Edit: I added more to the chapter and changed up some wording a bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece.

Chapter I: Celestial Dragons

December 31st, 8:00 a.m

Something was wrong, she just knew it. There was a horrible feeling slowly clawing at her. She may still be young, but she knew this feeling wasn't a good one. This wasn't a feeling someone her age should be experiencing right now. Fear and anxiety were lacing through her throat, she wanted—needed—to find out what was causing her to feel this way.

She sat up and glanced around her room, light was pouring in from her window. She got out of bed and crept over to the window, looking out at the vast ocean in front of her. Slowly coming towards her island was a ship bearing the sigil of the world government. Her mother told her about them before, they were people with a lot of power. Just what could they possibly be doing here? Why were they coming to this little island in the middle of nowhere?

The island she lived on was known as Ziema. It was always cold there, mist always hovered around the streets and forests. All sorts of pine and spruce trees were dotted all over. The village she resided on was small, most of the houses were made of wood or stone.

Azaria's house was small and made of both wood and stone. She looked around her small room, her eyes lingered on her small, cozy bed. All she felt like doing was crawling back in drifting back into a peaceful sleep. She knew she couldn't though, she had to tell her mom about what she'd seen.

She walked over to her dresser to grab her small coat, she pulled it on and walked into her living room. It was a little bigger than her room and had a few pieces of furniture. Her mother was sitting on a small, tattered couch. In front of the couch was a small coffee table littered with books. When she walked in, her mom closed the book she was reading and looked up at her, a warm smile grew on her face. "Good morning Zari!" her mother exclaimed.

"Good morning mom," she said quietly, with worry laced in her words.

Her mom stared at her for a moment, trying to read her daughters expression to figure out what was wrong. "Is something the matter, honey?"

The little girl walked over to her mother, sat beside her and pulled her knees to her chest. "A big ship with the world government thingy is coming here and I feel…" she paused for a moment, trying to think of a word to fit the feeling, "Scared?" she asked, still confused on what word to use.

Her mother looked worried. She didn't know how to feel about those people coming here. A tightness formed in her chest, in this moment, she feared losing her daughter to those people. They had come here before, a long, long time ago, after all, and they had done what they were most likely going to do today—take children as slaves.

Her smile had long since faltered, a new fake one crept on her face in an attempt to calm her little girl. "Everything will be okay honey, I promise," she said softly and stroked her daughters' hair.

"Okay mommy…" she knew something was definitely wrong now, even her mom looked scared. The fear and anxiety inside of her were flaring, growing stronger and stronger by the second. This innocent little girl was helpless to what fate had in store for her, she knew that—and it just made her even more scared than she already was.

They spoke a little longer, and the whole time her mother had been holding her and stroking her hair in an attempt to get her to feel better. After a bit, Azaria walked back into her room and sat down on her bed.

9:15 a.m

The little girl had been staring out of her window ever since the conversation with her mother had ended. The ship was getting closer, it was only a few minutes away now. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she could feel it was bad. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes but she wouldn't let them—she had to be strong for what was to come.

"Azaria, it's time to go outside now. They're almost here, and whatever they want you to do—please listen to them..." There was a grim tone in her mother's voice as she said this, and the little girl's blood ran cold.

The woman held her hand out for her daughter to hold as they walked outside. The ship had just docked. Everyone that lived in the town on the little island was walking outside, preparing themselves for what the older residents knew was coming. Every single person who resided in the town walked towards the plaza near the dock.

Azaria and her mom stepped outside onto a cobblestone street and began walking downhill towards the plaza. Every time she breathed out of her mouth she could see it in the air. She looked toward the plaza, it was an open circular area with the same cobblestone as the street she was on. Towards the back of the area was a small wooden platform.

As Azaria and her mother were nearing it, the celestial dragon and several people were getting off the ship and walking towards the plaza as well. There were two people who stood out. A tall man with grey hair that was curled at the top, a fluffy beard, and a black moustache. Azaria's mother instantly recognized him as Saint Rosward.

The second was a young boy, around 9 or 10 years old. He had black hair that was styled the same as his presumed fathers, and snot dripping out of one side of his nose. He was slightly obese and wore the same outfit as his father. A white suit that was decorated with what looked like buttons, and a weird glass-like bubble over their heads.

