Hello everyone!
Hey, I know it's been a while. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all other holidays in between!
The holidays were really busy for me, and then I reunited with my father after a very long time, so I've been pretty busy. Also, this chapter really was stubborn for me for some reason, taking forever to finish and going under many rewrites. However, I hope you guys enjoy it.
Thanks for all the new readers and I'm so happy to get all of your wonderful messages and comments!
Chapter 25 - Princess Anya
15 Years ago, In a Dream Before the End
"The Dowager Empress tried to keep hold of the princess' hand, but the train was moving too quickly. Her hand slipped from her grasp and the princess fell and hit her head on the tracks, disappearing in the busy crowd. Her grandmother screamed out her name as the two became lost to one another."
"And the grandmother couldn't get back to her?"
"Um-hmm, the train was moving too fast and she could never return for fear it would cost her life or that of the princess if she ever revealed her."
"And the princess got amnesia, right?"
"Retrograde amnesia, yes. The impact of her head onto the metal track caused a traumatic brain injury that affected her hippocampus and some parts of her temporal lobe."
"Of course. But then what happened next?"
"..."
"Law?"
Lami sat up from her bed to see why her brother had halted in the midst of her bedtime story.
What she saw made her frown in annoyance. The storybook lay haphazardly to one side, while Law was in the process of drawing something in his nearby sketchbook. She didn't like it. It was supposed to be story time!
What was so important that it was interrupting Princess Anya finding her family?
With a mischievous grin on her face, the 5 year old was up on her feet and quick as a flash, had yanked away the sketchbook, moving over to the other side of the room. "What's so important in here?"
Momentarily stunned, Law jumped up with a sigh, "Hey, give it back Lam."
However the little girl ignored him, keeping out of his reach and flipping through the pages. Sketched on the pages were doodles of animals, anatomy, detailed drawings of dissected specimens and all sorts of other science stuff, but mixed between that stuff were more abstract, spontaneous designs.
Swirls and gears, crosses and flourishes, things that she knew her brother happened to absentmindedly draw when he was bored.
And that just made her cross.
As he tried to swipe the book back, she danced right out his range again. "You're supposed to be reading the story! This is bed story time, Law. How can you be bored?"
His mouth twitched with a grimace, "I've read that story like a million times, Lam. It can get a bit tedious."
Her frown deepened even more, before an evil grin came over her face. "Fine then."
The little girl ran off with the sketchbook out of the room. The 8 and a half year-old sighed in exasperation before giving chase. "Come on, Lami. You're supposed to be in bed."
A mischievous giggle rang out and he followed the bell-like sound around the house. However his sister was quick and her little head covered in the auburn curls of her pixie cut bobbed up and down behind couches, chairs, and walls as he attempted to chase her down.
Law sighed, tired and not feeling like continuing to track the petite rapscallion around.
"Get back here, you little sprite!" he yelled out to the room and his evasive baby sibling, calling her by one of the nicknames that had stuck over the years. She could be as bubbly, ethereal, and fluttery as a water fae, and nearly just as mischievous.
Laughter tittered through the house and he simply sighed before he decided to just plant himself on the couch. If the little fairy wanted to continue with her fun and games, she could do it on her own. He could always get another sketchpad, and Lami would get tired eventually.
Deciding to ignore his sister entirely, Law marched up to his room and lit one of the candles in his room. The scent of sea salt, sandalwood, and feather moss began to waft through the air. Flevance specialized in making these particular candles and nearly everyone in town used them. He got out one his books and began reading, the comforting scent and the coziness of the chair eventually sending him to sleep.
It was about 2 hours later that eventually he found himself blinking back into wakefulness. Yawning, he stretched, getting the kinks out that often happened when he fell asleep in his armchair. Plopping his hat back on his head from where it had fallen to the floor, he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen for some water.
Law wasn't surprised to see no evidence that his parents had come home in the meantime. They often worked late nights, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. The silence of the night pervaded the house and as he walked back up the stairs with his glass, he decided to check on his sister to make sure she had gotten to bed okay.
Going to her bedroom door, he arched an eyebrow, surprised to see it as he left it.
An undercurrent of unease filtered through his belly and he carefully went up to the door and pushed it open, hoping against hope to be greeted by Lami curled up in her blush pink four-poster canopy bed.
