Windmill Village

The journey to Dawn Island didn't take long, only about a week, not counting occasional stops Dris made for supplies along the way. The weather had been mostly fair, and he didn't run into any trouble, which he knew made him lucky. He spotted a couple of vessels along the way, some of them WG, most of them neutral, but they left him alone, and soon enough, he was approaching Dawn Island.

Referring to the island as "Goa Kingdom" would technically be inaccurate these days. After the fall of Mary Geiose, King Stelly left the kingdom to join the Celestial Dragons at the Sabaody Archipelago, and certainly didn't look back. Dris wondered if it was anything like his own home islands in that regard, but figured it wasn't that important. Surprisingly, at least as far as Dris knew, pirate activity in this part of the East Blue was remarkably low, as if something was keeping them from coming.

As the island got closer, Dris pulled out a telescope, to get a better look. He scoured the shores, seeing mostly countryside, until a village dominated by windmills came into view. Dris liked to think of himself as smart, but he wouldn't need to be to recognize that as his probably destination.

"Well, there's Windmill Village," Dris muttered to himself. With that, he went to the back of the boat, adjusting the rudder in the direction of the island. As he did, he reached into his pocket, and picked out the Vivre card. Indeed, the card was still shifting in the general direction of the village.

"Just what's waiting there?" he then asked. He didn't have much time to consider that question, as he was knocked to his rear by the water churning. He had just enough time to look up to see a massive form emerging out of the water.

It was a Sea King, with brown skin, and a long, eel-like body, topped off with aggressive red eyes. Dris leapt to his feet, bracing himself to transform, ready for a fight, but the monster didn't seem that interested in him, as it reared up in the water. It looked around, before its gaze shifted down to Dris. It opened its mouth...

"Excuse me!" Dris did a double take, knowing that the Sea King wasn't the one talking. Indeed, that was when the monster leaned down, revealing of all things, a person on their head.

It was a woman, and she was strikingly beautiful, with long, wavy, pink hair that fell to her waist, pristine skin, and lovely blue eyes. She was wearing a red top that covered her chest (which was rather flat, not that Dris was paying attention, of course) , but left her arms exposed, with patterns and frills woven in to resemble the wreathing body of eels. But what really caught Dris' eye was the long, eel-like tail she had in place of legs, which was a red-orange color, and had white spots going down it. She was a mermaid. The sight was so surprising that Dris actually forgot she was crouching on a Sea King.

"Excuse me!" she said again, as she leaned down from her perch, "Are you going to that island?" Dris couldn't help but notice that her voice was kind of husky for a girl, though that was the last thing on his mind.

"Th-That island?" Dris asked, pointing. He knew it was a dumb question, but still felt the need to ask it anyway, to which the mermaid just nodded.

"Y...Yeah," Dris then said shakily. With that, the mermaid's face broke into a smile, before patting the monster on the head. Apparently recognizing that gesture, it lowered itself down, causing Dris to take a step back, as the mermaid dropped down from the head, onto the boat. She then turned, and waved at the monster.

"Thank you for your help!" the mermaid said. The Sea King just seemed to smile at her, a sight that Dris was going to try and forget, before it retreated back beneath the waves.

"I'm really sorry for imposing like this, but would you be willing to take me to the island?" the mermaid then said, looking at Dris, "The waters here are too shallow, and the Sea Kings don't like going this close to land." A part of Dris wanted to simply say "no", especially because she probably could've just swam the rest of the way on her own, and Dris wasn't exactly a ferry service, but found it hard to say as much.

"Alright, no problem," Dris said with a sigh, as he adjusted the sail. The mermaid smiled at that, as she sat back on her tail. Her gaze then shifted over to Dris' bags...

"So, what brings a...," Dris trailed off as he saw her pulling a tangerine out of his bag, "Hey! Don't go through my stuff without asking!" The mermaid actually recoiled back at that, as if physically struck. To Dris' surprise, she then started to tear up.

"I just... I just...," she said slowly, before bursting into tears, "I never had those where I'm from! And I wanted..." She kept going after that, but Dris barely registered it over her sobs. Realizing that this wasn't a battle he was going to win, Dris just sighed, and decided to surrender.

"It's fine," he relented, "You can have one." At that, the mermaid stopped crying, as she looked at him through her tears.

"Really?"

"Yeah, just ask next time," Dris said.

