A/N : This chapter turned out to be longer than I expected, but it was a bit fun and I did some snapshots of each character, so you can tell who is thinking what about the situation they are in. There's plenty more action and some plotline stuffs. I can't wait to really get into this story and updates will be faster as finals are now over and I have time to write. Thank you for the faves-I very much appreciate it! ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, that entire bit of genius is 100% Eiichiro Oda. I only lay claim to my original plot used here and my own characters.
Her head snapped back with the force of the slap, but when she turned back to stare at the woman, there was nothing but a level-gaze and a hint of red on her cheek. Altessa was every inch the young woman her noble blood demanded of her. "Bernetta." She said, stiffly. "It is also quite stimulating to see your wonderful face as well."
The woman stared at her, her breathing becoming increasingly short as a bright red blush crept up the length of her neck and spread across her fat face. "Of course." She spat. "It would only be something as-"
"I can't explain what happened, there isn't time. I need to see Jennica at once, there's been a bit of trouble and-"
"Oh no, you don't. You've been missing for the past seventeen hours and you're just going to walk in here spouting off that kind of nonsense as if-"
'It isn't nonsense. This is an emergency and I'll gladly explain what I can as soon as we get to Jennica, these good people have-"
"Good people?" As if for the first time, the woman finally dared to look further than the golder version of Altessa before her, her jaw went slack as her gaze fastened on the strawhat jolly roger flying freely in the wind. "Pirates!" She shrieked. "You brought pirates into the city? In the midst of the festival? How dare you? And you, you pirates! You scum! What kind of wicked scoundrels are you that would dare you lay a finger on the daughter of a high-ranking noble from the house of Mercia-"
Luffy stiffened. One hand reached up to settle his strawhat firmly on his head. Zoro shifted meaningfully, his hand hovering over where his swords normally were, it registered, belatedly, when he realized that he had three small knives—and not three large swords, but there was no mistaking his intent. Sanji shifted forward, his body a shield between the two female crewmates behind him and the Bernetta lady standing on the grassy deck, shrieking madly.
Usopp was peering over Franky's available shoulder and Chopper was right behind him. Their weariness was thinly disguised, but there was no mistaking the resolution over them—if a fight was necessary, then they would fight.
A spark of fear flickered through her eyes and Altessa immediately lurched forward, deliberately drawing the older woman's attention away with her own movements and words, a desperate attempt at distraction. "Bernetta! Please stop that, you've got it all wrong, they saved me. There's nothing to blame on them and if there's anyone who should take responsibility it is solely me and-"
"Saved you? You got yourself into the kind of mess where the only people you could call for help were pirates?" She spluttered. "How could you lower yourself to such a level that-"
The young woman stiffened visibly, her body going rigid. "I didn't lower myself to anything." Her voice was unnatural, stiff and precise, the earlier desperation melting away to show a hint of regality that had flickered through before. "I did not ask them to rescue me. Why are you not listening to what I have to say! This is important-!"
"Ah, so you put yourself in a position where pirates suddenly found it in the goodness of their hearts to just suddenly save your neck for nothing? What did you promise them? Half of the island? You don't even have the gall to stand here before me and-"
"Not now." There was a hint of anger in her voice as Altessa lifted her chin a few degrees higher. Her patience was running thinner than it had been before, she was quite nearly trembling from the pressure of the emotion within her. "I refuse to have this conversation here and in the presence of others, Bernetta. I need to see Jennica and I need to see her now. Call her."
"Call her?"
"Please call her."
"Please call her? What do you take me for, your secretary?"
"That is part of your job." Altessa returned, smoothly. "And I would appreciate it if you would do so as quickly as possible, there are several people on board this ship that are in need of her medical expertise and I will not have them suffer because you are-"
:Medical expertise? This ship? These pirates?" Bernetta snorted. "You brought pirates into the heart of the city in the middle of our anniversary celebration for the sake of saving your own skin at the expense of other people's lives and-"
"I don't have time for this!" Altessa snapped, her temper finally showing through the masked expression. "There isn't any time. I don't care what you have to say about me, but right now, it has nothing to do with these good people. They risked their lives and they didn't have to. I owe them that much at the very least and that doesn't even take into consideration that they saved my life."
