A/N: I own nothing except Rowan. Thanks to all who have reviewed! Seriously you guys, you're the ones who keep me going on this story! I love you all!
I want to dedicate this chapter to my grandmother who passed away the day before mother's day this year (2012). She was a great Granny who loved card games, the zoo and owned over 3,000 salt and pepper shaker sets. She was an awesome lady who put up with my childishness with love and affection and I couldn't have asked for a better woman to call Granny.
Chapter Eleven: A Promise Given
Rowan ran her fingers through the grass of the fake island. The greenery was real as was the single palm tree and few bushes she had figured out. Sitting beside Sanji with a leg pulled up against her chest, Rowan looked at Crocus who had returned to his chair, wounds forgotten. The crew was gathered on the smaller island around Crocus; the Merry Go tied to the island of steel. Luffy was being amused greatly by the single tree, acting very much like the monkey he was named after.
"Laboon is an Island Whale, a species that lives only in the West Blue. They're the biggest whales in the world. Those creeps are from a nearby village," Crocus motioned to the two knocked out victims they currently had tied up. Rowan glanced from Luffy to the blue haired girl. She really did look familiar. "They could feed their whole village for two or three years on his flesh." Crocus's lip set into a firm line before looking off into the distance. Rowan turned her own gaze back on to Luffy who had made it further up the tree.
"Be careful Luffy," Rowan chided half-heartedly. He wouldn't be badly hurt should he fall thanks to him being rubber, but Rowan didn't feel like having a heart attack because of the idiot.
"But I won't let them do it!" Crocus continued on with his conversation. "There's a reason he keeps pounding against the Red Line and crying towards Reverse Mountain. One day a friendly bunch of pirates came down Reverse Mountain, and behind their ship came a little whale. It was Laboon. They'd been sailing the West Blue together."
Luffy was half way up the tree now. Rowan's mind was only half on the boy. Her attention was mostly on Crocus's story.
"Their voyage was going to be fraught with danger so they left Laboon behind. Or so they thought. Normally, Island Whales travel with their kind in pods, but for Laboon, those pirates were his kind. Their ship was damaged, so they stayed at the Twin Capes for several months and I got to be good friends with them. Then, on the day they left, the Captain asked me if I'd take care of Laboon for him for a couple of years. 'We're going to circumnavigate the world and return here.' Laboon, understood, so we waited here together."
Luffy was all the way to the top of the tree now.
'To think that a whale would be so found of a single crew…' Rowan thought to herself. The story caused Rowan's heart to pound painfully. Island Whales didn't grow quickly. If they did, they would die from their mass much like a large dog gaining too much weight as a pup. If the whale had been a child when the pirates' original left him, it had been more than a couple of years since their departure.
"That's why he keeps banging against the cliffs and calling to the other side," Nami concluded, with surprise on her face.
"But then…that was 50 years ago." Rowan closed her eyes as her thoughts were confirmed. "He still thinks his friends are coming back." And as if to prove his old friend right, Laboon let out another paid howl that rang even in his stomach. Rowan shook off the somber feelings that hung to her heart like chains. The redhead pushed herself to her feet.
"If we don't get our ship back out to the sea, Crocus, it'll join the others on the bottom of Laboon's stomach." Crocus nodded his head and pushed himself up from his lawn chair.
"Well then, let's get you guys out of here." Rowan nodded her head and turned towards Luffy, who had finally made it to the tree leaves.
"Get down here, Luffy. We're leaving." Luffy pouted out his bottom lip, eyes narrowed in his displeasure. "Now, Luffy. How should we do this, Crocus?" The old man gave Rowan a small smirk before bending down near the tree and showed Rowan a trapdoor. Upon looking into the trapdoor she found a motor. Crocus grabbed hold of a pull cord and pulled hard twice. Rowan heard the small engine purr to live and felt the small iron ship begin to move.
"A propeller," Rowan said in surprise, her face lighting up.
Luffy jumped onto Rowan from the tree top sending them both sprawling on to the floor.
"Kings be damned, boy!" Rowan thundered before giving chase to the laughing monkey.
The crew was back aboard Merry Go and allowed the small propeller to drag the caravel towards the exit. It took a moment for Crocus to get the entire gate open for he had to crawl up one of the ladders again and wind a gear. Once back aboard his own ship Crocus lead the way through the gates and Rowan found herself in a steel tunnel with in the ceiling lights. Small patches that showed repair covered some parts. A small sniff told Rowan that the water under her ship was a mixture of sea water and stomach acid. The acidic stench still hung to the air along with the scent of salt.
"This water way is cool!" Nami complemented as the gates closed behind them, closing off the stomach. Rowan's eyes were roaming everywhere even though most of the tunnel was the same. Nami leaned against the railing of the ship and looked down at Crocus on his little boat. Luffy was hugging what was left of the figurehead with a sizeable lump on his head from Rowan. "And you built it inside the whale without getting killed. What made you do it, a whim?"
Already Rowan could see the exit to the outside world. She had thought it would take longer.
"A whim?" Crocus looked up at the lightened ceiling, his lips pushed out in thought. "Yes, a doctor's whim. I may not look it, but I am a physician. I ran a clinic on the cape years ago. I even spent a few years as a ship's doctor." Luffy about gave himself whiplash his head turn so fast to Crocus.
