It was a calm morning, a rare occurrence in the New World, as the Thousand Sunny drifted along on the ocean. The sun had yet to rise on the horizon, with a soft mist still spread around.
It was the proud ship, if ships could even be proud for that matter, of the infamous Strawhat pirate crew, whose crew members were still sleeping, due to the early hour except one.
In the crow's nest, "Beast Queen" Sarah was keeping watch, while attempting not to fall asleep.
Sarah was a fair-toned 18-year old woman with hazel eyes and long brown hair currently put in a braid, which was held together by a gray hair tie. She was wearing a white tank-top with black pajama pants while on her feet, was black and white-striped socks with panda slippers, with a emerald-green blanket wrapped around her upper-body to ward off the morning cold, graciously given to her by Nami.
Sarah was just nodding off to a light sleep when she suddenly let out a loud yawn, which in turn, woke her up from her sleepy daze. She rose a hand to rub an eye sleepily.
"Honestly, I should have gotten Zoro to take my watch. There's no way I'm staying up until dawn again, not even if it means facing Nami's wrath..." She silently complained to herself.
The brunette then stood up and walked over to a window, looking outside. "Though, I do have to admit, the view is pretty nice…" She smiled softly.
She then sneezed and shivered a little, wrapping her blanket around herself tighter. "Brrr…It's way too cold during the morning! I swear, I am going to live on nice, warm little island where there'll be no snow when I'm an old lady…"
Sarah walked over to the ladder leading to the deck of the ship and climbed down it slowly, grumbling quietly about the cold. She then headed to the gallery with soft steps, the wet dew on the grass blocked from making contact with her socks by the slippers.
When she was in the gallery, she gathered the ingredients from the cupboard to make hot chocolate, taking great care to not make too much noise. She combined the cocoa, sugar, water, and salt in a medium saucepan, and over medium heat, she stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon until it boiled.
Sarah then added four cups of milk, stirring until it was mixed together, but was careful not to let it boil again. She then grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured the mixture into it, before adding vanilla and stirring well. She left the saucepan on the stove, but left it at a low heat, so that a fire didn't start.
She sat down at the table with the mug held carefully in her hands, and blowed on the hot liquid before taking a small sip.
"Ah…much better." She mumbled blissfully with a smile. She then looked out one of the windows to see the sun rising. 'Looks like the sun finally decided to wake up, too.'
Sarah continued to nurse her hot chocolate, taking small sips as she slowly got tired again. When she was finally finished with her drink, she yawned softly and put the mug aside, before resting her head on her arms in a makeshift pillow.
'A little nap wouldn't hurt…I'll just close my eyes for a bit.' Her eyes closed and she drifted off into a sleep, where she would be visited by a memory of long ago.
"Mama! Mama!" A young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and dressed in a simple pink sundress, shouted, running to her mother, who was in the kitchen, with something hidden behind her back.
"Hmm? What is it sweetie?" The woman turned from her cooking with a gentle smile and a curious look in her marine eyes. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans with sandals on her feet, and she appeared to be an older version of her daughter, just with short hair.
"I made something for you! I hope you like it!" The child removed her hands from behind her back, which were revealed to be holding a piece of paper with the woman as an angel drawn on it. In childish handwriting, "Happy Mother's Day!" was written above it.
"Oh, Sarah, it's wonderful! I love it!" The woman kneeled down and hugged her daughter with a smile on her face.
"Really?! Yay! I'm so happy!" The child returned the hug with a large grin.
"Well, looks like she beat me to it." The woman and child looked up at the entrance of the kitchen to see a tanned-skin man with long black spiky hair put in a low ponytail and hazel eyes, with a bouquet of red roses in his hands, smiling at them.
"Daddy!" The little girl shouted happily, running over to him and hugging his leg. Her father smiled and ruffled her hair, earning a giggle.
"Isamu, is that for me?" The woman asked, standing up and looking at the bouquet in her husband's hands with a smile.
"Of course, Sora, who else would I give flowers to but my beautiful wife and little angel?" The man, Isamu, replied with a smirk.
"Oh yes, how could I ever doubt you?" His wife, Sora, laughed good-naturedly.
"Hey Mama, what are we having for dinner?" The young girl tugged on her mother's jeans with a curious expression on her face.
"Hmm, let's see…Oh, that's right, I was making stew."
"Really?! Yay! Yummy stew!" The child jumped up and down in her excitement, causing her parents to laugh in amusement. The dream slowly faded away but the image of the happiness on the small family's face stayed…
Sarah slowly opened her eyes at the feeling of sunlight on her face. She lifted her head from her arms then stretched them out with a content grunt.
"Hmm…! Wow, that was a pretty long nap. Wonder what time it is…" She mumbled, rubbing at an eye with one of her hands, before hearing a noise coming from the men's quarters.
It was the twang of a guitar, followed by humming.
"Huh…?" Sarah muttered.
A song suddenly broke out, fast, loud and annoying. The brunette had quickly figured out it was Brook's "Black Handkerchief of Happiness" song when, just then, masculine screeching came from the very same room, several voices chorusing in unison.
"DAMMIT, BROOK!" The brunette heard her male crewmates scream, which was followed by the distinct laughter of their musician.
"YOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOO!"
Sarah then heard the sound of occupants attempting to catch the bony culprit, who fled for the safety of his skeletal behind.
"…Brook really has to stop doing that to those poor guys. They won't show him any mercy one day." Sarah groaned, but she then let out a fond chuckle and got up, stretching her arms.
"Well, looks like it's time to start another day!" Sarah grinned.
The brunette then headed to her room to get dressed for the day, while the familiar noises of the chaos she had grown to love dearly followed behind her, the chase having had moved out onto the deck.
But the dream still lingered in her mind for the rest of the day, haunting her with images of things long gone that will never return, and the revenge she desired…
FIN