Author's Note: Hii~ wonderful readers! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the holiday season! We get to see a lot of Hancock and Luffy this chapter, and the next update will be focusing on the Valera (AKA, it will finally be pact time). Anyway, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy the update!

To avaxenakis: I'm so glad :)

To livinganime14: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Oh yeah, it's going to be fun ;)

To Irene Sharda: Hey there! I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far :) Yeah, I try not to use movie characters too often, but Tesoro fit the role I wanted in a villain too perfectly. Thankfully, there's such thing as Wikipedia lol XD As for your theories, I will neither confirm nor deny them because I don't want to spoil anything for you, but I WILL say that something in there was correct, I won't say what though ;) Haha you are correct in that Luffy will be able to make more pacts than he thinks right now. I will be go into that more later. Thank you so much for the review and I hope you enjoy the update!

To hana-ya: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it :)

WARNINGS:

- Luffy is a precious, innocent bean

- Violence

- Mentions of past slavery/PTSD

- Nakedness

I also wanted to say that there will NOT be any true Hancock x Luffy in this story, just the usual one-sided relationship we all know XD

Hancock slithered back and forth across the tile floor, quickly becoming inpatient. She did not have time to wait on her sister-queen! There was no telling what the human would do in her absence and she needed to return to the lamia's portion of Amazon Lily as soon as possible.

"Pray, forgive the long wait. We were not expecting you today, Hebìhime."

The Empress hissed at the Valera Queen, annoyed by her flippant attitude and obvious teasing. Viola was tall, thin, and well-endowed like most Valera, her sleek ears currently relaxed against her head. Unlike her attendant warriors, the Queen wore a deep red cape across her shoulders and had headpiece against her hairline, a symbol of her status. It extended far enough to encase her ears snuggly but not impede their movement.

Otherwise, she was dressed in traditional, casual wear for her tribe, which consisted of a skin-tight top that exposed her midriff and a long skirt (surprisingly modest, considering the armor they wore into battle).

"You should show your leader more respect." Sandersonia growled, slapping her tail against the floor of the Valera's gathering hall. Viola simply laughed, ignoring the threat. It angered Hancock how, even when the rights of dominance were passed to the Kuja, their sister tribe did not change their behavior.

However, that was not important right now.

"I must discuss something with you, adelfí." Hancock stated, causing the Valera's small smile to drop. If nothing else, at least she recognized her seriousness. "Alone."

At that, Viola dismissed the room, causing all of her guards and attendants to leave and shut the large stone doors behind them. Thankfully, the hall was located deep inside the Mother Tree, so there was no chance of someone eavesdropping on their conversation. Hancock slithered forward with her sisters at her side, offering silent support.

"What has happened?" Viola asked, motioning for them to seat themselves on the cushions that were before her throne. Hancock was pleased that Queen did not sit on the stone chair but joined the Kuja on the floor.

"A human ranger interrupted my cleansing." Hancock explained, prompting a crease between the Valera's brows. Viola was one of the few who knew of her past and the mark on her back. "He…he saw it."

"He? A male?" The Queen echoed, ears twitching slightly, "I assume you killed him and his statue now decorates your halls?"

"No…I-I could not." Hancock admitted, fist tightening in shame. She hated admitting her failure to others. "For whatever reason, my magic did not work on him, but that is not why I am here. The boy said that he knew of Tesoro."

"What!?" Viola exclaimed, eyes wide, "So they've found you then!"

"…not exactly." Marigold put in, "The human claimed that he recognized the mark but also that he 'hated him'. Our sister took him prisoner to learn what he knows." Viola hummed and closed her eyes in thought.

"I see. Have you had a chance to question him yet?"

"No, when we left, he was still unconscious." Hancock continued, picturing the human's small, limp body in her mind, "I left one of my skýmnos in charge of him. I wanted to let you know what happened for a few reasons, but mostly because he said that he came here to make a pact with your tribe."

Viola's ears perked up at that and she placed a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a chuckle.

"Oh, is that so? Well then, I will have to go meet this ranger."

"You may see him when I am done with him." Hancock ordered, straightening up to her full height, "Do not forget who is in charge here, adelfí."

"Of course, I wouldn't think of undermining your authority."

The Empress rolled her eyes and turned to leave the hall, her sisters not far behind. The Valera were, in her mind, weaker than the Kuja, but she often found herself going to Viola for advice or counsel. Perhaps it was because they were approximately they same age, or that she knew Hancock's past and did not look down on her for it.

