Chapter 2 - O Filii et Filiae

Ace could feel the heat of the fire searing his skin, but it was nothing compared to the blaze that was billowing within. Listening to Bluejam badmouth Sabo, on top of everything else that he had done to him and his brothers, caused the ever-present rage inside him, to build to the point where he felt like he was about to combust.

"Stop talking about Sabo like that!"

He could hear Luffy crying out in kind behind him, defending their brother, never having doubted for a second.

In many ways, Luffy was stronger than him.

That thought had barely left his head when he heard the boy cry out in pain.

And then there was blood.

So much blood.

"Luffy!"

Time seemed to stop and even the flames that roared around them with unbridled ferocity seemed to pause in midmotion. The entire world around him was bathed in oranges, reds, yellows, and blacks, a painting of death and destruction. Lu was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

The flames of the inferno were reflected by the claret liquid and he could only look on in horror as the same liquid bathed his younger sibling. His ears rang with the sound of Lu's screams.

His eyes filled with the sight of the blade held over his little brother's body, and the only thing that he could think of was that he couldn't let this happen.

He couldn't lose him.

He couldn't lose another brother.

He couldn't lose another part of himself.

Without Luffy…

Without Sabo…

He'd die.

His body would continue to breathe, to move, and perhaps even continue on for a few more years. But the person that had been him, would be as be dead as if the blade had stabbed him instead. His entire reason for being would disappear. And what right did he have to live after that?

All these feelings billowed up inside him, building pressure and tension. He couldn't let Luffy die. He would NOT let Luffy die!

Something shattered within him as if the pressure had pushed and pushed and built and built until it had no choice but to burst out of him, destroying whatever had held it back all these years.

"DON'T YOU HURT LUFFY!"

And just like that, the world roared back to life once again, and he felt a power vociferate within him, crackling with newfound freedom. It lashed out striking all that happened to be its way, making the weak bow down to its might.

He would not be sated until what was his was returned to him unharmed…

Only then would he stop…

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.

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A roaring thunderclap struck through the air, rattling the small cabin and causing a pair of glacial gray eyes to jolt open. Looking about him, those keen silvery orbs observed everything at once, taking in the unfamiliar room. The muscles in his body tense and are ready to act at the slightest provocation. After a few moments of recognition, his recent memories of everything that happened in what he could only assume were the last few hours(?) caught up with him and he let his body relax ever so slightly.

Sitting up from the bed the teen ran a hand through his touseled black hair before stretching his arms above his head and getting to his feet. He groaned as the bruises on his body and the wound at his side protested the movement. He looked down at his abdomen and wasn't surprised to see that the bandage had been replaced.

Fussy, bothersome, younger brothers…

Letting his shirt fall back into place, he pointedly ignored his pain as he made his way out of the room and towards the stairs that would lead up to the deck.

Stepping out into the open air, his eyes narrowed at the blond at the helm. He strode up to the other's side. "So, how long have I been out?"

Sabo kept his eyes on the sea, the clouds were getting darker and the waves were becoming rougher. He answered his brother roughly. "About 2 hours."

Considering that, Ace put a hand on his hip as he too observed the advancing storm. "How long till we get to our destination?"

"About 4 hours give or take until we get to Zacarta."

The brunet twisted to look back at the other in confusion, "Wait, weren't we going to Lislewood? I haven't been out that long that you came and went already!"

The blond shook his head, "No, I changed directions, Lislewood isn't a viable location for slavers to land. It's got a very small population and no exports or imports to speak of. Zacarta is the next best possible option."

He looked at the other in irritation, "How can you even know all that? Wouldn't it be better to check every option just–"

He stopped short as he spied from the corner of his eye, the table they were using to navigate on. There were now multiple maps laid out, as well as marks made to indicate some islands while excluding others. Next to the maps and navigational tools, were some transponder snails, both white and black.

His eyes narrowed into a frown and he snapped at the other boy, "You called him didn't you?"

Sabo was completely unapologetic, "Yes."

Ace grit his teeth in annoyance, orange flames beginning to flare up along his arm. "I told you, we could handle this!"

The other teen rolled his eyes, "You knew we had to, Ace. He deserves to know. He was going to check up on us anyway. Don't you think he'd have found it strange when we didn't check in? He'd be even more worried."