"A ship's doctor? Really? Then be our ship's doctor!" Crocus let out a scoff. The two ships had made it to the exit and Crocus brought his own to a stop allowing Merry Go to coast forward. Crocus climbed yet another ladder and stood next to the door.
"Ridiculous. I'm too old to look after a bunch of reckless young fools."
"So you're a doctor and you live inside a whale!" Crocus came upon another gear and began to twist it.
"That's right. When they get this big, it's impossible to treat them from the outside. Lower your sails, I'm opening the doors." Rowan gave the orders and the proud Strawhat Jolly Roger unfurled. And just like that the two doors opened and Merry Go sailed out. Luffy sprang to his feet with a bright cheer. The bright light that came from the sun and instantly warmed Rowan's back was greatly welcomed.
"We're outside! A real sky!" Luffy cheered happily. Zolo was quick to remind the crew of a certain problem.
"What'll we do with these two?" Like before, Luffy had a simple solution to their apparently simple situation.
"Throw them overboard." Rowan, with the help of Zolo, heaved the two knocked out members right over the side of the ship after they retrieved their rope from their bodies. The two went under and the cold water was quick to wake them. Spluttering the two came back to the surface, spitting water out.
"No, it's the real sea, Ms. Wednesday!" the man gasped while still spitting the sea.
"It seems, Mr. 9, that those pirates knocked us out," the blue haired girl huffed. Rowan peered down her nose at the two floaters.
"Who are you guys, anyway?" Luffy questioned with nothing but curiosity.
"Shut up! Mind your own business!" the two hissed with vengeance. The male suddenly seemed to realize something and turned to the woman.
"Wait, Ms. Wednesday! Remember, our business is pirates!" Rowan cocked an arrogant eyebrow up when the girl pointed at them.
"That's right, Mr. 9. The organization will be very interested in them. Just you wait!"
"We'll meet against, you hillbilly pirates!"
"And Crocus! One day, we'll get that whale!" Rowan watched the two swim away with their tails between their legs. Rowan's pride flexed with annoyance at their parting words.
"Hillbilly?" she scoffed, with a lip raised high. "Hillbilly! What part of me is hillbilly?" she spat the word out like poison. Rowan turned to the rest of the crew only to find them looking at her with smiles. Rowan's hackles rose. "What?" When Zolo patted her head Rowan actually spat at him like a tom.
"Calm yourself, Princess."
"Ms. Wednesday, eh?" Sanji cooed after the distance figure. "A woman of mystery…" Rowan marched away from Zolo, head held high. She ignored the man's snickering.
"Should we let them go? Won't they come after the whale again?" Nami questioned Crocus.
"No matter what we do, some no-good whalers are sure to show up." The elder shook his head, his face looking like he had swallowed something sore. "Come. Let's get more comfortable." With some maneuvering with the oars, Rowan had the crew dock Merry Go at the base of the left cape. Once the anchor was down, the entire crew climbed up a rope ladder after Crocus. A brick lighthouse stood proudly on top of the cape, with a twin lighthouse on the other. Crocus had built a house made of the same material near the left lighthouse.
Laid out near the house was a simple table made of wood with many stumps for seats. The boys were quick to take them around the table, Sanji actually sitting on the table with one leg on top of the other. Luffy found a stone more comfortable and leaned against it with his arms thrown behind his head. Crocus was kind enough to bring out cups of water for everyone. Rowan took hers with thanks. Sipping her water Rowan looked over at Laboon who was still breaching the surface.
'Can't believe I was just in there…' she mused to herself. The redhead could clearly make out the whale's scars. They crisscrossed across his nose in horrible gashes that made even Rowan flinch. The woman was amazed he had lasted so long with such deadly looking scars. She supposed any other breed of whale would have died long ago. And Crocus was obviously a great doctor.
Luffy let out a small noise that caused Rowan to cast him a glance.
"So he's been waiting for 50 years. And he still believes they're coming back for him. Those pirates have kept him waiting a long time." Sanji took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew out the smoke. Rowan had long since put hers out.
"This is the Grand Line," Sanji 'humped'. The blonde's disgusted face showed what he clearly thought on the matter. "Those guys said they'd be back in a couple years. It's been 50 years now. There's your answer."
"I have to agree with Sanji on this," Rowan nodded, eyes looking down at the table. "If they're not back by now, they won't even come back. It was their own fault for making a promise they knew they couldn't possibly keep."
"They're dead," Sanji explained to Luffy's confused face. "He'll be waiting for them till the end of time." Usopp was instantly fuming. The young man slammed the table with his fist and a painful sounding 'thump'. His face was twisted and teeth flashing in his rage.
"How can you be so cynical? You two don't know that! They could still return! It's a heartbreaking story of a whale that never lost faith in his friends!"
"I'm afraid reality is even crueler than fiction." Everyone turned to look at Crocus, who was sitting a little ways from the table on his own stump. The man's voice was full of bitter acceptance. Crocus hunched in on himself before continuing. "Those pirates fled the Grand Line. I have it from a reliable source." Usopp stood there gasping like a fish out of water. Rowan really couldn't understand why that was so shocking to him. It actually made her angry. It was becoming quite obvious that the Strawhats weren't all taking the Grand Line seriously.
"And they abandoned the poor whale? I can't believe it! But to flee the Grand Line, they'd have to cross the Calm Belt!" Crocus crossed his arms over his chest, nodding at Nami's words.