"Saved your life." There was a mocking laugh. "Saved your life from who?"
Altessa opened her mouth and then shut it. Her hands slowly curled into fists beside her and she took a deep breath before answering in as steady and calm a voice as she could manage. "I cannot say."
"You can't say?" The woman repeated. "Of course, you couldn't possibly say because nothing happened! You think you can just pull one of those tricks as if I'm-"
"This isn't atrick. There are people here that need medical…" Altessa's voice trailed off and she coughed, sudddnely, a slightly hacking cough, with a faint rasp on the end. A look of complete surprise showed on her face and she swallowed, carefully.
Bernetta was furiously scribbling in a little notepad she had cradled in the crook of her elbow. "Just wait until you father hears of this young lady."
"I don't care." Her voice was off. Altessa coughed again. "In fact, I do need to speak to my father, so the sooner I can have an audience with him, the better it would be. Now, are you going to call Jennica or do I have to-"
The hand flashed out and slapped her again. "I will do nothing of the sort." The notepad was shut with an audible snap. "You're going back to your quarters and will be confined until further notice at your father's discretion and-"
A brighter spot of red began to color the other side of Altessa's face, her blue eyes shimmered faintly and then the irises burned a golden amber sheen. The clenched fists at her sides were so tight that a faint trickle of redness began to show at the corners. Her hands were clenched tight enough to bleed.
"Bernetta…" The same was spoken as a hiss with nothing but absolute disgust radiating at the simple pronunciation of it. Altessa's head bowed and her voice took on a certain shade of darkness. "That was uncalled for." She shook her head—once—deliberately. "That was entirely uncalled for."
The woman snorted. "I'll be the judge of that. Your father left you in my care with instructions to do what was necessary to make you into the one thing you seem incapable of being! You're nothing but an irresponsible brat with no sense of-"
"Rubia!" Altessa's head snapped up, the golden irises glowing brightly as she suddenly shouted to someone the crowd along the docks. "Come here." It was a simple command and spoken with more authority than expected.
Bernetta stared at her for a moment and then the puzzlement seemed to settle into her face. She wrinkled her nose but ignored the words and continued with her tirade, reaching for the younger woman again.
In the throng of the street crowds, a slender woman with long, white-blonde hair turned tucking a strand of her silken locks behind one heavily bejeweled ear. Her head had turned only at the name called and the authority behind it, her eyes seeking and easily finding the one who had called her. There was no readable expression or reaction as she turned abruptly on her heel and started towards the pirate ship. The crowd seemed to part for her as she advanced towards the boat and hopped easily over the railing with a grace that belied the danger hidden beneath her effortless elegance. Stepping onto the deck, she smoothed the front of her ensemble, brushing invisible dust from her shirt sleeves, deliberately oblivious to the eyes watching her.
Bernetta gave a sudden squeak at the new development. It was a sound somewhere between indignance and confusion as she sputtered and stammered for a few minutes before the new stranger spoke.
Luffy's hand remained on his hat, the fingers tightening ever so slightly on the straw fibers. He didn't understand all that was going on and why, but he did know that someone new had just entered the picture and there was something about them that seemed to be very off and very wrong. Something that didn't seem to bother the magical redhead that had called out to the mystery woman. As if sensing his unease, Zoro shifted ever so slightly closer, an unspoken reassurance that everything would be fine—no matter how it turned out. Sanji's reaction was to draw a cigarette and twirl it between his fingers, contemplating the actual action of smoking rather than satisfying the usual craving that came with the sudden spikes of adrenaline at moments like this.
"Altessa." The strange woman—Rubia—acknowledged with a respectful dip of her head, the white-blonde locks swaying with the movement. "You look well. Is there some way I may be of assistance?"