The ravenette turned away, stomping towards the railing. Looking out at the rough seas, that gleam of guilt that was never far from his eyes resurfaced once more. He knew Sabo was right, but that didn't make his heart feel any less heavy. It was his fault Luffy was gone. He was the protector. He was the eldest. He should have been looking after them. And now…

As if knowing what he was thinking, Sabo spoke once again, this time a little softer. "You can't put this all on yourself, you know. If you hadn't protected me from the force of that explosion, I'd be the injured one now…"

Several Hours Earlier

The sound of explosions and screams rocked through the village as the attacks kept coming from the sea. The ruckus caused by both attackers and victims running through the streets was deafening, with yelling and screaming clashing a vicious cacophony. Within the chaotic din, the two brothers in black were on the run, trying to take shelter where they could, in hidden alcoves of the buildings, porches, and alleyways of the town.

They had been trying to make their way to the center of town. The area their little brother had been headed to only fifteen minutes before…

The glass shattered and Sabo felt his body tense, his entire body on alert. He felt his heartbeat speed up, and it was beginning to be difficult to ignore the trembling of his limbs. Every explosion. Every concussive force. Every gunshot.

They all sent his body into overdrive and he was having difficulty keeping his mind focused. His breathing was already going out of his control without his say-so. Stupid autonomic response…

He knew he was going into a full-blown panic attack, and there was little to stop it.

Please. Not here. Ace and Lu need me. I can't fall apart right now. Get your head in the game, Sabo! This is NOT Dawn Island. This is NOT that—

A warm hand wrapped tightly around his wrist, pulling his mind thankfully back into focus, giving him something to ground himself on.

Even though his brother wasn't facing him, his hat shading his face as he looked around the corner for any oncoming trouble, his voice was clear, strong, and soothing to his troubled mind. "Stay with me, Sabo. You're with me right now. We're on Larkspur, and we're going to go get our crybaby little brother out of trouble. I need you to watch my back, 'Bo. Can you do that for me?"

The blond felt himself calming ever so slightly at the steady sound of Ace's voice. He could do this. He had to do this. Ace was trying to be strong for him and Luffy, and he had to do the same for both of them. He knew that if he was reacting this way to their current situation, then it must be infinitely worse for Lu, who felt and eternalized such things much more deeply than any of his big brothers.

The thought of his little brother tearfully cowering alone somewhere lost in all this, trying his best to put on a brave face even though he was probably scared out of his mind, allowed Sabo to begin centering himself once again.

After a few moments, he looked back up towards his brother, "I-I'm good now, Ace. I can do it. We can go on."

Ace seemed to pause for a moment, as if he was waiting for the feel of his brother's trembling to go down, before releasing his hold.

He spoke again, "We'll head around the back of the next house, it looks like all the fighting has been kept to the—"

A sharp flare in their observation haki alerted them to oncoming danger.

Ace's next words were cut off by the sound of a metal pipe bomb bouncing off the wood of the porch of a house.

The very porch they happened to be hiding on!

Before the blond could even get a feel for what was happening, he felt Ace grab him around the waist before throwing him physically through the door of the house! He landed in a heap on the floor only to feel the pressure off Ace's body on top of his. The explosion went off with an ear-shattering bang, blowing through the entire building with terrifying velocity.

Sabo felt his ears ring and was battered by the strength of the attack, blue flames automatically sprang upon his body in response to the threat. Oh, what he wouldn't give to be a normal logia! As it was, it was all he could do to at least get armament haki on his limbs as a way to avoid damage. However, a large crack of wood and the shattering, splintering sound of broken glass and destroyed timbers were the last things he heard before all sense was knocked away from him.

.

.

.

When Sabo regained consciousness, it was much quieter than it had been prior. It was eerily quiet. As silent as a forest that was aware of an approaching danger–quiet.

It was also pitch dark and he could feel the pressure of several pieces of wood and other debris on top of him.

But even more than that, he could feel his unconscious brother's steady breaths on his shoulder, as well as his dead weight lying on top of his back. He knew Ace had protected him using his own body as a shield.

Sigh…the idiot…

He could tell Ace not to be so liberal with his life a thousand times, but he knew it would go in one ear and out the other. It was a lost cause, but he'd keep calling him an idiot anyway.

He moved his hand back down but stopped suddenly when he felt a hot wet sticky section to his side. A subtle alarm bell went off in his head and he brought his hand back around to his face. He couldn't see his fingers well, but the smell of blood was strong enough to be a good enough tell.

He then slowly began to pat down his side, to where he could feel the red stuff clinging to him. Hmm, no pain …so either his nerves were on the fritz, or he wasn't the one who was injured.