"Precisely. That's why their fate is uncertain. But even if they are alive, they can never return here. The season, the climate, the ocean currents, even the air currents…everything about this place is unpredictable. On these seas, nothing is ever normal. Weak hearts soon succumb to fear on the Grand Line." Sanji blew out more smoke from his mouth. After he tapped his ashes off the end of his cigarette he shrugged one of his shoulders.
"And the weak of heart cared more for their lives than for promises they'd made and hightailed it out of here, eh?"
"Then they did abandon the whale! And after 50 years he still believes in those jerks! It's too cruel!"
"Stop your bellyaching, Usopp!" Rowan snapped with heat. The man flinched and looked at Rowan with wide eyes. Rowan returned the gaze with a glower. She hadn't meant to snap but the sharpshooter's constant surprise had finally grated her last nerve. It had actually been a slow build since they entered the Calm Belts. None of the boys thought of the dangers they were now facing! They didn't fear the Grand Line at all!
Rowan, on the other hand, couldn't stop herself from looking off at the horizon every few minutes in terror.
"This is the Grand Line! What part of that don't you understand? Hundreds of people die on this ocean every day!" Usopp flinched at Rowan's harsh words and ducked his head in to his chest. "The fact that these men died shouldn't surprise you at all."
"But they still abandoned the poor whale!" Nami barked at Rowan. The redhead simply shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her water. Let Nami think what she will. Rowan knew that in the Grand Line, death was the most likely outcome. "Why haven't you told Laboon? He can understand human speech, can't he?"
"I told him the whole story but he wouldn't listen. And that's when it started. Laboon turned towards Reverse Mountain and began to wail." Rowan looked towards Laboon when the giant let out a harsh cry to the mountain again. "Then he started ramming the Red Line with his head. It's as if he were convinced that any day now, the pirates would return from behind the mountain. I've tried explaining it to him many times. But he refuses to face the truth." Crocus let out a heavy sigh that slumped his shoulders.
"That's some whale! Betrayed, yet still he believes."
"But he's waiting for nothing!" Usopp cried softly at Sanji's comment.
"Yes," Crocus agreed. "He ignores what I say. He's afraid to lose his reason for waiting. After all this time he's terrified of losing that hope." Rowan's eyes turned to the horizon, looking for something that wasn't there. "His home is the West Blue, which lies on the other side of the Grand Line but there's no way home from here. Those pirates he came here with were not only his friends, they were his one hope for going home." Sanji let out a scoff that was more pity-filled than angry.
"Well, you can't help but feel sorry for him, but they lied to you, too. Why do you still take care of him?" Crocus looked up and motioned towards the horrid scars that crisscrossed across the whale's head.
"Look at those scars on his forehead. If Laboon continues to ram the Grand Line he will surely die. We have an odd relationship, but we've been together for 50 years. I can't stand by and watch him die." Rowan looked over towards the horizon again only to notice that they were missing a certain someone from their group.
"Where did Luffy go?" Rowan asked from her group. Luffy answered her. With a bellow that was a rather silly battle cry, Luffy scalded the side of Laboon. He had something in his hands that was four times his size in width and weight, and oddly familiar to Rowan.
"What's that idiot doing?" Sanji grumbled as every watched the Strawhat.
"You take your eyes off of him for one second and…" Zolo growled.
"Maybe he likes mountain climbing," Sanji suggested.
"Maybe's he's just an idget," Rowan snarled. Luffy made it to the top of Laboon's nose. And with a more impressive bellow, the boy flung his hands high in to the air with the object.
"GUM-GUM—" Rowan watched the boy bring down the unidentified object and speared a good percentage of it in to the whale's nose. Everyone's jaws dropped to their chest. "—BOUQUET!" It was as the object was half way in the whale flesh that Rowan recognized it.
"Hey, isn't that the mast…" Zolo choked out his face as waxen as the full moon. "…of our ship?"
"Yeah, that's the main mast," Usopp confirmed. Rowan watched the whale move back from the capes, obviously confused. It took another minute before Laboon even seemed to recognize the pain. And when he did, all hell broke loose. Laboon let out an ear shattering howl that made Rowan cover her ears and duck her head.
"What the heck are you doing?" the crew bellowed as Crocus screamed.
"Don't destroy our ship!" Usopp whimpered like a beat dog. Laboon swung his head back and forth, bellowing with all his might. Luffy's scream was barely audible over the whale's howl. When Laboon zoned in on the cape, Rowan came close to wetting herself.
"Run!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The crew did just that as Laboon came at them like a narwhal. Rowan lost her footing and skidded across the rocky ground as Laboon caused a powerful earthquake. The constant ramming against the bottom of the Red Line had turned the whale's body into nothing but muscle. Rowan gagged when Usopp fell on top of her and made the air fly out of her lungs.
"Kid!" Crocus screamed.
"Watch out, old man! He'll be all right! Not even that whale can smash Luffy!" As Rowan gasped for air, she watched with wide eyes at the fight that ensured between human and whale. Luffy was getting his butt handed to him with only a couple of shots ever doing anything to Laboon. Rowan saw that Luffy had good instincts for instead of just muscling it, the rubber boy did actually aim for fragile spots like Laboon's eyes. When Laboon slammed Luffy into the lighthouse the whale leaned back, reading to take both him and the lighthouse out.
