Chapter 7 – The Hound and the Hawk

"We haven't heard of any rumors of the rebels. Just Baroque Works," Vivi said. The organization was still a threat since all of the number pairs were not in Marine custody. Miss All-Sunday was missing and there was no word on Mr. 3, who seemed to have three by three lives. There had been a report about a skirmish between Mr. 2's pirate ship and the Marines, but whether Mr. 2 had been among the captured, killed or wounded was still a mystery. In Vivi's mind, the former vice president was the greatest threat, but her father had insisted that they had nothing to fear from Miss All-Sunday. She had to take him at his word on that; he wouldn't explain why.

Then there were the other officer agent and frontier agent pairs who hadn't come to Alabasta. Though Baroque Works was finished, Vivi believed there might still be enough of a network for someone to take the reins and continue with Crocodile's work. They could make trouble yet.

Kohza looked around. Explanations would be required if Vivi and he were caught alone at night and the only one that would make sense would mean a thrashing from Igaram. He stepped off the side, pulling Vivi into the shadows. "Last night I received a letter from one of my friends. I was supposed to meet him in the city today, but then Igaram kidnapped me – "

"Interfering again," Vivi murmured.

"It's not too late for me to see him, but it has to be alone. I need to meet him without any dogs tracking me or falcons tailing me."

Vivi crossed her arms. "Well, hurry up."

"What?" Her sudden complaisance floored him.

"There's a formal changing of the guard at twelve. Pell and Chaka have to be there. I can show up, pretend like I couldn't sleep, and distract them; enough to give you an hour or so."

"Good plan, sub-leader," he said appreciatively.

Vivi grinned at the use of the old title, then said, "Do you think you can return within the hour?"

"Return?"

"I said 'distract,' Leader, not postpone indefinitely. And where did you think you would go to tonight?" Her hand flicked towards his chest and he flinched. "You're not ready for an all-night journey to who knows where. Go do what you have to do and come back tonight. Sleep in a real bed and tell me what you've learned tomorrow."

Her tone brooked no argument but she threatened him anyway. "If you don't, you'll have a lot more to worry about than a hound and hawk."

Kohza didn't doubt that.

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Visiting Pell and Chaka hadn't originally been part of a devious scheme. The silence of the night had woken her again and she'd wanted to talk with someone, anyone, to drive away her loneliness.

The halls of the palace were hollow with hush, so unlike the Going Merry Go. That ship had been just as active at midnight as at noon. Maybe a pair would be trading places in the crow's nest or someone would feel the urge for midnight snack or Mr. Bushido would be training. In any case, it would slowly become noisier, until Nami, who was a light sleeper, would get irritated and throw open the door to their room to give the offender a tongue-lashing. It would quiet down for a few hours, until it started all over again.

But even when everyone was finally asleep, there was always the sound of waves lapping against the hull.

Pell was at her side as soon as she stepped into the courtyard that led to the barracks. "Princess Vivi, is something wrong?"

With his white robes and pale face, he looked like a misty dream that would disappear at dawn. Her heart clenched and she drove back the anxiety. "No, Pell. You and Chaka have the changing of the guard to go to soon, don't you?"

"It won't take very long," he assured her. "Will you be returning to bed?"

"I think I will enjoy the moon," she replied. "If you two would care to join me afterwards?"

He nodded, accepting her invitation, then took his leave. Every time she was near him, she would find herself staring, not truly believing that he was back for good. A part of her was always fearful that he would slip into shadow again and he would not return.

The large flanking statues from the front of the palace were repeated in a smaller scale in the barracks courtyard. A jackal on one side, a falcon on the other – they were the two ancient symbols of her kingdom; the protector gods of the royal family.

It was not a cold night, but she shivered anyway. The legends of those gods were old and dark. Those legends reminded her of other dark things.

The explosion off shore of Whiskey Peak had burned her eyes.

She'd seen Crocodile run Chaka through again and again.

The blast over Alabasta had shattered her heart.

It made no sense that they were alive; but Alabasta was the country of miracles.

The three of them were sworn to give their lives to protect the kingdom. Why did anyone need to give up a life for anything?

[You think risking one life is enough? Why don't you try betting our lives on it, Vivi?!]

Vivi's hands clenched. It might be starting all over again. Another wave of anxiety washed over her, but she gathered her resolve. No matter what Kohza discovered, she would not sit in the palace and twiddle her thumbs.

She banished her dark thoughts and smiled when she saw the pair walking up the path towards her. She didn't need to understand the hows or whys. They were here with her and that was all that mattered.

"You look cheerful," Chaka said. "Any reason?"

"I was just thinking how lucky I was to have you with me." She didn't hold back, having learnt how precious each moment could be. "Especially when I thought you were lost…"

Chaka nodded. "We could say the same thing."

Of course, she thought. They are not the only ones who have disappeared and returned.

"It seems we three have nine lives," Pell said.

"That's cats," Chaka said gruffly, not liking the comparison.

Vivi laughed. On impulse, she hooked her arm through Chaka's, He stepped back, surprised at the familiarity of the princess. She laughed again and pulled him closer, then did the same with Pell. They were the two protectors of the kingdom, the two strongest warriors in the land, and she felt safe, secure, and most importantly happy, when she was with them.

"Let's walk and talk about nothing and everything," she declared. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

And she drove away her worries for some time.

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[Author Notes: Here's some informational tidbits to show you how much research Oda does. The falcon god of the ancient Egyptians was called Osiris. He was torn to pieces by his brother, Seth, a god who was often associated with crocodiles. He was brought back to life by a spell performed by his sister and wife, Isis. He was customarily portrayed wrapped in white funeral clothes.

The jackal god was called Anubis. He was a subordinate of Osiris and guarded the cities of the dead. He was often depicted weighing the hearts of the souls that came to the underworld to determine if they were worthy of an afterlife or if they would be devoured and fall into oblivion. As you can see, some details are reminiscent of Pell and Chaka, not all.

Closer to home, the story of the Japanese myth, Momotaro, has the hero having a bird, a dog, and a monkey as helpers throughout his adventures to save his kingdom. In some versions of the stories, his companions would sacrifice their lives for his success. And in Japanese mythology, monkeys are known for loving music. Just something to think about. (Momotaro details supplied by Sylphiel – beta reader extraordinaire.]