Heads-up, I'm doing the uni-language thing for this story.
Vivi awoke as the sun rose; she was used to getting up at this time to prepare breakfast for her father and herself. But of course, the situation was different now.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, stretched, and yawned hugely.
"Morning, Madame Vivi," Franky said, grinning.
"Good morning, Monsieur Franky," Vivi said, standing slowly. She looked at him curiously. "Forgive me for asking, but do any of you sleep?"
"Yeah, we sleep," Franky said. "Dunno how or why, though, since we can't eat like this." He grinned. "Luffy was so upset when he found out we can't eat. I swear he screamed for three days straight."
"Oh, dear," Vivi said quietly.
"Anyway, clothes," Franky said, opening his doors. Several beautiful casual dresses flew out and floated around Vivi like a spinning rack. She hesitantly selected a light blue open robe gown and went behind the screen to change as the other dresses floated back.
"Is Monsieur Sanji cooking breakfast?" Vivi asked, draping her nightgown over the screen and slipping into the robe.
"Of course he is," Franky said. "I swear that guy's actually a mage—you think his food's good now, you should've seen it when he was human . . ."
Vivi straightened her dress and came out from behind the screen.
"Breakfast is whenever, by the way," Franky added as she sat in front of the vanity and contemplated her hair. "So you don't have to go down right away."
"Should my hair be braided?" Vivi murmured.
Franky rocked in place a bit. "Dunno. Probably?"
"I should learn how to braid my own hair one day," Vivi remarked as she took out the enchanted pins and allowed them to braid her hair. When they were finished, it hung down her back in a fishtail.
"Monsieur Franky?" Vivi said, turning to him. "Forgive me if this is rude . . ."
"Hey, no one's ruder than me around here," Franky said cheerfully. "Go for it."
"How did you come to work for the Beast?"
Franky was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry if that was too personal," Vivi said quickly, dipping her head.
"No, no, just working through it in my head first," Franky said reassuringly. "Let's see . . . well, like I said, I'd pissed off that witch, right? So she goes all psycho on me, says some mumbo-jumbo, and next thing I know I'm flying through some time-tunnel or something. Back then, or I guess this present time, Hawaii—which I know you don't know, but it's a bunch of islands—was inhabited by less-than-friendly folk." He grinned. "My body's not exactly like a normal human's, see, and they tried to attack me, saying I was a monster or something. I ended up facing—get this—another witch. This one doesn't send me back in time, but she casts some kinda teleportation spell, and then I'm flying again, and suddenly I'm in France."
Vivi placed her head on her hands, listening with interest.
"I ended up in the woods, see," Franky continued, rather enjoying himself with his tale. "And I wandered for a bit before I found the mansion. Knocked on the door, Robin answered, and of course she was confused because I was a crazy time-traveler speaking way too fast and wearing weird clothes. The lady of the house came down and she was really confused, and it took a few tries, but I managed to explain."
"And Madame Beast offered to let you stay?"
"Once everyone understood the situation, yeah," Franky said. He grinned. "So now I live here and work maintenance on the house, and then my dear Robin and I fell in love . . ."
He sighed. "I was checking a leak in this room on the night of the curse. Suddenly I'm a goddamn wardrobe and I can barely move. Madame Beast found me and managed to move me here. At least it's pretty comfortable."
"That's quite the tale," Vivi said softly.
Franky grinned. "Ain't it something? Man, nothing good happens with witches and enchanters around me, huh? Hey, aren't you gonna head down to breakfast?"
"Oh—yes," Vivi said, standing. "Thank you and I suppose I'll see you soon."
"Hey, not like I'm going anywhere," Franky said cheerfully as she left.
Vivi slowly went down the stairs, holding her dress just above her ankles.
"Good morning, Madame Vivi," Brook called as she walked by the front door, tipping his hat to her.
"Good morning, Monsieur Brook," she said with a small smile and a curtsy.
"Good morning, Madame Vivi," Usopp said as she passed by his table.
"The same to you, Monsieur Usopp," she said, bowing her head briefly.
She finally came to the dining room just as the Beast was standing.
