Chapter 37
The Dying Country

When Eli woke up, the sun was setting on desert, making the temperature much more enjoyable. Opening her eyes slowly, the waking girl soon became aware that she was hugging Vivi's back tightly.

"Er... sorry," Eli said sheepishly. Withdrawing from the princess's back, she stretched out her arms yawning loudly.

"That's okay," Vivi said nicely, looking at Eli over her shoulder. "Did you sleep well ?"

"Very."

Turning around, Eli watched the boys walking behind them; they seemed completely drained whereas the girls were on top form thanks to Eyelashes. She jumped down and joined them to stretch her numb legs.

"Feeling better ?" Ace asked as Eli joined his side.

"Yup." She nodded. "Tell me what I missed," Eli requested eagerly.

Ace looked upwards narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Well..." After a few seconds, he shifted his gaze toward her. "Luffy was so thirsty that he ate a cactus..."

"Of course," Eli said sarcastically.

"... which turned out to be hallucinogenic."

"Figures."

"During his trip, he saw a giant tsunami and wanted to attack it."

Eli started laughing picturing the scene.

"Thankfully, Chopper gave him a tranquilizer shot, and after that, the hike was much more bearable." Ace smiled at his laughing friend before clearing his throat. "Then there was the time I woke up in a cave."

"A cave ?" Eli asked, tilting her head questioningly.

"Well I thought it was a cave..." Ace paused, arousing Eli's curiosity. "...but it turned out to be a giant lizard's stomach."

Eli burst out in laughter, too bad she wasn't awake to witness that.

"Of course I burned it up from the inside." Ace grinned.

"Of course," Eli said, rolling her eyes while still laughing lightly. "And why are you carrying Usopp ?" she asked, pointing at the marksman sleeping on Ace's shoulder.

"Oh..." He looked at Usopp. "He had a heatstroke."

"Wow... must be a bummer when you fall asleep, too," Eli jested, sticking the tip of her tongue out playfully.

Since there was nothing in the desert to retain the day's heat, the temperature dropped tremendously when nighttime arrived. The shivering pirates hoped to see Yuba soon so they could finally take a good and well-deserved night's rest.

Looking at Ace, Eli sighed thinking how lucky he was; the flame user feared neither heat nor cold.

"There !" Vivi said happily, pointing to an indistinct shape that lay ahead. "That's Yuba."

"Yay..." Luffy and Eli whooped listlessly, raising their fists in the air in slow motion.

"What's that sound ?" Zoro asked suddenly.

As the group approached the town, they could hear a rumbling sound becoming louder.

"A SANDSTORM !" Vivi yelled, her eyes widened in fear. "Yuba is being attacked by a sandstorm !"

A few minutes later, when they finally reached the town, the sandstorm had died out and the terrible vision it had left behind struck the pirates with dread. Instead of the lively oasis that Vivi had described, the town was in the same state as Erumalu: dried and half buried under the sand.

"Impossible..." Vivi muttered, looking all around at the devastated townscape.

"Travelers, eh...?" A man was shoveling the sand in the middle of the town. "You must be tired from your trip through the desert, but I'm afraid this town's a little dried up..." he said wryly.

A little dried up... That's an understatement... Eli thought sadly, watching the man shoveling relentlessly despite the titanesque weight of the task.

"But you can still rest..." the man said, smiling wearily at the pirates. "We have a lot of inns, that's what this town was known for..."

The man was old and, like his town, dried up. His face was hollow with fatigue, yet he still managed to smile.

"Excuse me," Vivi began, hiding her face to prevent the man from recognizing her. "We heard that the rebellion was based here..."

At that, the old man's smiled vanished, and his face darkened with disgust. "Those fools... they are not here anymore..." he said harshly before returning to his task.

"WHAAAT ?" the pirates yelled in unison, bewildered.

"The storm that you just saw wasn't the first to attack the town," the man explained. "For the past three years, they have become more and more frequent, making the sand steadily eat away at the oasis. Without the circulation of goods, the rebellion couldn't stay here. They moved to Katorea..."

"Katorea..." Vivi muttered, bringing her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Where is that, Vivi ?" Luffy asked, looking at the princess. "Is it close ?"

"... It's the oasis next to Nanohana..." Vivi replied quietly, looking down.

"NANOHANA ?"

The pirates were facing one surprise after the other, each of them more discouraging than the previous... At that rate, they would soon be out of stamina and will to go on.

"Did you just say 'Vivi' ?" the old man asked, walking toward the princess who tried to hide her face with her hood.

