Casmira sighed as she sat back. She sighed again as she changed her position, this time resting her chin on her palm.
"Nothing worse than a bored ruler, eh Cass?" A voice to her left rang out, echoing around the expansive chamber.
Casmira regarded the speaker with a faintly annoyed look on her face, "I should have you beheaded for speaking to your queen so informally, Kiara."
Kiara grinned after hearing this, "If you did, then who would sneak you out of the palace to have some fun?"
The queen groaned at her words, throwing a hand over her face, "This 'fun' is going to get us both killed one day, have you realized that?"
"Nonsense," Kiara grabbed her arm to tug her off the throne, "Everything I do is perfectly safe. Hey, I know! Let's go find some pirates! That sounds like fun, right?"
"Pirates? I knew it, you're crazy."
"C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"Why won't you ever leave me alone?"
"Stop complaining, you'll have a blast."
"What if I don't return? What about the kingdom? I don't even have a proper heir yet. Well, I guess Tetsuya can take over in an emergency" Casmira muttered the last part as an afterthought.
"You're strong enough to protect yourself. Even if you aren't, I'll be there too."
Casmira scowled at the other girl. "You're terrible," she finally spat.
Kiara, knowing her friend was finally relenting, nodded quickly, "The very worst."
The royal rose from her throne to join her friend. The pair was halfway out the door before Casmira stopped once again, "Wait, I'm going to call Sicarius first."
"You still have that ugly thing?" Kiara earned herself a punch to the arm with her exclamation.
"Shut up! Sicarius is beautiful to me."
"And only to y- ow! When did you learn to punch so hard? Last time I was here you were a pansy."
"Was not! Now be quiet and let me call my beautiful companion," Casmira turned around and called in a steady voice, "Now. To my side Sicarius!"
"Why are you always so over the top with that?"
"Silence peasant! To my side Sicarius!"
Kiara sighed, she had not expected to get a real answer either way. She turned to face the hallway that Sicarius was currently charging down. "He sounds extra excited today," she commented lightly as the large hyena slammed into Casmira, knocking the young royal down.
"Geez 'Si," she grumbled as she tried to shove his muzzle away from her face. "We discussed this already, graceful and dignified entrance. Graceful!"
"That's why you should have just gone with a dignified animal in the first place, not this mangy mutt. Maybe something like a wolf, or eagle…." Kiara trailed off as she noticed that Sicarius turned his attention to her. She managed to get her hands in front of her before Sicarius collided with her. She too was rammed quite ungracefully into the ground.
Casmira stood up, dusting herself off in the prim manner only found in those with royal breeding. "That should teach you to speak so lowly of Sicarius when you yourself are so lowly, commoner," she spat, lacking any real venom, which prompted the so-called commoner to laugh as she too pushed the slobbering hyena off and stood up.
"Now that you have your mutt, let's go" Kiara finally said, "I brought you a change of clothes."
"Yay. Peasant clothes." Casmira's voice was dull as she took the clothes from Kiara. She left to change and pack her bag. She returned dressed in a simple blue tunic dress with black leggings. Seeing the clothes brought a smile to Casmira's face, Kiara wore the same thing in lavender. Shouldering her bag, the queen asked, "Are we in the clear?"
Having checked the palace guards' positions while her friend was getting ready, Kiara nodded in affirmation. "The guards aren't looking, let's go now." Leading the way, she slipped out of the palace with Casmira right behind her.
Casmira's palace was about a thirty-minute walk from the nearest town, Goldcrest. The town's mayor was a kindly mother of three who enjoys laughing at her own jokes. Casmira always loved talking to the woman over a bowl of her famous chili. It made her feel like she was part of a family.
"I can't wait to get to Goldcrest to see Miss Suzette again!" Casmira gushed, Sicarius giving a whoop of agreement.
"Yeah I know. You insist on going to Goldcrest every time we leave the palace," Kiara teased.
The queen-in-disguise gave stuck her tongue out at her friend before rushing off ahead at the sight of the town in the distance. "Come on we're almost there!" she cried just as they heard the alarm bells ringing at the palace.
"Guess they noticed," Kiara snickered.
"They actually worked pretty fast for once. It must be because of the new captain, Graeme." Casmira observed.
"Well, after a couple of trips I'm sure he'll get used to the flow of things around here." Kiara shrugged as they continued on their way.