"Luffy! What're you trying to do?" Zolo shouted at the Captain, his voice half drowned out by Laboon's powerful wail.
"It's a draw!" Luffy's voice thundered up to Laboon. The whale paused in his ramming, obviously confused. With a smirk befitting a true pirate, Luffy snickered up at the whale, "I'm pretty strong, huh? Our match isn't over yet. We still have to settle it. Your friends may be gone for good but now you've got a rival—me! After we circle the Grand Line I'm coming back here and we're gonna fight again!"
With air back in her lungs again, Rowan found herself smiling. The rubber boy was no better than the idiots that had left this cape fifty years ago. And when said rubber boy turned to Rowan with the trademark grin splashed across his face, Rowan felt her gut sink a little.
"Rowan! Get the paint!"
Rowan glowered down at the paint that smeared across her arm and remained stuck in her hair. The paint was everywhere; the woman hadn't had a chance in Hell to get out of her last job without it. A 50 foot monster of a Jolly Roger was now proudly drying on the scars of Laboon in all of its crocked glory. Rowan had been shanghaied in to helping for Usopp was putting the main mast back on the ship with the Zolo and Nami had refused to help.
Currently in the lounge with a happy Sanji, Rowan scrubbed heatedly at the paint blots. They refused to do anything but smear. With a powerful curse, the woman gave up.
"I think you look adorable no matter what, Rowan-sweet!" A red eyebrow was arched in Sanji's smiling direction. Rowan decided to ignore the man's words and turned her eyes to what he was doing. Lunch was being made and Sanji was doing something with some type of fish. Still rubbing at the paint, Rowan walked towards Sanji and looked at his catch.
"An Elephant True Bluefin?" she questioned. "I thought those were only in the West Blue." Sanji beamed at Rowan. His knife easily silenced through the tender flesh and hard scales of the trunked fish.
"Got it at Rouge Town for a nice price. Would you like to help me?" Rowan shrugged as a means of answering. After washing her hands of the vile paint, Rowan began to chop vegetables that Sanji instructed and stir when he asked. Her tasks were mundane but pleasant, giving Rowan's hands something to do and got her mind off of her current location. Something she had found a great job in while on the Baratie. It was also the only thing Zeff had let her do kitchen wise and only after a huge fight.
Sanji's constant chatter brought Rowan out of her brooding. Their conversation was easy with Sanji making up the most of it. He would sometimes ask questions and Rowan would give her best response. It was as she was peeling potatoes, watching the brown skin roll from the white veggie into a bowl that Rowan recognized the pleasant feeling that had settled over her heart. For the first time in years, the woman had stopped fidgeting, worrying or fighting and had simply been at peace.
"There was this one time when I was younger that the old geezer actually tried to use me as fish bait!" Sanji prattled on as Rowan stared at the potato in her hand. "He said it was my own fault because I had spilt the can of worms into the ocean on accident—I had tripped over something and knocked it over—but I still don't think that gave the old man a right to actually tie me up and place a ring of sausages around my neck. I had five sharks circling under me for almost an hour. We hadn't even been originally hunting for sharks!"
Rowan looked over at Sanji who was frying the Bluefin, his eyes on the gentle flames and popping juices. His whipcord muscles were relaxed under his blue stripped dress shirt. The blonde's voice was pleasant to Rowan's ears with its memories of anger and laughter. There was nothing going on; just two crewmates cooking a meal for their crew. The shouts and banging outside told Rowan that Usopp was hard at work, and the gentle snores meant Zolo had decided Usopp big enough to handle fixing the mast.
The smile that came to Rowan's lips then, was greatly welcomed. The hard plains of Rowan's face melted into something softer. The smile was formed by something sweet bubbling up from Rowan's heart and escape on to her face. Her usually cold eyes warmed as that sweet feeling tried to control her completely.
Apparently Sanji had been asking Rowan a question, for she realized now that he was starting to look over at her.
"Sorry, what was that?" she asked. Rowan almost laughed herself. Even her voice was sounding softer; it was still its deep brass that was unique for a woman but it wasn't the harsh that kept to her like stink on a skunk. When Sanji's face flushed around the cheeks, Rowan felt her eyebrow rise again.
"What?" The man simply shook his head and turned back to his cooking. Rowan gave a shrug and started peeling again. It was a tad difficult with Rowan being left handed and the knife meant for a right-hander but she succeeded none the less. Whatever Sanji was doing at the stove it was filling the entire lobby with delicious smells that made Rowan's stomach growl.
"Rowan?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you get me the bottle of Itelzbulger Stein wine from Micqueot?" Rowan nodded absent mindedly, too caught up in her first moment of peace in the past few years to really understand what Sanji was asking. Placing her finished potato in a bowl of water, the woman stood up and went to the wine rack Sanji cherished. It was when she reached the rack that Rowan's peace shattered like glass in the back of her mind. The redhead could only stand and stare at the many bottles. Licking suddenly dry lips, the woman reached down and pulled a bottle from the stand. The scribbles along the label meant nothing to Rowan. She pushed the bottle back into the rack and pulled out another. Rowan recognized a few numbers on the bottles and grasped for straws.
"What year?" Rowan questioned, her voice once again hard and stiff.