It was empty.
The room was just as he left it and his sister was nowhere to be seen.
The unease flared up into full blown trepidation and he immediately ran out the room began searching rapidly all over the house, calling his sister's name.
"Lami!" He called out, hoping to wake her up from wherever she had probably hidden and fallen asleep. "Lami, where are you?"
He looked under couches, in corners, in their father's lab, in their mother's, under their parents bed, in closets, in his room, in the attic, in the basement. Nowhere.
"Lami! Sprite! This isn't funny anymore. Get out here now!" He called in desperation as he began to panic. Where could she be?
He stood still for a moment, trying to fight off the fear enough to think. Where else could his sister have gone? Especially in the middle of the night?
Taking a breath, Law thought back to what had triggered everything to begin with. Lam had wanted him to read her her nightly bedtime story and she had become upset that he had stopped because he had gotten bored and distracted. She had run off with his book and had gone all over the place playing keep away.
However, the Trafalgar boy knew his sister by now in that she ultimately had wanted him to find her, to find her and apologize and probably in the end getting her story. He hadn't played her game, but Lami didn't know or fully understand that, and so was probably still waiting somewhere for him to find her. The girl would hide somewhere where he would eventually find her.
But he had looked for her all over the house! Where could she have—
He froze as a thought came to him and suddenly he ran off to the back door.
Sure enough, it was unlocked and open a tad, swinging slightly thanks to the wind. The night breeze chilled him through his night clothes, but he didn't worry about that as he ran into the garden, making his way through the trellises, and bushes, around trees and flower groves. He made his way to his favorite alcove in the garden, a place that he enjoyed his solitude while reading and studying.
Finally he came to the bench between the rose bushes, and he felt the air whoosh from out of his strained lungs at the sight of his little sister asleep before him. The little fae had curled up on the stone slab, his sketchbook serving as a pillow under her head. Relief flooded over him like a wave.
Thank God she was okay…
However, he quickly noted with concern that she was only in her thin nightgown and even in her sleep she was shivering, her usual rosy lips and cheeks were unusually pale, apparent even by moonlight. Not even bothering to think about it, the older sibling took off his nightshirt and put it around the girl, before picking her up and heading back to the house. His skin immediately began to pucker in the cold but he easily ignored it. Lam moaned sleepily as he carried her.
"Come on, Sprite. Let's get you inside."
She intuitively cuddled closely before yawning, "Iss nawt borwing…"
He sighed with fond exasperation. "No, it's not boring."
He got them inside and only stopped for a moment to warm the both up near the fireplace before heading to the stairs. His sister barely awoke as he took her to her bed. He wanted to give her a stern talking to about the dangers of going outside in the middle of the night while barely dressed and worrying him half to death—but he also knew that it would barely register right now and it could wait till morning.
He also felt a bit guilty about not keeping a closer watch over Lami in the first place.
As he placed the five year old in her bed, Lami moved to snuggle into her pillows. "Law?"
He took up the covers to place them over her, "Um-hmm?"
"Princess Anya eventually got her memory back, right?"
He sighed again, sometimes he wondered if it was his sister who had the memory issues. He had read this story so many times he had it memorized. But he decided to just answer anyway.
"Yes, Lami, she did. Piece by piece her memory returned until the scent of the grandmother's peppermint oil caused the olfactory center of her brain to—sigh…yes, she did, Lam."
Law tucked her in before listening to her breathing even out in sleep. He turned to blow out the candles when somehow the little sprite was able to mumble out her last question.
"A-And she found…yawn…found her family again?"
He smiled before shaking his head and blowing out the flames, "Yes, Lam-Lam. The princess reunited with her family and lived happily ever after."
He headed out the door, but before he closed it, he swore he heard her whisper, "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Shaking his head once again with affection, Law returned to his own room and finding a new nightshirt, settled in for the night himself.
That little munchkin. Troublesome sprite indeed…
Present Day, Amazon Lily
Lily moaned a bit as she awoke, her body still felt so tired. Looks as though the catnap had done little for her overall fatigue. Stretching out her arms, she let out a little yarn. The night wind whistled and hit her body, chilling her through. Shivering, she instinctively snuggled up to the warmth she was leaning against on the side facing towards the fire. Her sleepy eyes closed once again.
