Yo! I would like to express my endless gratitude to people who reviewed, favorited, or followed the story. I love you guys! TAT
Special thanks to MyLadyDay, who took the time to advertise my good-for-nothing story on Tumblr. Thank you! QAQ
I wanted to post this some other time, but taking into account the fact that it's Valentine's Day, and all...
Marco remembered opening his eyes a few times. He remembered the short glimpses he got of his surroundings before he faded away again. He recalled someone feeding him, forcing him to drink. He knew he was in some sort of cave. But where? Was he still in the mountains somewhere? There was no sign of snow, but once or twice he was pretty sure he felt freezing cold air come into the enclosed space, though that wasn't saying much seeing as it was winter.
When Marco finally came to his senses, he was more than sure that a few days had passed. He tried to lift his arm, only to find that he could barely twitch his fingers. Trying his best not to panic, he carefully assessed his surroundings.
He was right before. He most certainly was in a cave. It looked quite spacious, too, far bigger than he had originally though it to be. He seemed to be lying by the wall on a heap of dried grass, if the smell was anything to go by, covered by a thick dark red blanket. Mustering up whatever little strength he had, Marco turned his head to the right.
His eyes took in the sight of the ring of small stones, surrounding a slight indentation in the rock. Inside the circle, he could see ashes of many burnt-out fires. Farther down there was an opening in the cave wall which looked like it might be some kind of corridor leading further into the cave.
Marco let his eyes roam the room once again, before snapping them back to the opening the moment he heard footsteps coming his way.
The man who entered was... most definitely odd. He wore an orange cowboy hat with two faces, one smiling and the other frowning, located right over the brim, and unbuttoned yellow shirt, black cargo pants, and boots. He also seemed to have numerous accessories, like the orange thing covering the elbow of his right arm, a red and white striped bracelet, and some weird contraption that consisted of an orb with a needle inside, placed in another bracelet. He had chin-length wavy black hair, and dark gray eyes. A closer look at his face revealed an abundance of freckles dotting his cheeks in a way that seemed almost artistic to Marco.
The moment their eyes met, a wide grin spread across the stranger's face, and his eyes lit up.
"You're awake!" He exclaimed. "How do you feel?" Marco blinked a few times as his muddled mind made sense of what was being said to him.
"Alright, I guess," he croaked. "Where am I?"
The man came closer. Though, now that Marco got a closer look at him, he looked to be no older than 18.
"In my house. Well, if you can call it that. It's a cave situated more or less in the middle of the mountain." Marco frowned. Just why did this man, no, this boy, live so far away from society? He watched as the man put down firewood Marco hadn't noticed he was carrying, and started to arrange each branch in a cone-like figure inside the stone circle.
"Do you know what happened to me?" He inquired carefully. The stranger shrugged his shoulders. It was only then that Marco became aware of the tattoo on his arm.
"Ace?" The stranger spun around to face him once again, a look of slight confusion on his face. Marco nodded towards the tattoo, and watched the confused expression change into one of realization.
"Yeah. And you are?" He asked.
"My name's Marco. So... how did I get here?" He asked, curious.
"Found you half-dead after the avalanche passed. It brings cool stuff from up the mountain sometimes, but I never expected it to bring down a half-dead human." The way he said human slightly unnerved Marco.
"What do you mean by half-dead?" He asked. Ace placed the last piece of wood in the middle of the structure before he answered.
"Big gash on forehead. Giant fever. Twisted ankle. Frostbite. Possibly broken ribs?" Marco's eyebrows furrowed.
"Then why don't I feel any pain?" He demanded. Ace sighed and rubbed his temples.
"I gave you herbs for the pain. And the fever. And I managed to stitch up that big red line above your left eye." Ace mimed the cut, sliding the index finger of his left hand along his own forehead. Once again, he turned away to face the heap of wood. He reached out his hand and gripped the only branch that stuck straight up. Marco raised an eyebrow, wondering what he could possibly be doing, when the stranger's hand suddenly caught fire. Marco yelped, and his eyes went wide with fear. That was the moment everything clicked into place.
"Y-you're a witch!" He shouted loudly. As Ace turned to face him once again, Marco looked away, trying to find some way to get out of the room, temporarily forgetting about his injuries.
"Yeah. That, I am," came the reply. He fought the urge to flinch when Ace moved closer to the makeshift bed Marco was lying on. Hesitantly, Marco lifted his blue eyes up to meet the boy's gray ones. Although they were mostly shadowed by his bangs, he could still make out a slight hardness to them.
"Is that a problem?" Ace asked. Marco mutely shook his head, eyes still darting around the cave for a means of escape.
