Sand shifted beneath Zoro's bare feet as he headed towards the castle, carefully balancing the boy in his arms as he walked. The strange boy was playing with the trailing edge of his pant's hem, picking at it distractedly, and Zoro, though he still watched where he was going, couldn't help but study him. A feeling of familiarity ate away at him, as though he should recognise the person he held, but for the life of him, he couldn't seem to remember where he possibly would have seen the boy before.
"Oy," he started, and the boy glanced up, an honest curiosity in his dark gaze. "Do I know you?"
The boy nodded eagerly, brim of his strawhat brushing Zoro's shoulder as he did so, and then proceeded to try and mime something, his hands flying as though it would help Zoro understand.
Fully unprepared for the sudden squirming, Zoro yelped and stumbled, shifting his grip to compensate for the movement. He only just managed to prevent himself from accidently dropping the boy, and hearing that made his passenger stop, looking at him in curiosity. "Can't you speak and tell me that way?" Zoro groused, a grumpy frown pulling at his lips as he stared at the boy, unamused by his flailing.
The boy's expression dropped, and Zoro felt the heavy sigh that drew through the boy's body when his gaze flicked to his pant hem again.
"So you can't talk, huh?"
The boy gave a short nod, agreeing, and his eyes flicked away, to his feet again. Still, he recovered quickly, shaking his head as though to make the thoughts Zoro's question brought up go away, giving Zoro another grin.
Well, at least he was open. It actually wasn't too difficult for Zoro to read the boy's body language, and it wasn't as though the boy couldn't understand what Zoro was saying, so he'd most likely be alright.
"Well, I'll get the castle's doctor to look at you. Fix you up in no time."
The boy looked at him for those words, brow furrowed, and for all that Zoro could read this boy's body language like he was a book, the expression hiding in his eyes was something that he just couldn't seem to figure out.
That expression, however, was gone almost as fast as it came, and the boy graced him with another wide and unassuming grin, back to trying to excitedly mime something with his hands – though thankfully, this time, it came without the boy attempting to wriggle excitedly.
He took his earlier statement back.
Trying to survive this guy was probably going to be very difficult. People with boundless limits of energy had never been his strong point.
Why was he heading towards the village?
Luffy paused in attempting to see if Zoro would be able to figure out what he was saying when he only spoke with his hands to look around, scratching the back of his head.
Hadn't he said that they'd be heading towards the castle to see a doctor? While Luffy could argue that he certainly didn't need a doctor – in fact, he highly doubted that a human doctor would even be able to do anything – he still figured that if Zoro said they were going someplace, they were probably going to go to that place.
Are you lost? He wanted to ask, and would've done so, but one again the words he wanted to say lay trapped on his tongue, as though glued there.
Geeze, getting used to not talking was even harder than he'd thought.
At that moment, however, Zoro seemed to realise that they were not where he wanted them to end up, and stopped, looking around with a frown. "The hell?" He mumbled, and Luffy tried to stop himself from grinning and laughing; Zoro was lost!
Zoro caught his amused beam and frowned even more, but luckily for the two of them, the blond from the beach came out of the shop in front of them, balancing baskets of food in his arms.
The blond looked a bit shocked for a moment, staring at the two of them like he hadn't expected their sudden arrival, before rolling his eyes and shifting the bags in his grip. "You got lost again? Do I have to babysit you every goddamn minute you shitty marimo head?"
Zoro screwed up his face and glowered, "Shut up, stupid dartbrow."
Luffy stared curiously at the man across from them. He'd only seen Zoro close up before, and not the man that Zoro'd originally rescued from being knocked overboard; now he eagerly took in the details of his appearance.
Also, he was carrying food. Good enough reason to pay attention, honestly.
"Why the hell are you carrying around a kid?"
About to open his mouth and protest being called a kid, Luffy suddenly spotted the curl to the blond's eyebrow, and his eyes opened wide in amazement. Slowly, a wide, amazed grin spread across his face, and though he tried to resist the urge, he still attempted to open his mouth and speak.
Damn not being able to talk, he thought when the words didn't come, this is so annoying!