"I need to speak to my father." Altessa licked her lips. "And I need to see Jennica and I need to get some…help for my friends and for…" The word came out with a gasp. "I don't feel good at all."
"Of course, anything else?" Rubia began to scribble on a thin slab of white crystal stone drawn from the confines of her inner tunic. The words she penned flared with a golden light and disappeared almost as quickly as she wrote them.
"You little-how dare you ignore me when I'm speaking to-!" Bernetta began, her hand flashed out, but this time, it was caught by Rubia who fixed her with a disapproving frown.
"Kindly refrain from physically interacting with her ladyship in my presence. I believe my rank trumps yours and at the moment, I am acting upon her orders, by which, I would appreciate it if you would not interrupt us."
Altessa smiled, weakly. "Thank you, Rubia. I have one special request…fire Bernetta."
The woman stared at her and Rubia calmly released the hand, reaching up to tuck another strand of hair behind her left ear. "Of course, though I need not remind you that there will be consequences for doing so without your father's permission."
"I understand and accept." The phrase was practiced and well-delivered. It was something Altessa had imagined saying for quite some time, she was only saddened to think that she could not fully enjoy the moment she'd dreamed of for at least the past five years.
Rubia was still scribbling, her expression neutral as she continued to make the necessary arrangements to carry out her new orders. "Very well then, milady, anything after that?"
"No." The words were faint and there was suddenly flash of orange and red energy, before the older form of the girl melted away to show a small, ten year old girl, looking extremely pale and beginning to shiver uncontrollably.
Rubia frowned. "Ladyship?"
"I need to speak to father." She whispered. "And I'll do whatever needs to be done, but please…take them to Jennica and get help. They … saved my life." And with those words, the little girl promptly passed out.
Rubia looked from the newly fainted form, to the enraged Bernetta and then to the entire audience of the Strawhat crew that were watching her with various expressions on their expressive faces. "Of course, your ladyship." She murmured. But the phrase was said with a resigned air.
A rather disgruntled Bernetta was dismissed from service and a calm, cool, decidedly reserved Rubia took up the role of their unofficial guide. She immediately introduced herself on Altessa's behalf and demanded to know their names and conditions for healing. When the questions were answered with more or less difficulty, the blonde woman had silenced them with a look and a hand held up, lost in thought.
"This will not be easy." She allowed after a moment, shooting an appraising glance towards the young captain, his strawhat head bowed ever so slightly, his body tense even to an untrained eye. "I can help you as per her ladyship's wishes, but I must ask you to be patient for a little while longer, granted, this should not affect the effects of your curses, but the lady healer—Jennica—she is somewhere in the city, due to the festival. I need to find her…and convince her to leave the festivities for the sake of…humans." Rubia swallowed, the faintest flicker of emotion showing on her stoically expressionless face.
"Do whatever you have to." Luffy's voice grated. "Just do it." There was a thin layer of harshness that didn't seem to fit his personality as he lifted his head to stare deliberately at the Rubia woman.
For a moment, nothing was said and then Rubia turned abruptly with the same dangerous elegance she'd shown earlier. "Very well then, follow me and try not to touch anything. I suppose I ought to mention that on Sonreah, if you have not yet realized, humans are less than stellar creatures in our eyes." She wrinkled her nose, tucking the usual strand of hair behind the same heavily bejeweled ear. "However, your assistance to her ladyship ensures your safety for the moment as you are currently in my care under her orders. There are two things Sonreans hate to varying degrees, pirates and marines." Her mouth twitched. "I suppose it is lucky for you that we all hate the marines more. Come along."
Nami fell into step beside Robin and Sanji, her mind was whirling with the sudden overflow of what she was seeing coupled to what she was hearing. An island where marines were more hated than pirates, an island were humans were hated more than both—and a world that seemed to run on magic—something that defied every shred of logic within her mind.
This just wasn't true. It could not be happening.