Fear crept up on him as Sabo reached up above himself to his where Ace's body was laying on top of him. Carefully and gingerly, he felt around his brother's torso, only stopping when his fingers ran into something they shouldn't. A hard, sharp, jagged protrusion was coming out of Ace's back.

Crap.

It took Sabo half an hour to dig his way out of the collapsed house, pulling both him and his injured brother out from under the wreckage. Ace woke up about ten minutes later as he attempted to dislodge the shrapnel from the other's side. Sabo took his time wrapping the other's wounds with what bandages he had in his bag, despite the calls for him to hurry. He knew the moment he made it out to the outside, that the marauders were long gone, and his observation couldn't feel any trace of Luffy's presence.

The search that followed, along with talking to a few scared survivors and finding a lone, abandoned straw hat caught on some debris, confirmed their worst fears.

Their little brother had been taken from them…

Back to the Present

Sabo placed a hand on his neck, admitting quietly. "If anything, I'm the one at fault here…"

Ace scoffed before turning back towards him with that no-nonsense look. "Oh stop it, Bo. How the heck is this your fault? It's not like you meant to get caught in an exploding building."

The blond smirked knowingly, "Hey, if I can't blame myself, then you can't either."

The older boy scowled, "That is not how this works."

"I see no difference. We both got caught in the explosion, We were both knocked out for at least an hour. You were injured and we were both pinned. There was nothing either of us could do."

"But still–"

"If I am not allowed to blame myself, then you can't either, Ace."

Frustrated with the blond's logic Ace stomped away toward the bow of the boat. But even then, Sabo's voice followed him.

"Besides, rather than arguing about who shoulders more blame, why not help me by finding out what supplies they have on this thing?"

Growling, his vexation at the situation boiling over, he sharply turned on the blond. "Ughhh! How can you be so calm when Lu is out there alone, going through who knows what?! Do you even care?!"

The flash of hurt that passed across his twin's face immediately made Ace regret his words and the implications therein. But that pain was immediately hidden, and a facade of cool composure immediately took its place. His response was as cold and icy as a glacier.

"What do you want me to do, Ace? Yell and scream and fall apart with how bad things are? I'm just as worried as you are, but somebody has to keep a clear head, or else it's going to take us even longer to find him."

Ace clenched his mouth shut and had the presence of mind to feel abashed. Looking away without another word, he strode away, heading back below deck. As he passed the blond, the wind hit from the southeast, strong enough to whip at their clothes and skin. At that moment, when he turned to avoid the brunt of it, he noticed that underneath Sabo's waistcoat, a whole section of his shirt was torn off.

What? Had he been injured?

He was about to turn around and demand an explanation before wincing at the pull to his own wound.

Looking down at it in annoyance, he noticed in the outside light that the material of his bandage looked a bit off for some reason. Reaching up and feeling the material, he realized that it wasn't the usual gauzy material, but instead, it felt like thicker cotton.

His eyes widened at the realization that his new bandage would most likely fit perfectly with the torn remnant of his twin's shirt.

Foolish, fussy little brothers…

Taking a long-winded sigh, Ace scratched the back of his head before walking back over to the helm.

Sabo heard his brother backtrack and approach but didn't bother to acknowledge him. The hothead could sit and stew for all he cared.

Unfortunately, he couldn't ignore it when the other threw himself right against the ship's wheel.

"Wha–"

"Alright, go ahead."

Sabo raised a brow at his brother's behavior. The sixteen-year-old was leaning casually against the wheel, his arms crossed, his eyes looking away seemingly unconcernedly. However, the blond saw something else. Ace was leaving himself open—well even more open than he usually was when he was with those he trusted implicitly.

"What are you up to, Ace?"

The teen didn't move from his stance as if waiting for something. "Come on, I was being a jerk. I deserve it."

It took the blond a few more seconds to catch on to what the other was getting at, before rolling his eyes, his lips just ever so slightly upturning. Trust Ace to try to attempt an apology through violence.

"I'm not going to hit you for you being an idiot, Ace. My fist would eventually break on that hard head of yours."

The black-haired boy raised an eyebrow in surprise that the blond wasn't going to seek retribution for his thoughtlessly cold comment. "But I was being a jerk."

He knew that if it was him, he'd have probably already punched the other the moment the words were uttered. But then again, Sabo always did have better self-control than he did.

