-Lilith POV-
Okay so as great as it was to go swimming in the pool again, I'll admit I regretted it afterwards. First because we had to get out - dinner was soon, seeing as we missed lunch - and I think my stomach was eating me from the inside out. I didn't eat for half a day and I was already trying to digest myself. I can't imagine how Ace must have felt in Impel Down. But that wasn't so bad really because we could go get food. We joked and laughed on the way up. Law had wandered off to check on his crew, which I accepted. They were just kind of floating around off the side of the island. Second because we had to return to the house. I was standing on the porch - clothes back on now but hair still dripping - when I saw them.
Deep scratches etched into the porch railing, faded with age and sun-baked but undeniably present. Claw marks. I fell silent, forgetting what it was we were talking about. I switched to Demon form and held up my hand. The marks were slightly closer together, as if made by a slightly smaller hand. Ten years ago.
I was desperate. I didn't want to go! I grabbed whatever I could, being dragged out by my feet, screaming and kicking. I wasn't nearly strong enough. There was simply no way an eight year old could escape the grip of an Admiral around her ankle. "No! I don't want to go! I want to stay here! I don't understand! Don't make me!" But it didn't do anything. Mom was already loaded onto the boat.
Fang-chan didn't like my screaming. He bounded forward, fangs bared, only to meet with Akainu's boot. He spun away with a pained yelp and I screamed his name. I couldn't hear him whimper. I wanted to be saved but there was no one there to save me. Gracie and the Hag Witch were having a 'private training session' in the Pit and they couldn't hear me. No one else was here. No one would help me and no one would save me. Please! Somebody stop him! but nobody came. And I was taken away.
"Lilith, you okay?" Gracie asked me, hand on my shoulder.
I blinked. Somehow I'd forgotten exactly where I was for a second there, disorienting myself. "Uh, yeah," I lied. I felt like there was a rock in my stomach but it wasn't like I could say that. "I'm fine," I said, "Let's go get food."
-Ace POV-
Lilith was definitely not fine. When she fell silent I thought at first that he had fallen asleep again but that wasn't the case. She transformed into her Demon form and held her claws up against the marks on the porch rail. I realized then what was wrong but couldn't seem to say anything. I imagine she felt the same way right now as I would feel if I were back on Dawn Island and saw burn marks on the walls outside Grey Terminal. It was Gracie who got her attention and pulled her back to the real world and for that I felt guilty. Somehow I felt as though it were my responsibility to be the one comforting Lilith, as silly as that seemed. But I didn't know how to help. I was, however, distracted quite promptly once we entered the main house.
-Lilith POV-
The very high and very feminine screech of, "EEP! He's got a snot bubble!" rang through the house as soon as I opened the door. I had just enough time to brace myself and spread my legs for a lower center of gravity as a pair or arms and legs wrapped themselves around me. I was completely immobilized from the shoulder to my waist. Something had startled Gracie again. I glanced around for the culprit. Garp was asleep on his feet, a snot bubble growing and shrinking with each breath. I sighed. "Somebody wake him up," I ordered.
"Huh?" Ace asked from my elbow, squeezing past us to enter the house, "Why?"
"Gracie here's got a fear of bodily fluids," I explained. "It started with blood and got worse from there. Don't ask how it started, it's not my story to tell."
"That's kind of a weird thing to be afraid of," Sabo noted.
I shrugged - or tried to anyway, mostly failing because of the grip Gracie had around my arms - and rolled my eyes. "It's Gracie. Just accept it. Besides, hemophobia is actually quite common. I'll admit the snot thing is weird though." She was still wrapped around me and breathing fast. Honestly, I wouldn't mind so much if she didn't use me as a stress hug thing every time she saw something that freaked her out. This even happened when I was the one bleeding, which was strange. I wondered mildly what Gracie had done without me. Had she hugged the furniture instead? "Just wake Garp up already," I instructed, "Make the snot go away so I can have my arms back."
