Disclaimer; of course I don't own One Piece, it's characters etc etc. Just my OC's. Nothing else.

Peines ou Traitements Cruels Arrangements

Tout

She wasn't sure why that day seemed so exciting, but it did. She wasn't nervous, and she didn't have cold feet. She wouldn't be getting married, so she had nothing to be nervous about. As long as those guys came and helped her... she'd be fine.

Azu stared into the mirror and scowled. Some strangers were touching her face, plastering make-up on her and doing her blonde hair up into something fancy. She let out a deep sigh; she barely recognised herself. If she ever did get married, to someone she loved, she knew it wouldn't be like this. She didn't care about how she looked, as long as she was happy, she didn't care. Right now, she was anything but happy.

She glanced over at the dress which lay on her bed. It seemed so small in the middle of it all, but she would feel even smaller in it. It was beautiful, that was for sure, but it wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want all the fancy stuff and she didn't like how it was supposed to make her waist and chest look small and her backside look big.

It was white, of course.

She scrunched her nose up. Her father had insisted; she was a virgin, therefore, she'd wear white. Azu scoffed softly to herself- one of the people doing her hair jumped and Azu rolled her eyes. White had never looked good on her, it always made her look terrible, and it always washed out her skin and made her look more pale than usual.

She smiled softly. If she had the choice to pick out her own it wouldn't be near as fancy, or white. If anything, she'd be more comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. The blonde sighed and tapped her fingers on the dresser. If those guys didn't show up and help her, free her, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

Azu shuddered; she'd be stuck with 'wedding night rituals' with some man she didn't know. She scrunched her nose up and made an annoyed sound. She wanted to fall in love, even if it took years. And she didn't care about marriage, if she loved someone, she'd give herself to them.

She could just imagine what her father would say to that.

Nami was, very much to say, in awe of the estate. It was so grandeur and... The people who lived here must have been rich! Her eyes sparkled, and she was happy she'd chosen something more formal to wear. A wedding! They hadn't mentioned it being a wedding, though, by the look on the captain and cook's faces, they didn't know either.

The people around them all wore expensive clothes and jewels, and most of them looked bored. They guessed the groom was the very handsome and charming man surrounded by women. He was fluttering them away though, and Sanji always made a play to cheer the rejected women up- however, they just scowled at him, and the rejected cook went back to searching for the beauty from yesterday.

"Idiot, you look like a lost puppy."

The cook growled, turning to the swordsman. "Shut up, shitty marimo," he muttered, biting down on the end of his cigarette. He'd understand when he saw her; he knew he would. They all would.

Robin chuckled lightly at the cook and smiled gently at Franky who looked very awkward wearing trousers. The poor guy, Nami had practically thrown them at him. If they were going somewhere wealthy, then she wanted him to look his best.

Said navigator grinned deviously as she 'accidentally' brushed past another woman of her age and height. She exchanged apologies, and when the woman had gone, Nami looked down at the pearl bracelet. These people were just too easy!

She knew Sanji felt very awkward for what they had planned; he didn't want to steal anything from this supposed angel he'd been babbling about, but, Nami didn't care. If it was shiny or gold, it was hers. And of course, the cook had bended to her will without a second thought.

Hush fell over the room, and a few of the women gasped and whispered between themselves. The straw hats, confused at the sudden reaction, turned their attention to follow the others gazes.

Sanji's eyes grew wide as he stared at the woman at the top of the stairs. That dress just made her look even more beautiful than she already was! He gulped; it couldn't have been the same woman from yesterday though. She looked so different, and he could tell by the expression on her face that she didn't like it at all. And she was the one getting married? At the thought of it, his throat tightened and he frowned; tearing his gaze from her and frowning. His gaze had accidently landed on the navigator's backside, and he blushed, but didn't look away.

Azu sighed, glancing around the room. She didn't know anyone there. Most likely her husband's-to-be friends or her father's business contacts. Her eyes landed on the small group in the centre, and she smiled. She recognised the one with the straw hat straight away, but...

Her eyes fell to the blonde and her face lit up with a smile, until she realised he wasn't looking at her... He was looking at the red-heads pert ass. Azu rolled her eyes; so that was his type. She understood all too well, and as she hit the last step, she spared him no second glance.

Luffy laughed and ran straight over to her- dragging Nami with him in the process. She grumbled at him, but didn't protest, not at the thought of him actually knowing the Wealthy lady of the house. Maybe she could get some gold from her...

However, poor Luffy was caught by one of the guards just before he reached Azu and he struggled. "Let me go!"

Azu sighed and shook her head. "It's okay, you can let him go," she said, her voice quiet. She knew she'd get a lecture if she used her normal, heavy voice. The guard looked at Azu for a few moments, before sighing and letting him go, he shot him a rather harsh look though before he headed back to his post.

Azu smiled lightly and awkwardly and opened her mouth to talk to him, but she was cut off when her arm was tugged. She blinked in confusion when a pair of arms wrapped around her and she hit someone's hard chest, and she thought for a minute it was that blonde- but... when she looked up.

She frowned lightly. "What are you doing?"

The brown haired male laughed lightly. "Azuki-chan," he chuckled lightly, brushing some of her blonde hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful."

Most people paid the pair no mention, they were getting married! They had every right to be close together, however, Sanji just kept his eyes upon the two. She looked so uncomfortable and she was trying to release herself from his grip; couldn't he see that?! He muttered a few insults under his breath and lit a cigarette. Nami'd told him not to smoke, but well, he'd seen other people smoking and right then he really didn't care. It took every inch of him not to go over there and pull her from him. No woman should be forced to do something like that.

But he had no say in the matter, did he? After all, they were going to steal from them and if they were getting married then they must have loved each other. That was yet another rejection towards the cook, and he sighed deeply as he slumped down into a chair.