'She's still annoying.' Hancock thought with a huff, ignoring the Valera warriors that bowed to her as they exited. Their sister tribe's portion of Amazon Lily was commonly referred to as 'The Burrow' and was significantly drier than their half. Instead of living directly in the swamp, they lived next to it, preferring to nest and build their dwellings in the shade of the Mother Tree.

Oftentimes, this meant placing their homes and walkways in the canopy of the forest, which Hancock simply could not understand the appeal of. She supposed it was in their nature to enjoy height and jumping.

'And yet, some of them choose to live on the ground still.' Hancock mused, eyeing a small dwelling built right against a root, just beyond the stairs that led into the Mother Tree. Inside was a family of Valera, likely a new one based on the age of their kitten. The female sat outside the home sharpening her spear while the male desperately attempted to shush the babe, rocking it back and forth.

Male Valera were significantly shorter than their female counterparts and were expected to complete the role of homemaker. They raised the children, cooked meals, mended clothing…essentially everything the females did not do.

Appearance wise, their ears were not as sleek and tended to be much fluffier, soft to the touch. If you asked a female Valera about their mate, they would likely explain how important it was for them to be protected and have a safe dwelling in The Burrow. To protect your mate and family was a big responsibility for Valera warriors, one they did not take lightly.

Unfortunately, there weren't many prime males available to the female population due to their high mortality rate. They tended to die quickly (and easily) which was why, most of the time, they did not leave The Burrow unless they could be escorted by their mate.

Hancock turned her attention back to the path ahead as they approached the edge of the Valera's territory and prepared to return to their own. It was time to interrogate the human and see what information could be gleaned from him.

Luffy looked around in awe as he was led through the village by Marguerite, his hands still tied in front of him and held securely in the lamia's hands. The rope tether she held wasn't terribly long so it was sometimes difficult to keep up with her pace (or risk falling over her tail).

Still, Luffy tried to ignore the rope and take in his surroundings.

It really was beautiful and very different from the dark elf town in Skotàdi. The sun was partly blocked by the thick canopy of leaves above them, but it created beams of light that reflected off the water when it did manage to make it all the way down. The other occupants of the village gave him and Marguerite strange looks but made no move to approach them until they passed what looked like a guard house.

"Marguerite!" Someone called, causing the blonde lamia to stop. Luffy's eyes widened as the newcomer approached, dwarfing Marguerite in size. She had long light brown hair and a deep blue tail. "What are you up to? We haven't seen you all day!"

"Apologiessss, Aphelandra. Hebìhime tasked me with looking after her prisoner."

Luffy smiled up at the lamia when she leaned over him to get a closer look.

"Hello! I'm Luffy."

"I'm Aphelandra, nice to meet you!" She replied, reaching down to tentatively pet a finger over his hair, "What a pretty girl you are! It's not often we get humans here."

Luffy's eye twitched at the comment, but Marguerite spoke before he got a chance to correct her.

"Actually…this is a male." Aphelandra gasped and immediately leaned down, causing Luffy to yelp in surprise when her face was suddenly right next to his body, "I believe Hebìhime brought him here because he issss resistant to her curse."

"How interesting…" The large lamia whispered, pinching the bottom of Luffy's dress between her fingers and tugging on it, "In thissss dress, I thought you were female."

"It's incredible, Aphelandra! He hassss jewels that hang between his legs!" Marguerite exclaimed in an excited voice, making Luffy instinctively tense up. "Here, let me show you-"

"Will you two stop that!?" Luffy yelled, desperately trying to pull the dress from the lamia's curious hands, "I-I don't want to show them to you!" The blonde creature huffed and released the dress with a disappointed frown while Aphelandra simply patted his head.

"I heard about this from one of the other warriors." She stated while Luffy straightened the dress out to the best of his ability, "Apparently, men are very protective of that part of their body. We should respect hissss privacy, Marguerite."

"I suppose…" The blonde lamia huffed, tugging slightly on the rope and causing him to stumble forward, "Males are very strange. Well, we shouldn't linger any longer, I'm sure Hebìhime is waiting. It was good to see you, Aphelandra!"