By now, everyone had reached the plaza. The older man, Saint Rosward, walked onto the platform with the child by his side and guards around him. He began to speak, "All of you, line up this instant!" he commanded.

Everyone did just that, there were several long rows of people lining the plaza. Each and every person in sight looked scared—terrified of what was about to happen. The man told the child to follow him, and they started slowly walking down the rows of people, examining each and every child. A few times, the older man asked the name and age of someone and proceeded to have one of his presumed subordinates drag them over to the ship.

There was a child a row away from Azaria when she was being taken, her assumed father yelled and screamed not to take his little girl. He was ignored until he charged at Saint Rosward. His hand was balled tightly into a fist, he then struck the older man in the gut. The noble coughed roughly, and a furious expression grew on his face. In the blink of an eye, he raised his cane and shot the man that had made the grave mistake of punching him.

The sound was louder than anything Azaria had ever heard, there was a loud bang and an audible crack. The man's body fell onto the ground and blood pooled around him. Tears started running down her cheeks, she knew this was not supposed to happen. This was wrong.

"That should teach you all to not do this to me!" The 'Saint' yelled loudly.

His son looked so... nonchalant about what had just happened. This scared Azaria even more, she clutched her mother's hand tightly. Tears started streaming out of her mother's eyes as well, they were both terrified.

Rosward and his son continued strolling slowly down the row of people, and then they got to Azaria's row. The closer they got to her, the more she started shaking. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin. Finally, they were in front of her.

The young boy stared at the girl in front of him. Freckles dotted her cheeks, long, black hair framed her face and she had dim—almost lifeless—purple eyes. She was scared, and the boy liked that. An insidious smirk formed on his lips, "Father, I want this girl." he said with a slimy tone.

His father stared at the girl for a moment before saying, "Name and age, girl." Azaria stared back, fear in her eyes. "Don't keep me waiting," he said seriously.

"A-Azaria. I'm 7 years old…" she said quietly. Her body was screaming at her to look down, not to look in the eyes of this evil man anymore, but she knew it wouldn't be alright—something bad would happen if she looked away. She forced herself to continue looking into his eyes.

"Take her to the ship." the man commanded. Another man dressed in a white and blue uniform gently grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the giant ship at the dock. Tears streamed down Azaria's cheeks, soft whimpers escaped from her throat as she began to bawl.

This isn't happening! She chanted in her mind. She tried to convince herself it was a dream, but she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. The pain was real, the sounds were real, the scent of blood, salt, and gunpowder were all real. She knew she couldn't dream this.

As she was being pulled towards the ship, she could hear her mother screaming and crying for her. Her mother knew this could happen, she tried to prepare herself for the worst but she couldn't handle losing her precious little child.

"Silence, woman," Rosward demanded. She continued crying despite the command.

A gunshot—everything was silent.

"Don't turn around." the man pulling Azaria said seriously.

Her body and mind screamed at her not to, but she looked behind her. She needed to know who was shot this time.

Her mother was lying on the ground clutching her shoulder tightly. Azaria was relieved the worst hadn't happened. Her mother, even with all of the pain she was feeling, physical and emotional, was forcing herself to be quiet. She didn't want her little girl to lose her. Azaria wasn't sure whether to feel happy her mom was only shot in the shoulder or sad that her mother was in fact, shot in the shoulder. It's all my fault! The little girl blamed herself for what happened.

As she was nearing the ship, she looked back one more time, there were so many people crying, terrified their child would be taken next. Azaria hurt inside knowing that so many people were being ripped away from their lives today. It hurt, even more, knowing she'll never get to see her mother again. Her mother's words from their conversation in the morning echoed through her mind.

"Zari, there are some scary people coming here. No matter what please do what they say. I want you to live, for me, honey. Even if we're not together, I just can't bear the thought of losing you."

Azaria finally understood why her mother had said those words. Her mother knew what might happen, but couldn't bring herself to say it outright.

The man started pulling her onto the ship, there were a few children and teenagers following behind them, and a few more men in the same uniform coming back off the ship. So many thoughts ran through Azaria's mind. What was going to happen to her?

The man brought her into a dim room below deck. There were a few lit candles, it was damp, smelled of mold, and about a dozen other children of varying ages were sitting with their backs to the wall. The man who brought her down positioned her in front of him and crouched down to her height. He smiled warmly and whispered softly, "I know this is scary but I promise everything will be okay. Just do what they say, down to every little word and you'll be safe."