The warmth that also happened to be really comfy…and fleshy…and corporeal….
Her eyes snapped open and she jolted upwards, looking at the man who she had accidentally turned into a living pillow.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She was completely mortified as her cheeks warmed in embarrassment. How could she be so tired that she had accidentally fallen asleep on a total stranger!
Interestingly enough, Trafalgar didn't seem to be at all bothered by it. In fact, he simply said it was perfectly fine before smiling. And not one of those condescending or smirking smiles that she would often see him front, but rather a real, genuine smile.
It looked good on him.
"You were tired, and cold. You can use me as a pillow if you want. I can take it." His eyes held a mirthful twinkle. They were a soft gold now. Softer than she had ever seen them.
In fact, observing him subtly, his eyes weren't the only things that had softened about the pirate captain. His entire demeanor had relaxed, his guard down completely for the first time since she had met him. When he met her eyes this time, while the strange connection still ran between them, it had somehow calmed significantly on his side. It no longer felt like she was near a live wire or an uncontrolled flame. Rather, it was more like being next to a stormy sea that was finally beginning to be at peace. Waves still crashed, and the power of the ocean still dwelt below, but calm was coming over the waters.
She tilted her head in confusion at his relaxed spirit and stance. "You…you seem… different somehow."
He blinked for a moment, before letting out a breath looking down at his hands a bit abashedly, the smile still never leaving his face. He spoke softly, "Of course you'd notice…"
She let out her own smile at that, "Oh, I'm sure anyone could have, considering. It's almost like…"
Lily looked at him closer, "...you were lost, but now you're found."
He let out a bit of a laugh at that, " 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known…' "
Her face dropped at his literary quote. "Wait! Are you about to die?!"
The raven let out a loud laugh, "Haha! You should see your face! Hahahaha!"
His laughter was infectious and she found herself slipping into giggles herself.
The two laughed together for a minute or two before Trafalgar took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. "No…I'm not about to die. Nice to see you know that quote though…"
She laughed, "Hehehe, I've read a lot of books."
"I didn't mean it in the same context as the novel." He explained softly, "I was trying to express…that recently, I–I found a peace, a contentment…that I…I don't know if I've ever known before."
She smiled gently, "Hmm, that must have been quite a nap."
He released a sigh, "I guess you could say that."
She was curious as to what it was that he had found, but at the same time, she also didn't feel that she should pry. If he wanted to tell her, he would. For now, she was just glad that he was happy.
She had no idea why she was so invested in his emotional well-being, but was it really all that strange as a human being to delight in someone else's happiness?
Lily reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, "You know I….I…."
Her voice slowed down to a crawl before sputtering to a stop. Her face fell and her eyes grew large and round in both realization…and fear. He looked at her in concern, "What's wrong?"
He moved to go to her, but she skittered away from him quickly, cradling her hand and trying to keep it hidden. Touching her cheek out of reflex, her face went blank and she tried to turn away, to not allow him to see her even though she realized it was far too late.
How?
How could she have been that exhausted that she had let her disguise fall and her true appearance to get through?
She had practiced for this! Had endured hours of training to make sure she could keep up the facade indefinitely, even in her sleep! She would have had to be near to unconsciousness for something like this to happen. Or perhaps she had been getting too lax?
She knew that using her powers in excess would cause her issues. It was why she had taken it off when she had begun to work on Ace. Shanks, Marco, and the other pirates finding out about her true appearance was an unforeseen happenstance because of the circumstances they had found themselves in. They had been pretty accepting of everything, not even really batting an eye at her white skin and hair and sickly outer appearance.
However, past experience had taught her that not everyone could be so forgiving.
She hadn't wanted him to see her like this! Especially not till she was sure about—
A gentle hand grasped her shoulder and she couldn't help but flinch. The hand paused but didn't let go.
Trafalgar's voice was soft, almost imploring. "Please don't hide from me. It's okay. I know."
She turned at that, a single pale eye looking at him over her shoulder. He had surprisingly come even closer to her. His body seemed to even overshadow and shield hers, as if blocking her from view of the surrounding world. No fear was on his face. No disgust. No outrage. In fact all she could see in those golden silver eyes was open worry and concern.
