I.
Pell had no idea why king Cobra had called him at this time of the day. The sun was about to set, and little princess Vivi was preparing for the night as he walked towards the palace.
Pell's stomach felt weird. He had the feeling that something very important would be discussed.
The king awaited him at the entrance to the palace that was sparkling red in the setting sun's light. As Pell approached him and greeted him adequately, king Cobra said, "Let's go for a walk."
Pell was surprised, but of course he accepted the invitation, still speculating about the reason king Cobra made him come. He had not done anything wrong. Since Cobra had forbidden him to take Vivi for flights on his back, he had embraced this order, despite Vivi's pleading and begging. After all, it was the king's explicit order, and Pell did not want to fall from grace.
Suddenly Cobra came to a halt and said, "I've wanted to talk about Vivi with you."
"I've never taken Vivi for flights on my back, Your Majesty," Pell replied, assuming he meant that specific issue.
"That's not what I want to talk about," Cobra stated with a smile, patting Pell on the back. This made the young man feel a bit uneasy. "I want to talk about Vivi's future with you." Cobra crossed his arms behind his back, looked at the dark sky and said, "I've known you for a long time now. You're young, yet you already have the potencial to become the strongest warrior of Alabasta. I've noticed how much you care about Vivi."
Yes, he did care for this child and he would protect her from anything evil. Not just because she was the princess, Alabasta's future, but also because he had gotten fond of her a lot; he liked her curiousness (which sometimes had fatal consequences), and he liked her thirst for knowledge, which he tried to slake whenever he could. Vivi was a treasure.
"I've thought this through several times; don't think I'm acting spontaneously now. After all I'm about to decide about my beloved daughter's future." Pell's facial expression amused Cobra a lot; it looked like Pell's stomach ached badly. But Cobra did not feel amusement only; he was excited, hemming and hawing. Finally he took a deep breath through his nose and said, "I'm talking about wedlock, Pell. I want to choose you as Vivi's future husband."
The falcon was taken by complete surprise. "King Cobra", he stuttered. Usually he did not stutter. He was someone expressing himself clearly, picking words cautiously. Sometimes he acted impulsively, but he never lost his language, instead he fired a verbal broadside at his counterpart. "King Cobra, what are you talking about? Vivi's future husband? But that means I'm going to be…" The king. The future king. What had gotten into him?
King Cobra was not joking; his intensions were serious.
"I'm Alabasta's guardian deity and your bodyguard. I can't be Vivi's husband", Pell said, clicking his heels, and bowed before the king. Pell thought of Vivi and by no stretch of his imagination he could picture this child as a woman he would marry one day. And why was the king telling him about this at dawn in the first place? He would not be able to perform his duties while on night patrol, his head would probably spin around this matter solely, even though he refused.
"I'm not accepting your refusal, Pell," king Cobra responded firmly. He approached the falcon, grabbed him by the shoulders, setting him upright. "I've chosen you and not Chaka, for instance, because you have a special relationship with Vivi, and because you are quite young. The difference in age between you and Vivi is eleven years, and I as a father can tolerate that. Vivi likes you. You will be a great husband and a bodyguard of hers."
He could not look at Cobra for too long, lowering his head. Once again he thought of Vivi, of this little girl, trying to picture her as a woman. It was in vain. "Your Majesty, please forgive me for shirking from your look. On my way to the palace I asked myself what you want to discuss about. Not in my wildest dreams I could have imagined being chosen by you as Vivi's next husband, thus as someone who could rule over the country one day. It's true, I'm very fond of the princess. But I don't know what to think about…" Pell stopped to search for the right word. "Well, I don't know what to think about your offer. I beg your pardon."
"My dear Pell, it's not an offer," king Cobra said, looking at the man in front of him. Pell's face paint appeared almost black to him. "No matter what you'll say, I think you're suitable for this position, more than any other man I know of. And I know plenty. You've experience, and you're a great protector. In the next years you will get even stronger and more considerate. You're a good man. I shall mention that I won't decide this on my own. When the time is right I will tell Vivi whom I have chosen. If she refuses to marry you, I won't force you."
Pell frowned and thought for a while. If the princess agreed to marry him, it would be alright, he thought. But his stomach did not feel better at all since he thought about the title he would carry one day. "Yes," he said laconically. "But I don't know whether I'll be able to be a good husband and a good protector of the kingdom in equal parts."
The sun had disappeared, making the shining stars come out.
King Cobra smiled. "I'm sure you will." He said goodbye to the falcon and returned to the palace.
Pell was left alone. As soon as the king disappeared behind a corner, Pell transformed into a falcon and soared up into the air. He hoped to clear his mind and stomach up there.
Pell was turning a comfortable round by the palace when something exploded nearby. He jerked his head in the direction which the explosion had come from. The ammunition bunker! Vivi! he thought, horrified. He rushed to the ammunition bunker; the men behind him followed Pell swiftly.
The doors that lead into the ammunition bunker were open; black smoke was leaking out from the inside, raising up towards the blue sky.
Princess Vivi was standing outside, coughing. She was completely covered in soot and had received several injuries. Some soldiers that had arrived before Pell were talking insistently to her. Actually, she had been told several times to avoid the ammunition chamber as well as the armoury. Actually, these places were locked and well-guarded. But Vivi was a clever girl; she knew how to distract the guards and sneak into places she was not supposed to be at.
Abashed, Vivi scratched her head as Pell approached her, trying to explain herself. Even though she had had good intentions with her plan to organize a firework for him (one year ago Pell had joined the royal army, and in Vivi's view he had deserved a due celebration), she had put herself in danger. She could have received injuries more serious than that; she could have died in there!
