When they returned to the castle, Chopper immediately went to get his supplies from his work room. They stationed the supplies in the common room near the fire place. Ace made a fire and Sanji boiled water to be used for the cleaning.

"Nami," Chopper asked, "Do you know anything about cleaning wounds?"

"Sort of. When our horse got hurt, I was the one that cared for him."

"Oh," Zoro whined, "I'm a human guinea pig for her. Chopper, I'll wait until you're done with Karla."

Chopper jolted. Karla had bit him and hissed, "Let her do it."

"I'm sorry, Lord Zoro. Perhaps Karel can assist Nami in tending for you. Karla has some broken ribs. I'm going to have to spend a significant amount of time on her."

"Don't worry, Lord Zoro. I'll take good care of you." The green sparrow flew down from his perch on the fireplace mantle onto Nami's shoulder. "I'm ready when ever you are." Nami nodded as she followed Karel's instructions.

Zoro growled when Nami touched him gently with her warm cloth. "Are you trying to kill me, Woman?"

"A little warmth isn't going to kill you. Shut up and take it like a man, or you can be a beast and then we'll just get a vet!" She snapped. "I'm trying to help you…" Her voice trailed off as she ringed the cloth and washed his cuts again. Silently, she bound and dressed his wounds. Once she was done, Zoro left the common room without a word.

Before Nami could clean up, the bear crawled and sat in front of her. It let out a small roar.

"King Luffy wants you to help him. He says he's hurt on the snout." Chopper translated as he finished on Karla.

"Take me to my bed, Chopper." Karla yawned. "I'm tried and I want my 20 hour cat nap."

Chopper reassured Nami, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Luffy won't hurt you." As he headed toward Karla's room, he nearly dropped the green cat because Zoro appeared in front of him out of no where.

Karla shouted before Zoro could say anything, "You have to thank her!"

"What?" Zoro hissed, "I should thank her? For what? For being an idiot and standing near the door when a pack of wolves led by a cat and monkey charges out? I believe a normal person would run."

"I'm not done!" Karla complained but Chopper held on to her as he left Zoro to her room.

"Lord Zoro, stay here. I'll return in a moment."

Zoro stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He waited until he became bored of waiting so he decided to walk. His walk led him back to the common room. Standing in the archway, he watched Nami playing with Luffy.

"Stupid," Zoro commented under his breath when Luffy rolled on his back so Nami could scratch his stomach.

"Are you jealous?" Zoro turned his head to see Usopp the aardvark. "Luffy is getting all the attention and your not."

"You should do something to get her attention," Zoro turned the other way to see Sanji the raccoon. "If you don't, I'll get her for myself." He puffed on his cigarette with a smirk.

"Go ahead. See if I care." Zoro scoffed.

"Alright," Sanji threw down his cigarette on to Zoro's shoe with caused Zoro to curse and to stomp on it to put it out. "When you go into town, get me a pack. I'm running low." Sanji ran to Nami and jumped on her back. She was first shock, but she was giggling and laughing in no time. Zoro growled in his throat.

"Nami likes maps. Bring her to the map room." Usopp told Zoro before running to join Sanji and Luffy. Rolling his eyes, Zoro walked away to find Chopper so the reindeer could properly tend to his wounds.


"Hey woman," Zoro walked up to Nami in the courtyard. It was early morning after breakfast. Nami decided to take a walk outside to see if what Karla said was true. To her surprise, Karla was correct when she told Nami that it was winter all year long. The ground was snow white with an inch of fresh powder. At night it snowed and during the day the snow melted.

Nami turned to greet him, but found a yellow and orange plaid coat in her face. She took it from him and put it on, "Thank you." He was wearing a long blue coat with white wool lining on the edges.

"It's cold in the morning." He said as he looked up at a tree as if it was more interesting than anything else, "You could've caught a cold and if you did, I wouldn't have the end of it." He stopped for a moment before continuing, "Everyone seems to like your company."

"Not everyone." Nami commented quietly as she walked away. Zoro silently watched her explore the courtyard. "You know," she started talking out loud, "I would love to see this castle in the spring. I can see the flower beds and the trees must be amazing. The fountain," she pointed down the path to a large frozen stone fountain, "must be spectacular. The castle," she turned to face the building, "without the snow… speechless."

