There were two things, key events, that would take place today. It was the last night Queen Amelia would be on the island until she returns from the Reverie; and then the night her two daughters would venture off the island for the very first time. In secret of course.
A large banquet was being held with cheery music and dancing all around. All the inhabitants attended the celebration, sending their wishes to their queen, for safe travel, for continued happiness, strength, good health for her daughters, and most importantly, for men to steer clear. Majority of the time, the queen was as stoic as a rock, but something about the liveliness in the air brought a smile to her face.
How far has this island come? How many women have made this land their home?
She wondered and felt terribly proud and happy to be able to call every single body here her family. But something was missing.
"Celene?"
"Yes, my queen?"
"Where are my daughters?"
"Tori! How many things do you honestly need to take?!"
"Well, I have to be ready!"
"For what, a fashion show? We'll only be gone for like two days."
The two girls were currently packing their respective bags so when the night would come to it's end, they'd be ready to set sail.
"Hurry! Mom's gonna realize we're not at the banquet!"
"Okay, okay!" Tori scanned their room quickly for one last thing she absolutely needed. "Ah! My blanket!"
"You're such a baby." The older sister watched the youngin' neatly fold it and sit it on top of everything before tying it closed.
"Alright, that should be-"
"Girls! Victoria! Elizabeth! Are you two still in here?" One of their mother's Kuja maidens opened the door and folded her arms.
"Sorry, we just wanted to clean up before mom got mad about it..." Elizabeth stammered.
"It took you an hour to do it?" The woman's eyebrow arched up, looking down at the tied up sacks by their feet while the girls remained silent. "It doesn't hurt to keep your room a little tidy every now and then. Do you want me to help you bring this to the heap pile?"
"No! We're..." Elizabeth paused, wondering why she had to raise her voice like that. "We're keeping these things...they're important still."
"Very well then, let's head down stairs and outside already, before your mother gets upset." The pair nodded at Celene, pushing the bags against the wall and followed her out.
"Celene! Will father be coming tonight?" Victoria took a hold of the woman's gloved hand and bounced in excitement only to watch the Kuja warrior shake her head negatively.
"Myself and a few of the other warriors are going to set out with her instead this time." Victoria hung her head. "I know it's been a while since you've seen him, but at least he writes and calls you as much as he can. I'm sure he's very busy. He's a captain now!"
"Besides, he was just here like three months ago." Elizabeth remarked but then felt slightly bad when the pout on her face made it's self present. "It's alright, I'm sure we'll see him soon," she sighed, taking a hold of Victoria's hand as they made their way towards the party. They met with the calls and cheers of the other women seeing them and then their mother.
"Where were you two? The banquet started over an hour ago." Neither of them could ever tell if she was really mad ever, but that never stopped Victoria, the youngest, from being happy to see her.
"We were cleaning! Wait till you see how neat and shiny our room is now!" The child ran over to her mom's side and hugged her at her thighs.
"It should always be like that, Tori." Amelia placed her hand on her youngest' head with a rather weak smile. Every year it seemed like the queen became more and more stoney, like she was forgetting how to feel and it hurt Elizabeth the most. Victoria was still a bit too young to see it, but the twelve-year-old was observant enough to not have it pass by her. It started when their father stopped coming around to the island to be honest, notwhen he became a captain with the Navy. "You two should go eat before the food's gone. You're all rather hungry tonight, my friends!" The queen raised her hand and voice, grabbing everyone's attention followed by squeals at the sight of a smile that had grown on her face.
"How beautiful is our queen!"
"We love you Queen Amelia!"
They truly did.
And the way the leader held her arm up in the air struck awe into Victoria.
Amazing...
The amount of power she seemed to hold in that single arm put stars in her daughters eyes. She wanted to have the much influence some day.
The princesses scarfed down food with their citizens and danced until their energy had been spent and hours past by now. But their hype intensified as the festivities were drawing to a close. Everyone made their way to the other side of the port on the island to see their queen off while Elizabeth and Victoria went along with their mother until reaching the ship.
"Preparations have been finished and double checked just in case, we should be all set to head out, my lady." Celene and two other Kuja warriors got on one knee with their heads bowed.
"Wonderful," Amelia turned to face her girls behind her. "Victoria, no crying while I'm gone, okay? No running around in the forest either or playing by that waterfall, I don't want you to get hurt or dirty." She turned to her eldest. "Watch over your sister Elizabeth, I'm counting on you. And listen to whatever the Kuja's have to tell you. They're your sisters forever and mother whenever I'm away. Understand?"