"Thank you!" the mermaid said happily. With that, she tried to take a bite out of it, but got stopped by the peel. Clearly having never had (or apparently even seen) a tangerine before, she just stared at it in confusion, until Dris took pity on her, and decided to help.

"Here, I'll peel it for you," he said, holding out his hand. The mermaid grinned at him, as she handed over the fruit, allowing Dris to peel it for her.

"So, what brings a mermaid into the East Blue?" he asked, as he tossed the peel into the water, and handed it back to her, "I thought Merfolk and Fishpeople kept to the Grand Line these days."

"Most do," the mermaid explained, as she took the fruit back, nodding her thanks, "I came here looking for my father."

"Your father's a human?" Dris asked, his gaze snapping back to her. The mermaid nodded, as she popped the first tangerine slice into her mouth. As she did so, her eyes visibly lit up, and she began to gush about how good they tasted. Normally, Dris would take this as a moment to brag about his family's tangerines, but all he could do was stare at the mermaid. Could she be one of the sisters his mother told him about? Either that, or a supreme coincidence, and Nami didn't raise Dris to believe in coincidences.

"Weather patterns happen because things happen in other places," his mother said, "It's just like that in life." At any rate, the idea of having a mermaid for a half-siblings made Dris' mind spin slightly, but he managed to subdue the more confusing thoughts for the time being, especially as the wind suddenly kicked up

"Hold on!" Dris said, as he held onto the sail. The mermaid tried to do so, but she got tossed about slightly. Dris turned to see if she was okay, but that's when he saw her hair literally slid off her head, and plopped down to the ground, revealing a head of much shorter hair, still bright pink. A period of very awkward silence hung over the two, as they just stared at the hair piece lying on the deck. With that in mind, Dris asked the only question his brain could process.

"Wait a minute… you're a boy?" Just because it was the only question didn't mean it was a good question. The merman flushed a beautiful red, before snatching his wig and slamming it back on his head. Tears then began to well in his eyes again, as his chin quivered.

"I just... I just…," he said slowly. With that, almost as if on cue, he started crying again.

"I just like dressing and feeling pretty!" he said through his tears, "Why do girls get to be the only ones who can be so beautiful?" Once again, Dris had no idea what to do.

"Hey! It's okay!" Dris said, holding up his hands in surrender, "It's fine if you want to crossdress. And you do look really pretty!" Hearing that seemed to flick a switch with the boy, who stopped crying, as he looked at Dris with wide, but still teary eyes.

"Really?" He asked timidly.

"Yeah! Really!" Dris said, waving his hands, smiling weakly, "Honestly, I would've definitely though you were a girl if your wig hadn't fallen off."

"Thank you," the merman said, his tears being replaced by a broad, proud smile. Dris returned it, but took a breath once he turned away, and finished working the sail.

"You know, I'm only realizing now, I haven't gotten your name yet," he then said, as he glanced back.

"Oh! My name's Triton!" the merman answered, smiling, "What's your name?"

"Dris."

"Nice to meet," Triton said respectfully, bowing slightly, "What's bringing you to Dawn Island?"

"My mother told me to come here," Dris answered, "She told me there's someone I need to meet."

"Truly?" Triton asked, cocking his head, "My mother said something similar. She said there was a person here who could tell me about my father." That was all the confirmation Dris needed: this crossdressing merman was almost assuredly his brother.

"Your father's a human?" Dris asked slowly, not sure what else to say, to which Triton nodded.

"My mother didn't talk about him very much," he explained as he brought his tail in, "I was really surprised when she told me that he was a human, but I'd still be glad to meet him, if only once." Dris winced at that; it seemed Triton didn't know who their father was, let alone that he was dead. However, he doubted Triton would believe him if Dris said that they were brothers, so he kept that detail to himself. Hopefully, whoever was on the island would be able to explain it better than he could.

"Do you think you could help me, though?" Triton then asked.

"What do you need help with?" Dris responded.

"I've never been in a human town," Triton admitted, "I wouldn't know where to go or start. Do you think-"

"I'll help you," Dris said with a breath. If this merman really was his brother, then Dris wasn't going to let him stumble aimlessly. His mother and aunt taught him that siblings always helped each other, and Dris intended on living by those teachings.

"Thank you so much!" Triton said, bouncing up and down on his tail, "I promise, I won't be a bother!"