Soon, they arrived in Goldcrest, the adventuring ruler took a deep breath as she drank in the sights, sounds, and smells of the bustling town. Suddenly, a woman with a wide grin approached them. "Cassie! Kiki! You're back!" she exclaimed as she reached out to pull both girls into a tight hug.
They drew away with matching good-natured groans. "We've told you a thousand Miss Suzette," Casmira started to say.
"Don't call us those names!" Kiara cut in.
"They're too childish," despite her annoyance at being interrupted, Casmira agreed with her friend.
"Well girls, I think we all need a bit of childishness in our lives." Suzette regarded them with a sage-like look that made her appear even wiser than they already knew her to be. The pair of friends nodded in agreement, each promising to keep the other youthful, much to the amusement of the mayor.
"Come girls, you must be hungry," Suzette finally ushered the two girls along with Sicarius in the direction of her house.
Inside, the mayor served a hearty bowl of chili to both Casmira and Kiara, and a large slab of meat to the ravenous Sicarius, who ate all gratefully. When they were done, Casmira spoke, "It was nice seeing you again Miss Suzette, but we have to get going. We may not have as much time as we usually do."
Suzette nodded regretfully, "I heard the bells. And you two just left, what a shame. Go on and have your fun, you can tell me all about your adventures when you come back."
Casmira and Kiara gave her matching grins before running outside to find their adventure. Suzette stood at the door to see them off before returning inside to clean up.
"So were you serious about this 'finding some pirates' thing?" Casmira inquired eventually.
"Of course!" Kiara declared with certainty in her voice. "Why else would we be heading for the coast?"
"The thing is… isn't the coast in the other direction?" Casmira finally spoke. Kiara's face heated as she realized the other girl was correct, turning on her heel to head in the direction her friend indicated. Sicarius started giggling as Casmira laughed, softly at first, but growing louder as her friend scowled.
"Ah shut up you two! I won't forget this!" Kiara held up a fist and shook it comically. They continued on their journey happily until an unexpected obstacle appeared.
Casmira was oblivious to any menace until it was far too late. She felt something prick her leg and she began to get drowsy. She blinked a couple of times, seeing Sicarius snarl before slumping over and Kiara crumple to the ground. Her eyes closed one last time as darkness overtook her.
When she awoke, Casmira tested her limbs to see how far she could move them without alerting her captors to her consciousness. Her legs were bound loosely, unlike her hands, which were bound with a pair of very complicated handcuffs. Where do they even get stuff like this? Casmira wondered as she scanned the room. Kiara was awake as well but it seemed that Sicarius was still under the effects of whatever tranquilizer had been used.
"Finally awake, huh princess?" A burly man approached slowly. Casmira narrowed her eyes and rose up slowly.
"Who's asking?" she asked coldly.
"Aw don't be so mean. After all, we're going to be together for a while." He laughed, an ugly smile splitting his face as he leaned closer, "Here's the deal, from the looks of it, you two girls are runaways. No one is going to miss you when you 'disappear,' which makes you perfect for the black market."
Kiara scoffed as Casmira spat, "You are lucky that these are seastone you pig. If not, I would-" she was interrupted by a loud, energetic voice calling for meat. Everyone in the room stopped in confusion. Suddenly, a black-haired boy burst through the wall, yelling about meat.
He skidded to a stop, surveying the scene. The room was silent in wake of his destruction; Casmira was just hoping that he might be of some use so she could get the handcuffs off. After a tense few moments of silence, the boy spoke, "Are you guys having a party or something? 'Cuz everybody knows you can't have a party without food," the boy chided in an easygoing fashion.
The other three in the room were understandably shocked, Kiara finally called over to the boy, "You any good with unlocking handcuffs kid?"
The man growled and walked over to her, "Shut up girl!" Right before he struck her, a blond man charged into the room, causing the three original occupants to freeze once again.
"Luffy! How many times have I told you not to run off like th-" the mysterious blond man stopped at the sight of the burly man ready to strike Kiara. "How dare you hurt a lady!" the blond man lashed out with a ferocious kick, knocked the burly man unconscious immediately. He walked over to Kiara and knelt down. "Are you hurt?" he asked, gently resting a hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head, "No. But it would be great if you guys could help us out of these cuffs."
"Of course my beautiful flower!" the man seemed delighted at the prospect of helping them. The blond man swiftly removed the bindings around her feet. He reached for the handcuffs before stopping, "My flower, I'm sorry but I don't think I can unlock these. But I may know someone who can."
