A/n: Alrighty then~ Chapter 28 everyone!

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Chapter 28

Zeher raised his perfect eyebrows at Sanji and said in a slow drawl, "It's good to see you again, Prince."

Sanji bodily flinched at the pseudonym and unconsciously took a step back.

"What do you want Zeher?"

The blond's voice was low and measured, like he was trying with all his might to stop his body from reacting to the fight or flight situation. Zeher in turn simply cocked his head to the side, the corners of his lips lifting up in a smirk. But instead of answering, he shifted his gaze to Zoro, his eyebrows rising so high, they nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"You look well," he said offhandedly, like he was commenting about the weather and not a person's well being. Zoro stiffened and his face hardened in reply.

Zeher's eyes finally turned to look at Diara and his entire demeanor changed. His haughty posture became tamer, his cold eyes became warmer and his sarcastic smile became fonder. "So you really are alive, Diara."

If his personality change wasn't clue enough, the way he addressed the girl was enough to see that Zeher honestly was happy that Diara was alive. Diara shifted from one foot to another and nodded meekly, as though she didn't trust herself to talk. Instead, it was Sanji who spoke.

"What do you want Zeher?"

His voice was so strained and monotonous, it seemed like it would have cracked from the pressure at any moment. Zoro moved involuntarily, as though his body was reacting to Sanji's voice, wanting to protect him.

Zeher's violet eyes snapped from Diara back to Sanji, the strangely colored orbs glittering with mild amusement. "Well, all I really want is what you want," Zeher said in a slow drawl, flipping his shimmering hair over his shoulder. When Sanji glowered at him suspiciously, he sighed dramatically and continued. "All I want is to get off this island."

"You could have done that a long time ago, couldn't you?"

"If I could, we wouldn't still be here having this conversation, now would we?" Zeher snapped at Zoro and the latter frowned.

"You drugged us?"

Zeher shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly, like messing with people's brains was something so mundane to him, he couldn't be bothered to react to it with anything more than a careless shrug. Zoro growled in his throat and Zeher made a fake gasping sound, causing to anger the man even more.

"Will you tell us what's going on, or—"

"Alright, alright, geez. There's no need to get your panties in a bunch." Zeher smirked at the way Zoro's nostrils flared and then tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, started talking in a low, deliberate voice.

"You see, everyone and everything on this island is subject to the memory charm – that's what we.. elite people call the erasing of memories, in a vain attempt to make it sound more soothing – whether we are townsfolk, or bartenders, or hookers, or the elite members of the hierarchy that we oh so painfully have been forced to accept on this island. So, to answer your question, yes, it was I who administered the drug that would reverse the memory charm slowly but surely and allow your memories to return."

Zoro opened his mouth to retort, but Zeher shut him up by holding up a hand. "I am just as vulnerable to having my memories wiped out as you or anybody else. I suppose you have started to recall the most recent events? Which should give you all the information you've gathered about this island. Which speeds up my task, thank goodness, but as I was saying, you aren't the only ones who have been striving to gather information. In fact, everything you know has been offered to you on a silver platter. You didn't have to do anything tedious or exceptionally dangerous to find out what you know."

Again, Zoro made to interrupt, but this time it was Sanji's presence by his side that shut him up. Zeher shot the blond an amused look and then continued.

"Frederick wasn't as inconspicuous as he thought he was," Zeher commented with a sneer, to which Zoro growled in response. "Of course, I confronted him and told him if he didn't want to die, he had to let me in on whatever it was he was planning. So no, it wasn't a mere coincidence you just happened to stumble into him and find an ally."

"You set me up?!"

Zeher tsk-ed and wagged a finger, like he was reprimanding Zoro for being a bad boy. "I merely facilitated your means of escape. Which would have worked, if you hadn't screwed up so stupidly," He added, happy to see the way Zoro's cheeks coloured.

"So if you were trying to help us, why go so far as to torture us?"

Sanji's voice was so low and devoid of any emotion, if Zoro wasn't standing right beside him, he would have definitely missed what he said. But Zeher apparently caught the entire sentence, because he folded his arms and tapped a finger to his chin as though deep in thought.

