2 years later.
JULES POV
It has been 2 years since Rose came to this world. That day after i passed out from crying holding my daughter, Marco rested too. For hours the kuja pirates took care of her and instantly bonded.
After i woke up and so did Marco they told us to stay onboard till we reached Amazon Lilly. I needed to recover so Marco agreed. When we reached Amazon Lilly after a few days surprisingly Hancock insisted that I lived there.
After discussing the matter Marco and i realised that it was the best option. She was a warlord and hence there was no risk of neavy unless she told them about my location. It would also be good to settle in one place without the struggle of going from island to island as Rose was just a baby. All in all it was the safest option and hence we agreed. Marco was given a small house on the other side of the island as he refused to leave me alone.
Over the two years life had been stable. Some months after coming to Amazon Lilly the remaining whitebeard crew came for Marco. They were delighted to see me healthy and meet Rose as well. They all had teary eyes when they saw how similar she looked to Ace. Except for the Colour of her eyes and her lips she was a spitting image of Ace.
It turned out they had decided to get revenge on Blackbeard for what he did to Ace and Oyaji. It was a payback war and they wanted Marco to lead it. After a lot of convincing from me he agreed. They lost but still gave a tough fight. After that Marco was in a depressed state as he was still not over Oyaji's death. he had been one of the people who were with oyaji the longest. It was hard for me too. He was my dear pops who adored me. He was like a best friend and also a father. as he had been sick and somewhere I had been preparing my heart for the day he would die. i still got nightmares of Ace and Oyaji dying but it was easier to get over Oyaji's death than Ace. Ace was gone and he was too. If he would have been with me at least it would have become easier to cope with Ace's death.
To find piece and let out his guilt of not being able to save them Marco wanted to go and take care of sphinx island, Oyaji's home island. He was worried about me but again after a lot of convincing from me he agreed.
Life had been peaceful for last two years. I still had nightmares but not every night. They were still frequent but it was better than before. I still cried holding Ace's and Oyaji's photo in the silence of night when Rose was asleep. Rose had helped me a lot in getting out of my grief as I had to focus on her a lot. Her first crawl, her first time standing, her first step and her first word were the happiest moment of my life and also saddest moment as all i wished was Ace to be there.
Seeing his daughter crawl for the first time. Being happy when she learned to stand. Encouraging her as she took her first step and being the happiest person alive when she said her first word. He would brag about his daughter and show her off to the world. She would have been his princess and have had him wrapped around his fingers. But all this now only existed in my imagination. And this fact hurt. It always did.
Rose was the sweetest girl. She was a ball of energy just like Ace and also had the same habit of falling asleep at random times. She was very talkative and was improving day by day. I had shown her Ace's picture and told her he was her dad. She was sad that he wasn't there with us but she knew he was in a happy place. I never missed a chance to tell her how much Ace loved her and he was a great dad even though she never met him.
She called him dad and that was her first word. I had cried that night myself to sleep. She was very active too and she loved to draw. Her drawings were ofcourse very hard to understand but still I loved to listen to the stories behind them.
She ate almost anything. Just like Ace. Her appetite was much more than children her age too. She loved listening to stories and also make up her own. She also loved the sea.
After all, her parents were pirates. The pirate blood in her called for the ocean and she often asked questions about it. She loved the huge ships and always asked where they were going. She loved spending time at the beach too.
Everyone on the island adored Rose and she could always be found at someones house them pampering her. Hancock too loved Rose and dressing her up. Hancock's sassy nature was rubbing off on Rose too. They had thrown a huge party for her first birthday. As everyone was always eager to spend time with Rose i got time for myself.
I would spend that time on training and polishing my combat skills. I had to keep myself up with my combat skills to protect Rose. We were safe here but it was always better to be safe than sorry. It also helped me keep my mind off from drifting to thoughts of Ace and Oyaji.
Today was another day. I was in the palace arena practicing with Miya who was a sword user. My combat style was battle knifes.
At first i could only do close combat but after a lot of practice i could do long range combat too. Oyaji had also gifted me special set of knives on my 15th birthday, which had gems embedded in their handles. It also had a set of bracelet with it. The gems attracted eachother when coated with armament haki. This allowed me to throw my knifes at a far away target and then pull them back to myself. It required a lot of practice but now i could easily do it.
I was at a dule with Miya when the warning horns of the island blowed and we both stopped.
" Its marines. They are attacking." A woman came running and told us. We both hurried to the palace. Hancock and the kuja crew were gathered there. " What happened why is the neavy attacking." I asked frantically.
" Mumma" my attention went to the small figure of Rose running towards me as she jumped from. Marigold's hold. " Hey there little devil." I said smiling as i picked her up.
