Hi guys! So, I've been getting really into One Piece lately. I'm loving the Anime and I have to say, Sanji has my heart! I love his character so much. I hope you guys enjoy the story. I don't see a lot of Sanji/OC Stories, so I decided to write one. There will be minor Ace/OC in this, as well as major Shanks/OC. It is rated M for future adult themes, so if that isn't your cup of tea (or if you're a minor) please do not read. There will be violence, sex, abuse, and a bunch of other stuff (though mostly in the flashback chapters). Anyways, please let me know what you think and I will have the second chapter up soon!

WARNING: This chapter included physical abuse and implied S.A. (which will be the only one I will be writing in this story). Reader Discretion is advised.

Copyright: I do not own One Piece. That belongs only to Oda. However, I do own Aurelia, Count Stratford, and Adira.

Prologue:

The wind howled into the walls of the manor as eerie moans from the bones of the old house wailed, as if singing a melancholy song. On the second floor, there was a young woman, who had a black cloak over her, blending her in with the shadows of the night. A large thundercrack rumbled overhead, and a bolt of lightning struck down in the distance, illuminating the young woman.

She pressed herself against the wall, anxious at the thought of being seen. Clutching the dark robe over her swollen belly, she turned her head around, making sure that she was not being followed. Silently, she pushed herself off the wall and walked down the corridor, her steps as light as snowflakes falling on a meadow. The young lady creeped down the magnificent staircase, until she reached the front door. With one last single look at the magnificent manor, she opened the door and shut it behind her.

This would no longer be her world.

Once out of the splendid luxury of the mansion, the woman ran. She ran as far as she could. Clutching a small satchel of belongings, the woman fumbled over a large stone and tripped. The hood of her robes came off of her, revealing the most beautiful lavender hair and golden eyes. The woman fearfully scanned her surroundings, before pulling the hood over her head again and getting up off the damp ground. The mud from the dirt road soiled her silk and lace gown, but she paid no mind to it.

She had to get as far away as possible.

Clutching her satchel, she ran down the road to the lone pier on the island. There, a schooner waited for woman ran to the pier, as the waves from the treacherous sea rumbled all around her, crashing violently into the jagged rocks of the cliffs. The wind whipped furiously around her, stinging her face red, as she approached the boat. The old man who chartered the schooner reached out his hand, taking note of her swollen eye and split lip. The lines of his wrinkled face deepened with worry as the young woman took it, letting him help her on board. Just as her feet touched the deck of the boat, the woman could hear, "AURELIA! COME BACK!" The voice was deep and rough, that of one belonging to an old man.

Her golden eyes widening in fear, she looked at the captain of the ship. "Go…NOW!"

The man understood her urgency. The large imposing captain of the schooner had two of his men lift up the anchor, and push off from the pier. The young woman walked to the side of the ship, leaning against the railing as she saw a small lantern bobbing up and down the path down to the pier. The soft yellow glow of it barely made out the face of a man who was very handsome. He had slicked back black hair, a fine suit, and a well-forged sword strapped to his side. The man looked out at the ship in horror as he raced to the edge of the pier, just barely missing the schooner. Setting down the lantern, he gripped the edge of the pier looking at the beautiful young woman. "AURELIA! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS! COME BACK!" He shouted out helplessly.

The young woman, Aurelia, could only look away from the man. Slowly the boat drifted further and further from the shore, to where the man and the island had become barely a speck in the distance. The waves of the stormy sea rocked the ship dangerously. Aurelia glanced at the captain who stood beside her. "I need to rest…is there somewhere I can do that?" She swallowed the guilt that was building up as she glanced at the open treacherous waters of the North Blue that lay before the ship.

The gruff old captain nodded. "Of course, Lady Aurelia. Right this way." She followed the captain of the ship as he took her to some private quarters. "You should be safe here, my lady." The older man muttered out. Aurelia took off the hood of her black cloak and opened her satchel. She reached inside and gave the captain a handful of gold. "For your troubles." she muttered as she sat down on the bed.

The captain pocketed the gold, stoically saying, "My lady, we should be at the East Blue in no time." Aurelia silently stroked her stomach as she looked out her porthole window at the raging sea. "Good. The further away we get, the better." She brushed her damp hair behind the back of her ears.

The captain left to go man his ship and once she was alone, Aurelia softly talked to her baby bump. "I won't let them use you as a pawn. Not now, not ever." She sighed as she looked out the window.

Her whole life had been nothing but frivolity. The prettiest shoes, the most gorgeous dresses, and invitations to nothing but the best balls and galas. It was marvelous. Then, at eighteen, she was told to marry Count Stratford, the elderly man who lived in isolation on a nearby island who was worth 90 trillion berries. He owned much of the prime real estate in the North Blue. Despite their age gap and having never met before, Aurelia was glad to be marrying such a man of importance. She'd go to the most exclusive balls, entertain the highest of the nobles, and would have a loving husband.

