always have confidence in his decisions. If he believes this is the best route for him to follow, who am I to argue?

I will write to you again, soon. I promise. Take care, Grandfather, and again, do not worry. I'll send money soon.

Yours always,

Luffy.

Placing the pen down, Luffy stared at the letter. Her finger ran across the dried ink slowly, feeling the depressions and grooves of her writing. Biting down on her lower lip, she quickly folded it up and slipped it into the small envelope.

A hand touched her shoulder, gently. "Almost done?" His voice was soft. "I'm about to head out soon, so if you're done, best better hand it over."

Glancing up, Luffy smiled softly. "Yes, Shanks," she answered, handing over the light envelope. "I can't thank you enough for mailing these out for me—"

The older male shook his hand dismissingly. "Don't worry about it," he stressed, taking the letter and stuffing it into his shirt pocket. Cocking a brow, Shanks pulled away from her desk and went to lean against the wall. "What'd you tell him this time?"

Luffy forced a small smile. "I told him I found a job as a baker's apprentice."

The man smirked, shaking his head slowly. "That's a terrible lie, but it isn't the worse thing you've come up with."

Arising from her seat, Luffy quickly pushed her chair in and responded. "Better that than tell him the truth. He would worry himself to an early grave if I ever told him what I'm actually doing."

Shanks shrugged. "It isn't that bad." When she pushed past him towards the doorframe, he followed suit. "I mean, you don't have to tell him the whole truth."

Pausing, Luffy cocked her head back to send her dear friend a weak look. "I would argue with you more, but as you know, he's waiting for me."

Shanks wiggled his brows, fighting back a chuckle. "Can't keep that clown waiting, can we, huh?" He offered Luffy a small side hug and bided her farewell. "I should be back by the end of the week." And with that, he left.

If there is ever a kind man in my life, it is him, Luffy thought, watching him through the window of her employer's small home. It wasn't much, but it offered warmth, some food, and most importantly: safety from the streets.

Sighing, Luffy pulled away from the window and went for the backroom, where he was waiting. As she drew near, she could smell the faint trace of fish oil, spices, and chalk: different ingredients used to create the make-up. Widening her stare, she entered the preparation room, meeting a pair of round angry eyes.

"Finally!" a voice snapped. "We're late."

"Sorry," Luffy muttered as she went for her outfit: a puffy little dress of white with even whiter stalkings. "I was writing my grandfather."

"Sure, sure," the man huffed, heading for a cracked mirror. She watched as he fixed his blue hair before working on his bright red nose. "The only reason you can write him now is because I took you in." He shot her a side glance. "Ain't easy feeding and housing you, you know? You need to help out more."

Nodding quickly, Luffy fumbled into her outfit. After, she took to the mirror beside the man. "Buggy, can you help me with the make-up again; you're much better at it than I will ever be."

Buggy nodded in agreement to that. "You need to work on that," he commented before splashing a handful of white powder across her face. "You'd make a terrible clown on your own," he continued, rubbing the thick substance upon her skin. He soon added in the finishing touches: bright pink cheeks, dark little lashes, blood red lips. "A killer clown," he muttered to himself, almost proud of his work. Shrugging, he glanced towards the door. "It's about time to start the show."

Touching her new face, Luffy nodded. "Hopefully, we'll draw in a rich crowd today."

Cocking his stare back towards her, Buggy smirked. "Better pray for that if you want to eat tonight."

Luffy never took Buggy's threats seriously. Even if they did do poorly in collecting coin, he did provide her with a fine dinner most nights. If not for him and Shanks, I'd be living on the streets…The clown was a strange man, and even if it seemed unlikely, he had a soft heart to him at times, deep down inside. "Let's go, then," she spoke softly, following after him and out of his broken down house.

Buggy drew in a crowd easily, performing silly tricks and even sillier gestures. Sometimes he'd balance himself upon a round ball, juggling knives all the while. Other times, he'd draw in the crowds with magic—mere illusions, but interesting to witness nonetheless. Buggy the clown knew how to entertain, and if Luffy were not his assistant, she would gladly watch him any day.

