A/N: So, this is the piece I wrote for OPBigBang 2016! I've been nursing this idea for a while now, and it turned out way longer than I expected. I worked hard on this despite my busy school year, so I hope it turned out all right! Enjoy, please! Thank you to the incredible InvitingNonsenseWorld for letting me rant to her about this constantly, to the amazing lunarshores (also for the ranting) but mostly for the beta reading, and my wonderful artist partner meridiay!

Full Summary: Life is hard when you're the Crown Prince, and Marco's got a lot more on his shoulder than just that. His father doesn't exactly have the cleanest bill of health, the royal council is much too overbearing, and Marco is pretty sure that he's unprepared to take the throne, even with the support of the neighboring kingdom's princess. Yet maybe training the new mage to their ranks will help take things off of his mind, though little does he know, Ace is hiding something...

Ace is an assassin- not that he chose to be in this situation. Still, this is the perfect opportunity for him to refine his newly acquired magic. His new teacher, and target, is pretty cool. But even if he didn't want to kill Marco, blackmail ensures that he has no choice, and protecting his brothers has always been the most important thing in his life.. Now, he has up until Marco's coronation to decide.

Will they be able to choose between what they know is right and what they want in their hearts?


Marco

Waking up while riding in the carriage was strange for Marco. He usually never fell asleep during his trips out of the kingdom since he had to have his guard up constantly when in foreign lands. A prince, and the crown prince at that, never knew when he was going to be ambushed.

Yet somehow, Marco had found himself waking up from an unplanned slumber. His instincts must've tuned themselves down once they had crossed into the soil of the capital because he would have never relaxed otherwise. Maybe it was the comforting presences of his siblings that he could sense from even miles away.

After briefly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Marco reached for the curtain of the carriage door. Pulling it back a bit, he saw that the carriage was indeed rolling through the bustling streets of the capital, the castle towering ahead of them. He smiled to himself, leaning back in his seat. Although he did not mind leaving the kingdom, it was good to be home.

It would've been nicer if he had been allowed to take the journey alone on his horse, the open sky stretching above him though. Sadly, neither he nor Pops had control of that situation. The royal council was always concerned with such matters of security despite Marco's position. All he could do was wait until the carriage stopped, indicating their arrival.

When it did, Marco was ready to step forward and open the door himself, ready to leave and see his brothers and sisters, but the coachman beat him to the handle, the door swinging open before Marco could even touch it.

"His Royal Highness Marco has arrived!" the man announced all too eagerly, Marco resisting the urge to twist his expression into one of displeasure. He hated the title, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He had tried before after all when the usual lineup used their usual boring greeting of, "Welcome back, your highness," to which he would reply, "Please. Just call me Marco."

Marco was expecting it this time too since the coachman had bothered to announce their arrival, but he was surprised when there was almost no one there to greet him. Not disappointed though since it was a sigh of relief to not have so many people welcoming him back. He still found the situation strange though. With a family of so many people (along with such a large staff), it would only be natural that someone be milling about the entrance.

Where was everyone?

His question was answered when the main door slowly opened, Haruta pushing against it with all her might. She ran up to Marco, panting and out of breath when she reached him. "Marco! You're finally back!"

The usual cheeriness was absent from her tone, causing Marco to stare in concern. Something obviously wasn't right, and this just furthered his suspicion.

"What's wrong, yoi?" he asked.

Haruta took deep breaths, leaning on Marco for support. "Y-you need… to come right… away. I-in… the magic yard."

This struck him with worry. He was the head commander of the magic squad. What had happened in his absence this time? Especially if it was enough to disrupt the usual routine of the castle?

Seizing Haruta by the hand, he ran off towards the training grounds, much to her protest. The coachman yelled after them, "Your highness, wait! Don't you want to greet your father? And put on your armor before you go to the training grounds!"

The calls went ignored. If it was really an emergency, then all the formalities could wait.

It seems that a lot of the staff had gathered here, which answered Marco's earlier question.

"What's all the fuss?" he inquired.

A few servants turned towards him. "Your Highness! You're back!" one of them exclaimed, quickly gesturing for the others to clear the way, and Marco stepped forward cautiously, and when he saw what they were all staring at, he understood why they hadn't realized he had returned.

The magic training yard was completely scorched, a few flames still burning along the ground here and there. All the targets had been completely decimated, though thankfully much of the other pieces of equipment remained. Still, he had never seen the place in such a state of disarray. One could assume that the training yard's state could be blamed on an enemy attack, but Marco noticed that no one was particularly hostile. Rather, they seemed more silently shocked than anything.

