The robes were light, yet heavy, her shoulders were tense and she could barely hold her arms up as she sat by her father's side with one leg crossed over the other and her cheek resting in the palm of her hand.
Grass eyes with a ring of sea watched as the elder man sitting on his red and white throne dismissed yet another citizens request. Of course she felt bad about it, but by now Shila had learned not to speak up against her father.
Unconsciously, her right hand reached up to brush the palm of her left, where the remnants of a small, stitched up scar was. There was once when she had gathered the wits to argue against him and, in a fit of rage, he'd thrown something sharp at her, possibly a knife, resulting in the scar. It was fine, he was just angry of course.
After another hour or so, Shila finally stood and walked towards the dining room, taking a seat opposite her father. The table was large in width and length but was designed just perfectly to accommodate a quick conversation.
They didn't usually have many, though. Her brothers were always the more talkative ones, but they usually talked about things she had no interest in. They liked the exact same things- perhaps because they are twins.
While the two boys were laughing, tossing joke from joke to one another and having their father join in once every while, Shila was carefully eating the vegetables off of her plate when a voice made her flinch so hard her fork made a horrible screeching noise as it scraped across the plate. Red dusted her cheeks as her father sent her a look of confusion and the boys groaned while covering their ears.
"What did you do that for, big sister?"
"I didn't do it on purpose... Sorry, I just pressed too hard when trying to pick up some broccoli."
A lie, but they didn't need to know that.
How's dinner, yoi?
Fine. How'd you know I was eating?
Your colour changes whenever you eat.
Oh... Are you eating dinner as well?
No, he chuckled. It's almost afternoon over here so our chefs are getting lunch ready.
Chefs? Was he royalty as well? The thought made her a little nervous, but at the same time it made her feel relieved. If he was a prince, perhaps she wouldn't have to marry a random and most-definitely spoiled prince in the future.
Are you in the south?
South Blue. Ah, my father is calling for me.
Oh, okay.
See you, yoi.
She smiled.
See you.
"How are your studies going, Shila?" Sliding the plate to the side, her father leaned forwards with his hands linked together and elbows resting atop the table. Shila poked at her food for a few seconds before placing the utensil down and focusing back on the man.
"Good. Nothing special."
"Then why is your tutor telling me you're struggling with history?"
It wasn't that she was struggling, it's more of the fact that she couldn't believe anything the textbooks wrote.
"About Ohara... I just don't understand why they were exterminated."
"Well, they were harbouring restricted information."
"And so they deserved to be killed?"
Her father hummed, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "That's what the government did."
She furrowed her eyebrows. The government her father serves now or the one from years before?
It sparked several questions in her mind, questions that she knew she wasn't allowed to be thinking. And in order to receive any answers, Shila had to do something she'd never done before. Something she never thought she'd ever do in her entire life.
With a coat on and hood pulled over her head, Shila snuck out of the palace and ran down towards the town.
Woah, there. Your heart's beating really fast.
Sorry if it's bothering you.
No, it's fine. Lets me know you're alive, yoi.
She blushed.
You're blushing, yoi.
Quiet! I need to focus!
Are you sneaking out or something?
Yes! And if my father were to find out he would order the guards to beat me!
Beat you? He frowned. I thought your father loved you.
There was a falter in her steps. I mean, he does. He only beats me when he's mad or when I say something wrong. I deserve it those times.
No, you don't. Only a coward would harm their child, yoi.
O-Oh... That made sense, but she had gotten so used to it that the thought never occurred. In that moment it was like dozens of pathways in her brain had begun opening up and unleashing new thoughts. If she had learned so little in mere minutes how much more was there to discover?
Hey, yoi-guy.
Hm?
Are you a pirate?
...Yes, I am.
Are you a bad pirate, then?
He was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't automatically assumed he was bad.
Do you think I am?
Have you ever killed anyone innocent?
My hands are clean from innocent blood, yoi.
Then I think you're pretty cool.
Her stomach did a little flip at the deep and smooth sound of his voice when he chuckled. She'd never heard a man other than her father and his friend chuckle before, but this was different.
So then, can you tell me about the outside world?
The good or bad part of it?
Whichever there is more of.
Good, that makes things easier. But you seem busy, so I'll tell you later, yoi. My brothers are trying to kill each other with sponges.
Oh-
See you, strange girl.
She chuckled. Farewell, yoi-guy.
She was surrounded by the night lights. It was well past her curfew now, and even though she was feeling a little tired, she continued to advance. Her first stop was a less populated area, where she met a kind man who, thankfully, couldn't see exactly who she was.
His name was Salman and he worked as a blacksmith. He had a wife and lovely daughter who aspired to be like her father one day. When she questioned him on his thoughts about the royal family, Shila bit her lip in order to conceal the frown threatening to tilt her lips down. The very first words to come out of the mans mouth were negative, but she didn't comment.
He'd said how unfair the king was, how they were forced to pay so many taxes, that the only money they received from work barely managed to provide them with two meals a day. She nodded and thanked him, slyly slipping in a few golden coins beside his tipping box before heading off to her next destination. Surely only the blacksmith felt so negatively about her family.
The carpenter was the same, as was the bartender and doctor. As Shila continued, she began to see a pattern. Those who benefited her father the most spoke more highly of him, as they were treated better, while the rest who weren't wealthy and who were treated as peasants spoke true and made their hurt very clear.
She'd only travelled a small portion of the town that night, but things were already clear enough for her to see who was in the wrong.
Climbing back up to the balcony, she placed the cloak at the very back of her large closet before settling into her bed. She spent a couple of moments mindlessly staring at her roof until that same soothing voice sounded through her head.
Calm down. Your heartbeat is unsteady.
Yoi-guy, can you answer a question of mine?
Only once you calm yourself.
She did just that and turned to sleep on her right side.
Who is the pirate king, and why does everyone in my town speak so highly of him?
Marco grinned. Roger, hm? Well, the Roger I knew...
The pirate king was a man she grew to love in only a few hours before her eyes slowly shut, and the racing thoughts in her head began to slow until they came to a complete stop.
Marco stopped rocking his chair back and forth, softly stroking his linked palms while staring at the ceiling. He smiled a little, the thought of the woman he was speaking to already sending flutters to his heart.
He wasn't sure why this was happening. Not even Pops was completely sure as to why, but his father did tell him not to avoid fate, and while Marco was never really the greatest fan of fate, he's taken quite the liking to it lately.
He should really ask for her name already. Perhaps that's a little too intimate, though.
"Marco, Izou's trying to shoot Jozu again!"
Well, the peace was nice while it lasted.
"Jozu, did you destroy his make-up set again?"
"It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"
"That was the last of my foundation!"
"That's enough shooting, Izou- Did you just shoot me, yoi?!"
Pops laughed. Perhaps his sons were a little too chaotic.
What does everyone want to see in this book?
If you were in the One Piece world what do you think you'd be? Personally, I'd definitely be a revolutionary.
Happy Eid to everyone who celebrates it today! Make sure to tell that to your Muslim friends and give them gifts. It'll make them happy, trust me!
~LamaXebecs