But that wasn't the case.

With round innocent eyes and a bright white smile, she'd assist him in whatever his needs be. It was her job to play the part as the "cute assistant," as Shanks had put it, giving the crowd a wink here and there. We draw them in, and then rob them blind…

Cocking her head, Luffy did a quick spin, making sure to observe those who had stopped to watch the show: young children, old grandparents, couples, and everybody in between. While it was much easier to pick the pockets of the elderly, Buggy always stressed the importance of the rich.

"The rich will make more profit than any handful of old geezers," Buggy would always stress to her. If there ever happened to be somebody of high status at one of their side-street performances, it was her job to deal with them.

Stopping to pose, Luffy glanced up at the crowd, blinking as she took in every face. Wide eyes stared back at her, wide and happy and full of excitement. They were eating her and Buggy up, taking in every move and gesture and magical trick. Pulling back, she quickly pointed at the clown for the crowd to focus on.

Luffy's eyes found him easily then as she circled the crowd as a vulture would circle its prey. He stood taller than the rest, confidence in his stance. As she slowly crept around the group, she made sure to never remove her probing stare from his face, taking in the deep scare that cut across his hard facial expression. His coat hung off his shoulders, raven hair slicked back and dull eyes piercing forward.

That's the one, she thought greedily, knowing that any man of his stature meant a profitable day. While he's focused on Buggy's show, I'll pick his pockets…

Robbing others was, originally, quite difficult for Luffy to learn. She made many mistakes, caused some fights, but over the weeks, learned how to finally do so without being noticed. Her small hands proved more useful than any of Buggy's other goons, that's why the clown always had her accompany him to the shows. And most importantly: she was quick.

Moving in fast, Luffy slipped a hand in, searching the coat pockets first. Her fingers met the cold taste of coin, and greedily, she took them all. Then, making sure to occasionally shoot a glance up at the man's scarred face; she slid her hand in further. Holding her breath, she found paper: cash.

Pulling away, she slipped the money deep within the secret pockets of her dress, slowly tip-toeing back and towards the alley way. Wait down there for Buggy…like always…

When she managed to step back a good distance, her hair flew back as she whipped around, quickly making her way down the alley way. A giant smile came to her then as she fondled the coin and paper in her pockets, eyes gleaming. She had done good—amazing in fact, making this by far her greatest robbery.

Luffy never felt guilty from robbing the rich, especially if it meant she could eat hearty another night. And Buggy will be so proud of me…this will help out everybody so much. Now all that was left was the waiting game. Buggy should be finished in about five to ten min—

Her face met the rough kiss of the alley way's wall, palms shooting up to brace herself for the impact. Somebody had her pressed against the wall, fingers digging into her shoulder. With gritted teeth, she gasped out in pain. Quickly she tried to force her fist back at her attacker, hoping to fight him off her.

The person behind her met her fist, pushing it high above her head and against the wall. Hot breath touched her ear, her cheeks being forced even more against the rough surface of the building. She could feel the thick layer of her clown makeup smear. "You thought I didn't notice that little stunt back there?" His voice was cold, sending shivers up her spine.

Luffy whimpered as the man pushed her deeper against the way, pain slowly beginning to afflict her flesh. She tried to wiggle free, but failed.

"I knew what you were doing before you even slipped this little hand of yours in my pocket," the man continued, his nails lightly digging into the back of her hand. "Is that what you two do? Lure people in with those flashy tricks only to rob them?"

"I," she mumbled weakly against the wall, feeling the tears begin to well up from a mixture of pain and utter fear. This…this never happened before. If anybody caught us, they'd deal with Buggy…not me…She manage to side-glance down the alley way, taking in how far down they were, how far away they were from the rest of the world. Luffy's heart pounded hard.

"You what?" the man muttered harshly into her ear. "Are you going to beg for forgiveness?" His nails dug deeper into her hand and she could feel her skin start to tear. "Do you even know what happens to little thieves like yourself?"

Biting down on her bottom lip, she fought back a pained whimper. Her mind went numb and any words she wanted to cry out were trapped in her throat.