"I suppose you wouldn't believe me even if I told you I only did it to stop suspicion being directed toward me?"

Sanji didn't even breathe in reply. Zeher seemed mildly miffed at the lack of response, but chose to continue. "We're all monitored, 24/7. There are some of us who would rather conform to the rules that have been forced onto us, than rebel against them and hunt for freedom. And since – as you said – I am at the top of the hierarchy on this island, I have to play my cards very carefully. Foresight is something extremely valuable to an escapee, you see."

Zoro shifted so he was standing in front of Sanji, but still by his side, so that Zeher had to turn his taunting look at Zoro instead of the blond. "Why don't I believe you?"

Zeher looked like he wanted to laugh at Zoro's stupidity, but deciding against it, scoffed instead. "I don't suppose you think Diara came to help you of her own free will, did you?"

Sanji seemed genuinely startled, but Zoro's only reaction was his eyes hardening and his jaw setting, giving him a very stoic and menacing look. Behind them, they heard Diara's clothes rustling, as she shifted uncomfortably.

"No," Zoro growled, "not really." Zeher seemed vaguely impressed and walked around Zoro and Sanji to Diara. The duo spun on their heels slowly and deliberately, measuring and calculating each and every movement. Zeher stood in front of Daiara, reached forward and rubbed a strand of the girl's ivory hair between his fingers.

"How," he breathed, and Diara straightened, turning her eyes to Zeher's.

"The master's aim is very poor."

Zeher's face split into an ugly sneer and his eyes flashed. "Do not use that word—"

Diara nodded once and glanced at her feet. Zeher eyed her for a moment, and then spinning on his heel, began to walk away. He waved a hand and called over his shoulder, "Feel free to follow me if you want to~"

As the trio followed after the man, Zoro addressed Diara, all the while staring at Zeher's back. "So, what exactly are you to him?"

Diara didn't answer for a long time and Zoro was about to turn and look at her, when she began slowly, "He is… he saved my life when I first came to this island. He is the reason we were able to live in such comfort and have as much freedom as we did."

"We?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You said we. Who else was with you?"

Zoro could feel Diara's eyes on him and he shrugged it off uncomfortably. "Me and my brother."

Zoro finally looked at her.

"Your brother?"

Diara nodded, a strange emotion flitting across her face. When she didn't offer an explanation, Zoro turned back and continued to stare at Zeher's back. They walked through the winding maze of corridors, huge, polished doors and extravagant archways. After walking through another arch, Zoro huffed indignantly, rubbing his head in frustration, "How freaking huge is this bloody house anyway?"

"Mansion," Zeher's voice called from the front, his shoulders stiff and annoyed. "Although it could as well be considered a small palace."

Zoro scoffed and lapsed back into silence, as they finally reached a door that seemed to lead outside.

The door was a small thing, old and rickety, its wood chipped and crumbling. Zeher ran a fond hand along it, before carefully pulling it open. "This door is one of the only original parts of this island left. Everything else was either destroyed before we came here or after he took over," he said to no one in particular, leading the way outside without waiting for a reply.

The air outside was dry and musty, like they had entered and old, dusty room that hadn't been opened or cleaned in ages. The thicket that seemed to spread from the door in a semi-circle around them was so dense, that it seemed like it was late evening, rather than early afternoon. The shrubbery was a dark green, the shade of green that usually covered dying and rotting plants, except these seemed to be teeming with life. The sounds of crickets and other insects was so sharp and the smell of moss so pungent, it was more like a swamp than a garden – if that's what it was supposed to be.

While Zoro and Sanji took in their surroundings, the other two had walked upto a particularly nasty looking tree. It's roots shot out of the ground in sharp curves and plunged back in like they were tearing through the earth. Its trunk was twisted and mangled, the branches sticking out at weird angles and the leaves hanging off them were thick and sagged, like they were dead and lifeless.

