Chapter 12

Sanji had to admit that working on the pirate ship with a gluttonous captain had its advantages. After every meal he never had leftovers to throw away, just a stack of licked clean plates to wash. He was sure as long as he cooked on this ship, he knew that every crumb of food he made would end up in someone's stomach. He was in the middle of washing the tomato sauce from the pasta dish he had made for lunch off every white plate. He had carefully pulled up his shirt sleeves so that they would not touch the soapy water. He meticulously rubbed circles with the sponges. He was half way through the pile of dishes when he heard the door of the kitchen open behind him. He was certain that it was not Luffy or Usopp because he could still hear them yelling and laughing outside. He could also hear the water run in the bathroom next door where Vivi was taking a long shower; she had called dibs on the bathroom earlier during lunch. That only left the navigator and the green idiot as possible candidates for this unexpected visit. However as soon as he recognized the light footsteps accompanied by the sound of heels hitting the floor, he easily deduced that the red head entering his domain (like Usopp liked to call).

"What can I do for you, Sweetheart?" He did not need to look behind him to know that the girl was rolling her eyes at the flirty nicknames he often called her.

"Don't call me that." He heard her footsteps come closer and stop a few feet away from him near the dining table. He continued to rinse and wash one by one the dirty plates. Waiting for her to answer his question. He did not need to wait a long time.

"Do you mind if I work on my map at the dining table? The boys are being really loud downstairs and the kitchen seems to be the quietest place on the boat."

"You don't need to ask; this is your crew's kitchen. As long as you don't mind working while I'm cleaning and cooking go ahead." He told her taking a second to grab a dish towel from one of the drawers; he dried the plates off and put them all back to their rightful place. All while listening to the sound of the young woman pulling out a chair and organizing her material on the table.

Before she was completely concentrated on her work he asked her if she wanted something to dring or drink. He was going to prepare a snack for later so it was not difficult for him to prepare something on the side for her.

"A fruit juice and some apple slices please."

He started to work on her order and also took out the ingredients he would need for later. The silence was not awkward. They were both busy and focused on their tasked. But nami made sure to thank him when he placed the snack and drink next to her; As he did that he noticed that she was studying a map of the sea they were sailing on. He wondered where she got it. Probably from one of the unconscious bounty hunters at the base. The island she was studying had barely not information on it. No relief markers, no town names. The only thing noticeable was the words "Little garden" scribbled messily in the middle the area. Nami noticed him glance at the map, and he was surprised by her next words.

"Do you know anything about this island? I can't find any information about it. And I don't feel safe going to an island we don't know anything about especially after what that agent lady said." She was frowning in worry at the map. She had crossed her arms and had leaned back against the back of her chair. While Sanji leaned against the table, his hip pressed against the wooden corner next to her. He took out a cigarette and lit it with his favorite lighter. He inhaled exhaled the smoke once before answering truthfully.

"Honestly, not that much. I remember a long time ago someone told me that the island was the home of gigantic creatures, some of them that normally should be extinct, still live on the island. However, what I am sure of is that very few have left the island alive to tell their story." Most of what he knew was what he had heard other agents and bounty hunters recount. They studied this part of the sea in class when he was younger with their royal tutor. But the old boring man had barely mentioned this island. Their father had made sure that the man used their precious time to teach them about politically and economically interesting islands that they would one day conquer.

"Extinct?" Nami said in disbelief.

"That's what the rumor mill says. That the island has never evolved from the prehistoric era." He shrugged his shoulder, exhaled a cloud of smoke in the other direction, away where sat the navigator. The girl looked nervous.

"So most people don't rely on their logpose while sailing to Alabasta they use what the lady had, an eternal pose?"

The blond man nodded in confirmation. He explained in a bit more details to help the navigator have a better idea on how the Grandline worked.

"Yep, that's right. In this small part of the Grandline, there are a lot of big developed kingdoms and civilizations, like Alabasta for example. People don't need the logpose to sail here as much as they do when travelling the rest of the Grandline, because most of these kingdoms have commercialized their eternal poses and now they are easier to find if you know the right people."