"You don't have to be scared of me, you know." Ace's voice was low and barely audible, even in the silent cave. Marco's heart was beating a mile a minute, and the adrenaline that coursed through his veins had erased any previous disorientation from his mind.
"Not scared of you?! You're a witch! You've signed a contract with the devil!" Marco shouted. Ace chuckled darkly.
"Is that what they say about us these days?" He turned away to face the fire again. "Just go back to sleep for now. You need rest if you want your wounds to heal. If you feel better by... well, when you can walk again, you can go back down the mountain to wherever you came from." Marco seriously doubted he would be able to fall asleep again for quite a while, but didn't voice his thoughts. "I promise I won't hurt you," Ace said in a quiet voice.
Marco didn't know how long they stayed like that, with him lying in the makeshift bed and observing Ace, and the latter sitting before the fire, but eventually, his eyes grew droopy, and he couldn't help but to succumb to his exhaustion.
When Marco opened his eyes again, Ace was nowhere to be seen and the fire had long since gone out. He tried not to panic. He really did. But being within such close proximity of a witch of all things?! Any normal man would freak out. Should Marco have been able to, he would have killed the other as soon as he found out about his powers. Sure, a part of him would have felt guilty, slaying the one who saved his life, but in the end, it was all for the greater good, was it not?
As the days went on, Marco reluctantly became accustomed to the idea of living underneath the same roof as a witch. When Ace appeared, he always had a smile on his face. He would talk about whatever was on his mind, and Marco would just keep staring at him. Well, until one day.
"Lots of people are born with powers, you know. Most of them never awaken them, though." This caught Marco's attention, and, for the first time in days, he spoke.
"You mean I might know people who could be witches, and they don't even know it themselves?" Ace looked surprised when he voiced his question, but a smile slid into place on his face.
"Sure. All the nonsense humans made up about witches, the contracts with devils and such, it's all a myth. Even you could have powers and not know about them." Marco's face showed disgust and his eyes turned cold.
"Never. I would never be like you." Ace hummed.
"But what if you are, though? What if you did have powers? What would you do then? You sure as hell wouldn't be able to stay around humans. They'd shun you away, burn you at the stake, torture you until you wished you were dead..." He trailed off. Marco's eyes took on a slightly sympathetic.
"Is that what happened to you?" He asked quietly, not certain whether or not he wanted to hear the answer. Ace stayed silent, a darkness entering his eyes, before he changed the topic, and forced a smile.
"Do you know how powers are revealed? It's usually a traumatic experience. Although, a witch can... unlock... a person's powers with their consent. It rarely works though, and only experienced witches are able to do it to people they share close bonds with. That is, of course, if they do have hidden powers in the first place."
Marco never broached the subject again. He found his daily talks with Ace somewhat interesting, and, though he was reluctant to admit it, he was starting to like the boy, even if he was still wary of him.
He learned a lot of things during his time spent with the witch, some of which Ace probably shouldn't have said if he cared at all for his own well-being. Supposedly, the only thing that could completely cancel out powers was something called seastone. Since Marco had never heard of it, it must have been pretty rare.
Ace had narcolepsy. Marco learned that the hard way. One day, during one of their talks, Ace suddenly fell backwards, straight into the fire behind him. Marco was about to get up, disregarding his injuries, but didn't when he heard the witch snoring and saw that the flames weren't hurting him. When he had woken up, Ace had explained everything that had happened to him and apologized for the scare.
Once, when Marco asked him why he never wore a coat, Ace had told him that he no longer felt temperatures, thanks to his powers. Marco raised his eyebrows at that. It was no wonder he could live in a cave up on the mountain during winter and not freeze to death. It turned out Ace had been keeping the fire going only for Marco's benefit.
"You have how many brothers?!" Ace shouted with a shocked expression on his face.
"Thirteen brothers and one sister," Marco replied easily, snickering at the bewildered look on the other's face.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Ace whispered. Marco shook his head and grinned.
"We're adopted, though. Our father's name is Edward Newgate, but most people call him Whitebeard. Funny thing is, he has a mustache, not a beard..." Marco trailed off, and the grin slid off his face.
"You alright?" Ace asked him. Marco swallowed.
"Yeah... It's just that... they all probably think that I'm dead.." They sat in silence for a while.
"Imagine how happy they'll all be to find out that you're alive, then." Marco's lips twitched.
"Yeah... It's definitely something to look forward to. Ace..." Marco started.
"Hmm?"
"Do you have any family?" Marco could have sword he saw anger flash in Ace's eyes before it disappeared.
