A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I appreciate them all :D I finished this earlier and figured I might as well not keep you waiting for it. Consider it my Happy New Years gift! It is a little shorter than my usual chapters though, so I apologize for that. The next chapter will be longer, and I will try and not keep you waiting for it…although the next few days will be pretty busy for me, so it may be a little bit of a wait. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and would love to hear what you think.

…

Once everyone was finally seated, a task that seemed to be harder at tonight's ball compared to most, dinner officially got under way.

Nothing could be heard above the sounds of slurps, the clanging of dishes, and of course the sounds Luffy made as he ravaged anything within his arms reach, which given his stretching capabilities, was a lot.

Down at one end of the table, an unknown tension could be felt hovering around a particular group of individuals. Nobody could quite put their finger on why the tension was there, but it was there nonetheless, and nobody could feel it more than Sanji, who was currently sitting in between both Zoro and Lucy, and across from Robin, who hadn't stopped smirking at him since he had sat down.

He wasn't sure what was going on, or even how he was feeling. Everything was so confusing, and it seemed things only kept getting foggier and foggier inside his head.

What was it that he was really feeling for Lucy? Was it simply lust? Was it something more? And why was he feeling like this even though he knew in just over a weeks time that he wasn't ever going to see her again…and what the hell was going on with Zoro! He was his usual douche bag self one minute, and then he was kind, understanding, dancing with little girls, and generally being sweet the next minute. The whole situation, ever since they had landed on this island, had just been getting stranger and stranger, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle this.

He groaned as he felt a headache coming on, and quickly froze when he felt a hand placed on both of his shoulders. One was a gentle, delicate touch; the other was a hard slap.

"You okay?" He heard two very different voices ask on either side of him, only to cause his head to spin that much more.

"I'm fine!" He choked out, quickly getting to his feet, causing the chair to scrap loudly against the floor, resulting in every eye in the room to land on him. "I apologize for the disturbance, please excuse me."

He bowed in the direction of the king, and before he could receive a reply, he took off, leaving a few very confused individuals in his wake.

"I wonder if he's okay, he looked a little pale." Lucy said quietly, so only Zoro could hear her.

"He's fine," Zoro muttered, but watched as Sanji left the ballroom, disappearing behind the door. He felt a little disappointed as he watched him vanish into the hallway, but had no idea where that feeling was coming from. If anything, he should be relieved, he had been spending way too much time with the cook lately and things were starting to get weird…so he should be relieved that he was getting a little breather…yet a part of him was urging him to go after the blonde, but he shook the feeling off. He threw back another glass of sake, hoping he could numb any additional strange feelings, when he couldn't help but notice as Lucy excused herself, and also disappeared behind the door and into the same hallway Sanji had.

His eyes narrowed involuntarily at the sight, an action that didn't go unnoticed by others at the table.

"Everything okay Swordsman-san?" Robin asked, far too innocently for his liking. That woman was up to something…he didn't know what it was, but he could only assume it was nothing good.

"I'm fine..." He muttered, signaling down the waiter who was carrying the sake, ignoring any additional looks from the raven-haired woman.

He was so wrapped up in trying to drink as much as humanly possible that he didn't notice as another one of the king's daughters also excused herself, followed a few minutes later by a handful of the king's guards.

…

Sanji stepped out of the bathroom, leaning up against a nearby wall, and taking a few deep breaths. He had just splashed some cold water on his face, which seemed to help a bit, but he couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was off.

He patted his jacket down, desperate for a cigarette, when he remembered Nami confiscating them earlier that night before arriving at the castle. Apparently him stinking up the castle with his 'cancerous smoke' wasn't an option…and as much as he loved his precious Nami-swan, he couldn't help but feel mildly irritated in that moment.

"There you are, I was looking for you." A soft voice spoke, causing his eyes to snap open.

He turned his head toward the blonde, who was standing somewhat shyly a few feet away. The concerned look she was giving him caused another explosion of butterflies to erupt in his stomach. She was so beautiful, a fact that never escaped him every time he saw her.

