I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE.
It was said that a secret can destroy a person from inside out without using any effort at all. That even a strong man hardened by the expectancy of grief, would crack beneath the aggression of pressure placed upon the human psyche as they struggled to hold forbidden sentences within the confines of their brain. Avanti wondered if that was true, she could find no reason for a mere secret to destroy someone inside and out. Her mother and father kept secrets from her and each other all the time, it was the reason for the occasional silent and awkward meal shared at the dinner table. It was natural for the human race to lie, people did it everyday and they always turned out fine.
The classic example was the major crush she had on Bobby six years ago. She had kept it a secret from everyone except for herself, and she did not become mutilated in any way. Of course it had broken her heart when her best friend had slept with him, flaunted the fact that she slept with him and then married him. That was just how life worked, she could not change the way things happened. If she could she would be married to Bobby with six kids and having sex with him all the time. She would have told him her secret as soon as it had entered her mind, but alas the past could not be changed, only repeated over and over again.
She had not told Julie of her secret, even after she walked her up the aisle to marry the man that she loved. It would have ruined the friendship, and she would never have been able to cope without her dearest friend. Julie was the one that she always ran to in her greatest times of need. It always calmed her to be around Julie, she was such a stable person that could handle anything life turfed at her.
As she had puzzled over the difficulties that swam through her brain, her body had unconsciously led her to the shabby house where she currently resided. She knew that her parents didn't have all that much money, they never had, but it saddened her to see the state of their once beautiful home. It had always had a well kept garden walls painted in cheerful colours; but as she had grown older, it had become neglected and the paint had started to peal, the garden shrivel until it was dead.
Smiling slightly at her childhood memories, she walked around of the side of the small building sliding her hands along the walls as she did so. Even though it needed a lot of work, she could not call anywhere else home, it was full of too many memories for her to just simply let go. She was about to travel further around the house when she heard her mother's voice shouting in a traumatic tone.
"What are we going to do now Nick!"
Jolting to alert she ran around to the front door, and into her house. Once inside she found her father sitting in a heap on the lounge and her mother standing in front of him, large tears sliding down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Avanti asked shaken by the stricken look on both of her parents faces. She had never seen them look panicked in her whole life. They had always been the strong ones in her life.
"It's nothing to worry about really." Her mother smiled weakly as she took a seat next to her husband. Her face looked pale and drawn, as if she had aged far beyond living years in a matter of minutes.
"No, I want to know! Maybe I can help you out." Avanti said firmly. She knew there was something very wrong, and she had to give them support no matter what.
"Your father and I are just going through a few financial gliches, nothing that time cannot heal!" Her mother stood from her seat as Avanti paled and looked at her miserably.
"How bad is it really? Do you have enough to keep us going?"
"Well sadly we only have enough for two people for three weeks. The government is giving us money for my service in my younger days."
Avanti let the breath she was holding out, her mother and father would be alright if they used that money for themselves. "That's good then, you still have enough to support yourselves."
"Yes but we have no money to support you sweet heart, we are going to have to find another way!"
"Don't worry about it mum, I'll get myself a job and make and income, how hard could it possibly be?"
"You're such a wonderful person Avanti!" Her mother said throwing her arms around Avanti's neck and sobing noisily. "Who would have known you would have grown to become such a responsible adult?"
"I want to do what ever I can to help you guys out. You deserve to get something back after all that you gave me growing up." Avanti squeezed her mother slightly before breaking the embrace. They had done everything for her and she had never gone without before in her life, so now it was her turn to be the one that gave them everything.
"I know, how about you take the invitation that I got for the Marine ball that is being held tonight?" Avanti's mother said as she handed over a golden piece of paper. "You could go in my place."
"I couldn't do that!" Avanti gasped as she stared at the beautiful stationary that the neat cursive writing was soaked into. She felt past longings burst within her body as she read the introduction of the invite. She had always wanted to join her mother and father at one of the Marine balls, but she had never been aloud, she had always been too young.
"Of course you can go! I wasn't going to go anyway." Her mother said waving a hand in front of her face. "I only ever went to those things if I could invite your father, but there is to be no guests at this one."