Zeher poked and prodded the tree till he found a knot behind a particularly deformed branch. He exclaimed in satisfaction and after a few moments of struggling, seemed to have found what he wanted. He pulled what looked like a thick, flexible root, that anyone could easily mistake for an enormous snake, and flexed it outwards. There was a strange grating sound, followed by slow groaning, like the tree was in pain and to Zoro and Sanji's astonishment, the tree slowly began to unwarp itself.

Two minuted later, there was a huge gaping hole right in the middle of the tree's trunk and both Zeher and Diara stepped through it easily, without questioning or reconsidering. Sanji shot Zoro a wary look and the latter shrugged uneasily and then doubling over, entered the hole. He heard Sanji follow behind him. There was some scuffling, followed by more grating and groaning and the tree wound itself back like a spring let loose.

It was dark inside the tunnel and had the thick scent of wet foliage. They squelched through, with an occasional curse from behind or a horrified gasp from in front. When they finally stepped out, they were all filthy from head to toe and both Zeher and Sanji seemed to have dark thunderclouds hovering over their heads. Zeher slapped his soggy robes with a grimace and flicked a hand over his shoulder. They followed, as he led the way, his wet hair and clothes sticking to his body and making squelching sounds every time he moved.

It was a while before they finally got out of the trees and found a path that – Zoro and Sanji were surprised to note – led away from the town and toward the docks.

The entourage reached the dock and his behind the ships, looking out for suspicious people. Finally, Zeher stood up, sighed and pushed the hair off his face. He turned to look at Zoro and Sanji with deliberation and sighed again.

"I don't suppose you two could just stay put for a while without getting yourself into horrible danger?"

When neither men said anything in reply, Zeher pursed his lips and began walking away. The trio followed like loyal dogs trailing their master. They stopped at a small rundown shed and Zeher opened the door, waving them in. as soon as the two men were inside, the door was shut and bolted and two pairs of footsteps began walking away.

Zoro and Sanji stared at the door for a long time, till the blond decided he couldn't stay a minute longer in the filthy clothes he was wearing and took them off. Zoro did the same, turning away from the other man and there was a strangled gasp, before cold fingers brushed against Zoro's back. He shivered at the sudden icy touch and looked over his shoulder cautiously.

Sanji was staring intently at the man's back, his face contorted by the deep frowns on his forehead. His eyes were a dark and murky blue, like they were swimming with dreadful emotional pain. Zoro stood absolutely still, unsure of what he was supposed to do, his heart hammering against his ribcage, his chest screaming in silent panic at the unprecedented turn of events. For a few moments all Sanji did was trace his hands across Zoro's back, along the almost healed cuts that were made by the whip constantly lashing against him. But then, he leaned his forehead against Zoro, laying it between his shoulder blades, and Zoro breathed in sharply, once again not expecting the sudden contact.

They stood like that for a long while, Zoro rigid as a statue and Sanji with his forehead against the other's burning back. The blond finally raised his head and Zoro unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. He turned around, aiming to snap at the blond with a smart remark about what a weakling he was, but before he even opened his mouth enough, Sanji's lips were on his, trembling and aching, begging for Zoro.

And Zoro leaned in to the abrupt kiss and their mouths melded together, tongues slipping against each other, teeth nipping and suckling, hands roaming around till Zoro's wound tightly around Sanji's waist and Sanji's wrapped neatly around Zoro's neck. Sanji ran a hand through Zoro's short hair, tentatively at first and then more confidently when the man groaned softly into his mouth. Zoro pulled Sanji flush against him, their mud and muck covered bodies sticking to each other, Zoro's overwhelming body heat washing over Sanji and warming him right to his very core.

When they finally pulled apart, it was from the extreme need to breathe, and they stood gasping and panting, their faces millimeter apart, their grip on each other not loosening one bit. Then Zoro did something that greatly surprised Sanji.

He laid his forehead on the other's shoulder and breathed a contented sigh. Sanji could feel the smile on the other man's face and the contentment was radiating off him in waves and enveloping Sanji completely. The blond then felt something very different at that moment. Something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

He felt safe.