"Yes mother." They replied in unison, Victoria's voice more joyous than Elizabeth. With that, their mother stood up, her back straightening out and turned again towards her grand ship. But there was something on Victoria's mind that had to be said.
"What about daddy, where is he?" The question froze Queen Amelia in her steps for just a second as the squeaky voice blurted out, then turned her head to look at her daughter from the corner of her eye.
"I wouldn't know." Her response was cold and disconnected. It almost angered Elizabeth, her fist clenching tightly, but she kept her mouth shut as their mom turned her head back around and continued onto the ship. "Let's head out ladies." The mere sight of her mom walking away left young Victoria in wonderment.
Her dresses are always so beautiful...
She thought, imagining what she'd look like in something similar and if she'd ever amount to her mother's beauty some day.
"Yes ma'am!" The entire crew of females shouted and moved about the ship, letting the sails go and anchor up. Something about the ship beginning to sail away made Victoria emotional. Maybe it was saying goodbye to her mother for the next month, maybe it was the unknown whereabouts of her father. But the words from her mother echoed within.
No crying Tori... no crying!
She repeated in her head and bit down on her lip.
"Take care, everyone! I'll be back home before you know it!" Amelia waved to the other side, the excited screams and rallying from the citizens echoed between the stoney hills surrounding the port. "And girls! Don't forget to brush your hair! Farewell." Coming back to the opposite side of the ship, their mother shouted with a wave, showing that wry smile yet again and watched them nod.
And so the night came to an end and the residents of Amazon Lily found themselves fast asleep from all the festivities within an hour or so.
All except for the sisters.
"Put this on, so we'll blend in with the dark," the older sibling handed the youngest a black bed sheet to cloak herself with. "Are you all prepared?" Victoria nodded. "Then let's go." With their respective bags in tow underneath the black fabric, they opened the bedroom window, Elizabeth going first. It was a three story fall, so the wrong move could be fatal, Elizabeth however, was ready for anything. As she climbed down the brick wall, Victoria watched and swallowed hard. Soon enough it'd be her turn. When Ellie's feet hit the grass, she looked up to the window at her sister and motioned for her to go.
"Ellie... I don't think I can do it..." she whispered nervously.
"Don't... chicken out on me now, Tori!"
"I'm not, it's just far! What if I fall?" She hid her head behind the window sill.
"I'll catch you! What about all those times we jumped from the trees? And the waterfall! You'll be alright, now hurry! Before someone hears us!" The eight year old sighed heavily before standing tall and climbing out. She trembled with each foot step as her body lowered further down. "Go ahead and jump! I got you!" Holding herself desperately close to the wall, she froze unsure of how to let go without screaming. But she couldn't do it; she was stuck. "Tori!" The sound of her sister's call allowed her tiny fingers to release and she fell back into Elizabeth's arms. "See? That wasn't so bad." Victoria's limbs still shook and she felt her heart fall into her stomach.
"I think I wanna go back to my bed..."
"Alright, let's go." Ellie rolled her eyes at her sisters mumbling and started running towards the forest. There were so many days where the two girls ran through here, receiving blisters and cuts alike on their legs and feet. It wasn't very formal behavior for the princesses to act, but they're children who needed to find ways to escape their daily routine. And of course, on the days they'd get caught, they'd be met with a scolding from their mother. This time around however, they wore thick pants and boots to protect themselves and even in the dark, they knew exactly what to jump over and where to duck from branches that stuck out. Nearing the end, they reached a cliff with a rocky pathway down and descended to the sand below where Ellie had a decent sized boat in wait. She managed to learn how to maneuver it in her spare time to be ready for this night to come around.
Getting in, Tori didn't really know what to do except take both hands and cup her own cheeks in excitement.
"I can't believe it! We did it!" Her mouth dropped open and Elizabeth smirked.
"Not yet, when we reach the island we're heading out to, then we made it." With her wide moss colored eyes, she watched Ellie hoist the short sails out and use her foot to push the boat off the sand and into the water. "When we get out far enough, the sea kings will push us out of the calm belt and then we'll really be on our way. I guess the wind's on our side tonight, huh?" She smiled at her sister who crouched down into the wooden curve of the personal boat. "We'll be back before they even notice we're gone." Elizabeth took a breather and sat down on the opposite side, her arm resting at the edge as she watched their island get further and further away.