Kiara nodded, "Mind introducing me after you untie my friend?"
"I would be delighted to!" he swooned as he moved over to Casmira. "We can take you back to our ship until we can get the handcuffs off."
"Ship?" both girls echoed in confusion.
"Yeah! We're pirates, and pirates gotta have ships!" the black haired boy, that Casmira assumed to be called Luffy, shouted as he explored the room excitedly.
Pirates? Seems we really did find our adventure, Casmira thought. Knowing Kiara was thinking something along the same lines, the two shared a meaningful look. Casmira thanked the blond man for freeing her legs before walking over to where Sicarius was still unconscious. Examining him the best she could without the use of her hands, the shackled queen finally said, "I think he'll be fine but I'm going to need some help getting him to your ship."
The blond man wasted no time in hefting the large beast over his shoulder, "Anything for you my angel!"
Casmira smiled at him gratefully before setting out to find her bag, roping Luffy into carrying it for her when she located it. "By the way," she started, "I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. My name is Casmira, and the hyena there is my companion, Sicarius." She smiled brightly, before adding as an afterthought, "Oh and this is my friend Kiara."
Said friend scowled, "You introduced me after your mutt?" Casmira shrugged noncommittally in response.
The black haired boy laughed loudly at this, "You guys are funny! I like you, my name is Luffy!"
The blond man pushed Luffy away and bowed with a dramatic flourish, somehow still balancing Sicarius on his shoulder, "And I am your knight in shining armor, Sanji."
Kiara nudged her friend with her shoulder, "Hear that Cass? Our savior is a knight in shining armor. Perhaps you should reward him with your hand in marriage. That's the proper thing to do, isn't it?"
"Shut up!" Casmira hissed as she aimed a kick at her friend's leg. Kiara laughed as she danced out of the way.
And with that, they began their journey towards their new friends' ship.
Casmira leaned back in her chair in the galley of the Thousand Sunny, "Interesting story, isn't it Usopp?" She was met with a blank stare from the long-nosed teen sitting across from her.
"Well," Usopp started, "interesting is one word you could use. Is it all the truth though?" He gave the sleeping hyena in the corner a wary glance, as if he would get attacked for daring to smear Casmira's reputation.
"How dare you!" Casmira seethed. "Are you really telling me that you've been docked at my island for three days and you don't know who the ruler is?!"
Usopp reared back at the force of her anger before getting kicked in the head by Sanji, "Don't question my angel idiot! If she says it happened, then it happened!" Sanji's entire demeanor changed as he turned toward Casmira, "My angel, I'm going to collect some tangerines to make a drink of love!~" He spun out of the door, surrounded by a swirl of hearts.
Kiara sighed from her seat on the floor next to the unconscious Sicarius, "Calm down Cass, it is kind of a weird story." Usopp nodded, eager to appease the enraged monarch. "Although," Kiara continued with a sharp look, "it's true, weird as it is."
"Okay I believe you. But if you're really the queen why would you sneak out of your own palace?" Usopp finally conceded.
Kiara snorted at his question, "Are you kidding me? It's so boring in the there, Cass would go crazy without me."
Casmira readjusted her shackled arms as she sniffed, "There are always other forms of amusement for royals. Like executing servants."
At Usopp's strangled gasp, Kiara cut in, "She doesn't actually mean that. Cass is too much of a softie to kill anyone."
"Just you wait until these handcuffs are off, I'll show you who the real softie is!"
"Oh yeah? That sounds like a challenge Your Highness."
At this point, both girls had gotten up and were standing toe to toe, Usopp quickly got between them in an attempt to defuse the situation. Just then, a loud clatter came from outside, followed by a series of curses. After some time, the door swung open and a green haired man walked in, followed by a small, furry creature.
"Usopp! Why did you leave all this crap laying out here?" the green haired man demanded.
"Don't call the great Captain Usopp's wonderful inventions crap! They might save your life one day!" Usopp defended.
The green haired man snorted and was about to say something else but took in the unfamiliar faces in the room, "Who are you?"
Casmira straightened up, "My name is-"
Kiara swiftly shouldered her out of the way, "Like I'm gonna let you introduce me after your mutt again." She turned to face the newcomers, "I'm Kiara and this is Casmira." After a pointed cough from Casmira, she added, "Oh yeah and that creature in the corner is Sicarius."
"Don't refer to my companion as a mere creature!"
"What are you gonna do about it Princess?"
