Here's part three of The Good Dragon. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Chapter 3
Basement Of The Ptolemy Mansion
One Year Later
Two fully armoured guards, one of which was carrying a silver tray with bread and water on it, marched up to the basement door and stopped before it. They shared a weary look before the one with the tray in his hands gave a deep sigh.
"You ready?"
"Ready," the guard said before he cautiously approached the door and inserted the key into the lock before nodding at his colleague.
The other guard placed the tray down, crouched down slightly and stretched out his arms on either side like he was ready to catch something. The guard slowly turned the key before he pushed open the door, making sure it swung as far as it could before he poked his armoured head and looked around the inside of the room; he looked around the corner, above him and then behind the door itself before finding it safe for him to step inside. He scoured the dark, cold room, making sure nobody was lurking in any shadowy corners which could act as a hiding spot. Finding nobody, he looked straight ahead at the simple single bed on the far side of the room and saw a figure underneath the thin linen covers. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and slowly approached the figure sleeping on the best cautiously.
He prod him once…twice…before he flung to covers off him to discover the figure was only three pillows shaped into a human figure.
The guard growled in anger before he looked around him, "Young master! Come on out! We have the exit blocked!"
"Has he done it again?" the guard outside questioned.
"Yeah, it's the pillow trick," the guard shouted back. He looked down at his feet, thinking that he was hiding under the bed when he was surprised to see soil from underneath, "Damn it! He's made a tunnel again. Get in here and help me move this bed."
The other guard rushed in helped carry the bed to the other side of the room before they spotted a large pile of dirt stacked underneath it. The guards rushed towards it and began to scrape the dirt away to reveal the entrance to the tunnel.
"How did he dig through concrete?" one of the guards muttered.
"I don't know," the guard grumbled, "But we have to alert the guards outside to look out for- Wait, what?"
He was shocked to swipe the last bit of dirt out of the way only to find an untouched floor underneath and no tunnel to be seen. He knocked on the floor, in case it was a trick, but it was completely solid.
"What the!?"
SLAM!
Click!
The guards turned around at the noises and found the door had been slammed shut shut them inside it. It was then they noticed that the mattress on the bed, that they had moved, was ripped completely open, from corner to corner, as if something had climbed out of it. One of the guards slammed his gauntlet onto the floor in frustration.
"Not again!" he roared as the other guard took out a baby transponder snail out of his pocket.
"Be on high alert!" he warned, speaking into the snail, "Young master Alexander has escaped again! I repeat, young master Alexander has escaped again!"
Alexander, now eleven years old, shoved the bread roll, that was on the tray, into his mouth as he ran up the stairs to his parent's giant mansion before reaching the top and turning left down the wide, marble-walled hallways.
The past year had been tough for Alexander. As soon as they returned to Mary Geoise, his parents locked him in the basement and vowed to never let him back on the surface ever again. But that didn't mean he didn't try. Twice a week he would try and escape to the edge of the Red Line and climb down it and live his dream of becoming a pirate.
His first attempts were simple.
He would knock out the guard who brought his breakfast and escape either through the window or the front door. But he was always caught before he could reach the gates.
When they moved him to the attic, he constructed a makeshift glider out of sheets, some string and floorboards he ripped out. The glider worked…for about three seconds and he crashed in the estates fountain and was instantly detained. He was lucky he didn't break his neck.
When they moved him to another basement, he was able tunnel his way out using a trowel he stole from the gardener. It took him two weeks and he ended up accidentally tunnelling into the basement of next door's mansion. The owners of the mansion was, rightfully, shocked and had him detained and sent back immediately.
When they moved him to the slave cells on the estates' grounds, he convinced another slave to swap clothes with him and snuck away during their duties. That time was the most successful; he was not only able to escape, but was even able to climb a third of the way down the Red Line before he was spotted and caught.
Despite all his failed attempts, he still didn't give up. He was going to be a pirate and he'll escape from the cage his parents locked him up in.