"Look at the sky! And the stars! It's so pretty." The way the moon glowed on her baby sister's face as she beamed at the view of the constellations made her hope Victoria would always stay this way. Innocent, kind, caring. She worried their mother's pessimism would rub off on her since they've been spending more time together lately. The slight push in the waters took Elizabeth's attention away from her sister and out to the sea.
"It's the guardians," she stuck her hand into the cold darkness of the ocean, immediately being pushed out by the head of one of the sea creatures that lived within the calm belt. Even in the night, the brilliant yellow of it's striped scales shone in the moonlight and it's lengthy serpent body hovered out of the water staring down at them. The sight of the water creature sent chills all over Victoria. She'd never seen one of the sea monsters in real life before. Elizabeth got back on her feet and raised her hand up to it, almost imitating her mother. "We need you to push us out of the calm belt!" She hollered at it and slowly, the creature fell back under the dark stilled sea. The sudden shove of the boat being pushed ahead caused Ellie to lose her balance, gripping on to the edges as the speed quickened. Within minutes, the sight of Amazon Lily became a speck in the distance and then the sea guardian left the boat on it's own and into the normal currents where wave patterns could be seen. "Look! We're out!" The two scrambled to their feet and looked all around.
"Thank you, sea guardian!" Victoria called out back in the direction they once came. Wind speeds began to pick up the further they got, and the sails carried them out while Elizabeth continuously adjusted the direction they were carried in. A map was laid out beneath her feet as she kept an eye on it. "Ellie, what's the name of the island we're going to again?"
"Dressrosa."
"Dress...rosa... Dress...ro..sa. Dressrosa."
"Dressrosa."
"I know, I just don't wanna forget it." Victoria took her seat once more in the curve and leaned again the boat walls. What they didn't prepare for was sleeping in it. No pillows were brought along, but luckily, Tori remember her blanket and pulled it out and wrapped herself up along with the sheets from before and used her backpack as a substitute pillow. "How long til we get there?"
"Well... with these wind speeds... probably... a day or so?" Victoria frowned and already began to feel antsy. "Go to sleep, we'll stop at an island that comes up to eat and stuff, I'll wake you up when we get there." The child curled herself up into a ball and nodded silently, managing to fall asleep faster than she thought.
Ellie stayed up all through out the night with her sights on the horizon until any island would come up. Her body was starting growing heavy from exhaustion but before she knew it, the sky began to change colors. A fire started far off in the distance, beams shooting out and the midnight blue above their heads turned into a shade of magenta. Ellie never watched the sun rise before and she swore in that moment as she witnessed it, with the sound of the waves all around, her life somehow changed. Something inside was different as she found it terribly difficult to look away. From the pink hues, it shifted into a soft purple eventually blending in with the familiar blue of the morning sky.
Did an entire night really pass?
Elizabeth finally looked down from the sky, something in the right direction catching her attention. So she pulled the line and changed the direction of the sails to move towards land.
"Tori wake up!" The older sister hopped over and shook the little princess awake.
"Dressrobes...?" Victoria lifted her head and groggily spoke, her closed fists rubbing her cheeks.
"No, but it's an island!" The two leaned against the side of the boat as the island approached and the water below became crystal, the sun sparkling off of it.
"Look at the fish!"
Reaching the sand, they two jumped out and Ellie pulled the boat further onto the shore so it wouldn't float away.
"Grab your bag, let's head in." There was trail that they followed and the more the went in, the louder the sounds of voices and bells became. "I smell food!"
"Me too!" Of course they brought money. That was the first thing on their check list. Dashing off the trail and into the town center, they stopped in their tracks in utter excitement. "S-H-O-P... Shop! Look at that, how cool!" Victoria pointed up at the flag poles above an archway spelling out the word, giggling.
"Excuse me girls," a deep voice bellowed from behind. Victoria turned her head to study him, black hair flying over her shoulder. It was a man who was probably four times bigger than she with a full beard and she gawked up at him in her twisted stance.
"Sorry," the older princess scooped the girl up and moved out of the way of the entrance.
"Wow... he's bigger than Celene! How?"
"Dad's bigger than Celene? So is Uncle Garp."
"Well yea, but... that's cause they're like... our dads.." Ellie scoffed at her younger sibling.