"Nothing to say?" the man asked, pressing his chest against her back. The air in her chest broke free from her mouth and she struggled to keep herself standing. "Do you know what I do to little thieves?"

Gasping out, Luffy finally spoke. "I didn't take much—"

"Wrong answer," the man snapped, cutting her off. "It doesn't matter how much you took: you were caught. I don't take kindly to being robbed."

Wincing, Luffy responded with, "If you knew I was r-robbing you, why'd you let me do it?" It hurt to speak and breathing became more and more difficult.

The man took a moment to answer. She could feel the muscles of his face flex from whatever expression he was making. "I wanted to see how much you would be able to take in that short amount of time," he muttered into her ear, easing up just a tad bit on her. "It wasn't much, though, but for a little thief like you—"

Luffy quickly shot her elbow in, meeting his hard stomach. It stopped him long enough for her to break free, pushing away from him and heading for the open streets. Her flee was cut short with his hand finding her neck, drawing her in tight towards his chest. His fingers played with the nape of her neck for a moment before tightening in, slowly closing off her breathing passage.

Frantically, she clawed at that hand, wincing as he drew her back into the shadows of the alleyway.

"A fighter's spirit" he huffed, voice more alive than before. "I half expected to find a boy, but…" He trailed off as his finger dipped down into the curve above her sternum. "Women always prove to be the sneakiest."

Her muscles began to ache from the lack of breathing, body beginning to grow ever tired. Her hands stayed put upon his hand, fingers trying their best to pry him away. "It's…" she muttered weakly, out of breath, "…it's the only means I know of."

"Hmm?" the man asked. "That's not very creative."

Frowning, Luffy tried again to pull away.

"Stop fighting."

"Never," she muttered back.

He chuckled against her ear, and much to her surprised, released her before throwing her back against the wall. While free from his clutch, she was now facing him, meeting his deep gaze. His scar seemed even more horrifying in the dark, and his tall stature made him look almost hellish.

Breathing heavily, Luffy brought her hand up to her neck, rubbing at her sore flesh. Her weak stare searched his expression, waiting for what he was going to do next. She watched as his hand—his only hand she noticed then—reach into his pocket, drawing out a strange brown object.

He lite it aflame, bringing it to his lips and his eyes never left hers. Smoke escaped from his mouth as he huffed out, cocking a brow before speaking. "You're younger than I figured," he said, voice back to that haunting dull calm. When she didn't respond, he continued on. "I can only imagine what lead you down this path." He paused, eyes slowly dropping before traveling back up her small frame. "You should do real work for a living."

Luffy swallowed hard. Her grandfather always warned her about her tendency to snap back, always going on and on about how she'd get in trouble over her remarks. She was never one to listen. "You offering?" she weakly muttered back, hard stare meeting his once again.

He smirked and took another puff of his cigar. "It would be cruel of me to send a youth to the jailers, wouldn't it?" He raised a brow, but still, she kept quiet. "You need to resolve this little mess you've created, don't you? Either do that or be hauled off to jail—and I'm sure a young girl like you wouldn't fare well in such environments."

"What are you suggesting?" Luffy whispered, pushing herself back against the wall and away from him as much as possible.

"For my silence over this robbery, come work for me as a maid." His words were dull but his eyes burned with an excitement that made Luffy's stomach turn. "I'm currently in the need of one, and you seem to fit the needs…the needs of my home."

Breathing softer, Luffy glanced past him and down the alleyway.

"I can pay you, if it's money you want," he continued. "Offer you a home—a good one, better than whatever rats nest you're living in now."

Glancing back up at him, Luffy asked simply, "Why?"

He ran his hand through his hair, slicking back any loose strands. "Hmm?"

"Why," she huffed, "why are you offering so much? I…I just robbed you, but…" But he wants me to come work for him? Offer me pay and a home? What game is he playing?

His piercing stare soften slightly and a smirked tugged at his lips. "I have my reasons, one of which being my mercy and heartache over sending a youth to their end." The way he spoke made her doubt his words.

But still, she had only two choices. Fight him on it and risk getting sent in to the jailers, or take up his offer. Swallowing, Luffy glanced down at her shoes, mind frantically trying its best to figure out the man's game.

