And here is the first official chapter for Wrinkles and Diapers! :D
I don't guarantee that it'd be this long for all chapters, and dear lord the chapters will NEVER be published on time. Hah!
Thank you to madidoodlekins, Swaben, RunAway Rose, Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, WritingQueen14, akagami hime chan for your encouraging reviews! This chapter is for you wonderful people. :D
If you have never read the book or watched the movie Howl's Moving Castle, well, go read and watch it. I swear, it's worth it.
If you have read/watched Howl's Moving Castle, you'll pretty much know what's coming. But let's keep those secrets eh? Of course, as I said, my story is just BASED on the plot line. There will only be a few elements from the book that I base my story off on, but I thought I'd just point out the similarities anyways.
Disclaimer: One Piece and Howl's Moving Castle is not mine. :[
BY THE WAY, if you haven't already noticed... Law/OC, this is an OC story so if you don't like OCs, don't read.
Chapter 1: ...Oops?
Somewhere in the Grand Line, on a relatively small island called Primavera, in a world where pirates and marines are constantly at each others' throats... a young woman of twenty-years-old sighed heavily. You would think that such a young woman as this, one that is already an independent working woman, the owner of a well-to-do florist shop, and about to be married, would have no such worries in her life at all.
Well, you haven't met this woman named Letha Smith.
Letha sighed once again as she pulled on her gardening gloves and settled down to repot the daffodils in the garden behind her shop. She busied herself with making small trenches to line the yellow flowers in, working steadily at a turtle-like pace. A small ticking sound could be heard coming from Letha's store. She constantly looked over her shoulder with a wary glance at the clock in her shop, which she could see through the glass window. The hands on the clock read 11:47 in the morning. Almost noon.
Letha wiped her forehead with an arm, shading her gray-blue eyes from the glaring sun centered in the bright cobalt sky and once again, sighed. She realized with the utmost reluctance that there was no use in putting the deed off. She pulled herself off the ground, dusted herself off, tucked her muddy gloves in her back pocket, and -sigh- settled to be a waitress for a day.
It was a favor for her aunt that was negotiated by her own traitorous mother.
She knew that Letha hated being ordered to do something she didn't want to do. Yet, still.
Her mother had insisted and said "Letha, dear, go and help your aunt in her restaurant this weekend at twelve p.m. sharp until she doesn't need you to waitress for her anymore that day. Your father and I will be taking a vacation so you'll be alone for the whole week. It'll be just as well to have your aunt take care of you." Then with a peck on the cheek and an affectionate pinch on the other, her parents waved goodbye to her with a silk napkin on a cruise boat that was already speeding away towards Water 7, which was paid for by her loving aunt who was in need of a slave for the weekend.
My own mother is a traitor, Letha thought viciously as she cleaned herself up and left the shop.
Her shop was located on top of a seaside hill that was only a little ways from town. To any person traveling on the seas to dock at Primavera, they could easily see the flower shop on top of the hill, only slightly hidden behind clusters of live oak trees that protected the gardens of flowers Letha grew from the harmful sea breeze.
Letha made sure that the sign on the door read 'Closed' before leaving for her aunt's restaurant on the other side of town. She walked down the lane of her shop mumbling to herself irritably "I'm a florist, not a waitress!", passing by several strange people in white boiler suits. A man wearing a white furry hat with black spots glanced at her from the corner of his dark shadowed eyes. Letha didn't notice. Instead, she thought about how absolutely wronged she felt as she continued walking past them. The injustice!
Yeah, independent my butt. Letha snorted. She was the new owner of her family's shop, Smithy's Florist. She was already twenty-years-old. She was getting married in a year. Where does her mother get off treating her like a child?
I should just go back to the shop and open up for the day, Letha thought with determination, I wasn't the one who agreed to this! I should just turn around right now and open shop! That's right, I'll just-
Her feet kept walking straight across town, making some turns left and right, passing by people that paid no attention to the young woman with dark brown hair who was having an internalized conflict in her jumbled mind. She passed by several people she didn't know and some she did, but didn't bother to say any hellos. She passed by bushes of pink oleanders that decorated the side of town facing the blue sea. For a brief moment, there was a view of the wide harbor filled with several ships. Two of the more stranger ships sporting black flags.
Letha sighed resignedly and continued through town until she reached the town's main square. It was a simple square plaza made of paved stones and white faced buildings with trimmings of cheerful colors that deeply contrasted Letha's mood for the day.
If only I didn't eat that fruit. She thought miserably, but shook herself out of it when she recognized her aunt's place. She had been there yesterday to do the same dirty deed she would have to do today and was familiar enough with the job to hate it. All those customers she would have to talk to and take orders from…. Letha shuddered.
The restaurant was quite large and very picturesque with it's large clear windows and cafe-like setting. There were some small round tables set outside the building, each topped with green umbrellas to shelter the people sipping tea. Flower's lined the green window sills (courtesy of her flower shop), and the restaurant appeared to be very busy with customers. Customers that were quickly fleeing that is.