Azu, after finally managing to get away from her fiancée, glanced around the place, looking for the straw-hat kid to talk to. At least she knew him, and he was friendly... not to mention he was her way off the island. She wasn't sure how long she had before they were married, but... if those guys were going to do anything; it had to be then; before any kind of ceremony took place.

She glanced around the room in a bored manner. She knew little of these people, and she didn't even know most of their names. She blinked in surprise when her silver eyes landed on the blonde from the previous day.

She raised an eyebrow, and slowly walked over to him; ignoring the giggling girls across the room from her. They seemed to be staring at someone and whispering, at first she thought it was the cook, but she soon realised it wasn't.

"You're alone?"

Sanji's head instantly snapped up and he frowned at the strange expression on her face, not to mention the quietness of her voice. What happened to the fiery woman from the day before? "No," he mumbled, motioning across the room to three of his companions.

Two men and a woman, Azu noted. She knew one of the men, the straw hat kid from the previous day. He looked pretty awkward wearing more of a formal outfit and she stifled a laugh when a woman shrieked at him for having his finger stuck up his nose.

The woman in the group groaned and slapped her forehead, before pinching his cheek and yelling. Azu narrowed her eyes a little as she stared her over. Skinny, far too skinny, then again, she wasn't one to talk. Her hair was short, coming below her chin and almost to her shoulders and it was an orange colour. She had large brown eyes. Oh... She suddenly realised, frowning even more when she followed Sanji's gaze to her with a rather sad expression. He... likes her... She sighed and quickly turned her attention to the next man in the group.

He was sat laughing at the other two, and Azu raised an eyebrow at his long nose. It was a little strange, but she'd seen people with longer legs than that. She guessed he was about her age, and he had black hair that was pulled back under a bandanna. He wore a more casual, but still a rather smart, outfit.

"Your friends, I guess."

Sanji nodded and looked at her with a frown. "You and your fiancée don't... seem very close."

Azu was tempted to crinkle her nose up, tell him it had nothing to do with him and storm off, but instead she sunk into the chair beside him. "I know his name, and that's it... I think he's twice my age though," she shook her head and gazed across the room. He wasn't even married to her yet, and he was already flirting with some woman. Sanji's eye twitched when he followed his eyes; sure he may have been a flirt, but he also wasn't engaged and about to be married. "My father wants us to get married... but he's not even here."

"Can't you say no?"

Azu laughed lightly and raised an eyebrow. "Nope, I can't."

The cook furrowed his brow and sighed. She had every right to say no, if she didn't love him, or even like him. But he saw no chance to even help her. He barely knew her himself, it was safer not to get involved, but...

"And if he's going to call me Azuki then he's going to get a cold reception from me," she added, frowning, almost pouting. Sanji blinked and raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding at all. "It's short for Azuki bean... my mother used to call me it before she died."

"Oh."

And then, the silence sat in. Azu rolled her eyes at it and folded her arms and sat in a rather unladylike manner as she glared across at her fiancée. Couldn't they just get this over with?!

She jumped when a few screams echoed the room and the lights suddenly turned off. She glanced beside her to try and find the blonde, but it was too dark. There were no windows in the room and the lights had been the only source of light. Had he or his friends done this? Were they finally making their move?

Azu moved up onto her feet lightly- remembering to take her heeled shoes off so she could move quietly and used her hands to guide her along the wall until she found the staircase.

When she found herself upstairs, it was dark there too. She was lucky there were only two rooms there; hers, and one of the large kitchens, and she knew hers was to the left of the top of the stairs.

She quickly hurried in that direction, though she cursed when she had to lift up the skirt of her dress to move fast enough. And it was so damn noisy! And... and she was certain she could hear footsteps.

Azu slowed down to a walk to listen and gasped when she suddenly found herself on the floor. "I didn't think anyone was going to be here!"

Azu groaned; rubbing her forehead and trying to stare up through the darkness at the stranger and the gruff voice, but she couldn't see anything. Instead, she inched away from them slowly and towards her room.

By the time her back hit the door, she could tell the person who'd been in the halls had disappeared, and she knew she had to be fast. If they were leaving now, they'd have to leave the island straight away.

The blonde woman briefly heard her name being mention and she could hear someone calling for her, but she just slipped into her room. With the window in it, she was able to see quite a bit and it made it a lot easier when she practically ripped the dress from her. The ring on her finger was next to follow, and she threw it harshly on top of the pool of white silk.

Azu dove to her bed and rummaged around for her top and shorts; quickly slipping them on, along with a pair of worn sandals she kept there too. She froze though, when she heard her door handle turn and she held her breath. If she was caught now... it was over.

She clenched her eyes out of nervousness; ready to run to the window and jump out of it, and into the tree outside if she had to. It couldn't be like this, could it? She couldn't have only been bred to be married... She wanted to do so much more than that! If she was caught, then she'd... be on the arm of that man for the rest of her life, doing nothing but baring his children.

And she wasn't even eighteen yet.

"What are you doing?! Oujou-sama wouldn't have gone to her room, go outside and search for her!"

She let out a quiet sigh, but inwardly cursed. So they'd already caught on she was going to try and leave. Brilliant. Now it was just difficult.

There was little of value to her in her room, so she didn't grab anything as she ran to the window. She sighed when she opened it. It was early evening now, and getting even darker outside. It would be good cover, as long as she didn't get lost. She had to be careful not to get caught, while also making sure to stick to the paths she knew would lead her to the docks. And she only knew of one and it led right through the middle of the town.

Azu huffed and sprung out from the window; latching onto a branch of the large oak tree outside. This would be far too easy, and they weren't going to catch her this time.