Sneaking a sideways glance, she caught Robin deep in thought, the woman's eyes dark and brooding more so than usual and the earlier grimace of pain was now missing. The only difference from her usual darkened silence was the fact that both of Robin's arms were nestled carefully in a makeshift sling from around her neck. Chopper had been careful to see that she was tended to and with that minor annoyance out of the way, the brunette was puzzling through the strawhats newest adventure—very much in the same terms as the redhaired navigator. Catching the young woman's hesitant gaze, Robin chose to favor her with a simple smile, knowing it would be enough for the moment.
Sanji turned automatically to the left, to ask his fellow crewmates if there was anything at all that he could help either of them with when he saw Robin smile softly at Nami. He swallowed the words begging to be spoken and turned back to the front. He could easily read the navigator's frustration and wary apprehension, it was setting off all sorts of alarms in his head and he was pretending that he didn't have to deal with it just yet. He chewed on the end of the unlit cigarette, his hands shoved deep in his suit pockets, one of his elbows digging sharply into some stranger's side as he took a jab intended for the brunette walking beside him. It was hard to follow their aloof blonde-haired guide through the pressing throngs of excited festival party-goers and while the woman threaded her way through the crowd with relative ease, Sanji was finding it was a much more difficult reality than he'd expected.
Chopper rode on Franky's shoulders, the little doctor keeping his hat tugged a bit lower on his head to hide his face. He didn't like the feeling of so many eyes on him at the same time. He also didn't like the pushing, jostling crowds and the wild, loud screaming. A shudder ran through him and he darted a downward glance toward Usopp to see the skinny sniper experiencing the same reaction on a larger scale. He almost giggled, but the laughter was stuck in his throat as he realized that the pushing and shoving crowd was proving to be more of a hassle for their injured crewmates. A prickle of anger welled up inside him as the cyborg seemed to realize what was going on as well and moved forward, herding Usopp before him with a surprisingly gentle hand.
Franky felt Chopper shift on his shoulders and his head turned slightly to include the doctor's line of sight. He frowned at seeing Sanji take an elbow to the side in an effort to shield Robin from the drunken party-goers. His eyes narrowed when he realized that Nami was doing the same to cover Robin's left side while Sanji had her right. He frowned. That wasn't right at all. Urging Usopp further on ahead, he shifted the skinny boy to walk beside Nami, taking up a position to Robin's right that allowed him to be a bitter shield than the redhead had been.
Luffy was aware of the unsettling vibes gathering in the air. He was vaguely registering his nakama following closely behind him and it was enough for the moment. His gaze was fixed on the stern blonde woman tromping through the crowd ahead of him and he did not want to let her out of his sight—not until his entire crew was un-cursed. He was trying to figure out exactly what had happened to bring them to this particular turn of events, but all the thinking seemed to only cloud his mind and he didn't want that, so he pushed the troubling thoughts aside for later. There was a faintly comforting presence beside him and Luffy registered that as Zoro's strength being silently offered beside him as the swordsman wordlessly kept pace with him, an occasional glance cast back towards the rest of the crew.
Zoro felt a distinctly painful ache inside him, partially from the missing weight and security of his swords and mostly from the strangely withdrawn version of Luffy trotting silently beside him. He'd seen Luffy quiet a few times—mostly before something big and troublesome started. The kind of thing that had them all fighting for their lives and the brand of justice that just seemed to come naturally whenever a certain rubber-stretching pirate captain was involved. His jaw tightened slowly, his fingers ghosting over the thin hilts of the three short knives tucked in his haramaki. Something was going to happen, he just wasn't sure what it was—yet.
They found Jennica.
In the midst of a dancing circle with yells, shouts and whoops accompanying the catcalls as a fairly tall woman with four thick black braids of ankle-length hair, twirling in a beautiful continuous pirouette, her feet a blur and her smile faint and relaxed.