The boys looked at Garp. They made no move to wake him up. I felt my eye twitch in annoyance. "Fine then," I decided. "You people leave me not choice." I smiled darkly. Sabo gulped but didn't run away. He missed his chance. "Garp!" I shouted, "You grandsons said they wanted to join the Marines!"
"REALLY?!" I've never seen him so excited. He snapped awake - popping the snot bubble which had caused all this - leapt to his feet and hugged both of his grandsons to his chest.
"Lilith! No! Why!?" Ace didn't seem capable of coherent speech because of his fear. I didn't blame him. Back when Garp was training me he'd never shut up about his own grandsons and how they were going to be Marines too - whether they wanted to or not. I heard someone's spine crack slightly as Garp squeezed them tighter. Quietly I hoped it was Ace since Sabo was still injured. Somehow Ace managed to break out of his grasp and bolt for it. "Sabo! Run for it!" he shouted.
"Get back here!" Garp shouted, dropping Sabo, clearly with the intention of chasing after him.
Sabo took the opportunity and sprinted for the exit. "Bye!" he shouted.
"I said get back here!" Garp shouted, pursuing them.
I smirked darkly. Revenge is just so worth it. "Gracie, you can get off of me now," I said.
"Huh?" she asked, opening her eyes and looking around. "The snot's gone? We're safe?" she asked me.
"Yeah, sure," I agreed. How could snot hurt you in the first place? But I didn't point that out of course.
"What's going on?" Law asked, coming into the room. Apparently he'd returned from checking up on his crew. I guess that didn't take long.
"Uh, nothing," Gracie said, slightly embarrassed.
"Garp had a snot bubble," I reported. "Gracie doesn't take that stuff very well. I was forced to use extreme measures."
"And that's why Garp is chasing his grandsons around the island?" Law confirmed. Apparently he didn't follow the situation at all.
"Yep," I agreed simply. My stomach growled and I frowned. "Time for more food," I decided and high-tailed it for the kitchen. Being a D was a pain in the stomach. I'll give it that.
-Law POV-
"So what really just happened?" I asked Miss Gracie. "I didn't follow that explanation at all."
Miss Gracie seemed reluctant to look me in the eyes. Had I done something wrong? "Um, well, you see," she began uncomfortably.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I assured her, afraid I had asked the wrong question. She did have a habit of telling me everything, but she was by no means required to. "It's fine really," I assured her.
"No, it's important," Gracie decided, "You should know. It's just kind of stupid really. I think I told you when we were kids Lilith got eaten by a giant spider?" It was a statement but it came out like a question. I nodded in confirmation. "Well, for a little while there I'd thought she was dead."
-Gracie POV- -Flashback-
Old Man Smoky had killed it. He assured me it was dead despite the fact that the thing's legs kept twitching. The spider's stomach was hanging open and Lilith was lying there, not moving. She was covered in goo and blood. I couldn't see her breathing.
"Lilith!" I screamed, terrified. Lilith would never leave me alone, right? But there she was. And Lilith wasn't smiling. Lilith was always smiling. It's what she looked like. But right now… "Lilith?" I asked, my voice sounded weak. "You're just faking right?" While I was having my breakdown Old Man Smoky was giving her mouth to mouth. I could see he was worried too, just doing a better job of controlling it and handling the situation. At least he was doing something and not… "Lilith! You can't leave me alone again! Lilith!"
That day Lilith's heart stopped for a full minute. When she finally woke up, gasping and spluttering for breath, wiping the goo from her eyes, she was covered in spider stomach-goo of varying types. Her red hair was dyed nearly black in places by the spider's blood and her clothes would need to be burned. I couldn't stop hugging her, despite wanting nothing more than to run away and never see that disgusting stuff again. Old Man Smoky hadn't said anything. Just picked us both up and carried us home.
"Anyway," I said, remembering I was supposed to be talking to Law. "Lilith got eaten and when she got out I thought she was dead. Technically she was for a little while there. And it scared the crud out of me. Lilith had always been there. And when I thought I might have to be alone again… anyway I got really freaked out and blamed it on the spider goo. So now I'm afraid of goo and blood while Lilith's afraid of spiders." Law didn't respond and I didn't look at hem to see his reaction. "It's kind of stupid I guess but I just can't get over it. So I'm hemophobic."
