Yo! This story is for the One Piece Halloween project on tumblr. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish it for today, so I've decided to split it into two parts. This is just the prologue, and the next chapter will most likely be the last chapter.
Marco opened his eyes. At first he had no idea what had woken him, so he just lied in bed, listening to the waves crashing against the Moby Dick and feeling the swaying of the ship. It was calming. Unfortunately, it also gave him a lot of time to think. He didn't want to think, so he tried to go back to sleep.
Marco sat up when he finally noticed what was wrong.
All of the candles in the room were alight. Every single one burning with a tiny orange flame. A glimpse at the clock told him that it was 3 AM in the fucking morning. Marco sat still in his bed, looking around his room to check whether there was anyone there. He found nothing. Carefully, he got up, the covers falling from his body to the floor. He approached the candle nearest to him and put it out, before going to the others and doing the same.
The flames came back. Now thoroughly freaked out, Marco went to the bathroom to get some water. When he came back, he put the basin on the floor and got the candles. He dropped them into the water one by one, making sure that they were all submerged. The flames went out once more. Marco left the basin where it was and made his way back to his bed. Just as he was about to pull up the covers, the room was bathed in a warm glow. He shot up and looked at the basin. The candles were inside and covered with water. That should have made it impossible for them to burn, but alas. The wick was aflame. Underwater.
After a few minutes of staring, Marco decided to ignore the candles and tried to go back to sleep.
They went out on their own at 3:30