"I take it you haven't been away from home before?" Dris asked, to which Triton shook his head.

"My family never let me leave Fishman Island," Triton explained, "I always wanted to see the rest of the ocean, but I never got the opportunity. They even barely let me leave the palace without an armed escort."

"Palace? Armed escort?" Dris asked, cocking his head, not sure he heard that right.

"Mhmm," Triton nodded, "My mother, uncles, and grandfather, always insisted on me traveling with guards whenever I left the palace. It always got so tiresome."{ Hearing that made Dris' gaze snap back to him, right as he took another tangerine. He opened then closed his mouth, trying to make sense of what he heard, but it seemed there was only one logical conclusion.

"Are... are you royalty?" Dris asked slowly.

"Well, yes, of course," Triton answered, as he peeled the fruit, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "My mother is Princess Shirahoshi, the daughter of Neptune, the King of Ryugu."

[Prince Triton of the Ryugu Kingdom]

[Age: 17]

[Dragon Moray Merman]

Surprisingly Dris wasn't as shook at he thought he would be when that information sunk in. So he had a brother who was a merman, a crossdresser, and a prince? And he didn't get the impression that things would get any less strange going forward. He would have to reserve his sanity for later on.

Anyway, maybe having a prince for a half-brother would come in handy. Princes had money after all, right?

It wasn't long before the little skiff was pulling up into the harbor. As they docked, and Dris was tying the boat off, Triton fished a small device out of his bag. It looked like a piece of coral, but upon squeezing it, a small bubble manifested out of it, forming around Triton's waist. Dris was about to ask about that, but before he could do so, Triton was getting out of the boat, looking around in awe.

"What's that there?" he asked, pointing.

"That's a windmill?" Dris answered.

"What's that there?" Triton then asked, pointing to another thing

"That's a farm," Dris said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"What's that there?"

"That's a cattle driver."

"What's that there?"

"That's a windmill again." Dris hoped his annoyance wasn't showing through too hard, as Triton bounced around the area, intent on seeing every last thing that caught his eye. Dris figured this was probably going to last a while, so he did the only thing he could do: he just followed his brother through the town.

During all this, watching from the side, was a young woman sitting on a barrel with a notebook on her lap. She looked to be the same age as all the others, and had black hair that fell past her shoulders, tied back into a ponytail. She had clear skin, light blue eyes, and was wearing a yellow top with skin-tight pants.

"Well then," the woman mused, as she wrote something down in her notebook, "That makes seven of us here. Wonder how much longer we'll have to wait for the rest."

Not that either brother had paying attention at the time, but there was another ship in the waters near the island. This one was much larger, closer to the size of a legitimist ship, but its hull as painted green, and there was the image of a sun on it, beneath the word "Alabasta". Standing at the bow of the ship, looking in the direction of Windmill Village. He had short blue hair that was neatly combed, and was wearing a dark robe over a light blue vest, and gray pants with fair skin. He turned as a soldier came up to him.

"My prince," the man said, as he fell to one knee, "The Sea King has moved off. It doesn't seem like it was bothering with us."

"See?" The young man said with a smile, "I told you there was nothing to worry about. You really need to take it easy. After all, we're a foreign delegation coming to another land. We have to give a good impression."

"Of course, Your Highness," the guard said, bowing again, before the teen dismissed him. Once the soldier was gone, he opened his clenched fist. In his palm was a Vivre card.

"Well then," Ramses mused to himself, as he looked back up at the village, "Just where are you, Father?"

[Prince Nefertari Ramses of Alabasta]

[Age: 17]

Note: So Dris has made it to Dawn Island, and has met his first siblings. I know this chapter wasn't as long as the others; it was originally longer, but as I was working on it, I thought it would be more affective to spend a single chapter introducing Triton and him and Dris getting to know each other before going deeper into it. We also briefly see another young man following a Vivre card: the son of Vivi.

On that note, I'm guessing most people were expecting Shirahoshi's child to be a girl, I intentionally wanted to subvert that; it was way too obvious in my opinion. The idea of making the son of Shirahoshi a crossdresser was a late addition. Along with Hancock, Shirahoshi is styled as among the most beautiful of all women, and I was thinking "what if she passed that beauty down to her son?" And what if that son didn't just accept that quality, but fully embraced it? That's where Triton's crossdressing came from. I'll talk about it more next chapter, when another character comes into play.

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