AN: Here we are with a new chapter guys! Finally ahaha… I wanted to get this posted on Luffy's birthday (even though there isn't much Luffy in it oop), so the lovely Anjelle did a quick beta read for me~
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved, and followed! This is for you guys~
-eight-
-A Strange Gift-
It was like the hall was vacated in a matter of seconds. The inhabitants filed out through the numerous stone passageways connected to the hall, accompanied by a near deafening amount of noise that lowered in volume as the crowd of people thinned. Those few that remained were the members of Whitebeard's council, and Ace - after giving Luffy's hand a squeeze - made his way over to his spot between Marco and Jozu. The adamant orc gave him a glance and nod of acknowledgment, to which Ace returned, before securing his gaze back on Luffy.
The half-blood had his arms crossed over his chest, stance relaxed with a grin on his face, and was looking directly at Whitebeard without batting an eyelash.
Ace certainly had to give him credit for that. It wasn't often anyone could hold the Mountain King's gaze without flinching - even those who resided in the mountain and were privy to his presence day in and day out.
Whitebeard, as he was known throughout the land, was intimidating, both in size and power.
There was tension in the air, so thick it was almost palpable. The dragon rustled his wings in a vague show of anxiety, and Marco gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder with his wing. The warmth from the phoenix's plumage was soothing, but not enough to get Ace to relax.
Then, after almost a minute of Whitebeard and Luffy staring at one another, the Mountain King ordered in a loud, clear voice, "Leave us."
Ace jumped, his eyes snapping to Whitebeard incredulously. "What?"
He received and instant slap on the shoulder from Marco's wing, but didn't look away, even as the other members of the court turned to leave, muttering amongst themselves.
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, finally pulling his gaze away from Luffy to look at the dragon, and then waved him off. "Go on, Ace. Out. You can have your brother when we are done speaking."
Ace bit back a whine that had begun to build in his chest. Leave? He didn't want to leave Luffy…
Frowning, he shifted uncomfortably in his spot and conceded with a nod of his head, chewing on his bottom lip with sharp teeth. He saw Luffy flash him a grin and move forwards, Robin by his side, and with a soft rumble Ace turned to leave with Marco.
He didn't like this. He wanted to be there, to understand just what the hell was going on.
But Whitebeard was his king. He'd… given Ace everything. He was father to him and all who resided in the mountain. To disobey him…
He couldn't.
A sigh escaped the dragon, and beside him, Marco chuckled. "Don't want to let your brother out of sight, do you, yoi?"
Ace threw him a sour look. "What of it?"
The phoenix laughed again and slapped him on the back with a wing. "Nothing. It's just a bit odd to see you like this, yoi."
The dragon grumbled under his breath and made his way down the tunnel, heading towards the stairs at the very end, and Marco followed at a sedated pace. The sound of his talons clacking against the floor was rather grating on Ace's nerves, and he twisted around to snap at the bird, "Do you have to follow me?"
The phoenix lifted the mask from his face and feigned a hurt look. "I was merely heading up to my quarters. If you recall, they are in the same direction as yours."
Ace snorted and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Yes, sure... "
He turned back around and kept walking, shoulders hunched and tail twitching back and forth irritably, the 'clack clack' of Marco's footsteps following behind him at a distance.
After a while, he heard Marco sigh. "Come on, Ace. Speak to me."
A low growl rumbled from the dragon's chest, but it was an empty threat. "There's nothin' to talk about."
"Oh no, of course there isn't." Of course Marco didn't let it drop. Of course he still followed Ace. "So the fact that your previously thought dead brother just appeared out of nowhere isn't affecting you at all, yoi."
"I - of course it is!" Ace whirled on the phoenix, wings flared and tail lashing.
The phoenix hardly looked intimidated, but Ace's actions were not done in an attempt to threaten him.
The dragon was simply agitated.
"Of course it's affecting me! And I - I just gotta leave him while he and the old man discuss business? I wanna fucking be there, Marco! I wanna know what's going on!"
Lips pressed together, one of Marco's wings shifted to a regular human hand - still wreathed in flame and scales - just so he could scratch his head. After a moment, he said, "Tell you what, yoi: I'll stick around, and when they're done I'll guide the brat to your room."
Ace's face was very displeased. "And why can't I just wait here, too, huh?"
"Because your aura's radiating enough anxiety to set the door on fire. Now go, brat."
Ace hissed, wings flared again, and Marco met his glare evenly. The stare-off lasted nearly a full minute before Ace ducked his head and stormed off, tail lashing behind him.
Marco watched as his back disappeared up the set of steps, and he sighed. Ace could be such a brat at times…
The dragon stormed all the way up the mountain, his mood worsening with every step. He crossed through tunnels and passageways, those that shortened the journey to his room near the very top of the mountain.
Ace's room placement had its advantages and disadvantages. It was like a large cave, really, with a chamber large enough for him to comfortably curl up in his dragon form with plenty of extra space, and a tunnel that led to a platform where he could land and take off from with ease.
