Author's Note: Told you I was eager to begin the new arc.

Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece. Mark your calendars for October 2nd, when the timeskip will be shown in the anime!

Ch. 25: "The Kingdom of Eternal Night."

It was a sunny day on a spring island, and Blaise and Sadie were stuck in a huge crowd.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked Sadie, who stood up on her toes to get a better look.

"Hmm… It looks like a queen is passing by," Sadie said as she pointed to a woman with long, blue hair wearing a crown and silk robes.

"That must be Queen Ai of the neighboring island," Blaise commented.

"Look! It's Queen Ai of the Island of Eternal Night!"

"She looks so proud of us!"

"Wasn't Queen Ai recently coronated as queen?" Sadie asked Blaise.

"That's what I heard. I heard the old queen died years ago and Queen Ai married the king not too long ago," Blaise commented. "But, these may or may not be rumors, so, be on the lookout for more news."

"Roger that," Sadie said.

A couple of days later, Sebastian and Hatori were shopping for food on the same island.

"This island is so peppy and full of energy," Hatori commented.

"I know! But, why does it look like the sun is setting toward the western portion of the island?" Sebastian asked Hatori as he pointed to the sunset behind them.

"That's odd. Well, it is the Grand Line after all," Hatori commented as a couple of kids ran past, almost causing Sebastian to drop his bags.

"What's going on?" Sebastian asked Hatori.

"Let's follow those kids!" Hatori commented. They followed the kids to a young girl with short, blue hair and blue eyes. She wore a blue leotard with a white tutu and blue ballet shoes. She also had a white cloak draped around her.

"Look! It's the princess! It's the princess!" One boy yelled.

"She's a princess?" Hatori asked Sebastian.

"She doesn't look like it. Do you know what princess she is?" Sebastian asked Hatori as the princess began to dance. Hatori didn't answer, as he was watching the princess. Sebastian hit the back of Hatori's head.

"Sorry. You were saying?" Hatori asked Sebastian. But, he missed the princess take the final leap of the dance. Everyone in the crowd cheered.

"I think we should invite her to have lunch with us. It would be cool to eat with a princess!" Sebastian said.

"Well… It does sound like it would be pretty special. Let's do it," Hatori said as the princess approached them.

"Hello, princess. Care to have lunch with us?" Sebastian asked the princess.

"Who are you guys?" The princess asked Hatori and Sebastian.

"Oh, we're just pirates making a stop here," Hatori said.

"Pirates?" The girl questioned.

"Crap. There goes our lunch with the princess," Sebastian whispered to Hatori.

"Thank you for the offer! I've always wanted to meet pirates!" The princess thanked the two Capricorns. A few minutes later, the three were eating lunch on the deck of the Hyperion.

"So, your name's Akari, huh?" Hatori asked the princess.

"Yes. I am Akari Shimura of the Shimura royal family. We rule over this island – the Island of Eternal Day– and the island connected to it, the Island of Eternal Night," Akari explained.

"An island of eternal night? That sounds cool!" Sebastian commented as Kazuma walked onto the deck. All he wore was a pair of black pants and a towel draped across the top of his head. Akari sweatdropped.

"Do all of your crew members dress like that?" Akari asked Hatori, who gave a nervous chuckle.

"No. He's Kazuma Miyafuji, our swordsman. He's pretty… Err… How do I put this? A-ha! Manly," Hatori explained. "Kazuma, this is Akari. She is a princess."

"A princess? No way! We have to tell everyone else!" Kazuma shouted. Sebastian facepalmed.

"Dear God. Wait until Yuki-Rin gets the news that we have a princess on board the ship," Sebastian commented. True to Sebastian's word, the rest of the Capricorns gathered on the dock a few moments later.

"Woah! I can't believe we have a princess visiting us! This is so awesome!" Yuki-Rin commented.

"Your captain has a lot of energy," Akari commented.

"Oh, me sister is always like this. She can be quite the fangirl sometimes," Molly explained.

"I'm also her boyfriend!" Kazuma added. Akari giggled.

"If only we were friends and I could stay with you. Father would never let me be with pirates, even if it were you guys," Akari explained.

"That was the same with my parents. It sucked, but, Molly and I ran away from home and here we are," Yuki-Rin explained.

"Akari, there you are. I've been worried sick about you."

Everyone turned back, and they saw a man. He had green hair tied into a ponytail, golden eyes, and he wore round glasses. He also wore orange and yellow robes with black slippers.

"Thierry, how did you know I was here?" Akari asked the man who just arrived.

"I could see you board this pirate ship from the bar I was just at. You gave me quite the scare for a moment there, Akari," Thierry explained.

"Akari, who is he?" Sebastian asked Akari.

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thierry Brighton, and I serve as the bodyguard to Princess Akari," Thierry introduced himself.

"You have a bodyguard too? No way!" Heathcliffe yelled.

"Yes. I've had Thierry as my bodyguard for four years now. The island my dad rules over is constantly nighttime, so he hired a bodyguard to protect me when I go out of the castle," Akari explained.

"Akari usually goes out of the castle a lot for royal duties and for entertainment. But, since her father re-married, Akari's servants and I have had to keep a tight reign on her," Thierry explained.

"What happened? Hatori and I saw her out earlier, and nothing seemed suspicious," Sebastian asked Thierry.

"Around the same time Akari's father re-married, there have been reports of a mystical creature called the 'Baba Yaga' coming into the royal guard. Folklore describes her as a witch who likes to kidnap and eat children, but, we've been receiving reports that even grown men have gone missing or have been found dead in cold blood," Thierry explained.

"That sounds very creepy," Sebastian commented.

"If you like, you can come with us and help us find the Baba Yaga and kill her," Akari offered.

"Akari, I don't think that's a good idea," Thierry stated.

"It's okay, Thierry, I'm sure we'll be fine," Yuki-Rin said.

"Well then… Is anybody ready to enter a land of eternal night?" Thierry asked the Capricorns.

"Yes. We're ready," Yuki-Rin stated.

Ending Note: Yeah! We've hit 25 chapters! Way to go, me!

Review this fic, since we hit 25 chapters!