Three loud bangs on my door followed by irritated bellow of "ELIZABETH!" pulled me from the leather bound journal that I had been reading.
I sighed. I could ignore her, but that wouldn't get me anywhere. She knew I was here and would beat on the door, until I either answered or it fell off of its hinges.
"I'm coming!" I yelled, setting the book on the table and pulling myself up off of the couch.
"What? I asked, pulling the door open.
Rayne stood there in her four and a half feet of fury, glaring at me from behind her thick framed glasses.
"I need you to get down there and help me. Those damn pirates are going to drink me dry."
I snorted. "I'm pretty sure you've been dry for years, Ray."
"Disrespectful brat. I know I've told you to respect your elders."
"You've also told me that you're 29, in which case, I'm older than you."
"Ha. Ha. Aren't you a comedian? Just get dressed and get down there. I gotta run to the cave to restock."
The cave was a hole in the face of the cliff that overlooked the town. I didn't know what all was in it. I just knew that it was where Rayne kept her alcohol stashed, and that she never ever let anyone go near it.
"I don't see how that's my problem."
"It's your fault that they're down there in the first place!" she snapped. "Red Hair walked in and said the pretty girl at that store said that this was the best place to get a drink."
"I also told him that you hated pirates."
"Elizabeth!" she barked, cane cracking me in the shin.
"Fine!" I groaned, rubbing the sore spot. "I'll be down in five."
I slammed the door in her face, grumbling to myself as I proceeded to put my boots back on and tied my hair up. Grabbing my key and locking the door behind me, I stepped onto the landing and descended the stairs.
The air was warm, and there was a gentle breeze. I would have to open the windows, when I came back.
My boots made a crunching sound, when I hit the gravel behind the tavern. I walked into the open backdoor, making my way down the dark narrow hallway. I made a stop in the store room, rolling up my sleeves and tying on an apron.
I walked out to the front, quickly surveying the bar. The Red Haired crew was out in full force it looked like, drinking, laughing, some even singing, just generally having a grand old time.
I walked up behind Rayne, reaching over her to grab the rag out of her hand. "Get out of here. I got this."
"Don't go tearing the place down," Rayne instructed, shucking her apron and heading to the back.
"Yeah yeah!" I hollered after her. "I'd set it on fire just to spite you if I didn't live here," I muttered.
"Well look who it is," Shanks said from his spot on the bar.
"Captain," I greeted. I turned to his first mate. "Hello, Benn."
"You know, I'm getting the feeling that you're mocking me, when you use my title."
"Only a little," I answered, wiping down the counter. "Enough to make things fun, but not so much that I actually insult my favorite customer."
Shanks perked up at that. "Favorite, huh?"
"If you left me the same kind of tip you left her, you'd be my favorite too," Yasopp said, coming up behind Shanks and clapping his shoulder.
"I was talking about Benn. You know it's rude to insult a man's captain."
Benn smirked, and Yasopp laughed out loud. Shanks face was a perfect caricature of offense.
I gave them an overly bright smile. "Now, what can I get you guys to drink?"
Tavern work wasn't hard, though it could be exhausting for sure. I made sure that everyone's glasses were full and that they were all having a good time. Jolly pirates were usually less of a problem. It was the angry ones that tried to wreck shit and got into fights.
The Red Hair crew were some of the best patrons that I had waited on. None of them were pushy or rude, at least to me, to each other most definitely. They treated me kindly, used what little manners they had and made it a point to try to include me in their conversations. The perks of being the one pouring the booze.
A lot of people would've been uncomfortable in this situation. A tavern full of pirates, one headed by one of the Yonko at that, wasn't exactly the full house most business owners wanted. However, I was at ease. I came from a family of pirates, my father and my brothers had all taken to the seas.
The volume and vulgarity made me feel right at home.
Nearly an hour after I arrived my good spirits, were dampened by a new arrival.
The bell above the door chimed. I pulled my attention from Yasopp and the story he was telling me about his son to greet the new guest and saw Tel standing there. He had a handful of the other "protectors" with him. They were most certainly here for Shanks and his men.
I sighed. This wasn't going to go well.
He stood in the doorway and surveyed the tavern, slowly scrutinizing the crew, a look of disgust on his face.
I stood up straight and glared at him. "Don't you even think about it," I warned. "You won't win this fight. And if by divine intervention you did, you most certainly won't survive the hag, when she gets back and sees that you've caused trouble."
Tel scowled at me. "Serving pirates, demon? Really?"
I rolled my eyes. 'Same old shit.'
"Posturing Tel? Really?" I snapped.
He went to say something, but I cut him off. "You either sit down, order and behave or you leave." I picked up the pitcher that I had emptied into Yasopp's mug and went to refill it.
