Karmen had stayed aboard while the others explored the mossy trees and discovered the bubble sap of Sabaody Archipelago. She'd seen it all before and knows the savage underbelly of this beautiful beast. She had planned on staying aboard until they found someone to do the coating job, but she saw Zoro jump from the deck and began arguing with Usopp and Sanji. She's glad that she had changed into her red outfit hours ago and pins her veil in place. She steps out on deck. "I'll make sure he doesn't get lost," she tells the two men. She selects a few apples off Cruella and Beatrice and picks up a short line of rope. She jumps from the ship and catches up to him as casually as possible.
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this place," Zoro comments when the ship is out of sight.
"It's not that I don't enjoy Sabaody, it's just that there's a lot of people here that I don't," Karmen responds, wishing she had pockets to shove her hands into to look indignant. Instead she laces her fingers in front of her, keeping her palms close to the gas grenades on her belt. Feeling this doesn't give her enough to do with her hands, she pokes a knotted rope through two passing bubbles and places her apples inside them. Thinking she needs a way to differentiate the two she removes a plate and spray bottle from her satchel and places them under and around the poisoned apple. She hands one of the shiny red orbs to Zoro. "That one's clean, promise." As he goes to take a bite she adds, "Let me know how it tastes."
The apple stops inches from his teeth. "You haven't tried one yet?"
"That's the first."
He frowns at her before tossing the apple into the air and slicing it. Two halves fall into her hands as he sheathes his blade. He takes one from her. "Try something before you start handing it out."
Karmen admires the apple for a moment before looking around. There aren't any people in this area. She does a Haki sweep just to make sure. Lowering her veil, she takes a small bite, and then another. It was sweet, perfectly ripe, crisp, and juicy. Not only did it taste amazing, it gave her a nostalgic feeling of her time with Kuma. "It's perfect," she says happily. Zoro gives a soft smile and eats his. "You and Sanji picked out really great trees for me. Thank you."
"The apples taste this good because you treated them with care. It reflects in the taste."
Karmen smiles and takes another bite. "I'm fonder of apples than I am of grapes," she says. When she's finished she tosses the apple core aside and pulls out another apple, shining it on her dress as she puts her veil back in place.
"Why did you let me cut that apple in half when you had another one in your bag?" Zoro asks with an edge of mocked frustration.
"You didn't ask. You just sliced," she says flatly. When he realizes he can't deny it he sighs and doesn't say anything. Karmen has to pinch her lips together with her teeth to keep from laughing, glad that he can't see her expression under the thin strip of embroidered fabric. "It was a very thoughtful gesture," she says in a way that lets him hear the smile in her voice.
He cocks his head back and looks at her with one eye. "Are you aware that you get very polite when you're trying not to laugh at someone?" he asks, but not in a way that says he's offended.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Zoro dear." Zoro dear gives a short chuckle and continues walking with a smile. For a moment, Karmen forgets about the auction houses and Celestial Dragons on the archipelago. There's only two friends sharing a pleasant walk.
As they get into the residential and retail groves Karmen's smile begins to fade. Unconsciously she walks slightly closer to Zoro as her eyes dart over the crowds. She'd gotten unused to being around this many people and she recognizes several. There weren't only tourists and high end clientele, there were other pirates. She holds her breath as she makes eye contact with a pirate that she recognizes from the North Blue. He wears a spotted hat, carries a sword, and has a bear in a worker's jumpsuit next to him. He watches her watching him with an intentional gaze as if he's trying to place her recognition, all the while smirking confidently.
"Are you ok?"
"Hm?" She blinks at Zoro who is several steps in front of her. She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking. "Oh. Yeah. I just saw something cute and fuzzy." She quickly catches up to him.
Zoro looks at the bear. "You're fascinated by odd things," he comments. "You liking a bear is oddly out of the abnormal for you."
"I like bears," Karmen says. They remind her of Kuma. The spots on Law's hat remind her of Kuma. Her apples remind her of Kuma. This place reminds her of Kuma. She freaking misses Kuma.
Her chin is suddenly grabbed and Zoro is examining the little amount of her face that's exposed. "You're not getting sick are you?"
Karmen gently slaps his hand away and walks past him. "This place messes with my head."
"Then why did you come?" he asks, falling in line beside her.
Why indeed. "There's a theme park here," she says quietly. "I… I wanted to go to it before we crossed the Red Line and before I see fa… Gallowcomb."
"Why don't you just say father or dad? You haven't called him that since we left San Faldo," he says.
Because he's not my real father. "I'm distancing myself from those people," she says instead. "They may have raised me, but they were never family." How many half-truths can she tell them? Karmen wonders why she hasn't told the crew what Doflamingo revealed to her even though she'd hardly been able to tear her mind from it since that night. Because I want more proof. Because I don't want to tell them how I know because Doflamingo scares me, she thinks. Because he had his eye on me for most of the past year and I never even suspected it. And oh, by the way, he wants to recruit me. He probably knows I'm not dead. Because I don't want anyone else to have plans for how I should live my life. Because saying it out loud means that my real family could be just as bad or worse than the last, if that's even possible. Because I can't look for Pierce and my birth parents at the same time, and I know that Pierce is present and alive and loving and in trouble. If I keep on this train of thought I will make myself sick. Karmen sighs at the circles her mind runs in.