And he was right. This was no enemy attack. In the middle of the wreckage stood one man. Not an army or a group of assassins who had revealed themselves with a powerful magic attack intended to destroy their own magic forces. Just one man, who seemed to have a sheepish grin upon his freckled face

"Oops," he laughed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Sorry about that!"

Now, jaw almost dropping to the floor, Marco understood why everyone was so exasperated.

"I see that you came just in time to see this disaster," he heard Jozu say as he approached.

"Thank god too. We haven't figured out how to deal with him yet. Training hasn't gone over so well, as you can see."

"So he is a new recruit then," Marco confirmed. "How long has he been here?"

"About a week. Got here about half-a-week after you left."

Gods, they had been dealing with this for one week? Why hadn't they thought of contacting him? Surely a message could've reached him, be it through communication snails or by a physical messenger. He could only imagine what else had been destroyed.

"And his name?"

Another crash sounded before Jozu could answer, indicating that the guy had attempted to adjust some of the wrecked targets. Attempted.

"Hehe, whoops."

"Marco," Jozu sighed, ready to formally introduce the man. "Meet our newest recruit. Portgas D. Ace."

So his name was Ace? What a unique name, Marco mused, though it was too early to say if I was fitting or not. But now, it was time for business. Even though he wasn't in his proper uniform, he stood straight and with dignity.

"Portgas D. Ace!"

His loud bark easily startled Ace, capturing his attention. His gaze snapped towards him, eyes wide. As if responding to his emotions, sudden fire flared up along his shoulders.

Yes, Marco had seen the scorch marks, but there were several different kinds of magic that could've caused that damage, especially if the user had little to no control over it. It hadn't occurred to him that Ace's power was pure fire.

He was very interested now, and that wasn't just because of his phoenix instincts.

"You-!"

Marco cut him off, keeping his serious demeanor. "I would like to speak with you. Now."


Despite the fact that Marco said "now" and meant it, it took a bit of time before he was actually able to meet Ace directly. After all, they still had to get people onto the task of cleaning up the training yard (bless their poor souls whoever they were), and while he would've had Ace do it, they had more important things to discuss.

It was also insisted that Marco don his official armor, which took up more time in his opinion. Even if it gave him the intimidating aura he needed in that moment, it was stiff and stuffy, and he preferred mobility to having to wear it all the time. On the bright side, it did provide protection.

Finally, after all of that, he was meeting Ace for real this time, and his first impression was that he had a complete disregard for his authority, shown by the feet that were currently propped up on Marco's desk.

"Feet down," Marco firmly commanded, and Ace grinned and complied.

"So you're the commander," he commented, glancing at Marco up and down before he could reprimand him for the training yard incident. His eyes eventually settled on the top of Marco's head. "I didn't expect that you'd look like a pineapple."

Now that comment hit a nerve. Thankfully, he had gotten used to the teasing nickname, yet he wasn't able to stop the scowl that graced his lips.

"Just kidding!" Ace suddenly laughed out. There was a certain kind of twinkle in his eyes, and Marco rather liked his smile over his smug grin. "It was just so tense in here. Too far?"

Marco shook his head, scowl quickly exchanged for a small smile as well. "It's not like I haven't heard it before. It's fine, but we have more important matters to discuss."

"Oh right. I'm sorry about the training yard. Really am," Ace apologized, sheepish look from before returning.

"It's not like it hasn't happened before, yoi, and I'm sure it will happen in the future during your training. You'll be cleaning it up then though," Marco said.

Ace opened his mouth to protest, but Marco cut him off.

"It's only fair considering the damage you did."

"Fine," Ace muttered.

"Good. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep the damage to a minimum now, even if such destruction is expected from such a destructive power."

"Why is that?" Ace asked, clear confusion in his expression.

"I think it's rather obvious," Marco continued. "You'll be training with me."

Ace eyes widened at the seemingly unbelievable fact. Marco couldn't blame his surprise. He was a very busy person after all. "Really? Wouldn't the Crown Prince of all people be above such things?"

Is this what people really thought of him? That Marco was a shallow prince incapable of doing other things on his own? Maybe Ace was the shallow one here. Whatever the case, Marco would at least try to prove him wrong.

