Short chapter, and I depated with myself for a long time if the last part should or shouldn't be a part of this one, or move it elsewhere. But in the end it stayed attached to this chapter and I hope you like it.
And yes, I was depating with myself about the last chapter as well, but as I went through the part, I realized that the emotional flow was disrupted, so I cut the last chapter in two after all.
Part 7; Human or Reindeer?
Chapter 2/6: The white castle where the monsters gather
"This castle is strange," Sanji spoke out loud. They had lost sight of the dinner he'd wanted to prepare, and now they were running away from the madwoman chasing them through the layers of ice and snow that covered the hallways. "We're inside but it's full of snow and so cold I can't feel my toes."
"Cold? It's cold!" Ruffy threw her arms around herself, looking rather shocked.
'Captain, please don't be so cute,' Sanji thought but shouted "You just noticed?!" out loud.
"But I normally don't feel the cold! This place is so cold! The heartbeat!" She yelped and jerked away as another rain of blades zipped through the air.
"That woman is not a doctor! She's trying to kill us!" Sanji howled, part outraged and part stunned. Because if this was the witch Dalton had been talking about, she was certainly energetic for her age.
Looking around, they were in the heart of the castle (Dalton had said the witch lived in a castle, but Sanji hadn't seen it from the outside), which was built around a wide pillar with a staircase spiralling upwards into a domed ceiling. The circle round space let in light from windows around the dome which reflected in both mirrors and snow, lighting up the room that would otherwise fall into darkness.
It might be a magnificently beautiful and haunting scene in the moonlight.
Sanji and Ruffy were running in circles around a second floor balcony around the outer edge of the round room. Most doors were frozen with snow climbing up the wood, making it clear only some of them were in use at all. Trying to shake the old woman (how could someone over a hundred years old be so fast?!) by flying open one of the used doors to use as a shield, Ruffy was the first to spot the little fluffy critter on the floor.
"Reindeer ahead!"
"Steak!" Sanji corrected her and dashed after the fleeing animal.
It had a funny scream.
But it was as they chased after the reindeer that Sanji finally spotted the reason why the castle was invaded by snow.
"Look, Ruffy. Someone left the door open." He jumped over the railing to do what his duty-oriented mind demanded and close the door against the cold. Ruffy landed softly behind him and Sanji could hear her teeth clatter.
"Why is this place so cold!?" the girl pirate demanded. "The heartbeat is so strange too. This isn't a loved home, but a lot of people lived here?"
"Are you seriously saying this castle has a heartbeat? Like the snow?" Sanji asked, swaying between stupefied and doubtful. Sanji was a person who put very little value in the material world, at least for himself. It was Ruffy who taught him that things could always be replaced and people couldn't. Innocence couldn't be recovered once lost.
"Don't! Don't touch that door!" someone yelled at them.
"Lots of buildings have hearts. If it's loved the heartbeat is warm and cozy. But nobody's loved this place," Ruffy answered Sanji's question, showing no signs she had even heard someone else's voice.
Having heard the yell but ignoring it, Sanji jogged towards the door. "Are you saying Merry has a heart too?"
Ruffy stopped. Glancing at her, Sanji saw her pretty eyes widen in surprise, then her face wrinkled as she thought.
"I don't know. I haven't really listened. What if she does!"
"Good for her, I guess," Sanji said helplessly. Because what did it even matter in the end? Right now he was about to freeze his balls off. "Let's close that door before we're frozen solid."
"Good idea."
"I said stop!" came another yell. "Can't you hear me!? Don't touch the door!"
Sanji had made it outside, about to reach for the door handle, when he heard a tweet. Ruffy had finally noticed someone was yelling at them and had turned around.
"Captain. Take a look at this."
The girl hesitated, but Sanji waved her towards him. He wanted her to see this, because it was rather sweet.
"What are those? Snow birds?" Ruffy asked.
"Guess so," Sanji mumbled as he stared at the birds nest full of chicks that sat atop the door. It was inconvenient for the people living inside, but the building was enormous. What rooms were in use were appropriately warm. So rather than destroy the nest, the witch had allowed the door to be open. An act of kindness he wouldn't have thought the old woman capable of five minutes ago. "But it's so cold!" Sanji roared as he ran back inside, trying to get his body to pump warm blood to his toes.
Ruffy was hot on his heels. "But it's colder inside!" she protested.
"Not to me it isn't," Sanji objected and searched for the stairs to lead them back to Nami-san's room.
"Sanji," Ruffy suddenly spoke up, pointing out a staircase and steering Sanji towards it. "Did you see the reindeer? Just now, wasn't it talking?"
"A talking reindeer?" Sanji had been unconscious for several hours, and upon waking up he hadn't had a lot of thoughts. But now as he ran up to the second floor balcony, he really did think about it. That reindeer had indeed been… strange. "Wasn't it walking on two legs too? And running? Like a monster!"