"I told you notto call me that!"
"I'll call you what I want, Princess!"
Usopp got in the middle again and was attempting to soothe them when the green haired man spoke again, "Why are you here?"
Casmira opened her mouth to answer when Usopp spoke, his chest swelling with pride, "I, the brave Captain Usopp, rescued a helpless princess and her faithful servant!"
The small brown creature's eyes shone with wonder, "Wow Usopp you're so cool!" The green haired man, on the other hand, didn't seem to believe the lying sniper and motioned for Casmira to continue.
"My friends and I got into a bit of trouble and your cook, Sanji, said one of your crew mates would be able to help us out of these handcuffs," she lifted her bound arms and gave them a shake to get the point across.
The green haired man frowned and strode over to where the girls were standing, leaving the small creature to fawn over Usopp. "I've never seen handcuffs like this before," he said as he closely examined Kiara's handcuffs.
"You know, you never did tell us your name," she prompted.
"Roronoa Zoro."
Casmira hummed in thought, "That sounds kinda familiar… But I don't know where I've heard your name." As she continued to muse, the creature finally spoke directly to them.
"Hi, my name is Tony Tony Chopper. I'm the doctor on this ship."
Casmira's face lit up as the young doctor spoke, she squatted down to eye level and cooed, "Doctor, huh? That must mean you save people all the time, don't you?"
Chopper blushed and began dancing, "You can't flatter me!"
Delighted at his antics, Casmira said, "You're so cute, I would hug you if I could."
Kiara rolled her eyes and whispered to Zoro, "Cass has this weird weakness for cute things. Protect your doctor if you don't want him to wind up missing later."
The door to the galley burst open in a whirlwind of hearts, "My angel! My flower! I have returned to make your drinks of love!~" Sanji stopped once he caught sight of Zoro so close to Kiara. "How dare you defile a lady moss-head?!" he sped over and kicked in the direction of Zoro's head.
"Hey shut up!" Zoro raised a sheathed sword to block the blond's attack. The two quickly devolved into an argument accented by flying feet and swords.
Kiara watched in amusement for a bit before Casmira's gasp startled her. She turned to see the young ruler follow up with a frustrated groan and a sigh. Kiara raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
"I can't believe I didn't think about it before," Casmira started as she shook her head, "Chopper, since you're a doctor, can you examine Sicarius and make sure he's okay? He was hit by a tranquilizer and hasn't woken up yet."
"Of course I will," Chopper said as he approached the hyena and began checking over him.
Casmira looked on with a concerned look on her face as Kiara sidled over, "What happened to taking care of 'Si? I thought you were supposed to protect him."
"I know. I am. 'Si is my responsibility. I can't let anything happen to him. When we got here, I told myself that at the first mention of a doctor I would get him help. But I… I let myself get distracted," Casmira turned her face away at the part.
"Distracted?" Kiara repeated. She ran over what had happened recently. The cook maybe… no it's too soon for that. Don't tell me…
"You got distracted because of Chopper's cuteness?" Kiara asked incredulously. Casmira coughed out a suspicious denial and whirled around. Just as Kiara was about to say something else, the doctor in question appeared.
"I just gave Sicarius a checkup. He seems fine, he's just sleeping off the effects of the tranquilizer used."
The royal sighed in relief and thanked Chopper with a smile. She made to sit down when Sanji materialized with two orange drinks in his hand, "I have arrived with your drinks of love my dears!"
Casmira furrowed her brow a bit and opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it and sat down. Kiara spoke up in her friend's stead, "We can't use our hands. We're wearing handcuffs."
Sanji wasn't deterred, "Nothing to fear beautiful ladies! I, as your loyal servant, shall feed you!"
Kiara and Zoro both scoffed at the same time.
"We have enough servants already."
"Idiot pervert."
Both statements caused different responses.
"What do you mean 'we'? All those servants are mine you peasant!"
"What did you say mosshead?!"
Sanji and Zoro set about continuing their last bout, and at the same time, Casmira and Kiara pressed their foreheads together in another argument.
Usopp, who was quietly enjoying his break from peacemaking, made his way over to the seated girls. "Hey guys calm-"
Just then, there was a sound in the corner where Sicarius slept. He let out a low groan as he stretched and slowly got up. Casmira's head whipped toward him as she cried, "Sicarius!" The young royal ran over to her animal companion and knelt next to him.