"Yeah. I have... had two bothers. Luffy and Sabo," Ace said quietly.
"Had?" Marco inquired. Ace bit his lip.
"Sabo died when I was 10. And I have no idea whether or not Luffy's still alive." Marco frowned.
"Sorry." Ace shook his head.
"It's okay."
Roughly a month later, Ace deemed Marco healthy enough to try to walk on his own.
His now-friend helped him up, and released his arm as soon as he was steady on his feet. Marco took one step, and had to catch Ace's hand to keep from cashing to the rock floor. Eventually, though, after the first few steps, he seemed to regain his sense of balance and managed to walk around the small room all by himself. He looked up to see a slightly forced smile on Ace's face.
"I... I guess you're going home now that you can walk, huh?" The witch asked. Marco frowned. During the time he had been here, he had grown attached to the boy. He hadn't thought it possible, but... the witch had a charismatic air about him... and an interesting personality Marco couldn't help but be attracted to.
"Can't you come with me?" He asked. Ace shook his head, hair whipping around as he looked down at his own feet.
"Trust me. I'm better off here."
I do trust you, Marco realized. He frowned. Ace would be all alone again. For how long had he not spoken to another person before Marco came along? Seven years? Marco's heart clenched at the thought of leaving the boy all alone again. Even though he had only known the other for a month, they had developed a bond. He was certain that Ace trusted him just as much as he trusted Ace. Which, considering how their relationship had started off, was a lot.
Over the course of time, he had come to learn that witches weren't that bad. They felt pain, anger, joy, sorrow. The first one he had found out when Ace had accidentally cut his hand open with a seastone knife. Red fluid had splattered down to the floor, and Ace had hissed in pain. When Marco had asked why he had the weapon, Ace had explained that he needed some sort of protection from the other witches, who apparently had no qualm about hurting others of their kind. He had watched as Ace walked to the other room and came back with a sheet up moss pressed against the wound on the palm of his hand.
Witches were a lot like humans in many aspects.
"In that case, I promise I'll come visit you," Marco decided. "After all, I have to repay you for your help somehow, right? I wasn't exactly kind to you for the first week and a half or so." At this Ace cracked a smile.
"You promise?" He asked.
"I promise." A wide grin replaced the small smile.
"It's a deal, then!" Marco returned the smile with a sincere one of his own. Ace told Marco to follow him as he walked through the corridor.
It was the first time Marco had come through here. The hallway had openings that led to even more rooms Marco had never seen before: a library, a kitchen, etc...
"Did you make all of this yourself?" He asked Ace, amazed.
"Nahh. This used to be a summer island, you know. And these are old lava tunnels. All I had to do was... fix them up a little," the witch explained.
They walked on, and eventually they came to a dead-end. Marco scrunched his eyebrows, when Ace walked up to the rock at the end of the tunnel and pulled on a barely visible rope. The 'wall' traveled upwards, and for the first time in a month, Marco was met with daylight. Not the fire that gave off light in this secluded cave, but real sunlight. He ran outside. Ace walked out behind him after tying the end of the rope around a metal ring attached to the opposite 'wall' inside so that the rock didn't shut him out from the cave. He lifted his arm and pointed straight ahead.
"If you keep walking in the direction of the setting sun, you're bound to reach the village by nightfall." Marco turned around in his direction, wanting to once again thank Ace for saving his life, but Ace said it before him.
"Thanks you." Marco tilted his head to the side slightly.
"What for?" He asked, disoriented.
"For not shunning me away. For not calling me a monster. For being my friend, someone I can trust, even if it was for only a short while. Really, it meant a lot to me." Meant? "Goodbye, Marco," he said, and, not giving Marco a chance to answer him, practically ran back to the cave, letting the rock fall behind him, sealing him off from the outside world. From Marco
Marco just stared after him, dumbstruck.
"W-wait..." he whispered into the nothingness. He stayed in place, staring at where Ace had disappeared for a few seconds. Eventually, he sighed, turned around, and began walking in the direction Ace had pointed in. No matter what, he would keep his promise and come visit Ace again soon. Nothing would stop him.
Ace slid down to the ground and hid his face in his hands. Deep down inside, he knew that he would probably never see Marco again. It was probably for the better, too. Marco's sudden appearance back at his village was bound to raise questions. He had been gone for a month, and now he appeared out of nowhere...
Marco wouldn't tell them about a witch saving him, would he?
Ace sighed, thinking about the trouble he might have gotten himself into.
But in the end, it was worth it, right?
Shitty story is shitty. Sorry about that. I have a bad habit of rushing things...
So, how about a review? *wiggles eyebrows*