"A monster? Is that why it grew big?" Ruffy's eyes suddenly glittered. "I want it on the crew! Hey monster!" She took off.
Sanji followed, wondering if a reindeer that grew meant more meat or if it was like a pufferfish.
Wapol was not only born and raised in Drum Kingdom. He'd been born and raised the crown prince of Drum Kingdom. Such a title came with benefits. Wild white walkies did exist, and so did a law since many kings back that forbade common people to domesticate the walkies. Only the palace held that right. Because only the white walkers could scale the cliffsides to where the castle sat.
Wapol wasn't too knowledgeable, or interested in, how the animals did it, but since all the lines to the castle had been cut in his absence, Wapol was happy he'd grabbed Lobson when he fled. Now they were steadily making their way up the mountain. He didn't mind the slow going. He was going home, and from the castle nobody could defy him. It didn't matter where the pirates hid, he would order their execution from the throne.
It took almost two hours. It had now been half a day since he landed on the island, and was nearing late evening. Much later than Wapol would have preferred to arrive at his rightful seat on the throne, but alas.
They cleared the top, and in front of him she stood, his castle, in all of her cold, silvery white glory.
Wapol marvelled for a few seconds as he was filled with a feeling he was unfamiliar with. Like he had become lighter, his chest felt just a little warmer. The excitement that bubbled up was much more common. He couldn't wait to find the observatory from where he could spy on the entire island. Those pirates would be brought before him, kneel, and suffer humiliation for the rest of their lives, which would probably last an hour. It depended on how fun the torture was. Now that he was once again king, he could go as far as he wanted.
Kureha had lived for a long time. Maybe she'd been innocently naïve once, but childhood was the best time to learn about the world, and she could no longer remember when or where her faith in the good of mankind was lost. But she did know why she was a doctor. Because relief from pain and illness was able to bring out that goodness that was hidden within the human heart. Even the worst of criminals could go soft for a while after being freed from the torment of disease.
Or they went soft for life. Hilruk, that darn quack, had certainly been one of them. It was people like him that made Kureha live on and constantly try to better her own knowledge.
"Doctorine!"
The old woman looked up. She'd been talking about the reindeer just now, and had just arrived at Hilruk. The patient was curious and intelligent, like a typical traveller.
"Bad news. Wapol is back!"
Kureha sighed and stood. If people like Hilruk made her motivated, people like Wapol, who never touched the edge of suffering, made her want to quit.
"I see. Well then girlie, lay down and rest. Don't mind the ruckus outside."
"Okay," the girl replied sleepily and obeyed.
Kureha closed the door and followed the growling reindeer, casting a glance around for the other youngsters, but Chopper seemed to have sent them on a wild goose chase somewhere.
"A pirate flag?!" she heard from outside. "What happened to the banner of Drum Kingdom?!"
The old doctor couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "I burnt that old rag long ago," she explained. From the corner of her eye she caught the mother snowbird land on top of her chicks and covered them.
In front of her the ministers flashed grins of excitement that they covered with shock before the king.
"Your great majesty, it's…"
"Dr Kureha," the king growled through his teeth. "You old crook! First you dared to escape my great doctor hunt, and now you've settled into MY castle?! Your list of crimes is longer than your stubborn life!"
At yet it wasn't longer than his crimes against the people of this island, but Kureha supposed Wapol's mirror only showed himself as perfect.
"This old pile of stones is now a mausoleum over Hilruk," she announced instead. "Rotten fruit like you are no longer allowed entrance. Leave the land, Wapol. Drum Kingdom is history."
Wapol did what he'd always done; laughed and taunted her, took insult against her respect towards the old con. Reminded her he was the king… and then something came flying past her, faster than she could perceive, sounding a sharp whistle and landed a solid fist between Wapol's eyes.
Kureha was rarely surprised, but she absolutely hadn't been prepared for that little pirate captain brat to come flying.
The girl laughed sharply. "That's payback for trying to kill Nami and Sanji earlier. How do you like that, Jamaguchi?!"
Sanji and Ruffy had lost the reindeer after it changed shape again, its legs growing longer until it looked and moved like an actual reindeer and sped up. While the running and curiosity in the odd creature seemed to distract Ruffy from the chill in the air, Sanji couldn't ignore it. So once they found their way back to Nami-san's room, he went in search of his clothes.
He stopped by Nami-san's bed, about to ask how she was feeling, when he noticed she was fast asleep. Her breathing was much easier now and her face had lost that sickly yellow hint.
Sanji smiled gently, feeling his heart swell with relief and pride. Nami-san was strong, she would be fine.
Quietly closing the door behind him after fetching his jacket and gloves, Sanji heard faint sounds of commotion. Then he saw the flash of Ruffy's red top from down below, speeding towards the gate, so he jumped down to see what had gotten her attention.
"Wait, those guys?"