"Let's go eat somewhere." She took her hand and they wandered through the city. Merchants called out from their boutiques; some sold shoes, others had jewelry, or housewares, etc. Victoria was curious to look at it all, but Ellie continued to lead the way. They turned into the first place Elizabeth saw; a bakery.
"Cookies!"
"Hi, do you guys have like... sandwiches?"
"We can make one." Over by one of the glass cases, Tori had her face pressed against it, practically drooling at the sight of the various ice cream flavors before her.
"Or waffles?"
"We can make those too."
"Okay, well I'll have... two of those. For me and my sister...here." Elizabeth didn't really know how to order as she handed the entire sack of gold berris to the lady. The woman picked up the small bag that fit perfectly in her palm and opened it up, her jaw dropping at the glowing gold inside.
"Wha... do you have... I only need ten..." she reached in to grab the payment and proceeded to hand it back to the young teen.
"Oh, okay."
"Unless you were giving me all of that as a tip...?"
"What's a tip?"
"Ellie! Let's get ice cream!" Victoria ran over and shook her arm.
"Maybe later. I got us waffles for now." Her sister's lower lip poked out and Ellie groaned. "Tsk, I said later!"
"We actually give free cookies to kids, if that's alright?"
She got her cookie, along with the waffles, and they went back outside. There was a separate section that was gated with tables and they took a seat.
"I wonder what time it is..." Ellie mumbled as they both dug into their breakfast. "Nice that it comes with eggs and toast too." Victoria watched as everyone walked past. The men, the women, the kids, some dogs and even cats. She was only here for a some minutes but was totally entranced by the town. Maybe it was the men that added to the atmosphere. And every time someone looked the youngest's way, she smiled and waved. Instead of using the fork and knife, Tori found it easier to just tear into the waffle piece by piece with her hands, dunking it into the maple syrup before devouring it. "Tori, do you want water or juice?"
"Orange juice? Apple?"
"Either?" She nodded. "Don't talk with your mouth full of food either." Ellie chuckled walking away.
"Well, you asked?"
"And don't go anywhere, okay?" Ellie left the area with the tables and made her way to a booth she saw earlier that read, 'Fresh Juice'. "He-hello. Can I have an orange juice? And an apple?"
"No apple, but I can do an orange." The man behind the wooden bar reached down to grab a cup.
"Okay... two orange juices then."
"Alright, four berri." This time around she opened the sack herself and stared into it before pulling out four of the gold coins. "Thank you very much." A few seconds passed before he handed her the cups and she made her way back to Tori.
"Hey! Do you have—oh, wait you're just a kid." She looked to the left at a boy crouching down in an alleyway. His hair was mangled and their were scratches present on his face with a small sack on the floor. Her head tilted at the boy who was now looking away from her.
"Why do you look like that?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" He stepped out of the dark and into the light, his chin up, and suddenly Ellie was unsure if he was dirty or if that was his skin color.
"It means exactly what I'm asking."
"Just because you're pretty doesn't mean I'm gonna just stand here and take that insult!"
"You're the one that doesn't understand a simple question. What were you gonna even ask me to begin with?"
"Money..." her eyes widened.
"For what?"
"I'm hungry." Elizabeth set down the cups on near by ledge and stuck her fingers into the bag of coins, taking out at least fifteen of them.
"Is this okay?" He beamed at the sight in her palms. "They give waffles over there for five berris," she pointed to the bakery then dropped them into his cupped hands. "How old are you anyways?"
"I could ask you the same question. Why do you have so much money on you? No way you're older than me! And you're dressed like a ninja!"
"Well I asked you first, so..."
"Twelve."
"Well that's why, because I'm older, so therefore, I'm more responsible. I'm thirteen." Closing the pouch full of money, and tying it to her belt loop once more, she took up the two juice cups in her hands. "I have to get back to my sister now. Bye."
"Well...okay. Bye..." she started to walk away from the boy but he called out again. "Can I sit with you and your sister?"
"No."
"Why not?" He shoved the money into the pockets of his torn pants and scrambled for his bag on the floor then caught up with the girl.
"Because, we don't know you."
"You could!"
"We don't want to."
"Your sister might want to?"
"No." Ellie walked up the two steps, entering the table area once more, the boy still following behind her, and reached Tori again, as she munched down on her cookie. "They didn't have apple, so I got us both orange."
"Okay." She smiled as she took her own cup with both hands. "Who's that?" She pointed behind her sister, who huffed before turning around.
"Are you still here? Weren't you hungry?"