" The news just came. The government has dismissed the seven warlord system and now higher officers are going after all the warlords." Marigold said worried.
" So they are here to attack and arrest you." I said as calmly as possible. I didn't want Rose to catch on the tense atmosphere and get worried.
" no need to worry Jules. I know you are worried about your and Rose's safety. You guys stay in the palace and some woman will stay with you for your protection. " Hancock said reassuringly.
" No....i...i mean yes I am worried but you...you don't have to do that. I....i will be alright. And i....i can help yo - "
" No you will not be fighting with us." Hancock cut me off. Honestly I didn't want to fight with them as my first priority was to keep Rose safe. But I also wanted to help them as they had done so much for me and Rose. I was stuck in between my duty and gratitude.
" Jules, i know you must be contemplating what to do right now. You don't have to help us. Your first priority should be and is to protect Rose. The neavy cannot know about you and Rose. We have helped you right. Then if just for gratitude if you fight for us all our efforts will be in vain right?" Grandma gloriosa said authoritatively.
" But" i started and Hancock cut me off.
" No buts. You are not going to fight with us. You will be with rose safe right here in the palace. " Hancock said as a final statement and I gave up. She was right too. I need to keep Rose safe.
_______________
The battle was on full blow on the front of the island. Me and Rose were in the palace with 4 soldiers. Rose was busy playing with her toys and i was just looking at her play. I was on full alert observing my surroundings.
Suddenly I felt some unknown people walking through the palace. The 4 soldiers also noticed it and i immediately picked up Rose.
My knives were in their place on my hip and i was on high alert. " Jules we should get out of the palace from backside. It's best to avoid encounter with the neavy." Julie one of the soldier with me said. I nodded and put on the long cape with hood i had just in case.
We got out the back gate and went into the forest. As we reached the small cottage Marco used to live in there was a man standing near it. We all got on alert and i covered Rose with my cape. with one hand I was holding rose and with the other one of my knife. listening to our footsteps the man turned around.
he was a old looking man but still looked very much fit. his hair was long and reached his shoulder and his facial hair was done in a unique way. julie beside me sighed and relaxed. i looked at her confused and the man in front of us smiled.
" its just you reighly, we were scared for a minute there. what are you doing here?" julie said now standing relaxed. i was still holding Rose protectively and the knife in my hand in a alert position. reighly, that name sounds familiar. i thought for a moment and then it clicked me.
" reighly, as in silvers reighly?" I said still cautious. he looked at me and smiled. " yes, silvers reighly ex member of roger pirates. and you must be edward jules, daughter of whitebeard." he said and I relaxed. if he was reighly I could relax. oyaji had told me hundreds of stories about the roger pirates, he always respected them.
" yes that's me. but I go by Portugas. Edward. Jules." I said firmly. after Rose was born and i gave her Ace's last name, i decided to take it myself as well. we never got to marry but still i wanted to honour our relation and it made me feel close to him. so i decided to combine Ace's and Oyaji's name with mine.
" wait what?" reighly said confused. before i could say anything his mind had already put two and two together and his expression changed to that of a surprised but still understanding. " than i guess that is your and Ace's child. so the roumers are true." reighly said with a sigh.
i nodded and he gave me a reassuring smile. " what's its name?" he asked walking towards me and looking at Rose. " her name is Rose. Portugas. D. Rose." i said with a smile and removing the coat from around her so that he could see her.
reighly gasped looking at her and then a fond smile took over his lips. " hey there little Rose." he said and after staring at him for a moment Rose smiled wide, " hello, you are old like grandma glori, can i call you grandpa?" she said innocently. one thing about rose was that she could talk to anyone. she was never afraid to approach strangers. it was a good thing but also dangerous and she couldn't sense danger.
reighly laughed and lightly pinched her cheeks. " if thats what you want." rose nodded giggling. suddenly reighly got serious.
" anyway i came here to help. shakkey wanted to come too but i told her to stay at shabondy." reighly said to julie. " thank you reighly, the marines are at the front side. we sensed some unknown people entering the palace and got out of there. they cannot know about Jules and Rose." julie explained.
" well the government already had doubt that Jules is alive and she has Ace's child. though its just a boubt as they think she must have died when she escaped from the island she was hiding at." reighly said with a worried shigh. i nodded confirming that it had happened.
" julie take this boat i have and go to shabondy with Jules and Rose. shakkey will tell you what to do. its not safe to be here anymore. you have to go." he said hurriedly. julie nodded and looked at me. for a moment i thought what to do and finally nodded.
" you get on the boat with Rose I'll be there in a minute. i did as she told and she came in minute with a bag from marco's cottage. here this bag has some necessities we will need.
with that we took the boat and hurried away from the island. after 2 years of peace, i had a felling my life from here on was going to be a survival game.