"Time's ticking," the man spoke. "It's a nice day out, promising a healthy stroll to the sheriff's."

Luffy's eyes darted up to his at that, fear clearly written all over her face. "I…" Biting down on her bottom lip, she slowly nodded. "I'll go with you."

A devil of a smile came to him then. "Good," he spoke, breathing in another round of cigar smoke. "Clean up and I'll lead you home."

Glancing down the alleyway, she began with, "My home is…"

"With me now," he finished for her. "Clean. Up. I can't risk being seen with you looking like such trash."

Slowly, she turned and began her walk down the alleyway, the sound of his shoes following after her filling her ears. Luffy lead him to Buggy's home, stopping before the door. Looking back, she whimpered, "I'll go get my things."

"Hurry," he huffed, pressing his back against the wall of the house. "This place reeks of piss and shit."

Quickly she entered, heading straight for the one bathroom of the house. The basin inside was filled with icy water, but she splashed it across her face nonetheless. She looked up at a dirty mirror, eyes searching the faint bruise marks across her pale neck. Her fingers touched it gently, a soft pain being triggered.

That man…is dangerous. But going to jail would be worse… Luffy found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. What am I to do…? Lowering her brows, she spent one more mere second taking in her face before pulling away and heading for a shared bedroom.

She occupied one corner, with three others of Buggy's household occupying the other corners. Nobody appeared home and she quickly slipped out of the clown dress. At that moment, she wanted to cry from fear, but fought back the urge. With shaky hands, she dressed herself and packed whatever limited amount of items she owned.

Grandfather warned you about venturing out on your own…

She sniffed.

He told you. He told you!

Everything was stuffed into the ragged duffel bag, her small eyes searching the bare room. Nothing more was there for her to pack, leaving her with one last task.

They're going to worry about you…Shanks, maybe even Buggy…

Picking up a pen, she quickly jotted down this:

Something came up. I'll visit as soon as possible. Don't worry.

Luffy

That was it, nothing more to do. Flexing her fist, Luffy tossed the pen down upon the desk table before weakly turning around. Her heart shattered against her chest, blood pumping fast.

What will come of this, I wonder? She entered the hallway, walking down towards the main door entrance. Do I walk to my doom? With weak fingers, she pulled the door open. Or will this be the beginning to a better life? Luffy liked to believe that latter, but as her gaze found that of that man's, she could only feel fear trickle down her spine.

"You still look like trash," he huffed, rolling his cigar between his fingers. "But I doubt you ever learned how to dress properly."

Luffy only responded by a weak gaze.

"Follow."

And she did just that.

The man led her through the crowded streets, pace slow, and she occasionally had to stop herself from walking too quickly. Luffy preferred to keep behind him, a good safe distance. The poorer section of the city began to thin out into middle class territory, with more greenery and better dressed citizens.

He stopped suddenly, causing her to almost bump into him, her nose barely gazing the fabric of his coat. Glancing up, she found his head cocked back towards her, hard eyes gazing down. "Get in."

Cocking a brow, she peered past him, eyes landing on one sleek black automobile. Her stare widened, surprise taking over. He can afford a car? Quickly she looked back up to him. He must be really rich…

The door to the car was opened, another man built in almost equal stature appearing. "Everything finished, sir?" the man asked before slowly eyeing Luffy. He had a scar down the side of his face and dull pair of eyes to match. He glanced back up at the other man. "Sir?"

"Yes," he said. "And she's coming with us."

The man operating the car nodded once before holding the door open for them. When the man entered, Luffy hesitantly peered inside. I've never ridden inside one of the cars before…

"Stop messing around and get in," the man ordered, voice clearly annoyed.

Blinking, she nodded once before slipping inside, taking the seat beside him. His body loomed over hers and it made her flesh break out in goosebumps. Rubbing her hands between her knees, Luffy glanced out the window as the car engine started.

The man driving glanced back into the passenger section before simply asking, "Anywhere else, sir?"

"No."