Sicarius flattened his ears tilted his head to one side with his teeth bared. His mouth was only slightly open as he let out a soft squeal. Casmira grinned and leaned closer, "I missed you too 'Si. I'd pet you if I could." She frowned at the last part as Usopp approached.
"You can understand him?"
"Of course, Sicarius has been with me since he was cub."
Suddenly, there was a boom followed by a loud crash as the ship rocked to the side.
"What was that?" Casmira asked as Sicarius helped her regain her balance.
"Sounds like a cannonball hit the water next to the Sunny," Usopp answered, looking worried.
All the pirates in the room seemed to share his worry, Zoro and Sanji ran outside, the latter calling behind him, "Make sure to protect the ladies, Usopp!" Chopper quickly picked up his bag before hurrying after them.
Usopp nodded and absently began drinking from Kiara's abandoned cup. She looked affronted for a second before seeming to get over it.
"Do you guys get attacked like this often?" Kiara finally asked.
"Well," Usopp started, "you could say that, since we are pirates after all. But we didn't think Marines really came to this island all that often so we weren't expecting this, I guess." He continued to sip Sanji's 'drink of love' as Casmira frowned.
"Marines don't come to this island though."
Usopp spluttered, spilling some of the drink on the front of his overalls, he cursed and tried to wipe away the worst of it before continuing, "Why don't the Marines come here?"
Casmira snorted derisively, "Those cursed Marines, they say they're all about justice and act so high and mighty. They've caused more destruction here than any pirate I've ever seen. All they do is cause trouble with pirates that were simply restocking or relaxing, peacefully. The Marines just show up and start destroying buildings, those are my people's homes and businesses! And the worst part is I've never seem them actually catch a pirate. Every Marine is just an incompetent fool-"
"Long story short: Cass doesn't like Marines." Kiara cut in.
Usopp's brows drew together, "What about when pirates do attack?"
"My soldiers, of course," Casmira declared proudly, "Idrico's royal army is the best in the world!"
"You don't know that for sure, Cass."
The young queen fixed her friend with a gaze that promised a multitude of pain and suffering at this statement. The other girl responded with a cheery grin. Casmira rolled her eyes and looked away with a huff.
"So your royal soldiers are the ones who fight pirates here?"
Casmira nodded proudly, "They have orders to only contain pirates causing a disruption. They won't attack any pirate unprovoked. Unlike those incompetent Marines." The last part came out in an angry mutter.
"How did you manage to get the Marines to stop coming?"
"Simple. I sent them a formal letter of notice and then proceeded to attack every ship that approached the island."
Usopp gulped at Casmira's suddenly darkened tone. He nodded shakily and drank more of Kiara's drink. He made a small sound of appreciation as he relaxed into his seat. Casmira watched him for moment turning her attention to Sicarius, who had begun gently licking her arm.
"Stop it 'Si, that's gross," she grumbled, but the hyena paid her no mind.
Once again, Usopp spluttered, this time spilling the last of Sanji's 'drink of love' on the table. He cursed and began wiping it up.
"Again?" Kiara asked exasperatedly.
"What is it this time?" Casmira was similarly annoyed with the spastic sniper.
"If the Marines don't come to this island, then who's outside?"
"A rival pirate crew?" Casmira suggested.
Usopp hummed in thought for a moment before answering, "Somehow that doesn't seem right. This whole thing feels kind of… off."
A series of explosions came from outside. The ship rolled with the shockwaves that resonated through the water, Casmira managing to keep her balance this time.
"How about we go outside and look instead of sitting here talking about it?" Kiara finally snapped.
Usopp quickly shook his head, "No way! Sanji told me to stay here with you. If I go out there and one of you so much as scrapes an elbow, he'll kill me! It's safer just to let thee others handle it."
As Kiara stomped up to the sniper, Casmira stood up and made her way over to the door. She pushed the door open and peered outside.
Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy were hard at work deflecting cannonballs. Chopper was nowhere to be seen. But this wasn't what caused Casmira to pause. Both Usopp and Kiara walked up behind her. Kiara's eyes widened as Usopp's eyebrows drew together in confusion.
"Who are they?" he asked. There, standing on the shore, was a small force of about twenty soldiers, all wearing a silver and white uniform. A few cannons were set up and operated by three soldiers each. One soldier stood out, his uniform had blue added to it. He shouted orders to the others and directed their attacks.
After taking in a tense breath, Casmira answered, "My royal army."
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Thank you for reading!