She scanned over him, hesitantly. Despite the fact that he wasn't showing hostility, her voice was sharp. "You know? What do you think you know?"
His demeanor gained some of his seriousness back, even though the care still was there. "I know that your body has been ravaged by a poison. A toxin called White Lead. I know that it's not a disease. It's not contagious, and it's not your fault that you're affected by it."
She looked over at him, unsure. His demeanor matched the truth that he spoke and she sensed no deception in him. Considering she'd already met pirates who seemed to know the truth about her condition, perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised. Considering her earlier suspicions, he both seemed to confirm that, as well as causing her guard to crumble.
"You know about White Lead Poisoning?"
He solemnly nodded, "More than you know. I know and I understand. You have nothing to fear from me. You have my word."
He held out a hand to her, silently asking her to stop hiding from him. To trust him.
Their eyes met and held.
After endless seconds, she finally placed her hand in his.
In the end it didn't really matter. He had already seen her real self and he hadn't changed towards her. Not for a single moment.
When he took hold of her hand, he pulled her towards him before catching her by the shoulders. He scanned her quickly from head to toe and Lily realized that he was looking her over for injury.
"Are you alright? Fatigued? How much pain are you in? Any internal contusions?"
He was beginning to pat her down, moving up her sleeves to look underneath. She blinked blankly in confusion at his actions before giggling and brushing him back. "Haha, don't be so worried, I'm not fragile. I'm perfectly fine."
He eyed her with a mountain of concern, "Are you sure? Your condition is so advanced!"
She sighed. He sure was blunt, even if it came from out of concern. She guessed that was better than outrage and fear at least.
She lowered herself back to the ground again, briefly noticing how his hand kept to her elbow to help her down. Her eyes glanced over her skin of an outstretched hand with a critical eye. Law sat back down by her side, continuing to watch over her with heavy regard. "I've been this way for as long as I can remember. I can't think of a time when my condition wasn't considered 'advanced'."
She examined her alabaster skin, trying to think back to the first time she had realized that she was different from the norm. She had studied the effects of White Lead, and had even felt them for a few brief moments when the Director thought to remind her of what he had saved her from.
She spoke absently, "From the moment I ate my devil fruit, my body has been held in a kind of stasis. It pushes away the pain and internal damage, though all the physical changes remain. Essentially I'm as healthy as you, and yet from the outside, without my disguise, I look as if I'm at Death's door. I was in this state when I got the fruit. How I lasted that long, I have no idea."
She knew enough about her condition to know that she should have been long dead by the time the Facility had deigned to give her the Cyto-Cyto fruit. She didn't know if they had waited until the very last minute to save her from death, but she wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case.
The reactions to her appearance varied. The eyes of the doctors and staff of the Facility didn't reach past clinical. In the Revolutionary Army, the response varied from pitying, to concerned, to curious, though many long-time associates and friends had long gotten acclimated to her sickly appearance.
But then every so often, she would run into the equivalent of a brick wall of very little in terms of compassion or understanding. Rather, instead the horror of hatred and fear and violence would meet her in response.
She was used to many different responses when it came to those who happened upon her true appearance, the physical evidence of the scourge wrought upon her body through no fault of her own.
And yet…
When this man said that he knew, that he understood—for the first time, for some reason, she believed that he truly did.
She felt his hand clutch hers, bringing her out of the melancholy and absent state of mind, turning her attention back to the here and now.
His silver eyes inquired in question, "A disguise? Your devil fruit allows you to create that as well?"
She nodded, pushing back her tiredness to allow her body to shift and change, showing the man how her powers worked.
He turned her hand around carefully, "Fascinating, I assume even though you can't affect your body on the whole with your abilities, you can somehow change and initiate cell signaling and alter your genetic expression."
She watched him with amusement as he lifted up her hand by her fingertips and examined it as if he was handling a lab specimen.
"But you have to use up stamina in order to keep them initiated. It's like keeping your finger on a button. The moment you release it, it returns to its original state. It would also mean that anything that would cancel out your devil fruit, like seawater and seastone, would also end all protections from the poison."
He catches on fast. However, thinking about his words, she frowned. "Wait, how did you know that my power doesn't truly work on myself?"