She still looked nervous to him. He attempted to distract her abit. He did not know why but seeing her anxiously looking at the map made him feel uneasy.

"How about some iced coffee? And I'm going to make some pie with the rest of the apples. Sounds good, Darling?"

"Sounds great!" She smiled. "And I'm not your Darling." She added as an afterthought.

But as he was walking towards the kitchen's work station where had left all the ingredients to make the dough, he heard gasp in surprise and get up to take something out of her bag where she had brought her cartography material.

"Oh! I forgot! I got the daily newspaper an hour ago but the boys distracted me and did not have time to read it." She took out the rumpled newspaper and placed it on the dinner table. "Vivi told me that you like to read the newspaper everyday too. I'll read it quickly and as soon as I'm done, I'll pass it to you." She offered while opening the paper to the page that interested her the most.

He thanked her while mixing the ingredients in the large bowl. But he did not even have time to add the eggs before the girl call his name.

"Sanji, come see this!" He approached the girl and leaned over her shoulder to read the article she wanted to show him. He noticed that she smelled of tangerine and vanilla. Another thing he could add to his mental list of "What makes Nami so beautiful". This list was quickly getting way to long. But he did not have much time to cherish this moment, because as soon as his eyes landed on the title of the article his whole body stiffen and his hand clenched around the back of the girl's chair.

The article was a page long. It described the tensions increasing between the royal guards and the rebellion. According to the journalist, it would not take long before it became a full-scale civil war in Alabasta. Sanji needed to call his father as soon as possible. This not good. The marines were still not interfering. And arriving in the middle of a civil war would make his mission of keeping his charge safe more difficult.

"Should we tell her?" Nami had turned her head so that she could look at him. He felt her hair brush his cheek as continued to read over her shoulder.

"I don't think it's a good idea, right now we cannot do anything except sail and wait. We cannot make worry about something she cannot do anything about, it would distract her."

"You're right. I'll keep the newspaper in my nightstand so that she doesn't see it. I can just tell the news bird never came today; the Doctor told me that it happens often on the Grandline." He watched as she hid the newspaper between her map papers while trying not to stare too obviously at the swell of her breast when she bent forward. He turned around and went get some ice from the cold room. When he came back, he was surprised to find the red head had changed seat. She was now sitting at the counter in front of his working station munching on the slices of apples he had prepared for her earlier. He made no comment about and just continued to prepared the pie and the iced coffee very aware of they young woman's eyes on him. He did not expect her to start the conversation again. He was making the cream for whipped cream for their drinks when she spoke up again.

"You know, she is really amazing. I never really liked the idea of royalty these people that had this power and money just because of who their parents and their grandparents were. It just felt dumb and unfair. Most of them sit on their throne and doing nothing, ordering poor people around all day. But Vivi, she's an exception." His movement while mixing the cream with a the whip faltered a bit at her words but he girl did not notice she just continued.

"Don't you think its incredible how much she loves her country and her people. She's ready to sacrifice her life for them and spy on a dangerous organization. I wish all royals were like her. But let's face it most of them are just a bunch of snobs. Spoiled brats all of them."

She then continued on munching her apples and drinking her tangerine juice, while Sanji thought about her words. He had felt the girl's hatred towards nobles. He wondered what h=she would think of him if she found out about his true identity and his royal blood. He asked himself if she would admire his brothers like she admired Vivi? Probably not. But his father had always said that nobles are superiors the people should sacrifice their lives in serving their ruler and not vice versa. That royals like Vivi who does not see a difference between a peasant and a royal blood are not fit to rule. That they should act like the superior being they were born to be. He could see that his father's vision of a good ruler was different than Vivi's or Nami's. Was he right in thinking like this? Would Nami admire his family like she admires Vivi? He felt confused and lost. What he had once thought was a good ruler did not seem to coincide with these people's belief. Had he been wrong? Should a prince or king be the one serving his country? If he did that would Nami look at him with the same admiration? But would his father accept this? He did not know what to think or believe anymore. He was lost.