Reaching the end of the hallway, he stopped and pressed himself against the wall and poked his head around the corner. He leaned back as he saw two guards marching past him down the adjacent hallway; luckily they didn't spot him and, as soon as they were gone, turned the corner and ran the opposite way. After a few twists, turns and narrow escapes, he made it the estate's gardens. He cut through the flower beds, jumped over the lawn ornaments and hid behind the golden fountain as more guards ran by in search for him. He finally spotted his destination; a gap in the garden's hedge row that bordered his parent's land just before the solid gold fence. He discovered it a few months back on his daily hour exercise and has been sawing the golden bars of the fence (something easier said than done) and made himself a way out. He ran towards it…
…when somebody grabbed him the scruff of his collar and pulled him up off his feet, leaving him dangling in the air.
"Good morning, young master," the tall man greeted in his emotionless tone.
"Go to hell, Lucci," Alexander spat as he kicked him in the legs, "Let me go!"
Lucci, or rather Rob Lucci, was a tall, intimidating man in his late teens with long wavy black hair that draped over his shoulders, arched eyebrows and a short goatee. He wore a black suit and tie and there was a white feathered pigeon perched on his shoulder which also wore a black tie. Lucci had been, by far, the greatest reason why he hadn't escaped yet. He was a member of Cipher Pol, a secret organisation of spies that was run by the World Government, and his parents recruited a few months ago to be his guard. There had been several Cipher Pol agents before him, but Lucci had been the best out of all of them…considering his parents had the other agents killed for their failure. He was the most difficult person he had ever encountered; he was quick, strong, intelligent and, worst of all, severally loyal to authority. On an unrelated note, he had nothing against his pigeon, Hattori, since he found it rather cute that he wore a tie and sometimes a little top hat.
Lucci brought out a transponder snail from his pocket and brought it to his mouth, "I've detained the young master. Stop your search," he informed before he put the snail away, turned around and began to carry him back to the estate, "You had no chance of escaping. I noticed that you were hanging around that area for the past few days and investigated myself. I have informed Lord Ptolemy and he will have it repaired shortly," he informed while Hattori nodded in agreement.
Alexander grumbled bitterly, 'Damn it. Looks like I need to find another way of escaping. I wonder if the sewers are big enough,' he thought to himself before he noticed something as they stepped through the giant ornate door of the mansion, "This isn't the way back to my room."
"No," Lucci replied as he dropped him down on to his feet, "Lord Ptolemy has asked for your presence, young master."
"My presence? What does that bastard want from me?" he asked, only to receive silence from the agent.
He escorted him thought the marble and golden hallways of the mansion. As they walked, a servant and maid were cleaning a collection of ornaments on a mahogany table. The servent was a man in his mid-thirties with black hair, pale skin and brown eyes and deep wrinkles across his tired face; he wore a black and white uniform with a gold trim around the cuffs. The maid was a young woman with long blond hair tied in a ponytail, fair skin, green eyes and wore a black and white uniform. As she was polishing a bone china vase, looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw the both of them walking by the down the hallway; she recognised the older man since he's usually hanging around the place, but wasn't too sure who the prepubescent boy beside him was. She decided to lean in and whisper to the servant.
"Hey, who's that?"
The servant glanced at them from the corner of his eye before he looked straight ahead, "Don't stare at him, you idiot. And keep your voice down. The masters don't like us interacting with him."
"I only asked who he was."
"He's the master's oldest son, Alexander," he whispered back.
The maid's jaw dropped in disbelief, "What!?"
"Shhh!" he shushed urgently before glancing at Lucci and Alexander again.
Lucci gave the two and scathing look, but didn't say anything while Alexander continued to look down at his feet as they walked past the both of them. Once they were out of earshot, he whispered to her again while he continued polishing the statuette.
"He's their oldest son," he repeated, "How did you not know?"
"I-I'm new," she uttered sheepishly before she looked at them again, "I thought their only son is young master Bucephalus…he doesn't look like them at all."
"Well, he's different," he sadly said, "They keep him locked up in the basement all day and rarely let him out. I swear he gets treated worse than the slaves."
"Why? What did he do?"
"It's not what he did. It's what he is."
"And what is he?"
"Kind."
