Journal 1 - Alabasta

I spent three years travelling the Grand Line. Running for my life, exploring and causing mayhem. It was not something I would trade for anything in the world. The good or the bad. But I was tired, I was tired of running for so long. And I had no idea what I wanted to do with my new life.

Sometime after my 10th birthday, the passenger ship that I had snuck aboard kicked me off on the island of Alabasta. From what I could remember, Alabasa was a pretty safe island until Crocodile showed up. This was perfect. I could finally find out where in the timeline it was, it was a chance to decide on my future.

It didn't take long to find out how old Princess Vivi was, she and the King were actually visiting the small Seaside town. Wandering through the Market, keeping my ears open was enough to learn that the Princess was 10 years old. Same age as me, and the same age as a certain boy aiming to be the King of the Pirates.

There were seven years to go until he set out on his journey.

Seven years to become strong enough to be a pirate.

It wasn't hard to decide on what to do from then on, become a Pirate, be free. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I just have to survive long enough to meet up with them.

It's complete luck or an act of God that after spending a night on the docks, hidden behind a few boxes of rope and sailing supplies that I woke up to the sound of a scuffle. The sun was barely up, but two men were clear against the rising light, and the small child that was struggling between them.

My first thought went to slavers and acted fast. I threw myself at the first adult, slamming into the back of his knees and knocking him off the dock. In one swift motion I grabbed a fistful of the child's dress and pulled her out of the other adult's loosened grip. I was half aware at that point that the blue hair of the kid was familiar, but most of my attention was focused on the remaining adult.

"You little shit!" the man who fell into the water was swearing and already started climbing back onto the dock, the girl behind me was shaking and had a strong grip on the back of my shirt. I wasn't going to be able to fight these two off while protecting the girl. The only option was to run.

I quickly hefted the girl onto my back, her bound hands looped over my head and took off into the town. The men didn't give up, and followed close behind, I knew I wouldn't be able to run for long. I ducked into an alleyway, one I had thought about sleeping in the night before, grabbed a plank of wood that was discarded on the sandy ground and stashed the girl - the princess behind some crates. "Stay here"

Dumb and Dumber were smarter than I realized, having drawn swords as they turned into the were weaker than pirates I had encountered so far, I was able to out maneuver around them because of my smaller size and knock them out without much trouble, they didn't even know how to use those swords any better than a baseball bat.

I was in the middle of untying the blue haired Princess Vivi when soldiers rushed into the alley. They quickly took the two kidnappers into custody, Vivi never let go of my hand until someone she was familiar with arrived, a young captain of some sort that had a white painted face.

I tried to leave at that point, handing the princess back, but she still refused to let go of my hand and wanted to introduce me to her father. The King.

I had never met a King before, and it was just as awkward as you think it went. He was definitely a smart and crafty old man, he immediately knew that I was on my own and managed to convince Vivi and myself to return to the palace together, to work for him.

Somehow I became a handmaiden to the princess, which I had no idea the amount of work that went into that sort of job.

The next four years of my life were the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I never had a name. I never knew what my new parents had decided to name me and the orphanage didn't care enough to give me one.

But Vivi, she gave me my new name. Shira, for a new beginning.

Vivi became my best friend, my first friend. I took advantage of everything the palace had to offer. I trained with the royal guards growing stronger as an unofficial bodyguard to the princess, I learned how to use the local sword, a khopesh. Going so far as to learn to double wield them. It was both hard work, and satisfying. I was Vivi's confidant, helping her daily life and joining in all her studies. She was impossibly naive, and innocent and like a little sister to me. In these times of peace I had forgotten how Crocodile will change it.

We were thirteen when Crocodile arrived on the island. The money and business he brought was a boon to the economy, but it was also the start of the killer drought. Tensions began to strain between the people and the royal family, the drought killed more and more everyday. It was a tough year for everyone. It's also when the kidnapping attempts on Vivi begin to increase, and it's from one of the many sent after her that, she finally learned exactly what is happening to her country, that someone behind the scenes is causing all the problems.

I couldn't just outright put the blame on Crocodile, the warlord had only grown in popularity in the year since he's arrived on the island. I needed proof. It took time but I was able to find traces of rain powder, and drop hints to Vivi that it was someone powerful that had to be behind it all. Everything I managed to find, sneaking into buildings and breaking into files. Crocodile knew what he was doing. Everything I found wasn't substantial enough to bring to the King, but it convinced Vivi.

As much as I trusted my skills, it wasn't enough. The kidnapping attempts turned into assassination attempts, not only on Vivi's life but on mine as well.

We fled the Island.

There was no other choice, and convincing Vivi to stay and die or leave and find the proof we need wasn't as hard as I thought. Ingram, the King's Aid was the only other one in on the plan, he helped us organize a boat to the next island. Vivi's duck friend Carue, who was mostly a pain in my butt the years I've stayed with the royal family tried to sneak along with us. But he was just too recognizable, I had to force him to stay behind and watch over the king. I gave him my promise to look after Vivi, to keep her safe.

I was also really excited to get out into the open ocean again and explore now that I was strong enough to enjoy the freedom.

As soon as we were far enough from the island, I had Vivi cut my long hair, I had spent so long letting it grow out, finally comfortable enough to do so, but it would be smarter to travel as a boy again. Smarter and easier, Crocodile was looking for two teen girls and I had a plan that was going to take a while to unfold.