However, Letha paid no mind to the strange behavior of the people and charged right into the restaurant eager to get the evil job over with.
They needed a waitress again? Well here she is, Letha thought crossly. Ready and unwilling.
She pushed past the people with only a slight annoyance, muttering excuse me and pardon me, and wondered briefly why everyone was in such a rush to leave.
"Lettie! Thank god you're here." A very distressed-looking woman, Letha's aunt, exclaimed running up to her. She was a large bulging woman that greatly contrasted to Letha's slim and prim-looking mother. "Quick, put on this apron, and go attend to that customer over there. Table 5. Hurry Letha!" Letha did as she was told quickly and was resigned to a horrible day of waitressing.
All I have to do is make it through today. Letha thought with a twinge of optimism, I'm sure it won't be that bad.
Oh, how terribly wrong Letha was.
Letha turned around and quickly scanned the restaurant for table 5. Her eyes glazing past the empty white tables, thinking nothing of the dwindling noise of fleeing customers, and spotted a very eye-catching and loud customer.
The only customer.
For a moment Letha stared at the odd pink-haired customer surrounded by plates of food. She was wearing a green Furażerka and had an anti-eyebrow piercing below her right eye. She was also wearing revealing and out of the ordinary clothes such as an extra small white T-shirt that revealed a thin stomach and huge cleavage, super short orange and brown striped…shorts, and flowery patterned and white ruffled leggings that ended just above the knee- clothes Letha would never be caught dead in. They were just so eye catching and different. Definitely not normal, and someone that couldn't be forgotten easily. The woman was, despite the food smeared on her face, very pretty also. For a short moment, Letha admired how well she could pull off that outfit.
She looks awfully familiar... Letha thought.
The pretty 'lady' had her feet propped on the table, and she was eating with both hands and chewing with loud crunches and an open cherry-chapped mouth. The people that Letha assumed were the woman's companions were busy clearing away the plates and putting new ones filled with food in front of the pink-haired customer.
"Where's my pizza?" The customer demanded, spitting out pieces of food. Letha winced at her manners. She was reluctant to talk to the most definitely weird person that was probably also bossy. She glanced behind her to look at her aunt with pleading eyes that said 'Please don't make me do this.'
Her aunt made a frantic shooing motion, which sent ripples along her bulbous body, that made it clear that she wasn't going to let Letha back out of this.
Wonderful, just toss me into the waters. Letha thought with an exasperated sigh. She turned back around to see the pink-haired woman throw a bottle of wine at the wall across from her, making a loud crashing noise and staining the pea-green walls of the restaurant.
Behind her, Letha could hear the loud thud of her aunt fainting at the sight of her beloved walls ruined.
Uh oh. Letha gulped. The lady was bizarre and violent. H-How hard could this be? Letha thought nervously. Just get in there and get their order.
She watched the big burly men moving dishes out of the way for the ill-mannered woman, who was chomping on a huge buttered biscuit in her hand and holding a large piece of meat in the other. Suddenly Letha's eyes widened with astonishment when she realized who those people in front of her were. She felt her legs wobble as the scaredy cat in her meowed for her to get away. Letha backed up a couple of spaces, clumsily tripping over her own feet. She fell with a hard flump on her butt and winced. The pirates paid no mind to the girl on the floor yet Letha's overactive imagination figured they were probably bidding their time like those creepy stalkers she once read about.
P-Pirates! Letha's mind screamed. Those are pirates! Her mind flashed red like an emergency danger signal. Her mouth opened to yell in fright "I'm just a florist, oh Roger, I'm not even supposed to be here! I'm just a forgettable florist!" but all that came out was a jumbled mess of words.
Suddenly purple eyes swung over to glare at Letha on the floor.
"You! Are you a waitress?" The pirate captain demanded to know. Letha startled. She opened her mouth, and closed it. Then opened it again. "Y-Y-Yes, ma'am. My name's Letha."
Letha could've kicked herself. What kind of idiot gives her name to a dangerous person?
The pirate captain furrowed her eyebrows and scowled. "Letha? What kind of name is that." She chewed on her ravioli pasta and took a loud slurp of rum. Letha could've asked the same for her. What kind of name is Jewelry?
"Go get me my pizza!" Jewelry Bonney ordered loudly.
Letha cringed. It wasn't an order. But who was she kidding? She would follow that one either way. Letha clumsily got back up and dashed into the kitchen. She looked around frantically for pizza, any pizza!
…Where's the pizza?
The kitchen was empty of all cooks, and in fact, now that she realized, Letha was the only waitress in the restaurant. Boiling pots and frying pans were left on their stoves. Cabbages and onions left on their cutting boards half cut. Sinks left with the water still running.
Slam. Slam. Slam.
The back door was left flapping open.