With those words, he ruffled her hair and walked off, leaving her in the dark room with all the other children. She walked towards the other children and sat down beside a young girl, most likely around 5 or 6 years old, and timidly sat down. Azaria was shaking in fear, the little girl beside her put her hand on Azaria's and in a small, soft voice said, "I think everything will be okay—we just have to make it through this." there was a soft smile on her face afterword, which seemed to calm her down a little.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that." Azaria smiled warmly. She looked towards the stairway that led up to the deck, it was such a gloomy day outside. Dark clouds hung over the ship, threatening to break loose.

Every so often, another child would be escorted below deck with the rest of them. Each and every one of them looked terrified. It broke Azaria's heart seeing them, so many other children that were going to the same place as her. What would they be put through?

10:00 a.m

After a while, one last child walked through and the door was shut behind them. Loud but muffled voices could be heard outside. The ship started swaying a little more than it already was, and Azaria assumed the ship had started sailing. She felt sick, so sick in fact that throwing up was a definite possibility. Most, if not all of the children were crying, some loudly, others softly. There were a few that were covering their faces with the sleeve of their coats, and some curled into balls.

Despite being in tears themselves, some of the teenagers held the youngest children in their arms in an attempt to calm them down. Azaria was a little envious of them, and at the same time, she was happy that they were getting some comfort.

She herself had her knees pressed to her chest, arms around them and holding herself tightly. Her eyes were puffy, cheeks red, tears stained her cheeks, and her nails were digging into her arms. She was trying to comprehend what was going on. Her life had just been shattered, and now she's being thrown into one that's completely alien to her.

11:00 a.m

After a while, the door creaked open and two men walked in, both in the same white and blue uniform the man earlier had been wearing. They both carried two wooden crates, they descended the stairs, then walked towards the middle of the room and sat the crates down. They effortlessly pulled the tops off. One of the men spoke, "This is your food for the next two days. Make it last." there was a hint of regret in his voice, despite his attempts to silence it.

She recognized that voice, that was the man that had brought her to the ship. His words from earlier came back to her, could she really trust what he had to say? Was everything actually going to be okay if she listened to the world nobles? Or was he just trying to fool her into having false hope?

"M-mister...where are we going?" A little boy asked. His voice was shaking and he sounded so afraid.

"Mary Geoise." The other man answered. His voice was gruff and uncaring.

The little boy who asked the question looked confused, noticing this, the kinder man spoke up, "It's where all of the world nobles live. You'll go there to become slaves." the man couldn't begin to hide the mix of anger, regret, and sorrow in his voice.

After he spoke, every single child was silent. They were filled with fear—dread was painted on each of their faces. Some of them began to shake in terror, others were completely still with tears running down their cheeks. A few of the older children were attempting to soothe the younger ones, saying how everything will be okay, that they'd make it through this together.

She felt like everything wasn't going to be okay, this was all completely wrong.

11:30 a.m

A little while after the men left, Azaria's stomach growled loudly and a few children looked at her, soft smiles were on their faces and a few even giggled. She felt happy—just a little bit—because she could make some of them smile over something so small.

She looked towards the crates in the centre of the room, she knew there was food inside—she just didn't know what yet. She stood up slowly and walked towards one of the crates. She wobbled a little as she was walking, still shaking, and peered inside. The only thing inside was bread, there was a lot, but there was also a lot of children. Azaria grabbed a single piece and walked back to where she was previously sitting. Some of the other children walked towards the centre to grab bread as well. A few of the older children offered to grab food for the younger ones, and most of them accepted the offer.

Azaria bit into her bread while watching the other kids, her food was dry—almost stale—and practically tasteless. The older children were walking back over, a few of them had armfuls of bread in their arms. All of them were careful not to drop any as they passed them out.

She finished her bread and lied down, she just wanted to sleep this all away. She couldn't stand another second here, but she knew she'd be here for a while. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball the best she could. Other children laid down beside her in an attempt to keep warm.

Eventually, she drifted off into an almost pleasant sleep.

A/N: I hope this is good! This is my first time actually writing something since around 2015. Reviews would be appreciated. -SabosFlame