"I was taking him to the castle. Stupid guy couldn't even stand up on his own."
Okay he may not've been able to speak, but he could still understand them. Luffy poked his tongue out at Zoro childishly, and heard an amused snort from the curlybrowed blond. (And if that wasn't enough to keep him completely and utterly fascinated with humans and their strange appearances, nothing would.)
"That why he's not talking?"
Zoro shrugged, and the blond sighed, rolling his eyes again. "Well, I'm heading up with the food cart now. Hurry up and get in, shitty prince."
What.
"Don't order me around, shit cook." Zoro said, but followed after the blond, leaving Luffy to his shell-shocked thoughts.
Prince.
Prince?
Zoro's a prince?!
Luffy's distracted musings were drawn to a very sudden, extremely confused stop, and he felt his heart almost stop beating in his chest. Zoro's a prince?
And that just made everything he had to do ten times harder.
He probably had people lining up around the block asking for his hand in marriage, or trying to get him to fall in love with them! If he were royalty the likelihood of Zoro even paying attention to him after making sure Luffy wouldn't keel over was slim.
The task he'd agreed to had already seemed difficult as he thought over it, as he tried to figure out how to get someone to fall in love with him when he didn't love them, but when he added in Zoro's new found heritage-
Trying to get someone who was royalty to fall in love with him would be almost impossible! Especially now that he couldn't use his voice – how on Earth was he meant to get Zoro to pay attention him when he couldn't speak or keep his interest?
No. Luffy violently tried to shove his depressing thoughts to the back of his head, pushing them away till they stopped threatening to overwhelm him. He couldn't think like that.
He still had more than enough time to get Zoro to like him; two weeks was plenty of time, right?
Carefully, Zoro placed him on the wooden seat of the cart, but Luffy, so lost in his own thoughts, barely even noticed.
Steal his heart.
Luffy gave a little flinch as the words of the sea witch came back to him.
"You alright?" Zoro asked him, a furrow creasing his brow as he spotted Luffy's wince and the distracted frown on Luffy's face, and Luffy jumped, surprised by the words.
He grinned reassuringly, shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind and Zoro climbed into the cart next to him, the blond snapping reins and urging the horses hitched to the front forwards.
"Oy, shitty marimo. You gonna introduce me, or you just gonna be rude?"
Zoro's inquisitive look lingered for another moment, long enough to almost make Luffy want to shift on his seat guilty, but Zoro's face turned away and Luffy almost sighed in relief. "That shithead up front is Sanji. I'm Zoro."
Well I knew that already.
Of course it's kind of his – Sanji's (wow, he's got a pretty cool name Sa-n-ji. And he has food! Mmm...)
Sanji's fault I knew that but I still knew that. How do I tell you my name though? That's kind of hard. Eh, whatever. I'll figure something out.
"Prince Zoro you fucking idiot."
"It's not like I care."
"Yeah but you still have to say it, for god's sake."
"I don't want to," Zoro said sounding slightly petulant, and Luffy sniggered, feeling a grin stretch his features.
Zoro turned to him for that, expression almost seeming surprised by the sound, and that slightly startled look on his face made Luffy laugh even louder.
"I like him already," Sanji remarked, when he heard Luffy giggling at Zoro, and the cart trundled up the bumpy path towards the castle.
Taking the cart made the journey a lot quicker than it would've been on foot, even if Zoro hadn't gotten them lost, and soon they arrived at the castle. Though they bypassed the large gates with no problems, instead of going up to the main stairs, Sanji steered the horses around to a smaller door around the back.
No matter how small it was, it was still a wondrous thing to the former mer. Atlantis didn't have doors, per say; there were curtains of kelp encouraged to grow in doorways for privacy, but doors were a fully human invention, one he now found himself fascinated with. As Sanji hopped off the front seat and swung open the door, calling inside for others to help him unload the cart, Zoro swung himself from the cart too.
He forgot again; Luffy tried to stand with them, to get a closer look at the door. Wobbling on his feet and grasping the wood of the bench with one hand, Luffy almost fell and Zoro had to move quickly from the side he was on, just barely managing to catch the dark-haired teen before he took a step and went sprawling into the dirt.