Law smirked back at her playfully even as he still held up her forearm. "Remember I told you in the ER, I had your fruit pretty much pegged. Also, it's simple logic. If you really could use your cell devil fruit on yourself, you should be able to simply remove and replace the damaged tissue that has absorbed the white lead."
Her mouth turned into a sardonic grin of her own at his slightly self-important tone.
His eyes then turned back to her arm with a seemingly preoccupied concern. "Besides, Firefist also told me a bit about your situation…"
Ahh…there it was.
She sighed, "Ace's still awake is he? And talking about me? How much has he told you?"
"Not much," he murmured absently, " simply the basics. He was beseeching me on your behalf."
This statement froze her, confusion blanking her mind. What? Her behalf? What exactly had Ace said?!
She was about to ask exactly that, just as a sharp wind cut across the cliffs and subsequently right through her. The campfire trembled and she herself shivered to match.
Trafalgar's eyes snapped to her and seemed to zero in on her like a hawk. "It's late, you're exhausted, and it's much too cold for you out here. Let's get you inside."
She blinked at his sudden decisive tone of voice. "I mean, it is getting cold and I am tired, but I don't want to impose—"
"Nonsense."
He seemed to reluctantly let go of her hand in order to turn to himself, and to her shock and surprise, he began to strip off his hoodie from his body!
She raised her hands up in order to get him to refrain. "Wait, wait! Captain! What are–you don't have to—"
He pointedly ignored her, slipping it off quickly and now only dressed in a sleeveless undershirt. She had to subsequently pause as more of his skin was now revealed, showing that the man had indeed gone crazy with the tattoos. His shirt had hidden the black ink scrawled up muscular arms and across his toned chest, gears and flourishes, hearts and loops spread across a dermic canvas.
It was a curious display, and it caused a bit of a tickle in the back of her mind, adding to all the other "tickles" that had so far been adding up about the man.
Yet, even that thought was interrupted as the man turned towards her. "Raise your arms."
Realizing what he was trying to do, she once again tried to decline. He didn't have to—!
Her head was suddenly muffled in surrounding soft cotton and fleece as he didn't even hesitate to push the shirt over her head. Suddenly she was surrounded by the scent of sandalwood, feather moss, and sea salt.
Her voice was smothered by the cloth as she reached up to try to remove it from off of her head. "Captain, you don't have to do this. I'm—"
However as she raised her hands to try and take his hoodie off, the older man's hands were faster as he took hold of her arms and maneuvered them about decisively in sleek, quick, well-practiced movements.
Before she could even finish her turndown, there was a quick yank and her head popped back out into the night air and she faced his self-satisfied countenance in front of her once more. Satisfaction further colored his voice, "That should keep you warm for now."
Lily looked down at herself to see her completely surrounded in the warmth of the yellow and black hoodie, the Jolly Roger of the Heart Pirates smack-dab in the middle of her chest. It was obviously too big and the long sleeves were past her fingertips. She wiggled the swallowing cloth uselessly, "I was trying to say that you didn't have to do this, Captain. I'm fine, and now you're the one that's freez—"
"Law."
She huffed up at him, a bit annoyed at him continually cutting her off, "What?"
He continued, nonplussed by her irritation and continuing with his amused smile, "Call me Law. 'Captain' is only for subordinates and strangers."
That sounded oddly familiar. Pirates were all similar it seems.
Lily raised a white eyebrow, "And are we not strangers?"
Somehow the gleam in his eyes was so familiar a gleam. When he looked at her to respond, the younger, kinder man that she had seen a glimpse of earlier that day had once again made a reappearance.
His head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "No, not anymore."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed," the smirk was back again. "Because I said so."
She put her hands on her hips, "Oh really? As long as you remember to call me by my real name, eh Law?"
An honest-to-goodness twinkle of delight came to his eye and she could almost say for sure that he was inwardly laughing at some inside joke at her expense…irritating man.
However, instead of revealing it to her, he simply said, "Hold on."
She folded her extra long sleeved arms, "'Hold on'? Hold on to whaaaAAH!"
Without warning, the ebon-haired surgeon wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. He then made a motion with his free hand.
"Chambres."
In an instant, Lily suddenly found herself holding onto him for dear life as they were teleported across the bay and back onto his ship!