"You're afraid of blood?" Law finally asked. Listening to his voice carefully, I tried and failed to understand what he was thinking. He sounded so casual. So I just nodded in agreement, still unwilling to look at him. "That's not so bad," he informed me. "There are much more irrational things to avoid. Like bread. I hate bread."
At that I openly gaped at him. "Bread?" I asked. He nodded. "Do I want to ask who that happened?"
Law shrugged. "You could if you wanted," he told me. "I've heard lots about you but you've never asked about me."
I tilted my head at him. So… does this mean he wants me to ask? Or he feels obliged to tell me if I do? "Nah," I decided. "If you want me to know, tell me. Otherwise I'm not all that nosey so it's fine."
It was once again Law's turn to stare at me. I liked getting a reaction out of him. He regained his usual composure before smiling. Gotta love that smile. It's hot. "You're an interesting person, Miss Gracie," he informed me.
I took it as a good thing.
-Lilith POV-
Somehow, as soon as I entered the kitchen - with the honest intention of eating us out of house and home - the Hag Witch had me in an apron, peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables. I don't understand how it happened. One second I was headed for the cupboard and the next I had a peeler in my hands and was standing over the trashcan so it would catch the skin.
"Lilith!" the Hag Witch ordered, "Peel faster! Do you want to eat or not?!"
My stomach growled in response. "Can't I just eat now?" I demanded, still peeling. I had no intention of drawing her wrath if I could help it. Thankfully though she seemed to have forgotten the whole 'train Lilith to be a D' thing - for now at least. "I'm hungry."
"No!" She shouted. She always shouted. "You're helping me make dinner! Then we can eat! There's an order to these things you know! You've got to follow some paths whether you want to or not!"
Does she seriously not know how to speak quietly anymore? "Yeah, or you could just cook for me," I pointed out.
"No!" Yeah, I kind of expected that one. "You can't take shortcuts! You can't let people do things for you! Don't be lazy! I didn't raise you to be lazy!"
I sighed. "I'm not lazy, I'm hungry," I insisted. I held up a hand and caught the knife - blade pinned between two fingers - before it could collide with my head, then twirling it in my hand and switching from peeling to cutting the potatoes. If we had to peel them then we'd likely be mashing them and if I cut them down to size that process would go faster. I was far from an expert cook or anything but I'd been feeding myself for the past eight years and when I was little I used to follow Mom's legs around this same kitchen, so I knew the basics of most things. "Why do you keep throwing things?" I scolded. "If I were anyone else my eye would've been taken out just now."
"But you're not just anyone! You're a D!" she snapped back. Coming from anyone else it would be a compliment. Somehow it wasn't. The Hag Witch didn't give compliments. I don't think she knew how. "Chop faster! We've got three D's and a small army to feed thanks to someone!"
"Yeah, well, they're my friends," I defended carelessly, "and they needed somewhere to crash for a bit after the War so-"
"War?!" she screamed. "What War?! I didn't hear about any War! You're making that up!"
"Seriously?" I asked, exhausted by just five minutes with her. "Had nobody explained this to you or are you just forgetting things again?"
"Nobody's told me anything! My memory's perfect!" the Hag Witch snapped. "Chop faster! What War are you talking about?!"
I thought I already was chopping faster. "It wasn't a War really - more of a large battle - but they're calling it the War of the Best."
"What a stupid name!" she shouted immediately, cutting me off. "I bet that punk Sengoku came up with it - or is he dead by now?!"
"He's not dead, he's the Fleet Admiral of the Navy," I informed her patiently. "Although he'll probably have to retire after the scandal."
"What scandal?! Start at the beginning brat!" she ordered me. "There's an order to these things you know! You've got to follow some paths whether you want to or not!"
You already said that you crazy old bat. "Anyway, by scandal I mean two things: what Akainu did and their failure to -"
"Who the hell is Akainu?!" she shouted, "I've never heard that name before in my life."