"I don't think the year was labeled." Rowan actually couldn't even find a curse word strong enough to express her current feelings. She could feel her blood pressure skyrocketing arm in arm with her stress levels. Grabbing at another bottle, Rowan looked it over for any clue as to what she had in her hand. Wines weren't her forte. If it had been beer or whisky Rowan would have been fine; she'd have to open the bottles but the scent would have told her all she needed to know.
"Rowan?" The woman's head about received whiplash in her haste to look at the chef. Sanji was now standing next to Rowan with his face morphed into confusion. When Sanji reached down and took the bottle, Rowan let him only after she forced her hand to let go. "Rowan…this is it?"
"Oh? Sorry, must have grabbed the wrong one."
"Rowan…can you read this?" Sanji shifted the bottle so that Rowan was looking at the scribbles written on the label.
Rowan stood to her full height in seconds, her brows narrowed dangerously as her lips pulled into a tense line. Her shoulders were thrown back, sticking her chest out proudly while her chin tilted up.
"I do not have to answer any questions you ask of me." The redhead turned on her heels and started to the lounge door. A gentle hand around her bicep forced Rowan to a halt. The woman turned on her chef, prepared to destroy him with words and fists if necessary but was ceased by the gentle look in the deep eyes that were Sanji's. This close Rowan realized that what appeared to be black orbs were actually a deep brown that reflected black.
"Can you read Rowan?" The question was so bluntly put that Rowan couldn't hide her surprise. Zolo was the one Rowan would expect to come out with something like this not Sanji. He was a bit more…sensitive when it came to the 'gentler' sex. With her face flushed, in embarrassment or anger even Rowan couldn't tell, Rowan stared into the dark eyes of the blond haired chef. It was an ease feat for Rowan seeing as how he was only an inch taller. The soft gaze that Sanji was currently giving Rowan made her skin prickle with self-loathing. Rowan did not like being pitied. She did not like it at all.
"What does it matter? Especially to you?" Rowan watched Sanji shrug with a bit of indifference.
"It doesn't matter a whole lot. I just think that those who don't know how to read, and wish to learn, should. Reading is an amazing thing to—"
"It's a useless thing," Rowan spat like a tomcat. The redhead took her arm back from Sanji. With a final glower at Sanji, Rowan left the lounge with a powerful slam of the door. A startled snort came from a sleeping Zolo, who was currently dozing in the sunlight. Usopp, mouth full of nails, looked up from hammering metal plates around the damaged portion of the mast.
"Something wrong, Rowan?" Usopp questioned, hammer paused in mid-swing.
"Nothing," Rowan snapped with barely contained anger. Usopp flinched at Rowan's tone and the redhead instantly felt bad. Breathing out a good majority of her tension, Rowan shook her head to rid herself of the rest of the tension. "It's nothing," she said in a more controlled tone. "I'm simply…stressed." Usopp gave Rowan a smile that was slightly nervous. Rowan didn't like that.
"We were just eaten by a whale. I think we're all stressed…" A loud snore erupted from Zolo. Usopp turned a dead-pan look on to the swordsman. "Or at least most of us are stressed." Rowan let the chuckle escape her. The stress marks near her the corners of her eyes lessened slightly.
"Would you like my help, Usopp?"
Zolo woke up with a growling stomach. Soft chatter above him had him opening an eye and figuring out that everyone was up on the bluffs. Merry Go was rocking a bit more than usual thanks to the rushing water coming down from Reverse Mountain. Zolo breathed in the salty air deeply, turning it into a powerful yawn as he stretched his arms high above his head and popped his spine. Releasing tight muscles, the swordsman settled comfortably back against the ship's side. He'd find food later…if Luffy left any.
The man wasn't sure what it was, but he found himself opening his eyes again. With his arms behind his head, Zolo leaned against them and let his hooded eyes roam. Zolo didn't get far before he realized what it was that had caught his attention.
Rowan's backside was being unknowingly presented to Zolo as the woman stood in front of him, leaning against the railing across from him on the front deck. Zolo raised an arched brow at the sight in front of him. Her jean short covered legs were crossed lightly at the ankles. Her uncovered head was placed on crossed arms. Zolo remained seated on the deck and simply enjoyed what would normally get him hit with something heavy (which could very well be Rowan's fist).
Movement made Zolo quickly shut his eyes. When the sound of Rowan's shifting stopped, the swordsman cracked an eye open. Rowan had simply moved so that her chin was rested on her open palm. Because of the change in position, Zolo could now get a good look at Rowan's face. The normal look of stern aggravation had melted in to something that had Zolo's stomach tightening with something uncomfortable. The corners of the woman's small yet defined lips were pulled down in to a deep frown; the furrow in between her eyes had stiffened even more; and, the distant look in the redhead's eyes had Zolo standing up from his spot and walking over to her.
He hadn't thought anything about Rowan staring out to the horizon. He saw her doing it on many occasions especially when she was up in the crow's nest, her favorite hiding spot. Zolo hadn't even bothered to think that there would be any difference this time; the quality of the view had distracted him momentarily. However, the normal look of bored acceptance had been replaced by a morbid realization.
And Zolo was going to finally get something out of the closed box that was Rowan; after all, he was the only one that this redhead should be disturbed by—him and Luffy at least.
"What are you thinking about?" Zolo demanded rather bluntly from the woman. Zolo smirked on the inside when he saw the tension run up Rowan's spine like a lightning bolt. An olive colored eye tried to burn its way through Zolo's forehead when Rowan turned to him. "Me?" he offered with a smirk. The snort sounded more at home in the nostrils of a bull but it came from Rowan none the less.