"Women," Zoro called when she was leaving, "I have… a surprise for you." That caught her attention and she followed him into the castle. "Umm, close your eyes." When they reached two large double doors, he fumbled with the door and got it to open. She chuckled and did as she was told. Slowly he led her in. "Wait here and don't sneak a peek."

After a few sounds of stumbling and crashes, she felt him return to her. "Okay. It's not clean, but, oh never mind. Open your eyes."

A gasp filled the room. "This can't be…" She walked into the room and touched a large wooden table in the middle of the room. She then moved to the walls to find four by four square shelves and shelves filled with rolled up parchments. "1984? 1870? 1788? These are old maps of the world."

"Yes, most of the world." Zoro moved to a large wall and pulled on a lever. "Nami, look." Name turned and ran to see the wall. When Zoro pulled the lever, the curtains that cover the wall pulled away to reveal a mural of the world. "This shows the world as we knew it five years ago. The mapmaker died at that time and this room was sealed. Over the years, it collected dust."

"It doesn't matter," Nami commented, "The maps are all in great shape, even the ones from one hundred years ago. May I?"

"It's yours." Zoro replied with a smile, "All yours."

"Thank you!" Nami shouted as she hugged him. "Thank you so much!"

For the remainder of the day, Zoro watched Nami take maps down and examined them. Well, he tried to watch, but fell asleep instead. Nami giggled and asked Chopper, who was browsing by, to get him a blanket.

When Zoro woke from his nap, he found that he was alone in the room. He heard laughter and giggles from down the corridor. Nami and the rest of the castle was in the library listening to Nami read a humor story about a pirate captain starting his crew with a pirate hunter. Zoro listened from the door way. The story ended with the captain getting his first mate.

Luffy roared. "No, there's no more." Nami said to him, "This is the only copy." He roared sadly.

"Read another!" Sanji shouted, "I love listening to your voice."

"How about tomorrow? I'm tried tonight." The animals understood and left her to put the book back on the shelf.

"So, you like the library more than the map room?" Zoro asked angrily.

"No. While you were asleep, King Luffy came in and took me here. He wanted to hear a story. One thing led to another and I had everyone listening to me read." Nami smiled at him, "I love your surprise. I love it more than you know. But I…, never mind. Tomorrow, I'll be in there. If you want, I can teach you how to read and understand the maps so you won't get lost."

Zoro scoffed, "Me? Lost? Never! I always know where I'm going."


Fall left and winter came. In a few months, Nami developed a routine. It was the same actions over and over again, but she did enjoy it. Zoro slept as she worked on the maps and then, he woke up just in time for her readings. If he was not with her, she was with any one of the animals.

However, during the past few weeks, she saw less of Karla and Usopp. Upon Karla's visit, she saw that the cat's green fur was becoming a grey. Usopp, instead of telling one of his yarns, squeaked when ever he tried to talk. Soon after, she saw them as animals. Karla became a grey tabby seeking her little sparrow brother for a meal, and Usopp lived outdoors or hide indoors from the cold. Both of them became aloof from the others.

Now, instead of going to the map room, Nami spent her time in the library looking through the books to find a way to break the curse.

"Hey, woman." She stopped reading her book to look up and see the Steward.

She replied annoyed. "Yes, Lord Zoro?"

"I have a question for you."

"Go on," Nami said absent mindedly. She was more focus on scanning through the book.

"Nami, do you… do you care for me?"

Looking up confused by his question, she replied, "Of course. I'm trying to find a way to break the curse and return Karla, Usopp, and the rest back to humans."

He looked away but returned his gaze to her, "Do you love me then?"

"Excuse me?" Nami asked.

"No, forget it. It's has been three months since you came and spring… spring is coming. There hasn't been a woman in this castle since Karla became a cat. Any how, would you care to have dinner with me?"

"I have dinner with you every night." Nami had returned to the book.

"No, dinner with just me, like a party dinner. I admit that I have not been a good steward or a host. But since s-spring is coming, but is not here yet, I still have time. So, Nami, would you have dinner with me?"

"Of course, Lord Zoro. I would love to."

"Just call me Zoro. I never liked the 'lord' title. I'll see you dressed and ready at eight." He bowed and turned to leave. "I will send Chopper in to show you the gowns."

"Gowns?" Nami looked up from the book again.

"It is a formal dinner." He smiled and left the woman speechless.

Chopper arrived minutes later with a wide smile on his face, "Come with me. I shall show you to Karla's chamber and then you can choose form the selection."

