The Elementalist Lucia [One Piece x OC fanfiction]

XIX - Ace. Luffy. Sabo

I looked up with difficulty to see him grabbing his sword. Gathering a courage I did not suspect, I rose and placed myself between him and the child. I clenched my fists to keep from breaking and forced myself to look him straight in the eye.

"I won't let you hurt him," I said, trembling.

Porchemy was surprised at first, but then burst out laughing. He ran the blade of his sword across my cheek with a threatening look:

"Seems like the brat have fallen in love. And what are you going to do with your rat size, eh? Raise your head, you little brat, and look."

The point of his weapon forced me to look up, only to see him lash out and throw his blade at the boy's neck. In horror I widened my eyes, helpless. In a spontaneous rush, I lunged and managed to grab onto the ropes around the boy. . I grabbed his neck and positioned myself between the blade and him, my hands trying to undo the bonds that held him prisoner.

"Don't worry, he'll hurt me before you do," I said, giving him a shaky smile.

"Stop, you'll die!" the boy shouted.

I didn't answer, too focused on the ropes that wouldn't come undone. My aching fingers slid over the knot that was too tight. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the metallic glint of the blade coming dangerously close to me.

Suddenly the wall shattered and two other boys burst into the hideout, ordering the pirates to release the one who seemed to be their friend. From what I could make out, one of them was the famous Ace that Porchemy was looking for. Armed with simple steel pipes, the two children bravely defended themselves against the pirates. Quick as a flash, they mastered their opponents without too much difficulty. The little blond boy finally got the one who was chained up, while Ace decided to fight Porchemy to the end. The leaper - a man called Sabo - was surprised to see that the injured man was not letting go of me. He was holding my hand firmly. He looked at me without understanding. The boy looked up at me with tear-filled eyes:

"She wanted to save my life, we can't leave her here."

I was stunned. Obviously Sabo was too, because he looked at me suspiciously before putting the wounded man down heavily:

"Well, wait for me here, we'll see about that later."

Then he joined Ace to face Porchemy. I was dumbfounded. These kids dared to face the pirate without fleeing and without trembling. Especially since they won the fight. Before I knew it, our two saviours grabbed Luffy and ran off, while the kid refused to let go of me.

**

Eventually the four of them ended up in the forest. Lucia said nothing, cowering in her corner, leaving the two boys to deal with the third, who was crying his eyes out now that the adrenaline had worn off.

"Given what we just did, Bluejam must be really pissed off. He's going to send his men after us, they're never going to let us go," sighed Sabo.

Ace got up and started yelling at Luffy, ordering him to shut up once and for all because the boy's whining was bothering him. When he raised his voice, Lucia felt her own tears begin to flow and buried her face in her lap to muffle her sobs. Yet she could not hold them back for very long. The choppy sound of her voice finally overcame Luffy's cries and he paused to look at her. Immediately the other two boys did the same, almost forgetting her presence. Ace walked towards her and threatened her with his makeshift weapon:

"Who are you anyway?"

Lucia was unable to answer, crying more and more. Exasperated, Ace pulled her by the arm to force her to look at him. His angry expression terrified Lucia who hurriedly backed away. Luffy stepped in between them and faced his brother: