The Elementalist Lucia [One Piece x OC fanfiction]

VI - It was worth being born

That evening, to celebrate, Shakky agreed to leave the bar for the pirates of Ace's crew. The alcohol flowed freely and the place had never seen so much laughter and smiles. Lucia had agreed to come out into the open after Ace had made his men swear never to say anything about her. Her 500 million bounty was well known and she wanted to keep her presence here under wraps. The whole crew had agreed without protest and now they were making naughty remarks about her and Ace. The pirate captain, less drunk than his companions, tried in vain to silence them under the amused gaze of the young woman. After a while, they decided to isolate themselves a little, so that they could talk calmly, far from the tumult. Lucia took him to the top of the bar, on the roof, to take advantage of the overhang to admire the lights emanating from Sabaody park, the famous amusement park.

"I'm sorry for them," he muttered, "they're heavy..."

"No problem," she laughed. They're men AND pirates after all, so I'm not that surprised..."

She raised the flask to her lips, taking a few sips, before handing it back to Ace who drank in turn. They spent a little while drinking together, enjoying the view and the cool night wind, lulled by the sound of the bubbles around them.

"The old man..." began Ace. "He was his second one, wasn't it? Silvers Rayleigh."

"Yes," she nodded.

"Is he looking after you?"

"Yes," she repeated, "he's the one who came to claim me from Garp. He brought me here and I've been living with him and Shakky ever since, with a job and a quiet life."

"You dreamed of so much freedom when we were children, and now you're tied to the ground..."

"Don't be so judgmental," she replied. "I'm freer here than I've ever been before. And between my power and my bounty, I'd be foolish to want to leave."

Ace didn't answer right away, pondering what she was saying. She had always been wiser than him when they were children, but now he felt that this wisdom had turned into abandonment. She had given up, preferring to cling to her current little comfort zone.

"How did he know you existed?"

"Rayleigh?"

"Yes," he continued.

She let a moment pass, knowing that what she was about to say would not please him.

"It was Roger who told him that I might exist. And that if I did, he'd want Rayleigh to find me and take care of me."

Ace clenched his jaw.

"Don't get me wrong," Lucia continued, "I don't think he tried to favour me or denigrate you. He made sure that certain people he valued were aware of our existence. Garp for you, Ray for me."

"How do you do it? How do you not hate him, how do you not hate the blood that runs through your veins?"

Ace's voice was full of pain and incomprehension, Lucia knew how much he suffered being the  Pirate's King's son.

"Rayleigh gave me another picture of him. I got the snarky view of those who saw him as a barbaric, ruthless pirate, and then I got the account of the one who described him as a captain of integrity and loyalty, willing to do anything to save the lives of his friends."

"You bet..."

"I don't know who he was, but I know without a doubt that hating him would get me nowhere. On the contrary, I admire him. He got what he wanted, he was the freest man in the world."