"Go soak your head, swordsman. Precious time is wasted thinking about you." Zolo let the smirk get bigger. The swordsman rested his arms on the railing like Rowan was. Onyx black eyes turned to the horizon where olive green had been just seconds before.
"Well, with that frown you were wearing I could only assume you were thinking about me." Zolo watched Rowan's face go from the stubborn scowl to a bitter grimace. Zolo had to refrain from jumping on the sudden change in emotion. He was actually getting somewhere with the hard ass. So instead, Zolo watched Rowan turn her eyes away from him and back out to the horizon. When Rowan's shoulders slumped Zolo began to make some connections. "You really believe your death will be here…don't you." It wasn't a question. Not in any shape or form.
"It will be." And the finality that hung to Rowan's words had Zolo shifting uncomfortably. His death he was fine with, he had come to terms with it the moment he picked up Wado Ichimonji and swore to be the Greatest. Zolo tightened his arms in the crossed position. "This ocean is the land of my birth and will be the cause of my death. I…I've always known this."
Zolo continued to watch Rowan from the corner of his eye. He didn't believe that Rowan knew he was even there anymore. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice him. Her voice was deep, deeper than the usual brass tone Zolo found oddly calming.
"I've known that since the day I understood the concept of death. I just…" Rowan tucked her head close to her bent arms, green eyes on the waves at Merry's hull. "…never thought that this would be the cause of my death."
"What will be?"
Zolo instantly regretted opening his mouth. As soon as his words had left and vibrated against Rowan's eardrum, the woman was pulled from her deep thoughts. Her eyes turned to him and filled with recognition and Zolo knew in that moment that he had lost her. The walls were going up and they went up fast. Zolo watched her lips tighten into the familiar stiff line, eyes narrow and shoulders stiffen.
"What do you want, swordsman?" Zolo pulled away from the rail. Zolo opened his mouth, prepared to answer. Though before his vocal cords could produce sound, Sanji's voice bellowed down from the capes and echoed between the rocks.
"…to have the best of it!" Rowan and Zolo both looked up to the top of the capes. The sound of scuffing and fighting echoed after the bellow. Those sounds were followed by Nami's banshee scream.
"Go soak your heads!"
"Thief," Zolo heard Rowan mumble. With a brow raised Zolo watched Sanji and Luffy fly from the cape, and plummet to the sea. The two landed with splashes that sky rocketed. Rowan was walking to the long rope that led to the cape top. With a heavy sigh Zolo watched the woman, his eyes trailing to the swing of her hips. They didn't stay long though, for Zolo didn't feel like pressing his luck. Zolo fell to the deck with a 'thud' and leaned against the railing.
"Too complicated…" he grumbled with a yawn. Zolo fell asleep with his thoughts pondering Rowan's words…and her backside.
Rowan received a surprise when she made it to the others; the blue haired girl and the carrot top had returned. Like Sanji and Luffy, the two were sopping wet and leaving puddles underneath themselves. The two were on their knees, heads bowed.
"We just want to go home! We promise to repay you!" the carrot top cried out. The girl was shaking; Rowan speculated that it was more from having to swallow her pride than fear of Nami's response.
"It's not our fault! Our work requires us to be secretive! That's all we can reveal. We appeal to your kindness and compassion."
"What's going on here?" Rowan demanded, certainly confused. Nami looked over her shoulder, her expression as innocent as can be. Rowan didn't buy it for a second.
"They want us to take them to their home island." Rowan raised a red brow.
"Can't they get there themselves? After all, they made it all the way here."
"Don't trust them. Those two are no good," Crocus grumbled, his lips pulled into a sneer. Nami reached for a strip of leather on the table and lifted it up. Rowan recognized it as a broken Log Pose. The redhead about choked on air.
A Log Pose was the equivalent of a compass on the Grand Line. The magnetic fields of the Grand Line made it impossible for a normal compass to tell north from south and, therefore, made it useless. After many voyages lost in the deep depths of the Grand Line someone, Rowan believed the
'who' had been part of the World Government, came up with the Log Pose and Eternal Pose. Log Poses shifted course due to magnetic fields; the shift taking an hour to years until it was set on the next magnetic field. Eternal Poses were locked on to one island for an eternity, hence the name. Without either a Log Pose or Eternal Pose, one would be lost at sea with about as much power as a rubber duck in the bathtub.
"By the way, we broke the Log Pose you dropped. Do you still want to come with us?" Nami chimed innocently enough.
'They dropped?' Rowan pondered to herself, not quite understanding. They should have their own…Rowan was going to have to have a word with Nami. The orangette and bluette both look at Nami like she was a biting viper. His face the color of his carrot top hair, the odd man screeched,
"What! You broke it? That Log Pose was mine!"
"We got down on our knees and begged, and you're stuck here, too?" the bluette screamed. Nami's face twisted into her victorious smirk. Like the devil she was, Nami burst into a sneer.
"Oh, but we have one that Crocus gave us." The two were back on their hands and knees, bowing low.
"We appeal to your kindness and compassion…" they sobbed, hearts and minds obvious overworked. Rowan honestly didn't care, she was too busy glowering at Nami with heat in her eyes.
"Nami!" the redhead barked at the navigator. Nami's brows flew up her forehead at Rowan's bark.
