The Girl from An Island of Wolves

Chapter 16:

The Unspoken Misery

Nami and Robin had brought Aurilee to the shower to clean her up. She was not okay, and being crowded by the rest of the crew did not help. To their dismay, her breakdown increased from the guys' mere presence, which just confirmed their worst fears. But she still did not feel safe even with the only two females in the crew either. She visibly trembled as she sat with running water trickling down her body. The gentlest touch from Nami or Robin resulted in her slightly jolting. To say she was expecting to be hurt somehow was an understatement, and the dark bruises on her arms, back, and hips told the tale of abuse.

Robin rubbed the back of her hand across her own forehead. The lukewarm temperature of the shower water was starting to make sweat beads form on her skin. But once Nami was finished rinsing her hair, they could move her to the girls' quarters. They hoped that Chopper could get a close examination to ensure that everything was fine, especially for the baby, but they did not know what to expect. The females of the crew trusted males completely (especially since they were more of a band of idiots than they were brutes.) To convince this poor girl of the same would be a hefty task.

The archaeologist could only imagine what was going through Nami's head. To encounter a girl her age be in such a condition, and knowing that it happened against her will, probably did not sit well with her. But there were also many questions left unanswered. Most of them could only come from Aurilee. Heck, nobody on the ship even knew her name.

Nami poured a bucket of water over her head to wash away all the suds. Then she reached to pull hair away from her face. There were too many strands that were of uneven length, and the blunt ends were enough proof that people were cutting her hair against her will. They were probably keeping the locks as prizes or keepsakes, as sick as the thought was. The worst of it was the odd patch of white hair on top of her forehead; it was meant to be a single long, flowing strand, but instead it was an awkward tuft that stuck outward like a dandelion's seed head. It would take years for it to grow back.

"I'll go get Chopper," Nami conveyed, shutting off the water. "Can you get her settled?"

"Gladly," Robin replied, covering her shoulders with a towel.

With a silent nod, Nami stood up straight and exited the yellow-tiled shower room. Luckily the others were not in the hallway waiting. She guessed they were in the kitchen and turned out to be correct. None of them were doing anything, though, including talking. They were actually waiting for her to come up. The moment they heard the door open, they all prepared to hear news. It took her a moment to find the right words. "…She needs help," she shared, her hand still on the doorknob.

The blue-nosed reindeer grabbed his medical bag and hopped down from the chair he was sitting on. He would be the first to see what needed to be done. But there was still a fear in him that it was too late to help.

Sanji took his cigarette from his lips and blew out smoke. "Has she said anything?"

"No. It's like her mind isn't with her anymore."

"Her mind is probably dissociating," Chopper explained. "The brain tries to protect itself from harm that way. It's prevalent in trauma victims."

"Being on another pirate ship probably isn't doing her any favors then," Zoro added. "I say we find the nearest island and leave her in someone else's hands."

"And what? Let someone else hurt her?" Sanji irritatingly disputed.

"That isn't what I meant, and you know it."

"Why can't we just keep her here and help her? We already got a doctor," Luffy questioned.

"It's pretty obvious that she can go into labor any day now," Zoro reasoned. "We're a pirate crew, not a daycare."

"I'll see for myself what exactly is going on," Chopper stated, having stopped in front of Nami's feet. "Sanji, come see if she needs something to eat, too."

That was all the cook needed to hear for him to get up and follow. When Nami shut the door behind them to follow them back down, Zoro looked over at Usopp, who was sitting on the other side of the table. "Any ideas on how to handle the situation?" he asked him.

"I want to help her," Usopp admitted, looking down at the wooden surface where they ate their meals. "But I also agree that the life of a pirate isn't one for a mom and her baby."

"But there're a lot of women pirates who have kids!" Luffy protested. "What I would have given to have been born a pirate and gotten to explore the world as a baby." He then chuckled with a big smile full of teeth. "We could make it work."

"Alright, but what if she doesn't want to stay?" Zoro asked. "It's obvious that she went through hell on that ship. Are you going to force her to stay like they did?"

"But we're not like those pirates. We want to help her. Nami hated pirates once, but now look at her. Greatest navigator in the world, and she's part of our crew."

Zoro did not want to say it, but he had a feeling it would take a lot of convincing to have this girl trust them. There was no doubt a lot of pain was hidden away in her mind, where only she was the one to suffer from it.