The large lamia smiled and waved at them before slithering back into the building she'd emerged from. As they continued on, Luffy released a sigh of relief. For a second there, he thought they were going to lift his dress up in the middle of town and do who knows what. Women could be scary.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they arrived at the 'big tree' Luffy had identified not long after waking up and entered through a large door dug into the bark. There were lamia guards everywhere and all of them gave him confused looks. For his part, he just tried to make sure his dress stayed on during the long walk. Too much movement caused the sleeves to slip over his shoulders.

Eventually, they arrived at what had to be the main hall and Luffy let out a quiet sound of amazement. The room was very elaborate and had a large…bed(?) at the other end, surrounded by almost transparent curtains. There were also many carved, wooden pillars that created a walkway to the bed-thing, which Marguerite wasted no time leading him down.

"Sit." She ordered, pushing him down to his knees. Luffy did as he was told and winced slightly when he sat back onto his legs. Though it didn't hurt much thanks to whatever it had been treated with, his leg still pained him in certain positions. His feet also ached from walking around on the wooden planks barefoot and a glance over his shoulder revealed some bloody scratches.

Luffy pouted but didn't say anything about it. He'd sensed the tension increase the second they'd entered the room and he didn't want to make anybody mad.

A few minutes later, a side door was opened by its attending guards and a familiar lamia slithered in, flanked by her sisters (if he remembered correctly). They didn't really look alike but that's okay. He and Sabo were brothers even if they weren't technically related.

'Or maybe that's just a lamia thing?' Luffy mused, watching the long-haired creature settle herself on the edge of the bed. Not many of them looked the same and were all different sizes. She looked down at him shrewdly, tail tapping methodically against the floor.

"Leave us." She ordered, causing Marguerite to bow and retreat out of the room along with all of the other guards. Luffy shuffled on his knees, somewhat uncomfortable in the position. "Now, Luffy, was it? I'll have you tell me everything you know about Tesoro and the sick game he's playing."

Hancock scowled at the boy kneeling before her, waiting for him to respond to her order. She was a bit annoyed that the young lamia she'd put in charge of the prisoner had seen it necessary to dress him in an item of clothing that was obviously expensive and made from some of their finest materials. The skýmnos would have to be punished for wasting good cloth on a man.

"Game?" The human, Luffy, asked, tilting his head slightly, "What game?"

"You should know very well what-"

"Sister." Marigold interrupted, flinching slightly when Hancock turned her glare to her, "Forgive me, but perhaps we should be a little more…specific, in our questions? He is just a man, after all." The human whispered a quiet 'hey' at that, lip forming into a small pout.

"Perhaps." Hancock hissed before turning back to the boy, "How is it that you know Tesoro?"

"Oh, he tried to kill me." Luffy responded easily, causing Hancock to recoil in surprise, "Guess he was mad that I messed up his plans."

"Which were?" Sonia pressed, leaning forward with sweaty palms. It was clear that this discussion was stressing her, which was understandable. Just mentioning that man's name caused all three of them distress.

"He wanted to kidnap our class of summoners." The human continued, frown appearing on his face, "Somehow he caused a group summon to reverse but me and the other rangers saved them. Though…"

"Though?"

"Shishishi, I got pulled in any way!" Luffy chuckled, as if thinking back on a funny memory, "That's where I met Surume! He's super awesome Kraken who is actually really sweet and-"

"Is this where you encountered Tesoro?" Hancock interrupted, quickly recognizing the kid was getting distracted. Luffy nodded, smile dimming.

"Mhm. He was mad that I ruined his plan and threw me into the Apàti Forest."

The sisters gasped at that. He'd been thrown to Balak!? How was he still alive!?

"It was scary in there but my old friend, Kuma, saved me." Luffy finished, eyes brightening at the mention of his savior, "I don't know what happened to Tesoro after that."

Hancock hummed and thought over the boy's story. He didn't seem the type to lie and she didn't sense any devious intentions…perhaps he was telling the truth and was yet another victim of the monster?

"I see. It is now clear to me that you have not come here to do hissss work." Hancock said, brushing some of her hair out of her face, "However, that does not change the fact that you saw my back and, therefore, must be dealt with."

"Ehhh…but why?!" Luffy whined, leaning forward, "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You have committed a sin against me and that is enough to deserve death!" Hancock bellowed, moving off the soft cushion so she could loom over the smaller figure, "It seems you must learn what happens to those who cross me…those who dare to disobey." At that, she ordered her sisters to retrieve Marguerite, the unfortunate skýmnos she would be taking her wrath out on today.

"Y-You called, Hebìhime?" The young girl stuttered, swiftly moving so she was between Hancock and Luffy.

