"How are your legs now?" Izo asked as Ace sat on the side of his new bed. His legs were no longer wrapped up, but they were still a bit numb from the healing magic that finished the slow process.

"Kinda weird," Ace answered. "I don't know if I can stand yet."

"That's fine. I'll just take your measurements later."

"Ah- um." Ace hesitated. "You make clothes, right? Are you really a prince?"

Instead of glaring like Ace thought he would, Izo giggled. "It's been a few days, and you're only asking this now?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're curious. I don't mind."

All the siblings shared rooms here in the castle. Izo had been alone in his before Ace came- mostly because he had kept his fabrics draped over every single piece of furniture. Thankfully, he had cleaned things up for Ace, though Ace didn't have many things of his own besides his hat.

Izo wasn't as loud as some of the others like Haruta and Thatch. He definitely liked conversation though- much of it gossip, but Ace was curious, and he didn't mind listening. Although, he did miss just sitting with Marco in the infirmary of the ship.

"Why do you ask though?"

"I can't be that useful." He had quickly discovered that everyone here, despite being royalty, had some sort of hobby that proved to be useful around the castle. Izo could make clothes, Thatch could cook, and even Haruta's speed was good for passing along messages. Ace didn't have any of that.

Izo frowned, moving to sit next to Ace on the bed. "Oh, honey." He pat Ace on the back. "Give yourself a break. You'll find something in time."

It was easy to say that when you had memories and you knew what you liked to do, Ace wanted to say, but decided against it. It wasn't good to alienate your roommate.

Someone knocked on their door, cutting off their conversation.

"Come in!" Izo called, and Marco stepped in, smiling at Ace.

"Good morning, yoi," he greeted. "Ace? Pops wants to see you."

He nodded, placing his feet on the ground, but when he tried to stand, he almost fell over. Thankfully, Marco acted quickly, rushing to Ace's side to catch him.

"Need help?"

Ace blushed. "Th-thank you, but I can walk."

"Alright. Just let me know if you do."

Ace could have sworn he heard Izo giggling as he and Marco left the room.

"So are you settling in well?" Marco asked. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to check up on you in the past few days."

"It's fine," Ace said. "Ah- Izo told me that you have a lot of lessons to go to anyways."

"Yeah," Marco answered. "I have a lot to learn if I'm going to take over for Pops."

Marco was the most useful of them all. He was the crown prince. It was a wonder why he was so nice to Ace when all he could do at the moment was say 'I don't know.'

Ace felt a hand slip into his own. "Is something wrong? You're frowning."

He was quick to deny this fact, though it was obvious that Marco didn't buy his lie by the way he raised his eyebrow. Ace sighed, finally admitting his troubles to the one who had been sitting by his side for all this time, yet to his surprise, Marco squeezed his hand to comfort him. "I don't think you're useless at all, yoi."

"You can do so much more than I can though."

"Then I'll help you find something." Marco stopped their trip to Whitebeard's room. "Ace, you're a part of our family now, and no matter how you feel, we would never think any less of you."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. To start, why don't you sit with me during my lessons?"

"How are you holding up, son?" Whitebeard asked as the carriage rumbled along the path. "Find your spark of inspiration yet?"

Ace had been spending time with each of his siblings: cooking with Thatch and sewing with Izo just to name a few (and he was lucky that he was allowed back in the room after the latter incident). Yet he still hadn't found something that he liked to do.

This time, Pops had taken him along on a diplomatic trip of sorts to see if negotiation was his talent, but the trip was boring to him. He would leave those trips to Marco and Pops.

"I don't know if it's ever going to happen," Ace grumbled, slouching against the wall.

"You don't know that. Do not give up heart, son."

"Okay, Pops." Somehow, when Pops said something, it was easy to believe. It was warm, comforting.

"Now, son. You can sleep until we get back, hm?"

Ace nodded, scooting closer to his father and resting his head against his arm. It would be nice to just sleep to take his mind off of it, and so he closed and began to drift off…

An abrupt shout snapped him to awareness. The carriage had suddenly stopped. Curious, Ace stood up to go outside, but Whitebeard stopped him by placing a large hand on his shoulder.

"Pops? Is something wrong?"

"Be still my son," he warned. "It may be dangerous." Yet despite his warning, he himself stood. "I will go."

"Wait!" Ace's warning didn't stop him from leaving.

Ace couldn't sit still though. The seconds ticked by as he listened carefully, but he still could not discern what was happening. He couldn't just leave Pops when they were both in danger! What could he do?

Before he realized what was happening, he found that he was gripping the handle of the door, turning it ever so slowly. Ace's body was moving on its own.

"You brats have some nerve to attack this carriage."

"All in good fun, Your Majesty."

The men surrounding Whitebeard all laughed at their comrade's words, making Ace clench his fists. How dare they laugh at Pops like that! He stepped closer, his foot catching on something solid on the ground. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself, and the gang of hooded men hadn't noticed him yet. He bent down to pick up the solid stick he had almost tripped on, gripping it tight.

"I think you know why we're here, Your Majesty," the man continued.

"I suppose I do, but make no mistake, I won't go down without a fight." He held out a hand, and the air seemed to crackle around him, yet even though the assassins seemed to flinch, Ace knew Pops would not hurt him.

One of the others aimed a bow at Pops, the tip of the arrow a shiny black. "Think w-we don't know you're a magic user, huh?"

"Boys, get ready!"

Upon the leader's command, the assassins readied their weapons, holding up their knives, swords, and bows. For a moment, neither side seemed to move, but just when the leader was about to yell out, Ace swung.

The branch was surprisingly solid- that, or the leader was incredibly weak. His surprise attack was enough distraction to send the other men into a panic. One of them fired an arrow in Ace's direction, but he dodged it, lunging forward to knock the man flat. It was a frenzy of flying weapons, but Ace's body moved for him, and he was unscathed.

At the end of it all, Ace finally came back to reality, realizing that he was surrounded by unconscious bodies, and it seemed Pops hadn't moved at all. Slowly, he closed his fist, and his magic energy faded away as he continued to stare at Ace.

They were silent for a long time, but finally, the shock hit Ace, and he dropped his weapon. He gasped, falling to the ground on his knees.

"O-oh gods. What did I- what d-did I do?" Pops had accepted him into his family, and he had blown it already.

He was a monster. "Monster."

When he felt that hand on his shoulder, he flinched instead of leaning into the touch. He tried scrambling away, but Pops caught him.

"Calm down, my son," he said.

"Pops, I'm sorry! I… I don't know what happened."

"It's quite alright."

"Please don't hate me." Ace hadn't even realized that his gasps dissolved into weak whispers.

"Now why would I hate you?" Pops asked. He hugged Ace close. "You are my son now, and I would never think any less of you. You were only trying to protect me , and in that, you are strong."

Ace looked up, eyes wide. "You're not mad?"

"Mad? My son, you have potential! Let's see if we can manage this spark of yours!"

So I'm going to try to update once every few days hopefully before I get too busy. Please review!