Sabo raised an eyebrow as if to ask what else was new. "Were you being a jerk? Yeah, nothing new there. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. However, if you're asking for forgiveness, I've already given it to you."

"But why?!"

The golden-haired boy sighed in exasperation before reaching behind his brother's back, lifting up the black cowboy hat, and jamming it back on his head. "Because I'm you're brother, idiot. I know the difference between when you really mean something, and when you're just saying something out of anger or fear."

Ace looked from under the brim of his hat, his face flustered with a mix of emotions. "It's not like that has stopped you from punching me before."

"Yes, but we weren't in a situation like this before. If it makes you feel better, we'll all gain up on you when this is all over." He teased, "I'm sure Luffy'll be happy to get a chance to land a hit on you, even if it IS in a dogpile."

At the mention of their little brother, both of them seemed to sober at the thought of their missing rubber boy. Ace's hand automatically went to the hat tied to his belt, while Sabo looked off once again to the horizon, his ice-blue orbs as stormy as the sky.

It was a moment before Ace spoke up, "So, since you did call him, what did the old man have to say?"

Sabo indicated for the other to watch the helm while he went over to his navigation table. "He said he's happy that we're okay and he'll send help as soon as he makes some calls. He's going to start combing the area closer to where he is, which is the opposite of our own location. He'll leave this region for us to make our search. He gave me the names of several different trafficking rings with a large presence in this region and what information there is on them so far. He also gave me a list of the islands that would be viable options for them to resupply or hideout at."

He frowned thoughtfully as he went down the handwritten list, "However, the fact that they decided to attack a Whitebeard-controlled island, means that they're willing to go outside of the normal unspoken rules of New World, so that's going put a few kinks in trying to find out who they are or where they went. I can't see anyone on this list that's willing to take on the Whitebeard Armada."

Ace sighed resignedly, wiping some of the spray from the ocean from his face, "We'll it's a start. I…I'm glad you called him. If it means getting Luffy back faster…I just didn't want him to have to interrupt his work for this, especially when it's my fault and my responsibility."

Sabo looked up from the maps raising another wry eyebrow. "Okay, first, I believe we've already discussed this whole issue with guilt. Two, what am I? Chopped liver? Luffy's my responsibility as much as he is yours. And three, Ace—he's our Dad. You haven't realized by now how he feels about you, or me, or Luffy?"

Ace squirmed under the weight of his brother's words, it has taken him the longest of the three of them to adjust to the many changes that had been made in their lives since the " time after Dawn ". But he could not deny the validity of what the other had said.

And to be honest with himself, even though a large part of him hadn't wanted to bother their old man while he was on his own journey, with who knows how many dangers and difficulties that he had to attend to and deal with…another part of him was warmed that the man hadn't let (him?) them down.

Ace felt the ship's wheel jerk against his hands and felt the first drops of rain fall against his face. Taking firmer control of the helm, he spoke to his brother. "You want to take the helm back and I'll handle the sails?"

"Fat chance. You try to handle the rigging and you'll open up that hole in your side again. And I don't have enough shirts to keep making more bandages for you."

The brunet felt his cheeks redden. "Hey, I didn't ask for you to do that!"

The blond ignored him once again, "You're welcome, Jackass. Just continue in the same heading we've been going in. I'll handle the sails. And please don't fall overboard, I can't save you anymore, ya know."

"Same goes for you!" Ace yelled back, but was sure to secure himself to the deck with rope as the wave began to vigorously roil. Grabbing the wheel, he upped the excess heat coming off his body to create a hiss of steam around him, keeping his body dry.

A wide wicked smile came to his face as he faced the raging storm head-on. Rather apropos considering his middle initial.

Ace had grown up for most of his early years, learning the rules of the jungle. An enemy had decided to attack his pack and take their pup away. He knew Lu was learning to defend himself, to become the strongest these seas had ever seen, but until that day came—and honestly, even when it did—his big brothers would continue to watch over and protect him.

His voice was vicious and wild, his inner raging feral side which he kept close and under wraps these days, was pulling at the leash in an effort to get free. "You had better run ya bastards…and keep on runnin'. Keep running until your legs break. Cause that's when I'll take my time with you—when there's nowhere left to run. And then you'll know how fierce an alpha wolf can really be."

On the Seas of the New World, Still in Whitebeard Territory

Luffy's eyelids rose heavily, exhaustion rolled through his entire body, it was a struggle to move at all. He was so tired…

He could barely move, the shackles on his limbs feeling like weights.