"Wha—"
"Do you mean to tell me that I about went out into the Grand Line with a navigator that didn't know we were supposed to have a Log Pose?" Nami's bottom lip pouted out while she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You're the Grand Line expert. You should've told me."
"I thought you knew!"
"Don't you screech at me!" Rowan stared unbelievingly at the navigator, her mouth hanging open lightly. When her eye began to twitch Rowan knew she had to get out of there. Spinning on her heel, the woman stormed away from the others.
"Dead! That's how this is all going to end! With us dead!" Rowan bellowed the last part of her shoulder.
"Stop being so over-dramatic, Rowan."
The white drops fell from the thick clouds like little pieces of cold cotton and danced around Rowan's head in the freezing wind. Her face as blank as the white clouds above, Rowan held out a hand and watched the individual snow flake fall into it, melting on the glove. High above the snow covered deck, Rowan stood in the crow's nest, keeping watch. Her body was kept warm by a light jacket and scarf. Rowan stared into the white landscape, the sky reflected by the sea.
"Done! It's the man who fell from the sky, Mr. Snowman!" Rowan's eyes peered down her nose to the deck below. Luffy, his hat covered in snow, had used what fell on the deck to make a lopsided snowman. Rowan frowned when she saw that the strawhat had used a barrel, cloth and repair supplies to add to the poor sculpture.
"You had better put that stuff back where you found it, Luffy; after you hang up the cloth to dry!" Rowan shouted down at the boy. A simple tongue was stuck out in response. Rowan ignored Luffy only after she slung a snowball at the rubber boy and hit him straight in the face. The boy's gargled cry of shock was blocked out from her ears.
"You're snowman is boring!" Usopp jeered Luffy, dragging the boy's attention from the woman in the crow's nest.
"What?" With a proud gesture Usopp flaunted his own snow creation, a beautiful woman carved from the white crystals sitting upon a small throne. "My soulful master piece; The Snow Queen!"
"That's awesome!" Luffy applauded…before destroying it. "Alright! Snowman Punch!" With a hit near the one of his snowman's arm, Luffy launched the stick. Said offender flew through the air and plowed right through the head of the Snow Queen. And like the Queen's proud warrior, Usopp flew at Luffy ready to take revenge for his fallen beloved.
"What are you doing?" Usopp's foot slammed into the snowman causing it to crumble back into powder. Rowan chose to ignore the two boys now wrestling in the snow.
"Nami-chan!" Sanji's voice called out with the sweetness of a thousand sugar cups. The young man had buttoned his suit all the way up and wrapped a scarf around his neck for warmth. He at least added something unlike Usopp and Luffy who were in their summer clothes. Sanji was shoveling snow off the decks and tossing it overboard. "How long shall I keep shoveling this snow of love?"
'Love?' Rowan couldn't help but scoff to herself. Like any Clodagh Rowan wasn't horribly effected by the cold but even she wouldn't call snow love.
"Keep going 'til it stops, Sanji," came the reply from the lounge room window.
"Yes, Milady!"
Zolo, still asleep on the deck, was hip deep in snow and the two travelers where in the lounge with Nami. Rowan was contemplating shoving a good majority of the snow off the side of the crow's nest and on top of Zolo's head when Nami's high pitched squeal broke the silence of the sea. All three males and Rowan turned to watch Nami fly out the door of the lounge.
"What? What is it?" Luffy chirped.
"What happened, Nami?" Sanji cried, rushing up the stairs and to the lovely orangette. Eyes strained on the Log Pose attached to her wrist with a leather strap the whites clearly showing.
"Impossible! Turn the ship around 180 degrees! Hurry!" Rowan was quick to run out along the crossbar that held up the sails, tugging at ropes and trimming sails in order to turn; the others, however, did no such thing and only stared up at Nami.
"A hundred and eighty degrees? Why are we turning back?"
"Did you forget something?" Luffy questioned after Usopp's outburst.
"No!" the girl screeched. Dressed in a jacket, scarf and earmuffs, the young woman was definitely feeling the cold. "Somehow the ship got turned around! We're going back the way we came! I only took my eyes of the Log Pose for a second! And the sea was so smooth."
"Has even a single one of you listened to me and my warnings?" Rowan snarled down from the sails. Nami's screeches were followed by the blue haired girl and strange man getting kicked out of the lounge.
And like that, the Grand Line decided to unleash her hellish wrath upon the unsuspecting pirates. A strong breeze of warm air blew in from the south, causing the clouds to twist as the warm air rose and cold air dropped. The change in wind caused the waves to begin to rock and sent Merry Go rocking with them. A thick fog was blown in from the west, hiding an iceberg not yet thawed until Merry Go was brushing sides with it. Everyone of deck ran about like scurrying ants, Rowan holding on to the crow's nest for dear life unless otherwise preoccupied with the sails. Zolo continued to sleep. When the wind about took her off her feet when she was forced to raise the sails and was sent head over heels through the air. Rowan's feet became entangled by the ropes, saving her from breaking her neck on the deck below. As the ship ran off course the hull began to swell with water broken in from the scrap with the iceberg. She had yet to rise the sails completely and they threatened to rip under the stress of strong winds. Nami's bellowed orders rang about, the males and blue haired girl scurrying to do their given jobs.
Through it all, feet entangled and everything, Rowan's lips pulled up at the edges before forming a massive smile.