In fact, after meeting some of her sisters that evening, he couldn't help but think they were all rather beautiful. Even some of the younger ones, who were far too young for him to be interested in, he could just see that one day they would grow into beautiful women themselves. And given the fact that their father was short, fat, and more or less bald, he could only imagine what their mother must've looked like…she couldn't have been anything less than a Goddess.

"I was worried…are you alright?" She spoke again, after Sanji had remained silent. That seemed to snap him out of whatever thoughts he was in, and he finally looked up at her properly.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I'm definitely flattered by your concern." He said, forcing a smile onto his face. As pleased as he was to see her, there was another feeling nagging at him, one that was preventing him from fully being able to enjoy her presence.

"Not a problem," she smiled in return, a few awkward moments passing between them before she continued. "Look Sanji, there is something that I really need to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" He asked, his breath catching in his throat, as his mind started whirling with possibilities. She looked nervous, the sight of which caused even more butterflies to erupt. She wasn't about to confess her feelings to him, was she? No, it couldn't have been…she was so sweet, and beautiful. Not to mention a princess! But seeing her before him, looking as nervous as she did, he couldn't help his mind from going there, and in that moment he had no idea what he was going to do if she did end up confessing, all he could do was hold his breath and wait for what came next.

"Meeting you earlier this week, brought up a lot of feelings for me…feelings I thought were long forgotten. And even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn't seem to help myself, and allowed myself to get caught up in them…" She began, avoiding his eyes as she continued. "But because of you, and the feelings you stirred up in me, I finally got the courage to do something, something I have been too afraid to do for the last 7 years. I hope you can understand, and won't hold it against me."

"Umm…I'm glad I could cause such feelings," he began, not able to keep the confusion out of his voice.

"Thank you for understanding!" She smiled, throwing her arms around his neck, causing his face to heat up as he felt the curves of her body pressed up against his own. It was such a different feeling then having the Marimo's hard, toned body against his earlier that night, and couldn't help as his mind began comparing the two.

Lucy's body being softer meant that feeling her against him was more comfortable, familiar. Although she was quite a bit shorter than he was, and he found himself having to hunch over slightly, which if the embrace continued too long, could get a little uncomfortable. Whereas the Marimo was basically the same height as him, so there was no crouching or leaning involved, which meant that he could comfortably stay in an embrace with him for hours…wait, what…his mind did not just think that.

He quickly shook any additional thoughts away, and came back to the reality at hand, and the beautiful woman currently in his arms.

"Not a problem…" He said, not even sure what he was saying, having no clue what was going on, when she pulled back and placed a gentle kiss against his lips.

He was caught off guard by that action, and couldn't help but tense up in that moment. He was so confused. He was confused by her, what he was feeling towards her, what she could've been feeling about him, what she was trying to tell him before the kiss, and why this kiss felt different…the spark he remembered from the last one he shared with her wasn't there this time…but that being said, he was still a hot-blooded 19 year old male, so he eventually relaxed into the kiss, allowing his lips to begin moving against hers.

The kiss began picking up slightly, enough so that neither of them seemed to hear the footsteps coming toward them. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder, roughly pulling him away from Lucy that he seemed to snap back to reality, and notice the situation they were currently in.

Several guards surrounded the two of them, and before he could open his mouth and come up with any sort of excuse, he felt as a fist slammed into his gut. The movement was so quick that he couldn't even brace himself, and couldn't help but begin coughing, as it felt like all the air left his lungs.

"Get the king, now!" One of the guards barked to another, and a feeling of dread began to rise up inside of him. What the hell was he going to do now?

It wasn't like they could really lie about what had happened…maybe if it was only one or two guards, they could convince them to keep quiet, or even convince the king that they were lying…but there were at least 10-12 guards surrounding them in that moment, there was no way to get around this. They were going to tell the king, and he could only imagine what the king was going to do once he found out.

Sure he could probably take all these guards down and make a run for it, but then where would that leave the rest of his crew? He couldn't exactly abandon them, and there was no way he could gather them all up and escape…there were far too many guards, they would never be able to leave there, at least not without things getting really messy, and innocent bystanders possibly getting hurt.

He desperately tried to think up a plan, and chanced a look over at Lucy, who seemed to be panicking outwardly as much as he was inwardly. She was paler than usual, and her forehead appeared to be glistening in sweat. That left him even more confused…what did she have to be afraid of? Other than maybe being watched a little more closely after this, he couldn't imagine that she would have to suffer any real consequences.