There was one nice thing though. He could breathe a bit better now, which was great. Though something felt a bit off about it. Wrong.

It was hard to tell why, pain seemed to blanket everything. His entire head felt woozy like it was completely stuffed with little fluffy clouds. He was barely conscious, with his awareness coming in and out of focus.

What happened? Was he sick? Sabo had gotten a horrible fever last winter and had to stay inside for daayyyysssss. Was this what that was like? He would have to be much nicer to his brothers for taking care of him because this was just awful.

The feel of a gentle hand was on his chest and he could feel the light tickle of hair against him as whoever it was, seemed to be listening intently to his chest.

Ace?

No…his hands weren't that soft…

These hands were smooth and thin and dainty…

Was it Makino?

That made sense and yet something about it felt wrong, off somehow.

He tried to grab onto the lithe fingers, but his limbs and digits didn't seem to want to cooperate. But the slight movement did seem to catch the other's attention since they jerked off of him in surprise.

"You're awake, mignon? You scared me, little one, but you pulled through."

Her voice came through like a fog, and with it, he vaguely was able to match the person to the voice. Margo! Though he couldn't quite speak it out and when he tried, a flash of white-hot agony shot through him!

As his body began to writhe from the pain, Margo's hands came up to his arms and sides to keep him still.

"No, no, little one! I told you not to speak, remember! You must not move! Do you understand? Simply touch my finger if you can hear me."

He tried to do as she asked, but he could barely seem to coordinate himself. Why didn't it feel like his skin was even more rubbery than normal? He couldn't even use his powers right now!

Margo seemed to get it though, and simply quietly caressed his face and across his arms and body, as if trying to comfort and calm him. She accompanied this by humming a soothing melody that helped him to settle down.

"Be calm now, mon petit. You must not move, nor must you touch anything. I know you are in horrible pain, but it is all I can do to just make sure you keep breathing. Your windpipe collapsed and I had to do a tracheo—I had to put a hole in your neck in order to allow you to breathe."

A tracheotomy–Luffy's brain uselessly supplied. He had no idea what his brain had stored such a long wordy word. It must have been something that his brother had spoken about at some time or another.

"It's very crude, okay? And I know it's going to be hard, but you cannot touch it. As soon as I can, I'll—"

Loud noises cut off her kind voice and her attention was immediately drawn away from him to the voices outside the cell.

"Alright, who do we grab first?"

"Does it really matter? We gotta do 'em all anyway."

"Didn't the boss say somethin' bout doing that devil fruit kid first?"

At this, Margo's hand clasped tightly around his arm.

"Aw, who cares? If his lordship wants the kid done first, he can do it 'imself. We just start with the first and work our way down."

The sound of jingling keys and the scrapping of them in the lock preceded the yells and screams of at least two people being grabbed and then dragged away. The sounds of their struggles slowly got weaker before the bang of a heavy door silenced them completely.

The quiet of the cell block that followed was no longer as comfortable as it has once been, and it was punctuated every so often by the snivels and cries of others who were trapped in this nightmare. Not knowing if they would be next.

Luffy was a little too out of it to fully comprehend what was happening, but even he could sense the change in atmosphere.

He tried to reach his hand up to Margo's in an effort to silently ask her what was wrong. What was happening?

Her fingers lightly met his and grasped them, she stroked them lightly but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. As if she was thinking hard about something.

After a moment, she clutched his hand tightly before leaning down to whisper to him. "Don't be afraid, kiterling. I'm going to protect you, but to do that, I'm going to need you to go to sleep, d'accord?"

He frowned at that. He was tired of everyone having to get hurt in order to protect him. He was getting stronger! He should be able to protect himself! Margo shouldn't have to! Especially with how nice she had been to him! And yet, he couldn't ignore the fact that his body was completely listless and unmoving, no matter how hard he tried.

He felt her hand come up close to the junction near his shoulder and his tender neck.

"Forgive me, I shall probably be gone when you awaken. Just remember: Do not move. Do not talk. Do not touch your neck. Got that?"

He blinked to try to clear his vision if only just a little bit. What did she mean by "gone"? Why would she be gone? Why would she leave him? Please don't leave!

He grabbed her hand and held it as tightly as he could in this condition. Telling her plainly to stay.

She returned his gesture, but the words she said and the meaning behind them remained the same.

"I'll be back, mignon. Just make sure you remember my instructions. Do you have them? Pinkie promise me!"