They stood together on the top level of the submarine looking afar to the party that was still going on now across the bay. Trafalgar kept hold of her, though watching her with an eye of concern. "Are you alright? It wasn't too rough for you, was it?"
She had gone teleporting before of course, and to be fair, Scha's process was a bit more rough in comparison, and yet it was more so the fact that it was unexpected that had startled her more. Shakily, she pushed up to stand on her own two feet.
"Next time, warn me would you?"
His silver-gold eyes seemed to study her for a moment as if to make sure she was indeed okay before his face once again breaking into a smile as he chuckled. "I kind of did. Come on, I'm freezing."
"And whose fault is that?" she asked ironically as he once again took her hand and led her through the door, back into his ship.
He only continued to smile in amusement as they made their way on. His bemusement seemed contagious, and she smiled too. She looked down at where his hand clasped hers. She could feel a slight tremble within it, and it wasn't lost on her that for a man who had seemed visibly distant to all those who were around him—even to a degree his own crew—he hadn't stopped being physically demonstrative to her since they'd met.
Who knew he could be so touchy-feely?
And now, he seems to have gotten more brazen. Now actively holding her hand and using his own clothes to warm her.
But why?
And why was she letting him?
Lily knew herself. She wasn't the type to be led astray by a charming smile. An ingratiating crooked grin set into an amiable face accented with a dusting of freckles flashed in her head, before she shook her head to banish the image. She had been trained by both the Facility and the Revolutionary Army. She could have stopped him at any time, or at least been more forceful in pushing him away. And yet, she hadn't.
The connection between them still pulsated on her end, even as it no longer was on his. She looked back up at the man as he guided her through the ship's halls, the dark ink of the marks on his back that matched the color of his hair, just peeking out from beyond the undershirt, the warm light glinted off his earrings as they continued on walking in companionable silence. She knew she should feel worried about a man she had just met today, taking her somewhere unknown, deep within his own territory.
And yet she trusted him. That hadn't changed since their eyes had first met.
She still has so many questions. She was exhausted, the surgery and travel and everything in between had taxed her. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder without knowing it for goodness sake!
And yet she felt that she was sooo close to the answers—vital answers!—she could just taste it!
And by God, after all these years, she would get them!
If that meant following this man into the lions' den, then so be it.
Law had never smiled so much in his life.
He had such an indescribable feeling that kept bubbling up inside him that he couldn't quite push down, no matter how much he tried. He didn't even know if he wanted to.
The feel of his sister's hand in his, grounded him. It reminded him that this was real. That she was indeed alive and here with him again. It was almost felt as if, if he were to let go, it would all melt away into a dream. And so he kept in physical contact as much as he possibly could. His logical mind probably had already attached some label to what was happening to him already, but for once, he couldn't give a crap about that. It was how he felt and that was all there was to it.
He felt Lami's eyes on him as he guided her through the Tang. (The idea that his sister was on his ship, somehow was constantly blowing his mind!) He knew she had to have a lot of questions. He had many of his own for that matter. But he couldn't be reckless. Lam still had amnesia after all, she had no idea who he was or even who she was. Retrograde amnesia was a strange thing and he'd never worked with a patient suffering from it before. He wanted to be as careful as possible with this until he could do more research. He couldn't risk triggering any incidental trauma on top of all the trauma she had already endured.
He also kept an eye on her, both visually as well as with his ROOM that moved along with them, watching for any signs of shivering or discomfort. She should be warm enough now, though he would be sure to keep an eye out to make sure she didn't have any chance to become ill.
He mentally started to put together a list of all that he needed to do, all that needed to be accomplished. He would have to make a place for Lam to stay, the crew quarters not being at all acceptable. He guessed she could room with Ikkaku for a while, or he also could just have her share his room until he was able to revamp the infrastructure of one of his patient rooms? Perhaps even merging it with a storage room to increase its size? He'd have to consult the blueprints and later their shipwright, Dartz, to see if that could work.
His eyes narrowed slightly. He needed to find out what had happened to Lami since they'd last seen each other more than a decade ago. FireFist's words wanted to burn a hole in the pit of his stomach. His little sister…a slave to the World Government…
His grip on her hand increased ever so much.
