Queen of the Pirates

Saved by the Devil

And then the next thing I knew I was shooting up in bed as a scream was filling up the small room. A scream that was coming from me.

It's been a while since I woke myself up screaming from a nightmare, but it really was only a matter of time since I've been separated from Luffy. My nightmares are a horrible combination of painful memories caused by the man who raised me and an overactive imagination that I've had since childhood. Sometimes it takes the horrible day of a vase being thrown at me and adds more items that almost hit me. Or sometimes it takes the screaming rants that were hurled at me for no reason and turns them up to an eleven. Its something that I've dealt with for years, but I found out that sleeping near Luffy would cease the sleeping attacks. I've said it before, but I truly believe that it because I trust him with my entire body and soul. My subconscious can't drag up those horrible memories when Luffy's around because he makes me feel safe in every single way.

Once I was finally able to calm myself down, I struggled to return to sleep. The next couple of hours were filled with me tossing and turning as I tried to get the much-needed rest for the day ahead of me. Eventually, I did fall asleep for a few restless hours, and then it was time to get up to face the day.

First I raised the anchor and dropped the sail to get moving again. Rayleigh's Vivre Card was still drifting in the direction I was going, so I've just continued to sail in that general direction. With that all settled, I made a big breakfast to make up for the lack of sleep. I ate outside once again to feel the fresh air swirling around me, and then I cleaned up the kitchen to be ready later to lunch.

The next couple of hours I spent training with the daggers, but then I had an itch to make some tea and do my best to enjoy the journey that I'm on. Which is what I'm doing now.

"At least it's beautiful out here, so there's that," I sigh, taking another sip of my tea. "Even if that's the only silver lining I can find, that's enough for me. As long as I can stay positive, then I'll get through this."

As much as I'd like to prolong my teatime, I know that there's no real reason to. I could find a handful of different activities to do in order to pass the time faster than this, so I finish off my tea and head for the kitchen. With it already being mid-day, it only makes sense to start working on lunch.

It is when I am making food that I find my mind wanders the most. The first day was filled with memories of when my adoptive mother and I would cook together, but that's not where it drifts today.

For the most part, I've been cursing Kuma for what he's done to us. Not only when he showed up on Thriller Bark ready to fight us all after the battles we had just gone through, but for separating us on Sabaody after everything we had just been through with the auction house and PX's. He showed himself as a villain that was doing whatever the World Government asked of him. Another Warlord of the Sea that we had to deal with for getting in our way.

Until I realized something about that last time we saw him on Sabaody. There was something strange about the way he was acting towards us Straw Hats. He was never out to kill us that day. He was actively going against the orders of the World Government by even being there, and then he really defied them by sending us out of harm's way of Kizaru. Rayleigh was stalling time for us to get away, but Kuma took getting us to safety into his own hands. Even if the result was the worst thing I could have imagined.

It also makes me wonder what he thinks about the PX's that are robots made in his likeness. If he even had any say in the matter, or if the World Government is doing it to taunt him for some reason. To show that no matter what, he's always going to be a pirate that is controlled by them because of his title. That when he took the title of Warlord he gave up a lot to gain little.