"Hey mister ! Vivi is not a princess, okay ?" Luffy yelled.

Moron... Eli slapped her forehead while Zoro slapped Luffy.

"Vivi..." the old man said with a trembling voice, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm so glad you're alive, Vivi." He reached out to grab the princess's shoulders. "I guess you don't remember me. I've lost some weight..."

"Mister Toto...!" Vivi breathed on the verge of tears, watching the man's face incredulously.

"Listen, Vivi ! I believe in the King ! He would never betray our country," Toto claimed. "This rebellion is absurd !" His voice rose into a quivering shout.

The princess was speechless for a moment, her hand on her mouth and her eyes widened in horror.

"I beg of you, Vivi !" Toto said, tightening his grip on the princess's shoulders. "They are prepared to die ! PLEASE STOP THOSE FOOLS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE !"

Vivi closed her eyes and took a deep intake of air before opening them again.

"Mister Toto," she said softly, a gentle smile on her face. "We can stop the rebellion !"

When Toto had calmed down, he led the pirates to an inn and offered them a large room with enough beds for all of them.

Walking through Yuba, Eli couldn't help but be saddened by its lifelessness. It was a large city with broad streets and beautiful buildings. The girl could easily picture it as lively as Ido, yet the terrible drought and the multiple sandstorms had slowly drained the city of its life and its people.

Toto was the only one still believing in Yuba's revival, relentlessly shoveling the sand brought by the storms.

Looking absently through the bedroom's window, Eli's mind was filled with gloom. Even if it was big and its influence went over its borders, the country of Alabasta was slowly dying...

"Ow !" Eli was jerked out of her sad thoughts when she received a pillow to the back of her head.

Swinging around, she saw Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper engaged in a fierce pillow fight.

"Sanji, that's mine..." Vivi said, looking at Sanji casually lying in her bed.

"Yeah, I figured you didn't want to sleep alone tonight," Sanji said.

Eli chuckled when Usopp launched a pillow at the perv-cook's head.

And the wrestle began... again.

Vivi and Eli looked at each other and smiled heartily. Those stupid boys were really the best remedy for their melancholy, and they didn't even know they were.

"Where are Ace and Luffy ?" Eli asked, looking around questioningly as she couldn't see the two brothers.

"I think they are still outside," Vivi replied. "They should go to bed, they need to rest."

"I'll go get them !" Eli said, walking out of the bedroom.

She soon found Luffy; he was still with Toto, apparently digging up sand.

"What are you doing, Luffy ?" Eli asked, crouching next to his hole.

"Digging," the boy replied, not bothering to look at her as he continued to dig up sand with his bare hands.

"I can see that..."

"The oasis is somewhere under this sand," Toto said, smiling at Eli. "That boy is helping me out."

As she watched Luffy digging despite the tiring day he had gone through, Eli's lips slowly curled up into a warm smile. She knew that he wasn't aware of it, but Luffy did things like this, perfect little things, that completely wiped out the stupidities of the day. At that moment, Eli didn't care if they had no food or water, because they had the best captain ever.

"Luffy," Eli called out gently.

"Mmh ?" He raised his head to look at her.

"Don't stay up too late, 'kay ?" she said, patting his head.

Luffy nodded before resuming his frantic digging.

Now Ace... Walking through the empty town, Eli found the older brother standing in the middle of a street, looking up at the sky.

"Freckles," she called out, walking over to him. "What are you doing ? We have to-"

The girl was interrupted as Ace raised her face upwards.

"Ohh..." Eli's mouth opened as she marveled at the sight of a small comet shining in the dark sky. "Turay..." she said quietly.

"What did you say ?" Ace asked.

"Turay, it's her name," Eli said. "I can't believe she was behind us all this time."

As the pirates had been walking forward and never looking back, they were never aware of the comet's presence behind them.

"That's a good omen," Eli said happily. "Turay is the guardian of peace..."

"You really like stars, don't you ?" Ace said, smiling at the amazed girl.

Eli nodded silently, hypnotized by the comet's marvelous glow.

"Is... is that what your tattoo stands for ?" Ace asked, apparently uneasy to question the girl about her mysterious tattoo.

"Oh... you remember..." Eli looked at him, slightly embarrassed.

Of course he remembers... Who could forget that major hysterical fit...?

"And the answer is 'not really'." Eli slowly brought her hand to her nape to touch the little hidden star that even she couldn't see. "It's a mark from my country. It represents the passage to adulthood."

Eli paused, letting her mind slowly recollect the memories of the meaning of the tattoo.