"I am..." his eyes shifted to the child in the chair, "would it be okay with you if I sat here with you and your sister?"
"To—"
"Sure!" Tori kicked her feet, her short legs unable to touch the floor in her seat. "I don't have any boy friends, so you'll be my first!"
"Boyfriend? Sounds great! You're cute too!"
"Absolutely not! Go get your waffles!"Elizabeth grabbed the boy's tattered collar and pushed him away from her sister.
"Okay, okay, I'll be back soon." He patted down his clothes before taking his leave. "My name's Kuzan by the way!" He waved at the two.
"Great."
"I'm Tori!" While he went inside, Elizabeth felt her body reaching it's limit. She needed to sleep.
"Tori, do you mind if we go now? I didn't sleep at all last night."
"Oh, sure. What about Kuzan?"
"What about him?" Her tolerance levels were dropping too.
"He's our friend now, shouldn't we tell him?"
"We just met him like two seconds ago, no. Grab your juice and let's go." She was hesitant, but scooted off her chair anyways and they made their way back to the streets.
"Wait!" The sight of the boys polka dotted bag on the floor by the table they left from caused her to run back and get it.
"Just leave it outside of the bakery, he'll see it." Victoria did so and even left the other half of her cookie on top and finally they immersed into the town center as it grew more crowded with the day beginning to start. They stopped at an inn and paid for a room to catch up on lost sleep. Of course the innkeeper hassled them for their parents, so Ellie lied. Besides, they had money and it was enough for the workers to leave them alone. While eldest fell asleep the moment she hit the bed, Tori was wide awake. This room was so plain compared to their palace interior. It had a window with a view of the forested hills that covered the other side of the island. Looking over to her sister, she wondered how long she'd sleep for. Victoria sneaked out silently and found her way down the stairs, back into the foyer of the inn. She walked around looking at all of the paintings and the vases with plants in them, admiring those with flowers the most. She couldn't help but wonder about Kuzan as she eyeballed the front doors.
"Oi, girly?" She turned to look at the owner of the voice finding that it belonged to the innkeeper. "Where are your parents?"
"Well... they're busy."
"Busy enough to not watch over you two? It's kinda suspicious to see two underage girls show up with more money than they can honestly handle without either of their parents."
"Suspicious?" Victoria never heard the word before.
"Dishonest." Something about their tone stuck a cord with Tori.
"Our parents aren't around becausethey are busy. It's true! Our dad's a navy... what was it again? Captain, I think? And mom's out on a business trip..." Ellie told her to say that. "Besides my sister told me not to talk to you, so," with that Victoria turned and and walked through the front doors outside. That was until she got nervous from the crowded streets and went back inside, running up the stairs to the room. Luckily enough, Ellie was still fast asleep.
Some where near the Grand Line...
It was probably somewhere around three in the morning and yet, Queen Amelia found herself wide awake. The night terrors were at it again. She was grateful to be out at sea though, something about the sound of the waves passing by as her ship continued to sail on put her at ease. While some of the Kuja warriors were asleep, others remained awake and busy, taking care of the directions and being on the look out for anything. When the sound of rushing feet came to Amelia's side, she turned her head slightly.
"My queen!" One of the warriors fell to her knee to bow before speaking then looked back up.
"What's wrong?"
"It's the navy! There's two ships headed this way from the east." The leader frowned, her nose twitching as she walked around her fighter to the opposite side of the ship.
"Oi! I thought I said I don't need-"
"Amelia? What a coincidence!" A familiar hearty laugh could be heard all the way from the naval ship and suddenly, the stress that weighed on her shoulders for less than thirty seconds was gone. It wasn't who she originally thought. She squinted hard searching for the owner of the voice, even though she was certain of who it was regardless. Her eyes finally caught the sight of an arm waving at her.
"I doubt it's a coincidence at all!" She yelled over to the marine.
"What? I can't hear you! I'll just come over there!" Her eyes widened immediately and she raised her arms to him.
"No, wait-" Quickly, the man jumped high into the air, suddenly hovering over and now dropping down towards the queen's ship. There was a heavy thud as his feet crashed down onto the floor boards and the women went on the guards. "Don't worry you guys, he's just dumb."
"You ladies wouldn't actually hurt me, right?" He had a cheesy grin on his face as he shrugged.
"If we were told to, of course."
"Eh? I thought we were all friends!"
"Garp," Amelia scoffed, rubbing her forehead under her bangs. "Stop messing around. What is it you need?"