"Huh?" the maid uttered in surprise…and accidentally dropped the vase she was polishing onto the floor.
SMASH!
"AH!" she and the servant cried as the looked at what remained of the vase scattered over the carpet.
"You idiot!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Hey!"
They turned around and gaped in horror as they saw a guard down the hallway, pointing his finger at him while he gripped the spear in other hand tightly.
"Did you do that on purpose!" he roared as he marched over and grabbed her wrist, "You stupid girl! That was Lady Olympias' sixty fourth favourite vase! Come with me!
"No! Please!" she cried as she struggled in his grip, "It was an accident! I'm-"
SMASH! CLATTER! CRASH!
A thunderous noise surprised them and they turned around to see all the ornaments that were on the table now smashed, cracked and broken on the floor at their feet. Standing over all of it was Alexander, the culprit behind their destruction, who gave the guard restraining the maid a firm look.
"Hey! Why are you still standing there?" he snapped at him, making him jolt and quake in his armour, "Tell the lady of the house that I destroyed her useless crap. They were an eyesore."
"Young master-"
He narrowed his eyes at him, "I said, I broke all of them. Go and inform your mistress."
"O-of course, young master," the guard stammered as he released the maid and marched urgently away.
The maid and the servant blinked in astonishment before they looked at the young boy in awe.
Alexander shook his head tiredly before he got onto his knees and picking up the pieces, "Sorry about that. Let me clear this up."
"N-no, no. Allow me, young master," the maid stammered as she got onto her knees and began picking up the pieces as well, "Don't let me keep you from your duties," she said, "Thank you, young master."
"For what?" he questioned.
"F-for…"
"I told you. I broke all of it," he told her as he got onto his feet and placed the pieces on the table, offering her a gentle smile, "In fact, if you happened to find anything broken from now on, assume it's just me. I deal with the Celestial Dragons."
"We should be going, young master," Lucci informed as he stood not too far away.
"Fine," he grumbled as he walked away, leaving behind a shocked servant and maid behind.
Parlour Room
The first thing they heard as they entered the grand parlour room was Philip's loud snoring. The Celestial Dragon was having his mid-morning naps in his arm chair with his usual glass of whiskey on the table and cigar that was somehow staying in his fat mouth. Alexander and Lucci approached him and, since there was no way of waking him up with aggravating him, decided to wait until he woke up naturally.
Alexander sighed miserably at the situation he was in, but, suddenly, he noticed something shift in the corner of his eye. He barely had time to move before a projectile shot past his head and hit the wall to his right, making a huge dent in the process. He whipped around and saw, to his fury, a crossbow poking through the door to the parlour, pointed straight at his head.
"Damn I miss," rasped a five year old Bucephalus as he lowered his crossbow and grinned wickedly at him, "I could have hit you if you didn't move."
Alexander growled at him in anger. Bucephalus had only grown uglier and more terrible over the past year and had been an utter menace. Apart from trying to impale him with crossbow bolts, his other hobby is taking care of animals…but not in the sense of caring for them. It seemed like any single pet he gets his hand on dies within twenty four hours and Alexander knew that weren't accidents. He pulled the feathers from parakeets, drown cats, kick tortoises down stairs and throw dogs off the roof. Alexander was very sure that he was a complete psychopath, but to his parents he was just simply…playing. It's only a matter of time before he starts playing with human pets.
"You little-" Alexander snarled as he prepared to march at him, but he was held back by Lucci.
Suddenly, Philip snorted and sat up in his chair, "Hmm, oh it's you brat," Philip grumbled, "Good. I need to speak to you."
"Daddy!" Bucephalus yelled from the door, "That freak ruined my shot! Punish him!"
"He did, huh?" Philip muttered as he glared at Alexander, "Alright brat. No food or drink for four days. That'll teach you," he ordered, making the young boy mutter bitterly.
"And I want another cat. A young one. The other one was far too slow that I killed it with one shot. I was really bored," Bucephalus complained.
"Of course. I'll send for another one," Philip said, making the ugly boy grin triumphantly at Alexander and slipped out of the room, "Well…what were you here for again?"