"I am the leader of the Magic Guard for a reason, yoi," Marco declared, letting his blue flames dance over his fingers effortlessly. He couldn't resist a pleased smirk when he saw Ace's awestruck expression, mouth slightly agape.

"F-fire…"

"Sitting around is not quite for me." His flames vanished.

"Y-yeah," Ace agreed, nodding his head.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Ace," Marco said, holding out his hand.

Finally, Ace snapped out of his daze, grinning a wonderfully wide grin. "Same here, Marco! Let's work together with our fire!"

"Yes, let's."

The thought hadn't occurred to Marco at the time, but Ace had never called Marco "Your Majesty" through their entire conversation.


Marco had been exhausted by the time the whole incident had ended- well, at least for the day. He and Ace hadn't done any training after their private discussion, but they had headed back to the magic training yard to help the remaining cleanup efforts, Ace smiling his sheepish smile the entire time.

At first, Ace seemed rather surprised that Marco would help clean up with them, but when he saw the servants protest this offered help, he almost laughed. The servants allowed him to continue, but their hesitant glances towards him did not go unnoticed. He ignored them, and instead chose to try and make some friendly conversation with Ace.

"So, Ace," Marco started, gripping a particularly heavy-looking piece of rubble. It was an easy lift for him however. "How has your stay been here so far, yoi?" he asked with a smile.

Ace beamed back at him and hoisted another piece of rubble up. "Are you always like this? Courteous and friendly?"

"Part of the job description and all as 'Crown Prince', I guess," Marco joked, but Ace gave him a strange look.

"Oh. So that's it."

"No, no," Marco insisted, trying not to wince at the blunt disappointment in Ace's tone. "We'll be working together from now on, so I want to get to know you. Though manners have been hammered into my head." He paused, adjusting his burden so that he may bow. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Y-you don't have to bow!" Ace stammered, so Marco stood straight up once more to be met with a wildly blushing Ace. "It's fine. You're forgiven."

Marco smiled once more, nodding towards him. "So I'll ask again, yoi. How are you?"

Ace's own smile returned, but he merely shrugged. "Things have been fine, I guess. I just hope no one hates me for blowing things up constantly and all," he said. "Today was especially bad, so I guess it's good that you got here before it could get worse."

"It is," Marco agreed. "I'll be able to help contain any explosions if any happen in the future, and I wouldn't worry about anyone hating you. We all had accidents like that when first acquiring our magic," he reassured, patting Ace's shoulder once they had both set their pieces of rubble off to the side. "However, since your power is fire, it's especially destructive. You're young too, so that may be a factor."

"Hey!" Ace protested. "I'm twenty! I'm not that young!"

"Hm… Maybe it's that fiery temper of yours, yoi."

"Really?" Ace grinned, stifling a laugh. "I didn't think that you were the kind for puns."

"Well, I have to have fun some way, but I admit that Thatch is more the type. Have you met him yet?"

Before Ace could answer, a servant walked up to them wringing their hands nervously. "Your highness, I know you wish to help out and all, but please, let us do our job." he glanced quickly up at the castle, and that's all it took for Marco to understand, especially in context to which servant he was speaking to.

"I see. I'm sorry, yoi" he apologized, but a frown still graced his expression. "Thank you, Coby. Ace, let's get you to the barracks."

When Marco turned towards Ace, he immediately noticed how Ace's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "Don't worry. I'll explain on the way."

Unfortunately, this created a silence between them as they headed towards the barracks, as Marco decided not to explain until they were a significant distance away. "I apologize for that, yoi. It's a shame since we were having quite a nice conversation."

"What was that all about?" Ace questioned. "You think that they'd appreciate the help."

"Oh, they do," Marco confirmed with a nod. "It's just…" He trailed off, reluctant to actually say. He knew he had told Ace that he would explain, but now he felt that it would be stupid to trouble him with such things when he would need to soon focus on training.

"It's just what?"

Marco sighed. "Never mind. It's not important right now, yoi." Ace would find out soon enough, he thought. If he didn't know about the royal council then… well, maybe that's why he was acting so carefree around Marco. Marco was sure he would eventually meet them when they found out Marco was training Ace personally, and he was certain that they would not be pleased, especially the head of the royal council.

Certainly the man would try to "put Ace in his place", and while Marco wanted to keep anything too severe from happening, he saw it fit to enjoy any time where he wouldn't be treated like perfect royalty by Ace.