"When did you get so cold with me, your highness?" The stocky marine closed the gap between them and winked. "I just wanted to talk, catch up, since we ran into each other to begin with." Garp watched Amelia cross her arms over her chest. "Alright, so you're telling me that if I just stayed over there on my ship and decided to ignore you instead, your feelings wouldn't have been hurt? You know that you like me around." Her cheeks flared up at the comment.
"I just saw you and Sengoku a few months ago." Hiding her face, she took a few steps back.
"A few months too long, if you ask me."
"Ladies, you know you can trust Garp!" Amelia's hand raised up and their offensive toned down. Her head gestured towards the other side of the ship by the stern where she originally stood and the two walked over.
"So how have you been."
"I'm the same as I was three months ago." As she looked up at him, the height this man represented was something she seemed to constantly forget. "I guess you're not with Sengoku?" His head shook.
"That idiot's busy doing something else. He's barely even got time for me now!" Garp might have been laughing, but Amelia remained a rock. Reaching the railing, the marine leaned his back against it while the queen set both hands on the metal. "I'm surprised you're still up at this time of night to be honest. Doesn't a queen need her beauty sleep too?"
"Not everyone has the fortunate ability to fall asleep when and where ever they want like you do."
"Ah, besides I don't think the world could handle more beauty from you if you did sleep more," his boisterous laugh echoed and she smiled meekly, staring into the dark abyss below. "You're doing all of us a favor." The silence falling between them could've practically been cut through by a knife and it made Garp uneasy. "I guess you're headed to the Reverie, right? Excited?"
"Absolutely."
"You didn't even invite me, I don't know how excited you could honestly be..." he side-eyed the royal woman as she blankly looked on at the sea. "When was the last time you slept, Amelia?" She waited in thought.
"You know... I don't know." He sighed at the sight of a smirk that formed on her face and hung his head. She was really starting to change again and he took note of it. Even though he's always known her to be a stoic woman, he cracked through that barrier of hers once upon a time and there was her true self for him to see. But with the last few years, that barrier seemed to build itself right back up. "How's your son by the way? He's probably the same age as Elizabeth now, right? I meant to ask you last time, but we parted so fast, I didn't get the chance." The way she turned herself to look at him struck him mildly. The wind blew in those few seconds, her thick black hair strands flowing behind her and her bangs sweeping slightly to the side.
Beautiful wasn't enough to describe this woman.
"Yea, Dragon! He's great! Ah, that boy! He's been helping his mother a lot at home with her crops and tending to our garden. He's a natural at that kinda stuff, it's interesting."
"Still training him to become a marine with you?"
"Of course! He packs quite a punch, that kid. It's obvious where he get's it from." Pointing at himself with his thumbs, her eyebrow arched and lips pursed to the side.
"Probably his mother." The attention of the queen turned back to the waters.
"What?! No, me!"
"Oh, really? I would've never guess. You can fight?"
"Oi, oi, lady... do you know who you're talking to?"
"Monkey D. Ga-"
"Marine HQ, Commander Monkey D. Garp!"
"Oh, whatever!" A giggled escaped her and he was finally somewhat content.
"You know I don't plan on leaving til you fall asleep, right?"
"You might be here all night then, Commander."
"That won't be the first time I've spent all night with you." As he practically mumbled that last remark, she peered up to him, hiding a smile. "I mean, right?" Then he winked.
"Heh, weirdo."
Garp in fact did spend all night at her side, talking til the sun rose up. The view they shared as the sun made it's way from under the horizon was a morning neither would forget. Something about it was significant.
"Tori and Ellie still the same in the past three months?"
"Yea. They're still growing… fast." Amelia scoffed. "I feel like I just gave birth to Victoria not too long ago and yet she's as tall as my upper-thigh already."
"I know how you feel, I remember like it was yesterday when Dragon and Ellie were just babies crawling around with suckers in their mouths. Now they're teenagers."
"We're getting old, Garp."
"We're? Maybe you are, I feel as young as I was when I first joined the Marines. It's gonna come to a point when I can't be seen hanging out with such an old woman anymore."
"Funny you say that when you're starting to get greys in that jet black hair of yours!" Her hand reached out, fingers running through the side of his rather course hair as they laughed heartily together. The feeling sent shivers down his neck; it felt so nice that his laugh abruptly stopped and his eyes had a difficult time staying open. But she didn't even notice the reaction from him. Sliding her hand away, her arms rested back against the railing of the ship. Garp shook himself back normal and leaned with her, watching as the sky went into a fire, the sun raising higher.