Before they even set foot below deck, Chopper stopped Sanji. "Wait. Stuff your cigarette before you get near her. It could hurt the baby."

Sanji did not hesitate to remove the cigarette from his mouth and toss it. It was so second-nature to him to have one that it never crossed his mind. The last thing he wanted to do was cause harm to a lady, and now that there was one in such a precarious condition on board, he would have to keep his habit in check.

Nami cracked the door open to her room and peered inside to check. It was clear, so she led Chopper and Sanji down the stairs. "Be very gentle with her," the navigator advised in a low voice.

Robin was standing behind Aurilee as she sat up on a bed with a brush going through her hair. "Our ship's doctor is going to see how healthy you are," she warmly told her, pulling the brush away.

Chopped reached over the bed to grip the sheets and pull himself up. "Hi. I'm Chopper," he greeted kindly.

But Aurilee did not respond or even look at him.

Sanji stood by with his hands in his pockets. Robin had put her in what looked like a nightgown. Her belly was still prominent. Although she was cleaned up, she looked a lot worse for wear. The poor girl was shaking, and her eyes were morose. He felt like he was looking at a breathing corpse than a human being. Whoever this girl was, she gave up a long time ago. And when she went overboard, she intentionally took in seawater to drown herself quicker.

The amount of sadness that Sanji felt for her was almost too much to bear. Even in this state, she was still beautiful from his perspective. He could only imagine what she was like when her smile beamed, and gaze reflected its unique colors against the sunlight. But here she sat with the insufferable misery of her unspoken past. And it hurt her so bad that she wanted to die rather than endure it.

The cook also juggled fury toward the pirates who were responsible. Not only did they strike her, but they committed the absolute cruelest sin a man could do a woman. And today, they tried to dispose all the evidence. They forced her to carry a baby to term just to torture her further, and before that life could have a chance, they tried to take it away to save their asses from the trouble. Sanji could feel his heartbeat quicken as his desire to hunt those pirates down and murder them all intensified.

Chopper opened his little blue bag to pull out supplies. "Is it okay if I listen to your heartbeat? And then your baby's heartbeat?"

She still did not acknowledge him.

Sanji crouched next to the bed and shifted onto his knees to try showing he was not someone to be afraid of. "I'm Sanji, the ship's cook," he introduced himself. "Dinner is still a few hours away, but I would love to make you something now if you're hungry."

Silence.

"I know pregnancy changes a lot of things. You hate the smell or taste of certain foods that you didn't before. I'd hate to make you something that would make you nauseous. Whatever you prefer, I'll make it."

More silence.

"You may not eat for yourself, but you should eat for your baby. It needs you more than anything else."

"…It's dead," she croaked.

Sanji forgot to breathe in for a second. But before he could say anything else, Chopper came around the other side. "You don't know that," he told her, putting the earplugs of a stethoscope in his furry little ears.

"I've never felt it move," she said, her lower lip quivering and her hands trembling more. Chopper picked up the diaphragm of his tool and pressed it against her round belly to listen, but the moment it touched, she lashed out. Aurilee pushed him away – hard – and he landed at her feet. "Don't touch me!" she shouted. "That's all people do to me is touch me! Why can't I just be left alone?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we're just trying to help you," Sanji reassured her.

"I don't want help! I want to be left alone!" Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably now as she let all of her grief and bitterness out in the form of an outburst. Streams of tears rolled down her face, and her hands held the sides of her head as she tried to get a hold of herself. But instead, she started hyperventilating. She could not get a full breath of air in her lungs because of how much she started crying.

Chopper came back to her side. "You need to calm down and regulate your breathing," he worriedly told her.

Sanji could feel his eyes start to get misty, so he got up from the floor and turned his back to leave. Nami was also fighting the film of saltwater forming in her eyes as he passed by. He listened to Aurilee sob with anxiety and panic all the way up the stairs. She may have been off that pirate ship, but the bastards that hurt her still had their thumb over her. And it angered him so much that he wanted to use his hands to bring violence for the first time in his life.

When he made it to the storage room upstairs, he was met with Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp. They all heard what went on. Sanji noticed how grim their expressions were, especially with the dimness of the room darkening where their eyes were. They were just as angry about this.

"Permission to hunt down those bastards and kill them, Captain?" Sanji questioned.

"Permission denied," Luffy replied.

What? Sanji thought.

"We're all hunting them down and sinking their ship."