"Are you sure?" Ace frowned in concern. "I'll trust you for now, but if you're going to be training me, you shouldn't be distracted, right?" Though Ace's words may have sounded selfish, Marco could see a sort of kind sincerity in his eyes that was much appreciated at the current moment.

"Of course," he chuckled amused by Ace's enthusiasm. "Now, what division have they put you with?" he asked as they finally arrived at the barracks.

"Second," Ace answered immediately. "Jozu told me that it's only a temporary arrangement though."

So he was currently with the second division? It may have seemed like a strange choice considering that they hadn't had anyone in a commander position for that particular division in quite a while, but Marco couldn't say that he disagreed with it. Maybe it was good that no one commander had jurisdiction over someone with such lack of control.

"I see then. I hope you're getting along well with them then."

"Yep!" Ace chirped. "Some of the guys have been pretty helpful. Teach especially."

"That's great then. Go talk with them some more. Make sure to get plenty of rest later though. You'll definitely be needing it," Marco recommended. "We'll be getting up early tomorrow, yoi."

It was hard not to notice how Ace bounced in excitement. "Okay, Marco! But are you sure we can't do just a bit of training today? I mean, I know the training yard is still wrecked, but there's plenty of free space, right?"

Marco shook his head, but he couldn't resist a small smile. Ace was enthusiastic, and he appreciated that. Marco couldn't blame him. His powers were new after all, and it was only natural to want to experiment with them. He was eager to see how Ace would fare after their training started however. "As you know, I only just arrived back a few hours earlier, and I still have many things to take care of before the day is out."

"Alright. I understand," Ace acknowledged. "Princely duties and all that."

"Your Highness! You are needed immediately in the council room!"

Marco groaned when he heard the call of his formal title. He should've known that they would send a servant to come get him. "I should get going now."

"Good luck with all that stuff you have to take care of." Ace opened the door to enter the barracks, but briefly turned around to wave. "It was nice meeting you! See you tomorrow!"

And with the slam of a heavy door, Marco was left alone with the servant outside. "Are you ready to go, Your Highness?"

Ignoring the title once again, Marco grumbled, "Of course, yoi." It was sure to be a long night.


Ace

To say that Ace was excited would be an understatement.

He had lived most of his twenty years of life without magic, and honestly, he never thought he would have magic. He never really cared either, especially since the first magic user he met was his bumbling, but lovable oaf of a brother.

Ace grinned, carefully sparking fire on the tips of his fingers. He had sure gotten lucky with having fire power of all things. Though Marco was right: the power was destructive, and while he did like being destructive, he also knew that things would go sour if he let his powers go out of control.

It was a shame he had to wait until tomorrow. Well, he might as do what he said and talk to the others.

"Hey, man!"

Unless they talked to him first. He turned to see Thatch and Izo, who had taken it upon themselves to welcome Ace into the family immediately when he had arrived.

Thatch clapped a hand down on his shoulder. "So what did you think?"

Unsure of how to respond to his vague question, Ace hesitantly drew out, "You mean about Marco?"

"Of course! What did you think I meant?"

"Erm, well-"

"Honestly, Thatch," Izo sighed as he approached. "You cannot be so vague about such things. I must apologize for him, Ace dear."

Thatch frowned. "Oi!"

"Ah, no," Ace said, lightly smiling at the two's antics. "It's fine, Izo, but what are you doing here?"

"What?" Izo huffed. "I can't come down here and check on my brothers?" He paused, lips slightly down-turning and his nose scrunching up. "Although, it is as smelly as ever in here. Unfortunately, my pleas to clean more often go ignored."

Ace shrugged. "Can't argue with that." Izo was right about the barracks being dirty, though Ace had lived in worse. What could he say? It's not as if cleanliness had been the first thing on his and his brothers' minds.

"But anyways," Thatch interjected, reinserting himself into the conversation, "You're not injured, right?"

"Not at all," Ace reassured. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about the others though?"

"The ones most at risk of magic accidents are the users themselves, Ace," Izo informed.

"Something we haven't forgotten over the years. You're not the first one to have such accidents."

"Ah, of course." Ace nodded in understanding, thinking back to Luffy. He had injured himself too many times to count while trying to train up his magic on his own. Ace was rather glad that he had professionals to help him, even if Luffy eventually turned out okay, though that fact was debatable.

His thoughts were pulled away from him by the alluring smell of a meal that was suddenly shoved in front of him. "Now eat," Thatch said. "You must be hungry."