"Something about my latest attempt to become a pirate, perhaps."
"You stupid boy," he snapped as he threw his glass at his bare feet, making it shatter on impact, "Don't you dare talk to me about piracy. They're are scum. The worst of the worst of humanity. They are far beneath us gods, isn't that right Lucci?" he questioned, earning a sharp nod from him and Hattori, "No, the reason I brought you here is because of…something your mother said. Apparently, she want to her awful meetings…you know the ones that women like to do. Terribly boring. And, for some strange reason, they were asking about you. She tried to lie her way out of it by saying she only had one son, but they cornered her. I can't be bothered to remember the details but Rosward wants his daughter to marry you and you're going to do it."
"Marry!?" Alexander gaped, "Rosward's daughter…you don't mean Shalria?"
"Oh, you know her."
"Of course I do. She's my cousin."
"And?"
"…Do I really need to say anything else?"
Philip sighed and puffed on his cigar, "Look, this isn't about you. It's about us. You're draining our resources like a blood-sucking leech and we want to pass you on quickly before they notice how much of a problem you are. Otherwise, there's no way of getting rid of you."
"You could always, I don't know, let me go."
Philip groaned into his hand, "Why do you have to make things so difficult," he sighed, "You're marrying her and that's final. So prepare yourself. Anyway, your mother said that other women wanted to know if you had a slave or not. She did the smart thing and said of course you did…"
"Even though I refuse to own another person."
"…and they got off her back. But just in case they come sniffing around here, your mother decided to give you…this thing."
He snapped his fingers above his head and, almost instantly, two guards marched in dragging a young girl he had never seen before. She look to be a little older than him and had long blood red hair that reached her shoulders, tanned skin, and sharp brown eyes. Her most prominent feature was her long legs that were as tall as him, making her stand a little over eight feet tall, on one leg there was a tattoo of a collection of poppy flowers going up and down her thigh. Despite the grey rags and her dirty face and oily hair, Alexander thought she looked very pretty with her gentle facial features and her powerful legs. One thing he did notice was the golden collar around her neck, symbolising her enslavement to the Celestial Dragons. He looked up at her in slight awe while she stared ahead sternly, barely moving a single muscle of her face.
"We picked this creature up last night," Philip sighed, "The crew she was with sold her out recently and she was the cheapest thing we could get in a hurry," he said, making her grit her teeth in anger, "Take it. Do whatever you want with it."
"What?" Alexander uttered, "But she's-"
"Leave now. You're boring me," he said with a dismissive wave.
"Hey!" he cried out but Lucci grabbed his shoulder and held him back, his strong grip digging into him.
He snarled in anger but let the bastard go back to his nap. One of the guards clipped a chain to the girl's collar before he gave the other end to Alexander. He hesitated slightly before he reached out and took it as he saw no choice. He looked up and gulped nervously as the longleg girl glared down at him in, what he could only assume, was pure hatred.
'This…is not what I thought would happen today,' he thought drearily.
Basement Of The Ptolemy Mansion
It had been a few hours and the longleg girl had not uttered a single word.
They returned to the room he lived in and sat on the floor with his back to the wall. The girl was doing the same on the opposite side of the room with her legs tucked beneath her, doing nothing but glare at the ground and, ever so often, at him. He sighed miserably as he didn't know what to say to her. Even if he moved a little bit towards her, she would shoot a deadly look at him, making him back off.
'This…is so awkward,' he thought, 'I know she hates me, but if we're going to be staying in the same room together we should at least know each other's names,' he told himself as he looked up at her sadly, 'But how? From what I've read, the Longleg tribe are a proud people especially when it comes to their legs. I can only imagine how demeaning it would be for her to be chained up like an wild animal. I can only assume that merely talking to her would meet with resentment so…I need to be confident to get my point through,' he took a deep breath, stood to his feet and strode over to her with authority. She raised a single eyebrow as she stood over beside her before he cleared his throat and stuck his hand out, "My name is Alexander!" he boldly declared, "You have no reason to be frightened because I will not hurt you, order you around or do…"
Sniff!