There's a clink. She barely hears it over the crowd around them, but the sound is so familiar and ominous that she recognizes it immediately. Slave chains. She stops suddenly and Zoro stops with her, looking for what's captured her attention. She turns, seeing the man in a bubble suit and his party before most of the people around them. Which one? You have to figure out if you're going to run or fight really fast, her brain tells her. Who is it? "It's Maurice," she says, mostly answer her own mind. Surprisingly, she finds her utter disgust with the man's presence completely smothering any fear that rises with his progress in their general direction.
Maurice and Saint Charloss had been in a years long competition as to who could find the largest number of beautiful women to be their "wives" and concubines. Seeing as neither of them knew how to take care of a living person, much less how to treat a woman, and no one was willing to educate them, their numbers never stayed above twenty for long.
Karmen watches the Celestial Dragon approach on the back of a human slave. It's a familiar sight that she loathes, but it does bring one fond memory to mind.
She was a young child, sitting at the edge of the vineyard, having a tea party with Kuma. She loved how his hands dwarfed the cup and how he would sometimes let her wear his hat, even though she could be completely swallowed up under it.
Her adoptive father had ridden by on his latest slave. She and Kuma could tell the chained man was in terrible condition. Her hands shook for just a moment, but she pasted on a huge smile before grabbing a stick of dumplings and running over to where he had paused. "Father, can I feed your horsey?"
Ikaika sneered at the thought, roughly snatching the dumplings from her hand and eating them himself. "You don't waste good food on filthy animals." Her smile faltered for a moment.
Kuma stood and walked over. Karmen watched her proud "father" shrink in his saddle, ever so slightly. The warlord reached up a big pawed hand and fished in the collar of his jacket. When his hand lowered it holds a shiny red apple. He gave it to Karmen and nodded towards the slave. "Thank you, Kuma," she said happily. She held the apple under the slave's mouth and he ate gratefully. He only left the stem in her hand. "Father, if you don't feed your horsies you'll have to get another one again."
Ikaika had given Kuma a nasty look, but kicked his mount forward without further comment. It had been a pleasant evening to see Ikaika afraid, but things turned as soon as Kuma left the island. The horsey had been dead by the end of the week.
Now as the face of the Celestial Dragon becomes undeniable she places a hand on Zoro's arm to get his attention. "Ignore everything I'm about to say and follow my lead. If you must speak, use 'my Lady.' I'm going full Usopp." He raises an eyebrow but doesn't question her. He sees her watching the burdened slave struggle under the man's weight and understands.
Karmen remains standing as everyone around them kneels. Zoro crosses his arms and observes. When the noble is nearby, Karmen drops her veil and hood and steps forward. It takes her a moment to force herself to remember how to use a pleasant tone, especially since the sight of his processions just makes her want to stab him. "Maurice, dear, how are you?"
The Dragon is surprised by her approach, but he clearly recognizes her. "Why, Miss Gallowcomb. Your father said you had run off and become a pirate. I've even heard reports that you were dead."
Karmen laughs loudly, amused. "Just a few assassins, dearie. Nothing to worry about. Father's gone and believed the wrong story again. You didn't actually believe that I was a pirate, did you?" Maurice is confused, so she explains. "I send father stories when I leave home to make things more interesting. If he thinks I'm a pirate then it means he believed the wrong one again. No, silly. I'm on a business trip. I hired pirates as bodyguards. Not being from one of the main branches of the Celestial Dragons people always think I'd make a good kidnapping target. I figured who better to protect you from criminals than criminals themselves, right? And I just love how ruthless they can be."
"You always did enjoy odd company," Maurice laughs. "Where's your mount?"
"I needed to stretch my legs so I left it on the ship. I was on my way to the manor to pick up my bubble suit so I wouldn't have to breathe this filthy air. That's why I was wearing a veil." She leans down, lifting the slaves matted hair out of his face, and examines him closely. "Jeez, Maurice. I know you have money to throw away. Couldn't you prevent your mounts from getting scurvy? What are you feeding him? Surely you didn't buy him like this?"
"I'll just buy a new one. We're on our way to the bidding houses."
"Then let me make sure you make it there. I wouldn't want you to have to walk." She removes an apple from one of the bubble pouches she'd been leading behind her and produces her knife from her sleeve. She cuts two large slices from it and feeds them to the human horse. He inhales them and ends up coughing. "Foolish mount," she sneers. "At least sit up when you eat."