Sure enough when Avanti glanced down at the slip of paper in her hands, she found the words that said there were no visitors aloud. She felt regret coil in the pit of her stomach as she tried to hand the invitation back to her mother. "It says no visitors, that means that I cannot go."
"Nonsense, the only reason that they say that is because they don't want too many people to arrive, it would be very cramped otherwise. Take it and go out and have a little fun."
"Your mother's right, you always stay at home and do what we tell you. Go out and meet a nice guy, make some new friends. Get to know the world through different eyes. I guarantee that you will you will enjoy yourself very much." Her father said, siding with his wife.
Avanti smiled slightly and looked down at the invitation, she was about to accept, when a depressing thought slid into the depths of her mind and replaced her smile with a frown of disappointment. "I have nothing to wear, I do not own anything elegant enough to go to this party in."
"Not to worry, I have plenty of outfits that would suit you, and all of them are proper for a Marine ball." Avanti's mother smiled and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders whilst leading her into her bedroom.
"You mean that you will give me one of your dresses to wear?" Avanti felt her heart pick up pace as watched her mother pull out a beautiful silk blue dress from the wardrobe in her bedroom.
"No, I am going to give you your own dress to wear." Avanti's mother smiled and handed over the garment. "It was supposed to be a birthday present, but I would rather give to you now."
"It's gorgeous!" Avanti said, awestruck and lost for words.
"Go and try it on, if you don't hurry then you will be late for the party."
Avanti could hardly contain her excitement as she pulled the dress on. It fit her perfectly and blended to her well shaped curves. Just wearing the dress made her feel like the most beautiful woman alive and it was with shaking hands that she applied a thin layer of makeup to her face. She walked out to the living room and stood in front of speechless parents.
"You look beautiful." Her mother gasped giving her one last hug. "I wish that I could walk you to the ball, but we would look out of place. Lucky that is only up the street."
"The two of you have done more than I could ever have imagined. I can walk by myself, like you said it's only up the street. It's not a very far distance to walk."
"Have fun!" Avanti's mother said giving her one last hug.
Avanti smiled brightly and started on her walk to the ball, the whole way trying to dislodge the butterflies that had crept within her stomach.
Avanti let her eyes scan the colour crazed crowd for the third time since she had arrived. She felt odd and out of place, along with the fact that she didn't seem to fit in with any of the people that made up the party. To make things worse, she had no idea who any of them were, and she felt utterly alone as well as pathetic. She had thought that she would know at least one person within the vibrant group, she hadn't been prepared to make new friends that night, expecting to see someone familiar to do it for her.
Sighing she sat down as her eyes travelled to one man in particular. He stood out from the rest of the people around him, which was mostly girls, and she had found her gaze drawn to his face more times than was absolutely necessary. As her eyes locked with his grey ones, she felt her face turn red and quickly averted her ogling stare. It had not been the first time in that night that he had caught her transfixed with the perfect features of his face. He was wearing a simple suit that made him seem relaxed, but on alert at the same time. A top hat sat upon his dark and shoulder length hair, and his face was darkened by dark hair on his chin. The part of his chest that she could see through his dark shirt was well muscled and bare of any hair. She felt her heart race at the thought of what it would be like to run her hands over the contours of his torso. Her daydream was short lived however, as the star character was now standing in front of her, his grey eyes looking straight down the front of her dress. If she wasn't mistaken, she would say that he had a very good view as well.
"Could I have this dance?" He asked her, his voice a smooth as velvet.
Her voice fled her throat and she nodded dumbly before taking hold of his large and strong hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor. As the two of them swayed in a relaxing rhythm, she could feel the eyes of every woman in the room digging into the flesh of her neck with barely concealed jealousy. She was the envy of all the girls at the ball, and all as she was doing was dancing with him.
"What is your name, I never even asked?" He whispered, his warm breath giving her goosebumps as it tickled the skin on her neck.
"My name is Avanti. What about you?"
"Rob Lucci. Would you like to come outside and have a drink with me Avanti? It is rather hot in here, and I need some fresh air."
The dance had only been short, but she felt as though she was floating as he took her hand and led her out into the balmy night air. She let him take her to a table where they were quickly served a bottle of wine, and two glasses. Lucci served her and it wasn't long before she was laughing along with him as he told her stories of his childhood and past experiences. She shared her own stories with him as well, and she found herself losing track of time with each new glass that Lucci filled for her. Little did she know that by her fifth glass of wine, he was still only on his first taking only minute sips from the rich and tasteful substance.
"You hold back, as if you are troubled by something that you are trying to block out." Lucci said when the laughter had died down.
Swallowing the last of her drink, she let Lucci pour her another before she replied to his lazy statement. "Some things are better left unknown. Have you ever had someone think so much of you, and then you just go and stuff it all up?"
It was Lucci's turn to drown his glass and refill as his mind lingered on thoughts that she would probably never find out. "I think I know the feeling, but I also know that life goes on and you can't do anything to change the past."
"My parents have no money, they are battling to survive, and I am relying gon them. I told them that I would find a job, but the thing is I have been looking for work for months now, and no one will take me on." Avanti told him sadly consuming her twelfth glass of alcohol.
"You are too drunk to have anymore Kitten." Lucci whispered as she slumped into him in her drunken state.
The bottle that they had been drinking from lay empty on the table as Lucci lifted her into his arms, not bothering to announce his depature to the rest of the party. They probably wouldn't even know he was gone.
Warmth travelled through every part of Avanti's body as she awoke from her deep slumber. She kept her eyes closed remembering the fairy tale events of the party. The last thing that she could remember was Lucci leading her out into the night and to a table where they were served immediately. She couldn't remember how she had gotten home, the last of the night had passed in a blur and no matter how hard she tried, it would not come back to her brain. As she started to drift back to sleep, something beside her moved and let out a long sigh. She felt herself pulled over the bed a fraction and froze. Her eyes snapped open as she realised with horror that she had not made it home at all, instead she had arrived into the bed of the man that she had been so taken with, the previous night.
Making as little sound as possible she lightly removed Lucci's arms that were wrapped firmly around her body, and extracted herself from the bed. Shivers raked her as the cold air of the room assaulted her skin, sending goosebumps spraying over her body in different directions. She wished vehemently that she could climb back into the bed and pretend as if her current predicament was an everyday occurrence, at least then she would be warm. Shaking her head at her foolish thoughts she felt the blush rise to her cheeks as realisation it her like a freezing cold and forceful wave. He had taken the dress off her sleeping form, and left her in only her underwear which made her blush even more seeing as all she had been wearing beneath the dress, was a scanty lace bra, and a pink lace thong. It would take her months to live down the shame that ran livid through her veins, and she would never wear a thong ever again, even if you could see her undie lines through the dress. As she reached up a hand to take her dress from the hook that it was hanging on, the drawling vice of Lucci sounded across the room.
"Where are you going Kitten?"
She froze and turned slowly to face him, though as soon as she did she wished that she hadn't. She had been so busy freaking out about her dress problem that she hadn't noticed that Lucci had slept next to her naked. She watched in a trance as he stretched his arms, the tight corded muscles within them flexing and making her slightly weak in the knees. She let out a small groan as she became intensely wet between the thighs as he stood up, revealing his whole body to her as he walked to stand in front of her. Slowly he moved a hand forward to twine in a section of her long blue hair, she soon became very aware of the close proximity of his body to hers. Gently he pushed her against the wall and laid his lips upon her own, inserting his tongue without hesitation.
As the room heated with their desire, Lucci pulled her scanty amount of clothing from her and turned to push her onto the bed. She arched towards him as her stomach tightened with pressure and she egged him on, clutching at his hair to bring his mouth back to her own to leave her mouth smouldering with heat. Lucci grinned at her eagerness and parted her legs and moving close so that she straddled him, he was about thrust deep within her when she stiffened and stared into his eyes.
"I can't do this!" her voice was tight and frightened coming in small gasps. "Lucci, I'm frightened!"
"No your not kitten, you just haven't done this before. Know that I will never hurt you."
Lucci smiled down at her and entered her body slowly. She felt him stretch her further then she could imagine, before she was lost on the waves of pleasure that soon consumed her.
"I have an offer for you Kitten." Lucci whispered against her hair hours later. "You be my mistress, and I will get your parents out of their little debt."
Avanti went still, trying to process what he was saying, it couldn't possibly be true that he wanted her as a lover. She was inexperienced and was flat strap trying to understand why he would want her as a mistress. "What are you saying?"
"Will you accept?"
For a moment she considered turning his offer down, but she soon found that she had no heart to do so. Nodding her head she moved closer and let her lips touch his. If she did this she could help her parents, as well as have Lucci to herself. It was a win win situation, of course she would tell her parents she loved him as they ardently believed in love.
"Will you take me home to tell my parents?" She asked uncertainly, watching his face intently to pick up any change in emotion.
Lucci inclined his head slightly and ran his fingers up and down her spine making her shiver in delight at his expert touch. "It may take us a little while to get there, since we are no longer on peach beach."
She smiled and stood up. Grabbing her discarded clothing she quickly dressed, she was slightly surprised to find that Lucci had beaten her to get his clothes on and was waiting to lead the way to a waiting boat that was tied to a rocky dock that looked as though it would fall apart at any moment. She tiptoed over it, trying to keep as much weight off it as possible before she climbed into the small boat. It was a pleasant trip across the small stretch of sea; Lucci kept his eye on the eternal post, while she chatted away happily to him, making him smiled at the way her face lit up when she engaged in an animated discussion.
It did not take long for the two of them to reach the docks of Peach Beach island, and Avanti almost bounded along the path to her small home. Her parents would be so worried that she had not come home to them the night before. She felt the need to alleviate all of their fears as soon as she possibly could. Lucci strolled casually down the street behind her, his fingers stroking his pet pigeon, Hattori's, feathers absent mindedly. When she had seen the small bird she had held in the urge to squeal like a small child, though Lucci had picked up on her glee. The edges of his mouth had turned upwards in a slight smile as he had put Hattori atop her own shoulder and had given her a show by throwing his voice to make it sound as though the bird was the one speaking. She had clapped and giggled, it had seemed as though Hattori actually was speaking as Lucci's mouth did not move the entire time.
Slowing down she walked Lucci into the backyard where her mother and father were setting up a meal for lunch. They didn't seem too concerned that she had not returned and she felt her heart clench at the thought that they didn't care.
"Mother, Father? I brought a friend home from the party last night. I thought you would like to meet him."
After what seemed like hours of being hugged by her mother and father, Lucci and her were told to have a seat and share a late lunch with them. Avanti explained to her family that she was going to live with Lucci on his island in his house. Her parents had given each other a strange look, but had otherwise seemed pleased with their daughter's new zest for life. It was only when lunch was ready that her mother broke the small party apart.
"Avanti darling, could I get you to help me in the kitchen?"
Avanti followed her mother into the kitchen and was about to pick up a stack of dishes when her mother cleared her throat uncomfortably. Carefully she pulled the dishes from her daughters hands and placed them back on the counter, wringing her hands slightly she glanced around nervously. "You're not dating this boy because of his money are you? We can get by, we don't need you to put your body on the line for us."
Avanti felt her stomach tighten as she watched her mother for a while. "Of course not mother! I love Lucci, well at least I think that I do. I know everything is going fast, but I am not getting any younger and I want to follow these feelings."
Avanti felt like crap for the rest of the evening as she watched her parents converse happily with Lucci, as he entertained them letting her processes her jumbled thoughts.
The trip home was done in silence as Lucci navigated through the dark waters. They had stayed at her parents house for hours, and he had only suggested that they leave when the skies became dark and foreboding.
"You have been very quiet all evening, what was it that your mother said to you when you both went to get lunch?" Lucci asked watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"I lied to her Lucci. I shouldn't have done it, but I felt as though I didn't have a choice."
Lucci wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her on the forehead in a display of affection. "Why don't we have dinner out tonight? There is no reason that we should travel back to Gatto manor straight away."
She smiled slightly and leaned into his chest. "I would like that very much."
When the two of them arrived at the small resturant located at the base of the hill that Gatto manor stood upon they were served as soon as they sat in the seat. They were given menus and their order taken as soon as they were ready to eat.