All would be well.

On her wedding day, young Aurelia walked down the aisle, the picture of innocence on her father's arm. If ever there were a blushing bride, it would be her. She came to the man who would be her husband, a tall and slender male who was buttoned up stiffly in his finest suit. He did not look at Aurelia with pleasure, or even amicable fondness, but with a curled lip of disdain. Regardless, Aurelia smiled pleasantly at her new husband as she took his last name and his ring upon her finger.

That night, after the festivities of the wedding feast and after bidding her family farwell, Aurelia stood quietly in her bedroom, waiting for her husband. When the older man entered, he looked at Aurelia with not disdain, but loathfulness. Aurelia could not understand why, but the way Count Stratford viewed her was the same way she viewed spiders: disgusting and needed to be crushed.

However, no matter how Count Stratford viewed Aurelia, her young supple body was still a temptation that the Count could not resist. As he laid upon her that night, taking her again and again as roughly as possible, Aurelia cried and begged him to stop. He would not listen. Once he was done using her as he pleased, he gave his wife a cold look saying, "Get used to this, darling. I expect a son within a year." He left her room after taking her innocence, and Aurelia cried herself to sleep.

Within the following months, every week, the Count Stratford would come into her room, take her body several times, and leave her be. That was all she ever saw of her husband. Other than that, he never spoke to her or acknowledged her presence. All the perks Aurelia thought she would gain by marrying this cold hearted man faded away as the months wore on. No nobles came to their isolated island, for no nobles enjoyed Count Stratford's company. If there were ever a rare occasion that the Count was invited to a ball, he went alone, claiming that his poor dear wife was 'sick and prone to nervous fits', which was the furthest from the truth. No matter how much Aurelia called her parents on the transponder snail or wrote to them, they would simply tell her to 'do her duty'.

Aurelia was alone on this solitary island, with a man who despised her for company….if you could even call it that.

A year into her marriage, this changed.

It was a stormy night, much like the one that was happening outside the schooner. Aurelia was eating her dinner, alone, when the Count burst in. His weathered face was livid as he slammed his fists on the table, causing Aurelia to jump up.

"The Lord of Windhime was just married a mere three months ago. He is five years older than me and his wife is the same age as you. And do you know what?" His lip curled up into a snarl. Aurelia's throat went dry as she shook her head, not being able to answer. The Count walked closely to Aurelia, reaching out and yanking her out of her chair to come face to face with him. "His wife is already pregnant. We have been married for a year and you have yet to bear me a son, let alone any child. Are you defective?"

Aurelia stared at her husband in confused horror and she shook her head. In a small voice, she said, "I'm sorry…these things take time…I…I don't know what else you want me to do…we can try some more." She reached her hand out to put it on his cheek and he slapped it away, gripping her chin so tightly that his fingernails dug into her flesh. Aurelia whimpered as she stared into the Count's lifeless green eyes. "You stupid ignorant child. I wanted a woman but I got saddled with a vapid girl like you."

He took her by the collar of her dress, slapping her across the face. Aurelia fell to the floor as she held her cheek, looking up at her husband in shock.

She had never been hit before. Aurelia was raised to believe that gentlemen did not strike ladies. Yet, here she was. On the floor, holding a hand to her now swelling cheek, after her Lord husband struck her.

Before Aurelia could say anything, the man grabbed her by her hair and dragged her across the room. Aurelia screamed and cried as he held onto her beautiful lavender locks with a tight hold. He did not let go until he was at the front door. He released his hold on her when he opened the door.

Count Stratford said, "If you cannot do the one thing you're supposed to do, then maybe you should sleep outside for the night. It could be good to teach you a lesson to appreciate everything I do for your ungrateful self."

Aurelia's golden eyes widened in fear as she looked up at her husband. "No…please…" she whimpered out. He only rolled his eyes and hauled her to her feet. He threw her out into the storm, tossing a cloak her way. "Do not return until morning, wife." The Count sneered as he slammed the door in her face. Aurelia tried to get inside the house before he shut the door, but he was too quick. Her fists pounded on the door, as she screamed, "LET ME IN! LET ME IN! LET ME IN! WE CAN TRY AGAIN! PLEASE!" Aurelia slid to her knees, sobbing as the rain pelted the fine heavy cloth of her cloak. Looking around, she realized she would need to take shelter from the storm. Remembering some caves near the beach, Aurelia wiped the tears from her eyes as she slowly made her way to the beach, hoping to get to one of the higher sea caves before the storm got too bad.

As she approached the beach, she stopped in her tracks as she stared in disbelief at the sight in front of her.