"Yes…Marguerite, correct?" Hancock asked sweetly, smiling her prettiest smile at the naïve lamia, causing her to blush slightly, "Would you please enlighten me as to why you thought it was wise to dress a prisoner is such fine clothing?"

"I-I couldn't say, Empress." Marguerite managed, nervously wringing her hands together in front of her, "It was all I could find that would fit him." Hancock's smile widened when she saw the confusion and apprehension appear on the boy's face.

'Watch closely, human, for you will be next.'

"Fear not, young one." Hancock cooed, reaching a hand up to cup the girl's cheek, further deepening her blush, "I am not angry, however, surely you must understand how this reflectssss on me? Parading a prisoner around in fine dressings. What will my subjects think?"

"Forgive me, Hebìhime!" The girl quickly replied, bowing low before her, "It will not happen again!"

"Hey, leave her alone!" Luffy interrupted, "It wasn't her fault, I'm the one who asked for clothes." Marguerite swiftly spun around and whispered some soothing words to the human, who immediately tried to protest again but went silent after a determined stare from the young lamia.

"Please…have mercy." Marguerite begged, lowering her gaze in submission. Hancock felt a chill of anticipation run down her spine as she prepared her magic.

"Of course…after all, this is such a minor insult."

Just as the young lamia lifted her gaze to meet Hancock's, eyes full of hope, she activated her magic, turning Marguerite to stone in an instant. Foolish girl. Luffy gasped, mouth dropping open slightly.

"W-What did you…why did you do that!? Isn't she your friend?"

"She was nothing to me." Hancock hissed back, brushing off what she had just done, "This is what happens when people defy me, boy, and I will always be forgiven because…I am beautiful!" She knew the light was hitting her face at just the right angle as she bent backwards, looking down on the boy in her iconic style.

At her last statement, her sisters nodded in approval, while Luffy actually began to growl at her, causing her to straighten.

"You really piss me off."

Hancock gasped at the insult and fell backwards against the bed dramatically, causing her sisters to angerly launch to her defense, ordering the guards to take the human to the execution field. When the ranger was removed, Hancock relaxed, considering the boy's eyes. For a second, the innocent brightness had been replaced with fierce anger and protectiveness.

It, embarrassingly enough, had given her pause, though she'd skillfully hidden her shock with a dramatic reaction.

'Why does he care?' She mused, 'Marguerite was his jailer and nothing more!'

Regardless, it wouldn't matter much longer. Bacura would make sure of it.

Luffy was angry. No, more than angry, he was seething. How could she do that to Marguerite!? She hadn't done anything wrong! He'd been doing his best to not use his mana manipulation or fight the Kuja as he didn't want to hurt his chances of making a pact with their sister tribe, but now he was seriously considering throwing caution to the wind.

When the meeting with the head lamia-lady was over, Luffy had been moved to an arena of some sort, complete with stone bleachers that quickly filled up with a crowd. They'd replaced the rope around his wrists with actual snakes that wrapped around his torso and wrists like chains, becoming tighter the more he struggled.

It was really annoying how the long-haired Kuja waltzed into the venue and sat on her throne while being cheered by her people. Didn't they realize what kind of person she was? Luffy didn't like anyone who hurt their friends, no matter who they were.

"Welcome, my sisters, to the execution of a being many of you haven't seen before." She bellowed, pointing at Luffy with distaste, "A man."

The lamia surrounding the arena gasped and whispered amongst themselves before beginning to jeer at him, encouraged by the long-haired lamia's explanation of his 'crimes'. Luffy frowned in response, eyes turning silver with mana. He quickly noticed that the Kuja all had fairly strong mana signatures. Not one of them was 'weak'.

This wouldn't be easy.

"Release Bacura!"

"Kill him for insulting Hebìhime!"

Luffy rubbed his wrists when the snakes slithered away, allowing him to stand to his feet. If he wanted to survive this, he would need to fight and use all of the skills he'd learned from his ranger classes.

'I can't die here, not after everything I survived in Skotàdi.' He determined, turning around to face 'Bacura', his apparent executioner, who emerged from a cave below the arena with a snarl. The beast was very large and appeared to be a panther of some sort, its black fur sleek and without many scars.