"By the way, this dress, you look very beautiful in." The marine side-eyed her subtly.
"You always say that."
"Well it's true," his voice fell monotone, which was a first. "Don't worry, I wait for the day to come when you look...off so then I'll be able to tell you: You look very ugly today." She laughed
"Thank you, at least I know I can always count on your honesty."
"What are friends for, right?" He couldn't take his eyes away from her as the rising sun glistened off from her. She was the brightest of diamonds, he thought.
"Excuse me, Captain Garp? There's someone on the line for you."
"Oh?" He took the phone from the present Kuja warrior and spoke into it. "I'm here."
"Captain! If we continue to head out this way, then we'll be going in the complete opposite direction of our intended destina-"
"Ah, so what, I'm busy right now." And with that, he set the receiver down. "Thank you," Garp said as he waved to the warrior, who looked at her queen blankly. Their friendship was no secret and it always put someone to awe if they were to ever witness him putting Amelia first.
"Maybe you should go. Your Fleet Admiral already hates me enough thinking I distract Sengoku too much. He'll think the same about you if he doesn't already."
"Didn't I say I'll go when you fall asleep?" She didn't look at him or say a word but held the sweetest of grins on her face. "Maybe I should punch you in the head, that'll put you to sleep! Use my fist of love!"
"That might work," the laugh that proceeded from the stoney queen grew in volume the longer it was released. It caught the attention of all the women on board to experience such a rarity. They all collectively agreed on one thing: it was nice when Garp came around. "Hey Garp?"
"Mm?" She squinted hard into the fiery horizon.
"Do you believe in fate?" The expression on his face confused, being caught off guard by the question.
"You mean like destiny?"
"Sure." He shrugged. "I believe in it, I always have. I just... I don't think..." there's was always hesitation when she wished to express how she felt. But there was a compelling force from within her heart, she'd say her peace no matter how difficult it'd be. It was a feeling Garp himself managed to always drive out of her as his presence illuminated her darkness. "I don't think I met you by luck. There's no way." Like a shy little girl, a nervous chuckle escaped her. "I think Fate looked at me and decided to bring you into my life. I think even if I didn't meet Sengoku, you'd still somehow make your way into my world." Her hands held themselves together trying to avoid the shakes that slowly progressed the more she spoke. Leaning her head to the side, black hair strands covered her face a bit hiding her rose colored cheeks. "I'm glad you're here, my friend. That I get to have you in my life, I see it as a blessing." With his eyes widening at how different her aura had changed, the towering man was speechless. This was who he admired so much; her walls were down, even if it was for just these fleeting moments. Before he could even say anything back, a yawn worked it's way from her mouth and she pushed away from the railing, facing him. "Well... looks like my body's at it's limit, finally." With a sigh and a stretch, the queen walked in his direction only to pass behind him. "Now get off my ship, Garp."
Her words, ice, and her strut as she left him behind, deadly to anyone who crossed in front. Garp however could only smirk coyly, pushing himself away from the railing a few seconds later and straightening out his black suit before following to the other side of the ship. "Ladies, say goodbye to this... bothersome marine!" All of them, not so much in unison, shouted their farewells as he caught up directly behind Amelia. The two marine ships still in sight but now at a closer distance. Waiting for him to pass in front, she stood with her back straight and chin raised, her expression full of power. But that power was immediately sapped at the grasp of Garp's large hand on her bare shoulder, pulling her close to his powerful body. Her heart definitely stopped.
"I'm glad you're in my life too, Amelia." He stated softly before her ear, removing his hand and continuing on his way. The feeling of her heart slowly began to pump again, like a machine booting up, and she wondered how she even lived through those seconds. While everyone continued to wave goodbye to the Marine ally, she was frozen stiff, staring at him grow further and further away. His hand raised up to wave before leaving, then launched himself off the queens vessel back over to his own. With his presence gone, she felt the freedom take over her body again and she lifted up her hand, setting itself on top of the the flesh where his sat moments ago. Amelia drifted into a daydream suddenly.
"My queen-!" Being shaken from her thoughts by one of the women, her hand lifted up from her shoulder, not even realizing her nails had dug deep into the skin. Some of the warriors scrambled to her side as blood appeared, ready to clean and patch it up.
"No need to be alarmed, I'm... I'm okay."