Had Lam been trapped in Mariejois all these years? No, Portgas had said she had been imprisoned someplace in the North Blue.
In the North Blue…all this time…
He had said she had been used as a lab rat… But what kind of experimentation had they done? It was probably where she had been fed her devil fruit that had inadvertently saved her life.
What had they done with her?
What had been done to her?
He shook his head before the long list of nightmarish things could take hold. That could wait. Right now he had to form a medical plan. The slave chip would be the first to go. It was obviously inactive, but he couldn't stand to see any shackle of any kind still on his sister. Firefist said it was in her cervical region, and since other surgeons had had a hard time removing it, it was most likely in her brainstem, probably near the medulla oblongata.
That was no problem.
He'd get several scans just to make sure, but with the power of the Op-Op fruit, he was sure he could remove it without causing any damage.
Next would be the White Lead.
It had been years since he had removed the toxin from his own body. Back then he had been a novice both with his devil fruit and as a doctor, and it had taken him weeks to be able to finally remove it all, and even longer to recover. Lami was in a much worse state. He was sure that if she fell into seawater or was captured with seastone, she would die within hours….
He couldn't risk that. He was much stronger now, his abilities much more precise and adept. He hadn't had a chance to practice on anyone else with White Lead before, but he knew the technique and he would succeed. He would do better by his sister than he had even done for himself. Her safety must be paramount.
Speaking of which, there would finally be the issue of her forced amnesia. Firefist said that her memories had been "taken". But what did that mean? Did they purposefully damage her brain in some way? To a six-year old girl…!
A low growl issued from his throat causing Lami to pause in whatever she had been saying, and look up at him in concern.
He shrugged it off, assuring her it was nothing, before reeling his mounting anger back in. Later, Trafalgar. Later. Lami comes first.
He didn't know how they had forced her to lose her memories, how it had been accomplished or what contributed to it. That would require more investigation, but rest assured, he would get to the bottom of it.
Finally reaching the captain's quarters, thankfully without running into any of his nosy crew, he opened the door and invited her in. "Sit anywhere you want."
Lami took a few cautious steps inside before he closed the door and went and lit a few lamps as well as a couple of candles. He went to the cabinets near his desk, finding a mug as well as turning on his kettle. He often made coffee and tea in his room when he was up late and didn't feel like going all the way to the kitchen.
He watched his sister out of the corner of his eye wander about his room a bit in curiosity. She looked rather adorable in his shirt that was way too big for her (he'd have to find more better-fitting clothes for her somewhere, perhaps take her shopping at their next port?) and her white hair and eyes glittered in the light as she was taking everything in.
"Is this your room?" She asked curiously.
"Mm-hmm" He confirmed as he searched in the back of his cabinet for the hot chocolate. He never drank it himself, but he knew Bepo had tossed a box somewhere in here in the hopes that he would try—
"Ohh!"
He turned at the squeal of delight and could only smile as Lami grabbed one of his books on medicinal mountain herbs that he had bought in Alabasta.
"I've been looking for this volume for forever!" She immediately took the book over to the banks of windows on one side of his room and the window seat in front of it. She looked up at him in excitement, "You don't mind do you?"
He smiled broadened, seeing the light shining in her eyes was more than he had ever hoped to see again. Normally, he couldn't stand for anyone to be touching his books. But he'd never truly minded when they were kids, and he definitely didn't mind now. He turned back to his efforts, shaking his head. "Go ahead."
He finally found the confounded box buried in the back, before continuing to look for cream, mint, and spoons. It was comfortably silent for a moment as he worked and she read, before Lam spoke up.
"It's not going to be too much of an issue for your men knowing I'm here, with you…in your room, is it?"
"Why would it be?" he responded absently.
There was a pause for a moment before she continued hesitantly. "I know you haven't brought this up and I haven't said anything, but before anything goes any further, I want to make it clear that while I like you, I don't…well…I don't want you to get the wrong idea…"
It took a minute for her concerns that she was working up to, to finally register in Law's brain and he subsequently froze at the insinuations. The idea was so absurd, that he hadn't even considered the idea. What his crew would think. What Lami, unknowing of the truth of their relationship, would think!