Involuntarily, I shuddered slightly. "You should remember him," I told her. "Back then he was called Sakazuki. When he became an Admiral he got a new alias."
"That sonofabitch!" the Hag Witch screeched. I'm sure if there were any dogs nearby they would be cowering under furniture by now. I was glad that Fang-chan was out of range of her screaming because his poor ears might break. "Why has no one killed him yet?!"
"I tried killing him," I muttered under my breath. "It didn't work so well."
"And what do you mean 'scandal'?!" she continued, not hearing me or simply not listening. "What did he do now?!"
I just sighed. I don't want to talk about this with her. "The other reason the Marines are embarrassed is because they let Ace get away when they wanted to execute him," I told her, completely changing the subject.
"Ace?!" she demanded, "Which one's that?! I've never heard of him!"
"Fire Fist," I told her. She was better at remembering people's epitaphs than their actual names, which was strange but I never questioned it. "You've met him. He's going to eat dinner with us."
"Oh him!" she nodded wisely as if she knew it all along. "Why the hell would they want to kill him?! He seems like a nice boy - even if he did fall asleep in his food! Terrible habit!"
"Sengoku wanted to kill Ace because he's the son of Gol D. Roger," I informed her. Ace probably wouldn't want me advertising that fact but it was hardly a secret anymore. Sengoku had announced it to the whole world. Plus he wasn't here. He and Sabo were probably still running - or more likely by now hiding - from Garp. "He was also one of Whitebeard's -"
"Since when did that brat have a son?!" the Hag Witch demanded. I wasn't sure exactly who she was asking. "I feel old all of a sudden!"
Hardly a surprise. You're ninety-seven by now. That's really fucking old. "Please don't refer to the previous king of the pirates as a brat," I requested. "It's hardly polite."
"Since when do you care?! You wouldn't know respect if it came up and bit you in the face!" I don't think 'respect' goes around biting people, you stupid Hag Witch. "And what's with this whole execution business starting a War anyway?!" And so I spent the afternoon working in the kitchen and trying to explain to the Hag Witch everything that had happened. And why. And who was involved. And who the hell those people were. And what I was doing there. And what I did there. And why. Fortunately there was a lot to cook so there was a lot of time. I ended up answering the Hag Witch's questions on auto-pilot. Not really listening to them. That's why when she got to the question: "So you're in love with that Fire Fist brat, right?" it took me a full second to register what she said and freak out.
"WHERE IN THIS CONVERSATION DID YOU GET THAT FROM YOU CRAZY ASS HAG WITCH?!" I demanded as her words sunk in. I wasn't in love with Ace! He was my friend! That's all we were.
"It's perfectly obvious!" she insisted, nodding to herself. "Yep!"
"I THINK I WOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT IF I WERE IN LOVE WITH ANYBODY!"
"Nope!" the Hag Witch decided. "You're much too stupid!"
"DON'T CALL ME STUPID YOU STUPID OLD HAG WITCH!"
"DON'T CALL ME HAG WITCH YOU STUPID BRAT!"
"DON'T CALL ME A BRAT YOU SENILE OLD-"
"WHAT THE HECK IS EVERYBODY YELLING ABOUT?!" Gracie demanded, busting into the kitchen, book in hand.
Oops. We interrupted her reading. Tht's not ideal. "The Hag Witch's finally lost it," I informed her, hoping she wasn't all that interested in whatever book she'd been reading. "She thinks I'm in love!" It was ridiculous. Impossible. Never going to happen. Nope. Definitely not. Why do I sound like I'm convincing myself? I'm not in love with Ace!
"She's in denial!" the Hag Witch shouted. I instantly wanted to throttle her.