Rubia held out a hand to stop Luffy from plowing into her from behind—and also to stop the mini-pirate parade behind her. She felt them assemble into a jumble behind her and only then did she snatch her hand back from barely touching the captain's red vest. "Jennica." Her voice carried a clear, sharp cut and the woman in the midst of the circle, slowed to a brilliant stop, her cheeks rosy red, flushed with the effort, her creamy skin setting of a pair of startling jade cat-eyes that flared with fire as she rolled her neck to the side and beckoned to another woman in the crowd to take her place.
"Rubia." The woman acknowledge, tossing her fat braids over one shoulder. "To what do I owe the pleasure? I did not think you were the sort to engage in festivities, no matter how good the reason."
"I am here on business, may I have a minute?"
"Absolutely not." Jennica sniffed the air, delicately. "I've worked myself to the bone, I want a break. If I do not take one, I have a feeling that Stefan may force me to take one and goodness knows that I absolutely cannot have that."
"I am here on behalf of-"
"Don't." Jennica's hand flashed out, the fire flaring briefly in her eyes once more, her hand on the other woman's mouth. "Do not say who sent you or why you are hear, I do not care, I do not want to know. I came here to enjoy myself tonight." She sighed, her hand dropping back to her side. "Whatever it is, Rubia, it can wait and if it cannot, then I am sure you can find a more willing healer than myself tonight."
"Her ladyship specifically requested you."
Jennica whirled on her, the slender fingers expertly tangling through Rubia's high-collared tunic and curling around her neck in a grip that belied her expertise with the familiar way she moved. "I said I did not want to know."
"If you are going to strangle me-"
"Shut up!" Jennica suddenly shoved her backwards, taking a few steps backwards and plowing into Franky and Chopper. "Ow." It came out more as a whine than an exclamation and when she turned, her gaze immediately fell upon Robin. For a moment, they simply stared at each other and then Jennica blurred forward in a motion that was seemingly too fast to trace in a single blink. Her hands were on the brunette's face and shoulders, her eyes burning with a tinge of jade-colored energy. "You poor thing." There was a distinct injection of compassion in the woman's voice as she tested the sling holding Robin's arms around her neck and then felt for a pulse along her neck. "What in Beria's name happened to you—and a human to boot!" There was a frustrated puff of air. "You should not be out and about in this condition, you ought to see a healer and-"
Rubia cleared her throuat and Jennica jerked back to glare at her. The blonde merely nodded with a slight inclination and Jennica did the math with the same speed she'd danced forward to meet Robin.
"Oh no. No. No, no, no, no a thousand times no!" She spluttered. "You did not-!"
Rubia's mouth twitched again in an almost smile. "At her ladyship's request, not my own."
As if the full realization dawned on her, Jennica turned again, her jaw dropping open in complete surprise. "On my word…Rubia…" The name was ground out as Jennica stalked forward, this time to grab Usopp and jerk him out from behind Franky. She ignored his yelps and protests and the vicious glares sent her way for deliberately manhandling one of the pirate crew members. "This boy…" She sucked in a breath. "Who did this to them?"
Rubia shrugged. "I could not say."
"Could not or would not?"
"Her ladyship did not say."
"Don't toy with me Rubia! This is a serious offense. By all Sonrean law, none of these curses should ever be cast on humans—much less ones with devil fruit powers." She moved in short, stiff movements, pacing a short length in the ground, giving up to throw her hands in the air. "Fine."
"You will grace us with your-"
"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Jennica snapped, her eyes icy with the glare that matched. She turned to face the strawhats and gave an awkward bow. "My name is Jennica Halmerris." Her jade eyes regarded them silently. "And I am the most powerful magical healer in existence within this realm." The words were spoken with calm, deliberate quietness, truth ringing in every word. "You are lucky I feel so generous today." But there was a trace of warmth in her voice as her gaze softened. "We'd best take care of this quickly-" She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "I cannot tell directly, but there must be some kind of time limit on your curses, at least, that is what I'd expect from something of this level, I'll need to…no, I have to." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Rubia, make them hold hands…that will be the fastest means of transport."
~*~*~*~Thanks for reading!~*~*~*~