Pell himself had told her more than once not to go near this place. He was full of anger and worries as he was standing in front of her, and slapped the princess. Vivi fell on the ground.
Igaram and king Cobra were hiding behind bushes when this happened. Instantly Igaram left his hiding place, threating Pell to dismiss him.
King Cobra was as shocked and indignant as Igaram. Even though Pell occupied a high position, he was not allowed to lay a hand on his daughter. How could he do that kind of thing? After all, Cobra had chosen him to be Vivi's future husband.
He would have copied Igaram by leaving their hiding place and talking angrily at Pell, if he had not seen Pell's face when he shouted at Vivi, telling her that he had instructed her many times to avoid this place. Now the king realized that it had not been Pell's intention to hurt his daughter on purpose. He had lost control over his hand because he was worried. Right now Pell was even more caring and concerned about the princess.
The time had come to appear in front of all the others. Cobra left the bushes and put his hand on Igaram's shoulder, keeping him from threatening Pell any further. "Wait, Igaram! It's alright."
Igaram looked at king Cobra with astonishment. "But Your Majesty…" he exclaimed uncomprehendingly.
King Cobra was looking straightforward; as Igaram carefully looked at Pell he understood why Cobra did not want to dismiss the falcon immediately. However, Igaram would have never dared to slap the princess, and he blamed Pell nonetheless.
With big eyes Pell looked at the princess. He could not believe he had hurt her and made her cry. His palm was aching. Slowly, he got on his knees. "Princess Vivi," he said with an agonized voice and a sad and sorrowful expression on his face. "What if you weren't just… injured? What would I do?" What if you had died in this bunker? What if I had blamed myself for the rest of my life because you accessed this location because of me?
With eyes wet from crying and her lower lip trembling, Vivi looked at the falcon. Compared with Igaram und Cobra, she had no idea why Pell had slapped her first and then yelled at her. That was very unlike him. He had given her lectures often enough, but a thing like that had never happened before.
Before anyone knew what was happening, Vivi jumped on her feet and ran away.
"Vivi!" Pell rose, bothered with enormous feelings of guilt, but he could not take up the chase since his legs were stunned. What have I done…?
As Vivi ran past Carue, the duck followed her to her room. Throwing herself upon the bed, she continued to cry. She still felt the strike of his hand on her cheek, the sound of the smack echoing in her ears. At some point, her pillow was soaked with tears, and as she sat on the edge to remove the remaining liquid salt from her eyes, Carue tried his best to cheer her up; he pulled funny faces and dance moves, but it seemed that nothing could make Vivi happy again.
"Carue," Vivi spoke with a sore voice. "Why did he do this?" She gazed at the window only to be startled by Pell in his falcon form flapping his wings. Angrily, she puffed up her cheeks, crossed her arms and turned her back on the pane.
Pell sat down on the windowsill and knocked at the pane with his beak, asking for admission.
Minutes passed by. Neither Vivi nor Pell had moved. Then Pell turned into a human, knocking gently on the pane with his fist. "Princess Vivi," he addressed her with muffled voice. "Please let me in. I want to talk to you."
Vivi sighed and opened the window.
Pell jumped on the floor, Vivi went back to her bed. She let her feet dangle without looking up.
She heard Pell approaching her, and as his feet appeared before her, she lifted her head slowly. "Why did you do that?", she asked, knitting her brows.
The second time today he went down on his knees. He lowered his head and placed his hands onto his thighs. "I beg your pardon, princess. Let me explain. We are fond of each other, right?"
"Right," Vivi answered.
"And we don't want one of us getting hurt. Am I right?"
Vivi nodded.
"I couldn't control myself. I was full of anger and worries. I didn't do it on purpose, I hope you're aware of it," Pell tried to explain. "I shouldn't have done it, but at that moment I wasn't in my right mind. Solely the thought of what might have happened…"
"It's alright," Vivi said. "I... I think I understand now. I won't forgive you, though!"
Pell winced, looking at her incredulously. "Well, you are entitled to not forgive me. But since I want to compensate for my behavior, I'll do everything you ask for."
"Everything?" Vivi asked, and her eyes flashed.
"Everything."
Pell wanted to compensate for slapping her so badly that he had to ignore the king's major order. Vivi wanted to sit on his back while he was up in the clouds. Reluctantly Pell transformed into a falcon.
After having told Carue not to reveal what they were going to do, she sat on his back, full of anticipation of the view she would enjoy in a minute.
The first time Vivi saw the roofs and the domes of Alubarna and dunes from the aerial perspective. Vivi was laughing, wondering how small people appeared from the skies, and admiring the beautiful dunes below. She was enjoying the view and the wind in her hair.
Now they were speaking casually with each other, and they were like friends who laughed at past conflicts, even though Vivi tormented him on their flight several times because of his strike.
"We should fly back to the palace," Pell said an hour later. "The sun will go down soon." He rolled his eyes back to look for the princess who had not answered. Pell realized she was asleep. Vivi was lying on her stomach, fingers carefully dug into his feathers. A smile was resting on her face.
She had not gotten enough sleep this night. Nervously she had been lying on her bed, thinking about tomorrow and how she could surprise Pell. Then suddenly, a firework had come to her mind.
Pell smiled before turning back and taking Vivi to the palace.
"Princess Vivi," he whispered softly. "Princess Vivi, you need to get off. We have returned to the palace."
Vivi mumbled something in her sleep, but she did not wake up.
Pell took his human form and carried the princess on his back. He let her sink into the bed and tucked her in.
Carue was absent.
Oh, princess, he thought and turned on his heels. The only thing he wished for was her safety.