Unfortunately, it appeared that Gracie had been interested in her book. Our excuses were insufficient. "I'M TRYING TO READY YOU NOISY PSYCHOPATHS! BUTTON YOUR LIPS BEFORE I BUST OUT MY SEWING KIT AND BUTTON THEM FOR YOU!" Gracie was serious. Once, when I was seven or so, I'd ignored that warning. She'd chased me around for two hours trying to thread a needle though my face and install a button to keep my mouth closed. It was scary. Even the Hag Witch listened to her when she was like this. While most people could take Gracie in a straight up fight, it was never smart to piss her off. Gracie could see the future. She knew where you'd step. What you'd eat. Which doors you'd open. What clothes you'd wear. Let's just say that some of her most fearsome abilities resided in the 'deadly pranks' category. She waited a moment, glaring at us harshly and daring us to speak. "Good," she decided, finally. "Now stay that way," she ordered harshly and marched out the door, slamming it behind her and audibly stomping back to her room.
"Do you think she's mad?" the Hag Witch asked. She wasn't yelling for once. It was probably a wise decision.
"Yes. Yes I do." I was worried. "Do you think she'll do anything?"
"If she does it's your fault," she decided. It takes two to argue. But I decided against saying that. The last thing I wanted was to get Gracie's attention right now.
-Gracie POV-
There was a timid knock on the door. Lilith peeked out. "Uh, Gracie?" she asked. "Dinner's up so… you know… if you find a good stopping point or something… and if you're hungry… It'll get cold but I can make Ace heat it up for you so… yeah." She gulped. "Enjoy your book." It had been a long time since I'd seen Lilith like that. The only time I'd ever really seen Lilith scared (aside from when she saw spiders) was when I yelled at her for interrupting my reading. It wasn't my fault really. Books were… open. They told stories about other places. Far away and full of adventure. Places I could never go.
I knew I was fortunate to be here, on Alam, and not dead, floating around on the ocean or on some other island that wouldn't be so kind to a baby washed up on shore. But that didn't stop me from wanting more. I didn't want to stay on this windless rock forever. That's why I read. And that's why, if I was being brutally honest with myself, I was almost jealous of Lilith. Not because of everything she had gone through but because of everything she had experienced. That sounds like the same thing but Lilith's been places and seen things. That's something I wanted to do too.
I sighed, putting the leather bound volume down gently. It was the logbook of the Heart Pirates as written by Law. It was incredibly generous of him to lend it to me, especially because I wasn't part of his crew. That reminds me, I need to talk to Lilith about that… After I get something to eat that is…
-Ace POV-
Thankfully Gramps had finally stopped chasing me and Sabo. By 'stopped chasing us' I really mean he'd fallen into Hell's Armpit. Sabo and I glanced at each other and shrugged. He'd be fine. Looking at the sky I realized that it was already getting dark out and dinner would probably be served soon. "If we don't hurry we'll miss food," I realized. Sabo looked appalled for half a second before we started running again, this time towards a hot meal instead of away from a crazed grandfather. Food was always worth running for, no matter how tired you were.
As soon as we got to the front door we could smell it. "As if I weren't hungry enough already," Sabo complained, stomach growling. "None of us have eaten since breakfast!"
My stomach growled in response. Opening the door, I noticed Lilith rushing back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, trays in her hands stacked height with food. "Oh good, you're here," she said, "Where's Garp?"
"Uh… I think he'll be running late," I told her. There was no way I was going into that stupid Pit to get him. Not after he chased me around the island like that for hours.
"Is he skipping or will he be late?" she asked, frowning. "Because knowing the Hag Witch…" her voice trailed off and she turned bright red, staring at me.
"Lilith?" Sabo asked, apparently noticing her odd behavior too. "Is something wrong?"
"No!" she said immediately, "Nothing's wrong! Dinner's in the dining room! If you start without us the Hag Witch will have your hide!" and she dashed off into the kitchen.
"Was it just me or was Lilith acting… odd?" I asked.
"Definitely odd," he decided. His stomach growled again. "But let's think about that later, alright?"
"Agreed," I nodded, already making for the dining room. It was crowded in there. The room was really only supposed to be able to fit four comfortably. We were more than four. Lilith, Gracie, Law, Sabo, Smoker, Shanks, the Old Woman, Jinbe, Bon Clay, and myself all squeezed into the room, some of us sitting on the floor or simply standing, and waited. Gracie had warned us from day one that eating before the Old Woman gave permission was a good way to get yourself hit with 'the business end of a ladle'. I wasn't sure exactly how much a ladle could possibly hurt someone but I wasn't willing to take the risk. Anyone related to Lilith was probably strong enough to make a ladle hurt, regardless of its usual potential as a projectile.