It took Ace a second to process that the meal in front of him wasn't just a single plate. When did Thatch lay all this out in front of him?

"You're drooling," Izo commented, rolling his eyes.

"When did you have time to cook all this?" Ace asked, turning towards Thatch.

Thatch grinned. "Well, I'm well aware of your appetite by now, so I thought I would get an early start, especially with that big explosion. You must've expended a lot of energy, so I made more than usual. Though that's not saying much considering it's you."

"Thanks, Thatch!" Ace exclaimed, swiping the fork off of the table gobbling up the plate in front of him immediately. Though he was a quick eater, he would always appreciate the wonderful taste. Thatch definitely had skills in the kitchen. A prince that was also in charge of the kitchens. Who knew?

It was then he felt like slapping himself. He really shouldn't have been so quick to judge Marco. Even though he had met the other princes/princesses (Izo and Haruta didn't mind either title) prior to Marco's return, his first instinct had been to assume Marco was a spoiled prince, and while he didn't know too much about him yet, he was more than willing to learn.

That's what he was here for after all.

"Ace!" Haruta yelled, waving her cards in the air. "Join our game when you finish, okay!"

He was able to reply with an, "Okay, sure!" before continuing with his meal. Ace finished with a satisfied burp, though this earned a look from Izo., who rolled his eyes as Ace walked over to join the game.

Haruta patted him on the back as he took his seat. "Deal him in, Jozu!"

Jozu grunted in acknowledgement, sliding Ace five cards. After tossing some coins into the pile in the center, Ace quickly glanced at his cards and tried not to grin. A good hand as usual, but he couldn't give it away now with a silly expression.

"So, Ace," Teach started, sliding into the seat next to Ace and patting him on the back. "I think we all heard that explosion earlier, even if we weren't there. Zehaha!"

Shouts of agreement, and even some laughter, rang out, Ace rubbing the back of his head sheepishly in response. He remembered that a lot of the castle servants had gathered, but it was no surprise that others had been preoccupied with their own business. It was still embarrassing to know that the entire castle probably heard him.

"It's been a long time since we've had an accident like that!" Haruta piped, exhilaration shining in her eyes.

"Don't get any ideas," Jozu grumbled, elbowing her lightly. She stared at the pot for a second, groaning and then folding her hand.

"What? Out already?" Ace teased. "I just got here! Guess you're scared."

Haruta stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation and reached out to flick at Ace's forehead, which was promptly dodged. "Am I not allowed to have some fun?" she whined, turning back to Jozu.

"He's probably still grumpy from earlier!" Vista laughed, stopping to smirk and lay down his hand: a flush. Ace heard Rakuyo curse as he threw down his own cards. "After all, he had a front row seat to that catastrophe!"

"Must've been rough, man!" Thatch exclaimed, laying out his own cards with flair. Full house. "Your move," he said, grinning at Ace.

Without hesitation, Ace smirked, displaying his cards for all to see, and the cheer hit immediately.

"Realy?!"

"Four of a kind," he said smugly.

"I was wondering where all those aces went," Jozu muttered.

"Well, it's my name after all!"

Ace couldn't resist the stupid grin that broke out across his face when everyone around him groaned.

It was nice having a place here with the soldiers, but it was a shame that they would be parting on bad terms. Such things were inevitable when you were the one sent to assassinate their crown prince.


Marco

Marco sighed, rubbing at his temples as he exited the royal council room. He swore that meeting with them was always a headache, and such meetings were never events he looked forward to. Even though he knew they were inevitable, he would never change his attitude towards them.

Things had been going so well up until the royal council meeting (besides the explosion of course), where he was bombarded with questions and demands. Part of him just wanted to go to his room and collapse, but there was something he had to do that he actually had been looking forward to.

His feet had guided him to his destination automatically, and lost in his thoughts, he found himself in front of his father's room in almost no time at all. The door looked almost too large to be a bedroom door with its grand ornate carvings, tapestries hanging on either side. He remembered a time when approaching this door intimidated him, much like the man behind it, but now, he had no problem laying his hand upon it and pushing it open as it groaned.

The first thing he heard when he entered was an angry huff, and the head nurse appeared in front of him, arms crossed. "Master Marco! How many times have I told you to knock when entering? Think of your father's health!"

"Hello to you too, Agatha," Marco greeted dryly.