"…huh?" he uttered as heard a sniffing noise coming from her.
He watched as he stern face turned into a grimace; tears formed in her eyes, her mouth turned downwards and she began to quiver slightly where she sat. He dropped his earlier confidence as looked at her in worry.
"Are you alri-"
"AHHHHH! PLEASE DON'T SHOUT AT ME!" she suddenly wailed as tears streamed from her eyes, "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I TRIED TO BE BRAVE BUT IT'S SO HARD! I WANT TO GO HOME! I MISS BEING OUTSIDE! I MISS THE OPEN SEA! I MISS EVERYTHING! AHHHHHH!"
Alexander was caught off guard by this and shook his hand out in front of him as he tried to calm her down, "Hey, it's alright. Please don't cry. I'm sorry for shouting at you."
Tears continued to spray from her eyes, despite his efforts, and she began to slam her large legs on the floor, "NOOO! PLEASE DON'T BE ANGRY AT ME! I'VE HAD THE WORST WEEK OF MY LIFE! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! AHHHH!" she cried as she whined as a trail of snot seeping from her nose.
Alexander leapt to the side before she could accidentally kick him and tried his best to reassure her over her wailing, "I'm not going to hurt you."
"THAT'S EXACTLY SOMETHING SOMEBODY WOULD SAY BEFORE THEY HURT ME!"
Alexander sweat dropped at that.
Knock! Knock!
"Err…young master," the voice of one of the guards called out through the door, "I couldn't help but hear-"
"Yes! Yes! We're fine!" he called back as she continued to freak out, "Just…talking about…things!"
"I WANNA GO HOME!"
"…She's fine."
"…if…if you insist," the guard uttered as he marched away.
Alexander sighed before he turned back to the weeping girl, "Right…how am I going to solve this?"
Two Hours Later
It took a while, but he managed to calm her down.
He was at on the floor with his legs outstretched as she laid her head down on his lap, sniffing and giving sad whimpers ever so often. He gently stroked her greasy hair and soothed her by humming which seemed to the trick.
"Are you feeling better now?" he asked her patiently.
She sniffed, "A little."
"Good, good. Why don't we start over again. My name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex if you like. What's you're name?"
"B-Bellatrix," she answered.
"That's a nice name."
"T-thank you," she whimpered before she turned her teary eyes up at him, "Why are you being nice to me? I thought you're a Celestial Dragon."
Alexander flinched slightly, "That's…what my parents hoped I would be. But I reject it. In fact, I hate everything that's to do with Marie Geoise, the World Nobles and the World Government."
"Huh?" she uttered as she wiped the tears away, "You…reject being a Celestial Dragon…can you do that?"
"Apparently not. But I'm determined."
"But you get to stay in this giant mansion, eat three square meals everyday and hold the most power in the entire world."
"You're saying that it's a good thing to be a Celestial Dragon?
"No…just strange, that's all."
Alexander gave a curt nod, "Yeah, you've got a point. Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have any of the stuff you suggested. Why do you think I live in this basement?"
…
…
…
Bellatrix's snapped her head up off his lap and looked around in realisation, "You live here!? No way! I thought this was just a prison you were going to keep me in."
"Have done for the past five years. Not exactly the height of luxury, huh?"
"I don't know. This is nice as far as basements go. Very roomy."
He cracked a smile at that, "I guess so. It's yours now as well since you're going to be staying with me for the near future."
"Oh…I don't know what to say to that," she admitted as she sat up and sat beside him, easily towering over him, "Why don't you want to be a Celestial Dragon?"
Alexander frowned at that, "Our mere existence is a curse on this world. The World Nobles create atrocities and destroy entire islands just because they feel like it. It's not right. They like to say they're gods, but they act like demons. This entire place is rotten to the core and it spreading across the world like a plague. Even the Marines, who are supposed to be protect the public, are nothing more than puppets who carry out orders blindly. I want them to pay for the crimes against humanity and show the world how monstrous they really are," he gave a growl of anger before he sighed and calmed down, "That's why, for the past year, I have been trying to escape so I can become a pirate."