A bit of vomit wanted to come up at the very thought and he pushed it back down, before being followed by a cough and then laughter. His eyes met hers and he could see the worry in them melt into relief and merriment as well.
He reached over to take her hands, speaking with amusement, "Don't worry, rest assured, you have nothing to fear in that way from me."
She had an upward turn to the turn of her lips that was very similar to mother's when she was being sardonic. "Ouch. I guess since I feel the same way, it doesn't sting that much."
"Not that you're not beautiful and delightful and everything!" He was quick to assure her, "Just…my interest in you is different…I brought you here because it's the best room on the ship and you needed to get your rest. I hope you didn't get the wrong impression."
Lam looked about the room, "You didn't have to do that. Bepo gave us some rooms to rest in."
He brushed that off as he turned back to the tea things. "If I know where he placed you correctly, they're not that big and you'd have to share facilities with the rest of the men. I have private ones here that will suit you better."
The very idea of his baby sister sharing the same facilities as all the other men on the ship ruffled his feathers. Not that he didn't trust them, but he wouldn't take any chances. He had to also make sure it was very clearly understood to his crew how his sister was to be seen and treated. He would have no one getting the wrong idea. She could handle herself of course, but his crew was his responsibility and he would personally deal with any disrespect given her.
She sat back down on the window seat, "I mean, thank you, but I don't want to put you out of a room."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I don't sleep much." Insomnia had plagued him since he was a child.
Since Flevance…
A concerned look came to her face. "You need to rest. That 'nap' you took after you fell unconscious in the ER was a good start, but you still need time for your body to recover."
He shrugged, he probably would sleep out of pure exhaustion eventually, but that was something he could think about later. He had too much research to do to indulge in sleep. "I probably will, but there are plenty of places that I can sleep on board."
He handed her her mug of hot chocolate. She took it, but looked up at him resolutely, "I'm not pushing you out of your room."
He sat in his armchair with his cup of Earl Gray tea, responding just as resolutely, "I insist."
"Then we come to an impasse." she said stalwartly, leveling him with a stare.
He was unmoved and met her eyes as he took a sip, "Indeed."
They sat staring at each other for several moments, neither budging or looking away. Now that Law knew who he was dealing with, he knew how to play this game. Let's see how well the little sprite's blinking contest skills had improved now that she was an adult.
Aaaannnndd...
Not that well, as at almost exactly the minute 2 mark, she collapsed into giggles. He smirked. Still can't beat me there, little sis.
She smiled through the laughter, "Hahahaha, fine, I give up. But at least let's come to a compromise."
He inclined his head, interested in hearing it, even as he sipped once again at his tea.
Lam took up her mug to finally take a drink, "How about instead of you leaving to—Umm! What is this?"
"Do you like it?" He wasn't quite sure how his sister's tastes had changed in the last, almost 15 years.
She looked down at the creamy beverage in wonder. "What is it?"
"White hot chocolate with peppermint."
Lam looked into her cup in astonishment before taking another sip, slowly this time. He watched the delight spread over her face as she savored the taste and felt himself relax once again.
"I've never had hot chocolate like this before! It's delicious."
He nodded, not correcting her, but happy that she was happy.
She took another sip before she gazed at the mug, though after a while her eyes became deeply thoughtful. He could tell that something was weighing heavily on her. Eventually, after a few moments, she spoke up.
"Law?"
It still felt simply miraculous to hear his sister's voice call him by name. He took a moment to savor it before responding, "Hmm?"
She twisted her fingers as she tried to bring up what she wanted to say, "I…well…I…um…would you like to play a game?"
A/N: Whew! That was a lot!
So we get a lot into the Law and Lami's past, as well as a few things about them. Law is indeed stepping into full big brother mode, which can have a different aspect to it for a big brother with a little sister, compared to say the already protective Ace over Luffy. It's going to be fun to see where that goes for him.
Yes, Lami's story and the title is in reference to iAnastasia/i, as of course it's very similar to Lami's own circumstances.
I also decided it made sense that Law designed his own tattoos and that comes from his childhood and how while he loved science, he also loved to decorate and draw, though he didn't like to say anything about it.
I know many of you wanted Sabo, but you'll have to wait a little longer. Lily and Law still are having their turn. 😁
See you next time!
And believe me, it will probably be sooner than you think.😉