Luffy cracked his knuckles and pulled a strap of his dress back towards his neck. At his challenge, the giant cat pounced, prompting him to agilely sidle out of the way and place a hand on its rump, absorbing as much mana as he could. Bacura stumbled at the sudden loss of energy while Luffy directed the beast's mana into his own fist, exhaling sharply at the incredible surge of power the mana gave him. Focusing the energy, Luffy punched the cat in the face, releasing the panther's mana as he did so to create a force far stronger than his normal attack would've been.

The hit was so strong, it sent the poor kitty flying into the stands, almost flattening some of the spectators.

"H-He's strong…"

"Bacura was taken out in one hit!?"

Luffy ignored the prattling of the lamia surrounding him and turned his attention to the woman on the throne.

"Oi, what's gonna happen to that lady? Will she turn back?"

"Hmph, I don't ssssee why you care so much about her." The lamia retorted, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "She received just punishment for what she did." Luffy glanced sideways when the people began to support their leader, apparently aware of what had happened to one of their own.

"Yeah, that's right! It's sad what happened to Marguerite, but Hebìhime did nothing wrong!"

"You ssssee, insolent boy?" She cooed, leaning forward to further expose her bosom to him, "No matter what I do, I will be forgiven, because I am beautiful!"

'Not this again…' Luffy huffed, biting the inside of his cheek in annoyance while the other Kuja squealed over the mean lady. What did being pretty have to do with anything? That didn't mean she could do whatever she wanted!

"I really don't like you." He snarled, causing the crowd to again hiss insults at him. Honestly, he could care less what they thought of him…they could hate him for all he cared, but he refused to drag Marguerite into this mess. She'd clothed him (even if it had been in a dress, clothes were clothes) and had been nice to him.

Luffy had to save her somehow.

"Sonia…Mari." The lady called, prompting her two sisters to leap down into the arena with Luffy, startling him out of his thoughts, "I cannot tolerate hissss existence. Kill him."

"Of course, Sister." The red-haired one replied, brandishing a spear, "We will remove him from your presence immediately."

"I hope you're prepared, human." The other lamia hissed, circling him, "We won't show you any mercy."

Luffy quietly got into a fighting stance and lifted up his fists, eyes bright.

"Bring it on."

Hancock's breathes came quickly, terrified at what had almost happened.

At first, the fight had gone about as expected with the ranger being completely overwhelmed by her sisters' attacks. However, just when she thought the boy would finally die, he did something…unexpected. It seemed that he'd pulled off a trick similar to with Bacura, slowly absorbing as much as mana as he could from Sonia and Mari, before releasing it all at once. Though the technique was somewhat unrefined, she recognized it as a high level ranger technique often used to take out multiple enemies at once.

The mana reflected back into Sonia's face just as Marigold released her flame magic, sending them tumbling together in a heap. Her green-tailed sister's kálymma and cape caught fire, almost exposing her mark for the entire arena to see.

In that moment, Hancock had been scared and everything up to that point seemed meaningless. However, the human did something that shocked her and the audience to silence. He leapt onto Sonia's back, covering the smoldering mark with his own body.

'After everything we did…he still…'

"Evacuate! Quickly, before the Gorgon eyes are revealed!" Thankfully, her elite warriors escorted everyone from the scene until only her sisters and the human remained.

"Y-You…why?" Hancock managed as she slithered down the stairs to the arena, meeting the boy's big eyes with her own. The human's lips pursed together and he gently released Sonia, revealing irritated skin that was exposed to the flames, some of it bright red and bordering on a true burn.

"You didn't want anybody to see it, right?"

Hancock was taken aback by the simplistic response. This boy…was just so-

"Perhapssss we should go elsewhere." Marigold suggested, helping Sonia to her feet, "This is not a discussion we should be having out in the open." Hancock nodded and motioned for the boy to follow them, feeling slightly guilty when he winced and held his arms against his stomach.

"Come, let us return to my quarters."

Luffy shuffled in place as he waited outside the lady's room with her sisters, who he quickly learned were named Sandersonia and Marigold. Sonia, the green-tailed one, had been treated for her wounds and given a new shirt and cape to cover her back.

He couldn't wait to get some new clothes himself…the dress was reaching its limits after all the fighting they did.

"Erm, what's she doing in there?" Luffy asked, curious as to why they had to wait outside.

"You'll see." Mari replied, looking down at him with a certain softness that he hadn't been expecting. Was this change in behavior because he'd protected Sonia?

A few minutes later, a familiar blonde lamia slithered out, appearing confused.