Agatha was a strict, portly woman. Ancient and wrinkly too. She had been the head nurse for another kingdom before theirs, and Marco (along with several of his other siblings) suspected that she served under a king that ruled before Whitebeard, and maybe even a king before that. Her shrill commands were rather grating on the ears, and Marco much preferred the smooth and calm tones of her apprentice Crystal, who was preparing to succeed her position after she died- though Marco was starting to think she was too stubborn to do such a thing.

Yet she was family, and things wouldn't be the same without her fussing over every little thing. And she was head nurse for a reason. Her medical expertise and experience was well appreciated, especially in times like these.

"It's quite alright, Agatha," Whitebeard said. "Welcome back, son." He shifted himself into a sitting position, and it appeared as if he moved to stand too, but Marco, as well as Agatha, rushed to his side, easing him back down into a more comfortable position.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Pops," Marco whispered. "I'm right here, yoi."

"Gurarara." Whitebeard's laugh came out slower and quieter than normal, but as usual, it washed over Marco warmly, making him forget his earlier troubles.

"I'll leave you two be," Agatha said, though there was a caring wisdom twinkling in her eyes.

"I'll stay close by though, so come and get me right away if anything happens." With that, she left through the door Marco had entered only moments before.

Whitebeard shifted ever so slightly to get a better look at his son. "So, Marco. How was your trip?"

"It was- ah- interesting as usual, Pops," Marco answered. "As trips there always are. You know how the princess's friends are. Well, from what I've told you anyways, yoi. Honestly, I certainly wasn't expecting them when I arrived."

"Well, they sound like a lively bunch!" Whitebeard chortled. "Would fit right in here!"

Marco smiled. "I can practically see the chaos," he joked, elbowing him lightly.

Once Whitebeard's miniature laughing fit had subsided (with the help of a glass of water at his bedside), he continued.

"And the princess herself? How is she?"

"Well," Marco started, "she's as calm and collected as ever, especially considering the circumstances."

"You'll just have to get used to it, son."

"Already am, Pops."

They exchanged words for quite a while, just letting the time pass by. Marco always loved their talks. They had increased in number recently, despite Marco's busy schedule. He found it necessary tell Whitebeard how things were going on in his life now that he was constantly bedridden.

"And the new recruit, Ace is certainly a unique individual, yoi."

"So I've heard." Whitebeard leaned closer to him, smiling. "Thatch has told me much about him, though I haven't had the chance to meet him myself."

"Yes, it would be rather difficult," Marco admitted. "Maybe I'll bring him up here to meet you if we have any free time."

"Oh?"

"I'll be supervising his training from now on, Pops," he informed. "His magic is powerful, that much I can tell. He'll be a great addition to our family."

"Of course! The others are already getting along great with him, I hear," he said. "Though the council will not be happy."

"I'm well aware," Marco sighed, squashing down a grimace.

But instead of hearing the disappointment he had been expecting, Whitebeard boomed out a laugh once more. "That's my boy!"

Of course! It always easy for Marco to forget the little things when he was worried. He was glad that Pops hated those stiffs on the council as much as he did. And so he also began to laugh, for Whitebeard's own laugh had always been contagious. The joyful noise only grew louder, and soon, they found that they could not stop.

If only such a moment could last.

Marco should've known that something like this would backfire. For a moment, Marco stared in horror as Whitebeard's laughter was replaced by an uncontrollable cough. He apologized over and over before he bolted out of the room yelling out for Agatha.

"I'm sorry, Pops," he apologized again once Agatha had returned. He refused to look Whitebeard in the eye out of guilt, instead, eyeing the bowl of herbs Agatha was mixing.

"It's not your fault, Marco," Whitebeard reassured, though his words came out raspy and broken.

Still, Marco could not squash the negative feelings down, and they swum in the pit of his stomach, making him nauseous. He knew his father was old, and his health had been getting worse recently, but that didn't make him dread the future any less.

He wasn't ready to be king.

"Go and rest, Marco," Whitebeard requested. "A little cough like that isn't enough to kill me."

"Yeah, little," Marco scoffed inaudibly, but he bid his father and a still fussy Agatha nonetheless.

Upon reaching his quarters, he dismissed his servants immediately despite their protests to help him get changed for bed. He was exhausted, and he didn't feel like talking to anyone else. He only had the energy to think, but even that was too much.

The council, Pops's health, his future… It was all so heavy.

Well, at least he had one thing to look forward to. He tried to fill his mind of what it would be like during his training session with Ace tomorrow.