"You idiot," Zoro cursed angrily, hauling Luffy so that he could stand properly instead of half-lean against the human's chest, and the tight grip on his biceps almost made Luffy wince, had he not realised he'd probably worried the prince. He tried to plaster an apologetic look on his face, vaguely realising that this was probably how Ace felt whenever his brother had done something a little silly and the Council told him off for it.
Zoro sighed heavily, sounding irritated, and bent again, scooping Luffy into his arms again. "For God's sake," he mumbled under his breath, stalking towards the open door and pausing as he figured out how to get through without accidently hitting his companion's head or feet on the door frame.
As they passed it, Luffy craned his neck to see the metal hinges that the door was inlaid on. Though he didn't know the word for them, the sight still utterly captivated him, and he wanted to reach out a hand to touch them – however Zoro moved straight past without stopping, passing through a place that was filled with the most wonderful smells.
Luffy wouldn't have minded staying in there for longer, either.
Still, Zoro continued onwards and Luffy felt like pouting, knowing he'd have to find his way back there somehow.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him; now that he was human, and staying around this human, maybe he'd get to try human food!
He could feel the excitement and anticipation buzz like they'd filled him to the brim, and he wished he could figure out how to walk-
There were so many things he could do! He may've traded his tail and voice for legs, but he'd be lying if he said he regretted it. The chance to be a human, even if just for a little while, greatly outweighed what would happen to him if he failed to uphold his end of Alvida's bargain.
All the human objects, ones he'd never seen – or even heard of before! – filled every inch of the palace he could see, and surrounded by grandeur that almost seemed to match the palace in Atlantis, Luffy's head practically swivelled as he looked around, eyes wide. Zoro chuckled, finally loosing the taut anger that'd previously held him stiff, and the sound moved from his chest through Luffy's arm.
Luffy looked at him curiously for the sound, cocking his head to the side in a silent question.
"Never been in a palace before, huh?" Zoro asked, inclining his head as people passed them by, bowing when they spotted Zoro.
Nah, it's just different than the one I'm used to.
He kind of wished he could properly reply to Zoro's questions and comments, because just answering the prince in his mind wasn't nearly as fun as having a conversation with him would be, but he supposed he'd just have to make do. Making his way up a set of spiralling stairs, Zoro finally stopped in front of an obtuse looking door, plain and simply fashioned. Tapping with his foot against the dark wooden door in front of them, Zoro waited semi-impatiently for it to open, before brushing past the dark-haired woman who opened it for them.
Turning, he half-held out Luffy in front of him, saying as he did so, "Oy, Robin."
"Yes, your highness?"
Zoro's expression soured at the use of the title, but Robin's, if anything, grew a tiny bit more gleeful and amused at that.
"Give him a look. He can't talk, and he's not walking right, either."
"No?" She asked quizzically, and Zoro gave a short nod of affirmation. Robin pulled out a chair, a silent agreement, and Zoro crossed the room, placing Luffy carefully onto the seat.
Hesitant though he was to leave the comfort of being carried, Luffy couldn't help but look around in a fascinated interest at all the different books and labelled jars that decorated the walls. Robin's room had hundreds of objects in it; enough even to rival the things in his grotto!
Shooing Zoro, Robin made flicking motions with her hands, though she made certain not to touch the prince. "Now you need to get out. I refuse to do anything with someone hovering."
"I don't hover," Zoro protested under his breath, giving her a sharp and grumpy look, but he left the room anyway.
The turning of the key in the sudden silence seemed louder than should have been possible.
Luffy turned to see the doctor drop the brass key into her pocket, and Robin faced him, catching him under a knowing gaze. "I know a lot of things," the dark-haired doctor said, and with her eyes she practically pinned him to his seat, voice dangerous when she next spoke. "And I know when someone's under a spell."
Luffy felt his throat close up, almost as though he'd been frozen, and he wasn't sure if she'd cast her own spell or if his panic was stopping him from moving.
"What are you?" She asked him quietly, steps clicking against the floor, and she peered at him intently. Luffy tried to grin innocently, knowing that she likely wouldn't buy his smile.