"Lucy…" Came a calm voice from somewhere beside them. Those still remaining in the hall turned toward the sound of the voice, some of the guards stiffening to attention upon seeing who it was.

"Princess Grace," one of the guards saluted, "we just apprehended this man for breaking the law. He was caught harassing Princess Lucy, but fear not, your father should be here any minute."

"I see," The brunette woman spoke, shooting her sister a pointed look, silently communicating her disappointment. But as much as she would like to give her sister a lecture in that moment, she knew there wasn't time. They couldn't go through with their exact plan now, but hope wasn't lost yet. "I appreciate your work gentlemen, and I trust that you will be able to explain the situation to my father. In the meantime, I will escort my sister back to her room, and stay with her until this whole ordeal is sorted out."

"But milady…" One of the guards began but was quickly cut off.

"I trust that isn't a problem, is it?" Grace asked, her tone very firm, and full of authority. "My sister has been through a lot tonight, and I don't wish for her to be present for what is to come next."

"Of course, my apologies milady," the same guard spoke, stepping aside to allow Lucy to walk past. Grace grabbed her arm and began to pull her away, but was stopped when her sister didn't budge.

Grace turned around to see a pained, guilty look painted on her sister's face, as she stared back at the blonde man, who was currently doubled over after having been punched in the gut again. She felt a pang of sympathy for the man, and knew despite the fact that he was a pirate that he likely didn't deserve this, but there was nothing they could do now.

"We have to go Lucy," Grace whispered, giving her sister's arm another tug. "I know this isn't easy, but if we don't go now, we might not get another opportunity…at least not one anytime soon. Try to remember what's waiting for us…"

Lucy silently nodded, tears stinging her eyes as Sanji looked up at her, giving her such a confused, hurt look. It caused her stomach to churn unpleasantly, and caused a wave of nausea to wash over her. For the briefest moment she thought about forgetting the plan and staying here with Sanji, so she could at least attempt to explain things to her father…but then she remembered her sister's words, and tried to remind herself what was waiting for her if their plan succeeded.

She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' as a solitary tear streaked down her face, before she turned away from Sanji and the guards and swiftly followed her sister down the hall.

Sanji watched the two women disappear, an increasing feeling of dread coming over him. He knew he screwed things up, but he had held on to a small bit of hope that between Lucy and Nami that they would some how be able to lie their way out of this with the king. But as Lucy disappeared around the corner, that last bit of hope faded, and he knew with out her to try and explain things that he was doomed…with this many guards as witness, not even Nami was going to be able to help him lie his way out of this one.

Before he could think anymore about his situation and what he should do, several sets of footsteps could be heard coming towards them. He was surprised to not only see the king and a few more guards, but also the rest of his nakama, including Zoro, who was currently handcuffed, and being forced along by a few guards. This briefly confused him, why the hell was the Marimo handcuffed? When a sudden flash of realization hit him.

He had been so wrapped up in everything that was happening to him, and his confused feelings about Lucy, that he hadn't even thought of the fact that if he was exposed as straight, that that more or less blew Zoro's cover as well. Because of him, not only was his life on the line, but so was one of his nakama's…a feeling of guilt overwhelmed him, and he felt like he needed to say something, anything, to try and explain things to Zoro, but another voice spoke before he could.

"Take the two of them to the dungeon!" The king roared, "Both of them will be executed tomorrow at sunrise!"

He could hear the sounds Nami, and a few others from his crew begin to shout in protest, as he and Zoro were shoved down the hall, several guards holding swords and guns on them.

He chanced a look up at the swordsmen, expecting to see a look of annoyance, or anger painted on his face, but saw something completely different instead. Zoro was looking back at him with a look of hurt reflected in his eyes, the sight of which caused an ache in his chest. And in that moment, he wished he could turn back time and stop himself from kissing Lucy. As much as he might have liked her, nothing was worth seeing his nakama in this kind of pain, and he would do anything if he could make that hurt look disappear.

…

A/N: Thanks for reading! And Happy New Year to you all! I will see you in 2016 with the next update. In the meantime let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts. XD