"I was the Rear Admiral of the Marines and her father and I were good friends. When I was in the area, he would often invite me over for dinner. That's when I met Marianne," Drake smiled at her, causing her to blush and hide her face. "She was sixteen and very beautiful. She still is beautiful," he paused and stared at her before continuing, "Her father allowed me to court her for some time until I wished to become a pirate. He wouldn't allow me to see her anymore but we met secretly in town. We both promised each other we would meet here at the gate to the New World as pirates," he pointed down to the ground as if it was the gate.
"How romantic!" Jewelry exclaimed, clasping her hands together and laying her head on them.
"So that's why I became a pirate," Mary smiled at Drake, "To be with you." Mary was so happy to finally remember why she had thrown her whole life away for this god forsaken lifestyle, it was all for love. She felt bad that she had forgotten, it hadn't been that long ago. But all the battles fought since she and Jewelry set out caused her to forget.
"Jewelry, may I borrow Mary for the day?" Drake asked her. Jewelry was rather surprised.
"Of course! Borrow her as long as you want," she laughed, "See you two later!"
They watched as Jewelry trotted off and then they turned to each other.
"Tell me, what has happened to you since I last saw you?" Drake asked quietly, pulling her up close.
"I'm First Mate to Jewelry's crew. We're one of the highest bounties out there!" Mary tried to sound excited, but it came out rather unsure.
"At least we both made it here in one piece. Now we can see the New World together," Drake told her, taking her hand. "Come, I will tell you what has happened to me since I last saw your pretty face," he said as he guided her forward. Mary blushed and smiled.
Behind the couple, in the midst of the crowd was a rather glum yet handsome face framed by long blonde hair. He stood there for a few moments before almost disappearing into the crowd of nobodies.
"And that's when I stormed up to him, and dug my sword in deep into his side," Drake demonstrated with his sword in the air. Mary watched admiringly as she sat on a bench in the lovely little park. She had lost track of time, pulled into Drake's amazing stories.
"Ah, what a tense battle that was!" he admitted, sinking down in the bench next to her, resting his arms on the back of it. "You never tire of my stories, do you?" he asked her, turning his head.
Mary shook her head. "They seem better every time you tell them," she smiled and watched attentively as Drake took off his hat and ran his hand through his red hair.
"How long has it been since we said our last goodbye and I kissed you?" he asked her.
"About four years?" Mary blushed and raised her fist to her mouth to try to hide her emotion. Drake grabbed her fist and she relaxed her hand to hold his as his face neared hers.
Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise nearby as if several buildings had fallen. Both of them looked in the direction of the commotion and saw that it really was the case of several building crumbling to the ground.
"What in the world?" Mary uttered. Drake acted quickly and pulled her up from the bench, holding her hand. Soon enough, the hulking figure of the Shichibukai Kuma appeared and was slowly advancing towards the park.
"You need to get somewhere safe. Go find Jewelry and leave the island as soon as possible. I'll meet up with you somewhere else," Drake instructed her. Mary was scared and her heart was racing. Just as she was about to let go of him to run away, he pulled her up close in and embrace and kissed her. As soon as it started, it was over. He pulled away and she was lost in thought for a moment.
"Run as fast as you can!" he ordered before turning and drawing his sword and mace. Mary turned and ran, pulling up her skirts as she did. She had no idea exactly where Jewelry could be, but she had an idea that she was by a restaurant. Yet this was no laughing matter, the Supernovae had to flee from Kuma!