Erika, who had finished bathing and changed into some of Nami's clothes (which were slightly large for her), was sitting at the kitchen table quietly. Though she was still obviously malnourished, the bath had done wonders for the dirt on her hair and skin.

"Soup's on!" Sanji exclaimed, pouring her a mug and bringing it to the table. "Eat up, my dear princess."

She cautiously took the spoon and lifted some of the soup to her mouth, sipping it and swallowing slowly.

"It's good," she whispered.

Sanji smiled. "Oh, it makes me so happy to hear that, princess! Take your time with that, my dear."

"I want soup too," Luffy whined. Usopp and Zoro nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, just a sec," Sanji muttered, going back to the pot and grabbing more mugs.

Once everyone had finished eating and Sanji had tossed the dishes in the sink to wash later, they all gathered around the table. Princess Erika was still sitting silently.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" she said at last.

"Do?" Zoro said.

"Cleaning the deck," she said. "Washing those dishes . . ."

"Now don't worry about that!" Usopp said sternly. "You're a guest here! We're not gonna make you do any work—right, Luffy?"

"Right," Luffy said firmly.

Erika looked down again. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I . . . how did you find me?" she whispered. "Why were you looking for me? Who are you?"

"We did a bit of sleuthing and found that goddamn trader," Sanji explained. "We beat the shit out of him and found you in that damn book he had."

"Are the kids that he had—are they okay?" she said suddenly, looking up.

"They're back home now," Zoro said.

Erika nodded. "Thank goodness . . ."

"As for why," Usopp said, "long story short, our friend agreed to stand in as princess for you until we found you."

"We're pirates," Luffy said cheerfully. "We're going to the Grand Line after this and I'm gonna be king of the pirates!"

Erika seemed shocked by this and stared at him. "I've heard . . . that that's really hard to do . . . no one's ever done that since the first pirate king, right?"

Luffy grinned. "That's just 'cause I haven't done it yet!"

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro said. "That stupid trader guy . . . Sanji might've beaten him up, but he might recover and keep doing his business, right?"

Luffy frowned and nodded.

"So I was thinking," Zoro continued, "we need to make one more stop before we bring the princess back home . . ."

"I'm not against this plan," Usopp whimpered. "As long as someone else does it!"

They had docked at an island with a Marine base. Erika had told them the name of the island where the Trader resided.

"We already explained this," Zoro said. "Luffy's got a bounty on his head, he'd probably be recognized right away and we don't have any good disguises on hand. I don't have a poster but they've probably been told to keep an eye out for me too. Erika's our guest so we're not gonna make her do it, and Sanji would probably get distracted by just about any girl that strolled by."

Sanji glared at Zoro but didn't argue the point.

Usopp swallowed. "O-Okay . . . here goes . . ."

He stiffly marched up to the base, attracting a few curious glances from passerby. With a trembling hand he pushed the door open and waited at the entrance.

Not much time had passed before a soldier passed by the entrance. He stopped and stared at Usopp.

". . . Can I help you . . . ?" he asked.

"Y-Yes!" Usopp squeaked. "I-I have information o-on a c-criminal in the East B-Blue, sir!"

"Let's hear it," the Marine said, suddenly in a business-like tone.

Usopp quickly told him about the Trader and his business as well as handing him a piece of paper with that island's name upon it.

"Thank you, son," the Marine said kindly, taking the paper. "I'll get the men on it right away. You've done a good thing."

"Y-Yes, sir," Usopp whispered. "I sh-should get going now bye!"

He promptly turned and ran out back to the ship.

"Done," he said weakly, giving the rest a thumbs-up sign.

"Good job," Sanji said, clapping him on the back. "Let's get going, shall we? Princess Erika-chan needs to get home."

"Set sail!" Luffy exclaimed. "Back to that cool castle! And Nami!"

One or two more chapters to go

[rolls around on floor in excitement, flies]