On the beach, a young man was passed out, as the waves ravaged his body. He had on a white shirt, brown pants, and a black coat. The most peculiar thing about him was his red hair and the straw hat that managed to stay on his head. Aurelia looked around and was not able to see anyone nearby.

This young man was alone.

She walked over to the man and bent down, lightly brushing the red hair out of his face. Aurelia's golden eyes scanned over the face of the man-he was handsome. Probably the most handsome man she had seen in a very long time. Aurelia put an ear to his chest and listened to the sound of his heart beating.

He was alive!

Aurelia looked determined as she shook the man. "Sir…SIR! Please wake up! It's not safe out here." She noticed the waves creeping closer into the beach as the tides began to rise.

Scrunching her eyebrows together, she used all her strength to hoist the man up to his feet. Managing to support his weight, Aurelia struggled to carry the red-haired man the two miles to the sea cave she was looking for. When she finally made it inside, high above the waves, she collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. She looked at the man, who was still unconscious, and saw that he was shivering. Aurelia looked outside the cave at the raging storm, to the man who was shaking furiously next to her.

"Oh no you don't!" she muttered to herself. "You're not going to die on me, not after I've carried you all this way." Searching through his pockets, she found a wooden box of matches. Opening it, they were unharmed from the harsh elements of the sea. Aurelia looked around and found some dried out pieces of driftwood. She piled them altogether in the back of the cave and then lit it on fire with the matches. A small feeble flame formed, eventually growing into a big one. Quite proud of herself, she dragged the shivering closely to the fire and threw her cloak over him.

Aurelia stayed up all night watching this man as he slowly stopped shivering, his body heating up from the warmth of the fire. Smiling a bit to herself, Aurelia laid down next to the handsome mysterious man and felt her eyes close. She yawned and then fell asleep.

Upon waking the next morning, she saw the mysterious man kneeling next to the fire, tending to its flame. The man looked at Aurelia with something she had not seen from a man in a long time: kindness.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I was trying not to wake you up." The man said sheepishly as he adjusted the straw hat on his head.

A smile twitched at the corner of Aurelia's lips. "It's alright…I was a bit worried about you. You made me worry. I found you on the beach last night…it seemed to me that you had drowned. Thankfully, you're okay." Aurelia scooched a bit closer. "I'm Aurelia. What's your name?"

A small smile appeared on the man's face. "Some people call me 'Red-Hair Shanks', but you can just call me 'Shanks'."

Aurelia's eyes widened in wonder. " 'Red-Hair Shanks'? That sounds like a pirate's name…are you a pirate?"

Shank grinned as he gave a small bow of his head. "At your service, ma'am."

Aurelia's jaw dropped. 'A pirate! A real life pirate! How exciting!' Aurelia thought. As she gazed at the handsome young man, who looked to be around her own age, she smiled. 'He's nothing like I've been told that a pirate would be.'

Aurelia scooched closer to him. "My goodness…I've never met a real pirate before." Aurelia reached her hand out as she gazed at him, as if he were the most magnificent thing she had ever seen. Her fingertips brushed his cheek gently. "Oh my stars….you're not what I would've imagined for a pirate." She smiled at him, her golden eyes lighting up from the amazement at Shanks and from the flames dancing in the firepit.

Shanks chuckled lowly. "And what would that be?"

Aurelia blushed as she withdrew her hand. "Ruthless, mean-spirited, scary…ugly." Shanks laughed a bit at her last statement, smiling widely at her. "Well, Aurelia, I'd like to inform you that we pirates come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us mean, some of us kind, some of us beastly, and some of us handsome." He gave a quick wink to Aurelia as she looked away from him, a tinge of pink gracing her cheeks.

Shanks' eyebrows furrowed together and he noticed her swollen cheek from where the Count had hit her. "What happened there?"

Aurelia self-consciously touched her face. She looked at Shanks whispering, "Is it that noticeable?"

Shanks nodded and leaned in closely, inspecting her swollen cheek. "You must have been in some hell of a fight. That looks like it hurts."

Aurelia brushed off his words. "I'm fine."

Shanks shook his head. "Fine or not, I wasn't raised to leave a lady wounded like this." He stood up and produced a handkerchief. "Just give me a moment." He said to Aurelia with a friendly smile. He stood up and walked outside the cave. After a few minutes, Shanks returned with the hanky.

He pressed the now wet material to the side of Aurelia's face in a gentle manner. She hissed as Ace murmured, "Easy, easy. It's just from the rain outside. It won't do much, but the cold from it should help the swelling go down." Shanks held the hanky to her cheek, as Aurelia held her hand on top of his.

It was then that Shanks realized that this girl was beautiful. She was perhaps the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her eyes were the color of gold, her hair was the shade of lavender, and her curves were voluptuous. Most of all, he noticed the delicate pink of her soft lips.