"Marguerite, you're okay!" Luffy chirped, wasting no time wrapping his arms around the tense lamia, "I'm so glad!"

"…what are you doing?" She whispered, gently dislodging him, "And in the presence of Hebìhime's brood no less. For that matter, what happened to you? Your dress is in shambles!"

"Uh-"

"You may return to the guard house, skýmnos."

"R-Right…" Marguerite replied, sending Luffy a look of disbelief before formally excusing herself. The boy hummed happily to himself as he followed the sisters into the elaborate room once again, thinking that maybe the mean lady wasn't so mean after all! After all, she'd turned Marguerite back to normal!

This time around, the lady was sitting on the edge of the bed, naked from the waist up.

"Why're you naked? Won't you get cold?" He asked, thinking back to how cold he got when he didn't have any clothes. The lamia sighed and beckoned for him to approach.

"You are a strange human, Luffy."

"Well you're weird too, lady." He shot back, settling himself down onto the floor, "I mean, first you're all mean and stuff and then you helped Marguerite. You're confusing, but I don't think I hate you anymore."

"My name is Boa Hancock," She stated firmly, choosing to ignore the rest of his sentence, "and what I am about to show you is our greatest sssshame…something we go through great effort to hide. I know you have already seen it, but I want you to look upon it again."

With that, she turned herself around and moved her hair so that Luffy could get a clear view of the mark burned onto her skin. He frowned, thinking that maybe it wasn't quite the same as the one he saw on Tesoro's clothing.

"Do you know what it means?"

"Uh…no, not really. I thought I saw it on Tesoro's clothes, but it's different somehow."

"Yes, I doubt he would wear one willingly." Hancock spit, biting her lip, "It is a mark of ownership…of slavery."

Luffy felt his stomach drop. So, it was a slave brand?

"Tell me, do you know how djinn are made?" Luffy shook his head. "They were all humans once, corrupted by greed and dark magic. In their search for power, they convince a current djinn to pass along their curse to them, which frees the djinn from the grip of their lamp."

He blinked and nodded hesitantly, somewhat understanding but not really. There was a good chance he'd slept through that lecture.

"Tesoro was one such human, driven by his lust for strength and control." Hancock continued, arms shaking slightly. Suddenly, the strong, prideful Kuja seemed so much smaller than she actually was. "He sought out a djinn that was reaching the end of his tolerance for the curse and convinced it to relinquish its power to him, which it did eagerly. Once he'd acclimated to his abilities, Tesoro sought to create a collection of beautiful creatures…all slaves."

Luffy turned when Sonia began to cry, Mari folding over her with practiced ease.

"O-Oi, it's okay, you don't have to tell me-"

"You should know this…after risking your own life to protect our honor." Hancock affirmed before continuing her story, "It was then that Tesoro went to each of the respective worlds and kidnapped young creatures, trapping them in a pocket space he'd carved out for himself, similar to what the Bearded Giant did but with less than amiable intentions."

"I-I'm sure you can figure out what happened to ussss…" Sonia managed between sniffles, "All three of us were taken, too young to fight back."

"There, we were hissss slaves. He forced unfamiliar magic on us to make us more 'entertaining' to his guests and-and had we remained there for longer than we did…"

Luffy bit his bottom lip, able to infer what she meant.

"Thankfully, a creature from Koràlli staged a massive breakout, and we were able to escape." Hancock said, wiping her eyes, "But I'm sure you can understand why we hide these marks. If our people found out they were ruled by someone who'd once been a slave…"

The room went silent at that, Luffy unsure what to say. Though his interaction with Tesoro had been brief, he'd had enough time to ascertain that he hated the djinn. He'd tried to kidnap his entire class and, based on Hancock's story, had he not intervened, they'd probably be trapped as Tesoro's slaves right now. The mere thought made him sick to his stomach.

"Tch, if only I was stronger." Luffy growled, "I could've done more damage to him, the bastard."

Hancock looked up in surprise.

"You…don't pity us or think we are inferior because of our past?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

"Why would I think that? It's not your fault Tesoro's an asshole."

At that, Hancock chuckled softly, eyes brightening.

"You know what…I like you! Luffy, correct? From this day forward, you are welcome in Amazon Lily. We will make sure you are well taken care of."

"Wow, really? Thanks, Hammock!" He replied, smiling widely at the lamia, whose face turned red for some reason, "Um…in that case, do you think I could have some different clothes?"