As much as I hated to admit it, and believe me, I hated giving Tel any type of credit, Tel and his goons were pretty good at what they did. They could hold their own in a fight. They were like wolves, using their numbers and teamwork to their advantage. I had seen some of the men they chased off and they were no joke. It was impressive. For the West Blue at least. In the grand scheme of things they were more like rats than wolves.
Tel's game was simple. It was also effective at first. Once he found a target, he planned an ambush. Find their location, set the trap, provoke them until they lash out and use that provocation to lure them into the ambush. Because they lashed first, despite being provoked it made Tel look like the hero, someone who had just defended himself from this vile and dangerous person. He'd been trying it on me for years.
In the beginning, it didn't work, because I was so broken from the events that had led me here, I fully bought into everything that he was saying.
As time went on and my brothers, Rayne and Gene helped pull the pieces of me back together, I realized what he was trying to do. Not that I was ever a miscreant, but I had truly been on my best behavior afterwards.
It worked too. I had proven to the village that, while I was dangerous, I wasn't a danger to them. They kept their distance, but they no longer called for my head like they did, when I first arrived.
Tel's reputation was far too important for him to go after me without a good reason.
Tel walked in and sat at the bar, putting his feet up. His goons crowded around him. "Get me a drink, demon, and something for the boys here too."
"Let's get somethings straight here, boy. One, get your feet off the bar. This is not your damn house." I walked over and knocked his feet off the bar. "I know you're planning something. Whatever it is, you are not doing it in here."
I knew that Shanks and his crew could easily handle Tel. I would've let them, if we were anywhere else, but we were at the tavern. I didn't want to end up homeless, because they damaged or destroyed it, or to end up dead, because Rayne would murder me.
"Three," I let my haki slip into my words, which in its small dose was enough to make Tel and his men pale and break into cold sweats, something that they would attribute to my devil fruit. "My name is not demon. It is Elizabeth. Use it."
Tel was trying to act tough still, as if he were unaffected by my mix of demonic aura and haki, but I knew better, so did the Red Haired Pirates, if the amused looks on their faces were anything to go by. Surprisingly, they were all totally unaffected. It was surprising, considering that I hadn't bothered trying to spare them from it.
I eased up and got his drink. "I was gonna get you a beer, but you look like I need something stronger," I said, my tone patronizing.
"You are one scary lady, when you want to be," Shanks said, letting out a low whistle.
"When I want to be?" I questioned, my brows raised in surprised. "I'm scary, when I don't want to be. I know you noticed it. The second you walked into the store you had to have felt it."
"I did, but I was too distracted to really care."
"Distracted?"
Shanks' eye glanced down at my cleavage and then back up to my face.
"You'd be amazed by how often that happens," Benn deadpanned.
"Your beauty outweighs the whole, something evil lurks beneath the surface vibe you give off."
Tel and I scoffed at the same time, causing us to turn to glare at the other one. I flipped him off, before turning my attention back to the men in front of me.
"Charming," Shanks, teased.
"I save my charm for people, who leave decent tips. Why do you think I lay it on so thick for you?" I joked.
"You're about as charming as a wolverine," Tel shot.
"That's rich coming from you," Rayne said, reappearing.
"You're one to talk."
"Yeah. Yeah. He break anything?" she asked, gesturing to Tel.
I shook my head.
"Good. Liz, probably saved you boys a lot of trouble."
"Saved us trouble? I'm starting to think she is trouble," Shanks ribbed.
"She is," Rayne said at the same time I said, "I am."
"She gets that from her father," Rayne explained. "And her brothers. The whole lot is a pain in the-"
"They get it," I cut her off.
"Brat." She cracked me with that damn cane again, causing me to hiss. "Bring in my barrels for me."
"Beats the shit out of me, and then fucking orders me around. I'm not actually your damn employee."
Shanks grinned.
"I know. Charming."
Author's Note: Hello Hello Don't get used to me updating this fast, because there's no way that I can keep it up.
Review Replies:
Ravenclaw Slytherin: Nice beginning chapter! Update soon!
Thank you! I have the first like four chapters worked out, so those should be out quickly, but unfortunately I'm sporadic at best, but I hope tat you can stick with it.
Guest: Your writing is great and I'm already loving the OC! Maybe a longer chapter next time but then again I like having more material to read so that could be me :) looking forward to the next chapter!
Thank you! Thank you! Elizabeth was initially supposed to be a throwaway OC for a one shot, but I liked her too much, so here we are. I typically like longer chapters too, but chapters for this fic are probably going to be pretty short to start, just because their interactions are fairly short. They'll probably get longer though as this goes on.
Guest: This is pretty funny. Love the sarcasm. I can see them getting into snark battles to see who can out sass the other.
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I can't wait until they get to have longer conversations, and I can really expand upon the dynamic.
Shion: Seems interesting
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm hoping it will be. Lol.