Blushing, Shanks looked away as he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Keep this on your face." He stood up and went to the entrance of the cave, watching the storm rage on for a second day. He crossed his arms and looked out at the vast ocean that was the North Blue.

Aurelia looked at Shanks curiously. What was a man like him doing on Count Stratford's island? "Shanks, why were you washed up on the beach?"

Shanks turned around to face Aurelia. "I was helping out a crewmate with the sails and I accidentally tripped on a rope. Next thing I knew, I had fallen overboard." He rubbed the back of his redhead, scratching himself under his cap. "It's a bit stupid really. I should have been more careful. I saw the lights of this island in the distance and I swam towards it, but the current was too strong. I ended up passing out from exhaustion. Next thing I knew, I'm waking up next to you."

He gave Aurelia a soft smile. "Thank you, by the way. You could have left me to die, but you didn't. I won't ever forget that." Aurelia's cheeks heated up as she smiled bashfully at Shanks. "It was the right thing to do."

Shanks looked at Aurelia questionably, walking forward a couple paces. "Why was a beautiful young lady, such as yourself, out in a storm anyways? You could have been swept out to sea and killed. The tide was coming in fast."

Aurelia bit her lip. She could not say anything, or she could lie. But staring into the kind eyes of the man she had saved, Aurelia realized that she didn't want to lie to Shanks.

He had been nothing but sweet to her. Shanks had told her the truth about him being a pirate and why he was washed up on Count Stratford's island. She should give him the same courtesy. "My husband threw me out of the house last night." Aurelia said in a quiet, shameful voice. It was as if she blamed herself and not the man who was supposed to love her.

Shanks looked confused as he moved a step closer to her, away from his spot at the mouth of the cave. "Why would he do something like that?" His tone of speech was non-judgemental and tender.

Aurelia ran a hand through her long lavender locks and sighed. "I haven't given him a child yet, and he got angry. So, he threw me out."

"And I'm guessing that's not all he did." Shanks said quietly as he gestured to his cheek, mirroring the place where Aurelia's wound was. Aurelia nodded. "Yeah…that wasn't all he did."

Instead of getting angry at the situation, Shanks calmly walked over and sat down next to Aurelia. "Do you want a child?" He asked her sincerely.

Aurelia shrugged as she flicked pieces of sand off of her dress. "I was raised to only do my duty, which is to get married, be a proper wife, and have babies. It's all I've ever known."

Shanks chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, but that's not what I asked you. I had asked if you wanted a child." He looked at her curiously, wondering what her answer was. It was as if Shanks truly wanted to know what Aurelia wanted.

Aurelia stayed silent as she listened to the soft crackles of the warm fire and pitter patter of the rain outside the cave. No one had asked her what she wanted in a very long time. What did she want? After pondering her answer for a moment, Aurelia let out a shuddered breath. She looked at Shanks, her eyes meeting his. "I just want to be loved…if a child could do that, I'd welcome one." Shanks looked into her eyes as she spoke truthfully.

'What a cold world she must live in', He thought to himself as he inched closer to her, 'If the promise of a child was all she had to look forward to, how lonely was this woman?'

Aurelia gave him a gentle look. "Do you think me frivolous or vapid, pirate?"

Shanks shook his head, as his gaze softened while looking at her. "No…I'm just thinking how lonely you must be. If a child, a person you don't know, is more welcoming to you than the man you married, you must feel very isolated."

Aurelia's eyes widened as he said this. It was as if he had just read, not only her mind, but her heart as well. Noticing how close this man was to her, Aurelia swallowed a bit as she leaned in closely as well. Shanks couldn't help the pull of this woman. He put his hand on the side of her face, his thumb lightly tracing her soft pink lips. He put his forehead to hers, leaning in closely. Aurelia could feel his warm breath on her lips as Shanks muttered, "Can I kiss you, Aurelia?"

Even if she knew infidelity was wrong, so was the cruelty that her husband had shown her. Her marriage was nothing more than a sham. But right here and now, she had the opportunity to kiss a man her own age, who was more handsome than any noble's son. And he was a pirate to boot! Nothing this exciting had happened to Aurelia since she had gotten married to that awful man. Aurelia whispered a single word: "Yes."

Shanks leaned in and kissed Aurelia. Their lips touched and it made the young couple feel the most magnificent spark. It was as if Spring had sprung and everything was warm and bright again. Neither had ever felt this way about another person before, and just like the fire that was raging in the cave, a spark ignited between the two and it could not be put out so easily.

The schooner jolted from the rough waves outside and snapped Aurelia out of her thoughts. She gazed down at her baby bump again, caressing it gently. "We're going to be okay. You'll see. We're going to find your father." Aurelia looked out through her porthole window, at the raging sea, with all the determination in her voice. "I'm coming, Shanks. I'll find you."

Alright! Please share your thoughts with me and let me know what you think. Next Chapter: Adira gets introduced.