'By the Kings, it's good to be home!'
Zolo felt his muscles tightened throughout his entire body as he stretched. Satisfying pops echoed from his joints as everything cracked into place. The warmth that came from a good nap had seeped into Zolo's tight muscles and made him feel both refreshed and a tad bit drowsy. One eye cracked open in hopes of finding a certain view in front of him again but to no prevail. The swordsman could honestly say he was a tad disappointed. Zolo stood to his full height, rubbing at the stiff muscles in his neck. A powerful yawn filled his lungs to the brim, his chest swelling with the air.
"Wow, what a peaceful nap," Zolo mused out loud to himself, more than pleased with his pastime. It was most definitely well spent in his opinion. Zolo looked around the ship only to find a very surprising sight. The rest of the crew was laid out on the deck and or stairs, looking as dead to the world as a true stiff. "Huh?" Annoyance quickly came over Zolo. What did they think they were doing? "Hey! I know it's a beautiful day, but shouldn't you guys be working? I hope we're sailing in the right direction!" he chided, unintentionally looking for Rowan who wasn't on the deck. In his search he found the two strangers from before instead. "What are you two doing here?"
"Where have you been?" the strange man thundered in his exhaustion. Zolo arched an eyebrow.
"We're sailing to their town." Zolo lifted his head and found Luffy sitting on the railing that lead to the frontal deck. The boy clapped his sandaled feet together, arms crossed over his chest.
"You're not taking them home, are you? We don't owe them anything," Zolo instantly disagreed. Where was Rowan when his decision was being made? He thought he could at least depend on her to keep Luffy from making foolish decisions.
"No, we sure don't," was Luffy's response. Zolo snorted softly. He presumed he had expected too much out of the hot tempered red head. Zolo turned his dark eyes on to the two on the floor. Bending at the knees he stared at them even as they pushed themselves up. The nervous twitch the man had told Zolo all he needed to know. A slow smirk echoed across Zolo's face as he began to play.
"You two look like you're up to something. What did you say your names were?"
"I'm Mr. 9," the man sputtered out. Zolo took him in at one glance. He reminded Zolo of a pointy nosed rat; especially with his quirky eyes that shifted this way and that. Zolo breezed him off as a non-threat.
"And I'm Ms. Wednesday," the girl stuttered. Zolo brushed her off as well after a quick glance. She was a thin bone girl with a small nose and high cheeks bones.
Zolo felt his smirk get larger as he gripped his chin with a single hand. The man settled on his backside and crossed his legs.
"That's right. They've been stuck in my head. Seems like I've heard them somewhere before…or maybe not! Whatever…"
The pain exploded from the back of his head like someone had bashed it in with a rock. Zolo's back popped as his head was all but shoved into his crouch by the force of the hit. Turning his throbbing head towards his assaulter Zolo found a red faced Nami who he swore was growing horns.
"How could you sleep through everything? We tried waking you but you wouldn't wake up!" the woman seethed with the wrath of a thousand banshees. Before Zolo could get in a single word Nami had beat her fist across his head three more times. Zolo found he could only hold his aching head between his hands as he felt bumps begin to swell. Nami turned from her victim with a determine set to her chin. "Stay alert, people! Who knows what will happen next! I know now how dangerous this ocean is! And I know how the Grand Line got its reputation! My navigation skills are useless here!"
"…sure you'll be okay?" Usopp questioned the suddenly depressed woman. The woman threw off the depression and shook herself once hard. With a snarky smile the woman shook her head once.
"Of course! Something good will happen. And there's proof. Look!" Nami pointed to the horizon. Standing against the red and orange sky a small speck stood tall. "The first leg of our journey is over. Rowan!" Zolo lifted his head to see a wrathful olive colored eye peek over the side of the crow's nest. Of course that's where she was. When she wasn't bossing everyone around, she was up in her hidey hole. "How far away do you estimate we are?" Rowan's head moved and a tired voice called out,
"We'll be there in a few hours." Zolo watched Rowan scurry down mast. "I'm going to go take a stock check before we get there." Rowan walked past Zolo without a glance and headed towards the storage. Zolo followed after her.
Zolo knew that the storage room was where Rowan spent a majority of her time when she wasn't in the crow's nest. The woman closed the door on him (intentionally or not he couldn't quite say). Zolo opened the door for himself. Already Rowan was counting barrels and making a mental list. Zolo doubted that she even noticed his presence. Zolo leaned against the door and watched Rowan go about her business. Her little quirks were always fun for him to watch. When counting she'd touch her thumb against one set of fingers while the other ran over the item she was counting. Her eyes jumped from one thing to another. He could actually see her counting in both her eyes and her lips. Slight mumbles rose about items needed from her as she opened a few barrels or sniffed at the rim.
"If you're just going to stand there you should go do it somewhere else." Zolo guessed she did notice him after all. Zolo crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged his shoulders.
"I think I like standing here." Rowan gave him a haughty glare that just made him smirk. The woman sniffed before tilting her nose and Rowan went back to her business, mumbling something or other about swordsmen. Zolo found a comfortable spot next to the door where he sat down and threw his arms above his head. Rowan's movements and mumbles held Zolo's attention. The way she moved about the room; the way her brow furrowed as she cast herself about the job; and even the way she'd look over at him when she thought he had drifted off.
Woman was simply to amusing.
And she had a nice ass.