"A pirate?" Bellatrix giggled, "Why on earth would you want to be them."
"Because they're free," he told her with a warm smile, "No matter who you are, anybody can be a pirate…maybe even a freak like me,"
She snorted and gave a small laugh, "You? A freak? Usually you would be calling somebody like me that," she said as he nodded to her legs."
"You're not a freak," he told her, "I…I like your legs. They look really strong."
She blinked and wordlessly stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He was a little bit worried that he offended her until her eyes sparkled in joy and a massive grin spread across her face.
"You really think so!? she squealed happily as she placed both hands on her face and wiggled in delight, "Oh wow! Nobody has ever complimented my legs before!" she exclaimed before she realised what she was doing, coughed to clear her throat and smiled proudly, "Of course, you do! Ha! My legs are fabulous, are they not!? Haha!"
'She changed her tune fast,' Alexander thought.
She soon calm down and offered him a gentle smile, "I don't think you're a freak either, you know," she told, much to his surprise, "You're just like any normal person to me."
"T-thanks," he whispered in slight embarrassment, "So…you were part of a pirate crew, right?"
Bellatrix's glowered at that, "Yeah…I was. Those bastards sold me out to the nearest slave house as soon as we reached Sabaody."
"How did you become one?"
She gazed down at him and saw the eagerness in his eyes, causing her to hesitate for a few moments. After a few seconds, she cleared her throat and replied.
"Well…my parents are pirates and I guess I got into the family tradition."
"That can happen."
"Yeah, in fact my entire family come from a long line of pirates. I decided to sail solo for a while and find my own way…until air was sold out. They live on a secret island somewhere in the Grand Line and…and… they have dozens of ships which our family has collected over the years and-"
She was surprised when Alexander reached out and took her hands, making her stare straight in to his determined eyes.
"Do…do you think I can start being a pirate. From your homeland. All I need is a ship and a crew and then I do the rest. I'll…I'll pay for it. I'll steal money from this mansion and give it all to you and your family," he said, his words woven with steely commitment, "Can you do that for me? I'll do anything."
Bellatrix, once again, hesitated slightly before she gave a nod, "When you escape, take me with you. That's how you can repay me."
"Deal. We'll run away together."
The longleg girl felt her heart skip in joy at the hope of getting out of her slavery. The branding on her back still felt painful and she felt as if this was the lowest point of her life, but she thanked all the gods out in the world that she ended up with someone like Alexander. A broad joyous grin spread over her face as held his hands warmly before they parted away.
"Thank you," she gratefully said, "Hey, do you want to learn a song that all the pirates know. I can teach you if you like."
"What song?"
"It's called Bink's Brew. You'll love it. It goes…ahem…Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho!~"
"That's how it starts?"
"Yes, and you repeat it. Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho!~ Like that. Now you try."
"Okay," he cleared his throat, "Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho!~ Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho! Yohohoho!~
"A little off-key."
"No, it wasn't."
"Hey, who's teaching who?"
"Alright, alright. Is there a next verse."
"Yep, it goes…Gather up all the crew. It's time to ship out Bink's Brew~ Sea wind blows. To where, who knows? The waves will be our guide~ O'er across the ocean's tide, Ray's of sunshine far and wide~ Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by~"
Alexander laughed, not because of her singing, but the tune of the song and the lyrics, for some strange reason, filled him with happiness. It sounded adventurous, joyful and, above all else, he felt free. Bellatrix would continue to teach him the rest of the verses and he will repeat them over and over until they could both sing it. After a few renditions, they even danced together; danced to the anthem of the pirates and freedom.
From outside, down the corridor that led to their room, the maid who broke the base earlier that day listened to them singing with a smile on her face. They sounded as if they were having so much fun together. She turned and headed to the kitchen to retrieve food for the both of them, Philip may have ordered for no food or drink to be taken to their room for a week, but that didn't stop her.
There was a celebration of a lifelong friendship being formed and she wanted to treat them.
That's it for now. A bit of a short chapter this time, but I hope you'll enjoyed it all the same. Thanks so much for the positive reviews and for liking the story and I'll see you next tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.