"You have a mighty influence on this place." Avanti whispered across the table as the resturant cleared and only the two of them were left to dine.
"It is a good place for me to lick my wounds after my last battle. I doubt that I will be doing any more service for the Marines anytime soon. I enjoy my new existence."
"That's good."
The meal was shared in companionable silence and Avanti was forced to reflect upon her luck. Without noticing it, she had started to fall in love with the man in front of her, who was currently eating his meal with an elegance that seemed only fitting to his persona. He looked as though he was an aggressive man, though when he was around her he treated her with utmost respect and never became rough. She wondered why so many people at the party had given him nervous side glances. Shaking her head slightly she focused her thoughts on her meal, only to find her plate empty.
"What haunts you so much?"
Her gaze shot up to find Lucci staring at her, as if trying to find access to her thoughts. "Nothing, I just hate lying to my mother."
"What did you tell her? Tell me!"
"Nothing that you need to worry about!" She said standing from her seat and rushing out of the muggy resturant.
She had the urgent need to get back to the manor and lock herself away and cry away her regret. Stifling sobs before they escaped her chest, she ran up the hill as fast as her legs would carry her. She could hear Lucci's progress as he quickly caught up to her and tackled her to the ground.
"I have been fair to you Kitten, so you must be fair to me. Tell me of your problem so that the shadow may leave your beautiful face." Lucci whispered, bending towards her to kiss her neck.
"I told my mother that I was in love with you, and that was the reason that I am living with you. I assured her that I wasn't your mistress so that I could get money." She yelled giving in to his demand.
She let the tears run freely, and Lucci licked her face cleaning them away with a tenderness that stabbed at her heart with a razor sharp point. Relaxing she traced the hard panes of his torso, revelling in the feel of his tight muscles. She brought her head up to nip lightly at his lips, trying to provoke him into further action. The sides of his mouth turned upwards in a delighted smirk, he ran his tongue along her lips keeping eye contact.
She groaned quietly as she tried to put pressure between their lips. He moved too fast for her however, and lifted her into to his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the manor and to his bedroom. Once they were locked in the cozy confines of the room, he removed both his and her clothing, eager to be inside her and possess her very being. She trembled as wave after wave of pure pleasure cascaded through her body, making her cry out Lucci's name in pleasure as she reached her peak and he followed her over and they fell entangled in a sweat drenched heap.
"Lucci..."
"Shh, don't talk Kitten I have a question. Did you really lie to your mother, or did you tell her the truth from your heart?"
Avanti gasped, it was if he had read her mind. She had been wondering the same thing ever since the confrontation with her mother. It confused her that she could have such intense feeling for him after only a day of being in his presence, it should have taken her longer to fall in love.
"No. I didn't lie."
"I did not think that you did. You cannot keep secrets from me Kitten, you are like an open book in front of my eyes." Lucci licked her neck with a possession that sent her heart hammering in her chest.
"I've come to a conclusion. Secrets kill a person inside and out, slowly and painfully." Avanti told her lover seriously.
"Then we shall not keep any. I will treat you right kitten, because you are mine now and forever."
Avanti smiled at him and closed her eyes, content to lay with her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. As sleep dragged through her exhausted body, her mind strayed to the thoughts that had plagued her not so long ago. Then she had thought that it was just a myth that secrets could devour the human soul, but she had been very wrong. When left alone, a secret could become a persons worst enemy opening up new fears and poking in soft spots within the human mind.
As she listened to the light snoring that issued from Lucci, she smiled in contentment. She was his and he was hers, it seemed like a dream. Her small crush on Bobby now seemed like a distant memory, and the feelings that went with it inferior compared to the ones that overwhelmed her senses now. She was now the the luckiest woman alive, and would gloat about it with every opportunity she got. She never would have thought that she would meet someone at a ball where she was alone with no one to talk to. It was strange how the world worked in mysterious ways, forever misleading the human race. She knew one thing was for sure, she had learnt a very good lesson, one that she was loath to repeat in the future.
Secrets can be the death of a person, it was far better to come clean straight away, rather than plague the mind.