The car moved forward then, causing her to stiffen. It felt strange to sit in such a machine, and while she would have been excited any other day, she felt nervous at that moment. They sat in silence for a good ten minutes before he decided to address her again.

"From now on, you will either address me as "Sir" or "Master," choose your poison." Pausing, he glanced out his own window. "There is a head maid at the mansion; she'll show you what tasks you must complete on a daily business. I expect no trouble from you."

Licking her dry bottom lip, Luffy nodded in agreement. "But…" glancing down at her feet, she mumbled, "But I don't know your name yet…"

His eyes traveled back down on her and she could feel his hard stare digging into her. Glancing up, she quickly added, "sir."

The car came to a halt, with the driver quickly hopping off his seat. He arrived at the man's door first, opening it wide for him.

"It's Crocodile, little thief," he answered before exiting. He didn't wait for her to respond, moving past the car and towards the monster of a mansion before them.

Luffy slipped out silently, eyes taking in the beauty before her. She had heard tales of grand estates and beautiful gardens, but this was something beyond anything she could ever imagine.

"Miss?" His voice—while slightly softer than that of Crocodiles—startled her. "Your bag?"

Forcing her gaze away from the mansion, she retrieved her items, offering the driver one soft smile. "Oh, it's Luffy," she told him when he cocked a brow.

The man shrugged slightly. "I didn't ask." He paused for a second before adding, "He'll get mad if you don't follow him." With one last dull stare, he closed the car door and left.

"Oh…" Luffy frowned when left to herself. Swallowing, she turned towards the mansion, eyes searching for her new employer. He stood at the mansion entrance down a stone pathway, body turned towards her. He's waiting…

Clutching her bad tightly, Luffy made her way down the stone pathway.

To be continued…

Next time: Luffy is introduced to the fellow help, including one wild cook, a friendly gardener, and an old head maid. She begins her life as Crocodile's newest maid.

Thanks for reading!

Quick A/N: Crocodile doesn't sport his hook while walking around, being causal, etc. But the hook will make an appearance. Also, Doflamingo will become a major character eventually (hopefully sooner than later) so that's why I have him listed out in the major characters.

About Luffy's Character in this story: I'm posting this in the first chapter (originally posted in chapter seven) for new readers: I suppose I should have addressed this from the get-go and I apologize for waiting until now to state the following. As many of you can tell, Luffy's character appears out of character, being this shy and easily intimidated character when opposed to canon Luffy's confidence/recklessness/stubbornness/etc. I did so on purpose, and I'll try to the best of my abilities to explain why I did as such without giving away the plot/ending. (I also apologize for how lengthy this explanation may be).

I write Luffy as shy and easily intimated on purpose because my long term goal is to show how Luffy develops as a character, going from, I suppose, weak/unfamiliar qualities of the canon character into these super confident/stubborn/reckless character traits. Right now, Luffy comes across OOC. I guess that's the price I must pay if I want to play around with the idea of doing the whole major "character development" in regards to Luffy...

Now this is where it'll get tricky for me to explain myself without giving away too much plot:

Luffy, as you can probably assume from what I just stated, won't stay as this shy person, and as she, uh, experiences certain things via Crocodile, she'll grow in confidence, and due to other key plot developments, she eventually have to face/clash with him. I have plans/plot/scenes where Luffy will evolve in confidence/stubbornness/recklessness/etc.

Which also adds onto why I made Luffy shy in the first place. Since I made him Fem!Luffy for this particular story, I wanted to keep to the idea of women of the Victoria era being this shy/not-really-allowed-to-express-themselves-sexually type of character.

I chose Luffy because Luffy is confident and stubborn and not afraid to get in Crocodile's face. So I wanted to show-thorough this story-how one particular version of Luffy can go from point A (weak) to point B (strong) through certain events.

I hope this makes sense, or helps a little bit. I know it's vague, and I apologize for that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this note and for any concerns you may have about how I'm characterizing Luffy. I just want you readers to know that I didn't just slap Luffy's name on there because I wanted to get more views/reads, because I would never do that. If I wanted to create an "OC," I would have, but I wanted to play around/challenge myself with developing Luffy into confidence. : )