Letha slowly moved to close the back door. She was all alone in the restaurant. The entire staff had run out on her. Her aunt was passed out! She was all alone, with impatient pirates waiting for their pizza. Pirates that knew her name... Forget that! Pirates that could kill her in a second! Who would run the flower shop if she was dead? Who would marry that Peter Willis? Who's going to plant those daffodils?
Letha swallowed hard. She took a peek in the ovens with nary a shred of hope.
No pizza.
She closed her eyes tightly.
I can still run, like the cooks. I can still save myself from whatever those pirates will do to me when I come out without their food. I should run.
Her legs stood rooted in its spot.
Letha face palmed.
The orders.
"Letha, dear, go and help your aunt in her restaurant this weekend at twelve p.m. sharp until she doesn't need you to waitress for her anymore that day..." Her mother had said.
Damn.
Her aunt still needed her. There was still a customer left. A pirate is still a customer.
If only I didn't eat that fruit.
Letha groaned loudly. She took a sweep of the kitchen with her eyes, looking for anything she could serve to the pirates.
Onions? I don't think so.
Cabbage. Maybe? With a little hot sauce… nah.
Pots! Letha ran over to the pots on the stove to see if there was anything that would make a decent dish.
She opened the lid of a boiling pot and saw a milky thick soup.
She could serve the clam chowder!
Letha quickly poured some into a bowl. She took the large soup bowl in hand carefully and weaved her way through the kitchen to the door that led to the restaurant.
Careful, careful. It's hot.
Letha pushed the door open with her behind and slowly walked towards where the Bonney pirates were. She kept her eyes on the hot soup, glancing up occasionally to see where she was going.
She'd tell them the cooks ran off. She'd tell them there was no more pizza, the supplies ran out. Yeah. She'd tell them there was clam chowder though, and the meal was on the house! That outta get her out of any trouble with that pirate Big Eater Jewelry Bonney. Letha nodded to herself grimly. She just had to get to that table…
Letha took slow, careful steps. Her hands burned from the contact with the hot bowl of clam chowder. It was just so hot! But she persevered. What were blistered palms compared to what those pirates could do to her? They could kidnap her, or they could sell her as a slave. They could do a number of things! She shuddered.
Letha glanced up to see where she was- only a couple feet away! Bonney's crew turned to see Letha making her way to them as she opened her mouth to say "The cooks-" and in that couple of seconds where she looked up to see where she was going and opened her mouth, her feet decided to wrestle one another for dominance.
"Waaghh-"
A look of pure horror crossed Letha's face, as well as every single one of Bonney's crew, as they watched the bowl of hot soup fly into the air in slow-mo. Letha had a vague sense of being suspended in air for fractions of a second that seemed much longer as she watched the bowl sail through the air with it's scorching contents towards an unsuspecting pink-haired glutton, who was chomping on a piece of butter-fried chicken and wondering where her pizza was.
Jewelry Bonney turned her head around slightly with her teeth tearing at the chicken meat. The impatient scowl on her face morphed into one of terror and her eyes widened in alarm when she spotted the flying bowl of soup headed straight for her.
In that moment Bonney was left with a terrifying decision of dodging and possibly dropping her chicken leg or getting hit with a burning liquid of clams and potatoes. Her crew was frozen in shock and had barely registered that they could-possibly-maybe-should step in front of their captain to protect her from enemies such as flying hot soup. Letha on the other hand was watching her uneventful life flash by with the words "Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap," repeating in her mind like a broken record.
Then, before Bonney could make her possible life-saving decision, and before her pirate crew could react in the way that would save their captain from clams and potatoes, and just as gravity hit Letha, the contents of the soup bowl splashed Bonney square in the face with the bowl landing neatly on her head somewhat like a ring toss.
Letha landed on the floor painfully with a thud.
The Bonney pirates gasped in absolute horror.
Jewelry Bonney herself gritted her teeth, the soup dripping through her hair, and her face red from the hot liquid and her blazing anger. She slowly removed the bowl from her head. The bowl cracked in half from her grip.
Letha swiftly looked up from her face-plant on the floor in dismay and locked her gray-blue eyes on Jewelry Bonney's enraged purple ones.
A couple seconds ticked by as Letha thought of anything she might possibly say to save her life.
"…Oops?"
To those of you that don't know.
Primavera means spring in Spanish.
Also, all flowers and plants have their own meanings. For instance...
Daffodils have several meanings such as joy, happiness (if several) or misery (if single), as well as rebirth, eternal life and regard. But the one I want you to focus on is the daffodil meaning 'new beginnings.'
Oleanders have the meaning 'caution and beware.' I think we can guess what Letha should be wary about. Also, to those of you who live near oleanders (which are often used for decoration on highways and blah) these can be poisonous.
As mentioned before, Letha means forgettable, or even forgetful. It's derived from the river Lethe in Greek mythology. And... blah, too lazy.