Those were the advantages. The disadvantages were the fact that traversing through the mountain to actually get there took so damn long. Usually Ace flew in from the outside, but with times such as these - going to a meeting, interacting with some of the mountain's other occupants - that had him already inside the mountain…
Well, walking it was.
He encountered no one else as he finally moved down the tunnel towards the rough wooden door and pushed it open with a grumble.
It took him all of two seconds to realise that something wasn't right.
He stood in the doorway and inhaled deeply, eyes scanning the room. There was a scent lingering in the air, one that he… he wasn't sure he recognised.
It was… familiar, but not. It did not belong to anyone in the mountain, that was for sure.
Something clawed at the back of his mind - a memory - but frustratingly, it remained out of reach, and the dragon inhaled deeply.
It was empty now, but the question remained… Who had been in his room?
Warily, the salamander pressed forwards, looking around with cautious eyes. As far as he could tell, nothing was out of place. Lanterns remained in their usual places, tapestries covering the walls untouched, books stacked haphazardly as they usually were… just where…
There.
His bed had been disturbed. At first glance it seemed to be the mess of pillows and blankets it usually was, but…
Some pillows were out of place. The closer the dragon got to the nest, the more he noticed that scent as well. Why in the name of the gods had his bed been disturbed? What was there to gain from…?
A glint of red caught his eye, and the dragon paused, his eyes narrowed. There, placed inconspicuously on a pillow, was a red beaded necklace.
It was something Ace had never seen before in his life.
A soft hiss escaped the dragon as he crawled across the nest on hands and knees and came to a stop above the pillow and the necklace resting innocently atop it. The scent was powerful here - very, very powerful, and Ace could recognise the scent of magic mingled in with it, emanating from the beads.
A magic necklace… Someone had broken into his room and deposited a magical necklace on his pillow, like some sort of courting gift.
Knowing better than to simply reach out and grab it, the dragon continued to hover above the necklace, staring at it critically. He could sense nothing… dark from it, yet Ace knew that there were ways to hide malicious magic. It could easily be a trap. But who would do that… honestly… he had no enemies that knew he existed…
After a moment, Ace decided to risk it.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly reached out and tapped one of the beads with the very tip of his claw.
…
Nothing. It moved slightly at the tap, but that was about it.
Pressing his lips together, the dragon did it again, though this time he touched it with the pad of his finger.
There was a spark at the contact, and a burning sensation raced through his arm and settled in his chest. Heart pounding rapidly - almost painfully - Ace yelped and fell back onto the blankets, panting heavily. He shook his hand out, staring at the necklace with distrusting eyes, and relaxed a little as the burning sensation faded away and left…
Left something. A weight in his chest. The sensation lasted for another few seconds before it, too, faded.
… What the hell was that?
He… He should go see the healer… find out what the hell had happened to him, but -
He didn't… feel bad. He felt no foreign magic in his body, no sense of foreboding…
The only thing Ace could think of was that the necklace and whatever magic it held had no intention of harming him.
Once again, he began to examine the beads. Picking them up once he felt no strange zap again, the dragon brought them to his face and inhaled, the strange scent lingering over the beads and mixing with a similar smelling magic. He couldn't gauge what kind of magic it was, other than that it had some… protective properties, maybe?
Who could have done this, Ace wondered, and frowned down at the beads in confusion. Who would do this…?
With a sigh, Ace placed the necklace down on the pillows and moved over to a cubby that was built into the wall. He was bound to be lectured from one of the uppity high elves for wandering around naked if he didn't put some clothes on; after digging around the mass of material shoved inside there for a few moments, he pulled out a pair of torn-up breeches and tugged them on.
Tail swishing back and forth, he moved back onto his nest and stared at the necklace once again, frowning.
What to do with it…
He couldn't just… throw it away. No. This was important, he could feel it.
After a moment of deep thought, Ace sighed. Well… it wasn't harmful… what was the worst it could do?
Without a moment's hesitation, he picked the necklace up and carefully slipped it over his horns, and then his head. The red beads settled against his skin, warm to the touch, and Ace shivered as he felt a small buzz in his chest that stopped seconds after it began.
He didn't feel like he was making a bad decision… In fact, this felt…
Right.
Ace nodded to himself with a huff and stretched. Maybe he could nap until the old man was finished with Luffy…
Somewhere else that wasn't far from the mountain, a man paused and raised his scarred face to the clouded sky, blue eyes brimming with wonder.
He'd found it. His gift had been accepted.
A thought came to his mind - Ace was… too trusting. That could be taken advantage of, if the wrong person knew. But perhaps he wasn't giving Ace enough credit. Perhaps he could sense that no harm was meant...
A slow smile stretched across his lips and he lowered the brim of his large hat, causing the bells dangling from it to jingle. Things could finally begin to move forwards...
AN: And there we go guys! Remember, if you have any questions or want to see the art/info/sort of spoilers for this, visit my ask blog, reconstruct-deconstruct! The link is in my profile!
Please, review! tell me whatcha liked~