"Oh, er," the Beast said, looking up. "Good morning. I trust you slept well?"
Vivi did not smile, for she was still rather miffed with the situation. "I did," she replied coolly. "And you?"
The Beast looked surprised. "I . . . yes, I slept well," she said awkwardly.
There was a moment of silence. Vivi's brow furrowed slightly when she noticed the Beast was looking her up and down again with a kind of reverence.
"Well then," the Beast said abruptly, averting her gaze. "I've finished breakfast. You may eat as much as you like." She gestured to the food still on the table, her eyes looking anywhere but Vivi. "I will be in my chamber. Should you need anything, please do not hesitate to knock upon my door."
And she hurried upstairs without another word.
"That was odd," Vivi remarked as she sat.
Sanji grunted thoughtfully.
"Oh," Vivi exclaimed. Her end of the table was laden with brioche, jam and butter for the spread, a cooling cup of coffee, and a small jug of milk.
"Help yourself," Sanji said cordially.
"You made this?" Vivi asked, cutting herself some bread and spreading a small amount of jam on it.
"With my own two—" Sanji stopped himself and glanced at his candlestick hands. He sighed and shrugged. "Yes, but it wasn't easy. The cookware is enchanted, but occasionally it goes awry; things spill, or burn . . ."
"I see," Vivi said, taking a bite of the bread. "This is delicious!"
"Thank you, thank you," Sanji said happily.
Vivi tried her coffee, shuddered, and added some milk.
"Monsieur Franky told me about the day he came to this mansion," she said as she tried the coffee again.
Sanji chuckled. "That was a strange day indeed."
"How did you come to work here?" Vivi inquired, slowly sipping her drink.
Sanji crossed his candle arms. A drop of blue wax fell to the table. "I was the first to come work for our Dame," he said proudly. "You see, I was a rather renowned chef in the town. One day, my dear Madame Beast approached me and informed me of her desire to have a cook for her mansion. Her great beauty struck me like an arrow from Eros, that flighty little cherub, and of course I accepted immediately!"
"Beauty?" Vivi said in surprise.
"Ah, yes," Sanji sighed. "Our Dame was a sight to behold back then! Such luscious lips, sparkling eyes, and hair like the sunset on a summer's eve! But alas! The curse has transformed her into a hideous Beast, and it has made it so even I cannot break the spell upon us!"
"What do you mean?" Vivi asked.
Sanji froze. "Well," he said, "you see, ah—certain words must be said to our Dame in order to lift the curse."
Vivi frowned. "Then . . . whatever are they?"
Sanji gulped. "It's not that simple, Madame Vivi," he said hurriedly. "These words, they must be said truthfully, with real meaning behind them! Simply telling you what they are would do no good!"
Vivi frowned. "I'm not sure I understand," she admitted.
Sanji smiled sadly. "Perhaps with time, the words will be said, and then the curse shall be lifted."
"Where were you when the curse was cast?" Vivi asked, nibbling her bread.
"Oh, I was arguing with that buffoon of a chimney sweep," Sanji said. "I'd gone into the fireplace room for some light reading, but he and Luffy were already there, sleeping like peasants—if you'll pardon the term—in the chairs. Naturally, I kicked him out of the chair, and we began arguing while Luffy did nothing to help, as usual. And all of a sudden . . . My arms and hair are on fire, the green-haired buffoon is a green box, and Luffy almost sets the whole room on fire with his light. Madame Beast helped us out later."
"I see," Vivi said, finishing her bread and eyeing the rest of the loaf. She cut herself a smaller piece and buttered this one.
"I do hope this curse is lifted," Sanji sighed. "I'm sorry, Madame Vivi, I don't mean to rush you—please, relax and try to enjoy your time here."
Vivi was silent as she finished her breakfast.
"That was delicious, Monsieur Sanji," she said softly, standing. "I will take these back to the kitchen."
"There's no need, Madame Vivi," Sanji said.
Vivi frowned. "It would be faster than if you did it, in that form," she pointed out.
Sanji sighed. "I should not allow a lady to burden herself with such tasks!"