That evening, Luffy eagerly stuffed himself full of food, very pleased that he was finally out of the dress and into some warm, comfy pants. The shirt they gave him to wear was also nice though it had a really wide neckline so it was pretty much constantly falling off one of his shoulders.

They'd even thought to give him socks, which he greatly appreciated, and treated his wounds.

Luffy found himself somewhat baffled by the sudden change in treatment but decided not to question it. He ultimately decided that it was a 'mystery' and re-focused on the meat in front of him. Most of it, he had no idea what it was…but food was food!

"H-How issss it?" Hancock asked nervously from the cushion next to him, her tail twitching slightly.

"It's really good! Thanks!" Luffy replied, swallowing his bite so he could smile at the lamia.

"A-A-Ah…that's wonderful….Luffy…" She whispered, refusing to look at him as her tail began to slap the floor over and over. What was with her?

"Wow…you have really nice collarbonessss." A different lamia muttered, running a finger across his shoulder while another pulled at his cheek. Apparently, Hancock had told her people that he was 'okay' or something, because now they wouldn't leave him alone. It was hard to eat with all the Kuja ladies poking and prodding at him.

"Say, do you have a mate?"

"A what?" He questioned, mouth once again full of food.

"You know, a female to look after you. Because if you don't, I'm currently avail-"

"Ahem." Hancock cleared her throat, causing the other lamia to tense up and back away, suddenly not as interested in Luffy as she had been. The boy just shrugged and went back to his meal, that is, until the Empress' tail coiled itself around him gently.

"Uh…Hammock, I kind of need that arm to eat." He informed her, pointing down at his right hand that was now trapped against his body. She blushed and loosened her grip enough for him to get his arm out before tightening it again so it was flush against his stomach. For whatever reason, the other lamia didn't bother him after that. They just watched him eat with pouty expressions. Weird. "Ne, ne, when can I meet the Valera? I need to make a pact with them."

"Ah, right. Their Queen should be arriving shortly." Hancock informed him while scooting closer and closer to him. "I told her what you did and she was very impressed, however, you should know their trials are not easy…if you'd like, I could simply order her to contract with you."

Luffy blinked and considered the offer, recalling Robin's explanation of the Valera and how most people couldn't complete the trials (or died trying). Still, he didn't want to accept the pact if he hadn't earned it.

"No thanks, I want to do it myself."

"W-Whatever you say…Luffy." Hancock seemed to enjoy saying his name, though every time she did, she would turn away and squeal softly to herself, covering her face with her clawed hands.

Was she sick or something?

Throughout the feast, Marguerite distanced herself from her sisters, unsure where she stood after her blunder with Hebìhime. Though she appeared to be forgiven, she did not want to risk angering their Empress again.

Of course, seeing as Hebìhime was a bit pre-occupied at the moment, Marguerite did not think she would even get a chance to interact with her.

She doubted Luffy knew what was going on, but everyone else in the room did. Hebìhime was courting him, a human. She was showing off her scales and trying to get him to react to her ministrations, however, the boy was proving to be…difficult. Perhaps that was why their leader was so drawn to him. He was 'different' or something.

Honestly, Marguerite wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't like she had a lot of experience with men (and she didn't really count male Valera).

When other Kuja attempted to make a move, Hebìhime reacted possessively, wrapping Luffy in her tail like he was already hers. Among the tribe, there weren't many (or any, really) who would dare to challenge her, so Luffy was essentially as good as mated…

…if he agreed.

'Something tells me he's not interested.' Marguerite chuckled, enjoying Luffy's innocent responses to Hebìhime's obvious advances.

"Oh my…am I interrupting something?" The lamia looked up at the voice, immediately inclining her head to Queen Viola. The Valera looked regal and particularly amused at how Hebìhime bristled and held Luffy closer almost instinctively. Viola was flanked by four warriors, all unarmed as was custom. "This must be the little human boy I've heard so much about."

"You're a Valera!" Luffy chirped, struggling to get out of Hebìhime's grip, "Hi, I'm Luffy! I wanna make a pact with you guys."

"So I've heard." Queen Viola replied, shifting her weight so she could lean on one hip, "I will say, we have never had a male human attempt our trials but we will not go easy on you. We also expect you to follow all of our traditions. Are you prepared for that, little kitten?"

"Shishishi, yep! Can't wait!"

Marguerite smiled under her hand, wondering if Luffy knew exactly what that entailed.

Oh well, it'd be entertaining to watch at least.