He shuddered at the dreaded pinkie promise, but if that meant that she wouldn't leave him alone here, then he would do it!

Twisting his pinkie around hers, he could almost feel her smile at his acceptance. She bent down and kissed his cheek. "I'll be back before you know it, kitling."

Her fingers suddenly pressed down sharply along that connection at his neck, and he didn't even have time to wonder what she had done (and if she could teach him) before he was swallowed by the darkness once again.

Marguerite was prepared when they came for her.

After she had knocked her little patient unconscious once again, She had quickly made sure that the makeshift tracheotomy tube and apparatus that she had hurriedly made out of knickknacks in the cell, stayed in place, allowing the kid to breathe despite his destroyed throat. She had only been able to use her nails and the buckle of her shoe to make the incision, the straw was used as tools to help open up his collapsed trachea. It was only an emergency measure, and the child definitely needed real care very soon or he would not make it.

But she was determined to do all she could for as long as she could. She could feel his fear when he tried to tell her not to go. She would not leave the kid to suffer alone!

Damn these pirates!

No, not even pirates. They weren't even worthy of the name.

Slavers.

After checking the apparatus, she hurriedly but carefully covered the boy with the bed of straw, hiding him from sight. When the guards eventually opened her door, they didn't even glance at it. She didn't bother letting them pull and drag her, rather instead, standing of her own volition. She walked with purpose as they took her out, keeping a bruising grip on her arms.

She quickly observed all around her that could be of use. At the men themselves and the weapons, they kept on them, at the passages she passed, where she could feel certain drafts and breezes, anything that would be of help to her, her charge, and her brothers and sisters when they eventually came for her.

And they would come for her.

Of that, she had no doubt.

She knew her father. She knew her siblings.

She knew they would never let this stand.

But until then, she would see the situation out herself, watching for any opportunities that opened themselves to her. Before accepting her place as a daughter of Whitebeard and getting enough money and means to move her family to Larkspur, Marguerite had been a street rat of the North Blue. Scrounging up enough crumbs to feed her family by doing whatever was necessary. She was no stranger to pain and hardship.

Let these racailles do their worst.

When they finally got to their destination, she was greeted by the sight of a staggeringly hot room, a fire roaring near one side, and many metal implements lying both around and within. A table with hooks on one side, that was decorated with all kinds of substances she didn't even want to think of. The place held the stench of cooked meat, blood, and piss and it was nearly enough to make her vomit.

She held herself back just barely, though she began to rethink that choice when the scum of the earth who had made the suggestive comments from earlier, approached her from the other side of the room. There was nothing subtle in his crude dirty smirk as he looked over her body, leaving her face for last.

"Well, well… look who it is. What was that about being 'no slave', now? Eh, girly?"

Marguerite surprised him by flashing him an unsettling grin. "There is no change, filth. I am no slave. You may mark my body, but it will change nothing."

She finished her statement by once again spitting in his face.

Bullseye.

She watched with amusement as his face turned from pink to red to purple, before yelling angrily for the other guards to chain her down to the table.

At this she did resist, she couldn't quite keep to her pirate roots if she didn't at least make this hard as possible for them. She did know in the back of her mind how this was going to go, and there was a bit buried deep down that was afraid and scared of the coming pain and humiliation, but she refused to let it get the best of her and back down.

It ended as she had known it would, her arms stretched across the table, her arms chained to the hooks built into it. Her legs too were chained to prevent her from kicking out at them.

She felt one of the bastards reach for the back of her dress before violently ripping it all the way down to her waist, leaving her bare back open to the air.

Hush.

The room descended into a heavy silence, with only a few gasps breaking through.

One of the guards stuttered, "W-What the hell?"

Her mouth curled up into a smug sneer. Didn't the idiots get it? That no one could own her when she already wore another's mark?

Across her back, in purple, white, and gold, was a tattoo of what looked to be an amalgamation of a flower and a cross. It was very similar to the lilies of Maguerite's birthplace. But the part that had caught their eyes and had caused them all the pause, was the fact that within the lily cross symbol, near its base was the unmistakable skull and crescent mark.

The Jolly Roger of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The men suddenly started arguing amongst themselves, but she could only continue to smirk.

She had warned them that they would be damned for what they had done. Whether that be now or later, the outcome would be the same. She had not lied.

St. Juste Marguerite was no slave.

She was the daughter of the Strongest Man in the World.