"You see, my people considered stars as their ancestors and guardians," Eli explained. "And when we reached fifteen years old, there was this traditional ceremony during which we let go of our parents' bonds to become children of the stars..."

"Let me goooooooooooooooo !" Eli yelled, struggling against her aunt who was holding her wrist tightly.

"No way, you're going to run away again !" the woman said harshly, dragging the girl toward her house. "JEDD !" she yelled, walking into the house.

"Stupid old hag !" Eli barked. How dare she use her father for her stupid traditions?

"You better watch your language, little pest." She scowled harshly at the angry girl and dragged her to the living room. "JEEEEEEEDD !"

Eli's father walked in and looked questioningly over his glasses. "What is wrong, Anora ?"

Tearing her hand from her aunt's tight grip, Eli walked to her father's side.

"Your daughter... and her boundless stubbornness," Anora said, frowning at the girl.

"Well, nothing new then," he said, laughing lightly. He rested his hand on Eli's shoulder.

"This time, it's serious, Jedd." Anora folded her arms. "She's fifteen, she HAS to undergo the rite of passage and get her tattoo !"

"I don't want to be marked like a stupid cow !" Eli growled angrily.

"A COW ?" Anora took a step toward the girl. "Don't you respect anything ?"

"Professor, I..." Etowaru walked in under the stares of the three family members. "Oh, I'm interrupting something..."

Seeing him, Eli's mood changed instantly; she straightened up, combed her messy hair rapidly, and tried her best not to blush as she felt really ashamed of her 'wild' personality facing him... And he looked so good in his uniform: simple dark pants and a matching vest with a narrow upright collar divided in front. Eli focused her eyes on his emblem to avoid his gaze.

"No no, not at all," Anora said, smiling broadly. "You're a reasonable young man, Etowaru. Maybe you can knock some sense into this thick-head."

Old hag... Eli clenched her fists, fighting her urge to punch her aunt in the face as she dared badmouthing her in front of him.

Jedd laughed loudly, patting his daughter's shoulder.

"You see, she doesn't want to get her star tattoo," Anora said, faking concern. "Isn't that just sad ?"

"Lizzie ?" Etowaru called out quietly, raising her face with his hand.

"I... I..." Eli stammered, completely lost in his deep eyes.

"I'm sure it would suit you," he said, smiling warmly. Then, bringing his lips to her ear, he whispered softly, "Shooting Star..."

"Eli ?" Ace called out, waving his hand in front of her eyes. Apparently, she had been staring into space for some time.

"Ah, sorry !" Eli shook her head rapidly. "Where was I ?"

"It's okay." Ace smiled kindly. "I think you told me everything."

Everything...?

"Let's go," he said, walking toward the inn, his hands behind his neck.

He told me everything...

"Eli ?"

I want to tell him... Eli gazed at the stars above her, sincerely hoping that they were really looking after her. It hurts so much !

Clutching the fabric of her cloak, Eli fought the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes as the terrible images of her past hammered in her mind.

"Eli !" Ace gripped the girl's small shoulder. "Are you okay ?" he asked, peering anxiously at his friend.

She wanted to tell him her past, all of it, just like he did... Eli didn't know why, but she felt an ache in her chest that prompted her to let Ace know everything about her. However, slowly shifting her gaze to him, Eli saw the worry gleaming in his dark eyes, and at that instant, she knew that if she told her dear friend what happened before they met, the reason why she had left her country, she would only make him sad.

Her homeland reduced to ashes... the excruciating smell of the burned corpses of everyone she knew... the smothering, defeaning silence of the streets...

Ace didn't need to know that... and this way, he would remain ignorant of the fate of Eli's people, and his eyes on her wouldn't become disenchanted.

With a quiet and agonizing sigh, Eli took a step toward him and leaned her chest heavily against his.

"What's wrong, Eli ?" Ace asked grievingly, instantly wrapping his arms around her.

And in his arms, Eli felt protected and at peace. In his arms, the ghosts of her past slowly vanished from her mind.

No, he didn't need to know... because it was all in the past, and because Eli had been reborn when she had met him and Luffy... Her previous life no longer held any importance. She wasn't the last of the children of the stars anymore; she was just a girl smiling happily in the arms of a boy.

"Nothing," Eli said heartily, her eyes closed as she relished in the capturing warmth. "Nothing at all."

to be continued

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.

In case you don't remember 'Shooting Star' is the name Etowaru gave to Eli after she ate her devil fruit.

I like the last part very much ;)