Ruffy was huffing indignantly as she lifted her fists against the idiots who had ambushed them yesterday. Sanji stopped beside the doctor and the reindeer, both who were gaping in surprise.
"How… how dare you attack the exalted ruler of this land! He's the king! You'll pay for your insolence!"
"I don't care! To me you're all rats!" Ruffy howled back.
It wasn't the first time Sanji had heard his captain call something she disliked a rat, and he silently wondered what her experience with them were.
"Hey girl, do you know who those people are?" the doctor asked beside him.
"Of course! That's Jamaguchi the pirate! He keeps attacking and spewing shit, tried to kill Nami and Sanji and eat my boat! I'll kick his balls out through his mouth!"
So his captain had run into those guys again after Sanji lost consciousness? Now that he thought about it, Ruffy must have carried both him and Nami-san here by herself. Beyond the edge where their opponents stood, there was only open air. Sanji remembered the mountain he'd seen from Dalton's house.
Ruffy halted in her annoyed triad and stared at him. "Sanji? Why are you tearing up?"
"Just because I love you," he smiled at her.
There was no reaction for a while, then Ruffy's eyes suddenly widened and she turned to stare at the other group.
"Did they just say king? Aren't they pirates?"
The cook covered his eyes. Yes, he loved Ruffy, but she could be slow sometimes.
"It's cold!"
Really slow.
"It's minus fifty degrees Celsius," came a small comment from the reindeer, who still looked like a reindeer normally did, wearing a pink hat.
The guy who had tried to eat Merry yesterday suddenly woke up with a roar. "You maggots! You've incurred my great wrath! I'll eat you alive! MUGIWARA!"
Sanji was, one; never going to let that happen, and two, absolutely going to shut his big gap for good the moment he got near his captain. "Hold that thought, please. She just went inside to fetch her coat."
"SHE WHAT?!"
"Can I… ask?"
Sanji glanced down at the talking animal. "Hm?"
"That girl just now… she… I felt like…"
Sanji blinked slowly, then lit a cigarette as he understood what the little guy tried to say. He'd seen how Vivi-chan's duck seemed to have a deeper kind of respect for Ruffy than for his mistress. Despite the way he joined in on her games he treated her like a leader.
It wasn't like Sanji couldn't relate.
"She's an alpha, I suppose. Some type of beast."
"Beast?"
"You know," Sanji grinned at him, "a monster."
"It was a boy from town who discovered this, I think a month ago? Two?" The man looked questioningly to his neighbours.
"We were surprised to find a ropeway here," a woman explained to Dalton and the three strangers. "And since the rope is white, it's no wonder nobody ever saw it."
Usopp was a little busy inspecting the house to listen too closely. When he thought of a treehouse, he imagined a house up amongst the branches. But this was a tree that had been turned into a house. It had windows and a door and everything. He couldn't stop from trying to see through the windows, but the rooms inside were emptied. He thought he saw a fireplace, but how was that even possible? Who lit a fire inside a tree? It would just burn the whole thing down, wouldn't it?
"Where's the cart?" Dalton asked.
"There is none," one of the men said, sounding both sheepish and uncertain. "At least we haven't found one. Some people went to retrieve a cart from the old ropeways. They should be here soon."
"No cart?"
Usopp studied the rope. It was as thick as his leg, but he couldn't tell what material it was made of. It didn't feel like metal or hemp.
The doctors had mostly stayed in the village. There were more people to treat after all, but one had stayed at Dalton's side, seeing to him after Zoro had put the man down against the treehouse.
"This is where Dr Kureha used to live," he spoke up, and shrugged at the surprised looks. "Most of us knew each other's address. When the doctor hunt started we silently agreed to not rat each other out. The situation was dire enough as it was."
Usopp still failed to wrap his mind around the idea that a king was keeping such a brutal hold of the country that he even denied medical treatment to the common people. He and his mother hadn't owned any fortunes, but the doctor who'd treated his mother had made very little mention of payment as far as Usopp could remember. There had still been money left for him after his mother's passing at least.
"Doctors can't heal a sick land."
"Dalton-kun?"
Vivi rushed forward, but Zoro grabbed her shoulder with a look of warning. Usopp relaxed. Vivi had worked herself into another worried frenzy now that they were, once again, waiting. It was one thing Vivi and Ruffy had in common; they were people of action, not doing anything was a cause of anxiety. But it took different shapes. Vivi's method to deal with it was to throw herself at people who may or may not need help while Ruffy's way seemed to be to hide away and cover her eyes and ears until there was something to do.
"Hey, we have a cart!"
Usopp looked up at the distant call. The people were also anxious, and they had called out as soon as they spotted them. However, they wouldn't arrive until at least two minutes.
Usopp followed the white ropeway with his eyes. It was getting dark, the full moon rising pale and grand opposite the setting sun. Up there was Ruffy, he could feel her, so Nami was most likely delivered to the doctor and was doing okay. So what had him worried? There was a tension in the air, as if something bad was about to happen.