Cleaning her hands and knife with a handkerchief, she pulls her second bubble bag towards her. This is the one with an apple on a plate with a small spray bottle nearby. "Did you know, Maurice? Father's put me in charge of starting an apple orchard. This is one of our finest yields yet. We only ship our premium line to nobles such as ourselves. You should try it." She cuts the apple and wraps the core in the handkerchief. She sprays the wedges with the bottle's contents. "Lemon juice, for purity," she explains before handing him the plate.
Maurice takes a bite of a wedge and speaks with his mouth still full. "These are delectable, Karmen; just what I would expect from the great Gallowcomb family's line of production. Your slaves must work themselves to the bone for you, as they should. Your mother must have given you her talents for keeping them in line."
"Uncle Ludovic is the main enforcer, actually," she says. "You know how he loves dipping insubordinates into acid, extremities first. With him around I don't have to get my lovely hands dirty."
As they speak and Maurice takes breaks to eat more, Karmen works her way around the lines of chained and collared women he brought with him. They tremble at her touch, but she examines every one. "Your wives are well picked, Maurice. If you put them in fewer clothes, though, all your beloved attention will go to them instead."
He laughs. "Then it's a good thing you turned down all my proposals!"
"Oh, dearie. You know father has something arranged for me."
"How is that windbag fiancé of yours?"
"I'm hoping he starts circling the drain soon after the ceremony," she admits. "I'm only marrying him for his assets, after all."
Maurice laughs so hard that he chokes on the apple in his mouth. Karmen slaps him hard on the back a few times. His security guard yells "Hey!" and grabs her roughly by the wrist.
"Oh dear," she says in a soft, serious tone. "Good help is so hard to find. Maurice, perhaps you should spend less money replacing mounts and more on security who know their place. Wouldn't you agree, Zoro?"
Maurice turns to find Zoro with all three swords drawn against his own guard. One sword is poised at the man's throat, another threatens to slice through his wrist, and the sword in Zoro's teeth is poised to pierce the man's heart. "Shall I kill him, my Lady?"
"You've heard of my bodyguard, haven't you, Maurice? He's the infamous pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro." The nobleman's guard recovers enough to gently release her wrist.
Maurice frowns at the situation. "I have and you're right. The man's a fool. Do whatever you want with him. I can buy another."
Karmen smirks cruelly at the guard and speaks with the voice of a venomous serpent. "My, my. You don't seem to have made your services valuable to your master. Zoro, dear, I don't want blood on my clothes before we go shopping. Let him live in shame and grovel to keep his job. Mother loves watching them grovel before shooting them in the head."
"As you wish, my Lady." He sheathes his swords skillfully and stands in a protective radius by her shoulder for further instructions. The guard scurries back across the ground and stands amongst the slaves. It was a cruel way to reveal the truth to the poor man, but now he knows how little Celestial Dragons value anyone but themselves. Perhaps he'll find himself a job that pays a little less but with more appreciation for years of hard work.
Maurice observes the swordsman cautiously. "He's one of the pirates you hired?"
"That's right." She steps around Zoro, tracing her fingertips across his shoulders. "He's the first mate aboard the ship and the head of my protection detail. I figured that if a bodyguard is going to follow me around everywhere I go then he might as well be ruggedly handsome. He's not quite trained for high society yet, I'm afraid. He spends too much time arguing with the cook." She pats his cheek affectionately. "Well, I've kept you long enough. I'm afraid you'll miss your auction if I hold you up any longer. It was lovely to see you again."
They say their final goodbyes and the noble departs. Karmen and Zoro stand in the middle of the road until he and his party are out of sight. Karmen groans loudly and leans back against Zoro's sturdy frame. "That creature is so ostentatious. My cheeks hurt from making those awful expressions. How does Willow do it all the time?" She turns around and puts a hand on his chest. "Thank you for putting up with that."
He grins down at her. "Ruggedly handsome, my Lady?"
She reverses her hand and smacks him. "You're pushing it, bodyguard." Chuckling, she steps away from him and lifts her hood back over her head.
"What did you slip all those slaves?"
"Oh. You noticed that?" She grins over her shoulder at him and holds up a small velvet pouch that jingles softly. "Skeleton keys to their chains and exploding collars. I stole them off Willow at Itluk Manor."
"And the apple?"
"Hydrangea, or Hills-of-Snow. Just a little something to cause dysentery. That man is going to be on the toilet for a week. He's lucky he's a noble and gets waited on 24/7. It would kill him without constant hydration."
"You can be downright scary sometimes. You know that?"
Smiling, she pins her veil back over her face. "I'm a pirate secretary. Would you expect anything less?" She looks around and finds all the citizens still kneeling. "Didn't you hear? The Gallowcomb girl is dead. She fell off a cliff a few days ago. I'm just a pirate who looks like her. Get up already!" She sighs. "This is why I cover my face in places like this."
"Well, anyway. You wanted to go to the amusement park, right?"
"Yeah. I'll buy you some beer on the way."
"Sounds good to me."
In the back of the confused crowd a pirate chuckles softly. A large man standing in the shadows of a nearby alley smiles and watches them depart.