The clock stuck eight and chimed eight times. Zoro stood in the grand hall dressed in an elegant green tail coat with gold embroidery. He wore it over a silver silk waist coat and long straight silver white pants.

"Sorry, I'm late." Zoro turned and his breath was taken away. Nami stood at the top of the steps dressed in a light peach dress. She wore a corset with short sleeves. The skirt of the dress flowed to the floor and gave the effect that she was floating on air. (You can't blame me for not describing Belle's dress. I have no idea how to! I don't know what it is call, those shoulder things… Wanna tell me? But I'm going to assume that you know what it looks like.)

Zoro extended his arm and she laid her hand in his. He led her down the steps and they walked to the dinner room where Sanji was waiting for them. Zoro pulled Nami's chair and helped her in it before going to his side of the table.

The raccoon held his last cigarette in his jaw. Sanji fixed his black jacket and began to tell the night's meal courses. Chopper brought in the meals, first to Nami and then to Zoro. The dinner was exquisite from the gourmet chief Sanji.

Dessert was Nami's favorite. "These are my family's tangerines! How can they last so long?" Sanji only smiled and left the table.

"Nami," Zoro said after she finished her dessert, "Would you care to dance?"

Nami stood up and the two met at the center. "There's no music," Nami commented with a smirk.

"We're going to the ball room." He led the way with her on his arm. They entered a large ball room. A giant chandler hung from the ceiling. All the candles were lit showing the beautiful art work. Large windows surrounded the perimeter of the room showing the garden and the night sky. Music start playing once they entered.

Nami chuckled when she saw Chopper with an old record player. "Our musicians are mice. They cannot play the instruments so we cannot have live music." Zoro whispered.

"It's quite alright." She replied.

The lights dimmed as they danced into the night. Even though the music stopped, they continued dancing. They danced until both of them were tired and needed to rest.

Zoro brought her out on the balcony. "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, "Did you know the stars can help you when you're lost? The North Star is right there. From that point, you can know your bearings."

Zoro sighed, "Do you always think about maps and books?"

"I think about my family," Nami slowly replied, "I miss them. You see," She stood up and looked at the sky, "My family lives in the east. I miss them so much." She pointed to a spot in the distance. "This is your fault, isn't it? You made my father promise to give me to you?" Nami glared at him with her jaw clenched.

"It happened by chance. I told him, the first thing that greets him. It could've been a dog or a wild animal or another human, but he saw you first…" Zoro stopped, "If you leave Castle One Piece, would you miss us too? Would you miss me?"

Nami sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, "I don't know. I guess I would. You've been come a second family to me. Why are you acting like this?"

Zoro didn't reply, but looked down from the balcony. He stiffened and rushed away shouting, "Someone help the rider!" Nami leaned over the rail to see a rider in the distance beyond the gates. Wolves were chasing him. Nami watched as Zoro rushed out with Karel, Ace, Johnny, and Yosaku.

In a few moments, the rider was saved and was safe within the gates. Nami's eyes widen when she recognized the rider. It was her sister, Nojiko. She ran down to greet her older sister.

"NAMI!" Nojiko shouted when she saw her, "It's horrible! It's so horrible."

"What is?" Nami asked she embraced Nojiko, "Why did you come here? It's dangerous to travel alone. I almost lost you to the wolves."

"It's father! Father has been sick ever since you left. Because of his health, he couldn't defend me and himself when Arlong came. Arlong took over our plantation and house. For weeks, he stayed and waited for you to return. I told him that you were gone, but he didn't believe me. I escaped yesterday and rode Phillip all day and night to find this castle. You've got to come back!"


"Why does it take you so freaking long to update!": I guess everyone is thinking like this with a different phrase of course. Why? I'll tell you. I got a job. I'm behind in my summer reading. I have 3 books and an essay left. I had everything planned out, but things never go according to what we expect.

Raccoon Commercial: I think I know what you are talking about… but I haven't been watching TV lately so I forgot which fast food restaurant it associates with.

OOC Characters: Yes, I noticed that. I noticed that when I made Nami not interested in money. I could've, but it's too late now. I predict 2-3-4 more chapters.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! Thanks: Gothy Wofie, Poison's Ivy (Ravenrogue19?), FeatherGirl13, Come Out And Play, Nehszriah, 4getregret, The biggest Kingdom Hearts… fan? (I can't read it, so sorry!), 'Gasp.', Lady Zoro, LilAnimeJutsu, Bear Hunter, and Black Fox.