"I'm not the one who cooked so I'm not the one you're waiting on!" the Old Woman shouted.
Lilith looked irritated. "And here I was waiting for you," she muttered. "Everyone dig in!" Lilith ordered promptly, "Otherwise I just might eat it for you!"
We didn't need to be told twice. The room filled with grabbing hands and hurried chewing. It almost reminded me of eating at Dadans, except back then everyone had been afraid of me. Now everyone was afraid of angering the Old Woman and so tried to eat as quickly as possible without breaking any rules of courtesy. Elbows off the table. Use your fork. Don't reach across people. I had to strain to remember everything Makino had taught me. I had learned table manners along with everything else, but I never used them so I was a bit rusty. When it came to the eating of food I'd always considered speed to be more important that politeness.
The door burst open. There stood Gramps, grass stained, muddy shoed, clothes slightly ripped, and very very angry. He opened his mouth to say something and I swallowed. Please don't let that be the last bite of my life. Lilith's cooking is good, but I'm still hungry. I don't want to die hungry!
"What do you think you're doing, brat?!" the Old Woman snapped at him, cutting Gramps off. "You're late! And now you've interrupted a meal! That's rude you know! You're supposed to arrive on time, then eat! There's an order to these things you know!"
"Well if I hadn't fallen into the stupid Pit thanks to someone…" Gramps glared at Sabo and me.
"Why do I get the feeling you fell in on your own?" Lilith asked frankly.
"Because he did," Gracie reported. "He tripped on a tree - you know that one with the branches you have to duck when you're running past?"
"Oh yeah," Lilith agreed, "I know that tree."
"I'm not letting you two get off that easy," Garp threatened. "You've gotten yourselves in so much trouble with the World Government not even I can help you anymore! Fist of -" Gramps's Fist of Love was interrupted by a ladle colliding with his face. "What the?!"
Everyone froze, completely taken aback. Garp the Hero just got stopped by a ladle. I was pretty sure that should get written in some history book somewhere. Ladles are definitely more deadly than I gave them credit for.
"There will be no violence in my house, thank you very much!" the Old Woman declared. "I'd like to have it still standing tomorrow morning!"
Garp's protest didn't get very far. "But I-" A potato peeler collided with his head.
"I said no!" the Old Woman ordered. "Don't even think about it brat!" She just called Gramps brat. Just how old is she?
"Hag WItch," Lilith warned, "Please don't."
"Don't what?! It's my own home! I'll do what I want!" Somehow, and without me fully understanding exactly how it happened. The Old Woman started chasing Gramps around the island. I felt like some law of nature was being broken. Gramps did the chasing.
"Does this mean that the Old Woman is scarier than Gramps?" Sabo asked, trying to let that sink in. Clearly he was just as shocked as I was.
"She's a thousand times worse," Lilith confirmed, nodding wisely.
"I think she's gotten crazier since last time I was here," Shanks decided.
"Oh yeah," Lilith confirmed, "She's fully senile now."
"More violent too," Gracie agreed. "And that's always been saying something."
"It was bad enough when we were growing up," Smoker muttered. "Now it's just not fair."
"You see why I call her Hag Witch now, right?" Lilith asked. "Old Woman doesn't cover it. She's evil."
I don't think anyone here disagreed. We just sat in silent awe for a few more moments. Then I realized Lilith was eating my food. Needless to say, chaos ensued. With the Old - with the Hag Witch gone there was no longer a need to worry about manners. The food disappeared much faster.
It was one of the best meals I'd had in what felt like years. Although, truth be told, it was probably only about a month since I'd had a meal this good. Impel Down wasn't exactly known for its cuisine. Or its companionship. That made a difference too. I glanced at Lilith out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, this is much better than prison.