"Please, worry not," Vivi said reassuringly. "I do all the chores at home while my father is at work or his weekly trip to the market." She sighed sadly again at the thought of her father, and then shook it off. "I'll only place these on the counter, so you may take care of the rest."
"Thank you," Sanji said in relief, hopping after her and naturally falling behind as she scooped up the items and slowly carried them to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Monsieur Zoro," she said as she passed the toaster man and set the things on the counter.
Zoro awoke with a start, blinking sleepily. "Oh . . . g'morning," he grunted.
"Good morning," Robin called from her cabinet. Vivi smiled and brought her and her son out to the counter.
Sanji finally reached the kitchen and Vivi brought him up to the counter for easier access. He began giving commands for cleaning up.
"Did you sleep well, Madame Vivi?" Robin asked.
"Yes, thank you," Vivi said with a smile.
"Zoro always sleeps well," Chopper whispered solemnly, and Vivi glanced over to see the former chimney sweep fast asleep yet again.
Robin chuckled. "Do you know how he came to work here?"
Sanji sniggered loudly. Zoro's eyes fluttered, but shut again and he slept on.
"How's that?" Vivi asked.
Chopper giggled, having heard the story before.
"Franky heard noises and went to the roof to investigate," Robin said, smiling. "He found Zoro stuck upside-down in the chimney and went to inform our Dame. I believe she said something along the lines of, 'Well, I've been thinking about hiring a chimney sweep,' and told Franky to get him out and bring him inside."
Vivi blinked. "How on earth did he . . . ?"
Robin sighed with a smile. "None of us are quite sure. In any case, Franky got him out, dragged him inside, and now he works as the chimney sweep. He does occasionally get stuck still."
Vivi covered her mouth, hiding her laughter.
"I never wanted to work here in the first place," Zoro mumbled. Apparently he'd been listening in the entire time.
"You did say something about being homeless, and now you have a home," Robin reminded him gently.
Zoro grunted in reply.
"And honestly," Sanji said, leaning over to glare at Zoro, "how stupid do you have to be to end up, not only on someone's roof, but inside their chimney, and upside-down no less?"
Zoro growled at him. "If you're looking for a fight . . . you're out of luck, because we don't have limbs."
"At least I'm more useful in this form," Sanji said smugly. "I provide a perfect dinner atmosphere, and you simply sit here, being useless except when we want crispy bread!"
"Please," Zoro sneered. "Everyone has candles. I'm an interesting future-box. How many people can say they've seen one of me?"
"Oh, you're a special kind of something, alright," Sanji muttered.
"Would you two like to go upstairs to see Monsieur Franky?" Vivi asked over Sanji and Zoro's bickering.
"That would be lovely," Robin said, glancing between the two. Vivi picked them up and made her way back to her room.
"Oh, hey," Franky exclaimed as Vivi returned. "Madame Vivi, how was breakfast?" His eyes lit up when he saw his tea set family. "Robin baby! Chopper!"
"Hi, papa!" Chopper exclaimed. Vivi set them as close to Franky as possible and opened up the curtains to let in some light.
"Thanks, Madame Vivi," Franky said cheerfully.
"It's no trouble," Vivi said.
"Hey, you wanna tell her your story?" Franky asked Robin. "How you came to work here, I mean."
Robin smiled. "I owe our Dame quite a lot. My family had abandoned me and I'd grown up on the streets, sheltering wherever I could. One day I was in town, working a temporary job for food as a shopkeeper. Our Dame came upon the shop and I suppose she took a liking to me, for she invited me to work and live here as the butler. Naturally I accepted." She sighed. "Madame Beast came from a poor family herself and has worked hard to earn her fortune. But she had grown haughty over the years; it was this and her bad mood which caused this curse upon us."
She smiled at Vivi. "She has grown humbler since the curse, perhaps due to her appearance. Perhaps you will help her."
Vivi smiled shyly. "Do you think I'm capable of such a thing?"
"I think so," Chopper said determinedly, wriggling in place. Vivi smiled gratefully at him.
She looked up in thought, nodded to herself, and stood. "If you'll excuse me, I must go ask Monsieur Usopp something . . ."