Steal his heart.
Robin clicked her tongue, leaning away, and Luffy almost gave a sigh of relief, glad that the inspection was over with. She sat elegantly, perched on the table and still too close for comfort, but at least she wasn't staring at him so keenly anymore. "I presume the spell you're under makes it so you can't talk?"
It wasn't as though he wouldn't be confirming anything she didn't know; Luffy nodded, and Robin tapped her nails against the table, her face turning thoughtful. "Does it make it so you can understand human, as well?"
Luffy shook his head, no.
"So obviously you're a changed species that can understand human, then."
A secretive, proud grin grew on his face, and Robin's own features turned placating and understanding, the tiniest knowing smile pulling her lips like she understood what he was hiding. "No? So you learnt it yourself? How commendable. Not many can do that, if they aren't from a species that teaches both originally."
Luffy grinned even wider at the praise, pulling his hat a bit further onto his head, and Robin's eyes flicked towards it, looking as though she were piecing clues together.
"Can you write human?" She asked curiously, but Luffy shook his head. "So I suppose I wouldn't be able to ask you to write your name, then. If I say letters would you be able to spell your name?"
He paused, thinking it over, and sucked on the inside of his lip. Luffy wasn't even a hundred percent he could even spell his name in human, honestly. Even just trying to communicate it to Shanks all those years ago had been hard, and he'd been able to speak then.
Mer and Human were inherently different, and he'd had enough difficulties figuring out how he'd say it in human to Shanks, let alone how he'd spell it.
Luffy shrugged and Robin looked faintly disappointed. Sorry, he wanted to say, opening his mouth to form the words, before huffing in irritation as he realised that he wouldn't be able to.
Robin's expression went back to one of bemusement as she saw his annoyance, and she paused thoughtfully. "So you traded your voice to be human, hm? You are a bit idiotic, I hope you realise. These types of spells don't come so cheaply, if you want them to last forever. Is it to last forever? What have you agreed to do in exchange for living the rest of your life as a human?"
Luffy heaved a deep breath, blowing it out in frustration and trying to tell her that saying those many questions would likely mean he'd never be able to answer them, but she seemed to catch the hint, her expression becoming slightly apologetic.
"Sorry, I suppose that may have been too many to answer, yes?"
He nodded, and she sighed again, tapping her fingertips against the wood of the table. They made faint tapping sounds, and Luffy watched the slightly hypnotic motion, startled when she spoke again after the period of silence. "Will you hurt anyone trying to keep your end of the spell's bargain?"
Luffy hesitated, once again trying to open his mouth and speak, but this time he shut it before he could attempt to force words out. He swallowed, and licked his dry lips, and could feel his fingers twitch in towards his palm.
(Make someone fall in love with you, and then rip out their heart, break their heart, steal their heart, and you don't think it'll be painful-)
Maybe, he thought, and steeled his gaze, meeting her look with one of his own that very clearly said 'no.' He gave his head a quick shake, before shrugging and this time forcing his innocent smile into a more relaxed grin in an effort to convince her.
Robin nodded, and this time a much larger smile blossomed on her cheeks, making her look much less scary than she had previously. "Then I'm sure we'll get along perfectly well."
AN: This chapter was titled in my documents; Chapter 4 (cliché romance moment? Check.) I'm not 100% happy with it (it was actually meant to be a lot longer,) because I wanted to get more plot out of the way, but it hit 3k and I was feeling really guilty about not having posted for ages, sooo...Yep! Would you prefer it if I went longer chapters and more time or the same as what I've done here? Because school's been back on and I've been working like crazy to make sure I don't fail, which means a heck of a lot less time for writing (especially writing chapters b/c I'm sooo bad at long fics I have mentioned this before. I'm trying like crazy to finish this before I get bored!).
Anyway, no-one really wants to read the struggles of a lazy/exceptionally busy author. Let's get onto the fun bit! Thanks so much to the gorgeous Rinka, and the wonderful BlantantBookworm for leaving me reviews! VuV /you feed my life blood and interest, my precious reviewers. whispers bye the way offering me cookies is amazing oh my gosh I love you for it cookies are awesome.